Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
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Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
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Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#2100% agree about keeping hobbies going (or developing new ones). If your whole life is going to work and hanging out with the friends you made in college/high school, you're not going to make a lot of new friends.
I joined a triathlon team five years after college and have had an amazing time. I'm not an athlete at all, but nobody cares - half the team is just there to meet people and have fun. I really wish I'd gotten into it (or something similar) straight out of college. My social life would have been a lot better.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#3Keep those hobbies going. Keep playing soccer, or pool, or surfing. Keep doing yoga. Keep reading. Keep doing you. You’ll develop some great friends around those interests.
One of my most resounding fears is meeting people in different fields. In school, it's easy. I can go to a party, go out to a club with friends, or just sit down at a library table with a stranger and meet someone new.
Out of school, it seems those opportunities erode... and the majority of friends are either coworkers or friends from the past :(
For those of you who have graduated recently, how have you dealt with this? Not that tech friends aren't great - but diversity is wonderful.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#4100% agree about keeping hobbies going (or developing new ones). If your whole life is going to work and hanging out with the friends you made in college/high school, you're not going to make a lot of new friends. I joined a triathlon team five years after college and have had an amazing time. I'm not an athlete at all, but nobody cares - half the team is just there to meet people and have fun. I really wish I'd gott…
"I'm not an athlete at all, but nobody cares - half the team is just there to meet people and have fun."
Totally what's important
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#5Keep those hobbies going. Keep playing soccer, or pool, or surfing. Keep doing yoga. Keep reading. Keep doing you. You’ll develop some great friends around those interests. One of my most resounding fears is meeting people in different fields. In school, it's easy. I can go to a party, go out to a club with friends, or just sit down at a library table with a stranger and meet someone new. Out of school, it seems thos…
I think joining a group of people is a great way to make new friends around an interest and that's usually industry agnostic.
Usually if I hear someone surfs, I'll invite them to surf pretty quickly and then follow up later about actually doing it. I've made a few really good friends this way.
College is interesting because it's forcibly social. Everyone is happy to make new friends but in the professional world, I've found just the opposite to be true. People are pretty set with the friends they have, most people seem to want something from them, many think.
That's why I really love making friends around interests because you start as that as your base rather than the commonality of an industry.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#6From personal experience: don't do anything for the money, ever.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#7Keep those hobbies going. Keep playing soccer, or pool, or surfing. Keep doing yoga. Keep reading. Keep doing you. You’ll develop some great friends around those interests. One of my most resounding fears is meeting people in different fields. In school, it's easy. I can go to a party, go out to a club with friends, or just sit down at a library table with a stranger and meet someone new. Out of school, it seems thos…
I haven't graduated recently, but I moved from Texas to New York City three years ago, and I've met most of my current friends through Reddit meetups and IRC channel.
There are general weekly meetups in a bar, and other meetups catering to more specific interests - rock climbing, board games, programming, etc.
Reddit itself may get some (well deserved) flack on HN, but it's just a community made up of people, and you can't forget the inverse of Sturgeon's law.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#8No one prepared me to college and I fucked up big times my first years. Makes me want to write a post about it too.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#9From personal experience: don't do anything for the money, ever.
Absolutely :)
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#10Keep those hobbies going. Keep playing soccer, or pool, or surfing. Keep doing yoga. Keep reading. Keep doing you. You’ll develop some great friends around those interests. One of my most resounding fears is meeting people in different fields. In school, it's easy. I can go to a party, go out to a club with friends, or just sit down at a library table with a stranger and meet someone new. Out of school, it seems thos…
Share interests is spot on. To add:
People should share their friends and acquaintances more often. Mixing disparate groups of friends and quickly introducing new acquaintances to existing friends is a surefire way to build a community in the city you live in. This may seem old fashioned, but older folks need mixers—essentially friend referrals. If you get this ball rolling, it can cascade and you'll end up meeting people you truly connect with and share interests with. The easiest way to start is simply having a party where you allow coworkers to bring their friends. I've made really good friends by finding people that enjoy backpacking as much as I do and spending a night in the woods with them (for better or worse, heh).
My wife and I are having a Christmas party tonight where 40-50 people are coming. Hopefully out of that, two or more people will become better friends. 100% of these people are friends she or I have made after college, predominately through other people willing to share. For reference, we're in our late 20s.
Simply put, it's on you to build community after college. It doesn't get forced upon you like in a university.