The college bubble is one that will have either lasted a lifetime for you, or it’s one that you’ve been in for what feels like an eternity. Everyone has their own unique experiences in college, and their own views as to how it went. We hope that the majority of you have had an incredible time, because as well as giving you that education that’s going to give you the career you want, it has also shaped you into a totally different person. You might have become a little reckless, you might have found love, you might have found a new hobby…the list could keep on going. So if you’re reading this, it’s most likely because your college bubble has been rudely burst. Most of you will have gone straight from senior year and into college, meaning you’ve been in education since you can remember. It’s literally all that you know, and you’ve come to adapt to the different methods of it over the years.
But when someone rudely pops this nice little bubble that college has built around you, you can crash down to reality with a bang. No matter how much college will have spoken to you about it, and tried to set you down a path towards a career, nobody can prepare you for the real world. The world full of bills and adult problems. So if you feel like your college bubble has been burst too abruptly, and you’re struggling with the reality of life, this article should help you. If you carry on reading, you’ll find some great tips that should help you adjust to college life!
The Career Rush
The career rush is something that all college people experience. It’s actually rare now that when you do graduate, that there’s the job that you’ve been dreaming of, waiting right there for you. Instead, you’ve got all of these college graduates, from all over the country, trying to go for similar roles that you are. There’s just a massive influx every single year of people trying to get a job at the same time as you. And that’s just the other college people you’re competing with. You’ve also got the normal average Joe’s who are looking for a career change. The ones that have been in the working world for a lot longer than you’ve even been in college, so they have the experience to back themselves. That’s the sad thing about college graduates trying to get a job. You have the education and the qualification to back yourself, but now everyone seems to want experience. So it might be worth taking a month or two to volunteer somewhere, and work a part time average retail job. That way, you’re building up your experience, showing your willing to learn, and actually looking better than most people who will be applying for jobs. We would also recommend not just fishing for the one role that you’ve had your eye on. Make sure that you branch out and see what you could get in other areas. You have your whole life to work towards your absolute dream goal, so sometimes taking a detour through other careers is better than diving right into it.
Take A Gap Year
So you’ve spent your whole life being told what to do, and when to do it for, and now you’re rushing to jump into the working world, where you’re going to spend even longer being told what to do. So why rush into a commitment like this, when you literally are free. Other than the fact that you might not have money saved, you have the freedom to do what you want, without being told what to do! You could save a little money for half of the year by working a full time job in retail, and then spend the rest of the time travelling parts of the world. You really only have one chance to do this, and that’s whilst you’re young. When you start committing to a house and a family, it becomes pretty much impossible until that mortgage is paid off, and your little ones have grown up and flown the nest. There are plenty of travel companies who should be able to support you in your travelling adventures, some being set up specifically for those who are wishing to travel on a gap year! Don’t be afraid to do something like this solo as well. So many people miss out on the opportunity because there’s nobody to go with them, but the people you’ll meet along the way and the memories you’ll make will be great, and going travelling on your own will definitely grow you as a person.
Don’t Forget The Money You’ve Borrowed
This is another one that people seem to like to forget about. The money you’ve borrowed over time will most likely be a huge sum, and it can be rather frightening to try and deal with, because it isn’t money that’s just going to go away. In some countries, it’s much easier to pay off the student loans than it is in the US, which is why so many students struggle to afford to go to college. Now, some of you might have been lucky enough to be able to lean on the bank of your parents while you were studying, but that initial loan that you would have had to take out will still be looming over your head. It all depends on where you acquired your student loan from. Some require you to pay it off differently to others, and some will allow you to consolidate the loans far easier. Great Lakes student loans is a great one to check out if you’re looking for a plan that’s going to work for you. If you don’t have the financial support of your parents or family, it might be worth talking to a financial advisor to see how you can get the cost down. It might be easier for you to talk to someone with the knowledge of how student finance works, and how you can make it work for you. You might also have made the decision to take out a credit card, or set up a student overdraft. It’s almost essential to do this if you want to maintain any sort of lifestyle that comes with college. Even just being able to afford your food each week! So if you feel into this trap because you had to, it’s time to get out of that first. Plenty of people spend years trying to get out of their overdraft, meaning the money they’re getting from finally having a job, is going towards paying debts off, more than it is living a good lifestyle. So if you have multiple debts from multiple different locations, focus on these before you think about your student loan. Your student loan is something you could carry for years and years, but credit card and overdraft debt is far more prominent in terms of hassle. The banks will charge your extortionate amounts to leave debt in place, but you’ll generally find it’s far easier to solve. If you do have the support of your family, it might be better asking them to help you get out of the bank debt, because at least then you won’t be getting charge crazy interest rate after interest rate, and your credit score won’t be as affected.
Keeping The College Buzz Alive
So the college buzz is one of the best things about it, and you don’t want to lose that buzz as soon as you leave, just because you’re expected to become more of an adult. You need to try and keep the plans alive, and keep your life full of activities until it comes to a time when you have to settle down. Sort of like with the travelling, you only have your younger years to have a certain type of fun, and once that’s gone, you quickly go into true adult life. So think about all of the cool things you’d like to do with your life, and how you can go about doing them. It might be that you want to go sky diving, or you want to go and run a marathon, or you want to become semi professional at a sport. Whatever it is, start jotting some ideas down so you have something to follow. Set yourself targets of when you’d like to do them by, and go and do them! It can be anything in the world, you just need to make sure that you’re not looking back on your life with any regrets.
Carry On Your College Hobbies
This is another really important one for us. College Hobbies are great, and they’re usually found from the societies that you join. It could be anything from drama, to sports. But whatever it is you should make sure that you carry it on. It’s so good to have a hobby and have a distraction from life, and carrying on the things you loved in college is a great way of doing that!
