By Qin Xia

It’s job hunting season, yes, the most difficult season of the year, especially when you choose education as a career and you are an international student.

Schools always hire new teachers in June and July for the next school year. So from May to June, it’s teacher job hunting time. And as an international student, following graduation, there will be one-year for optional practice training (OPT). That means, I can take a temporary job in the U.S. to gain more work experience before going back home to China.

Yes, all graduates will have the same stress of finding a job and maybe choosing between two offers. If you choose the right one, congratulations, you will set a great foundation for your teaching career, but what about the wrong one?

Before the real “deadline,” PSU helped by holding a series of job fairs. The biggest one was the Oregon Professional Educator Fair held in early April. After going to these job fairs, I am still stressed about finding a job, but I feel clearer about how to do it. The later you find a job, the more stress you will have, but that’s ok, because all of us feel the same way.

Don’t give up, because you know you are ready! The most important thing for all of us is not to second guess ourselves and remember to enjoy the joy of graduation!

We need a job, and we can do this!