It’s Think Back Thursday and we’ve asked some of our friends to anonymously share their college and post-grad experiences and wisdom with us right here every Thursday… First up…
Age: 25
Sex: F
Highest Level of Education: Bachelor of Arts
Are you currently employed? Oh yeah.
- What is your favorite thing about life post-grad? I like not having to do anything after work. Being a college student is really a 24-7 job, and I wasn’t getting paid. Now I work 8 hours – and have money to actually go do things that I want to do.
- What was your ideal job going into college? Journalist – magazine writer.
- Are you in a career in which you use your degree? If not, why? No, graduated in 2008 – recession. Writing wasn’t exactly the go-to career during a recession.
- What was the biggest lifestyle change that you encountered out of college? Dealing with bills, money issues, and adjusting to waking up every day at 6am.
- What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned out of college? You can’t take anything too seriously. Life takes turns and problems never stop, but you’ll just wake up the next day and move forward. It’s easy. Just deal with one thing at a time.
- What advice would you give college students? Choose a realistic major and have realistic goals. It’s great to have dreams of being an artist, writer, or sports anchor – but you should consider a second option. What would you like to do if that falls through – major in that. You don’t need a writing degree to be a writer, nor do you need an art degree to be an artist – but you definitely need a CPA to be an accountant. Just saying…
- What advice would you give recent grads? Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get interviews immediately. Think about the thousands of resumes people receive a day. They’re not able to fully-judge you, they’re judging you on paper and usually you’ll look similar to others on paper. It’s not a personal attack – just difficult to separate yourself from the masses when everyone’s going for the same position.
- What the best piece of advice that you’ve received after college life? Use your 20s to figure out what you really want. Enough of what you thought you wanted in college…create your new identity; you’re an adult now.
- If you had the chance, would you go back to school and do it all over again? Why or why not? No. It was great while it lasted, but it’s a great memory and that’s how it will stay. It was exhausting! I can’t believe I got through with great grades having done the type of social damage that I did. Eating pizza, going out until 4am, waking up and studying – vicious cycle. I loved it, but I can’t do it again.
- Which do you prefer: college life or post-grad life? Why? They’re different and great in their own respects. Probably college life, only because it was carefree. You think you have problems in college…just wait. Those problems will seem miniscule in comparison to the problems you’ll face when you’re out. Studying for a “big test” won’t be such a big deal one day.
