College comes and goes in the blink of an eye, and before you know it you're sitting at your adult job, wondering why you didn't learn certain things during your four years. Professors teach you a lot that you don't know, but there are a few things that could have been useful before entering the true "adult" years. Taxes, saving money, software, networking—all things you kind of learn in college, but don't learn enough about to be useful. If I could go back, I would spend more time trying to understand these things on my own terms instead of being distracted by Tumblr or new shows on Netflix.
Seriously. If you're still in college, take advantage of that amazing free time you have and put it to use by learning all the things you need to know once you leave college.
1. Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator
There are multiple programs that are crucial to understand for a lot of positions. As a graduate of the arts in English, it's hard to come across a job that doesn't at least require some experience in either illustrator or excel. Some colleges do have programs in freshman year that introduce students on how to use excel and other word programs, but freshman year is possibly the worst time to train someone in such a matter. For my major in particular, I was never required to use excel, illustrator, or Photoshop, but all of the job positions I see in editing and publishing, knowing these is absolutely crucial. These programs can be expensive to attain per student, but larger universities need to invest more in what programs they are weaving into the curriculum. Thankfully, I learned these programs along the way without the help of professors or the university be, but it was still a challenge to teach myself through tutorials and I would have appreciated learning them in a proper class setting..
2. How to prepare for tax season
Life, death, and taxes. We don't want to have to deal with them until it's tax return season and we're getting that pretty little check. But, for a college graduate who had never filled out her own taxes and worked a job that only qualified for a small sum of tax returns, I had never thought about how important it was. I knew that taxes were important to pay the government, but I never really thought about them in the way that full-fleshed adults do. I look back and wonder why no one ever taught me how to do taxes in college because I had no clue what I was supposed to do. Thankfully, my mom is an angel and understands that I'm not prepared for filing for my own tax returns yet, and she sent them out for me, but colleges should really consider helping young adults out with that area of life. Even if that means taking a class for credit that just teaches all of the adult things you never learn on your own until it's time to do it—it would be worth it.
3. Networking, interview skills
Most universities in the United States require that you take a class on public speaking, but that class really doesn't prepare you for a real world interview. Seriously, all I did in my public speaking class was do a spoken presentation on how to make chocolate pudding. It's not an effective class and feels kind of pointless after you've got that final grade and throw away everything you learned. Although it's more work, students should be required to go to networking events on campus or interview seminar events where they can learn how to prepare for a real world career. It may irritate some students and would have irritated me without a doubt, but it's something that's necessary. It's something I wish faculty and university leaders made me participate in during my undergrad.
4. How to create a proper resume, cover letter, portfolio
Nothing is worse than not creating a good looking resume or not being able to construct the perfect cover letter that represents everything you are. It's difficult. Without spending hours looking through online guides and samples of resumes and cover letters, most people would be lost on something as simple as formatting. There are resume building events you can attend, but most people don't go to them or don't have the time, and than they're wondering how to create the best resume after they've graduated. Please, colleges. Require students to practice resume and cover letter writing in a foundation writing class.
5. Knowing where to start on the job hunt (what salary is worthy, what jobs match your skills)
Finding a job that fits your skill set and pays you what you deserve isn't easy. For fields that have a more direct route, it might be less complex, but for people who do not have a direct field to fall into, the job hunt feels like torture. Coming out of college at the age of 24, I wasn't prepared for the job hunt. I didn't think about the questions "what am I worth being paid?' or "is this job worthy of my degree?" But, these questions are all crucial. If you've put time, money, and hard work into a degree or certification, you deserve a job that respects that and obliges to your level. At one point, I was willing to work for free and pretend it was an internship, just to gain experience. Once you're a graduate, you shouldn't have to fall below what you deserve. No one in college taught me that or taught me how to match a job with my degree. You'd think it'd be obvious, but itt can be more complicated than that in a stingy economy.
