Since graduating..Ever want a break from life

[Jman06]

I've realized that the real world is just a constant grind with no breaks or changes like college. All this is tiring me out...Going to a job I dont like 5 days a week all day, Interviewing for jobs and not getting them, trying to figure out what I want to do for a living, finding a good girlfriend, going to bars is even getting old.
In college u had a new semester or a new major or your summer or winter breaks. I remember last year the only time I felt refreshed was when I came back from a weekend of visiting friends at my old college. I need a break from life!!

[LakeJay]

Maybe you need a vacation. Do you have any vacation time you can take?

[dostoy]

I hear you, with my job right now there is a deadline to get a bunch of reports done by this friday, and I've been doing just this sort of thing the last few weeks, but luckily I get be done with them and start other kind of projects next week, it's like starting a new class to put it in college terms, not incredibly exciting but I try to look on the bright side of things.

[weary]

Ever want a break from life

every. single. day.

(except when i'm actually ON a break/vacation. then i just don't want to go back.)

[wordsmith]

You do get used to the change in things.

The first year I was out of college, it didn't hit me until it was the following summer, when I realized that there wasn't going to be a natural break, and in a few months, I wouldn't be starting something new. My life was really mapped out, subconsciously, in terms of academic years, so it was weird to realize that what I was doing would stretch over a much longer time without changing it up.

[Kitty]

I mourned my college life for a good two years. I think I'm finally over it.

[dostoy]

That's what you guys get for doing fun majors in college. Actually I don't know your majors, just kidding but I did engineering and I couldn't wait to graduate and get out of college, now the job I have is infinitelly more fun that my classes were, and it's probably more boring than your jobs but fun in comparison to college for me.

[Kitty]

i like my job a lot, but I don't like having to come here and sit here all day - when I could easily do this job in 1/2 the time. I don't like rigid schedules, in general.

[wordsmith]

I mourned being part of academia. I liked the environment a ton. But I don't miss being under that kind of pressure (mostly self-inflicted). I like not having a half dozen professors all to please. I have one boss now, and that's plenty.

Really, what keeps me from freaking out about mundane repetitive stuff is that my job is always something different. It has variety built into it. The only structure is that we always publish on the same day. How I get to that point is where the variety comes in.

[WorkInProgress]

I mourned my college life for a good two years. I think I'm finally over it.

I mourned for at least a year and a half. I think I'm over it now too, thank goodness. The worst of it was before I found the forums.

It was odd, because I was more than ready to graduate (that last semester was rough), and happy not to be going back to that same situation after a few months off. But I missed taking classes, and lectures, etc. I'm a nerd. It happens. I still miss them, sometimes.

[SmilesSoSweet]

I took a month off before going to work full time. My boss was okay with it since I was an intern while in school and he was the one that suggested that I take some time off before getting into the real world.

I miss the college life (not the college classes and all-nighters) though. I had a tough major (Landscape Architecture) so it wasn't an "easy" major. I still had my fun yet still graduated on time too.

What I do like about the "real world" is that I don't have homework. I can do my own thing, knowing that my job/career is what's going to allow me to do my own thing. If I take a vacation, I'm still getting paid.

I did have a little withdrawal after college, but it didn't last that long.

[Kitty]

I miss a lot of it - both academic and social. What I don't miss, is being dirt poor. I cant believe I lived off of $550 a month. That had to pay for everything outside of rent. Unbelievable.

[wordsmith]

Doing a yearlong volunteer program in between college and a professional sector job was a GODSEND in terms of a transitional year. Socially, it was awesome, because I lived in a co-op with other volunteers in my program, so it was like a bridge between dorm and apartment life, and I had peers around without having to go and seek them out. So I got to ease into the post-collegiate world. I highly recommend.

[SmilesSoSweet]

What I don't miss, is being dirt poor. I cant believe I lived off of $550 a month. That had to pay for everything outside of rent. Unbelievable.

I remember getting $1300 loan checks every quarter (three months) for school stuff. I always thought that was A LOT of money!

