Life after college

This is a piece of my story after college life in September 2017. Just like fresh graduates, generally before graduation Me and my friends are busy looking for vacancies via offline or online. We also attended career fairs at other universities, I used all of my money from part-time tutors for the costs of participating in the career fair.

The period after graduation and when not getting a job is very much temptation. Our idealism is tested whether we can arrange daily activities to continue to be productive or not.

No more Limitation of us as students, no classes, no timetable for guidance, no definite activities every day.

Since I used to manage my time greatly so I wasn't too surprised by this freedom. But I feel pressure in this zone, I have graduated but I haven't got a job.

The feeling will want to struggle with the pride of parents and also the shame of a fellow soldier who has got a job first.

There was a sense of despair here, whether registering for any company even though it was not in accordance with the study, but my sane logic was still working, what am I after?

I believe that looking for work has a lot of things to consider, not only the status of “got a job” being pursued.

Alhamdulilllah, finally at the beginning of December 2017 I started working at the biggest petrochemical company in Indonesia at the western end of Java island, which means I'm migrating!

The first time I wandered around I was sure that there were a lot of people trapped in their jobs, in terms of being bound by contracts, security had earned a salary (money), social status, dependents like this and that credit and they couldn't get out of that circle.

This will reduce the essence of the work itself which can be self-actualization. So that everyone who works should always be able to give the best, not even work because they are forced. Or living paycheck to paycheck.

The working conditions are very diverse, there are those who are heavily paid but live in remote area, there are those who are underpaid in the middle of the city, the average salary in the middle of the city and the average salary in the suburbs and there are many other types.

In terms of comfort, there are actually many other sides of the benefits offered by the company that must be observed such as health facilities, career paths, career development, lunch facilities, overtime agreements, work environment, and others.

It turns out that from the many things I mentioned earlier, I will change my daily behavior a little more, in my work experience now, I will be picked up every day by bus so I don't have to commute every day.

Besides that, I get lunch at my office every day. This is very helpful because I don't have to worry about what to eat every day and certainly more efficient.

I also get facilities such as gym members and also swimming that can channel my sports hobbies.

Next is uniform, because working in the industry I get uniforms for everyday life, this is also very beneficial because I do not need to think about what clothes to wear every day which of course saves expenses related to my outfit.

Also with the overtime agreement, the work I complete with a professional is no term of service. I can always give the best in every job.

Next, to the work environment, I live in Cilegon, which is not a metropolitan city. Here I am very grateful because my life style is not like when I lived in Surabaya, I am sure it will be more impulsive if you live in a big city.

A little bit going to the coffee shop, little to the mall, buy this and that will affect my monthly expense. Even if you want to go to the big city of Cilegon, it's only 1.5 hours from Tangerang and 2 hours from Jakarta, so it's still affordable if there is an urgent need to reach.

Besides that Cilegon has sufficient facility to be called a city, there are supermarkets, department stores, and various stores supporting daily life, which makes me very comfortable living here.

Apart from these parameters, I also pay attention to the personal goals that I have here that allow them to be realized outside of working hours. I leave at 6:30 a.m. and arrive at home at 5:15 p.m.

I still have a very long time to do my personal goals and keep doing productive things, this is what I call work-life balance in my opinion.

Therefore, here I want to share about anything that needs attention, maybe what is in my place now is not the best, but I'm sure I can develop and will always develop here.

One thing is certain that we don't get caught up in the comfort zone and forget about the parameters that I described earlier. It is possible that the parameter parameters can change, and if it is not in accordance with your life goals, maybe that will be the right time to move.