Life Past College

• Clara Boles
• September 27, 2022
• Career Guide Article

Flustered by life after College? Read this article to learn how to handle it!

---

Clara Boles sat down with Elizabeth Byers-Doten, Assistant Director of Academic Excellence and Transformational Education, College of Agriculture at Purdue University, to chat about life past college and managing a full-time career. Elizabeth’s role at Purdue is to help students discover different opportunities in the college of agriculture to help transform their leadership experience.

 

You graduated and are starting your full-time career, entering the so-called real world—how different can this be? Personally, I didn’t realize how big of a life change this would be, and I don’t believe I am the only one who feels that way. Some of the following tips may help!

 

Go in with an Open Mind

 

Elizabeth gave this advice: “Go into this process with an open mind and be honest with yourself. Make sure that your values align with your company and coworkers.”

 

Just because you are graduating and you might not have homework every night, remember the learning is not over yet! You might think you know everything about this role, but you do not, and that is okay! Find a way that works for you to retain all this information. For example, I took notes on my computer during my training, and I still reference these notes after being with the company for over a year. Keep your mind open to all opportunities and possibilities!

 

Set Your Boundaries Early

 

In college you are a student 100% of the time. It is common to be checking your email at dinner or doing homework at midnight. Realize a full-time job has a start and end time. Elizabeth mentioned that a boundary she set for herself early is not having her work email on her personal phone. If you are going to be tempted to check your email at night, simply do not put the app on your phone, or turn off notifications. Once you open that door of answering emails or being available to coworkers or clients outside of work hours, it is going to be much harder to shut that door later in your career.

 

But, realize for some agricultural roles this just won’t be the case, for example, if you are a veterinarian, you could be on call at certain times, or a seed salesperson is obviously going to be much busier ahead of the planting season. There are also ways to set boundaries for these types of roles, but it may just look a little different.

 

Don’t get too comfortable

 

is a very new stage of life, so don’t get too “comfy!” Make new friends and try to get to know your coworkers!

 

Elizabeth told me, “I have found one of the best ways to work with different generations is to have mutual respect for each other.”

 

Try to think of this as a growing opportunity and learn something! Having friends / mentors at work makes learning new things easier and asking those questions less frightening. Feeling uncomfortable is part of the change and growth; learn to be okay with those feelings.

 

Remember to keep asking questions. I know at one point when I was hired, I almost got nervous to ask a question, because I thought to myself, “If they hired me to do this job, I should know what I am doing, right?” WRONG! Yes, you should have some idea of what you are doing, but every company does things a little bit differently. It is 100% normal for someone to ask questions. Wouldn’t you rather ask and clarify than do something wrong?

 

You actually have been preparing

 

If you really think about it, you have been preparing for this life change! You went to class, which is now your “work,” and you were involved in activities outside of class, like clubs, sports, church, volunteering, which are now your “social life.” The time management you learned in college by balancing these things in your life is now paying off!

 

Work may sound repetitive. We don’t get a spring break or that summer break we all dreamed of in school. Make sure you are going into a company that aligns with giving their employees the deserved time off. Plan your time off and look forward to that trip or even a “staycation.”

 

KEEP DREAMING

 

Elementary school, high school, college, dream career, okay…. now what?? I am a goal driven person. I LOVE looking towards the next thing. So, when I got a job with a company that I could see myself working for over the next fifty years, I freaked out a bit. And to be honest, I feel like I probably wasn’t the only one.

 

When talking with Elizabeth, she said, “It is so important to still dream and have goals, and let other people know of those goals.”

 

Everyone’s goals don’t look the same. They could be saving money for a trip, being a board member, or even finding a volunteer activity they love! It is so important to keep dreaming! AG