One thing college students are familiar with worrying about is how they will navigate life after graduation. And no matter how far away you are from the commencement ceremony, it is likely that the more conversations you strike up with your peers, the more clear it will become how many of us are silently panicking that we won’t fare well once we no longer have our studies to fall back upon.
Being two years away from the finish line, I’m wrestling with these questions too. So to gain some insight into postgraduate life, I decided to interview my friend Elliott, who just graduated from California Baptist University with a degree in studio production this past May.
I asked him five questions relating to how college prepared him for life beyond and what his experiences so far have taught him about taking the first steps as a degree-holding, full-time working adult.
Firstly, he described for me the difference between what he envisioned post-grad life to look like and what it actually feels like for him right now. He shared that, “currently, [his] job was not something that [he] had even considered while [he] was in school.” He knew that there were people who worked within his current specialty but hadn’t viewed the position as a serious option for himself based on his major. So taking a more critical perspective on the college experience, he shared about his realization that “much of what [he] did in school was also to benefit the university and not just to benefit [his] future career.”
His advice to current college students further emphasizes recognizing that universities are as much institutional edifices with their own interests to protect as they are support systems for students. He explained that students must learn to “stand up for [themselves] because, while [their] school is looking out for [them], it’s mainly looking out for itself.”
Despite his distrust in the diploma enterprise, I wanted to know what skills and knowledge he acquired as a student that happened to unexpectedly be of value, and for Elliott that happened to be a bias for action. Most of us have experience procrastinating on an assignment until the very last minute, and good news: that may actually work out in your favor later.
Like Elliott’s, one of your future jobs may involve being delegated high-priority, time-sensitive tasks with little to no notice, and handling the situation will require knowing how to work efficiently under pressure—a skill well-developed by due-at-midnight papers being put off until three in the afternoon the same day. However, you probably shouldn’t use that as an excuse to put off your papers.
As for acclimating to adulthood, Elliott identified one critical learning curve that he’s navigated within the past two months and a couple ways he’s measuring growth now that the external metrics of academia have fallen away.
He illustrated how the post-graduation employment process exposed him to more opportunities for rejection, saying, “I didn’t really apply to that many jobs while I was in school, and the ones that I did apply to, almost everyone was hired.” So while he had experience being ignored by employers, he wasn’t familiar with being directly informed that a hiring team wasn’t interested.
But he’s managed to find ways to determine what advancement means for himself. He recommends determining one’s personal goals—relational, financial, and the like. Often, these have no objective means for measurement, allowing space for achievement to be defined by the goal-setter.
However, Elliott also suggests that new graduates invest time and energy in their hobbies outside of work. He has frequently found them to be “more fulfilling” than a potentially monotonous day-to-day job by allowing himself to create various opportunities for engaging his creativity and reaching the point of “a finished product that [he] can look at and feel self-rewarded for.”
So as you prepare for life beyond your degree, keep in mind the lessons Elliott’s learned thus far: Be assertive and don’t be hesitant to ask for the support you need. Develop the skill of adaptability for when you face unplanned demands, disappointments, and setbacks. Look for fulfillment beyond your career, and, “Don’t worry so much about your future because things are going to fall into place.”
By Lauren Gascon
Lauren Gascon studies Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU and enjoys discussing people’s relationships with each other and themselves. When she’s not on campus, you can find her café hopping, browsing bookstores, or enjoying lunch in one of New York City’s many beautiful parks.
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