[WorkInProgress]

I remember getting $1300 loan checks every quarter (three months) for school stuff. I always thought that was A LOT of money!
Really? My student loans were all paid directly to the school. The only money I ever had was whatever I managed to make over the summers (after books were purchased and sorority dues paid). Some years it was tight. I only had $12 when I graduated.

[Kitty]

I always got money, too. Part of that calculated into the $550 a month.

[SmilesSoSweet]

Really? My student loans were all paid directly to the school. The only money I ever had was whatever I managed to make over the summers (after books were purchased and sorority dues paid). Some years it was tight. I only had $12 when I graduated.

I'd have to pick up my checks at the cashier's office at school every quarter. The checks were in my name, so I'd deposit them and do as I wanted with them. 90% of the time the money was used on school-related things (projects, supplies, etc.)

My tuition was free for all the five years I was in college (Dad's disabled veterans benefits), but I still had room and board, books, etc. I also worked an on-campus job for minimum wage and only worked 8-15 hours a week depending on that quarter's class schedule.

[Kitty]

I had an Economics teacher in HS who admitted that she used her college loans to buy a new car. :googly:

[WorkInProgress]

I had an Economics teacher in HS who admitted that she used her college loans to buy a new car. :googly:

Better that than Finance, I guess.

[WorkInProgress]

Huh. Maybe I'm just weird or something.

[wordsmith]

My student loan/grant/scholarship money went directly to the school. The only actual money I saw was my work study package money, which was a monthly paycheck (min. wage, and I was approved for I think 35 hours a week).

[Kitty]

Huh. Maybe I'm just weird or something.

I think it's because my parents covered all tuition costs - I took out loans to pay for cost of living (books, food, rent, etc.) which is why i got the money directly.

[LaFille]

i want to take a break from life, but i don't want to go back to college. i want life to be a corona commercial. and i want to move back to france. and i want to be able to sleep in every day until 2 PM. but oddly, i don't miss college.

[wordsmith]

I think it's because my parents covered all tuition costs - I took out loans to pay for cost of living (books, food, rent, etc.) which is why i got the money directly.

Even my student loans, though, went straight to the school. I never saw my loan money (which was fine).

[Kitty]

Even my student loans, though, went straight to the school. I never saw my loan money (which was fine).

Huh? But if you don't owe the school any money, why would student loan money go to the school? Keep in mind I didn't live on campus.

I'm confused.

[WorkInProgress]

I think it's because my parents covered all tuition costs - I took out loans to pay for cost of living (books, food, rent, etc.) which is why i got the money directly.
That would make sense. My room & board was through the school, since I did the dorm/meal plan bit. Whatever wasn't covered in federal loans was out of pocket, courtesy of the parents' college fund. I think. I'm actually kinda fuzzy on it, because it's been a little while and I was never really that involved.

[wordsmith]

My federal aid was paid directly to the school as part of my financial aid package.

I also lived on campus all four years, two in traditional dorms, one as an RA in the dorms, and one in a college-owned apartment complex that I didn't have to pay additional rent for, as the perk of having been an RA. My living expenses didn't include rent, then, they were mostly any food outside of my meal plan and discretionary spending $$$.

[WorkInProgress]

My federal aid was paid directly to the school as part of my financial aid package.
That rings bells for me.

[Kitty]

My federal aid was paid directly to the school as part of my financial aid package.

I thought you were saying that you had loans (ones to cover cost of living and not tuition fees) and those also went straight to the school for you.

[wordsmith]

I thought you were saying that you had loans (ones to cover cost of living and not tuition fees) and those also went straight to the school for you.

No, my student loans were all for school-related tuition and fees. My cost of living $$$ was what I worked summers to earn. The money I lived off of during the school year was the money I earned over the summer, which was why I did factory work rather than cashiering or temping or something.

[SmilesSoSweet]

My parents also took out Stafford PLUS loans to help out with the room and board for my college years. Really, I took out my loans so that I didn't have to work much while in college. My on-campus, minimum wage, less than 15 hour work week jobs were just to get any work experience.

