5 Biggest Lessons from Working while Pursuing College Degree
Is that really torturing?
Starting a career while pursuing degree in university is a blessing in disguise — work experiences, personal development, financial independence, CV updates— the list goes on; however, they can make you age 3x faster if you are too stressful, or end up losing yourself through the influence from outside environment. What really matters is how you interpret, manage and twist them together.
Here are my 5 Biggest Lessons from Working while Pursuing College Degree, which may also be applicable to young employees who just graduated:
- Observe More, Expose Less:
If you work and study at the same time, I assume you are either not 20 yet or in your early 20s, which can be considered young and inexperienced. Oftentimes, the main rule you need to remind yourself every day as a wake-up call is observe more, expose less — to put it simply, listen more, talk less. Even if you are a top student in university and have a lot of ideas in innovating or upgrading things from A to B, keep in mind that in workplace, you may often be rejected. This does not illustrate that the company is not open to new ideas and challenges, but sometimes your ideas can be beyond practicality because you are too absorbed with theories introduced in class. Remember that you are kickstarting your career and willing to learn new things; thus, the only way to get there is to listen as much as possible, whether they are personal or professional experiences, and observing more on verbal etiquettes, clothing style and work ethics from your colleagues, while trying to limit the chance of exposing yourself too much like you often act in class.
In the meantime, “expose less” does not mean “not exposing yourself”. It is crucial to show your talent and uniqueness at workplace, but always do that at an acceptance level. Exposing yourself too much won’t do you any goods because you are a newbie, but positive exposing opportunities which you should grab are when ideas are welcomed to be solicited and strengthening network by meeting new people and joining B2B conferences.
2. Your Passion might not really Matter:
A lot of university students use the term “passion” very often: I am passionate in becoming a filmmaker, digital marketer, ambassador, entrepreneur, etc. However, real-life experience might not always go as planned. Personally speaking, passion might not matter because of three specific reasons. First, you may not be good at what you are passionate about. For instance, your passion is to become a financial analyst, but numbering and calculation are not your taste.
Second, your passion was misdefined. Oftentimes, young adults quickly consider anything to be a passion because of the influence from public figures, family members or friends. It is necessary to understand that everybody is different — just because someone is better off starting their business in a young age does not mean you should risk it too. With that being said, sometimes you may consider something to be your passion because you are confident with it in your university, but on-the-job duty is perhaps beyond those tons of theories and jars of formulas.
Last but not least, your passion does not fit in the current job market. If there is no employment opportunities in your home country in response to your defined passion, it is advised to set that aside at the moment and grab what is coming along your way. If you wish to study and work at the same time, it is important to kick off your career with something you are most familiar with or what’s coming to you. Your initial intention was to learn and experience work environment; hence, it is better to go for what is open for you first.
3. Your Exhaustion can Backfire You:
Assignments are mountainous; especially when it comes to the final year at university, while SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) and Work Target are always there. Work-study balance is the fundamental part when choosing to work and study simultaneously. Failure to maintain work-study balance when working and studying at the same time is like a failure in leading your everyday life, which will cause dropping out from one of them, lower results than expectation; or in more serious case, a mental disorder. It is important to have a clear schedule on your daily tasks and act in accordance with what was planned, so that you won’t leave anything behind. In worst cases, there may be risks along the way, but would be minor compared to if you are just heavily swayed by the spontaneous work and does not have anything specific written down and planned out.
4. Understand Personal and Organizational Goals:
Self-explanatorily, you have your personal goal, and your workplace also has its organizational goal. If personal and organizational goals do not blend well together, then it may be an obstacle in case you plan to develop your career there in the long-run. If you are a result-oriented and freedom-loving person, it is difficult to stay at a place which tend to micro-manage the employees and limit your chance of showing yourself. However, instead of caring too much about this, take it as a chance for now and study should there be any ways round. Before you stress yourself out whether the company is the right fit, be reminded that you have approximately 40 years to work and explore.
5. Not Everyone is Your Friends:
A lot of people tend to have problems with maintaining rapport with colleagues, yet paths may be similar while experiences may not. Colleagues at workplace can be supportive or toxic, depending on whom you socialize with. If you are surrounded by likeminded seniors who are understanding, considerate and willing to share their experiences, then you are lucky. People say “respect” is equal to everyone, but here comes to reality: colleagues may respect you better when your position is from middle management level. Starting as an intern or first-line employee may create more insecurity when it comes to relationship with co-workers. You may feel a little bizarre when the conversation between one person and your boss is different from the person with you— but try to lower your expectation from people and set your own boundary. It is unhealthy to please everyone around. All you need to do is to focus on your work, do it at your best and befriend with those who bring positivity into your life.
[Aforementioned ideas are subjected to the author’s personal opinions. Any conflicting opinions should be kept within yourself or commented in the form of information sharing. Critics are not welcomed.]
