The big question that a lot of young people ask themselves is what happens next after university? You’ve gone through years of education knowing that there will always be something afterwards – first Primary School, Secondary School, Sixth Form or College, University and so on. In a way that has been our security blanket, keeping us safe from the ‘big bad world’ we are so often warned about.
It comes to a point where we are forced to remove that blanket and confront the oh so daunting world out there though. No more student loans, but instead a lot of responsibilities and decisions that need to be made.
What now? Do you move back home with your parents or take the brave step of moving to a completely new city? Can you afford your own place? Will you find a job? More importantly, do you even know what career path you want to go down? It seems like the list of questions is endless and it does take a while to figure it all out, but that is ok. It is important to remember that things can always change and some of the decisions that need to be made after university are big decisions that do not need to be rushed.
You have time! Some people decide to go travelling and see the world before they let their careers unfold and some decide to find a job that will allow them to earn some money and figure out what they’d like to do. Others may jump straight into graduate schemes – the journey is different for everyone and again, that is ok. Everyone will go down different paths at different paces, so don’t compare and move at a pace that you feel comfortable with. One thing is certain though, that no matter how scary it is, it actually feels quite great to step full foot into the real world.
It’s a time to take things into your own stride, to be proud of achievements that are your own and to enjoy the next exciting steps that lie ahead of you. It’s not always going to be easy and things are not always going to go the way you would like them to, but when they do, it is such a great feeling and that ‘growing up’ malarkey doesn’t actually seem that bad after all.
“Entering The Real World” was written by Ann-Christine Bee, graduate intern with LCVYS
