Chapter 52 — Go do.

Don’t get stuck waiting.

I worked hard during my third year of university. Really *censored* hard. I worked so hard that I barely moved down a gear and chilled out at all in the eight months from September to May. But even though it put a strain on me mentally, I’ve never had a period of time teach me so much.

Throughout those eight months, I dedicated as much energy as I could to learning everything possible about what I saw myself doing in the future. But that didn’t just mean dumping all of my time and energy in to university work. Instead, I spread my energy out across freelance work, my own projects and university work.

See, I knew that having a degree, even if I came out with a First, just wasn’t enough. No one cares all that much about about a degree anymore, not unless you have something extra to show alongside it. Don’t get me wrong, degrees are great and I’d still feel confident getting a job with just a degree, but I wanted to leave university with that little bit something extra.

‘Just a degree’ wasn’t good enough for me.

I’ve said this numerous times to the parents, but my course didn’t teach me all that much. Most units lacked substance and I basically went through the motions to pass them as best I could while not really learning a lot.

Every time I’ve ever mentioned to my parents how little my course really taught me, they reply in the way you’d probably expect.

What was the point of getting yourself in to a ridiculous amount of debt then?

So what have we been paying for these last three years?

What a waste of time!

Well no, I say, wait a second.

I don’t think I ever believed that my course would be the answer to all of my problems when it came to finding a job straight after university. I don’t think I ever believed that it would teach me everything I needed to know and leave me feeling like an expert in a certain field.

Courses like mine aren’t supposed to pave the way to your dream job. They’re not designed to hold your hand and drag you through the noise to an interview for a job you’d be perfect for.

Courses like mine light a path, but the darkness surrounding that path is for you to explore. It’s your responsibility to discover the things a university course can’t show or teach.

And there’s a hell of a lot of stuff a university course can’t teach, trust me. Too many students finish their time and think ‘Right, where’s this job I’m entitled to?’

You’re not entitled to anything.

You think you deserve a job for getting a degree? You deserve a pat on the back, but you certainly don’t deserve anything resembling a job.

Show me something extra.

I have a degree and a year’s worth of experience in freelance social media management, copywriting and digital content creation and even I don’t feel entitled to a job. I’m confident enough to think a company would be lucky to have me, but I’m not resting on my laurels. I’m not waiting for a job to fall from the sky.

A lot of people my age with a degree seem to be waiting. A lot of people my age with a degree seem to be resting.

Stop resting. Stop waiting.

Go do.

Thanks for reading!

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