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re: Post College Blues
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:14 pm to We_Need_Cam
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:14 pm to We_Need_Cam
I hit something of a lull about six months out too. I think it was more that I had never done full time for that long with little to no break (grade school sure but that was practically vacation too).
Do well at your job, get a goal to work towards ( i.e. work abroad, get put on a fast track, etc.), and change it up. For me there are dream jobs out there now, but for now I am content where I am at and know if I put in some time the dream jobs will be that much closer.
Do well at your job, get a goal to work towards ( i.e. work abroad, get put on a fast track, etc.), and change it up. For me there are dream jobs out there now, but for now I am content where I am at and know if I put in some time the dream jobs will be that much closer.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:17 pm to rootisback
Employment is harder than school, no matter how hard you thought you worked for your grades, employment is harder and it is everyday all day.
That is why it is called "WORK"
That is why it is called "WORK"
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 5:22 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:25 pm to We_Need_Cam
quote:
I studied mechanical engineering and fricking hated every second of it.
I started my collegiate career studying Accounting. I realized during my sophomore year that I'd end up hanging myself in a cubicle if I were stuck behind a desk crunching numbers all day at 40. Transferred from TAMU to SHSU and got a Criminal Justice degree. Been a cop for 17 years now and have loved every minute of it. Not saying that you need to be a cop, but you do need to find a career that will make you happy and still pay the bills. Other than that, there's always the aforementioned poon/ecstasy combo, but even that will get old pretty quick.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:30 pm to We_Need_Cam
All 3 are a possibility. Definitely 3. Possibly 2, but you'll grow out if it.
In point 1, I was really unhappy with my first job out of college and borderline struggled with some "depression" during that time. Almost lost my marriage. After I realized that I moved in to a much more fulfilling job. My problem was I had a kid 1 week after I graduated so I took the first thing that came along and it was a mistake.
I do pretty much the same thing as the first job now, but for a lot more money and 10 years if experience behind me. Being low man in the totem pole sucks, but you have to start somewhere. I love what I do now and am happier than I have ever been at 30+ with 2 kids under 10. I find more joy in life the last few years than I ever did in college but I have really awesome kids.
In point 1, I was really unhappy with my first job out of college and borderline struggled with some "depression" during that time. Almost lost my marriage. After I realized that I moved in to a much more fulfilling job. My problem was I had a kid 1 week after I graduated so I took the first thing that came along and it was a mistake.
I do pretty much the same thing as the first job now, but for a lot more money and 10 years if experience behind me. Being low man in the totem pole sucks, but you have to start somewhere. I love what I do now and am happier than I have ever been at 30+ with 2 kids under 10. I find more joy in life the last few years than I ever did in college but I have really awesome kids.
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 5:35 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:30 pm to AUCatfish
quote:
As someone pushing 50, I highly recommend you start looking elsewhere if you are truly unhappy. Even if you have to go back to school, I recommend doing it now as opposed to later when life makes it harder to do (married/kids/mortgage ect)
Good answer. I've mostly loved my job for over 30 years. I can't imagine what life would have been like if I'd disliked it.
But I think there's probably some of this:
quote:
My parents didn't beat me enough
in there, too.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:49 pm to We_Need_Cam
quote:
1. Truly unhappy in job and need to look somewhere else. Some background info on myself... I studied mechanical engineering and fricking hated every second of it. I had too much pride to change majors and appear that I "failed". My job now is not really even engineering related, but it isn't what I thought I would end up doing. I kick myself daily for not studying what interested me when I was in school.
I can relate. I went to school and didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't want to drop out, because then I would have felt like a failure. I was going to graduate at 22. I ended up majoring in something I hated, but I had a job straight out of college. I did it for several years, and went back to school for another degree. Now I'm happy at my job.
The reality is that I failed. I started over at the bottom in my late 20s. My friends at my age make money than I do because of this. I have to work my way back up the ladder again, but I'm happier this time around.
I don't regret going back to school. I was just young and naive about the real world.
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 6:17 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:58 pm to We_Need_Cam
welcome to the real world man. making a living is tough and you just have to suck it up and do it. I earn every single penny at my job with zero freebies. I'm sure some of you are overpaid at a cushy job but that's not how it is for me.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 5:58 pm to diddydirtyAubie
i can relate.
Maybe move to an exciting city in a different part of the country.
There is alot to enjoy out there.
Maybe move to an exciting city in a different part of the country.
There is alot to enjoy out there.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:13 pm to diddydirtyAubie
I believe a lot of people think when they go to school (especially a big college) that they will have all the answers when they leave. You wont. You never will.
