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Career

Post Graduation Fears and Reminders

Arden Palmquist
Madeline Myers
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Akron chapter.

I have 50ish days until I walk across the stage at the University of Akron’s graduation commencement and declare myself an alumnae of the blue and gold. And I’m freaking terrified. To be totally transparent with you, I am losing my mind over what happens after this chapter of my life closes. I’ve never not been in school. It has taken up most of my life, so what am I supposed to do once I pop the champagne in celebration of this accomplishment?

Fear: I won’t get a job post grad

I’ve been on LinkedIn like my life depends on it. I’ve even been to a handful of interviews and everyone in my family has been trying their hardest to continue to motivate me to get a well paying job. This is beyond stressful. I want to make everyone proud but I need to be hired somewhere first. 

Reminder: Everything happens for a reason. Take a big breath in and let it out. Let the universe try and handle this one (re-read that until you believe it).

Fear: What if I hate my job?

As I continue with my job search, I am trying my hardest to find a fit where I won’t hate my life and where my job won’t consume me when I’m not in the workplace (wherever that is). What if I take a job in a different city and HATE MY LIFE? Clearly, I’m over thinking this entire process but I know I’m not the only one.

Reminder: Not every entry level job is going to be glamorous, you have to work for it. 

Fear: Being financially unstable

Is it just me or do most jobs seriously lack the pay you deserve? As I’m doing research, I realized that I should be making a good amount, not the amount I’m being told in the interviewing process. 

Reminder: If it doesn’t pay the way you want it, don’t take it. Don’t settle. 

The fear of graduating has been more stressful than I can even imagine. I’m at a weird point in my life where I want to make the people who were there for me in college proud but I also can’t exactly pinpoint what I want to do with my life. I feel as if my time is running out—yet I have all the time in the world. But as I’m going through this odd phase of life, I am trying my hardest to remind myself that, “Everything happens for a reason, you just need to be patient.”

Arden Palmquist is a Senior at The University of Akron majoring in Public Relations. She enjoys blogging and posting on her Instagram.
Madeline Myers is a 2020 graduate of the University of Akron. She has a B.A. English with a minor in Creative Writing. At Her Campus, Madeline enjoys writing movie and TV reviews. Her personal essay “Living Room Saloon” is published in the 2019 issue of The Ashbelt. Madeline grew up in Zanesville, Ohio. She loves quoting comedians, reading James Baldwin, and sipping on grape soda. She fears a future run by robots but looks forward to the day when her stories are read by those outside of her immediate family.