Post University Life

People do different things when they graduate, in theory these are the options:

1. - Travel $$

2. - Rest $

3. - Job (any job).

4. - Job in field.

Talia’s First Post Graduation Plan:

Graduate with a sociology and biology double major -> Go to med school -> Be psychiatrist.

Second Grad Plan:

Graduate with soc major and math+bio minors -> take extra math courses -> get applied math MSc.

There were multiple other plans through the years, but these seemed the most relevant.

What actually happened?

Finished everything except one course in summer 2019 (I failed a course by 2%). After that, I didn’t know what to do so I took a personal training course, and enrolled in my final course in an online format. Personal training didn’t give me enough hours or pay enough for me to keep my apartment, so I moved back into my grandparents house and got a job at Sport Chek by the house. 

I went to college for a semester for electromechanical engineering and even though I loved the program, I couldn’t stomach going back to being a student after already completing 5 years of university. And then, COVID19 hit at which point I decided officially not to go back to college due to complications it posed. 

So here I am, grateful I’m still working, with an HBA major in sociology and double minor in biology and religion. I’ve spent the morning applying for jobs as a counselor, administrator, pretty much anything I’m qualified for that pays more than minimum wage, and writing a book that will hopefully help other people navigate this stage in their life.

Having completed my degree during COVID19 has given me a different experience than anyone that graduated in what would be considered a … normally functioning society?

What’s my plan now?

Spend about 2 years taking more courses to prepare myself for a masters by doing online university courses. The Masters will likely in kinesiology, but possibly applied math or epidemiology. While talking to john (my coach), I was concerned that writing all of this would just be a downer because there is no real solution to going through this. The closest thing to a solution is keeping up hope; my time at U of T didn’t go nearly as well as I wanted it to, neither did college, neither did my time as a personal trainer… nothing in the last 7 years has gone as planned but that doesn’t mean everything is bad and that all is lost.

There’s lots of things that have gone great and I’ve learned a lot, very quickly. I’m not a person that enjoys change… but flexibility needs to be built into every plan. I am lucky enough to still be employed, I started working at Sport Chek in the fall and I only lost about 2 weeks of pay due to the pandemic. 

In summary, life doesn't usually go according to plan, but that doesn't mean that all is lost. Hope for the best, plan for the worst, and adjust the plan as you go along. University was probably the most exhausting, stressful, and turbulent times in my life, but I don't think I would change much (if anything) if I were to go back in time and start again.