The Transition from St Andrews to Real Life

[The Kinky Monkey]

OK. This is mainly directed at graduates but anyone is welcome to comment.

Has anyone found it particularly difficult (or easy for that matter) when finally leaving St Andrews?

I have to admit to finding it pretty hard. The handiness of all the friends and of the shops.
General uni life i.e. waking up late, partying till the wee hours, going down the beach lighting a fire and playing the geetar.

'Real' life as many can imagine is a bit of a shock to the system. Working 8-6. Having to actually worry about paying stuff as there is no hardship fund here when you're skint! Not having enough time to see people (relative to St Andrews where you could catch up almost too much!) because of the ever increasing workload.

I'm not looking for sympathy or anything here, just a few comments from people who've graduated and their experiences with moving on.

Cheers.

[hr]

Do good to all men, but at the end remember to collect your fee.

[Gealle]

I found it really difficult to adapt. And still do. So much so, that I'm considering going back to uni in September to retrain as a computer scientist. Commerce is WAY too stressful to stay in long term for me.

As for ever-increasing workloads. I know precisely what you mean. I feel like each and every week is lumbering me down more and more right now - it's at the point that I've been working out the exact figures so that I can quit later in the year relatively financially broke...

You're not alone. I miss St Andrews, but more than that, I miss the university way of life. Albeit, not so much the parties, but more the opportunity for reflection, thought, innovation... and the parties.

[hr]

Oh... I didn't realise it would explode.

[Gubbins]

Real world? I'm still trying to avoid it. I intend to avoid it for as long as possible.

That said, even moving to a PhD is a major leap. Going from a 30-hour to a 50-hour week (not including university-related public outreach events), not having time to see your friends (and being a long way away from them), not having the idyllic setting of St Andrews itself, that kind of thing.

That said, though, the opportunities I have with my PhD are second to none. I get to travel to exotic locations, I get to do work that I really enjoy, and, above all, I get to work on my own time.

So I say to all you newly-hatched office monkeys out there - break free from your bonds, and go and work in a job that you actually enjoy. Work part time. Find somewhere you can take flexible hours. Make the most of your life. They make take back your pay, but they'll never take your... FREEDOM! Raaaar!

[hr]

...then again, that is only my opinion.

[nighteyes]

Sorry to hear you are down about work. You were so upbeat about it the last time we talked. Impressed about the going back to uni thing though.

Personally I am intending a year out and going back to Uni myself. Slightly freaking about facing the real world in a few months though. I am starting to wonder just how well I am going to manage my money.

Quoting gealle from 09:19, 9th Feb 2008
I found it really difficult to adapt. And still do. So much so, that I'm considering going back to uni in September to retrain as a computer scientist. Commerce is WAY too stressful to stay in long term for me.

As for ever-increasing workloads. I know precisely what you mean. I feel like each and every week is lumbering me down more and more right now - it's at the point that I've been working out the exact figures so that I can quit later in the year relatively financially broke...

You're not alone. I miss St Andrews, but more than that, I miss the university way of life. Albeit, not so much the parties, but more the opportunity for reflection, thought, innovation... and the parties.

[hr]

Oh... I didn't realise it would explode.

[hr]

i didnt say i was consistant, just right!

[Si]

I'm also finding it difficult. It doesn't help that so many of my friends are still in St Andrews, and are still having the time of their lives. I can't wait for my next visit.

[pea]

I didn't think I had found it tough, but looking at it now it has been a bit hard.

Like you say about the friends thing, everyone is so close and handy at uni and you take that for granted. My home friends are very spread out and I don't see them as often as I'd like to. And the friends I have still at uni mean travelling to see them, which gets tiring and grating, but something I feel I have to do if I want to keep the friendships alive. It does feel like I always have to make the effort. From graduation up until about Novemeber, I was going up about every other weekend. At the time I thought it was because I wanted to see my friends, but now I realise it's because I was scared of being forgotten (though at the same time scared of being one of those graduates that people always groan about visiting all the time) and losing my only friends. Someone even asked if I came to visit all the time because I had nothing better to do, and I suppose the truth of it is yes, I don't have anything better to do. I work all week, have an evening class one night a week and the gym a couple of times a week, but that's all I do. It's such a change, going from spending pretty much 24/7 with your friends to only seeing the people you work with (and your family, in my case) all the time. My job is a run of the mill office job, and I dread ending up like the people working there who've been there for years, but because I "only" got a 2:2 and don't feel I can compete with other graduates, I don't apply or look for a "proper" job. I realised in my final year that I'm not academic and it's totally knocked my confidence. I do daydream about going back to uni and doing Photography, but I don't want to end up trying my best and ending up with another average degree. And I still think about going on to do an MSc but the not academic thing puts me off. And I daydream about being a musician, a bar owner, a professional photographer...

