Question: I am terrified to graduate as it feels like I’m leaving my life behind to enter an unstable job market. I’m scared I will have to live far away from my partner if I can’t get a job in the same place. I’m scared that I will have to move home. I’m scared I will lose all of my friends. I’m scared I won’t get a job and I will have to do something I hate for the rest of my life.
Answer: Long time no write friends! (Fourth year has been rough, okay?) Honestly, when I opened up the old Google Form to decide what I was going to write for my last ever Braw column, these could have been my own words staring back at me. I am scared sh*tless to graduate too, so you are far from alone in feeling like this.
I won’t lie to you, the job market is hellish right now. I’ve been refreshing LinkedIn constantly since I handed in my final project to no avail. I was rejected after reaching the interview stage for one position recently and it really knocked my confidence. I was filled with the usual self-hatred and left questioning what the hell have I actually achieved at uni?
If all you did at uni was scrape by and survive, that’s enough. Getting through these weird four years is an achievement in itself, especially with the dark days of covid and Teams classes tainting the ‘best time of our lives’.
The added tensions graduation puts on our relationships (both platonic and romantic) is something I’ve totally been feeling too. Some of my friends already have jobs and flats lined up – the rest of us are stuck in limbo and that’s scary. I have absolutely no idea what our lives will look like in six months, never mind a year. You just have to trust that both parties will make the effort to stay in touch.
Me and my partner have also had countless discussions about where we want to live and what we want to do, and sometimes I feel like we’re going in circles. As terrifying as it is, the best option is to just go with the flow for now. Endless talking with no aim in sight will lead to resentment.
And remember: you aren’t chained to one job forever. No one should be holding you hostage there and you will always have the right to leave. There is no shame in working somewhere temporarily while you wait to break into your dream industry – money is money and (unfortunately) we all need it to survive. Neither should there be a stigma about moving back in with your parents.
You are not alone. While I can’t promise you everything will be okay, I can promise you that.
Enjoy the last of your student days while you can – I’m clinging on to them for all I’m worth.
-Agony Auncle
Disclaimer: I am not a professional, just a student giving out advice for fun. I don’t claim any responsibility for the outcomes of the situations submitted to me.
Feature image credit: Pexels
Film, media and journalism student. I like writing about my inability to eat gluten.
