What if I don’t know what to do after college?

What should I do if I don’t know what to do after college?

It is not uncommon to graduate college and not know what to do after. Therefore, you need to have as many life experiences as possible through traveling, volunteering, other work opportunities, and just experience life. The more you experience, the easier it will be to find and make money with your passion.

Imagine, not going straight to the corporate world. You are able to travel the world, eat good food, and find your purpose in life.

Unfortunately, most people graduate college without any idea what to do next.

Luckily for you, I’ll show you what to do to find your passion. I’ll give you some ideas on how to make money doing what you love so you don’t have to worry about ‘work.’ You’ll be well on your way to figuring out your next step.

21-169 - What if I don't know what to do after college

This article may contain affiliate links which pay a commission and support this blog. Thank you for your support!

Is it ok to not know what you want to do after college?

It is ok to not know what you want to do after college. Choosing a career after college can often lock individuals into a 30-40 year commitment. Therefore, it’s important to take time to decide what you would like to pursue after college.

Honestly, it’s unreasonable to think that all 20 year olds will have their life planned out for the next 30-40 years. You are early in the process, which means you have time to figure life out.

Most people think they need to get a job right after college. They lock themselves into a career, often chosen for them by their parents, and are miserable every day.

For example, Susan goes to school to become a lawyer because her parents constantly told her lawyers make good money. Susan was never passionate about law, but she was brainwashed early on to become a lawyer. Now she works for big law, working 80 hours per week doing something she hates.

College graduates get a career and work 40 or more hours per week. They see their coworkers more than their own family and wonder why they’re so tired on the weekend.

You only get one life, so it’s best to spend your time doing things you love and forget the rest.

The only downside to not getting a job right after college is financial. Your 20s are some of the best times to start building wealth and start investing early. So yes, take some time to figure your life out, but don’t put off investing for too long.

What if I don’t know what to do after college?

Take time after college to volunteer, travel, build a business, or just experience life. The more experiences you have after college, the easier it will be for you to find something you’re passionate about. Try to find something you enjoy doing that you can still make good money doing.

Focus on finding your passion

Life is about finding your passion and doing it every single day. Your goal is to find work you’re passionate about that you can still make a living doing. There is no way you’re going to be able to find your passion by sitting behind cubicle walls.

Find your passion by experiencing life and trying new things

Most people only find out what they enjoy doing, by actually doing. Wake up every day after college and start experiencing life to see what you’re interested in.

Let’s look at it this way. You go camping, but realize camping is horrible because you’re sleeping on the cold hard ground. Camping is not something you’re going to be passionate about.

However, you start cooking for yourself while you try to figure things out. You start to realize you enjoy sifting through recipe books and cooking good food. Therefore, you start a YouTube channel focused around gooding and end up making a full-time income.

Make money working your passion

There are plenty of ways to make money with your passion. You can either work for a company or start your own business.

In the cooking example, you could start your own YouTube channel or blog. You could also become a chef for a restaurant. Why not work towards opening up your own food truck?

The key is to figure out if you still want to work for yourself or someone else.

How do I decide what to do after college?

The only way you’re going to decide what to do after college is to experience life. You can’t sit in mom and dad’s basement and wait for life to come to you. Instead, you’ve got to try new things until you find something you’re interested in.

What if I don’t want to work after college?

Nobody wants to work after college, but everyone needs to make money to support themselves. Your main priority should be to find a way to build a sustainable lifestyle you want. In most cases, you will have to take a job after college until you can create a means to support yourself.

For example, you may just want to stay at home all day and play video games. You could make a living by streaming your gameplay on Twitch. Therefore, you work your day job during the day and try to build a following on Twitch at night.

Eventually, you might make enough money through Twitch to support your lifestyle.

Other people want to retire as early as possible. Therefore, they work and invest as much money as possible until they have enough money to retire. It’s not uncommon to be able to retire by the age of 35.

Summary: What to do after college

As you can see, it’s completely normal to not know what you want to do after college. A career after graduating can be a long-term commitment that most of us are not ready to make. The key is to find something you’re passionate about and can still make money doing.

To find your passion, you need to start experiencing life. You can try new things, volunteer, work for other companies unrelated to your degree, or travel. Don’t spend 30-40 years doing something you don’t enjoy.

Nobody wants to work after college, but the reality is we need to support ourselves. Therefore, focus on building your ideal lifestyle while being able to support yourself. This could mean working your job while you build your ideal life on the side.

John is the founder of TightFist Finance and an expert in the field of personal finance. John has studied personal finance for over 10 years and has used his knowledge to pay down debt, grow his investment portfolio, and launch a financial based business. He is committed to sharing content related to personal finance based on his experience in his career, investing, and path towards reaching financial independence.