Your First Job Won't Be Your Last
kAYLA LESESNE
For many of us, our ultimate goal is to secure a job during college or immediately after we graduate. Sometimes we have such tunnel vision about getting a job after graduation that we do not look at the particulars of the job they desire. Like a shiny object, everyone wants the job that sounds good on paper or to work for the company with the most prestige. . But many students base their desire off what the job appears to be and not what the job really is day to day. Often, the day to day of a job is completely different than how it is advertised. There are other important aspects to look at when considering what job to take. Because expectations don’t often match the reality, many graduates do not stay with their first job.
Another reason for this incongruence is many of us have passions that stem from analysis and not experience. As students, we often have little or no experience in our dream jobs so we base our passions off a very narrow view of the world. This causes a gap between what we really want and what we think we want. |
But here’s the thing—your first job does not have to determine the rest of your career. There may be some who love their first job and know for a fact that they want to continue down that path for the rest of their lives and there are others who are still lost on what their true passion is. But for the vast majority of us, that first job is not the last. A survey conducted last year by Future Workplace found that, “91% of millennials expect to stay in a job for less than three years.”
The time after college is a great time to explore the real world and figure out likes and dislikes. Sometimes it’s okay not to have a plan because plans can give singular views of the world. Don’t worry if your first job is not your dream job or not what you expected. There is still time after college to figure out what your real passion is and find a job that fits that passion.
The time after college is a great time to explore the real world and figure out likes and dislikes. Sometimes it’s okay not to have a plan because plans can give singular views of the world. Don’t worry if your first job is not your dream job or not what you expected. There is still time after college to figure out what your real passion is and find a job that fits that passion.