Recently I've been talking with some new and old friends who are just beginning to pop into the working world after college. Most are complaining about the hours they work and the kind of realization of what being an adult is really about. Now I'm not saying they're all just whiners, I went through many of the same emotions as they did. However now after 3 years of working I've come to find there are many many perks to being an adult. So here starts a new series of mine where I will continue to list as many perks as I can as why being an adult is good and the things to look forward to. I will try to name as much as I can in this post but will continue to add as more come to mind.
Perk #1: No Homework
Depending on what you do for a living after college, some jobs may have work that follow you home like being lawyer might have you doing research and looking up files at home if you don't want to be stuck in the office all the time. For the most part, everyday when I come home, nothing follows me home. The bliss of knowing theres nothing to read, no problem sets to do and no papers to write. I can't begin to describe the kind of freedom that brings. Everyday when I come home, I think to myself "I can do anything I want!"
Perk #2: Income
For those of you that have not been working before school ended, this was probably a new found revelation for you. Finally not having to ask mom and dad (or lets hope you still don't) for $20 for food or going to a movie gives a great sense of financial independence. KNowing that every dollar you gain and spend is purely yours and knowing that your parents no longer 'own' you so to say with their income.
Perk #3: Knowledge
Not sure if many feel this way but I've learned more in the last three years than I did in the 17 years or so I was in school for. I've realized that unless you're in a knowledge specific occupation like engineering, medicine, law or whatever else requires a certain skill set, then all school is really good for is building your work ethic. Sadly it even fails at that because in school you were forced to take classes you never cared for and for many of us, we didn't give those classes 100% of our effort. You're probably asking 'what's the big deal?' Well, as many have realized, there are tons of things we do in the working world that we hate doing. But to not give those tasks 100% means a boot out the door. In the real world, everything you're given is expected to be given an A-grade effort. Everything from something as small as filing paper to executing key projects to launch your company that one big step is required to be as good as it can get. Anyways, there's a lot of things you simply cannot learn in a classroom. There are basic principles but exercising those principles is a totally different story.
