Graduating is one of the most exciting, but also nerve-wracking points in many people’s lives. 

High school graduation is one thing, however, for many the most daunting next step is going to college. Graduating from college is a whole other beast. 

Many soon-to-be graduates groan at the question “So what’s next?” The question often holds so much weight, possible judgement, and assumptions. 

To combat this anxiety many are experiencing, I spoke with some soon-to-be post-grad SDSU students and soon-to-be graduates to get their mindset and advice they have for others. 

Ingrid Skye is a current fourth-year psychology student, and going through the steps of preparing for graduation. She is a very involved student; Psi Chi President, Undergraduate Research Committee Vice President, (AAPI)phany intern, Women in Science Society, along with 10+ others. Clearly, she would stand out among many applicants, but this does not decrease the nerves any less.

In her field, along with all fields, she speaks about how saturated the markets are, and how the job application burnout will get real. Due to this, Skye advises students to keep in contact with their college mentors and continue to actively be networking in your field. Along with this she says “to always keep an open mind to all relevant experiences even if it might not be your ideal job.” Despite her nervousness in entering the workforce, she is continuing to stay optimistic and accept the change that is bound to come. 

Someone in a similar position is Kelli Allen, who is majoring in communications.

Allen agrees that using her SDSU resources like events, clubs, networking, etc. was one of the most valuable aspects of college. She also shares her piece of advice, to not always take the first job you receive. 

Allen is going on to au pair in Paris for a year, so though not down the exact same path as her major, it is allowing her to experience new things and maybe even learn more about what she wants to do with her career. 

To hear from someone who has experienced this and is now deep into their career postgrad, Rain Garcia gave a lot of input and advice for people in these shoes right now.

Garcia graduated from SDSU last spring in 2024. Since then she has launched her own business, Garcia Media Works, and has experienced much success while doing freelance social media management. This is many post-grads’ dreams, especially when working in creative or entrepreneurial fields. 

When graduating, she was unsure what she wanted to do because she had already been managing some various social media accounts, but didn’t know if public relations (the degree she was receiving) was the perfect path for her. This is when she received a great piece of advice from a mentor that many could benefit from hearing, “You are so young, if you want to do something risky, this could be the best time that you can bounce back from if needed.”

Obviously this was a great piece of knowledge because since launching her business she has worked with many companies, specifically San Diego-based such as, Gilly’s House of Cocktails, Gnarly Girl Pizza, Drift Cafe, and more. 

She spoke about how she wasn’t expecting to launch a business, so she definitely encourages students to take advantage of all of the clubs that are offered, and on top of that to constantly engage with the community. There will be so much value, whether that comes from networking or whatever it may be, this can teach you so much in the long run. 

Garcia also shares a similar sentiment to Skye, in that all job markets right now are very saturated. Due to this, Garcia emphasizes the importance of portfolios and taxical evidence when applying. She says that now being on the hiring side of things for her company, this is the most useful thing she looks out for, as well as the majority of hiring managers. 

Hearing a diverse range of thoughts from soon-to-be graduates or postgraduates reflects that many college students are experiencing many of the same emotions right now. It can be a scary, daunting future and often makes one feel very alone. However, these experiences show that everyone is going through the same emotions and feelings. The SDSU community is strong and wants to help postgrads. 

Keep in contact with everyone you can, continue networking, and don’t feel overwhelmed at the prospect of the future because change is inevitable and good things will come.