5 Things to Avoid as a Young Graduate

Graduated from collage? Congratulations and welcome to the world.
Every year our universities caugh out thousands of graduates into the job market. With the introduction of double intake, coupled with Kenyans' ever increasing desire for higher education and the university management's appetite for privately sponsored student's money; the number will continue to rise.

When you graduate from collage it is joy impregnated with ambitions. You are finally through with the suffering in collage - assignments, eating USA (ugali, sukuma wiki and avocado) daily and the prohibition of co-habiting. However, the world out here is just another collage, if not worse. The pride of holding a university degree will soon be replaced by utter desparation to find a job and cater for yourself.

Therefore, to orient you to the world, once more, let us look at some things you must avoid as a young graduate to survive the heat out here:

1. Pride: I know it is a great achievement to graduate out of collage and be handed a certificate of completion. This may be the sole reason your certificate has honours attached to it. However, when you venture into the job market, try as fast as possible to forget all the achievements you had in school. Accept that you are a fresher again and there be ready to learn from those who have made it out here. You are a degree holder and so are thousands of your graduatemates. It doesnt matter if you were awarded a first class honour, your success depend on how you perform at work and how how smart you are out here. So put your head down to work, be humble and willing to learn.

3. Being too choosy: The fact that you have graduated doesn't mean you are entitled to a good job, a 6-figure salary and a better life. With the 40% unemployment rate in Kenya today, you can count yourself lucky to get a job even with a PHD. Get hold of the small job you have got, earn the little you get for your survival. Out here, experience matter more than your university degree.

3 . Too much ambitions. I know you are dreaming of driving a laxury car, living in Muthaiga, joining the millionares club. However, I would ask you to write these down but treat them as what they are, dreams. Do not overburden yourself wondering when you will accomplish this. With a monthly gross pay of 30k or below and a couple of insults from your boss, your ambitions of owning a car within the first two years of work are a mong the few things you would want to avoid as a young graduate. Expecting a 6-figure salary for a start is being over ambitious and unless your parents reside there, you're not going to live in Karen, Runda or Lavington very soon.Therefore, be ready to start small and work hard to build your career, reputation and wealth.

4. Extravagance: In college you were used to throwing parties, drinking yourself silly, buying trendy clothes and shoes with your HELB loan or your parent's cash. You trained to be a good spender. However, life out here requires that you save. Your parents expect you to take care of yourself and HELB is nolonger a gift from government but a loan to be repaid. Avoid partying, trend seeking and excessive consumption of alcohol for your pocket's sake.

5. Cohabiting: In campus dating was rampant and inviting your partner for an overnight stay was the norm. It was sometimes tempting to live together in the spirit of sharing and love. The authorities were against this and thats why you kept apart. Now you are outside and feel you should accomplish your missed desires, but please don't. In the real world, no body will stop you from cohabiting but when you do it, be ready for the consequences. Unplanned marriage, unplanned babies are not the things you want to bring into your life as a young graduate.