Are you prepared for life after graduation?

Transitions are always nerve-racking. Think of when you suddenly had to go to a school in Laikipia County all the way from Malindi because your father got a job out there.

Of course you eventually adapted to your new life and now Laikipia is a big part of your life story, but think about the adjustment process.

The new school, language, weather, friends and the cultural shifts that needed to get attuned to. This stress in transitioning is what the Big Issue is about this week.

Our focus is on how young adults are managing, or plan to manage life after university graduation, adjusting to a life without semesters.

What worries them most? What is the most exciting thing about where they are now and what could be better?

Boyani Momanyi, 23

Final year student of political science and sociology at the University of Nairobi

Boyani is worried about completing school and having to depend on her siblings.

“The pocket money I get is enough, but once I complete school, I know I will need much more money to meet needs such as rent, bus fare and clothes. It is easy to borrow money for such things when in school, but once you graduate, it would be difficult to,” she says.

Most of her university friends have been talking about moving towns as soon as they graduate, so she is aware that there is going to be that shift in her personal relationships, something that she has started to psychologically prepare for - the reality that she will lose key friends to distance.

Her transition to the workplace is another major concern for her because she has absolutely no experience in the workplace, therefore has no idea what practical experiences will be expected of her.

“I did not do any internship in the course of my studies because despite searching, I could not get an opening.

Due to this, I feel unprepared for the workplace, even though I am excited about the possibility of getting a job and building professional networks and relationships as well as reinventing myself,” she says.

But until a job comes along, she plans to continue with her business of selling clothes, which she started while in her third year at the university and which has been the source of her pocket money.

“I do not foresee much change in my relationship with my family after I graduate, though I might have to move in with one of my sisters before I stand on my feet.

The fact that I will be crushing at their place will mean cost-sharing certain expenses, behaving properly and having to give up some of my freedoms, such as staying out late or entertaining friends beyond a certain time.”

Benson Keli, 24

Final Year, BA film technology, Kenyatta University

Benson is fearful of the transition that awaits him once he graduates from university.

“When you complete school, people expect that you have money or know how to get it. I have seen this with friends who completed school before me. Now that I am in school, people are gentler with their expectations of me, but I worry that as soon as I graduate, they will expect me to transition overnight and become an adult, a fully self-reliant adult,” he says.

He is also concerned about unemployment. If he had a guaranteed job somewhere, he says, he would be more excited about completing school.

“Most of my friends who graduated two or three years ahead of me are still at home, jobless.

Some have to make do with menial jobs or have jobs that are not related in any way to what they studied,” he points out.

The older he gets, the more he finds that he has to seek guidance for key decisions that he has to make at different turns in his life, such as whether to proceed to graduate school.

“My father has been very supportive, financing my projects and also facilitating my volunteer work, due to this, I have a solid experience portfolio and have managed to earn some money alongside my studies,” he says.

Getting into the job market is another concern for him.

“The way society and the work place is structured, even though I have been working throughout my undergraduate on volunteer or attachment and internship terms since 2013, once I graduate, I will be considered a newbie and my terms of employment and salary will reflect this,” he says.

In terms of independence, he points out that even though he has not moved out of home yet, he buys groceries and pays the electricity bill, obligations that are teaching him responsibility.

“I think not having money is what drives young people into crime. It is demoralising when you are learned but you cannot pay your bills because you do not have a job.

This is why more and more young people are getting depressed. You feel stuck in a situation you have no control over.”

In spite of his fears, he feels that sometimes his peers sell themselves short by refusing to consider alternate jobs.

“If I failed to get a job as a filmmaker today, I would not shy away from taking up volunteer positions.

I once worked as a taxi driver, and using my shooting skills, I did a video that attracted the attention of a certain company that is interested in hiring me.

There are many things that we can do instead of staying at home doing nothing – you could volunteer for instance, this way, someone will notice your effort and will want to work with you,” he says.

Doris Moraa, 23

Graduated from a teacher-training college a year ago

“I thought that completing school meant I would have my own house and a lot of freedom, but the holiday after I completed school, reality hit me. I was left at home, alone with my parents and it dawned on me that I did not have anything to do,” she says.

Doris left home and travelled to the city to look for a job even though she did not have her transcript yet.

It proved extremely hard, yet she needed money urgently. She even offered to help her older sister with house work at a fee.

The realisation that life outside school was far from the glamourous image she had built in her mind over the years hit her hard.

“I play basketball, but I could not even get a basketball team to be part of. I got so traumatised, I needed counselling to cope with what I was going through,” she says.

Doris adds that seeing her friends who were still in school looking carefree and enjoying life made her wonder whether completing school was an advantage. Her friends also seemed to be having a better time than she was.

“They were out there going on vacations and I wanted to fit in and keep up with them but I had no money and I could not dare ask my parents for money to party, if anything, my mum had made it clear that I needed to earn my own money now that I was through with my education,” she explains.

She eventually got a job, but adjusting to being a professional was a bit of a challenge for her.

“To begin with, I moved out of home, which was the start of bills. Fitting into the professional space, which demanded waking up early and reporting to work without fail was a big adjustment, not to name the pressure from work, which was consuming,” she says.

Doris points out that had she been taught how to save, her transition in terms of managing money would have been easier.

“I am still struggling to repay the loans I took when I was looking for a job,” she says.

She would like to set up a nail art business, but she does not seem to have time for it.

She also thought that she would have time for other interests such as basketball, but the games take place over the weekend when she is at work.

“Due to the pressure, when I get home in the evening, I do not even have the energy to prepare a meal, so sometimes I just take tea and sleep.

I hardly have time for a social life now, and am still learning how to manage my time.”

Mavin Mundia, 25

Entrepreneur, studied Urban Planning at the University of Nairobi

Mavin graduated in 2018 and three months down the line, with no job but with the expectation that he should be financially independent, he decided to start a business.

“I was excited about completing school, about being out of school, about the opportunity to do other things. After searching for jobs everywhere with no success, the excitement is not there anymore,” he says.

He adds that the reality is different from how he envisioned his life would pan out after completing school.

Already, he is grappling with money issues, for instance, he has school fees arrears that he is under pressure to clear, as well as a loan he took from the Higher Education Loans Board.

The forecast is not all gloomy for him though, because he managed to set up a company that has enabled him to meet some of his financial obligations.

“As soon as I enrolled in university, I joined an acting group not only to explore my talent, but also to earn some pocket money on the side.

When I decided to go into business, I approached a couple of people I had previously worked with, and since they knew my track record, they were willing to extend me the capital I needed to start my theatre company.”

Mavin explains that he was starkly aware of the unemployment situation in the country, hence why he did not wait to complete school to begin looking for jobs or building networks.

“I am in touch with my friends from university, and most of them are still at home, looking for jobs, while others gave up on getting one and went back to the village.

There are some that are doing jobs that are totally unrelated to what they trained for, like me,” he explains, adding that once one completes school, the expectation is that one must immediately begin to fend for himself.

That transition, he says, has been difficult for him because he is not fully financially independent, yet all the support he enjoyed while at the university has been cut off.

“Besides footing my bills, my younger brother relies on me for pocket money - I cannot afford to sit back and relax,” he says.

Unemployment aside, he also found himself grappling with how to handle his personal life.

“The expectation once you complete university is that you will get married, own a house and have children, yet since you were old enough, your parents would constantly tell you to focus on your studies and stay away from the opposite sex. Suddenly, it becomes okay to interact with girls. It can be confusing,” he says.

The pressure and daily demands aside, he is happy that he now has the time to explore his artistic talent and rediscover himself outside the academic space.