Career strategy for high school & college students

Career decisions deserve more than guesswork.

I believe students choose better when they can see the full picture: what the work is actually like, what it asks of them, what it can pay, and what it takes to get there.

Find your starting point Why I do this

Clarity is built,
not found.

A better decisionWorking framework

Define the decision

Get specific about what is unclear—and why it matters now.

Build the evidence

Study the work, the tradeoffs, and the paths into it.

Choose with intention

Turn what you learned into priorities and a point of view.

Move with structure

Set the targets, cadence, and next actions that create momentum.

PerspectiveInside the working world

ExperienceTechnical programs, operations & hiring

Format1:1 on Zoom · weekends in person

The outcomeA decision you can defend

Different questions.
The same standard.

A sixteen-year-old choosing a direction and a college senior entering the market need different answers. Both deserve honest context, rigorous thinking, and a plan grounded in the world as it is.

Cut-paper illustration of a high school student exploring paths across technology, science, design, and business

01 / HIGH SCHOOL

Choose a direction without pretending it is permanent.

We look past broad labels and into the work itself: how people spend their days, which skills matter, what different paths open up, and where the tradeoffs sit.

Aptitudes and interests translated into credible paths
A short list of majors with the reasoning made visible
Courses and experiences that preserve useful options

Cut-paper illustration of a college student organizing a first-job search into several clear paths

02 / COLLEGE

Treat the first-job search as a campaign, not a lottery.

Strong applications are not simply submitted; they are built. We create the target list, sharpen the story, develop access, and prepare you to communicate your experience with clarity.

A focused pipeline of roles and companies
Résumé, LinkedIn, and outreach working as one story
Interview storytelling grounded in real experience

Clarity should
leave a paper trail.

A good conversation is useful. A good system keeps working after the conversation ends. Each engagement produces practical documents a student can return to, revise, and act on.

Role & company thesis

A researched point of view on where to focus, why those targets fit, and what evidence will make the case.

strong fitresearchreach out

Major decision brief

A disciplined comparison across curriculum, fit, flexibility, career access, and the compromises each option carries.

Interview story library

Specific proof—organized and shaped into memorable stories that sound natural, credible, and distinctly your own.

Start with the decision in front of you.

1 SESSION

Resume & LinkedIn Audit

$150/ 60 minutes

Live working review
Positioning for target roles
An annotated revision plan

6 SESSIONS

First Job Launch

$650/ package

Search thesis and target pipeline
Résumé rebuilt for ATS and human readers
LinkedIn, outreach, and networking
Interview storytelling
Offer evaluation and negotiation

THE IDEA BEHIND THE WORKBetter context creates better choices.

A point of view, backed by practice.

I believe students should not have to make consequential career decisions with partial information. They deserve a candid view of the work, the routes into it, the economics around it, and the tradeoffs no brochure mentions.

I'm Frances, a Strategic Operations & Technical Program Leader and Senior Manager of Technical Program Management at Upstart. My career has moved from software engineering at Teradata to technical program leadership at Microsoft, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and HashiCorp, then to building the first Operations & Strategy function at Aptos Labs.

I earned my B.S. in Business Administration—Business Analytics from San José State University. I've been the applicant, the hiring manager, and the person running the operating system around hiring; my approach is to understand the system, find the constraint, align the right people, and build a mechanism that works long after our session ends.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

UpstartAptos LabsHashiCorpChan Zuckerberg InitiativeMicrosoftTeradata

“Clarity isn't knowing everything. It's knowing enough to move.”

A deliberate way forward.

The student owns the decision. I bring the structure, questions, context, and accountability required to make that decision well.

Frame the question

Surface the real decision, the timeline, and the assumptions already shaping it.

Build the context

Examine the options, constraints, incentives, and missing information.

Do the work

Test the thinking, build the materials, and practice what cannot be learned by reading.

Leave with a system

Finish with decisions, tools, and a cadence clear enough to keep using alone.

Practical questions.

Clear expectations make better coaching.

Are sessions online or in person?

Sessions are one-on-one over Zoom, usually in 60-minute blocks. In-person meetings are available on weekends for an additional fee. Packages are typically spaced one to two weeks apart so there is time to apply the work.

How are parents involved for high school students?

Scheduling, billing, and progress communication go through the parent. The Major & Career Clarity package includes a written parent summary after the final session.

Is this college admissions consulting?

No. The focus is career strategy: understanding possible paths, choosing majors with career context, and planning courses or experiences that keep useful options open. It is not an admissions-odds service.

Is this counseling or therapy?

No. This is practical career strategy and coaching, not licensed mental-health care. Students who need clinical support should work with an appropriate qualified professional.

What is the rescheduling policy?

Sessions can be rescheduled with at least 24 hours' notice. Packages include one no-questions-asked reschedule; late cancellations and no-shows count as completed sessions.

Are sessions recorded?

No. Sessions are not recorded by default. Written notes and next steps are a better working record and keep the focus on the student.

You do not need the whole future figured out.

Start with a free 20-minute conversation. We will name the question, decide whether this approach fits, and identify the smallest useful next step.

Request an intro call

Packages are paid upfront. Single sessions are paid before the call.