Just in case midterm exams and huge assignments don’t have you stressed enough yet, there’s one more thing to add to the list- all this talk about the recession. Professors are talking about it, fellow students are asking about it, and parents are stressing about it. The question is what should you as a college student do during a recession? There is no simple answer but I have come up with a short list of ideas that will help boost your confidence while everyone else is stressed out by the current recession.
1. Know your stuff. Don’t just do the usual last minute cramming before an exam, set out to learn the content so you actually know your stuff. Many times we find ourselves just trying to get by a course by putting in minimal effort. All of us are guilty of this at some point in time but this is probably the worst point to be pulling this off. The reason that you should know your stuff is because with the amount of job cuts and lack of new hiring going on only the best possible candidates will be hired.
2. Network, network, and network. Career days, lunches, dinners, professors, other students. Keep in touch with anyone possible and try to build the largest network possible. Once you establish a decent network of contacts keep in touch by calling them, going for coffee, or even a simple email. The whole idea of “networking” can not be properly summed up in one paragraph and it will a take a whole article one day down the road.
3. Ignore the negative news. It will only lead to unnecessary stress if you spend all of your free time reading and watching news about the recession. It’s crucial to stay informed but information overload will interfere with other areas of your life. Your main focus should be your education and networking, stressing about the recession will only hinder your ability to succeed with your studies.
4. Stay in school. Maybe teacher’s college or graduate school seem like a pretty good idea right about now. If you are worried that you won’t be able to find work in your field of study then getting a graduate degree in the field could put you ahead of the competition.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I couldn’t agree more with your point about “Know your stuff.” School is for more than just improving your resume. There’s a good chance that you’ll be using the critical thinking skills you’re developing inside the classroom in the real world.
My good friend tells me that his business stats class (a class I’m taking right now) has been HUGE for him LATER in his education.
I’ll be paying more attention.
I took business stats a few years ago and as boring as it may seem it will definitely help you later on in life. Standard deviation, box whisker plots, IQR may seem irrelevant now but you never know where you will be working one day down the road. If you want to work for an insurance company one day then your knowledge and application of what you learned in business stats class will be what gets you the job. How do you feel about the class so far?
I’d just hunker down, ignore it, and do the best you can in everything, same a you would anyway. But then I have a rather naive view that hard work will always be rewarded.
Nice post – we’re lucky as students because we’re somewhat insulated from the crisis, especially if we have jobs on campu and things like that.
I partially agree that you need to ignore the recession with regards to focusing on school work, since it might be over by the time you graduate. At the same time, there are valuable lessons to be learned from a recession. I’ve learned that I am not risk averse. I am unafraid of losing money so early on in my investing career because I have plenty of time to make it back. It’s important to remember that these recessions are not unusual. They happen without much warning, but it’s important to learn that recessions happen, but they aren’t permanent.
Hey, good post
Nice post! Nice to stumble a blog that has same niche as mine.
A pretty set of advice for current college students. The ‘know your stuff’ comment is particularly important, as I’ve noticed all too many students focusing more on the next party they want to attend than on their classes. Being a good student, either whether high school, college, or graduate/professional school, it the first priority of someone whose work is primarily to study.