3 December 2007 172 views 3 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

For about 17 years of our lives we’re sitting in a classroom, taking notes and trying to memorize formulas, dates and the significant people in history. Then in a blink of an eye, that final graduation day arrives and you suddenly realize that you never have to sit in another classroom again. It’s an amazing feeling right? Well, yes and no. It’s an exciting and happy time yet its a time of uncertainty. It’s no longer pre-season. It’s game time and you’re forced to solidify your game plan and play the game to win. There’s several common choices that people make at this time. The common path most people choose to take is starting a career. Some take time off to enjoy the period between school and the real world. Some go to graduate school in hopes of an even brighter future. The path less traveled is to pursue entrepreneurship and start a business. Lately I’ve been contemplating these choices and looking at pros and cons in depth, as three weeks from now I’ll be officially a college graduate. Here are my choices.

Get a Job

This is probably the choice that seems to make the most sense. The sooner you start, the sooner you earn real money (and maybe benefits) and build a foundation for your career. You’ll get to meet new people right off the bat and you’ll have something to do every day. It can get pretty boring not doing anything all day. To get a glimpse at the job market, I looked on websites such as aftercollege.com and monster.com and did some browsing. There were definitely some interesting jobs out there and many of which I believe I can be successful at. I also found this good article about transitioning from school to work. At the end of the day I think the job route is a safer route and if you’ve got student loan debt or other obligations, it may make the most sense to get off your butt and start setting up interviews.

Grad School

Grad school is another interesting option. If you take the time to set yourself apart from others, you’ll definitely experience the perks of an advanced degree. I never really considered getting an MBA, although I did browse some online campuses to get an idea of costs and time commitment. I considered law school at one point but realized that it was pointless to have a law degree unless I wanted to become a lawyer. Grad school is a great option for someone who have the resources to go to grad school at low or no cost or someone who can afford it and has no major obligations. I just don’t think its for me. I was never one to really like school.

Start a Business

I’ve heard of many who came right out of college to launch successful businesses. However I’m sure there are also many more who came out of college and launched companies that eventually failed, we just don’t hear about those. I believe this is a risky move, however I also feel that if you’re going to take risks, you might as well do it while you’re young and have no dependents. Personally I would take calculated risks and start off with something small and less capital intensive like an online business. I wrote about building an online business before. In any type of business, I would get my feet wet before I tried any drastic new business model that require my life savings in addition to investor funds. A business is definitely something that you would never forget and its a great life experience regardless of how successful it is. I think starting a business is perfect for people who have passion, no major obligations, and some money to invest in it to do it right.

Do Nothing

Another option is to just sit back, relax and enjoy being out of school. You can take this time to contemplate your next move and decide whether or not you want to do any of the above. I’ve heard of many people taking trips to get away and reflect. Some say you’ll never have another time in your life like where you are out of school with no obligations so one should enjoy it. This is not a bad choice, just make sure the do nothing period don’t last for 10 years. Use the time to make an educated decision on on your post-college endeavors.

My Choice

What I’m going to do is a combo of the last two. I’ll focus on building my businesses as I already have a few mildly successful online businesses. I’ll likely pursue another riskier, more capital intensive business that I’ve always dreamed of (more on that later). I’ll combine this with a bit of doing nothing as well. This is inevitable since I’ll have a lot more free time without school. I’ll likely find myself relaxing more and making focused and succinct decisions for my businesses and investments. The hardest part will be to stay focused and not get too lazy. As for the career and job search, I’ll keep that as my backup plan. I can always get a job, but theres no better time than now for a shot at being my own boss, launching crazy businesses, and making a real difference in the world.
What did you do right after college and do you think you made the right decision? Please share your experiences by commenting below. Thank you.

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