College Grads
Converse and commiserate with other newly minted adults.
Hi, I'm Applying for the Job of Adulting
When our parents were younger, it was so much easier to get a job. Apply yourself, get a high school diploma, get a college degree, and you were pretty much guaranteed a job. Sometimes, you didn’t even necessarily have to get a college degree in order to get a job. Back then, it was understood that being a student, you probably didn’t have much work experience, if any at all.
Simcha GlassmanPublished 6 years ago in JournalHow to Succeed in an Unpaid Internship
There’s been a lot of debate lately as to whether unpaid internships are fair, and it’s safe to say it’s definitely not. In the UK the cost to the individual for an unpaid internship is around £1,000 a month in London. I’ve done my fair share of unpaid internships, and I’m going to help you get the best out of your time, and your savings account.
Jane O'LearyPublished 6 years ago in JournalMillennial Job Market - 5 Reasons You’re Completely Sucking At It
1. Sucky Job Market Most of my 20-something and 30-something-year-old artsy fartsy friends (and myself included) have notoriously been stuck in the same, lowdown-dirty-shame situation for some period of years. The 9-5 hustle-bustle. That is, until we're somehow able to "break free" Ariana Grande-style, and say "goodbye" to the 9-5's and "hello" to hopefully anything else. And I do mean mostly ANYthing. There's a few reasons why this issue has been a one-way ticket to struggleville for this generation.
Post-Grad Problems
For three or more years, you toiled. Essays, deadlines, hand-ins, stress, terror, elation, despair, and a liver-tremblingly large amount of vodka; University was, as X Factor finalists like to say, an emotional rollercoaster. But at the end of it all, you got your slightly pricey piece of parchment, you wore your oddly angular hat, and you returned home a hero. Yet, who knew that this was where the real struggle was set to start? Here are the top three biggest problems you face as a post-grad...
Harry BullmorePublished 6 years ago in JournalIt's Okay to Get Rejected from Every Job You Apply To
When I was in elementary school I remember thinking that 23 was old; like, 23 was the age you had your life together and were an adult. Well, I can confidently say I don’t feel that way now. Now, it’s more like I hope I have my life together by 27, but I’m only 20, so let's see how I feel at 25. To me, it's crazy when my mom tells me that after high school she moved into an apartment in Los Angeles with her brother, and they both had separate rooms and just minimum wage jobs, and had time for social lives on top of that. That idea that one minimum wage job can get you your own room in a decent apartment in Los Angeles is now impossible. Nowadays, we go to college, still use our parents' money and loan money, our minimum wage or slightly better job then pays for our extracurriculars and fun, followed by moving back home after college. Not because we want to, but because it's too expensive to live without help. The other day I was having a conversation with my parents about how people are getting married so late and I just responded, “We can’t afford living on our own, how do you expect two people to afford getting married?” Not the wedding part, but the fact that you can’t have roommates anymore to split the rent, it's just the two of you and one room. What a daunting idea just financially. After working my first job at Jamba Juice for a year and a half, I remember thinking to myself, “This job motivates me to do more with my life, because I don’t want to do a minimum wage job like this again.” My first job was a walk in the park; I was friends with the majority of my coworkers, my boss trusted me, I was promoted so I was the boss most of the time, the pay was good and the hours were even better. It just got so mind numbing that I tried doing any more work I could do.
Life of a 22-Year-Old
22. It's a tricky age to be in. Then again, your early 20s realistically are. Why? Because you are officially becoming an adult, more in the sense that you are now entering the full-time working world once graduating from university or college. Also, things can be different in the living realm, too. You are either back at home realizing how difficult it is to live with your parents or finding out just how expensive it is for you to live on your own.
Hannah ElliottPublished 6 years ago in JournalYoung Entrepreneur Status
The biggest change of my life all started during the first semester of my graduate program in Psychology of Counseling. Since the beginning of high school, I was told that my kind personality and ability to listen to others would be ideal qualities for a therapist and that I would one day succeed in the field of psychology. After four years of mindless following towards my future, I moved three hours away to get in the best psychology undergraduate program in the state and went through four years of debt to achieve a degree (which I still have not been able to pay off!). Although I found my program intriguing, I still felt as though I was missing something in life.
Kendra KingPublished 6 years ago in JournalThe Famous Question For Any University Graduate: What Now?
So, you finally did it. After years of sleep deprivation, self-induced panic attacks due to deadlines looming over you, and the literal gallons of caffeine that you consumed have finally helped you reach the peak of your higher education: graduation. As you catch yourself for a brief moment in the mirror on that final day, regardless of what grade you earned, you can smile at yourself and think, "Yes! After all this time, my work has finally paid off!" You arrive at the venue, walk up that stage the minute your name is called, you collect your certificate, you shake hands with someone important, and just like that, all those years, that crucial chapter of your life, has finally come to a close. And now you're here, waiting to start the next chapter with a broad mindset and all doors open to you.
Nyisha ColquhounPublished 6 years ago in JournalA Flight Risk?
If the answer to this question for you, is "yes, duh", please let me explain. A little background first. I'm a late-twenties woman who is still trying to figure life out (I know, no one is supposed to have all the answers). I went to college, graduated in 2013 with my Bachelor's in Law/Justice and held my fair share of crappy jobs like serving, cashier, retail, you name it after graduating. However, I still live at home, never had a full-salaried-401k-2-weeks-paid-vacation job. You're probably thinking that I'm a whiny, ungrateful, self-absorbed person for even thinking that I should have all of those things I mentioned. You want to know the truth? I haven't exactly earned all of those things just yet because I haven't been somewhere long enough to be able to earn all of those things. There's no shoe that's been the right fit, no porridge that has been exactly right, there's been no easy way into the field I chose to study all those years ago. And that's what is so incredibly daunting and humiliating for me. I paid how much to get this degree and still haven't been successful in finding a career? Why is it that I can't seem to feel happy about the choices I've made so far? All I've done is get stuck in this black hole that I can't seem to get out of.
Erin LeahyPublished 6 years ago in JournalChronicles of a Lost Writer
I have never been so lost in my entire life! I literally have everything anyone could ever want. A home. A family. A good source of income. Ultimately, I am still not happy. I feel like I lack purpose. I want to do something that defines me and makes me feel like I’m contributing to the world in a positive way. I know I am perfectly capable of accomplishing anything I set my mind to. I just don’t have a cause. I don’t have a drive. All my dreams of getting married, finishing school, and living by the beach have been fulfilled. I’m just so young and I don’t know where to go next.
I'm Stuck
I'm 18 years old and just finished at Sixth Form (Senior Year). It's been around three months now and most of my friends are attending University. I also was going to attend University but changed my mind and decided I didn't want to sit in lectures, make notes and then be examined on those notes later on. I feel like I'm at a place where I just don't know what to do.
Nabeela PathanPublished 6 years ago in JournalLife After University
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to go to university, so when it got closer, and eventually came around, I was ecstatic. In September 2014, I moved into my accommodation, and I remember feeling incredibly homesick for the first couple of weeks or so. There was this constant feeling that I was going to actually be sick, but after attending some lectures and talking to a few people, it all settled down.
Danielle MurrayPublished 7 years ago in Journal