What one year Post-University has taught me

It has been one whole year since i graduated and walked across that stage to collect my degree. 

A chapter of my life had closed and, little did i know, a very different one opened. 

Life after uni is not how i thought. Come to think of it, i'm not sure what i expected after uni. I did not imagine to be in a global pandemic and just as clueless about my career. Over the past year i have made notes about things i have learnt and realised since i finished uni and i think it's important to highlight the reality of post-uni life.

Below are the realizations and lessons i have been taught since leaving uni:

1. Securing a post-uni job doesn't come as quickly as you think

Be prepared to potentially be applying for 50-100 jobs and hear nothing back. I learnt the hard reality that up until this point, most things have been handed to me on a plate. I've never really had to put myself out there as much as you do when leaving uni and trying to find a job. It can be soul-destroying trying to search for a job and hearing nothing back, questioning yourself was uni worth it? Am i really that much better off trying to look for a job than where i was before uni?! Am i unemployable?

2. Post-uni blues are real

A really REALLY important point i want to stress is, it's SO NORMAL to feel down after uni. To feel lost, unemployable, depressed. You have the extreme high of graduation then this extreme low of finishing, trying to get a job, trying to prove those 3 years was for a reason. You go from living with your best-mates and being independent to moving home and having no structure, routine or goal to focus on. I felt low after finishing uni, i realised just how much was going to change and will change since leaving. I have wrote a blog post all about the post-uni blues and have a YouTube video dedicated to this topic coming very soon.

3. Your social life goes down the pan

No surprise but as soon as you enter adult life and working life, your social life goes down the pan. The thought now of spontaneously going to the pub on a Thursday seems WILD. I went from living in a city with my best-mates, to living in a village where i have no home friends or uni friends so my social life isn't exactly thriving... However, post-uni life has taught me the importance to keep my friendships from uni and to keep reminiscing about uni and keep those connections and friendships. 

4. The real world is hard

The real world is hard. Finding a job is brutal. The pressure to have a job which is a direct link into a credible career is immense. I naively thought before uni, NO WAY am i accepting the first job i apply for or a job that earns less than £20K a year. HA! Ok, really i needed to hear that it's ok to accept the first job offered to you and if that's less than £20K then so be it. It is so much better to get your foot in the door and gain experience than to be particular with money.

5. Uni prepares you for so much more than working life

Living independently and having to budget, save and learn to live on your own gives you so much life experience. I herd someone say once that the life experience you gain from going to uni is almost as valuable as the degree you gain. I couldn't agree more, and for right now, the life experience is coming into play a lot more than my degree. The experience of being in a new environment, having assignments, deadlines, presentations and putting yourself out-there really prepares you for job interviews, budgeting and saving for a car and house and just general life. Post-uni life has taught me that the experience you gain whilst studying is just as valuable than the degree.

6. It is OK to go into jobs which have nothing to do with your degree

I think a reality check needs to be had with graduates that, it is HARD to find a job as soon as you finish which directly links to the degree you did. I applied for numerous law related jobs, from the very bottom up to the very top kind of jobs. I applied for business related jobs. I applied for HR jobs, i applied for none-degree related jobs. And yet... i herd NOTHING!! It needs to become more normal that once someone graduates they may go into hospitality, or retail or admin or supermarkets because finding a graduate job seems impossible. I became consumed by finding a degree-related job and was applying every day. I had questions everyday 'have you found a job yet?' or 'why have you applied for that job, that doesn't really relate to your degree'... give us a break. This s*!t is hard.

7. It is also OK to finish your degree and realise you don't want to work within the field you studied for

I said it! How are you at 18 meant to have your life figured out and know exactly what you want to study and do with your life?! I still at 22 have no idea what career path i am meant to take. I felt like more than half the people i knew at uni, by the end of their degree, did not want to go into the direct fields their degree is related to. I mean, if we are being honest, i know a lot of people by second year knew that their degree wasn't their career path. It is ok to come to the end of your three years and realise that potentially this is not for you. How are you meant to know, before going into practice and the workplace, that a certain career is for you? Whose to say you go into the 'typical' career path linked to your degree and realise this isn't for you... We should not shame people who don't use their degree. It was not a waste of time, you are not a failure and you absolutely can still have an incredibly successful career which is non-degree related!!

8. A degree is not an immediate 'key in the door' to a job

A degree is not everything. A degree is not an immediate 'key in the door' or 'foot in the door' to a job. I have come to realise, perhaps, experience is more valuable. Somebody could look perfect on paper, have the qualifications, the degree and A-levels but when they come to the job, they could be God awful. Whereas, you compare that to somebody with 5-10 years experience, i think i know who employers will go for. The reality of post-uni life is you could have taken all the right steps and got that 1st class degree but if you have no experience and no-one is willing to take that risk on you to give you experience then it is HARD. I was looking at jobs requiring 1 year experience... although how the hell employers expect you to gain that whilst at uni is beyond me.

Overall, i've learnt that post-uni life has taught me the realities of life. Not everything is easy, not everything will pan out exactly the way you thought and that is ok. 

Charlotte x