This is a response article to Life After Undergrad: Now What?
It’s about two weeks or so since my last entry on Odyssey and that’s because I had prepared to graduate from my master’s program. All the countless assignments, essays and internship hours had all come to a close last weekend. It is a truly an end of an era for the past twenty years. It’s a been an intensive year with graduate school, especially after undergrad and I caution anyone that is following the same footsteps to PLEASE take a break. Similar to Emily’s article, I’m only wrapping up day 3 of post-grad life, but I’m still adjusting. Adjusting to the next phase in life, which is still in progress. But other than facing the fact that I’m no longer in school, life is pretty much the same. Graduate students don’t typically live on campus, so I didn’t necessarily have that experience, living in the same hometown throughout my college years.
Even though I have been dreaming of not having to do essays and other assignments, I’m also said goodbye to a permanent part of my life for so long. Now, I will say that learning doesn’t stop when you graduate. If you want to try a new hobby, by all means go for it. Or if you want to go back to school to pursue an advanced degree, then do that. But don’t think that you stop learning once you get that degree holder. I love learning and will use my curiosity for the better. That being said, I do have some tips to make the transition a bit easier.
- Be open to change in plans - I know that school creates a structured environment in which deadlines are established and to some degree, the workforce sets up expectations. But for the most part, life is pretty much unstructured. You, to a degree, get to determine the course of your life - the job you want, the romantic relationship you want, etc. If you want to career change, you can absolutely do that, with special thanks to the internet. Life will be much better if you embrace the change in plans rather than fighting against it.
- Be patient in the job search - If you’re graduating, you might fall into the expectation to jump into a full-time job, but I will tell you, NOT to fall into this trap. Yes, money is important but not at the expense of what you deserve. Applying patience to get a job is worth it. The first job that comes might not be the best one for you.
- Community - It’s difficult to establish community once you entered post-grad life, but if you’re lucky to get in contact with friends from high school and/or undergrad, I would definitely suggest reaching out. Additionally, I’d also suggest making new friends by trying out new experiences. Again, it’s an adjustment but it’s important to be intentional and surround with community.
Cheers to the next stage in adulthood and to figuring things out :)
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