No one tells you that your college graduation day will be not only one of the most exciting days of your life, but also the scariest. I remember thinking on that beautiful May day, now what? Everything I had worked for the most of my life was all over. I went to college. Got a degree. Now what am I supposed to do? I had no idea looking for my first job would be the most stressful/frustrating things I would do in my life thus far. I had been looking for a job while I was still in school, but taking 17 credit hours, working 20 hours a week, and being president of an organization didn't lend large amounts of free time so while I looked I still had to focus on the goal - graduation. I spent that entire summer looking. Interviewing, looking, emailing/faxing/mailing resumes. Nothing. I would put a smile on my face and walk into that room and convince myself I really did want that job. When fall came I began to feel like a failure. All the "smart" classmates of mine were just beginning grad school. (I tend to think many of them were scared and unsure too, that's why they so willingly jumped into a few more years of school. No offense to those that did choose grad school right after graduation -- my statement was not meant as an insult.)
I still didn't have a job. It seemed like everyone that was interested in hiring me barely paid above minimum wage. I was flabbergasted. I went to college. I did what I was supposed to do. I followed the rules. Isn't there supposed to be a job for me? A decent paying, entry-level job? I finally did find my first "real" job. I settled for a position barely paying above minimum wage as a track out day camp counselor (read: glorified babysitter). Needless to say I kept looking. After two miserable weeks at my "first grown up job" I started my second.
No one prepares you for the real world. No one tells you that entering the work force post college, no matter how "great" the job, you will be a peon. You will start at the bottom of the barrel. You will not get vacation time right away and you might even be doing tasks you feel are so below you. After all, you went to college. From what I have heard, it's called paying your dues. No one prepares you for this though. No one tells you that you will be broke and miserable and wonder "how did I get here?" I had internships, I had jobs in college. No one tells you that stuff doesn't matter in the "real world."
Now I know this sounds like a complete bitch-fest, and it partly is. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back to college if you paid me and I do like my job. It's just things are not what you expect them to be. No one prepares you. Maybe because no one prepared them. The suffered through their post collegiate early twenties too. Maybe it's a rite of passage.
