Life after graduation

Regardless of what your plans are after graduation, higher education offers you the opportunity to develop skills that remain useful even after you graduate.

While tertiary may have initially been an overwhelming idea, a few years and some incredible memories later, you are probably sad to leave but excited about what your new journey has in store for you.

Your post-graduation life will most likely be a lot less "chilled" than the years before it. Below we offer you eight tips on what to expect after graduation and how to deal with it all.

Maintain structure

If you haven't already found a job you may be tempted to spend most of your mornings in bed, and your afternoons in front of the television or with friends. The lack of structure may first strike you as wonderful, but will eventually leave you feeling aimless. This can quickly lead to postgraduate depression. Create a daily structure to perform tasks or invest time in passion projects until a job comes along. This could help greatly with the feelings of pointlessness.

A friend will become instantly successful

They will move to London, find the perfect job, and earn the kind of money you only imagined earning after a few years of working. You may be a little jealous watching their sky-rocketing rise to success through the filtered window of social media, and even fear that this may never happen for you. Don't get caught up in the trap of comparison.

Focus on your own progress

There will always be someone who is doing better than you. The best thing to do is to remember what your plans are and where you would like to see yourself. Keep a list of your own personal achievements and focus on what you want. There will not always be someone to commend your efforts and your accomplishments will not be graded like they were in tertiary which may make them seem insignificant but remember you don't need a gold star to know that you are doing well.

Your next move

If you haven't already thought about this, you may be forced to address the "what next" question. Instead of avoiding it and having no other plans address the question head on. If a job is the next logical step then start working on job applications. If further study is on the cards then apply to enroll. 

Landing your first job

If your first job is not in line with what you've studied then that is not a train smash. The next 30 years of your work life will be spent building your career toward your goal anyway so it's okay to spend a few years experimenting in other fields and learning skills outside of what you learned. This will only make you a more marketable candidate.

Take calculated risks

Take advantage of the fact that you don't have any real responsibilities as yet. Do you want to travel for a year, make a small salary teaching English, or start your own business printing t-shirts? Go for it. What's the worst that can happen? You failed and now you are 22 and have your whole life to get it right

There are frugal days ahead

If you thought your days of eating noodles for breakfast were behind you, think again. Your starting salary is exactly that, a start. Add to that rent, transport, and other grown-up bills. Tightening your purse strings is a must.

Your partying habits will have to change

Not only do hangovers become extremely difficult to shake after graduation but showing up to work hungover is not ok. Yes, you used to be able to roll out of bed and straight into class and back to your flat to sleep it off. But working a 9-5 with a hangover is a whole different story.