The first couple years after university are a time of huge changes in your life, both personal and professional. Looking back on those years, we can often clearly see what we learned that was most helpful to getting us to where we are today. If you had to pick one, what was the most important thing you learned in the first few years after college?
Image from Ryan Morse/Flickr.
Whether it’s figuring out your finances (and student loans), what it takes to get a job, how to make new friends and deal with evolving relationships, or how to make a meal for yourself, we’ve all had experiences we learned from. What advice do you have for those in their early and mid-twenties?
If you can, try to be specific with your tips, so they’re more helpful to those who can use them now.
Comments
11 responses to “What Is The Most Important Thing You Learned In Those First Years After University?”
Cramming is no substitute for study.
Didn’t cram myself but I saw others do so and rarely (if ever) saw them in the later years.
Here’s a life lesson that applies to working for any middle of the road company:
1. Senior management want their bonuses. They don’t want to risk their bonuses – the business direction hinges on this point.
2. Management want to employ people to do things that they tell them. They do not want people who will rock the boat or recommend change. They want compliant people.
3. Management want people to fit into the workplace. They don’t want new people that have different hours or needs – otherwise that opens the door for a changing workplace that threatens the status quo.
4. Your behaviour sets managements expectations. Work late? That will become expected. Take on more and more duties? That will be expected. Your compensation likely won’t be adjusted to compensate. But it will give you experience for the next step…
5. In most cases, to get a meaningful raise you must move company. Your current company has you typecast at your current level. You can reset this by moving to a new company.
Unbelievably true on both counts. Took me more than a few years to learn it, sadly.
1: You can’t please assholes, and shouldn’t try to.
2: To profit, one must often spend.
1. 99% of University is outdated and a colossal waste of money
2. Academics need to leave University and get a taste of the real world
University value is being eroded annually. Australia relies heavily on mining and education. What are we going to do?
That I could have done much more toward my career and success than wasting 4 years in uni.
That my engineering degree was just an elaborate hazing ritual and I still had to learn how to be an engineer, which took another 5 years at least.
What i learnt is no one employing you gives a shit what you did in high school or what your hobbies are. Only ever include things on your resume relevant to the position you are applying for. If you are applying to work in IT, The company does not give a shit what you like to do on the weekend.
Unless that something is relevant to said IT job.