I'm lost folks.

This past week was my last week of undergraduate study. The grades are in, and I've passed! I now hold a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics. Woo hoo!

I had some pretty big plans up until about a month ago. I was going to move to San Francisco in February and apply to a few startups. I figured that I'd be able to flesh out my resume pretty well over a year or two. With a decent resume in hand, I'd then be able to apply to a respected tech company with a reputable research arm. It's hard to plan beyond that point. But I could (in this future) possibly go back to school for a Phd or perhaps return to Tokyo.

This plan has had a wrench thrown in it, however. A wrench I should have seen coming.

I have about $45,000 USD in student loans which I have to start repaying in May. As of next next month, I also lose my parents insurance. So, I've had to rethink how I want to approach the next stage in my life. I was hoping I could get some input from those of you who have been in my position.

First thing is first: I need a job. My resume is completely empty. I have a couple interesting items I can list, like working as an English teach in Japan, being a Teaching Assistant for Japanese 101, or conducting undergraduate software development research under an NIH grant for a semester.

But that's it. I have zero industry experience in any field beyond those three items above. I really should have used my summers off in school to work as an intern.

So how do I work around this problem? Do I start contributing to open source projects? Should I start my own open source projects? Should I offer to work for free at a company so that I can display my competence in a given area?

I'm located in Loveland, Colorado right now. If I had to though, I'd move anywhere in the world (let alone US), to get myself back on track.

Thanks for any advice.

Forgive me, but what would you apply your applied mathematics to?

Web programming isn't a bad idea. There's plenty of work out there and all you really need is 3-4 good clients.

Come on, he didn't study math for three years to be making websites.. :S

Doesn't.. But something tells me he would prefer some work related with algorithms rather than web programming. We'll see what he says when he comes.

If I were you, I'd look at major open source organizations like Mozilla for job openings. I know Mozilla has a number of jobs currently listed. I think the educational requirements are beyond my college diploma, but your degree might be enough to get attention. Maybe try RedHat and Novell too?

Chain yourself to the doors of the company you wish to work for and refuse to leave until you are hired!