In one word, the term for this is “adulting” defined in the urban dictionary as a way to “do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as a 9-5 job, mortgage/rent, a car payment or anything else that makes one think of grown ups.” Call it a Millennial or Generation Z thing, owning up to your responsibilities has become “a thing” now and graduating from college to enter the workforce is a prime example of adulting—something that absolutely terrifies new graduates of almost any generation.
Difference Between Life as a Student and an Employee
The reality of working as a professional employee and not as a student is a real eye-opener for some new graduates. With college, it was more of a choice that didn’t have such impactful consequences. If you failed a class, you bore the shame of failure with an invisible Scarlet F on your chest, but as a student, you have the opportunity to re-take that course and pass it with a better grade. It isn’t until after you’ve graduated that you fully recognize the consequences of a failed grade on your transcript resulting in a lower GPA. That’s the adulting part.
As a new graduate, employers become particularly interested in your GPA since there’s very little in the way of experience an employer can see on your resume. They will assess you by your overall college career performance.
As an Employee, You Can Be Replaced
Maintaining a good GPA is just one of the responsibilities that you’ll have to answer for when transitioning from a student to an employee. Meeting a deadline is no longer a matter of shamefully facing your professor’s disappointed face. It becomes a serious matter of whether or not you’ll have a job to pay rent. As an employee, you are getting paid to execute a certain series of tasks. If you cannot do this well, your job will quickly find someone who can. Sometimes, your replacement can come without warning and you could be out of a job and a paycheck.
How You Can Do a Good Job
Making sure that you execute tasks efficiently and on time is crucial to any job position. In order to do this, you must be extremely organized. Using the same organizational skills you utilized to earn your college degree can be applied toward your job as a professional
Other Things You Need to Know about Working as Professional
In addition to meeting deadlines and maintaining proper organizational skills, the seriousness of working as an employee can be far more intense than working as college student. As an employee, thousands and even millions of dollars are oftentimes contingent on how well of a job you do. The reward goes far past a letter grade here. When money is involved, stress levels can be at an all-time high. This is because everything is new to you. While you may have learned quite a bit in the classroom, you’ll quickly discover that what college has taught you is a starting point to help you apply the basic fundamentals of your academic interests toward a rewarding professional career.
How FNU Prepares You to Work a Professional Career
FNU’s academic curriculum prepares you for real-life work experience and can help prepare you to make a smoother transition from a student to a valuable employee.
Depending on what kind of degree program you enroll in, some of the requirements demand that you complete a certain number of working credit hours. You will need to consult with an FNU advisor to determine which one of our programs has these requirements. You can also take a look at our online curriculum to see all of the degree, certificate, and diploma programs we have to offer.
Many people argue that college does not prepare you for everything. While parts of this statement might be true, FNU would like to put to rest the concerns of working with different types of people with different personalities—something stated in LiveCareer.com.
FNU Prepares Students to Work in a Cultural Melting Pot
FNU is one of the most diversely populated universities in the South Florida area. With two campuses situated in Hialeah and Miami, we pride ourselves in educating a diverse number of nationalities and international students. Attending FNU as a student will not only give you the opportunity to earn a quality education from a regionally accredited university, it will also place you in a unique situation where you’ll be able to learn alongside people of other nationalities. You’ll be able learn something from them and they will learn something from you.
Furthermore, college students have made some long-lasting relationships, whether it was on a personal or professional level. Building relationships with people from different walks of life is a fruitful way to prepare for the workforce. It will also prepare you to work in almost any work environment in the country or even the world!
Above All, Just Do Your Best
Your first job out of college will most likely be entry-level. This means that your primary objective is to gain as much on-the-job experience as possible. Learn as much as you can. Do as much as you can. Meet the deadlines. Be reliable. Ask questions, and be open to help your co-workers when they need it. You never know. Someone might recognize all of your hard work and reward you with a promotion, or perhaps another job opportunity may arise.
Florida National University is Here to Help
Florida National University is about setting our students up for success. By awarding associates, bachelors, and master degrees, we are setting our students up for more opportunities that they would not have had if they didn’t have a college degree. If you’re concerned about whether or not you’ll be able to transition from a college student to a working professional, don’t be. With a FNU degree, the transition will be smooth, but like your degree, it will require hard work and determination—two ingredients that are essential for adulting!
Call to set up an appointment today to get the admissions and financial aid application started now! You can even contact us online!