Just because you went to school, got a good degree, it does not mean you will always use it. I do not know the stats but I bet over 50% of the people who get college degrees use them very little once they graduate.
I am a perfect example. I have a Electronics Engineering degree. I worked like hell getting it. I had a job lined up when I graduated. I worked there 9 years. Company closed down. I got another job in Engineering at another big company. Worked there a few years, company relocated. I said frick it.
I am no longer a Engineer.
Life is fluid. Just learn to go with things. It will change a few times before you are as old as me. I promise
You learned more in college than your degree.
Just because you went to school, got a good degree, it does not mean you will always use it. I do not know the stats but I bet over 50% of the people who get college degrees use them very little once they graduate.
I am a perfect example. I have a Electronics Engineering degree. I worked like hell getting it. I had a job lined up when I graduated. I worked there 9 years. Company closed down. I got another job in Engineering at another big company. Worked there a few years, company relocated. I said frick it.
I am no longer a Engineer.
Life is fluid. Just learn to go with things. It will change a few times before you are as old as me. I promise
You learned more in college than your degree.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:15 pm to We_Need_Cam
The fun part of life isn't over. I think you're taking yourself too seriously.
Get by in a shitty apt in a decent area and spend your money on whores and booze. Problem solved. Unless you live somewhere that sucks.
Get by in a shitty apt in a decent area and spend your money on whores and booze. Problem solved. Unless you live somewhere that sucks.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:18 pm to We_Need_Cam
quote:
Perhaps I need more time to come to peace with the fact that the fun part of life is over.
If the 4-5 years of undergrad are the best years of your life then you did life wrong.
Just because you miss certain aspects of a given time period doesn't make it your best years. I imagine watching a sunset on the back porch of your retirement home at 65 with your kids and grandkids trumps the frick out of getting drunk in college.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:25 pm to We_Need_Cam
I feel what you're going through, though to a lesser extent. Graduated in May, relocated for a job in June in a city where I only know a couple people. Job isn't particularly interesting, but I don't hate it. I find that every weekday is just a countdown to Friday, but unlike college there isn't much room for fun on weekdays.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:28 pm to Roger Klarvin
quote:
I imagine watching a sunset on the back porch of your retirement home at 65 with your kids and grandkids trumps the frick out of getting drunk in college.
well frick that.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:31 pm to jbond
quote:
I find that every weekday is just a countdown to Friday, but unlike college there isn't much room for fun on weekdays.
I've been out of college a long time, and still feel this way. I really like my job, but I'd still rather be doing other things.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:32 pm to LanierSpots
quote:
Life is fluid. Just learn to go with things.
Hit the nail right on the head.
And no, I'm not exactly happy with my occupation at the moment. And I had a blast in college and am not using my degree.
Working towards getting to a better place on the job front, but my job doesn't define who I am or the happiness I derive out of life itself. Nor do I think that the 4.5 years I spent at TAMU will be the pinnacle of the fun times in my life. No one period is, tbh.
Life has many seasons. Learn to enjoy all of them for what they are to the fullest that you can instead of pining for days gone by.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:33 pm to Mulat
quote:
Employment is harder than school, no matter how hard you thought you worked for your grades, employment is harder and it is everyday all day. That is why it is called "WORK"
I completely disagree. I found school to be a collection of hoops to jump through. Now I get a nice paycheck to actually do something I like. I don't think that would be impossible for OP to find that either, with a degree that can open so many doors.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:39 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
I completely disagree. I found school to be a collection of hoops to jump through. Now I get a nice paycheck to actually do something I like. I don't think that would be impossible for OP to find that either, with a degree that can open so many doors.
But not everyone who gets out will have that kind of connection with their job. For some, it will take a while to figure things out
I am older than most of you and this thread and some of the answers are pretty hilarious to me. Not in a bad way but some of you think the way I did 25 years ago. Most of it is somewhat wrong but thats the cool thing. You will figure it out in time.
I am just going to sit back in my rocking chair and watch y'all.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:41 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
with a degree that can open so many doors.
nah man. not just any degree.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:44 pm to We_Need_Cam
Get into aviation and fly airplanes. There is a huge pilot shortage coming. That's what I did (airlines don't give a shite about what your degree is in as long as you have one) I haven't worked a day in the past year it feels like
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 6:45 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:46 pm to diddydirtyAubie
quote:
nah man. not just any degree.
My degree was pretty much worthless, but I somehow got lucky, and it's worked out for me.
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 6:49 pm
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