Probably what I miss most about college is living off the same hall as most of your friends, who you're around 24 hours a day. There was always something fun going on.
Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
51–60 of 134 posts
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#52I 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…
Oddly, I felt like I had much more free time after college. When work ended at 5pm, I suddenly had this huge 7 hour window of time where I had no homework to work on, no projects etc... I started reading for fun, working out, doing side projects, and I still had time!
I felt the same, until I started seeing my job as not "Do what my boss tells me to" but as "Contribute something awesome to the world." That job is never done - there's always some other project you could be working on, some way you can make your product better, someone else you can help out.
On the plus side, it's a lot more fulfilling than feeling like you put in 8 hours for a boss so you can have 7 hours to yourself. It's like the distinction between work and play melts away and it's all play.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#53Keep 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…
Also, make friends with the friends of your friends of the past. (If that made any sense...)
I find that the bulk of the people I meet who are not in tech are friends of my college acquaintances. I went to a liberal arts college, and then my path diverged from my classmates rather drastically after college. So most of my college friends are humanities types, either going to law school or med school or struggling to find employment. And their friends tend to be like them.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#54> 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…
Brand yourself as a generalist. It helps if you work for a company that does a whole gamut (from hardware to GUI-level software). Also do side projects in a totally different area from your work. I was (am?) a hw engineer but had no trouble selling myself as a software guy by emphasizing the software work I've done and my side projects. If you still remeber algos and datastructures you can blast through the interview…
Yes, but then you lose the ability to brand yourself as a specialist, and miss out on some of the more lucrative opportunities.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#55Remember 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 back home
Possibly one of my biggest regrets. I don't know that things would have worked out better otherwise, but objectively speaking it was one of my most foolish mistakes.
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#56I 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…
If I may suggest one addition to your list of things to do with your newfound free time: travel! It can be really difficult to go on any real adventures while you're in school, especially when you're holding a job on top of that. Now that you're out and still young, go explore!
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#57Remember 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.
I'd say, enjoy it, just be safe (don't endanger yourself)
And drugs are bad mmmkay. (I don't advocate, still, let's hope people know what's their limit)
Except the 'don't have a girlfriend' part, do have a girlfriend!
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#58Here are some things I wish someone would've shared with me...
- If you want to thrive in the professional world, get a fucking haircut and at least look the part.
- If you think that you can send out a bunch of resumes and be flooded with calls about job offers, you are wrong.
- Most of the phrases you've heard in your youth are true. Ex. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease". See the above point. If you get a job (or a check) just by sending a resume (or invoice), consider it an anomaly, and yourself lucky.
- In life, everyone is only concerned about their own well-being. You've got to learn to highlight 'what's in it for them'. See the above point.
- You're on your own, so make your time and actions count!
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#59Keep 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…
Basketball is a surefire way to meet people in any town, because it puts 10 strangers in the same spot and requires 5 of them to work together. If you play regularly at the same court, after a year you'll know 50 people pretty well.
Of course, your status among those people will be determined by how good you are at basketball and nothing else :)
Re: Things I wish someone had told me about life after college
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oddly, I felt like I had much more free time after college. When work ended at 5pm, I suddenly had this huge 7 hour window of time where I had no homework to work on, no projects etc... I started reading for fun, working out, doing side projects, and I still had time!
I felt the same, until I started seeing my job as not "Do what my boss tells me to" but as "Contribute something awesome to the world." That job is never done - there's always some other project you could be working on, some way you can make your product better, someone else you can help out. On the plus side, it's a lot more fulfilling than feeling like you put in 8 hours for a boss so you can have 7 hours to yourse…
I'm in the same boat here. I worked for a Fortune 500 corporation for the first 3.5 years after college, and for the most part I was just putting in my 8 hours. I enjoy software development, but the atmosphere and mentality at this business didn't encourage you to go the extra mile. If you said, "Man, I love this company," people would give you strange looks, probably suspecting you of being a suck-up. There was a lot of "us-vs-them" mentality with regards to the regular employees and managers. On top of all that, the systems and teams were so huge that you could only get so far ahead with your work before you had to stop and wait for the "marathon, not a sprint" types to catch up. All in all, it was discouraging, and it started to kill my passion for developing great software.
Earlier this summer, I quit that corporate job and joined a 10-person tech start-up with highly-motivated, smart, and optimistic employees. Everyone believes in the business's potential, and we all strive to make our work better and better. There are no set hours (whatever is most efficient for your lifestyle), and vacation is unlimited. Combined with a small, motivated workforce, these policies result in an environment where developers no longer feel like children doing chores but trusted professionals who can handle their own responsibilities and work/life balance.
All that to say: Life after college can vary greatly depending on how you make your career choice. You can take the corporate job if you like, but I love working for a smaller business with flexible policies and motivated co-workers working hard to change the future.