Graduating early seemed like a great idea freshman year. I figured I wouldn’t have as much competition while looking for jobs and I couldn’t wait to finally start living life instead of continuously preparing for it.
I didn’t realize that I wasn’t fully prepared when it came to searching for jobs. When late October and early November hit, I knew I had to kick it into gear and begin applying for jobs so I had a job lined up before I graduated on December 21.
I looked on LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and individual company websites as well. Every time I got a call back, they said they weren’t hiring 8 weeks in advance and to call them in December. I got shot down time and time again. Since I always like to be beyond prepared, waiting until December seemed to be cutting it too close to the deadline.
Then you have to factor in that you’re also still in school and doing assignments and preparing for finals. I’ve never been so stressed with the clock ticking time down and I knew I had rent to pay come January.
Although I haven’t found a job yet, I still think graduating early has plenty of advantages. I was right in that I don’t have as much competition. All the companies that called me back and said to call them in December were genuinely interested and wanted to interview me. But I don’t have that summer break like people do when they graduate in May. That’s the one disadvantage of graduating early. I have to find a job during the holidays and begin immediately, otherwise I won’t make rent. And I’ll be starting a new job, paying rent, moving out of my parents’ house, all while beginning grad school as well.
Even though it’s stressful, I’m going to have a master’s at 23, be living on my own, and (hopefully) be financially independent from my parents. Honestly, if I graduated in May, I don’t know if things would have turned out the same for me.