From Student To Professional: The Challenge Of Change
We live in a world that is taking giant steps at different levels, and each context seems to change with an unthinkable speed, leaving the educational system always below expectations.
As young people, We are required to know at a young age what we are going to dedicate the rest of our lives to and it seems that once decided, everything changes: we change, and we find ourselves in that sea of ​​doubts that invades when we are close to finishing the chosen project, if not before.
Many of the young people who embarked on a career after finishing secondary education have doubts about that choice and end up abandoning it and immersed in frustration; Some choose and find satisfaction without major complications but do not manage to finish the thesis or the last subjects, others are encouraged to change careers and try different perspectives, and many others find themselves subject to a spiral of doubts over several years.
Developing a professional project is an important step in life ; Much of the time dedicated, the expectations that are generated and the desire to finish the path undertaken are at stake.
What happens to us when we are so close to finishing and something starts to tell us that we are not doing well? What happens to those people who, 3 subjects away from finishing a year-long degree, simply stop? And of those who, once finished, do not stop studying a master’s degree, a doctorate, a technical degree, and never work, staying in the place of the eternal student
There is a change of symbolic position when we are about to finish a project, in this case educational. And it is that We stop being the student, passive, recipient of information, to become the professional we imagine
Not only that, but once the degree is finished, the next step is full of uncertainty: many times with the degree, parental help ends and we must enter the labor market, understand the functioning of the various institutions and take on new responsibilities
With all this overwhelming panorama, it makes sense that many are detained, and wanting to surrender or escape.
How to cope with this situation in the best way?
First of all It is important to understand that all the emotions I feel are valid and that there is nothing wrong with them.
1. Recognize fears
It’s basic identify what fears or doubts arise and what thoughts are associated with these
Many times a “I don’t know if I liked what I chose” when I am very close to the end, actually hides a “I don’t feel capable of doing what I chose.”
Being able to talk about fears, write them down and organize them by intensity It is usually a good way to visualize what is happening to me and act accordingly.
2. Know how to share and ask for help
Having someone else with whom I can share my doubts is usually a great tool; people external to my emotions can offer new perspectives that allow me to rethink my desires.
3. Be realistic with the demands
Taking the time to identify what thought is associated with that intense emotion that destabilizes me, can help us recognize how much reality and imagination there is in them.
4. Ask yourself if you are being fair with what is expected of you
Reducing expectations will allow you to think more clearly, and reduce mental noise when approaching the goal. Talking to us in a compassionate way and with acceptance that the path will inevitably be different will help you better manage the stress and frustration that the process can bring.
5. Time to time
In these transitions we tend to forget that what is expected of us is nothing more and nothing less than being a recent graduate, with all that that implies, and that it will be the same path that will give us what we need to improve in our lives. work and orient ourselves towards the path with which we most identify.
Aspiring to be an excellent professional can be a great motivation, but it can also make us prisoners of eternal perfectionism in which the only thing we have left is the feeling that we will never be enough.
There is time to learn, to make mistakes and to rebuild; The key is in how we accept, trust and choose to travel that path, which will no longer be that of the university and will continue to be that of our life itself.
