Is anyone else finding it hard to come to terms with finishing uni?

Im in my final year, and finish for good in a month; which absolutely horrifies me...
I have everything planned out for when I finish but for some reason the thought of finishing is really depressing. A lot of my friends are happy to be finished as they are done with the work, but for me its just so sad that its the end of an era, and the next 40 years of my life is going to be working.

I felt a bit like this, but being an adult isn't that bad

Having more money is great, so you can do more fun stuff. Also, often when you first start your job, you can pretty much leave it at the office, so although you're working 9-5, everything outside that is your time, whereas at uni, it's quite easy for work to expand and fill all your time. Obviously this does depend on your chosen job, and as you progress things might change, but most people do manage to keep their evenings and weekends free for hobbies, socialising etc.

Make an effort to stay in touch with everyone if you're all moving away from your uni city. Organise get togethers when you can! But also, make new friends where you're moving- e.g. by taking up a hobby in your new area. You might also find that any uni socs you were involved with are happy for you to still join them and help out on an occasional basis
(seriously, my ex still goes on his sub-aqua soc trips 6 years after graduating, just as an instructor now!).

Don't think of the next 40 years as being all work and no play. It's really common now in your mid/late 20s to take some time out to travel etc. And the best thing is you have some money to do that with! Plus, you can always go back to uni to do a masters etc!

Yes, your life will change a lot over the next few years, but it's not always going to be for the worse!

This is true, money never hurt haha but i do feel like it isnt truly 9 till 5, if you want to advance on the career ladder does it not kind of feel like a constant battle to try and impress superiors? and even when you do have free time its just not the same? I did a placement and everyone I worked with was a lot older than myself, and I got on very well with them and often would go to lunch, but it seemed to stop there most of the time. Outside of work they had children to look after so visits outside of work were few and far between.

Ive found it hard enough staying in contact with friends from back home, only seeing them a couple of times a year as everyone has moved to new cities for work (i come from a rural village and my parents have also since moved), it just seems everything has become much more complicated and will basically mean Im having to restart all over again. Especially as some of my friends from uni have already ssecured jobs abroad, as far as Hong Kong and New York! Just seems like everything is going to be so wildly different!

I will try and keep in mind that it isnt for the worst but its just so daunting haha thank you for your kind words though

Im in my final year, and finish for good in a month; which absolutely horrifies me...
I have everything planned out for when I finish but for some reason the thought of finishing is really depressing. A lot of my friends are happy to be finished as they are done with the work, but for me its just so sad that its the end of an era, and the next 40 years of my life is going to be working.

It depends on your job and your office. Some jobs will have a total culture of presenteeism which is ugh, some will have an expectation of you doing loads at home, but honestly most jobs won't- especially at entry level. It does depend on your sector etc, but for most of my friends it's totally possible to leave work at work, except for maybe checking emails every now and again! A lot of the time you won't have access to everything you need to do loads of work at home.

If you want to progress with your career quickly then quite often you will have to move between companies (companies can only promote you when there's an opening, after all)- so bending over backwards for your boss often isn't worthwhile.

The person I know who does most outside of work isn't a grad, actually. He works in insurance and is studying for further professional exams to progress his career- which again you might need to do at some stage, but he's like 7 years into his career, not straight out of uni.

Office cultures vary hugely- so look for one that organizes a lot of social events. My first job after uni was great- the office had sports teams you could join, and organized outings and fun events. They even had a social team that organized things. This was a great way to meet people out of your little team, and find the ones you clicked with!

If you move to a new area I'd also recommend joining a club/team outside of work too. Often, you only need to meet one person you get on well with, and then they'll invite you to join their friends and it'll be great!

mm.

I'm going to be finishing A Levels ...which isn't the same as finishing Uni ofc. But I feel you, it's like the end of an era in your life.....my plan when I go to Uni is to stay in education for as long as possible.

Plus if you find a job you love, the next 40 years of your life won't be depressing af

Yeah, it would be so much easier if all companies could be nice haha I never really thought about it that way though! I guess I have kind of thought with unemployment rates so high that it may not be quite so easy to bounce between companies but it would relieve some pressure!

haha funny you should say that, my grad scheme is in an insurance company! but i guess it makes sense that someone that hasnt taken the uni route needs to work a bit harder to gain qualifications to keep them moving.

Hopefully, I have chosen the right place for that kind of culture, its always hard to tell with these things, but I will definitely do the club outside of work, thats a good shout.