Life After College: 6 Ideas to Consider After Graduation

6 Ideas to Consider after Graduation

I’m 100% certain you landed here because you’re about to graduate from college and the question “what are you going to do after college?” has been passed around you. Your parents are asking.

Class mates and close buds are wondering – School’s almost out!!! What am I going to do after now?

You can go further to ask, what are my dreams, plans and future goals?

Let’s face it, some persons got it all figured out even before they got into college. Well Kudos to them.

However, that wasn’t the end game in your universe when you got into college, so truly, What’s next after College?

As difficult as it might be to answer this question for different persons as we all have different things that drive us or motivate us. Heck, if you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s fine friend, we’ve got you covered, with 6 ideas for what you can do after college.

1. Get a Job

So obvious, isn’t it? College wasn’t all drinks and dances. You had a career in mind somehow that led you to apply to college. To answer the what to do after college question, try to remember Why you applied to college in the first place. If you intended to gain certain knowledge on a certain career path, then utilise this knowledge and your spanking new certificate to apply to jobs that are in line with the career path you have chosen. Curate your resume, Find and apply as many open entry level job positions as possible in your chosen field until the right one clicks. Start before you graduate, tell other people what you are interested in and don’t be afraid to ask them to put word for you out there if anything comes up. You might even have to send cold emails to companies or organisations you are interested in working it. So long as there is a will, there’s a way right?

This is a good start especially if you are looking to pay off your student loans.

2. Try Internship

This will be relatively easier to find that a job. The reason being that almost any company believes that fresh out of college graduates might not have the right experience to handle most vacant positions. They believe you are still learning the ropes and will rather pay someone with more experience than a fresh graduate.

To not lose out complete, you can apply to work as an intern. The major pro is that you get to leave the house daily at least, you get to build on your skills and improve your area of expertise, you’ll meet new people and increase your network (ever heard the saying that your network is your net-worth?), you have a higher chance of being retained or promoted to a full time job position in the same company. While a major Con is that you might be paid crap or not even paid at all. Best to weigh which means most to you and tread carefully.

3. Take Professional Skill Courses

Let’s face it in this digital era, skills are valued over certificates. Are there certain skills you are interested in – Graphic design, Software Development, Yoga, Writing, Photography, Social Media Marketing, Finance Management, Project Management etc. Find and enrol in either online or offline courses that will help you hone these skills. These skills can help you while searching for both full time or freelance jobs (if you don’t want to be boggled by a daily 9-5). Did you know that Freelance writers alone can make between $24,000 – $115,000 annually, depending on the platform you choose to work with. However its not a days work. It took learning and practice, and you can do the same.

4. Travel and Earn

For the special folks who are not quite sure about what to do after college, you can start saving up and just after graduating up and travel. This is an opportunity to see a new place and anything else the world has to offer (which is a lot). You can take this time to wind back and relax, treating yourself to a much needed retreat from projects, home works and Professors. Or you might as well earn some money while you’re at it.

For example schools Japan and South Korea are always on the hunt native English teachers to teach their kids English. Qualifying for English teaching Jobs is easy, you’ll only need your bachelor’s degree, a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate and an employer (in Japan) who can help you secure your work visa. Equipped with these, you’ll be on your way to bagging a minimum annual income of 3.4 million Yen (or $31,000) while still having the time to tour the rest of Asia and other parts of the world, try different cuisine and languages.

5. Volunteer

Raise your hands if you care about our earth!!! You are the real MVP. If you are interested in humanitarian works, health care, helping out at troubled nations, clean environment and conservation of natural resources. Or you care about human, women and children rights and looking to forge a career in this path, you should consider volunteering.

While Volunteering won’t bring in any income, it is a valuable way to use your free time, help make a positive change, network and build relationships with people and organisations that might be important to your career, provide essential life lessons and strengthen your resume giving you a strong edge during job search.

6. Become a Social Media Influencer

Got an interest in a particular industry or area? Why not own that space and earn money while at it.

Social media has ultimately brought the world closer and made information quite accessible. Influencer marketing is one of the things it brought along with it and in full force. This $10 billion dollar industry is still raring to go as gone are the days people purchased things just because of TV Ads or elaborate celebrity endorsements. There are now regular people we love because they are real, understand our direct needs and will give us the true scope of the products or any brand. They are what are collectively called Influencers.

They have developed on a knowledge or skill they have and become an authority figure that other persons listen to because they have proven themselves knowledgeable and credible in that field. Now brands or businesses looking to increase their visibility are flocking to influencers to review their products or services, put out a post or few for them and ultimately bring more cash. The best part, influencers get paid for it.

Its pretty easy to become an influencer all thanks to social media, the simple steps include finding your niche, creating the content, distributing the content, choosing your desired social media channel, engaging with your followers, staying fresh and being consistent.

This is a great way to start earning money with near 0 zero cash. But it will take a while to build reputation and credibility to where brands or companies will start paying attention to you and finally pulling in on your investment.

Other notable mentions of things to do after college would be;

• Start a business – maybe you’ve noticed a gap in the market and believe you have the solution for the problem, you should create, package and sell the solution to those willing to pay for it.
• Applying to a University as Research Assistant to a professor because universities have allocated a significant amount of their resources to research.
• Become a nanny, Try organic farming etc.

No one is born with passion to persevere on a particular path, passion is developed. It might even take a while. If you haven’t figured it out yet, its OK. Try a series of things till you find the one that leaves you fulfilled.