What is life like after graduation?

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jbWHO

Member
Mar 30, 2002
159
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oooh, when in school (if you can) then maybe you can extend the deadline for project.

but after school, i can't do that anymore (with money comes more responsiblity)
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: gigapet
ok lets see......the first 3 months on the job you are full of energy and excitement about the outlook for your life. This quickly fades along with the novelty of being at a real world job....as the monotony of your day to day life begins to become overbearing...Waking up in the morning becomes harder, the paychecks become less ....ummm extravegant as they once seemed. The 2 weeks vacation is a grim reminder of what your life has been reduced to. You are now a corporate slave. Your only glimpse of happiness comes in small forms such as good buffalo wings.....a drunken friday night...getting to sleep in on a sunday. Soon you spiral into a depression when you realize that its been almost a year in the real world and your dating life sucks, your boss is pissed your projject is late, you cant remember what you wanted out of life and those goddamn bills never stop!

ok someone else take it from here this is all i know so far.


Best real world reply so far, IMO. True. Sad but true.
Hey, but it is okay, because if you bust your ass day in and day out, you will get recognized for it at the end of the year with a cushy promotion to "Senior" whatever the fvck your job title is and a fat 3% raise. Then your wife wants to upgrade her life to match your newfound status in the company and ups your monthly outlay by 5%.
 

mitaiwan82

Platinum Member
Nov 29, 2000
2,209
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Originally posted by: ultimatebob
Originally posted by: acemcmac
Originally posted by: dquan97
what's G35?

a very desirable sports car


Yeah... It's an cheaper, superior:Q Asian equivalent of an Audi A4 or a BMW 3-series and other cars badge whores like to drive :)

<--- Audi driving corporate "wage slave"

fixed :)

<--- Likes to have an BMW/MB/Audi as much as the next guy, but doesn't quite want to front the money for it and thinks the G is a better deal

Life after graduation could be compared to school, but with a lot less hand-holding along the way. A few months after working full time, I felt like that I was not accomplishing anything due to the fact that I'm just used to the school system and how you are promoted into the next grade level year after year. Now I think that working full-time is a learning process as well, so that I won't feel I'm wasting time by not going to graduate school as some of my friends have. It's interesting to see how all your friends ended up and how similar/different your lifes may be. I think I just followed the traditional asian route of getting a solid degree (EE bitches) and securing a good job. My roommate, on the other hand, just turned 24 last week and still has not secured a full-time job since he graduated 2 years ago, and has debt collection calling up the house everyday (I hate to pick up the phone at the house for that reason). Good luck and YMMV
 

kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
2
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I went to Europe and took an IT internship that paid below minimum wage just so I could live in Europe for 1.5years :)
 

Mani

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2001
4,808
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Got an SO and a G35 so maybe I can provide atleast my experiences.

It's true that money doesn't buy happiness but it can buy fun. Money is as good a motivator as there is.
I for one am enjoying my post-school life better than almost any point in my life. Part of that is because I was busting my a$$ through college but part of it is in being financially independent at a young age. Since graduating, I have gone skydiving, scubadiving in Cozumel, raced rented Vipers in the desert, gambled in Vegas, flown all over the world in business class (for my job, but still fun since its free), gone to 2 Rose Bowls, went skiing in Vail, snowboarding in Breckenridge, and Wakeboarding in Lake Travis. So don't worry about being bored once out of college - it's the perfect time in your life to do all the things you've wanted to do - before the family comes along.
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
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Originally posted by: meltdown75
Well, I'm 29 and have been at my company almost 6 years now. I'm a desk jockey / paper pusher / whatever you wanna call it. Cubicle. My job combines a 'field' element too which is awesome and provides amazing percs in the better weather. It can take me up to 1 hour to get to the property I have to inspect, so on the way you basically sit back in the company car and crank some tunes. Very gravy - when I first got the job and began doing it - I was like, wow. This is where it's at. And it never really faded - I love that side of the job.

As for life... well... yeah I'm married to a great woman, have with a great new house. No kids yet though - we're in that very enjoyable phase where you just sit back and live life & work. I keep myself busy with golf in the summer and pickup hockey in the winter - I'm basically just a big kid. I do quite a bit of gaming too especially in the winter. btw I love the AT forums too - the community here reminds me of my old c=64 BBS scene although it's infinitely bigger & more complex. Still somewhat finding my way around.

I guess for me I've grown up in strictly in years - I wouldn't say I'm immature but I definitely hang on to my youth. I consider where I'm at right now to be the product of both hard work and luck. I dreamed of this lifestyle and now I'm living it - what can I say, I love it. You won't find many more optimistic people though, to the point where I might sound annoying. I just knock on wood and say hey, hopefully tomorrow is just as good as today. I had some tough times growing up - probably just your average dysfunctional family crap - but I think it makes me cherish the humdrum lifestyle I find myself in now. I hope that gives you some insight OP!

edit: oh and btw I have no idea what a G35 is. I drive a crappy 96 Grand Am. :D

Glad you and a few others are enjoying life after College :)

Me I graduate in May 05 also.

I just want to get a job and work. Save lots of money in 3-4yrs and buy a house. Move out and have my gf move in :)

I'm pretty content and work will be fine. May switch up careers later if I can and if the options are right. If not I'll just slog it out.

Work to live not live to work.

I have plenty of hobbies outside of work to enjoy and hopefully work will be 'alright' or fun.

As for the car I'll drive a car that just goes from A to B and hopefully isn't 'too old'. I'd rather get my own place sooner then drive a nicer car.

Koing
 

Jfrag Teh Foul

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
3,146
0
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Life is great. Have awesome kids, wife, job. Would more cash be fun? Yep, but that isn't what I work for. I work in IT because I love it. I have tried a lot of other things and this fits me best. Guess I am a glass half full kind of guy though.

BTW, I don't drive a G35, instead I drive a '99 Cougar with 75k miles on it and push my income to pay for the house for my family. Makes more sense to me to wear Old Navy and drive an older car and be able to afford a 185k house (by Arkansas standards). I think the above remark about trendy clothes and G35 belonging to the guy who is one paycheck away from being bankrupt is true. Why should my car be fancier than the place I stay each night?
 

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
3,197
0
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Originally posted by: acemcmac
Originally posted by: TheLonelyPhoenix
Defining lifestyle with car != good method of achieving happiness.

Like I've told you before, keep your hobbies/interests, paycheck, and self-image seperate.

not what I'm talking about at all.... sorry for making the association. I could give a sh!t less about the car.... I'm curious what the people who are in those kinds of financial situations at our age deal with from a psychological standpoint when money isn't really their number one concern.

hahahahhaha

hahahahhaha

Money is always your number one concern. The more you make, the more you spend. If not intentionally, than strictly by accident.

I made $20k a year in college and I was living like a king compared to how I live now. (making substantially more)

It isn't till you've been out in the world for a while that you realize making $70k a year just isn't that much - once you're making $70k a year.
 

cy7878

Senior member
Jul 2, 2003
394
0
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line from Fight Club : "We work jobs we hate to buy sh*t we don't need".


That pretty much sums up anybody working out there.