In this special issue, the Daily Princetonian explores careers on campus and their intersection with Princeton's aspiration towards public service, as students return from summer internships.

As Editor-in-Chief Rohit Narayanan writes in a Letter from the Editor, “Careerism certainly contributes to students’ stress, not just in the pressure of securing a position but also the internal conflict of learning versus building a resume, or serving humanity versus building a career. Perhaps no aspect of the modern campus is as definitive of a feature.”

To get a closer look at the culture surrounding public service career paths and the pressures students face from professors, their peers, and economic factors, we hosted a focus group of seven Princeton students, juniors and seniors in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), politics, and economics departments, to hear their unfiltered thoughts on what it means to live a life in the nation’s service.

The Daily Princetonian took a look at a few graduating members of the class of 2023, hoping to catch a glimpse of what may be in store for these young alumni as they enter public life. These figures were all key actors in campus advocacy as students and come from a variety of places on the political spectrum.

"When students do not take courses in the humanities, they miss out on studying works which ask how to determine what it means to be good, and why you should pursue the good. In a climate in which students don’t have the basic ability of interrogating these questions, how could a university expect its students to go forth and creatively serve their nation and humanity at large? Service cannot be reduced to post-graduation careers, but it can be predicted from the quality and type of an education itself."

While surveys show many recent graduates go into finance and consulting, the most common fields for the users were business development, education, and research.

Daybreak revisits Effective Altruism with Professor Singer. We take a look at how the movement has changed since its conception and what those changes mean for the next generation of effective altruists.

The resumes of over 724 Princeton alumni from the Class of 2016 to the Class of 2022 boast the names of top management consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain & Company. We offer an insider’s perspective on the recruiting process for these top firms.

When athletes spread out for the summer, they go in a variety of directions. Some play their sport in a new setting, while others pursue other opportunities. The Daily Princetonian spoke to two athletes about their summer internships. 

We asked our columnists, young and idealistic, still within the comforts of campus, how they hope to contribute to the world post-graduation, and what they think a Princeton education should prepare them to do.

Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) leased an office space in Washington D.C. last spring, marking “the first time in the University’s history that its policy and international affairs school has had a dedicated, physical presence in the nation’s capital” according to the department website.

Social impact is consistently the third most popular industry for recent graduates, with 13 percent of the Class of 2022 going into the field.

Princeton remains the only Ivy League university which does not offer a major in either Environmental Studies or Sciences. But even without an established major, many students and alumni have successfully made addressing climate change the focal point of their studies and careers after college.

“We need to endeavor to explore more deeply what public service actually means, and how we can be truly effective with the tools our Princeton education gives us.”

"I had some vague idea about using my degree to make the world a better place, as cliché as that sounds. The question was how."

The Daily Princetonian analyzed the companies attending this semester’s career fair. With 102 companies, this is the largest career fair since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As 408 master’s students, more than 700 postdoctoral scholars, and 2,804 Ph.D. candidates pursue higher education at Princeton, the professorial job market sees its fewest listings in history. 

“The general sentiment remains the same: How do you figure out who you are without Princeton?” 

From seeing athletic success during their time at Princeton to the real world, life after Princeton varies for Tiger alumni.