What will students expect after they graduate in terms of career?

By Juliana Panqueba

There are a variety of things one may expect and factors to consider after completing a major milestone, which is graduating from college. After years of waiting and working hard for this moment, you would expect to have things all figured out and know what is coming ahead of you, but that is not always the case. In terms of what to expect after you graduate, there are a variety of factors that affect your outcome. It can depend on your major, experience, internships, job market, or even your own personal goals. Some students may not even be done with their education goals and will want to apply for graduate school. 

Something we can all be familiar with is being in competition for what we want. Ever since being a little kid, most of us have had that competitiveness within ourselves. Your competitiveness comes into play when looking for the right job. Even with a degree, it can be challenging to make yourself stand out. Of course, it depends on how popular your major is, but some components, like internships and extracurricular activities, can help put yourself out there to get noticed.

Having to adjust to a certain lifestyle is a big change and will take some time to get used to. If you are applying for a job that requires a 9-5 schedule, you will have to work around that; that may include getting up earlier if you are used to sleeping in or if you go to the gym regularly, you will have to fit that in your schedule either before or after work. The whole idea is essentially working around your schedule. 

Graduating from college is a big milestone, but with great accomplishments comes big responsibilities. You will have new financial responsibilities, such as paying off your student loans,rent,personalbills etc.

The reality for a lot of students will be finding entry level jobs/opportunities. When you are freshly graduated you usually don’t have a lot of experience which means most companies will put you at an entry level position in order to build your understanding of how everything works, you will then work yourself up to a higher position overtime. This will help you obtain the right skills and experience for the right career path. 

Lastly, of course there is the possibility of underployment. This is more common than you may think, about 4.5 of post-grad students are unemployed. There is nothing wrong with not being able to find a job as soon as u graduate, it simply means everyone is on a different path with different timelines. There will come frustration with it but you will have to keep in mind that it is very common and maintain the faith.