In the past year I've: secured a paid internship and completed it; moved back in with my mom after 8 years of freedom; bartended for about 6 months; and eventually I landed my first professional gig in my field as a reporter in Fort Scott. Definitely thankful to at least be employed because it sounds like at my age that's a rarity since the Associated Press's latest data reported that roughly 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree holders under the age of 25 were underemployed or jobless last year.
So, not too bad but not the most successful post-graduation year.
People like to think, and I'll admit I was one of them, that upon graduation, degrees or diplomas make life easier and that the knowledge acquired as students from hours of lectures and paper-writing will naturally propel us into fascinating and rewarding careers where we make a butt-load of money, right?
Wrong!
Graduation does not a successful, happy person make.
A graduation is not only a celebration it's a farewell.
A farewell to friends, to fun, and to a care-free lifestyle that only a student can lead. I'm somewhat kidding but like professional student Van Wilder once said, “Don't be a fool, stay in school! “ He should have added, for as long as you can.
Now I'm not saying my undergrad experience was all roses and sunshine and that others are the same. What I am saying is that graduating does not automatically entitle anyone to success. It only entitles us to the tools to achieve that success because really, the work is just beginning.
A couple of lists have been circulating the Internet in recent weeks about things they “didn't tell you at graduation.”
Wall Street Journal writer Charles Wheelan's list "10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You" included advice like: 9. It's all borrowed time. You shouldn't take anything for granted, not even tomorrow. I offer you the "hit by a bus" rule. Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don't get hit by a bus.
AND
6. Read obituaries. They are just like biographies, only shorter. They remind us that interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives.
Washington Post opinion writer Alexandra Petri offered a little more real world advice in her blog "The 10 things they really don’t tell you at graduation" which included advice about living arrangements, finances and the fountain of youth: 1) Next year, you will probably be unemployed, or live in your parents’ basement, or be unemployed and live in your parents’ basement. This is not cruel. It is factual. Fifty percent of new graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. And 29 percent
of 25-to-34 year-olds live in what the poll-taker was kind enough to
refer to as “multi-generational living arrangements” rather than “your
mother’s basement” or “your old room with all the anime posters and
Admiral Ackbar figures carelessly splayed on every surface.”
7) Being young isn’t everything, but it’s a good thing. Life can
be divided into two sections: the years when you know that if you fall
over you are unlikely to break a hip, and the years when you’re not so
sure. Enjoy your time in the first half! 9) You have no idea how personal finance works. Actually. There
are only two things that your education should have taught you: how to
deal with having money and how to deal with not having money.
The lists are good and worth reading. But just for the fun of it, here's my list of what they didn't tell me at graduation!
1. The first year is going to be the hardest year. Having the freedom of choice and a good education to back that choice doesn't make anything easier. It's a lovely problem to have but not knowing what to do with that degree can be overwhelming. I feel like I have so much to choose from but because I have so much to choose from I don't know what to choose. Say wha? Exactly.
2. Depending on your field, most of us start out at the bottom. By bottom, I mean the very bottom. The bottom in terms of pay scale and at times respect. I knew that I wasn't going to be making Donald Trump money within my first few years as a journalist but to me enjoying my job was the most important thing. But now, living off that starting wage isn't easy. Loving what you do everyday, unfortunately, does not pay the electric bill, rent or the cell phone bill.
3. Has anyone even brought up what happens post-graduation if your in a relationship? This one is tricky because not only are you stressing about ending your educational endeavors you also have the added pressure of deciding what that "next step" will be in your relationship. You could be like me and mine and we opted to forgo marriage to work on ourselves and our relationship. But now, I have a job in a different city. It's hard but it's what we have to do.
4. Insurance is expensive and is never as great as when you were on your parents plan! Insurance sucks. I didn't have it for the last two years of college and honestly wish I didn't have it now. I was uninformed about my policy before I signed up and am now locked into a plan that costs too much and won't let me get out of it until January of next year. Damn Healthcare.
5. A degree does not entitle you to experience or a job. This image says it all:
These are just a few of the things I've came across in my experiences. What would you add to the list?
