You've Graduated University, But To What End?

Picture this: you’ve brushed off the last of your submissions, handed in your final-year project, and are sitting all cosy in your bed as you prepare for convocation. Life is good, you’ve dealt with senior-year duties and you’re all set to advance to the next level. In the deceptive high of relief, you decide that you can take on any challenge now.

You just completed all your university obligations; what can be worse that that, right? Then you open LinkedIn and the horrors begin anew. Inflation is off the charts, the world is on fire, and you’re innocently standing in the middle of it all. You have no sense of direction and, truthfully, nowhere to run.

If you’re in my shoes, you don’t need to picture this at all. It has already dawned upon you that this is going to be your life forever. If you’ve accepted it, good for you. Even so, what comes next? Let’s review the world as you see it now.

Your degree doesn’t matter

If you didn’t know this already, I’m terribly sorry to break it to you this way. You’ve finished university – terrific feat, everyone’s proud of you – but the back-pats only last for so long. Then every walk-of-life guru bombards you with this classic phrase: Your degree does not matter in the job market. Isn’t that delightful to hear? To a high-schooler maybe, not a university graduate.

If a degree truly doesn’t matter, what about those who specialise in academia? What about theory-focused majors? What about setting foundations? What about the glaring evidence that grades have indeed taken you from one institute to the next? Hardly anyone addresses these questions.

Not to mention, if you’ve spent your freshman year at the mercy of COVID-19 and squinting at screens, this is the last thing you’d want to hear. According to a study conducted by Dongol et al on university students affected by the pandemic, fear of contracting the disease amplified stress levels in individuals and induced clinical insomnia, which further impacted academic performance.

To offer a personal sob story, I used to be an outgoing A’Levels student – someone who became fond of extracurriculars and making new friends after years of shying away from social interaction – until 2020 came by and I was back in my shell. As someone who enrolled in university during that year, I can confirm that the pandemic effect was real and it altered every step towards my future.