Choose my college program.

At the end of high school I had to make a hard choice, which is what will I study at college. Even though my parents have been reminding me all year to think about my future program choice, a week before the deadline I didn't know in which program I was going to enroll. I knew I wanted to go to Ahuntsic College because it was the closest one to my home, however, I was hesitating between two programs.

Choice 1 : Apply in Geomatics Technology.

Choice 2 : Apply in Social Sciences.

Apply in Geomatics Technology.

In the first week of college, I was going to every class, and even if I hated it, I was letting it a try. All of my days were thoroughly maddening. Though, week after week, I was starting to skip more and more class and put aside my homework. I knew that being a Geomatics technologist was probably not what I wanted to do in my life, but my parents told me to keep trying. Another decision had to be made.

Choice 1 : Continue this program.

Choice 2 : Stop going to school.

Apply in Social Sciences-Business.

During my two years at Ahuntsic College in Social Sciences-Business, I was really happy, and I have learned a lot of things that will help me professionally. For example, in my economy course, I have become familiar with terms such as demand, offer, exchange rate, and deduction. In another class, I have also learned to do a company's budget, and in my second English class, the teacher helped us to think about our future careers and taught us some words related to our study program. During my last semester, I had to choose at which university I would pursue my education. I wanted to do a baccalaureate in business administration, and two choices were possible if I wanted to study in Montreal and in French.

Choice 1 : Apply to HEC Montreal.

Choice 2 : Apply to ESG UQAM.

Continue this program.

With the recommendations of my loved ones and even with the lack of motivation that I had, I have decided to not abandon and keep pushing to get my degree. Those three years were the hardest of my life, the amount of work that I had to do for school was insane, I didn't really have friends in my classes, and I still couldn't see myself doing this job for the rest of my days. Nevertheless, in my last semester in Geomatics Technology, one of my friends told me about the program he just finished, which is Social Sciences-Business. I found it really interesting, and that was the first time in 3 years that I had motivation for school.

Choice 1 : Find myself a job as a Geomatics technologist.

Choice 2 : Apply in Social Sciences-Business.

Stop going to school.

In the first few days after quitting college, I was happy and relieved that I didn't have to experiment another day in this program. However, I was starting to be bored, and my parents told me that if I wanted to stay at home, I had to pay a pension. Without any other choices, I found myself a dead-end job. The boss told me that I will do the exact same job every day, and at this moment I wish I had made a better choice in high school.

Choice 1 : Go back to High school and make a better choice.

Apply to HEC Montreal.

My time at HEC Montreal was very fun and enriching. The teachers prepared me well for the labor market with practical workshops of real scenarios and interesting theoretical courses. During my academy journey at HEC, I made a lot of friends who will follow me all my life. At the end of our baccalaureate, the school organized a job fair to meet the employers interested in having some candidates like us at their company. This was at this moment that I managed to make contacts with people in the industry that will help me for my future. I wanted to find myself an internship as fast as possible, but my sister had another plan for me: go volunteer abroad with her.

Choice 1 : Apply for an internship.

Choice 2 : Go volunteer abroad.

Apply to ESG UQAM.

The three years of my life when I was at UQAM were a real fiasco. I was partying every other day; I was skipping class and wasn't really paying attention when I was going. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to pass all of my courses and get my degree. However, the small amount of work that I put into my study had some consequences. At the end of university, the only company that was offering me an interview was a non-profit organization with little chance of growing up in this one. I had two choices: either go to the interview or wait for better opportunities.

Choice 1 : Go to the non-profit interview.

Choice 2 : Wait for a better opportunity.

Find myself a job as a Geomatics technologist.

To help me find the good job to apply for, I asked some teachers for their recommendations, and the answers that often came up were either to apply to the city or to a private surveying firm.

Choice 1 : Apply at the city of Montreal.

Choice 2 : Apply at a private firm.

Go to the non-profit company interview.

The interview went really well, and they told me on the same day that I was hired. Although the job that they offered me wasn't really what I was looking for. I studied Business Administration with a major in finance to become a financial advisor, and what they offered me was a job in human resources. Even if that was not in my branch of study, I took the job anyway because I got human resources related courses in university, and I needed the money. A few months later, I was really fed up with the job, and two choices were open to me...

Choice 1 : Stay at this job.

Choice 2 : Take a break.

Wait for a better opportunity.