My Stafford loans (along with my dad's) would go to the school (and I think the school's name were also on the checks along with mine and my dad's), but the school never took that money from me.

Maybe it's just different depending on which school you attended and which state you attended school in? I went to college in CA.

[Kitty]

I wish I knew how much my entire college costs were - that would be really interesting. As it is, I have no idea. It was a combo of my student loans, loans my parents took out, out of pocket money from my parents, and money I earned myself.

[WorkInProgress]

I wish I knew how much my entire college costs were - that would be really interesting. As it is, I have no idea. It was a combo of my student loans, loans my parents took out, out of pocket money from my parents, and money I earned myself.

I could figure out a rough estimate fairly easily:

12g/year--tuition, room, board
3g/year--summer job (covered books, sorority dues, incidentals)
plus whatever the interest on my student loans turns out to be (let's say 4g overall, so 1 per year)

So, figure 16g/year to 64g. Ish. I went to a state school, so that's not including the state's contribution. (This was the second most expensive school I applied to. Not too bad, considering one of the schools I applied to had just tuition set at 31g per year.)

[Kitty]

See, for me, the combination changed dramatically from year to year. I forgot to add that I also had scholorships.

[Kitty]

HOly Crap...I just looked up Tuition & Fees for my college. I didn't realize it was 22k a year!!!

[WorkInProgress]

See, for me, the combination changed dramatically from year to year. I forgot to add that I also had scholorships.
I had a couple, but that didn't change my overall costs. Since I didn't have money coming in all except in the summer, it makes mine fairly easy to guesstimate.

[WorkInProgress]

HOly Crap...I just looked up Tuition & Fees for my college. I didn't realize it was 22k a year!!!

My school's out of state was 26g/year when I graduated. I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't been in state, no matter how great a fit it was for me.

Oddly, one of the out of state schools I applied to was the cheapest. I would probably have had no loans (or very small ones) if I had gone there. But it wasn't best for me, and my loans are not much of a burden.

[Musicvixen24]

I know..the first thing i realized after graduating is that there is no more summer or spring break. there is no more vacations really. my last job i worked a year straight and this new place says i have 15.... FIFTEEN vacation days..tell me what can a person do with that? but that's life.no breaks

[LakeJay]

I know..the first thing i realized after graduating is that there is no more summer or spring break. there is no more vacations really. my last job i worked a year straight and this new place says i have 15.... FIFTEEN vacation days..tell me what can a person do with that? but that's life.no breaks

Maybe I'm jaded but 15 days (3 full weeks) sounds pretty reasonable. Not too mention sick days, holidays, personal days, etc.

I'm a fan of doing long weekend vacations too so I can sprinkle my remaining days around.

[Kitty]

I always worked during summer's in college - so, that wasn't really like a break.

I'm OK with the amount of time off and vacation I get - I can't really afford to go on month-long vacations, anyway.

[CTGirl]

Maybe I'm jaded but 15 days (3 full weeks) sounds pretty reasonable. Not too mention sick days, holidays, personal days, etc.

I'm a fan of doing long weekend vacations too so I can sprinkle my remaining days around.

Agreed, 2 weeks paid vacation is pretty standard to start out with, especially in smaller companies.

And yeah, I rarely take long vacations, causes too much chaos, so I do lots of long weekends/mini-breaks instead.

[EmberMae]

I don't miss college, really. I had a lot of issues in college. I've been at this full-time temp position for about 2 1/2 months. I like it but I would really like a holiday, of course I'm a temp so no vacation for me. I've been in a hell of a lot worse situations, so I try to appreciate every minute, but it can be draining with 9 hours at work and 2 hours of commuting each day, and then when I do get home there's so many errands/housework that need to be done. I'm going out of town this weekend but really it's just going to make me more tired because when I get back it'll be 10pm sunday and I've got to get up and go to work monday morning. well at least we change the clocks this weekend so I get an extra hour!

[WorkInProgress]

Maybe I'm jaded but 15 days (3 full weeks) sounds pretty reasonable. Not too mention sick days, holidays, personal days, etc.

