5 Adulting Lessons I’ve Learned After College

From harsh truths to comforting advice

Reflecting on my college graduation countdown, I remember the unsettling fear caused by the uncertainty of my future employment. Coupled with student debt, it’s not a pretty picture.

College is a culmination of carefully outlined steps in your education. I followed a strict class schedule filled with required classes to qualify as prerequisites for advanced courses. I prepared for classes based on the structured syllabus distributed on the first day of class, outlining the midterms and finals dates.

And then those tests and finals are replaced with neverending interviews and surprises around every corner into the so-called “real world.”

Fast forward years later into my post-grad life, here are five things that I wish I could go back in time to prepare and reassure myself.

1. Uncertainty is a constant in life, not unemployment.

It can be discouraging when immense competition surrounds you in the job market. You’re not only competing with your graduating class but recent graduates from other schools and even people already in the workforce!

I had immense anxiety in the pending months up until my college graduation. I didn’t have a stable job offer on the table until after my graduation date and was still interviewing.

Despite having multiple internships while in college, I received a harsh reality check during an interview. The company concluded my answers with rebuttals like “okay, so you haven’t done this before. You haven’t used this software before.”

It can be heartwrenching to know that even with your best effort to balance internships with your rigorous class schedule, you are not good enough. Too entry-level. Too inexperienced.

I realized that my first full-time job wouldn’t be ideal. I decided to accept a full-time job offer that provides me with career growth and learning opportunity for the long-term, even though the compensation and benefits were lower than what I wanted to make.

I realized my fear arose from the uncertainty. As an avid planner, I hoped to have a full-time job lined up before I graduated. I started interviewing early but didn’t receive any offers until well after graduation.

Realistically, the chances of being unemployed for the rest of my life were slim to none.

Even with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, these uncertainty fears arose again, but this time with my peer and friends. I had numerous friends who were laid off or furloughed with little to no notice. But they ramped up their applications or pursued their self-employment ventures and got back on track.

Again, uncertainty is the constant in your post-grad career path. Unemployment is temporary.

2. Proactively take care of your health.

Maintaining a nutritious diet combined with regular exercise will do wonders. But it was never my focus during or even after college until recently.

I used to be a gym skeptic. Why would I pay to go to exercise? It sounds like a scam to me! I can go outside and run 5 miles for free.

I didn’t receive any scary medical wake up calls, but my weight did keep increasing.

I attempted to implement healthy habits and a steady exercise routine.

Some healthy changes that did work for me included:

• I started using apps to ensure I burned more calories than I was consuming.
• Wearing my Apple watch more so that activity tracking would motivate me.
• Go exercise with a friend to help hold me accountable.
• Limit dining out to weekends only.
• Combine walks with video calls to friends and family to make it more enjoyable.

The exercise that wasn’t sustainable for me, combined with my excuses:

• Cardio never lasted long because I would get bored out of my mind.
• I don’t enjoy the water, so swimming isn’t the answer!
• Not Orange Theory because I’m never spending that much money each month!
• I don’t want to continue kickboxing because I moved and can’t find a comparable gym.

I didn’t have the determination to maintain these exercises. I knew I needed to mix it up and look for creative ways to challenge myself physically and not get bored.

Rather than finding just a local gym with the basics, and incorporating home workouts and walks or runs to the park. I should’ve known a methodical routine isn’t for me.

I’m nowhere near perfect and have a lot of progress to go. I know I won’t have instant results, but having a clear mindset of your goals is essential. Adapting sustainable changes in your diet and exercise is the ultimate preparation for your health long-term.

3. Be honest with yourself when it’s time to leave a company.

When you’re in your first full-time job, it’s easy to see it as temporary or settle. You don’t have much to compare to and are still learning things along the way.

In my first full-time job, I didn’t have the confidence to branch out for a long time. While I knew I had made a lot of progress, I was still uncomfortable making decisions and always wanted approval before moving forward.

With other jobs, I held onto the hope of the future, providing better opportunities. But sometimes you can’t just sit back and wait. You have to communicate what you want in your career path and the timeline you are comfortable with.

Accept the fact that it’s time to move on from your job. You may have the best coworkers or great pay, but if you’re not getting what you want out of your career, it’s time to move on. Don’t attach yourself to a company when your work doesn’t provide you the results you want.

4. Living at home with my parents will be one of the best financial decisions.

Making smart financial decisions will determine your financial stability in the long-run. With a lack of emphasis on personal finance in our education system, it can set up students for failure.

I agreed with my parents that I would live on campus for my first year of college. But for my second to fourth years, I would live at home and make the commute to save money.

I was grateful for the opportunity to live that college lifestyle for at least one year. But I couldn’t help feeling left out with all the social gatherings living within walking distance afforded others.

But the reality is, that decision saved me financially. Otherwise, I would have dug a deeper hole of debt for myself. It was a sacrifice well worth it, and one I would repeat ten times over.

How much did living at home save me?

• Rent — $700/month
• Groceries — $100/month
• Utilities — $25/month

That’s roughly $22,275 over three years that I saved at home. I would have to resort to taking our more student loans to cover what I already did to afford that.

Money was hard for me to put into perspective until you start working. Savings tens of thousands of dollars can take years. If I went back to school in my late 20s and confronted with the same scenario, it would be a no-brainer.

Not having debt allowed me to jump-start my retirement contributions, maximize my savings, and live a more comfortable lifestyle.

5. The post-grad learning curve is not as straightforward as in college.

College shaped my learning and provided me with transferrable skills rather than practical experience.

From elementary school until college, if there was a math problem, I didn’t know how to solve or a poorly written sentence, I could refer to my professor for advice on solving/writing correctly.

What a wake-up call I received in my first full-time job when my manager didn’t know how to solve a problem for a client. The pressure from seeking advice from an expert to learning to be the expert is an unpleasant but rewarding challenge.

For someone working in a different field that I went to school for, I understand my higher education's indirect value. My major shaped how I learn. As a Political Science major, professors tasked us with reading hundreds of pages a week and writing essays like no tomorrow.

Education provides a theoretical foundation. It provided me with a mindset that I can do this, I studied this before, and it was more complex material to master. I can work these long hours. I have studied 16 hours a day and done all-nighters.

Those habits have provided me with transferrable skills to write company policies and procedures with uncanny speed and accuracy. Balancing my time when I had three finals to study on the same day prepares me for strict deadlines.

You may take your first full-time job out of necessity or as a stepping stone. You may pursue a career in your field to realize you hate it and decide to go back to grad school.

A clear road map in your career can be the equivalent of a purple unicorn.

Twists and turns fill your post-grad life.

Balancing your personal and professional life is like a constant juggling act. Some problems I’d be able to solve without missing a beat, while other challenges will slip through.

It’s okay not to know the answer or what to do. Embrace life’s obstacles as learning lessons and help yourself and others on the path to success and happiness.