81. Final Year Woes

Hello everyone, sorry it's been a while and that it has taken me a shameful 25 days to put up my first post of 2015! I hope the year has gotten off to a good start for you all. The reason I've not been able to post for so long actually relates to the title of the post- I had four exams that finished on Friday for my modules last semester. I cannot believe that I start the final semester of my degree tomorrow so it feels like a good time to let you all know the problems us final years have after overcoming second year struggles.

1) Everyone constantly asking you what your plans are after graduating. I've noticed that it mainly seems to be adults (I mean proper adults in their 40s not us "early 20s adults") who ask me this. What really annoys me is when it's people who are practically strangers e.g. nurses, cab drivers etc that ask me and I want to ask them why do you care? I'm 20 for goodness sake, if you expect any of us final years to have a 50 year career plan set in stone, you're in cloud cuckoo land. Also, as a biologist, I hate people who assume that I intend on becoming a doctor or teacher. If I'd wanted to go over to the dark side, I would have done medicine -_- I won't be responsible for my actions towards the next person that asks me this so don't say I didn't warn you. I would also like to thank everyone I do know who has had the common decency not to ask me, thank you Dave the milkman.

2) Having graduate scheme/job application deadlines that are close to assignment deadlines. The actual application forms themselves aren't that bad, it's the several personality/ English/ numerical tests that take so much time! Would you like me to complete the components to get the degree you require for your vacancy or would like me to fill in your unnecessarily long application form?

3) Trying to enjoy your final year as a student without compromising your grades! You want to make the most of your remaining months in education with your university friends before everyone goes off in their own direction. On a course like biology, everyone is specialising in different fields which means we're doing very different modules. We also have several different types of projects with some people stuck in a lab 9-5, some people working in a group on an enterprise project whilst others like myself are doing an education project. This means everyone has busy periods and deadlines at different times so it is difficult to make plans to socialise without feeling guilty that you should be doing some extra reading or research for an essay. 

4) Writing an essay either for coursework or an exam and feeling like it's just not good enough no matter how much effort you put into it. Final year is worth 70% of my degree mark overall and when there is so much depending on each piece you write, nothing feels good enough!

5) The amount of university related emails you get in first and second year is bad enough but in final year, there seems to be at least 5 graduate jobs/ PhD information ones you receive every day. Having said that, there seems to have been less lost dictaphone emails this year, thank goodness.

6) The depressing lack of graduate jobs in the North. In the news last week, they reported that there have been 12 new jobs created in the South for every one elsewhere in the UK over the past 10 years. It's a joke.

7) Going through daily cycles of caring and not caring about your degree because you miss having a life. I don't even mean socialising, just eating/ sleeping at reasonable times but then feeling guilty when you aren't revising/ working on that essay.

8) Missing your friends that are on a placement year.

Sorry for the long rant but I hope some of you can relate to this if you're in final year or if you have graduated, then well done you for getting through final year. If you're in first/second year then you've been warned. Also, final year isn't all that bad, it's going to be the last Christmas you spend revising!

Until next time, take care.
Love,
Mancunian Sheep x