Working After College: 10 Challenges - Study Abroad and Beyond

Adjusting from the college world to the full-time working world is rough; read on to prepare for the upcoming challenges you may face! As we approach graduation season, many college seniors are asked the same questions: where are you working after graduation?

What are you going to be doing?

Haven’t you found a job yet?

In addition to being colossally annoying questions, college seniors are under tons of pressure to successfully complete their studies, find employment (or fulfillment), and move towards self-sufficiency.

Entering the workforce – if that is your plan after college – is challenging for anyone. This is regardless of the number of internships you had during your experience at university.

Here are some things that are typically the most challenging for recent graduates who are adjusting to full-time work:

1. Establishing (and maintaining!) a work-life balance.

Now that you are working full-time, you actually have to adjust to not having months of vacation during your year.

Even if you worked full-time during each break, it is incredibly jarring to work for the same company without planned vacations.

It is critical for students to understand that taking vacation time – and even going home at the end of your working hours – is healthy, encouraged, and important.

You may be used to just staying up later or waking up really early to finish a project. DON’T DO IT NOW!

You don’t want to burn out at your position after the first few months because you overworked yourself.

Put in the required hours and go continue to have a life!

2. Getting your finances in order.

With more income comes great responsibility.

After securing a job in the working world, having a sizable salary is nothing short of miraculous. For the most part, people spend money in relation to their income – as income (presumably) increases, so does spending.

It’s important to harness your finances once your income is secured. You will have power over your finances if you figure out what money needs to be where (and when).

Bonus points if you have multiple savings accounts.

3. Getting used to working for longer than an internship.

Wait… I’ve worked here for five months straight and I still have to keep coming back? But there’s no end in sight!

Yes, internships are fabulous experiences for the working world. But nothing – NOTHING – can prepare anyone for the realization that there is no proverbial “end in sight” for a job.

It doesn’t mean that you are stuck. But it does mean that having an attention span that lasts longer than six months is helpful (and looks better on your resume).

4. Not being located near your college friends.

This is probably the biggest challenge of leaving college. If none of your closest friends live near you, you all of a sudden are launched into a world without as many inside jokes, lazy afternoon visits, and close proximity.

Sure, you’ll be able to visit, and those visits will be concentrated awesome, but ooooh boy is this a challenge to get used to.

5. Working through monotony.

If you have a work task project that is not fulfilling, you can’t sit down and talk to a professor about how to work through it.

You can, however, talk with your supervisor to brainstorm ways to stay invested, but it’s very likely that the task is relevant to your job (because task+you=employment).

6. Scheduling vacation time.

For some positions, you won’t be able to schedule time off for anywhere from three, six, or even twelve months after your start date.

Also, having to schedule vacation time around the others in the office is the ultimate exercise in understanding and teamwork (and no, you don’t always get what you want).

… but you should always take your vacation time.

7. Being around people from various backgrounds and ages.

Hear me out on this one.

College is one of the last times in your life that you are surrounded by people right around your age. To suddenly have to interact and work with people of all ages is eye-opening, and sometimes provides difficulties in finding similarities.

8. Realizing just how many things were offered at college (and trying to get involved in your community).

On campus, you likely had multiple clubs, organizations, health clubs, dining halls, events, nighttime activities, and entertainment that you could access at (almost) any time.

(Not to mention you were eligible for some incredible international opportunities!)

The working world is pretty boring, comparatively. The first time you fight to establish a book club with your coworkers to a lukewarm response will likely only make the college nostalgia worse.

9. Making friends in your new work environment.

In college, almost everyone is at the same place in life and has a similar experience getting used to (and hopefully thriving in) college.

However, with being surrounded by people from different backgrounds, it might be harder to find those similarities. (I’ve worked in five offices since college and have only had close friends with similar interests at three of them).

You may hit it off right away with your colleagues, but even so it might create more nostalgia for your college friends.

10. Missing your college experience.

Between naps, coffeeshop afternoons, days completing homework outside, interacting with engaging professors who challenged you to think better, the working world is like a real world example of an ice bucket challenge.

However, by embracing your feelings and reflecting on your responses to some of the challenges you face in the office, you will be well on your way to a career that fulfills you.

What challenges did you face when you entered the working world?