Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban
“Could you please write about life after graduation,” asked my just-graduated students. “ We want to hear from you on that topic,” they added. “ Oh, what a topic!” I thought to myself. “ It is a minefield, very difficult to navigate through and full of explosive questions.” l found myself face to face with a genuine part of my job as a teacher which is to track students after graduation and take the pains of putting myself in their place, a task unfortunately overlooked by most of us who are burdened with so many responsibilities: giving classes, doing exam work, doing research, among many others. How is it life to newly-graduated young people? How do they start a new chapter of their lives? What are their fears and aspirations? And are they prepared enough to start this journey?
In their own words
I thought for a while and with the instinct of a researcher l said to myself “ I need to hear from my students. I need to know how are things after college?” I got a quick look at some of the responses. Here are some. “Feel like I’m lost and can’t decide what I really want,” wrote one grad. “It feels so weird. I feel like I am too mature now and have lots of responsibilities,” wrote another one. “ I have a contradicting feeling of both happiness and sadness. Sad because life has become harder as I’m no longer dependent on my parents and gotta find a job asap. Also saying goodbye to my colleagues was the big deal,” wrote a third one.
Then I asked them to compile a list of the most frequent responses.
• A change of routine.
• Mixed feelings
• A sense of worthlessness and boredom
• No inner peace
• What is next? No clear plans
• I feel relieved. But I’m seriously considering a career shift.
The responses reveal the deep worries of young people, which are so natural and justifiable. They also point the finger on families and institutions alike, blaming them for nurturing the state of uncertainty young people are experiencing. I have always noticed that there is a huge difference in the physical appearance and psychological wellbeing of students before and after graduation. The undergraduates are looked after, care-free, shining and enthusiastic. Just one or two months later, the same students turn into different ones. They become helpless, confused, and disoriented.
To my dear students and being a mother of two just-graduated daughters, I have some suggestions that I would like to share with them.
Global achievement gap
First of all, we have to admit that coping with the stressful life after graduation is a big concern for young people. They have been busy with the academics. But the world is currently suffering an increasingly wide gap between what universities and schools teach and what gob market really needs. Such a gap is termed global achievement gap. The traditional role of universities in present-day world is seriously questioned. Young people do not have to get a university degree to start a career. In fact, many mega tech companies such as Google and Apple hire people with no university degrees. The problem these responses uncover is that most people still believe that having a degree is enough to get a ticket to a well-paid job and success in life!
Life skills
Secondly, one of the top requirements for leading a successful life in general and getting a job is mastering life skills. Unfortunately, schools and universities do not teach such life skills as living independently, working under pressure, managing conflicts ,etc. Families also share responsibility for the lack of these skills. The overprotective upbringing of children makes them over-dependent, less confident, impatient and risk avoiders. Families usually do not charge their teenagers or millennials for any expenses and seldom do they push them to work and pay for their education. In an interview with the BBC, the British Secretary of Education Damian Hinds said that part-time jobs are one of the best teachers of life skills which are “life lessons learned from having to suck it up.” So getting students ready for work and life, and starting their business is an urgently-needed responsibility to be burdened by universities. Luckily, many successful programmes in many universities around the world could inspire the rest in this regard.
“Fail again. Fail better”
Thirdly, be ready to fail. Failure is the route to success. Right now, Samuel Beckett’s most famous and inspiring quote is ringing in my ears. It reads: “ Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again, Fail again. Fail better.” Every time you try and fail, you become stronger than lying idle and never trying. The second time you fail would be much better for you because you become more experienced and know the ropes. In her podcast series “ How to fail with Elizabeth Day”, she reiterates that battling failure is part of life and that it leaves its print on us more positively than success. We should break silence on our vulnerabilities and realise that setbacks can turn us into high achievers. So, roll your sleeves up! Find a job, any job. Keep trying and keep your chin up! Try as many jobs as you can. Don’t expect to find the job of your dreams straight away. Each job would give you more experience, build your skills and enhance your social networking, which are so important for shaping your personality. Nowadays, it is quite common to find people skipping their jobs or sifting their career. No problem!
Never stop learning
Last but never least, never stop learning because life never stops giving lessons. Empower yourself. Enrich your experience. Pursue a postgraduate degree. Enhance your social skills. Read as much as you can. Spot your weakness and work on them. Travel to any place, you would gain privileges beyond words. Love people and do not fall into the trap of comparison. Comparison is the thief of happiness. And stay positive.
Finally, to my dear students who have not yet graduated. Start now. Be ready for life.
By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban
Professor of Linguistics
Faculty of Arts
Kafr el-sheikh University
Email: [email protected]