I don't know, graduating has messed me up and I know I'm just caught in a cycle of work-sleep-eat. It's too easy to just stay in it...

[hr]



I'm a little pea, I love the sky and the trees...

[Gealle]

I guess what I wrote earlier is perhaps a little bit skewed from what I really meant.

I've got the most supportive boss I could hope for. The big issue I have is that the organisation will basically be putting me into a role I know I could NOT cope with for more than a couple of months if I don't manage to secure something permanent at the end of my programme in June. I guess THAT is what's really getting me down - the thought of going for more interviews after suffering the rejection and heartache of going for this role in the first place.

Compared to that, the relative poverty and hardship of uni seems to me a blissful thing.

Gubbins hit the nail on the head. Make the most of your life.

Now, if I go back, I'll probably wind up working just as many hours as I currently do "part-time", but at least I'll know that the career path I will be focussed on for four years will be something more relaxed.

I tell you what though, I won't - for a second - regret the choices I made first time round in studying something I loved in a place I love.

I'm glad you're thinking about the year out thing. If you go to Prospects.ac.uk there's actually a REALLY cheesy photo and article I was interviewed for on gap yearing in the UK <.<

Quoting nighteyes from 15:05, 9th Feb 2008
Sorry to hear you are down about work. You were so upbeat about it the last time we talked. Impressed about the going back to uni thing though.

Personally I am intending a year out and going back to Uni myself. Slightly freaking about facing the real world in a few months though. I am starting to wonder just how well I am going to manage my money.

[hr]

i didnt say i was consistant, just right!

[hr]

Oh... I didn't realise it would explode.

[nighteyes]

Well what I mean by a year out is doing an HNC in Applied Science and working as a nursing assistant before applying for med school.

[hr]

i didnt say i was consistant, just right!

[Euro]

I don't see how it would be a hard transition. I'm home more than I am at St Andrews throughout the year and I don't live in the UK. Just came back today and probably home again in about 2 weeks time. It helps that being in 3rd year theres only class about 2 days a week. But once I graduate, I'll probably forget all about St Andrews, it's just where I go to school, the other 30 odd weeks I'm at home.

[Gealle]

Let's just say it isn't a case of where you live.

It's a case of what you're doing.

Quoting Euro from 20:22, 9th Feb 2008
I don't see how it would be a hard transition. I'm home more than I am at St Andrews throughout the year and I don't live in the UK. Just came back today and probably home again in about 2 weeks time. It helps that being in 3rd year theres only class about 2 days a week. But once I graduate, I'll probably forget all about St Andrews, it's just where I go to school, the other 30 odd weeks I'm at home.

[hr]

Oh... I didn't realise it would explode.

[box_of_delights]

I graduated in June and originally I didn't really think of the implications of leaving St Andrews. I was more excited about having a graduate job and moving to a completely new city away from home or St As. I knew I would miss it, but it wasn't until recently that it hit home more, after the intial excitement and buzz of the grad job and moving to a new city.

I don't think going back would ever be the same, and so I just relish in the thoughts of all the great times, places and people. I think to go to somewhere like St A's and leave it without missing it at all suggests you probably weren't suited to the place or didn't make the most of your time there. I just look forward to visiting it again at some point when I can actually get some time off work. Actually, one thing I really, really miss is the time to just sit about with coffee or watching a meaningless daytime tv show, or wandering down the West Sands early in the morning etc. That gentle, leisurely way of life that is so far removed from the "real" life we're living in now. As someone above said, it would be nice to do more than work, come home for a quick meal and snooze before going back into work again! Makes you realise having been somewhere like St As that there's so much more to life than just working all the time.

[hr]

[s]http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37101440&pwstdfy=c9c14f50e63e4951ba5a9abb7ffcdc6e[/s]

[JM]

Did anyone do a gap year? any stories or tips on managing money etc, things they done.

I've contemplated one but not sure, its now a back up plan if all else fails and just wondered how people found theirs to be or have tips on what to do.

[hr]

"Life can be full of many problems"; this can be translated into "tormenting you is how the big man gets his jollies"

[Okocim]

I can totally empathise with the comments made on this thread. The transfer from student to graduate life can be really hard. After leaving St Andrews back in 2003 I felt bereft and to compensate threw myself 100% into what I thought would be my career, only to realise that two years following graduation, I'd made hardly any new friends at all. My social life was almost nil.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Through persistance, courage and bit of what you might call "growing up" during the last couple of years I've managed to get myself another degree, a great job, a loving partner, some brilliant friends and an active social life. I still get nostalgic about my undergrad days (hence reading this site!) but the memories don't make me feel sad or inadequate any more.

