Connections after College

 Quick Summary

• Full-time work usually brings a stricter schedule, less flexibility, and fewer long breaks compared to college.

• The workload can feel endless, which requires a different mindset to avoid burnout.

• There is often less free time for weekends, vacations, and spontaneous socializing.

• Building friendships and community takes more effort after college.

The Adjustment After College

A lot of people talk about navigating the challenges of transitioning from high school to college. However, not as much is written about the transition between college and work life. Personally, I do think the transition from high school to college is bigger, but there are still plenty of things that make the transition from college to the workforce difficult. The goal here is to cover many of the changes that may affect you as you transition from college to the workforce.

A More Rigid Work Schedule

To start, the time you spend working is much more rigid than what you experienced in college in many ways. This is partly due to having to answer to someone, whereas in college, you did not need to do so in the same way. There are meetings that you must attend that are more sporadic than your consistent college class schedule. Personally, I had trouble with this since I like doing things at a certain time each day, or even each week. You may also need to fill out a timesheet, depending on your role and level in the company you work for. This really locks you into having to give a set amount of hours to the company each day. A lot of the items that come into your inbox are much more time-dependent, and you will spend a lot more time in your work email than you ever spent in your school email. Many of your tasks at work will come through your inbox and will only give you a couple of days to complete them. The volume is much higher, but it is not as technical as homework in college. Which, ironically, for me, causes more burnout because you are not learning as many new things.

Work Is a Long Game

Unfortunately, the work never ends, whereas in college, the semester and your classes come to an end. This can be a hard transition mentally, and it may be something you only fully understand once you start working. It is a sad thought, but you will need to learn to approach work a little differently than you did in college. Otherwise, you may wear yourself down. College is a short game, while work is a long game. Luckily, there is no real threat of homework when you are working. There are plenty of other things that are left to dread.

Weekends Feel Different

Speaking of time, your weekends are not always free like they were in college. Granted, in college, you may have had to study over the weekend. But studying was on your own schedule and was not tied down to a specific location or amount of time. You had far more freedom. Whereas if you are working over the weekend, you may have to fully go into the office or fully log on to your computer for a set amount of time. In general, it seems like you have less time when you are working, even if it is a normal week. I would still take work over finals week, however.

Less Time Off and More Burnout Risk

There is also less time off, whether it is holidays or summer break. Work does not stop for all of those days, which can lead to burnout. I would say college, in my opinion, was much more volatile in terms of workload, whereas work is much more consistent and can feel like a slower, more painful grind sometimes. The amount of time off can feel like a burden with work, but a lot of places do offer paid time off. Which is nice, and you should take advantage of that.

Fewer Opportunities for Connection

Given the lack of time, working a job also creates fewer opportunities to make friends. You have to push yourself and get out there to make meaningful connections when you have a full-time job, whereas in college, everyone is in the same boat and has some time on their hands to hang out. It seems like many people have their weekends spoken for before the middle of the week even hits. College provides a much better environment for social interaction. Also, the age gap what have an effect on this as well, since in general you go to class with people around your same age.

Starting Over in Daily Life

You are also starting from scratch in almost every part of your life. Where you live will likely change. The people you talk to will likely change. What you do day to day will change. It can be hard to find a groove when everything resets. You can use this as an opportunity to break old bad habits and create new, better ones. You may find yourself trying to spend your free time in the best way possible, given that it is a finite resource once you start working. Unlike college, where I am sure some of that free time went to waste. Personally, I have gotten better at making the most of my time and have found that the less time you spend on your phone, the better. No matter if you are working or in college.

Starting Over Socially

Not to mention that when you start in the workforce, you are starting over completely socially. You had to do this in college too, but everyone was around your age. Now you will be around people daily who are a good amount older than you, and you will need to work through that as you build good workplace connections. Additionally, you will spend far more time with your coworkers than you did with many of your classmates on a day-to-day basis. So it is important to maintain those relationships in the workplace. Unlike in college, you cannot ghost your coworkers, no matter how hard you try.

Final Thoughts

Overall, you can see that, much like the transition from high school to college, the transition from college to the workforce comes with many challenges as well. Some of them are positive challenges, and others are bummers. Also, some of the challenges you face throughout the transition depend on what type of job you get out of college and where you end up living.

Final Notes and Extra Resources

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