I'm a fan of doing long weekend vacations too so I can sprinkle my remaining days around.

At my company, I get 2 weeks PTO a year, 3 personal holidays (federal holidays that we can choose to take either on the day, or during the week between Christmas and New Years), the day after Thanksgiving, and generally a freebie during the week between Christmas and New Years. And, of course, bereavement leave, jury duty, etc. When I've been here 3 years I'll have 3 weeks PTO a year, which will be nice.

I love doing a few long weekends a year too. I usually go and visit someone out of state. But I also (thus far, anyway) take at least 5 days and go somewhere for a real vacation. Last year I went to Prague & Budapest (planned the trip many months in advance, and did it on the cheap), and this year, I went to a convention in Nashville. I haven't thought about next year, but I need to get on it.

[embrassezla]

I'm pretty lucky in that I'll have gone to the UK for work 3 times in 1.5yrs by next April. It's always a 1 day meeting, and I'm attaching vacation onto that. I took my dad to London last May, I'm taking my mom to Paris in December, and my SO to Greece in April. I'll be going once per year after that, for awhile, but it will end eventually. For now it makes for cheap European vacations.

[WorkInProgress]

I'm pretty lucky in that I'll have gone to the UK for work 3 times in 1.5yrs by next April. It's always a 1 day meeting, and I'm attaching vacation onto that. I took my dad to London last May, I'm taking my mom to Paris in December, and my SO to Greece in April. I'll be going once per year after that, for awhile, but it will end eventually. For now it makes for cheap European vacations.

That's awesome. Does your company pay for both flights (to and from, even though you're taking time in the middle)?

My brother's already been told that he's going to have to go to a conference in Hawaii next year. So sorry for him. :razz:

[wordsmith]

HOly Crap...I just looked up Tuition & Fees for my college. I didn't realize it was 22k a year!!!

I just checked, b/c I was curious as to about what my alma mater is charging these days...it's up to $33k a year. When I attended, it was about $24k a year. 'Course, I only had to come up with about a quarter of that myself, or I'd not have gone.

[wordsmith]

I know..the first thing i realized after graduating is that there is no more summer or spring break. there is no more vacations really. my last job i worked a year straight and this new place says i have 15.... FIFTEEN vacation days..tell me what can a person do with that? but that's life.no breaks

Fifteen would be better than the ten I get, after having been here 5 years. Only my boss gets 15, and he's been here since the mid eighties.

I always worked during summer's in college - so, that wasn't really like a break.

Me, too...but it was more the fact that I wouldn't be starting something new every fall that took time for me to get used to. Reaching the time of year where things typically start afresh and...just more of the same. I remember that being disconcerting. Now I don't notice it at all, but I did the first couple of years.

I'm OK with the amount of time off and vacation I get - I can't really afford to go on month-long vacations, anyway.

I can't either, but I'd take the days off, at least, even not going anywhere.

[embrassezla]

Does your company pay for both flights (to and from, even though you're taking time in the middle)?
Yeah, they pay whatever they would have paid had no vacation been taken, which is a pain in the arse to figure out, but worth it in the end (and sometimes to my benefit, like if taking a vacation means I fly over a Saturday, when not taking it meant I wouldn't). My dad's total cost for his share of the vacation, after I got reimbursed, was $300. We were in the UK for a week.

[WorkInProgress]

I just checked, b/c I was curious as to about what my alma mater is charging these days...it's up to $33k a year. When I attended, it was about $24k a year. 'Course, I only had to come up with about a quarter of that myself, or I'd not have gone.

Ok, I just checked mine, to see.

Going with the cheapest of everything (housing & meal plan), tuition, room and board are up to 14,080/year. But that excludes other food (becuase there's not really enough to sustain a person in that smallest, cheapest meal plan), books and incidentals. Realistically, it'll be more like 16-17k/year, plus incidentals, for an in-state student.

Some people do live off-campus, but it's not really an option for most students, and some people choose not to get a meal plan, but for most, it's the most feasible option.

