GUEST POST | College graduation is one of the most exciting and important things that could happen in someone’s life, but amidst all that, you might be asking yourself, After college, what next? Oh, this dreaded question. Maybe it’s your parents that asked, or some of your friends, you teachers, professors, family members, or some random person you just met.
Some people know what’s next, but the majority of you may have no clue what to do next. Should you get a job, start a business, travel, relax, etc... These questions and worries of what to do might become so overwhelming and cause you to break down, but don’t let it.
The reason you are here, is because you want an answer to that question, ‘After College, What Next?’ and you have come to the right place. At the end of this post, you will have a list of 7 things that you can do and should do after college. These things will help you find out who you are, what you want, and how you want your life to go. (Photo by Albert Vincent Wu on Unsplash)
These things will help you set your life up for success (whatever success means to you) and happiness. You don’t have to follow the crowd. You need to be your person and become the person that you will be proud of. This list of 7 things to do after college will give you a little insight and also offer some tips. You can either do all of these things or pick the one you want out of the bag.
Because at the end of the day, your life is your choice to make, and hope you make good choices that will put you on the path to success and happiness.
With all that said, here is the list of 7 things to do after college that will help you evaluate yourself and know what you want out of life.
7 THINGS TO DO AFTER COLLEGE BEFORE AND WHEN YOU ARE READY FOR THE CRAZY WORLD
1) Take a Break
Before going off for your next adventure of crossing off the crazies on your bucket list, Take a chill pill and take a break. You’ve earned it. You got into college, went through the 4 years or 5 years of rigorous and intense learning and studying, and you got out in one piece.
A Big Round of Applause for you, because that’s not an easy fit. And as you come to the possible end of your college days, you need a break. A break from studying. Leave the books aside and take a break. Relax a little. Indulge in some Netflix if you want to (don’t overindulge), go visit a friend, chat, and laugh about how crazy it was when you first got into college, and how time flew so fast. This is the first thing you should do after college, before doing anything else.
TAKE A BREAK.
2) Take some Fun Courses
After you’ve taken a much-needed break, it’s time to do something a little fun. Take a few fun courses or courses that you deem to be fun for you. If you love painting, but never got around it, take a painting course and indulge in it. The course doesn’t have to be for the sole purpose of adding a new skill to your resume but should be something that you find fun and love doing.
If you love wine and wanted to understand it better, take some courses that will teach you about wine. What one person finds fun, might seem like a lot of work to you, so it greatly depends on each person’s definition of fun. So, whatever you find fun, take some courses around it and indulge.
3) Add to your Qualification while you are still in the Study Mode
Whether you took a break or not, there is still that part of you that’s still in study mode. Don’t ignore that part. Add to your qualifications at this point. Look out for the dream job you want, and learn the skills that are required of the person in that position. If your dream is to be in the content marketing industry and become a content manager, you’ll have to learn the skills involved.
Some of those skills may include:
· Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
· Copywriting
· Some Basic coding
· Proficiency in WordPress or any CMS platform, etc.
Whatever it is, add some skills to your skillset. The best investment you can make is in yourself, so whatever skill you learn will be with you for as long as you are alive.
As a Hint, lots of employers look for people who are proficient in commonly used software, Like Microsoft 365. So, if you can learn how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you are seriously at the top of your game.
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| Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash |
4) Turn your Hobby into a Business or Get some part-time work
Now, it’s time to get your hands dirty. Remember this quote for as long as you learn, live, and work; ‘Knowledge is not power but the potential of power. Only knowledge that is manifested is valuable’. What this means is that you can learn as much as you want, get all the skills you need, go to all the seminars and conferences, but if you don’t use them, they are pretty much useless.
You can’t expect the world to hand you the life or job you want just because you have the skills. You need to put yourself out there and get your hands dirty, physically or digitally. Get some part-time work in the field of your choice. Get an entry-level job. Don’t be embarrassed by it. You aren’t entitled to anything and you need to start from somewhere.
See the entry-level job as a place to learn, grow and connect with others who are smarter than you and you can learn something from. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty that way, start a Business. When you start a business, you understand and learn the process it takes to start and run a business from scratch.
If you can turn your hobby into a business, that’s great. If you love writing, then start a blog, or open an e-commerce store, or even start freelancing. Any type of business you want to get into is possible. Just make sure you are ready for it and don’t give up at 30% of your potential. Whether you are taking a part-time job or starting your business, do one of them and get yourself and your image out there into the world and the global marketplace.
5) Make a Dent in your Student Loan
It’s possible that the majority of people, leave college with student loan debt hanging across their shoulders, and possibly weighing them down. After college is the time to look for ways to earn money and make a dent in your student loan. Part-time job or business, allocate some money that you make to your student and start paying it off. It’s best to start early than later, so you don’t carry your student loan for a long time.
The earlier the better. Put off partying or hitting the club every night and throwing money away. Use that money to pay off your student loans bit by bit. And as you keep doing this, that burden will slowly reduce and possibly vanish. Who doesn’t want that?
6) Be open to exploring, and having new experiences
Get yourself out there and be open to doing new things, and having some new experiences alone, with family, or with friends. Even if you start a business or get some part-time work, that shouldn’t stop you from trying new things or going places with friends. You simply need to allocate time for it.
Don’t refuse to visit that place you wanted to go to with your friends because you are running a business. Those kinds of experiences shouldn’t be taken for granted. You don’t want to regret it later in life and wished you hadn’t worked so much and to the detriment of the people, you love. Try new things, eat new foods, visit new places and make some memorable experiences. The majority of people leaving college will be in their twenties, their most active and carefree years, so make it a memorable decade.
7) Be okay with Not knowing what you want to do
With this list of things to do, you might get a bit overwhelmed and think that you are far behind because you haven’t done anything yet. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
It’s completely okay to not know what to do. Some people leave college with their life already planned out. Some leave having no clue what to do next and just need some time away.
Not knowing what to do is fine, but don’t use that as an excuse to settle for mediocrity. When you are confused, it shows that you are thinking about what you want and how to craft your life. Use that to take some time off and plan how you want your life to go, and where you want to be. Besides, as you plan out your life, you are setting yourself up for success (whatever success means to you).
Take some time to relax, meditate, and understand yourself and what you want, before planning for your life and your future. Your life and future are in your hands. You’re the driver, so make sure you drive well and with confidence.
Graduating from college is exciting and it’s fun, and it is a time when you are pretty much on your own. Your parents won’t decide for you (hopefully), you get to make choices on what you want, and the choices you make will dictate your life and the path you tread on. With this list of 7 things to do after college, you have an idea of a few things to start when you leave college.
Do you want to pick one, or do you want to do them all? It’s up to you. Hopefully, this list has given you some ideas, as a college student getting ready to graduate or as someone who has already graduated, of things to do after college, to help set your life on the right track and set you up for success. Remember it’s okay to not know what to do, but don’t be that way for so long. Take some time off, figure out who you are and what you want out of life, make a plan, and go for it.
Ndukwe-Obiukwu Emmanuella
Ella is a former Tennis player turned Fitness and Lifestyle Entrepreneur with a mission to help people become their Best, healthy, productive, and Successful self. She believes that everyone has their definition of success and what they want out of life and her aim is to help people discover just that. You can find her on her Blog, Move with Ella.
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