Life After College-Recession and Changing Times

Hey all! It's been a while since I've been graced with the blogger presence...and a lot has happened since.

First off, I'd like to say a big CONGRATS to my fellow bloggers Ariel and Amelia for their awesome Q&A last night for Ariel's book "Chasing Dandelions". Here's a shameless plug...everyone should go out and read it, you can get it very easily off Amazon.com.

So I've been at my current place of employment now for a little over 3 months. Which is enough time to get a good idea of the character of the place and its employees. It's also long enough to know whether or not this is a good fit. Unfortunately for me....it's not. Sadly, this is a lesson of growing up: you can take a job because it pays more money....like, A LOT more money. But is it worth your sanity?

I got word the other day that my job, for no other reason other than the area in which I work at is outdated, will be gone in 3 years. Now, granted, 3 years in a LONG time. Honestly, did I see myself doing this same job for 3 years? No, not after the 3 month honeymoon period passed and I saw it for what it was. Would it have been nice to to have that sort of stability? Yes.

So, really...it's not a big deal in the long run if my position will be gone in 3 years. That's plenty of time to look good later, but also makes me feel less bad about looking elsewhere in the future.

I've also learned how lucky I am to have a job, even if I don't LOVE it every day. Two of my good friends got laid off last week and are now struggling to get interviews together. It's a scary thing.

One thing I'd like to emphasize to everyone is to SAVE SAVE SAVE. Even if you have a job, it's important to pay yourself. If you don't have one, you should most definitely open a savings account. You never EVER know when things might fall apart and you'll need rent money or heck, even FOOD money. Always always, pay yourself and as tempting as it is to spend that money on something big, remember that you may need that money one day in the future for basic necessities.

So that's where I am right now. Still hanging in there. I will say though that I am already thinking about Grad School options. I do miss having something else to look forward to besides work, so everyone else is right...don't wait forever to go back or you might not go back!

SO SAVE YOUR MONEY! and Always always think about the future. Whether the future is tomorrow or years from now.

Life After College-What Now?

Hey Everyone!

I'm really enjoying not being in school anymore. I'm not gonna lie, worrying about waking up and going to work and then going to classes and taking tests and preparing homework or readings and then studying for finals all on top of doing a good job and making money at work all became very....well, stressful.

I really am enjoying just getting up and going to work and then going home at the end of the day. It's a little boring, but it's money! That's what Degrees are for!

Well, sort of. I know everyone hopes that you'll get a degree in one thing and you'll do that for the rest of your life. Say, for instance, myself. I got a degree in Anthropology and I would love love love to run a museum some day and maybe do some field work. However, fiscal responsibilities and time and travel all go into account of whether that's going to work out for me.

The bottom line is, you quickly realize as you get older that a lot of people don't know what they're doing. I'm finding this out fast. A woman I just met two weeks ago is already leaving work to go back to school for something completely different. I applaud her, I think it's great. Inevitably a lot of people change their minds. It's hard to get internship experience and even then you still glamorize what it is that you want to do. When you actually get out there in the middle of doing it, you might find that it isn't what you want after all, and in the professional career field you get to meet a lot of people that have been doing other jobs for a very long time. It's possible you might meet people out there who inspire you to do what they do, so sometimes you'll go back to school for that.

Of course, it's very common now in that most people just get degrees in something and end up doing something completely different. A lot of jobs don't require that you necessarily have a degree in a related field, just that you have a degree. Also, pure experience really right now matters more than what your degree actually says.

For me, it's all still up in the air. I might find one of these days that I really want to be a vet. I might not. For now, it's still just a matter of ok...what do I do now?!

Life After College-Moving On

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been a few weeks since I last wrote. It's going to be a short one, just filling everyone in....

So I did get the new job, and it's great. I've been there two weeks and it's been busy busy just getting oriented with everything and everyone. I had a freak out moment last week...I finally realized I wasn't a "student" anymore, and that I had a real job in a real career field and I am an ADULT now. Technically I've been an adult for a couple of years now but i really FELT it the other day. It feels good in a weird way haha.

Of course, beginning new opportunities meant saying goodbye to people I used to work with. I will still visit them of course and keep in touch. I made some really special friends where I used to work and I think that's important too....realizing that you may not always speak to old high school or even college friends but you spend the most amount of your daily time with your coworkers and some of them can become your best friends.

With that being said, I am a little exhausted from my brain taking in so much information!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer, and I promise to write more next week :-)

Life After College-Updates

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that I was looking around and found this really neat "Life After College" blog...which funny enough is called "Life After College". I think if you have the time, you should all definitely read the different sections. The author really goes through everything from managing your money to looking for jobs and just random snippets of her life.

http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog

I wanted to just briefly mention how important the people you can meet AFTER college can be. I know I know, everyone is always going on about the friends you will make for life while you are in college, but seriously....how many friends from High School do you maintain during College? Same thing for afterwards. I think you get to know people really well at work and form bonds. You're an adult, and you get to know other adults that really really have the same interests as you. You meet other moms to be and have play dates with your kids (not for me yet! haha). You meet other women or men to have book clubs or poker clubs with. These people really will be there for the rest of your life. Some of them won't..and that's ok! That's life!