[SmilesSoSweet]

Maybe I'm jaded but 15 days (3 full weeks) sounds pretty reasonable. Not too mention sick days, holidays, personal days, etc.

I'm a fan of doing long weekend vacations too so I can sprinkle my remaining days around.

I don't get 15 days of vacation until I've worked with this company for five years. I get 10 days (two weeks)

I tend to do a lot of three to four day weekend trips. I also have half-day Fridays and that helps because I don't have to use an entire paid vacation day off on Fridays to take a long weekend.

[SmilesSoSweet]

HOly Crap...I just looked up Tuition & Fees for my college. I didn't realize it was 22k a year!!!

When I went to my state school tuition was $658/quarter. That was from 1996-2001. I attended three quarters (only one year I attended a full summer quarter. My other summers were spent at community colleges taking gen. ed. courses). So that was just under $2k, but was paid by the gov't because of my dad's disabled veterans waiver.

I spents two years in the dorms (one year too many) and that was like $6k/year. Then I spents two years in school apartments which I remember it being like $300/month for rent.

What really killed me was the $4500 for room and board when I studied in Italy. That was only for three months.

All in all my student loans came out to be about $15k after I graduated in 2001. I have it down to $1600 and by next summer, they'll be all paid off. :)

[PenforPrez]

I miss a lot of it - both academic and social. What I don't miss, is being dirt poor. I cant believe I lived off of $550 a month. That had to pay for everything outside of rent. Unbelievable.

I don't make much more than that now. ;) Working 35 hours a week.

It makes little difference to me. I didn't know what I was doing in college; four years later, I still don't know. I'm older, I've lost weight (and some hair), and everybody else has taken that next step, which I'm trying to figure out. That's about all that is different to me.

I never really noticed that there wasn't any breaks in time working; there was always more important things to worry about. I'm wanting to run away screaming from my job, but that's the monotony of the work more than anything. It's not life I want a break from; it's MY life I want a break from. ;)

Paul

[yankeeyosh]

I had an Economics teacher in HS who admitted that she used her college loans to buy a new car. :googly:

I did something like that to pay off the balance of my car. I couldn't afford to make $250/month payments on my grad student stipend while in school, and the interest rate for student loans was a hell of a lot lower. So I borrowed about $5,000. Granted, it's not the best reason to use it, but I would have had to borrow no matter what if I still had a balance.

But anyway, I only got five vacation days for this entire year, and considering the work I do...doing the same repetitive task every minute of every day, it is Draconian. Three weeks would be incredible for me...please stop complaining about it. I won't get three weeks until 2009, if G-d forbid I still work for this bloodsucking organization.

I am afraid to check how much my college is...although based on other similarly caliber schools, I suspect it's around $40-42K. I went to a "statutory" college, though, and as a NYS resident, it was a lot cheaper....I think it was about $17-18K for everything when I was there. However, even if you are NYS, it is probably in the $25-27K range these days. Tuition and student loans are the bane of Generation 'Y', and I pray that by the time Generation 'Z' comes of college age, drastic measures are taken to stop this out-of-control spiral, even if it means government intervention.

[iamkarma]

I know it does suck, its a big change of life. I say if you got the money and the time to def go on a vacation, hell I wish I could.

[Fashionista]

I've realized that the real world is just a constant grind with no breaks or changes like college. All this is tiring me out...Going to a job I dont like 5 days a week all day, Interviewing for jobs and not getting them, trying to figure out what I want to do for a living, finding a good girlfriend, going to bars is even getting old.
In college u had a new semester or a new major or your summer or winter breaks. I remember last year the only time I felt refreshed was when I came back from a weekend of visiting friends at my old college. I need a break from life!!
I feel like this a lot. It's a never ending rat race with no end in sight. Granted my job isn't all that bad (great schedule, get paid to do nothing and I have worked hard for a lot less money) I still feel drained because I have a degree I worked so hard for and can't figure out a way to make it work for me and my personal life is rather messed up as well.