Three weeks after graduating from university and applying for dozens of jobs, nobody had called me back. The time was counting, because I had to find a job to pay my rent and my student debt. The only choice that was left was...

Choice 1 : Try to recontact the non-profit company for the interview.

Try to recontact the non-profit company.

I was too late... After I called the company, they said that they had already found somebody for the job. I was devastated and without any possibilities. Maybe UQAM wasn't the right choice of university.

Choice 1 : Go back to college and make a better choice.

Go volunteer abroad.

During all my life, I never really did something to help the ones who are more disadvantaged, so after graduating, my sister convinced me to go volunteer abroad in Ecuador building schools with her. This experience helped me learn Spanish and some construction skills. I thought that learning a new language would help me find a job, but no employer recognizes this experience as an added value. Also, when I returned, I was in big debt and didn't have money to pay for my bills. Even if my time in Ecuador taught me something invaluable, I don't think that just after university was the best time to go volunteer.

Choice 1 : Make a better choice after graduating

Apply for an internship.

After university, I wanted to gain practical experiences in my field of study, but I was too overwhelmed to have my first real job. A few days later, one of my friends told me about his internship and how much it helped him for his career, so I applied as an intern in a bank called Desjardins. This internship gave me the opportunity to test drive the job and learn the ropes. My on-the-job training went so well that the company decided to come in handy and offered me a real job right after the end of my internship. I was and still am very grateful that my friend told me about his story and that the company gave me a foot in the door.

Choice 1 : Go to my early years as a financial advisor.

Apply at the city of Montreal.

Everything went well with the interview and all the hiring process, and I got the job. However, one thing went wrong, I was a victim of sexual harassment by one of my colleagues. It all started on the first day that I was working, at the beginning I thought that she wanted to be my friend even if she was a little bit older than me, but after I realized that she wanted to have more. She started by touching my shoulder repetitively for no actual reason and giving me compliments all day long. After a few days, she started giving me hugs frequently, and that was the moment I said to her that I was not liking it. In the days after, she was doing nothing wrong, but one or two weeks later she started all over again where she left off. This was at this moment that she really crossed the line, and the filtration became misconduct. This incident was the straw that broke the camel's back and made me decide to switch my career path and apply to Social Science-Business.

Choice 1 : Apply in Social Sciences-Business.

Apply at a private firm.

Following the recommendations of my teachers, I applied at Groupe Civitas, got an interview, and got hired in less than two weeks. The feeling that I got in my first semester of college was effectively a good one. A month after my hiring, I realized that this was really not the life that I wanted to live. Every morning was a living hell just by the idea of coming to work. I should have trusted my gut and changed program when it was the time, but I decided to do it at this moment anyway.

Choice 1 : Apply in Social Sciences-Business.

Go to my early years as a financial advisor.

During my debut as a financial advisor, my colleague really helped me with all of my problems and questions. As the time was going, I was more confident, and I was able to give a better service to the clients. One day. I got an offer from a bank called Scotiabank for a job as a manager. I didn't know if it were better to take it. Two choices were open to me:

Choice 1 : Stay at Desjardins.

Choice 2 : Accept the offer of Scotiabank.

Stay at Desjardins.

Even if Scotiabank was offering me a job as a manager, something that I will surely not have soon at Desjardins, I decided to stay. The loyalty is a very important thing for me, and I didn't want to do quit like that to the company that gave me a chance. I think I made a good decision because, few years later, they decided to reward me with a managing spot. I was more than happy, and I promised myself to never quit. The End.

Select a section to link to here.

Accept the offer of Scotiabank.

In the early weeks of my new job, I realized that the main reason why they hired me as a manager was not for my good knowledge in finance, but to manage some office politics. Even if the salary was better than at Desjardins, I was not happy at this job, and I wished that I chose to stay my old job.

Choice 1 : Make a better professional decision.

Stay at this job.

This was not the best decision of my life. Only two weeks after deciding to stay, I made a burnout, and I was now unemployed and in depression. Those years at UQAM had more significant repercussions that I thought.

Choice 1 : Make a better choice at college.

Take a break.

This break was more than necessary. I was on the edge of a burnout. During the couples of month that I worked at this job, I managed to put some money on the side, so I could be unemployed for a while. The problem was that I still hadn't worked in my field. I think going to HEC would have been a better option and would have given me more career opportunities.

Choice 1 : Make a better choice at college.