You've graduated university, but to what end?

Picture this: you've brushed off the last of your submissions, handed in your final-year project, and are sitting all cosy in your bed as you prepare for convocation. Life is good, you've dealt with senior-year duties and you're all set to advance to the next level. In the deceptive high of relief, you decide that you can take on any challenge now.

You just completed all your university obligations; what can be worse that that, right? Then you open LinkedIn and the horrors begin anew. Inflation is off the charts, the world is on fire, and you're innocently standing in the middle of it all. You have no sense of direction and, truthfully, nowhere to run.

If you're in my shoes, you don't need to picture this at all. It has already dawned upon you that this is going to be your life forever. If you've accepted it, good for you. Even so, what comes next? Let's review the world as you see it now.

Your degree doesn't matter

If you didn't know this already, I'm terribly sorry to break it to you this way. You've finished university - terrific feat, everyone's proud of you - but the back-pats only last for so long. Then every walk-of-life guru bombards you with this classic phrase: Your degree does not matter in the job market. Isn't that delightful to hear? To a high-schooler maybe, not a university graduate.

If a degree truly doesn't matter, what about those who specialise in academia? What about theory-focused majors? What about setting foundations? What about the glaring evidence that grades have indeed taken you from one institute to the next? Hardly anyone addresses these questions.

Not to mention, if you've spent your freshman year at the mercy of COVID-19 and squinting at screens, this is the last thing you'd want to hear. According to a study conducted by Dongol et al on university students affected by the pandemic, fear of contracting the disease amplified stress levels in individuals and induced clinical insomnia, which further impacted academic performance.

To offer a personal sob story, I used to be an outgoing A'Levels student - someone who became fond of extracurriculars and making new friends after years of shying away from social interaction - until 2020 came by and I was back in my shell. As someone who enrolled in university during that year, I can confirm that the pandemic effect was real and it altered every step towards my future.

The unnerving job market

By this point in your life, you are familiar with internships and how insightful they are. However, they only scratch the surface of the mind-numbing process that is a job hunt. If you are like me and haven't properly navigated the job market prior to this moment, strap in for a ride.

Curating a LinkedIn profile is a chore on its own, and once you do manage that, many surprises await. After hours and even days of scouring the options, you stumble upon a firm hiring fresh graduates and you're pleased, until you realise they are asking for years of experience that you couldn't possibly have sustained. Calculus didn't equip you for this.

According to a survey conducted by Intelligent in December 2023, 58% of 800 employers in the US believe that fresh graduates are unprepared for the workforce; nearly half of the sample admitted to firing a recent graduate. This is due to an age-old reliance on senior employees and a general distrust towards Gen Z hopefuls.

But that's the US. Let's say you manage to secure a job in Pakistan, or anywhere in the world, don't think the struggle stops there. Filing documentation is an underrated nightmare and it becomes your entire life moving forward. You thought you were done handing in assignments and double-checking your personal details before every major exam? Here's some more of that struggle, so whip out all major files you had forgotten about and get ready to make several runs to the bank.

For all the introverts who relish the comfort of their own bubbles, I have some news: you have the mercurial world of work culture to adapt to, and it's nothing like making friends in university. Some of us luck out with accommodating coworkers, who are generous with how frequently they extend a helping hand. Even so, you'll often find yourself at the edge of a fine line, pondering whether or not it's a good idea to ask a certain question.

You are new and you need help, but not every question needs answering. Take a stand on your own, but you also cannot afford to be confused. Take it easy, but also never fall short on time; catch up to speed, but don't compromise on quality. Reservation shows maturity, but you also lack social skills; affability indicates good networking skills, but be careful not to cross the boundaries of professionalism. All of this then leads to one existential question: where do you belong?

This has been a frightening discussion, so let me offer a trade-off. This journey is not linear and it's different for everyone. You might envy someone's success story, but to them, it might just be a bare-minimum accomplishment. As per a Harvard Business Review research on 78 professionals in London offices of two unnamed firms, 30% of men and 50% of women confessed to resisting longer work hours.

As evidenced above, an ideal life for some might have to do with effectively maintaining a work-life balance, like squeezing in time to check out an art exhibition they were looking forward to or even something as little as having a good night's sleep. As graduates, I'm sure we all understand the immense value of nightly rest.

Granted, the market is competitive, but it is also as vast as the world we live in. Much like every provisional period of life, you'll find a place for yourself here, too; or you'll build one on your own. The bad news is, the gruelling journey has just begun. The good news? You have your whole life to figure it out.

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