Leaving the freedom and flexibility of university life and stepping into the ‘real world’ can be pretty daunting. Having studied Finance at the University of Bristol, I was used to working on my own schedule and having days full of variety. The responsibilities of university life – or its lack of – make the idea of getting a proper job with real responsibilities and consequences somewhat scary.
The most noticeable change going from university to full-time work was the structure and routine of it all. Getting up at the same time and doing the same commute each day gets you into a good groove. You still get a lot of freedom during the day though, with the ability to work on a schedule that best suits how you work, like doing outreach messages in the morning when you are most sharp for example.
The work itself is very different from what I studied at university (Finance). I have never been one for essay writing so I thought that my outreach content may not be up to scratch in comparison to my more literate colleagues. However, I’ve found that my more concise and to-the-point style of writing has still been effective. My familiarity with a lot of the financial terminology also eased the learning curve a little initially.
Going from studying something that is vaguely applied to the real world, although still mostly theoretical, to interacting with candidates and doing ‘real’ things was a change I was eager for. I was also tired of all the solitary work at university. In the office, you're no longer working in isolation; you're part of a larger team with unique expertise and perspectives which makes getting the hang of things significantly easier and more enjoyable.
One aspect that I thought I was going to miss was the great social life at university, but joining alongside plenty of other graduates is something I am very grateful for. It drastically eases the transition and creates a great environment, things like grabbing a coffee or lunch in a group really break up the day.
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