Hello!

I am a student on track to graduate in about 8 months and I have an internship coming up in about a month. It is far past time to send my current school bag out to the farm so I thought now would be a good time to get a new bag to take into post-grad life.

My main question concerns colorful bags and professionalism. I currently have a grey bag that I got on sale years ago and I honestly really dislike it. I love the colorful bags other women have around campus but I’m hesitant to drop money on a pretty bag that I won’t be able to use at work (currently balling on a grad student budget :,) ). Does anyone actually care about a colorful bag? Most online guides about professional backpacks aren’t geared towards engineers. My field (metallurgy/materials) is generally pretty unfussy in my experience (internships and family in the field), so I don’t expect it would be an issue, but I wanted some insight from other women.

I also prefer the look of more outdoorsy bags - North Face, Patagonia, etc. - to the more professional options I’ve seen mentioned in other threads. This is less important than color, but I also wanted thoughts on those types of bags in the workplace.

Essentially, my dilemma boils down to this: do I get a pretty bag I know I’ll like and run the risk of having to get a more “professional” one if I end up joining a very uptight company, or do I suck it up and get a safe, neutral bag?

One more note - when I say colorful, I don’t mean neons and super bright colors. Light blues and light/dark greens are more my speed. I’ve attached a few north face colorways I like for reference.

Work Backpack