As I get closer and closer to graduating and moving on from the college life, the mounting pressure to find a job also looms. It’s almost like an impending doom, in a way. For a while, I was dreading the very thought of having to find a job, especially with all the stories of people struggling for several months, if not longer, to find a job after graduating.
It is a worry that most of us have as college students, but the idea that you need to get a job as soon as you graduate is one that I don’t subscribe to. I most definitely think that you should begin searching for a job as soon as you can, preferably before you even graduate, but you shouldn’t feel like being unable to find a job right out of the gate is a bad thing.
Just as with all important things, finding a job is something that takes time and careful consideration. Rushing into a job without doing your due diligence in terms of research is arguably the worst thing that you could do.
Now, I understand that not everyone is in a situation where they can afford to be without a job after they graduate, but I insist that you don’t take the lowest hanging fruit. Getting a job as quickly as possible just for the sake of earning money is a dangerous thing to do, and you should only resort to it if you have no other choice.
I feel as though there is this myth floating around: it is a negative thing to move back home after graduating to live with your parents for a bit while you get your feet set. You’re coming fresh out of four to five years of pretty much nonstop studying, working, stress, exams, papers and a plethora of other brutal challenges. To me, graduation should not only be a celebration of your hard work, but also ts own little vacation period. And many people do go on some kind of vacation after graduating, like a road trip that they can use to just have fun and relax. But these are terribly short-lived in my opinion, and you shouldn’t feel bad about taking some extended time to figure things out.
Of course, if you want to start working as soon as possible and don’t or can’t move back home with your family, then you should decide what is best for your personal situation. I’m simply trying to stress the fact that it may be prudent to take a good break from any kind of work — not too long, but long enough for you personally.
I may be speaking only for myself here, but I found that for a while, finding a job as soon as I graduate was top priority. Now it is not, but it is still obviously high on the list. The reason I was so worried before was because it didn’t feel right having nothing to do. If there is one thing that Drexel’s quarter system has done, it has made me extremely dependent on having work. This past winter break felt so long, and I was getting anxious for the first two weeks because I had no homework, no assignments, no exams to study for, no papers and no weekly readings. It was nerve-racking not having things to do, but then I hilariously remembered that I could make my own work.
But in making my own work, I rediscovered how nice it is to just have time to yourself and not have the worry of meeting deadlines on your mind. This is something that I am now looking forward to having for a bit after graduating, although I am still anxious to start working sooner as opposed to later.
It can be difficult to shake the 24/7 working mentality that the Drexel lifestyle can instill in our minds, and while we don’t need to shake it completely (as it does have benefits), I think it is helpful to take a step back from it. It’s fine to worry about your future after graduation, but don’t psych yourself out by worrying excessively about it. If you set reasonable expectations and goals for yourself, you will set yourself up for what will hopefully be a smooth transition into post-college life.