The one fun one: If you think you're done learning, you're done.
Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
31–40 of 134 posts
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#32I just graduated last night, but this doesn't feel terribly enlightening to me. I don't know if I didn't have the typical college experience or if people like the author just tend to be more vocal about their experience because those in my position had a less rosy view of the whole thing. But it's obvious that I'm in a different group when I read stuff like
> There’s no more Spring break or three months off for summer.
When I was in college (feels weird to say it in the past tense), summer wasn't 3 months off. If I wasn't taking any classes, I was working full-time so that during the long semesters, I could work only part-time and still be able to pay rent. Spring break meant I could get a little boost to get me through until summer.
I just finished yesterday and I'm intensely relieved. I will have so much more free time than I've had the last several years. Maybe I can start a side project or contribute to open source. I'm playing a video game right now. A month ago I would've felt guilty because weekends were the only time I could catch up on homework.
My post-graduation plans? Seize all that extra free time! Start working out more. Go to that weekly Reddit poker night. Go to more concerts. Go to programmer meetups.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#33Remember how those first few weeks of college were intensely social. You meet a lot of people you'll know the rest of your life. It's a critical time. I recommend: Social > academic. But they're intertwined, so work hard, and work with others in your core area. Be helpful and smart and humble. Don't worry about your non-core subjects (let others help you). Don't go nuts with freedom. Go to parties, but drink very lit…
> "Don't have a girlfriend at all, this is a time for lots and lots of friends" You seem to be suggesting the two are incompatible, but in my experience that's not really the case at all...
Of course being in a relationship and having other friends are not incompatible, but the time commitment, reordering of priorities, strain on your mental/physical/pecuniary resources will almost inevitably harm your relationships with other friends.
Not to mention being in a relationship with someone can lead to profound changes in a person's character, and those changes may not gel with existing friends...
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#34Remember how those first few weeks of college were intensely social. You meet a lot of people you'll know the rest of your life. It's a critical time. I recommend: Social > academic. But they're intertwined, so work hard, and work with others in your core area. Be helpful and smart and humble. Don't worry about your non-core subjects (let others help you). Don't go nuts with freedom. Go to parties, but drink very lit…
Go to parties, but drink very little, avoid drugs, don't get caught up in sex. It's fun, but save it for later. Don't have a girlfriend at all, this is a time for lots and lots of friends.
I personally think the opposite. It's your 20s, enjoy it while it lasts.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#35> Your first job out of college won’t make you or break you I disagree with this statement. Certainly, if you go to Google/Facebook/Microsoft/Apple, the choice doesn't matter and you can do whatever after you've learned how to work on real software. But getting into games and many other fields can be astoundingly difficult even two years out of college, as it's difficult to overcome the "finance," "healthcare," or "c…
I'd love to have more employers pipe up and comment here.
I'm guessing that, although more challenging, changing gears is not altogether impossible (or even very difficult).
Certainly one should develop skills in an area that one is interested in impacting, but this kind of mentality breeds fear and risk aversion because new grads begin to see pursuing interesting opportunities as career risks versus character/skill building.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#36Some positives I didn't realize about life after college:
- You have complete control over you choices. You did in college, but by choosing to go, you are forfeiting some of that I think, at least psychologically.
- There may be things about school in general that you hated, or thought were stupid, but never realized until you got some distance from them. I had this experience, I was filled with a warm glow for about a year when I realized this!
- You are in the "real" world. I hate this distinction, because it is not true, but it is still nice to know that the hopefully small part of your mind that subscribes to that distinction can now forget about it.
- You can use all your strengths to do what you want. Instead of trying to play the academic game, which limits the degree to which you can be resourceful, now you can use anything and everything to make things happen.
- You will learn a lot more about who you are, and your natural tendencies, since you have so much more freedom.
- I was, and still am surprised at how incredibly incomprehensibly vast and mysterious the world is. This was much more hidden to me in school.
This may not be true for everyone, or even for most, but I'm sure there are lots of people on HN who felt these things. To those of you on your way to graduation, I hope you aren't fearful. For me, it was probably the happiest transition of my life. That's not to say there weren't some of the most extreme difficulties, but overall, its been wonderful.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#37I dont usually bring it up, but curious - am I the only one who finds a blurb like this a bit unseemly: If you enjoyed this post, I’d be humbled if you’d follow me on Twitter.
It struck me as a little strange, as most people say they'd be honored to have your attention, not humbled.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#38I've found that it's easy to let your life become unfocused after leaving college. Up until graduation, you always had built-in goals on which to focus: pass that test, find scholarships/jobs, graduate, etc... After graduating and finding a job, I was suddenly without any pressing objectives in my life. What's next? Retirement? That's way too far off (probably). I was working and living my life day-to-day, not unhapp…
This is one of the biggest things for me post-graduation. My life has recently been so consumed by achieving one big goal. Once it's accomplished, I just kind of wonder..."what's next?" I mean, I have a big interview at a top tech company on Monday and I've got a standing offer at my current job where I can be comfortable, but it's such a big transition to not have some large, looming goal to work toward.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#39Nice tips but I already knew that in elementary school. The most important thing is not the transition after the college or university but your work and making connections WHILE you are studying.
- You must build your network while you are studying and find people who you like to work with (look at Facebook?). Of course that depends on what University you are studying. Better University, better networks.
- Besides chasing girls and partying don't just learn to get good grades. Find something you like to do and work on it, your field of interest etc.
- Join all kinds of university projects WHILE you are studying that you think can help in your future job, career. Ask your teacher and tell him: I WANT MORE :) Especially if he is well known and you think he is awesome. Work more then everybody else and show him your own projects. He will introduce you to other interesting people. Latter in your life he can recommend you to someone or help you in finding a good job (maybe, you never know).
- Go to other lectures and find interesting people and ideas
- Don't enjoy your student life too much
If you work on all this your transition will be a lot better after you get out. I studied with one of the best teachers and performers in my field and he used to say to his students: "Look at that guy over there (me), you have to be crazy like him"
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#40I just graduated last night, but this doesn't feel terribly enlightening to me. I don't know if I didn't have the typical college experience or if people like the author just tend to be more vocal about their experience because those in my position had a less rosy view of the whole thing. But it's obvious that I'm in a different group when I read stuff like > There’s no more Spring break or three months off for summe…
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