I'm getting all sentimental....but I have some good news....I GOT A NEW JOB! *ahem*...I'm now I'm a track to a CAREER. I feel very blessed because I'm not even a full month out of college now and I have a real grown up salaried position that really is going to take me far and I am SO excited. I'm going to miss the people I work with now, but I know the important ones I will always be in touch with :-)

Just some updates for now! Enjoy the sun..it's HOT here in Texas!

Life After College-Work Manners

Hey everyone!

I hope that by now you're all well on your way to enjoying summer! Some of you have graduated and I'd like to extend my congratulations to you, and I hope you enjoy your first summer after High School freedom and maybe even your first summer getting ready for college.

Well, today's subject is going to be a little heavy....and also brought on by some...*ahem* personal issues. Which is what this is all supposed to be, it's a personal journey for me.

What I wanted to talk about is work place manners and behavior, also known sometimes as work ethics. I'm not going to harp on anything, and I know I'm guilty of gossip and what have you...but there are some things to keep in mind as you enter the world of jobs and careers.

Work is work. You will actually have to put forth some sort of effort. Not only that, but you are expected to fulfill job duties. When you sign all those papers on the first day of work, you're signing a contract that says you promise to do this this and that in exchange for a monthly paycheck. Coming in to work and talking to your friends on the internet is...I'm pretty sure (unless your job is to test the software)...NOT your job. You don't get paid to chat with your friends (unless you do, which would be totally awesome). You have to do grunt work sometimes, and it can really suck and not be fun, but you're getting paid to have more responsibility, and keep in mind that the harder you work the better opportunities you'll have in the future.

Be nice. Chances are that you won't always get along with everyone you work with. That's the nature of climbing the corporate ladder....you're usually in competition with at least one other person. Needless to say, this will lead to some tension. However, you're becoming an adult. If you have a problem, you have to vocalize it. It is unacceptable and extremely unprofessional to make snide remarks about someone. This isn't high school. This is the real world, and comments still hurt other people...but most importantly, I can tell you that those comments don't just stay between you and whoever hears it. One comment can cost you a job, a good reference, and respect. One comment can negate everything you've been working towards. Vocalize but don't offend and certainly don't belittle other people in your quest for the top. Be polite, but most importantly be the bigger person. 

Another important: don't be late!! It's cool to be a few minutes late here or there...and if you're going to be decently late, just call and it's usually no biggie. However, if you're late because you're lazy and you act like you just don't care when/if you even show up....prepare yourself for the worst. Consistent lateness and/or no-shows = firing...which is NEVER good for future prospects.

The most important thing to remember is that it's not always just about you either, because your attitude can make or break your co-workers attitude and most definitely your customers (if you're dealing with customers). Companies and Organizations are a team effort, and what you do and how you act effects other people too. Remember...do unto others ;-)

Hope you all are having a great week so far. Get out and enjoy the sun!

p.s. my interviews went well ;-) I'll let you know more later.

Life After College-Catching Up!

Hey everyone,

This entry is a little late (busy day/weekend) and is going to be a little short!

I finally graduated!! Saturday night I graduated with 7,000 plus of my fellow class of 2009 at the University of Texas!! It was so exciting to be in front of our awesome tower listening to speakers sitting in my official cap and gown. I had hesitated about actually walking in the ceremony because it's just so big and lasts so long (it was 3 hours!)...but I am so glad I decided to do it, it really sunk it when I was sitting there how official it all is, how much hard work went into this and how worth it everything was. I cannot wait to get my official diploma!

Now, to figure out what to do next. I am still currently weighing the options of going to graduate school or not. It will still be a while before that happens though. I really just want to sit back and enjoy getting to read all the books that I want to for fun and watch all the movies I want haha.
I am however interviewing for better career opportunities currently, as mentioned in the previous post, and that can be stressful and fun. Mostly though, with this economy I am thankful that I have a job and will continue to see what life has in store for me.

I leave you with the fireworks display from graduation that I recorded!

Life After College

Stephanie is doing a lot of interviewing right now and could not write her Column this week, so we are stepping in. Sorry, we are not as savvy on the things she writes about...she rocks! We will tell all of you that Life after College can be a challenge right now with the economy but all of you can DO IT! Stay motivated, stay on track, don't take anything to personal, and have fun...this is just the beginning. We send Stephanie our well wishes in her career hunt. For all of you looking for a job for this summer and/or your career GMA has put together a great website here with Tory Johnson. You can also follow Tory on twitter @toryjohnson.