Who is Deloitte?

Most people at CMC don’t realize I’m a senior.   Maybe because I transferred, or maybe because I don’t do many seniory things.  Like live in the apartments.  Or go on senior class trips.  Or not make out with freshmen. While this has its downsides, like being left off the senior events email list (ouch?), it also has its upsides, like not being asked “so, what are you planning to do with your life?”

Which, I guess, also has its downsides.

I realized I’ve underestimated how much information in life I’ve gleaned from social osmosis.  For instance, overhearing classmates talk about final drafts of their papers = we have a paper due.  Creeping the smart kid next to me at the library while he uses Sakai = learning how to use Sakai.  Listening to the baseball team converse = never converse with the baseball team.

So being left out of the senior loop means missing informative tidbits on how to go about making major life decisions.

It seems that over the past few weeks an inordinate amount of seniors have been walking around in poorly-tailored suits, clutching black leather document holder-thingys and looking unusually anxious.  And not the who-did-I-kiss-last-night-and-where-is-my-left-shoe kind of anxious.  The bad kind of anxious.

I was starting to get worried that I’ve been missing some important senior-related information, so I decided to force my way into the senior bubble by asking a passing suited-up classmate what all the hubbub was about.

Me: “My, you’re looking rather dapper today, where are you off to?”

Classmate: “Oh, uhh, hey. I have an interview right now for a consulting firm. A case study interview. I’ve had a bunch over the past few weeks.”

Me: “Oh? How are they going?”   [Google search: what is consulting?]

Classmate: “Great. My next one’s my biggest - it’s with Deloitte.”

Me: “Wow! That’s amazing!  Good luck!”   [Google search: who is Deloitte?]

Classmate: Wait… you’re a senior, right?  What have you been up to?

Me: I…uhh...oh uhh I...I’m a sophomore.

We're all aware that CMC students are indeed the leaders of tomorrow. And apparently the leaders of tomorrow have their shit together.  I spent the rest of the day frantically updating my resume and searching for positions I barely understood the name of.

Then I realized that I haven’t been aware that it’s job application season because I really just don’t care.  I have several admittedly idyllic visions of my future life, and none of them involve suits or excel spreadsheets or those leather document things.  I was reading fashionista Garance Dore’s blog and she wrote about a similar experience, saying:

“I was haunted by the idea of my first steps into the world of work, which seemed like a giant black hole where I would disappear into a sea of grey suits.”

This is exactly how I feel. I’m not interested in consulting.  If I was, I wouldn’t have been up since 6 am writing self-involved Forum articles and binge-Googling art gallery sites.

Obviously consulting and other suit-based professions are extremely worthy and I’m probably writing this entire piece out of a deep-seeded jealousy and/or inferiority.  But consulting isn't for everyone, and it’s too easy to get swept into thinking what’s right for the majority of CMCers should be right for you.  So I guess the moral of my diatribe is to not feel inferior or lacking or that you’re falling behind just because your idea of success doesn’t match up with everyone else's.  Do what you want to do and what you enjoy, not what you feel you “should."

Editor's Note: this article was originally posted on Brittany's blog, which you can find here.