There are three different types of people who just graduated from college. The one who is ready to chase their aspirations and get the job that they have worked hard in college to get. There is the one who isn’t ready for a committed job and needs a little bit more freedom. And then there is the one who isn’t ready to work at all. None of the above are the wrong decisions. Everyone goes through life at their own pace.
Sam, who is three years out of college with a bachelor’s degree is the head bartender at Gatsby, a bar in Kakaako. She has been the head bartender for about six months now and prior she was the bar manager at Surf Bar, a speakeasy in Waikiki. When I asked Sam why she is pursuing bartending instead of what she went to college for, her answer was quite simple. Money. Sam says that she is making twice as much money as a bartender then she would if she chose a job in her career field. She also says that the hours that she works fit her life better as she gets to sleep in till whenever she wants because she doesn’t go into work until 5pm at the earliest. She works four days a week and on average works 35 hours a week. She says that it sucks that some nights she doesn’t get done with work till 3am and doesn’t get home till 4am, but those are also the nights where she makes the most money. Sam says that she will continue working as a bartender as long as she lives in Oahu, but once she is ready to move back to the mainland then that is when she will be more open to pursue a career in nursing.
Duke is one year out of college and he is working in the corporate offices of Pepsi. He got his masters in communication strategies and was hired at Pepsi one month after graduating. He says he was lucky to get the job. He knows a lot of people who are doing a lot of interviews and not getting jobs that they are qualified for. He had two interviews and he said that it was a pretty easy process. His day consists of making sure that Pepsi products are getting delivered to the right locations and he oversees the drivers to make sure that they have the right amount of product. I asked him what made him start working right out of college and if this was a job he would continue to work at as he gets older. He said that it was really his parents that influenced him to get a job and he didn’t want to disappoint them or have them worry about him. He also says that his plan is to work at Pepsi in Oahu for two years and then they will transfer him to another Pepsi location of his choosing. He is leaning towards moving to Boston after he does in two years of working in Oahu. He likes the pay and he likes what he does. He works Monday through Friday starting at 6am. If he is able to get all of his work done for the day then he is able to leave whenever he wants. Some Days he is done at 5pm and some days he is done at noon. He says his favorite part about his job is being able to have freedom and that he is not stuck behind a desk all day. He is very hands on with all the work that he does.
Frank is also one year out of college and he does not have a job. He graduated college with a degree in marketing. He wants to just relax and enjoy the island of Oahu without the stress of working. He is reliant on his parents for finances but their deal is that because he graduated with a degree that they will reward him for just one year. Frank does not know what job he wants to pursue but is optimistic that this year he will be able to figure out what he wants to do. In the meantime he spends most of his days at the beach surfing. Because he doesn’t have any responsibilities he can go to any beach he wants to on the island and he says that time is on his side right now. He does get bored every now and then. Some nights he wants to go to the bar with his friends but none of them are available because they usually have work in the morning. Frank also watches a lot of movies in his free time. He says this doesn’t help him achieve anything but at least it passes the time. I asked Frank if he regrets not getting a job and he says that some days he wished he had a purpose and that he just does nothing throughout the day. But some days he sees his friends and how they look exhausted and stressed and he’s thankful that he doesn’t have to go through that yet.
Everyone has their own path in life. Everyone’s steps are going to look different. But what are your steps going to look like?
