The post university wake up: a year in the life of a recent graduate

June 20, 2009
By Aimee Horwich

Picture it. Graduation day, July 2008. After three years of long, hard slog I would at last get to reap the fruits of my labour. Pulling up to the library steps, divorced parents in tow, I beamed with excitement at the prospect of getting to don my cap and gown, whilst in the back of my mind I hoped that the master of ceremonies would pronounce my surname correctly. (Horwich seems to cause bafflement to many; I like to think of it as Norwich, with an H.)

Graduates-in-waiting, at this point, I offer you a word of warning. Do not be in the least surprised that if at your Graduation, like mine, you only get to wear the cap for the professional photographs and the degree scroll you proudly hold in fact turns out to be a glorified plastic loo roll holder….not quite what I was expecting either. Still, my graduation photo is definitely the most aesthetically pleasing in the family which, in a way, makes up for the fact that I didn’t equal my older brother’s First. Yes, this was the first day of the rest of my life, my year of exploration (as I named it) was to begin and I only had one demand; that I would by no means work in a shop.

But the economic recession had set in and so had my post-university wake up call. I, like many at university, had immersed myself in education, expecting to walk into any job I wanted, ill-equipped for the reality that lay waiting.

Like most graduates with a BA in English I was beyond clueless as to which career path to take, so for several months I undertook internships at various television production companies, working in a press office and filming on location. I was mixing with celebs and getting to hang out with a real life camera crew; it was as if the laissez-faire of university life hadn’t ended. That was until I remembered that I had no student loan to count on and my phone bill and ‘Christmakah’ presents weren’t going to pay for themselves. I had no choice but to leave the agreeable world of work experience behind me, swapping it for the joys of Boxing Day customers who were discontented with their faulty goods. Yes, you guessed it, as if moving back home wasn’t awkward enough, I had wound up with a job – in a shop.

I expect some readers to disapprove of my apparent dismay at having to serve people at a till but then they would be missing the point. I wasn’t dismayed, I was simply disappointed. Whilst routinely studying for my finals until library closing time, I hadn’t quite pictured this as my path. But the economic recession had set in and so had my post-university wake up call. I, like many at university, had immersed myself in education, expecting to walk into any job I wanted, ill-equipped for the reality that lay waiting.

Indeed, an English degree isn’t vocational and I have struggled to be considered for any jobs that sound remotely interesting. However, for those graduating in 2009, who may find themselves in a similar position to mine, do not be disheartened. This lack of profession has taught me far more than a finance degree and shiny corporate job would have done. I have encountered professionals in television, in the press, in retail, in recruitment and in law. I even had a job interview to be a celebrity’s personal assistant (even if, to my annoyance, they wouldn’t tell me who the celeb was). And I can tell you with pride that I have as much direction now as I did last July. After all, this was my year of exploration and that is exactly what I have done. Besides, when I was at uni I was far too busy enjoying student life to concern myself with a 25 year career plan.

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