Advice for Adjusting to Post-Grad Life

By Andreas Fanos on June 11, 2018

Get the celebrations out of the way, hanging out with friends, sleeping in and take on new responsibilities. College can be a stressful and tough time and graduating from it is no easy feat and it should be celebrated and enjoyed, although, the real world is on the horizon even more than ever with bills and needing to get life together one step at a time. Doubt creeps in more than ever.

Life after college can be just as stressful or even more than being in college. It is filled with uncertainty, but the only thing you can do is stay true to yourself. Now the real world is in full force and a person needs to find a great job to support themselves and in some cases, their families. The degree is on the wall or even in a drawer and now it is time to make good use of it. However, adjusting to post-grad life can be pretty tough because a lot of changes are in store.

It depends on what major you had or what job you take, but most likely you will not be sleeping in anymore like you used to in college. A 9 to 5, 8 to 4, or 7 to 2 or 3 is ideal for college graduates. It can be pretty hard to adjust to this new lifestyle of getting up early as it was even tough for me for a while, being able to wake up so early and changing my sleep schedule around because I’m a night owl, which means I love sleeping in late and waking up late in turn. That is no longer a possibility as I work early and must get up and go to work.

Photo credit to Pexels.com

After a week or so I was able to finally adjust to my sleeping schedule; the first couple of days were tough and even some in the second, but I was able to do it. What kept me going was knowing that this is a crucial change to be successful, especially if your job starts this early. Work is work. Another thing is not going to work late and no more excuses or flying by with minimal work. That will not work in the real world after college.

Another realistic aspect of post-grad life is, in turn, losing friends that were close to you years ago because things change, people get jobs elsewhere far away in other states, and this makes it hard to communicate or visit. Others can choose to live with their parents or move away to big cities.

Another obvious adjustment to life after college is paying bills. Maybe you were paying bills while in college so you know the worth of a dollar, but now student loans are set to start 6 months later after graduating. So there will now be a lot more responsibility in paying for car insurance, student loans, bills, and even saving up to move out and get an apartment. And being responsible for cleaning, doing laundry, working, and staying on top of things.

Another adjustment for post-grad life is working diligently and having to do a lot on your own. The job hunt, in general, can be grueling and daunting, but you can’t give up because it takes some time and something good will come around eventually. You will have to do your work effectively because the reality is if you don’t, you will be fired and out of a job. No excuses can be made at this point any longer as a full-fledged adult. You will also not have the help you got while in college or with your parents and will have to make your own decisions, tough or not.

Post-grad life can be stressful and tiring, but it can be done. It just takes an adjustment that everyone can do with the right commitment, perseverance, and hard work.

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