Does Life Get Better After College
Everyone has their own college life experience. While some may consider it to have been the best time of their lives, others didn’t find it that easy.
After all, some students have to work part-time, take care of family and burn the midnight oil, just to survive those 4 years of college. All in hopes of a better future after college.
You endure it simply because everyone says having a college degree is the key to a better life. But is it really true that your life gets better after college?
How Life Gets Better After College
Life’s challenging in many ways but a college qualification can help improve your life in many ways. Let’s take a look at how a college education can help improve your life.
Better Career Opportunities
With the advancements in technology and society in general, it’s no surprise that the majority of professions require some form of tertiary qualification.
It doesn’t matter how passionate you may be about a particular industry; a college education may be the only way to get into that field.
Even at the workplace, having a relevant degree or other qualification improves your chances of getting a promotion and advancing your career.
Financial Stability
A post-secondary education qualification is the most viable way to land a higher-paying job. Studies have also shown that college graduates earn significantly higher than high school graduates.
Earning potential for graduates also significantly increases in specialized fields like engineering. This can result in greater financial stability for graduates.
So, while a college education can be very expensive, it’s likely that you may earn more than your peers with a high school education.
Independence
For most college graduates, this would be their first taste of true independence. While you may have some level of independence in school, college graduates may no longer be dependent on their parents or guardians for financial support.
Additionally, your confidence in your ability to handle various challenges, including financial ones, increases and you’re able to better navigate the world.
Flexible Schedule & Lifestyle
College graduates are no longer bound by the constraints of classes and examinations. You get to decide your schedule and what to pursue in your day.
This presents the opportunity to take up full-time or part-time jobs and even take up other opportunities to achieve your personal goals.
You get to wake up when you want or need to and can decide whether to further your education or enter the job market right away.
Health Care Benefits
Good health is essential but health care can be very expensive. Fortunately, loads of companies and employers offer some form of healthcare benefits to employees.
Additionally, these companies also offer retirement plans for employees which is essential especially when thinking of starting a family or planning for the future.
No More Worrying About Grades
This is the best part about graduating from college. You know you’ve successfully graduated with a college degree and you no longer need to worry about professors grading you.
The constant fear of a professor grading you down and messing up your GPA is non-existent once you’ve graduated. You’ve successfully earned your degree and don’t need to worry about grades anymore.
Better Living Situation
You don’t always get your choice of a good living situation in college. Trying to find a place closer to the school can result in living in dorms or splitting an apartment with other students.
This may not be ideal as these available options can narrow down your living situation. Once you’ve graduated from college, you have the freedom to live wherever you want to.
Chase Your Passion
Do you want to go traveling or do you have a passion you always wanted to pursue? If you want to join a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to help people in underdeveloped communities, this would be a great time.
Free Time
You don’t need to close lectures, go home and start working on your homework anymore. You get a lot of free time that you can fill with whichever activities you want to do.
Wider Social Circle
While you get the chance to meet new people in college, striving to make the necessary grades can limit the number of people you interact with.
This may include your classmates, professors, roommates, and a few others. And while college campuses may have a diverse student body, they still have their limitations.
Once you graduate, you get to meet and interact with a community of diverse individuals from different circles and places. People you wouldn’t ordinarily meet in your school environment.
Does Life Get Better After College
Life after college isn’t easy but considerably better as you can get more financial freedom, free time, opportunities for career advancement, and overall independence.
That said, the transition from college life can be daunting and often feels like a rollercoaster of emotions. It can be difficult to move from structured school life to making real-world choices that have severe consequences.
Parents expect you to find a job after school which can add to the pressure. While some graduates find jobs within a few months after college, it’s not always the case for others.
It’s sometimes easier to find a job in some fields than others and the difficulty associated with finding a job can make the transition difficult. That said, life gets better once you land that dream job after college.
Challenges Of Life After College
Let’s take a look at some of the challenges graduates face after college
Uncertainty And Ambiguity
Unlike college academic life which is well-structured, it can be difficult to navigate the real world without any clear direction. College graduates are considered adults and are responsible for their own decisions.
You’re expected to choose your own path and face the consequences (positive or negative) of your decisions. Unfortunately, worrying about this can lead to confusion and uncertainty about the future.
Job Search Pressures
Graduating from college doesn’t mean you automatically land a job in a week. After a lifetime of schooling, you expect this to be the easy part.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case as job searching can be a frustrating experience especially when there’s a lot of pressure from parents and other sources.
That said, you should know that it’s easier to find a job in some professions than others and various other factors can come into play during job searching.
Dealing With Rejection
Picture this; You’re excited after graduating from college and you find and apply for your dream job only to receive a rejection. You continue applying to other jobs only to receive more rejections.
Dealing with rejection can be emotionally draining and even lead to depression. Learning how to bounce back from setbacks like rejection is essential to survive life after college.
Managing Personal Finances
You found a job after college but you’re unable to adequately manage your finances. This is understandable as parents may have been previously solely responsible for managing your finances.
Without proper financial management education, it becomes difficult to deal with student loans and other financial obligations after college.
Loneliness And Isolation
This becomes a problem, especially in cases where you have to relocate for a new job or something else. You leave most of your friends and families to work or begin the next phase of your life in another location.
Unfortunately, this isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness, especially in the initial stages. Without the built-in social networking of colleges, making new friends can be quite challenging for graduates.
