WHAT TO DO AFTER GRADUATION

So, you just graduated from college and are now facing the ultimate dilemma: What’s next?

Well, rest assured as you are not alone; almost 80% of fresh graduates are confused about what to do after graduation.

The decision you make after graduating college is crucial for both your career and your growth. There are a variety of options available on what to do after graduation. So, it’s important for you to do your research.

At this time, you might be wondering if you should take a job or go for higher studies or go all in and be self-employed and create your own startup?

It is absolutely normal to have such kind of questions, and, therefore, it’s time to do some introspection. To help you with that, we are here to enlighten you on the different paths available after you complete your graduation:

Take up a job

Almost 60% of graduates start looking for job opportunities right after their graduation.

If you are someone who is inclined towards the idea of getting a job right after graduating from college, then as your first step, you need to build a solid resume and do holistic research on the job opportunities available for your field both inside and outside the campus.

Taking up a job might be a good decision to make as it:

• Provides financial stability and work experience
• An early start to your career
• Independence

Gets you to see the world outside your classroom
These are some of the benefits of taking a job right after graduating from college. Although, it is hard to get a decent paying job with a bachelors degree and most graduates struggle in finding the same or it turns out to be a bad decision as the newly hired graduates lack the experience and maturity to fit in the corporate environment.

However, you need to be very cautious about making such decisions. While taking a job might sound fancy and satisfying but if your job profile doesn’t fit you well then you might be at the risk of making a bad start for your career.

That’s why before you go on grabbing a job after earning your degree, sit down and contemplate on the following-

• Why do I want to choose this job?
• Would this job suit my working style?
• Is this the kind of job I thought of taking when I decided
  to pursue my undergraduate?

Will I be making the same decision after 3 years of work experience?

Now when you have the answers to such questions, it will be the right time for you to make up your mind about the job prospects after graduation.

A Gap Year

If you feel like you are done with your academic life and need to take a break to accomplish personal goals and self-growth, then taking a gap year after college is never a bad option.

A gap year after graduating from college is the right choice to make if you want to spend some time on yourself and are willing to explore the things around you. A gap year is a wise choice for those who want to see more of the world, learn new languages, experience different cultures and meet new people before settling for a monotonous work routine.

Many people take a gap year after earning their bachelors degree so as to build in some specialized skills outside the classroom which will eventually contribute to their career. Or they prefer traveling around the globe, exploring possibilities, expanding their network and making them a much more interesting job candidate which would make them more employable in the long run.

Not only this, if you are someone who is willing to pursue higher education in an abroad university, then taking a gap year might be beneficial for you. It will give you the time to prepare yourself for all that it takes to study at a top university abroad. This way you can utilize your gap year in an efficient way and gear up for your dream of studying abroad!

Be an Entrepreneur

If you’re struggling to find your dream job, why not create it yourself by setting up your own company?

If you are a confident individual who is creative in his/her approach and loves to do something different, then being self-employed might be a tempting decision for you. Entrepreneurship is the ultimate dreams of millennials nowadays.

Although it is a risky venture and requires a lot of dedication and determination, the experience of building your own business will be worth it!

Starting your own venture right after getting out of college might sound like a great idea but if you have the grit to pull it off then it might be one of the best things that you would do in your life. If you have a business idea you cannot stop thinking about or believe in making something new out of the available resources then it will be the perfect time for you to take action right after graduating.

With the right use of your entrepreneurship skills, and a meticulously created plan of action you can give wings to your dream of self-employability. It is a great path to choose after graduation due to the following reasons-

• Independence and Autonomy – to make your own decisions
• Control – over who you work with and the type of work you do
• Freedom – to work on the projects that make your heart sing
• Flexibility – to fit work commitments in with family and other interests
• Opportunities – to build a portfolio of activities funded by different sources, and to respond to ideas and proposals as you see fit

Recognition – you’re able to take the credit for everything that you do, create, design or invent.

It also gives you a great chance to expand your network and discover more along with the control of your employability in your hand.

However, you need to be sure that self-employment or entrepreneurship rightly fits you. Being your own boss might sound like fun but as the owner of a business, you’ll need to juggle a number of responsibilities such as providing a service, marketing the business, and financial and staff management.

You’ll also have to work to bring in customers and deal with the uncertainty surrounding the availability of work. Self-employment can also affect your personal life when the boundaries between work and leisure become blurred.

Post-Graduation

Pursuing a post-graduation after graduation is one of the safest and wisest paths to tread on once you are out of the college.

Keeping a close check on the literacy rate worldwide and the top-notch competition prevailing among industries and individuals, it is crucial to contemplate the fact of the need to pursue higher education.

How higher education is beneficial for your career?

• An investment in future
• Provides in-depth knowledge of your subject
• Lets you have an idea of the market
• Provides a hands-on experience
• Creates better career opportunities
• A post-graduate degree automatically hikes your pay
• Gets you academic recognition

Gives you an opportunity to contribute towards world’s knowledge
Now that you have decided that you wish to pursue higher education after graduation, you need to start researching what degree you want and which college you would like to go to.

As it is a tedious task to sift through the pros and cons of your post-graduate degree, we have cut it short for you and are here with the best option to go with your higher studies.

The job market is becoming more and more competitive and employers are looking for candidates who not only understand the dynamics of the market but also have some practical experience.

Undoubtedly, earning a masters degree is the best way to kickstart your career after graduation. A masters degree like MBA, MiM, MS etc has its own individual benefits but overall speak for the same idea.

Degrees such as MBA, MiM and MS has been becoming a trend amongst the youth and also a requisite in order to attain a decent job in the present scenario. In contrast to MBA, for which certain years of work experience is a pre-requisite, MiM, and other specialized early-career degrees will allow you to kickstart your career right after graduation.

Pursuing masters from abroad not only provides you with better career opportunities but contributes to your overall growth and, overall, is a life-changing experience.

The benefits include :

• Experiencing the positive cultural difference
• Becoming a more independent and responsible individual
• Discover a new passion
• Build an international network
• Learn a new language
• Higher paycheck
• Enhance your skills
• Boost your CV

With more and more students considering pursuing their higher education abroad, the top universities are coming forward with scholarship opportunities and financial aid as a token for welcoming international students.

It comes across as no surprise that the job prospects after earning a masters degree from international university spikes exponentially.

More than 13,000 full-time students sought employment before graduating from the 131 ranked graduate business schools in 2016, according to the data submitted to the U.S. News in an annual survey. 88% of those students were employed within three months of graduating

Although every masters degree has its own pros and cons, it is important for you to choose the degree that suits your personality and aim for the best college.

Here is a list of top 10 universities to pursue your higher education abroad-

• Stanford University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• California Institute of Technology
• Harvard University
• Princeton University
• Yale University
• University of Chicago
• Johns Hopkins University
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of California, Berkeley

Studying in the above-mentioned universities is a dream for most of the students out there. But with the right knowledge, accurate plan of action and utmost dedication, it is very much possible for you to make this dream come true.

Conclusion

Although there might be differential views on what to do after graduation, ultimately, it is up to the individual to choose the path which suits him the best but just in order to survive in today’s world, one needs to be informed and cognitive of the things around. In our opinion, a masters degree is a must in order to kickstart your career with high employability chances, and international exposure is just the icing on the cake. Thus, it is recommended to go for higher studies and attain a benchmark for your knowledge with relevant skills before stepping into the corporate world.