I Finally Accepted My First Real Job Out Of College — 16 Months Later
I didn’t think it would take this long for me to find a real job. Really, I didn’t. If anything, I figured it would take a few months, maybe up to a year. My professors told me I could easily get a job in something I wanted to do because I was talented. Because of this, I believed them.
Except it didn’t work that way.
I graduated 16 months ago. In that amount of time, I’ve applied to more than 600 jobs. I’ve worked selling merch, taking care of kids after school, and waiting tables. I interviewed with a hundred different companies, through the phone, online and in person. Most companies have ghosted me and I never got to hear back from some of the jobs I liked.
Enough about my journey, though — in those 16 months, I’ve seen so many of my fellow classmates get jobs. They find jobs in their field, move out of their parents’ house, and are already on their own. They’ve got it all right. They are the students that my professors told me I could be. I was supposed to be one of them. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA, two concentrations, a minor, and a four-year loyalty to an online magazine. Why was I not joining my classmates in these accomplishments?
Instead of finding a job in Boston (where I went to school) and moving down to the city, I stayed home in my small town. And I started looking for local jobs that didn’t involve taking food orders and hoping to get a 20 percent tip.
I just accepted a job, finally. But it’s not full-time. And it’s not necessarily in the field I studied. And I’ll keep living at home. HOWEVER, it’s a step. I’ll be using my degree rather than working a minimum wage job. I get to make strides in my career. I have the chance to work with new people in a new field and really learn how to transition into the working world.
Because that’s the thing — I’ve never had a “normal” job.
Waitressing involves being on my feet for 10+ hours a day and relying on tips. Slinging merch is similar to waiting tables. Keeping kids occupied until their parents pick them up is definitely unconventional. My internship was mostly working from my dorm room. Hell, even when I worked at my school’s library, I could do homework during downtime.
Today I thought to myself, huh. I’ve never had my own desk.
And you know what? I’m excited for it. I can’t wait to start this job. I get to put a picture of my nephew on my new desk and work a normal schedule. I’m about to have a normal job. I get to put my degree to use.
Was the wait time worth it? Probably not. And I’m still mad that it took me so long to find a job where my schooling is worth something. But here’s the thing: I’m finally about to have some of the same accomplishments as other alumni. I’m finally getting this right.
