Originally posted on https://collegecures.com/2019/from-college-to-career-a-step-towards-adult-life/

Stepping out of college is one of the most surreal feelings in the world. You’re finally out of the grasps of education, and most likely heading towards the freedom from your parents. But the working world is something that should be feared. As someone who is about to leave college, it might be that you simply can’t wait to go to the point where you’re going into the working world. Finally you’ll be able to earn your own money, buy what you want, and actually know what it’s like to be an adult. But with that, comes all of the adult responsibilities in life that you will no doubt be desperate to get away from. You also have the trouble of finding a job, which seems to have become even harder than it once used to be. So this is why we have created this article for you. We know how hard it is just adjust from the life of living in college halls, or just going to college, and then going into the working world. So we want to try and make it far easier for you, and show you how you can smoothly transition from college life into a career, the steps you need to take, and the troubles you might face along the way. The more prepared you feel, the easier this is going to be for you.

Getting Experience Under Your Belt

If there is one thing that you need when going for a job, it’s education and experience. Those are the two things that everyone is focused on in the working world right now, and it’s super hard to get a skilled job without having one or the other. Unless you go through an apprenticeship or trainee scheme, but that usually means starting on dramatically reduced pay, having to be put through further education, and generally being given all of the rubbish jobs that will mean you don’t actually learn anything with regards to the job for a long while. So whilst you’re still in college and still have the chance, it’s time to get some real experience under your belt. You won’t be in lectures full time, and all it requires is one day a week, using a few hours of your day, to get that experience. You can do it in the form of volunteer work within a company that offers a role you’re interested in. Companies are usually more than happy to have volunteers in to help with the workload, especially if they know they’re about to be fresh out of college, and potentially someone they would be willing to hire. It’s all about getting your food under the door, and showing the working world what you’re all about.

There might also be some additional courses that you can put yourself through to make sure that you’re ready for the role you want to go into. Just one example, if it was construction based work, it would bode well for you to have a first aid certificate. You sometimes have to be a lot more proactive than you might have thought, just your qualification from college alone might not be enough.

Get Some Money Saved Up

Having money saved up is so important, yet we think the importance of it is not as portrayed throughout college. In fact, college is probably the one time in your life where you’re thinking about anything but saving money. Money you have goes on parties, essentials, and just generally trying to stay alive while you’re trapped in college. But as it comes closer to you being let out into the working world, you need to think about how having a bit of money behind you is going to help. So if you don’t have one already, we definitely recommend that you get yourself a part time job around your studies. It doesn’t have to be anything too hard, just a simple job at somewhere like Chic-fil-a. It’s enough to do minimal hours to support yourself or build savings, and to show you what working is really like. The age to work at Chick fil a is sixteen, so most of you will meet that age requirement since you’re in college now. It’s the perfect role to start out in, because customer service is required in nearly every role that you could go into, and working in a fast paced environment centered around customer service is invaluable.

What’s The Working World Really Like

The working world can be a mystery to someone who has only lived their life within the walls of education and the home. So the working world is something you’re going to have to rapidly adjust to over time. It’s going to be one where you’re set in a routine a lot different to the one you’re in now. It’s important to remember that when you first start out, things will go wrong. You might not pick up the role as quickly as you’d have liked, you might not like the role and find yourself switching between jobs, and you might find that you’re exhausted from actually working five days a week or more. But once you get into the routine, you start learning new skills, and you start making new friends, everything becomes a lot easier. So just make sure that you take the time to properly adjust, but that you still give yourself a life outside of work. Some of you will become so involved in the role you’re learning, that your social life just drops off into the background. Having that work/play balance is just so important.

Setting Out A Path

Make sure that you go into the working world with a plan. Knowing where you want to end up is so important, otherwise you’ll just find yourself moving from role to role, without feeling any real purpose. When you have a path to follow, you have something that completely drives you to do the best that you possibly can.