And I'm done with uni

[Ghost]

Just handed in my last major essay and I'm pretty much finished, just got a reflective report to do which will take about 2 hours to write max. Have to admit I'm kind of sad that it's finally over, 3 years is a long slog and I met some great people along the way. Now I just need to figure out what I'm doing next. Anyone else feel the same way after finishing uni? What did you guys do afterwards?

[endo]

I had a few bevvies, worked in an office for the summer, then went back to do an MA.

[Neon Ignition]

I think I just felt relieved, regretted few things more than going to it

[kryss]

I'm so sorry. The real world sucks.

I'm 2 years into an after degree BSc in pure math, with another 2 years part time minimum before that's done, then hopefully 2 years of teacher training and a move back to Japan if there's a job there.

[Brad]

I got a job working in Currys for a bit then I've been a software developer ever since

[charlesr]

As long as you remember that what you studied at Uni isn't the same as what you learned at Uni, you'll be great. What you do to earn money can be completely different.

[Dogg Thang]

Well I had two experiences. The first was me finished with Uni because I dropped out. Yay! That was followed by genuine relief because I knew what I was doing wasn't for me and I had a much better idea of something to aim for. The second experience was finishing a very lowly college but it was awesome because I trained directly for the working world and I couldn't even make my last day because I was working happily so I never had that abrupt finish - I went smoothly into the real world.

It was only years later that I really appreciated how fortunate I was with that. Many people who were in that first Uni course with me and saw it through to the end actually ended up a bit lost afterwards and found themselves retraining in other areas. That really comes down to what Charles wrote.

But hey, that's a huge achievement so enjoy the satisfaction and feel good about it (must admit I still get bothered by not having a proper degree for some reason). You've worked hard and deserve to give yourself a pat on the back. But yeah, maybe try to plant yourself into the working world asap. Uni life and working life is very different and I think that transition becomes harder the longer you delay it. But then what do I know? Nothing. I know nothing. Do what works for you. Just enjoy it.

[sj33]

I'd take a 1 year break. No need to rush into anything, be it career or further education. A year doing a short-term job while thinking about your career is a sensible step, and something I wish I did.

I graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BA in Japanese Studies, 4 year course. To say that job prospects are limited would be an understatement, and I'm not exactly convinced it was the wisest degree to take after all. I jumped straight into a 2 year MA in International Relations at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, which I'm approaching the end of. Hoping to do a PhD in the same field eventually.

I'm not sure I necessarily regret my choices - I wouldn't be here otherwise, wouldn't have met my wife etc.. But I would say that I WISH I took a little time to think about my next step rather than jumping into it. I'm now facing the prospect of jumping between jobs in Japan.

[briareos_kerensky]

Congrats from someone that not even attempted to get into a university, anyway.

[buster_broon]

Same here no further education for me, found technical drawing at secondary school very easy and got a higher in that and with my other grades I was aiming to become an architect

But went from being a paperboy at 17 to walking into the Royal Navy careers office and I did 23 years, left last year and now I'm a fibre optic field engineer

Sometimes think what might have been but don't regret not doing uni as the navy did a lot for me and I got to travel free for 23 years

Aiming to become a full time dad in a couple of years

[MartyG]

Just handed in my last major essay and I'm pretty much finished, just got a reflective report to do which will take about 2 hours to write max. Have to admit I'm kind of sad that it's finally over, 3 years is a long slog and I met some great people along the way. Now I just need to figure out what I'm doing next. Anyone else feel the same way after finishing uni? What did you guys do afterwards?

I got very depressed. Went from knowing loads of people and fun times straight in to to a full time job in a strange place knowing hardly anyone and that was a mistake. I'd say if you have the option, take some time to decide where to go to next.

[QualityChimp]

One of the questions on one of these "Who should I vote for" questionnaires said:
"What do you think should happen to university fees?"

• Reduce tuition fees to ?6,000 a year.
  
• Cap tuition fees at ?9,000 a year for the foreseeable future.
  
• Scrap tuition fees, funded by reducing the number of university places.
  
• Abolish tuition fees and give students grants to cover living costs.
  
• Lift the cap on tuition fees to provide universities with the funds to invest in facilities.

I was a bit conflicted as I don't think uni should just be for people who can afford it, but I also felt like a lot of people went just because they didn't know what to do as a job and everybody else was going and ended up doing ridiculous courses like BSc. (Hons) Crazy-paving or BA Atlantis Studies.

Maybe scrapped fees but less places is the way forward?

Who knows?!

[Neon Ignition]

To be honest I'd probably go against the grain and say go for a job asap. Taking a year out to think about it sounds great and very studenty but the job market is so harsh now that everything counts. I work in HR and gaps in employment for anything other than job hunting are very poorly viewed by employers. What course have you done? I found that Uni's these days are very poorly structured against the real world, they're far too focused like a business on getting numbers and revenue through. It's amazing how many more peers of mine didn't go to uni and came out better off than those who did thanks to the head start with employment experience. Of course a degree in a field your pursuing where its a requirement is a cert by comparison though. Unis could definitely do with axing 70% of their courses and cutting their student intakes though.

[charlesr]

What do you enjoy doing the most? Do that for a living. Set up your own company. Take risks.

For example, I loved mountain biking, so I got a job at a mountain bike trail centre. Money wasn't great, but free bikes and gear \o/ I didn't have the vision to branch out on my own though - I could easily have become a coach (they gave me all the qualifications) or started a business in the industry somehow. But my schooling pretty much said "Get a safe job, have a good career, have a few pennies left at the end of the month". So I got a boring job related to my degree and ran people over for a couple of years. Saw the light eventually though.

If anyone offers you an opportunity that you want but you aren't sure if you can handle, say yes and then you'll find out. If it doesn't work out you'll have learnt some stuff along the way to get it right next time.

[sj33]

I would definitely agree that getting training in a skill is a much better idea than university in terms of employment. In principle, a more educated populace is always a good thing. However, the job market unfortunately doesn't shape itself the skillset of those available (go capitalism, eh?), so there is saturation in areas, resulting in a need to proceed higher in education and getting deeper into debt. When you take into account the obscene prices that universities are charging these days, it's difficult to see it as a sensible investment.

But hey, hindsight is 20-20 eh?