My Advice for the Class of 2018
Congratulations to all of the 2018 grads and good luck with your future plans! It has been 15 years since I graduated college, and I wanted to offer a few tips to the new graduates:
- 1
If You Don't Know What's Next, That's Okay
"What's next?" That was my first question when I graduated. For 17 years, I had a set schedule, I knew where I needed to be, and knew where I was going. I was extremely fortunate to have done an internship which turned into a job soon after I graduated. My advice? Just put your resume out there to as many places as you can. If you have to start at the bottom, then start at the bottom. You have to start somewhere right?
- 2
Student Loans Are A Necessary Evil
If you're like me, you needed them to get a college education. And guess what? They aren't going anywhere. Six months from now you'll have to start paying them back. Consolidate what you can, and hopefully your payments will be low and you can pay more then required. I'm still paying on mine, but next year my goal will be to FINALLY pay them off.
- 3
Jump In
Chances are you won't be doing exactly what you want right out of college. Heck, I worked in retail until I got hired into my professional career. But bills need to be paid, and you can't sit on your parents' couch forever. So jump and get started on doing something. Eventually you'll find what it is you want to do.
- 4
Make Connections
This one's important. Meeting one person can get you in the door to meet another and so on and so on. The more people you know and the more connections you have will result in more opportunities down the line.
- 5
The More You Fail, The More You Will Learn
I have been in radio broadcasting for 15 years, and I can't tell you how many times I have failed. But I learned from my mistakes and when the situation came up again I knew what to do. Failure is okay as long as you learn from that failure.