Life after college = not as exciting? (consulting, degree, employer, jobs)
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I recently read a quote online that seemed to resonate with me, as it probably does others who miss their college experience: "When transitioning from college to the working world, one goes from having no money and a lot of time to having money and little time."
I graduated in December 2007, the month in which the recession officially kicked off. The next two years were nothing short of tumultuous on the job front. I was laid off, had to quit two jobs for different reasons, and job opportunities were hard to come by.
Thankfully, I wound up finding a stable, well-paying job later on. I also now find myself married and living in a condo I was able to purchase last year.
Going back to the quote referenced above, my life outside college has gotten better ten-fold as far as money and home life are concerned.
However, the flexibility that college afforded is something most of us will never experience again. Being in an office 40+ hours a week, where you're forced to listen to and work with people you may not particularly like, starts to suck after a while. In college, once class ends, you get the hell out.
In college, you are also graded objectively for your work. If you study your ass off, you'll earn an A or B. You have graduation to look forward to. You always know which classes you have to take next.
The real world isn't as clear cut and tidy. You might get stuck in a dead end job or working with people/bosses who make your life miserable. You're not as in control of the situation. Whereas in college you can simply drop the class, it isn't as easy to quit a job cold turkey when you have bills to pay.
Not to mention I miss the intellectual stimulation of the college setting. Corporate America, by comparison, is so bland. Yes, it's great to get paid to work as opposed to forking over your own money to get a degree. But I have always been an A student/overachiever in school my whole life. It was a chief part of my identity through college; I have felt something of a void in this area since graduating.
That's why I am not sure what I can do to reintegrate myself into the college environment. I thought about getting a master's, but I don't really need one for my field. (My employer doesn't offer tuition reimbursement, and I don't expect to receive support in the way of grants or scholarships.) Besides, what happens once I complete the master's?
The only other options that come to mind are finding a job /volunteering at a university. But it'd be naive of me to think that I'll recapture my college years by doing any of these things. They're entirely different animals. When you work at a college, you're probably sitting at a cubicle just like you would at a business. You're not walking around campus and studying at the library.
I guess I have to appreciate my college years for what they were and move on. It's just sometimes hard to swallow the fact that I will never get to relive those years. And, believe it or not, I never lived on campus -- I went to a 2-year college and then transferred to a commuter school.
Have you found life after college to be less or more exciting than your college years? If you could, would you go back someday -- whether to pursue a master's or work there?
Last edited by Wordsmith12; 09-08-2015 at 08:32 AM..
once class ends you leave? college can be around a 40hr week too...
why cant you just leave work and enjoy life?
you need a hobby or something. life is better post college, you have as much free time and more money
i might go back when retired and take business classes, or just fashion? whatever i want that is me hobby at the time.
Maybe I just miss the studying/intellectual challenge. I know most people are happy to put that behind them, but I actually enjoyed learning, writing papers, studying and acing exams, etc.
Maybe I just miss the studying/intellectual challenge. I know most people are happy to put that behind them, but I actually enjoyed learning, writing papers, studying and acing exams, etc.
Keep in mind if you go back you'll be an "old guy". You're now 30 and likely won't be able to recapture those carefree college years. You'll just be that "old guy" trying to pick up 19 year old coeds.
As someone else said go back and get an advanced degree for work advancement. Maybe an MBA.
The "have money but no time" thing was sorta true right after college, but now I have a good vacation time accrual rate and work a somewhat flexible schedule.
Maybe you should go into some kind of work that you do a lot of research...like science, a think tank, some forms of corporate strategy, some consulting work.
This thread reminds me of a friend I met in college.
She was an art major. Her parents were wealthy, so they paid for her college with cash. They even gave her a mustang. She was a popular girl and people lined up (literally, I swear I'm not exaggerating) to date her.
I was a science and engineering major. Quite poor background so I had to take out a lot of loans. Didn't have that much luck with dating.
Somehow, somewhere in there we became life long friends.
After we graduated, I went ahead and got a job with a software developing company. She started subbing at schools because she simply couldn't find a full time job with her art degree. A couple years later, I quit programming and got a job as a law enforcement officer. A couple years after that I quit that job, went back to grad school, got a masters in engineering, and started working in an engineering firm. She's still subbing earning $20k/year while I earn many more times that working in management.
Last time we went out to a bar and just enjoyed the night, she shared with me that she really misses the carefree environment of college. I'm the opposite. I love my life nowadays and I'd rather shoot myself in the head before I have to go back to school. She recently broke up with someone she's been dating seriously and living with for the last 5 years because (again, I swear I'm not exaggerating) she felt the relationship was holding her back and she wasn't going out and partying enough anymore. Again, I'm the opposite of this. My boyfriend and I hate going to clubs nowadays. When we have free time we just take road trips, travel to places, or work on various projects around the house.
This friend of mine is just one example. God knows I've seen plenty of other examples. So, it seems to me that the people who say they miss college are people who never have an ambition to excel in life while the people who can't even fathom the idea of going back to school are people who are on top of things in the real world.
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