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 change with an unthinkable speed, leaving the educational system always below the 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.

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The leap into the professional world

Many of the young people who embarked on a career after finishing secondary education have doubts about that choice and end up dropping out and mired in frustration; some choose and find satisfaction without major complications but cannot finish the thesis or the last subjects, others encourage you to change careers and try different looks, and many others find themselves in a spiral of doubts over several years.

The development of a professional project is an important step in life; Much of the time that is 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 begins to tell us that we are not doing well? What happens to those people who, 3 subjects after finishing a year-long degree, just stop? And of those, who once finished, do not stop studying a master's degree, a doctorate, a technical degree, and never practice, staying in the place of the eternal student.

There is a symbolic position change when we are about to finish a project, in this case educational. And is that we stop being the student, passive, receiver of information, to become the professional we imagine.

Not only that, but once the race is over, the next step is full of uncertainty: many times with the title. 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.

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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 your fears

It's basic identify what are the fears or doubts that arise and what thoughts are associated with them.

Many times a "I don't know if I liked what I chose" when I'm very close to the end, actually hides a "I don't feel capable of doing what I chose."

Being able to speak the fears, lower them in writing and organize them by intensity It is usually a good way to visualize what is happening to me and act accordingly.

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2. Know how to share and ask for help

Having someone else to whom I can share my doubts is usually a great tool, people outside my emotions can offer new perspectives that allow me to rethink my desires.

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3. Be realistic with the demands

Taking the time to identify with which thought this intense emotion that destabilizes me is associated can help to recognize how much there is reality and imagination in them.

4. Ask yourself if you are being fair to what you expect of yourself

Lowering 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.

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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 provide us with what we need to improve our work and guide us towards the path with which we are most let's 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 walk that path, which will cease to be that of the university and will continue to be that of our life itself.