One of the many great opportunities that clubs at UMass can offer is going on field trips. As an Isenberg student, this usually means visiting interesting companies throughout Massachusetts. This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to visit Arnold Worldwide with the Isenberg Marketing Club at its Boston headquarters in Downtown Crossing.

While it was a relatively short trip, only about three hours spent at the headquarters itself, it was highly informative in terms of learning about what it's like to work for a larger advertising agency. Arnold is unique in that all of its content is produced in-house, so we got to see exactly where promotional strategies like Progressive's "Flo" character were formed.

Going on trips like this and hearing real-life experiences from employees can help you figure out what kind of company and position you see yourself working at in the future. For me, this visit was helpful in realizing that I probably will not be pursuing work at an advertising agency. While the trip wasn't positive in regards to being perfectly aligned to what I want to do with my career, it can be just as beneficial to figure out what you don't want to do than simply looking for what you do want to do!

If clubs you're involved with in the future offer opportunities to visit a company and talk to professionals, I highly recommend you go. It is a fantastic way to explore different careers and industries and a great way to start networking early.