#10: Find a real problem first
Talked to 3 students, at different times, about problems they're facing. Without prompting each other, all three raised the same core issue: they're confused about internships and upskilling. Specifically, they don't know which skills actually matter, and don't know where or how to find good opportunities.
A second pattern also came up: a belief that better opportunities are out of reach because they're from a "lower-tier" college, an assumption made before even trying, not based on having actually been rejected.
So the real problem isn't a single thing, it's two, stacked: (1) a lack of clear direction on what to learn or where to look, and (2) a self-imposed belief that certain opportunities aren't available to them at all.