If I've any advice to people going through the same thing I did back then, I suppose it would be to prioritise the things that really matter to you (eg. friends) and make time for them, even if it does get tiring. But also, don't live in the past. Even if your current job isn't the thing for you, squeeze as much experience and learniing from it as you can and use this to move on. I may not always have had a fantastic time in my first job, but it taught me a whole load of stuff that is indispensable to my career now.

Ooh, I'm glad I finally admitted some of that stuff and got it off my chest!

[Guest]

If you were doing a chemistry degree, where you are basically in the building from 9-5 during 4th/5th year, then the transition to real work isn't that hard as you are already struggling to find time to do anything other than work. Plus I don't agree with the hardship fund - it just allows people with no control of their finances to buy things instead of teaching people how to save.

Quoting The Kinky Monkey from 04:16, 9th Feb 2008
OK. This is mainly directed at graduates but anyone is welcome to comment.

Has anyone found it particularly difficult (or easy for that matter) when finally leaving St Andrews?

I have to admit to finding it pretty hard. The handiness of all the friends and of the shops.
General uni life i.e. waking up late, partying till the wee hours, going down the beach lighting a fire and playing the geetar.

'Real' life as many can imagine is a bit of a shock to the system. Working 8-6. Having to actually worry about paying stuff as there is no hardship fund here when you're skint! Not having enough time to see people (relative to St Andrews where you could catch up almost too much!) because of the ever increasing workload.

I'm not looking for sympathy or anything here, just a few comments from people who've graduated and their experiences with moving on.

Cheers.

[hr]

Do good to all men, but at the end remember to collect your fee.

[The Kinky Monkey]

Well I wasn't doing a Chemistry degree and in addition to the hours I work (around 8am-6pm) there is travelling time (around an hour each day- this was never obviously an issue in St Andrews) plus doing work on Sundays which leaves Saturdays free for stuff like grocery shopping and that. Like I say though, I'm not looking for the sympathy, maybe just some time management tips!

Also, I think the Hardship fund is designed for people with a low family income (correct me if I'm wrong), not just an additional bit of cash to fritter away. Although I do agree that people have to learn how to save.

Quoting from 12:10, 9th Feb 2008
If you were doing a chemistry degree, where you are basically in the building from 9-5 during 4th/5th year, then the transition to real work isn't that hard as you are already struggling to find time to do anything other than work. Plus I don't agree with the hardship fund - it just allows people with no control of their finances to buy things instead of teaching people how to save.

[hr]

Do good to all men, but at the end remember to collect your fee.

[Ashley]

A fairly recent graduate (June '06) I'm perhaps qualified to comment.

I graduated and then worked jolly hard that summer. And then as soon as I could, I got away from Britain on a gap year of sorts. I think if I had stuck around I would have missed the place too much.

So, I moved to France for 9 months and taught English. It was precisely what I needed - a good change from life in Britain and life in St Andrews.

After graduating, I did miss the place and the people tremendously and the necessary life adjustments didn't come easy. I found myself making one or two nice trips back straight after finishing but by keeping myself as busy as possible, and by throwing myself into the unknown of living in a foreign country, I think I did okay.

And as of now, I'm living in London. Very fond memories of St Andrews still but I'm glad I live here now.

[hr]

Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day

[anon]

Stick it out for a couple of years...work gets better after your first promotion. ALL entry-level jobs are mind-numbing, everyone who does them hates them, and guess what? Whatever field you work in, you're going to end up actually working at it (and I seriously doubt many of you put in the hours you should have on your degrees, so you're not used to 8-9 hours a day). Instead of diving back into university life to reclaim your old lifestyle, pay your dues in the working world and in a little while you'll start to reap the benefits. Like a grown up lifestyle: nicer place to live, really indulging your interests, socking away cash for NICE (not budget) holidays and even retirement. Put all that on hold for another degree, or postgraduate work, just because you miss waking up late and making your own hours, and you'll regret it in the end, trust me.

[Bonnie]

There is no transition.

One never leaves St Andrews, either physically or mentally

[bdw]

Welcome to the McMatrix, Bonnie.

[novium]

The 9-5 sucks. On the other hand, weekends are all the sweeter for it. I miss research, though. And the ease of a student life style.

[hr]

Neither the storms of crisis, nor the breezes of ambition could ever divert him, either by hope or by fear, from the course that he had chosen