Life after graduation

By David Barkdull
Argonaut Staff

Students must be prepared for the real world

With each passing day, the harsh reality of graduation and taking the next step draws nearer for University of Idaho seniors.

The reality of what’s to come after graduation, with no preparation, is also setting in, something that may contribute to drop out rates for younger college students.

According to the American College Testing Report, out of 2,654 colleges and universities surveyed nationwide, one out of every four students will dropout of school by their second year.

Dan Blanco, former director of Career Services, said the classic dropout is Bill Gates.

“For every Bill Gates there are thousands who get a degree that others didn’t get a shot at,” Blanco said.

But dropping out can be unnecessary, said Blanco and author Jason Steinle.

Steinle, author of “Upload Experience: Quarterlife solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings,” said when he graduated he worried about life after school.

“When I graduated I had all these questions and I thought I was all alone, but began to find out my friends were in the same situations,” he said.

Steinle said that after four years of research he has come to realize that as quarterlifers – people in the early to mid-20s – know far more than they give themselves credit for.

“Our major hurdle is that we have not yet learned to trust ourselves or the process of making our way into the real world,” he said.

Anne Wimer, a senior marketing and Spanish major, said this is a time when students are trying to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

“It’s scary, that’s for sure,” Wimer said. “It’s also exciting.”

One issue recent college graduates are faced with is settling into a job.

According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, 10.9 percent of 20-24-year-olds were unemployed in September 2003, as opposed to 6.7 percent in September 2000. The jobless rate for 25-34-year-olds rose to 6.3 percent from 3.7 percent during this same period.

Steinle said one of the reasons recent college graduates move from job to job is that they are not used to the lack of changes with which college students are faced, such as transitions from summer and winter break.

“Oftentimes the problem is not that the job is a poor fit. Instead it’s because, as quarterlifers, we’re so used to change every few months that we feel like something’s not right,” Steinle said. “People get really antsy.”

Steinle said students should find out about as many things as possible at college through clubs and organizations so they have a better sense of what they are interested in.

Blanco said sometimes people are faced with a fork in the road, and what they are working with on a day-to-day basis is not what their actual degree was intended for.

“It’s important to start early,” Blanco said. “Searching for a job should start as early as your freshman year.”

Blanco said there are three pillars students should rely on when making the journey through their college careers.

“Do as well as they can academically, because some majors are more (grade point average) sensitive than others, develop professionally relevant job experience, and develop what I like to call walking-around smarts,” Blanco said.

Blanco said “walking-around smarts” include communicating well orally and in writing, because sooner or later in life students must make use of persuasion techniques to make a case for their ideas.

Staying motivated might be another problem UI students deal with while making the journey through their college careers.

Steinle said what he found among successful people in the workforce is that they have systems to keep them going. He suggested creating a list of five motivational songs, five motivational movies and five people who “pump you up,” which will make things easier when times get tough.

“When you’re getting overwhelmed come graduation time, you can go to that list,” Steinle said. “It changes your state and allows you to get back to what you’re working on.”

After interviewing 300 quarterlifers, Steinle said, “We should take the experiences of these quarterlifers so we don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. I wrote ‘Quarterlife Solutions’ because I want to share with you what others have generously shared with me.”