What no one tells you about being a university student
Hey, here I am. In the final year of my biological sciences studies, about to leave as clueless as I entered the field. When I think back to all my university expectations, the reality couldn’t be further away. Going a little bit back in time, nearly 3 years ago, I was looking forward to adulting.
I was ready to move out, study abroad in London, gain some independence and conquer the world, which I did. I can’t lie and say that these 3 years haven’t been one of the most valuable years in terms of learning experiences for me.
I’ve made many friends from all over the world which is one of the perks of studying in London I guess. I’ve tried working in a different field from my studies, saw first hand what good and bad leadership means. At the time I didn’t notice how valuable these were, but now looking back I couldn’t be happier about the experience.
Working while studying, which you pretty much have to do if you want to survive in London, or get a Sugar Daddy haha (jokes, of course, unless..). Back to the topic, working while studying has to be one of the most demanding things during your university time. It can be very hard juggling work & studies, and this is not even considering your private life.
But what it taught me was how to be organised, how to be efficient, how to manage my own time and how to be my own person.
Furthermore, socializing with people from all around the world with different backgrounds, stories and beliefs expand your horizon sooo much! I can’t even stress that enough. Besides making some long — term friends I learned new things about other cultures, religions and my communication skills? Don’t even get me started, it improved so much thanks to them. And I couldn’t be happier about that.
The interesting fact about this all is actually, that even though I entered University for my studies I couldn’t really say they prepared me for life or my future job. All these skills were gained thanks to friends and work experience. So even though you study your dream subject or not, I can promise you (except if you are a doctor etc) that your circumstances will help you more in terms of soft skills than your studies will.
One of the major things I wish I’d known before university is the anxiety that comes with it. And I don’t just mean the deadlines, group presentations and tutor meetings that add to anxiety. I mean now that I am about to leave and the job market looks terrible due to the pandemic I couldn’t be more stressed.
I personally don’t really know if I want to stay in science, I am still interested but I don't know if the work is as appealing to me as I thought it would be. On top of that, even though I have conducted my own research, I don’t feel like I am informed enough about all the job opportunities out there for a young scientist.
University might be the time where you and I are independent for the first time and on our own. But it sure as hell doesn’t mean we have anything figured out. If anything, it’s just the beginning.
I wish I had known that even tho parties, alcohol and partners are a part of the university experience, for me, it probably just made about 20% of my experience. The other 80% were a mixture of socialising with friends, researching, job — hunting, researching master programs, meeting deadlines and studying for exams I have no clue about.
Now, I am writing my first article, which might be a bit unorganised, to share my experience and to provide a realistic insight into what it can mean to be a student. Overall, I just hope you study and enjoy your course and that it will teach you more skills than it taught me haha!
And whenever you feel stuck, just remember it’s temporary and just a small hurdle in a long happy journey ahead of you
