How to Survive University with Class

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A decade ago, almost to the day, I stood in the middle of Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall draped only in a garbage bag guzzling a longneck of beer around nine o’clock in the morning.

This anti-social spectacle was my introduction to the cult of university campus living. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have paid attention to those third-year masochists and their beer-fuelled barraging.

So this week as a new batch of university freshers go through orientation towards the great unknown, I’ve compiled my own set of survival tips for the college crowd.

First survival skill: employment

The first Barefoot University survival rule is simple – get a job. The “I need to focus on my studies” argument won’t wash with me.

Unless you’re studying medicine or aeronautical engineering, most students’ version of brekkie television is the midday movie.

So, it’s time to stack your course load with another subject we’ll call Real World 101.

There are no assignments, and no tutorials – the tests come in the form of turning up to work on time, working hard, getting along with fellow co-workers, dealing with your boss and taking responsibility.

A passing grade in Real World 101 will mean more to your future employer than getting a high distinction in medieval art appreciation.

University may well be about the quest for knowledge, but if you graduate without having held down a job you’ve missed out on an essential ingredient that all employees value – a good work ethic.

Second survival skill: communal living

Rule number two is to embrace share-house living.

Sure, moving in with your three best mates may sound exciting at the start, but if history is any guide it will quickly deteriorate into a re-run of The Young Ones.

This is where the learning comes in.

Make sure you have adequate contents insurance, so when that party crasher takes off with your television you aren’t left high and dry when it’s time to watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Also understand that at least some of your housemates will not enrol in Real World 101 and will consequently be perennially poor.

This is the main reason to ensure your name isn’t on all the bills.

The electricity company doesn’t want to hear some sob story about your housemate keeping his heater on in his room 24/7 – they just want to be paid. If your name’s the only one on the bill, you’re toast.

Third survival skill: life-long learner

Survival guide number three is to learn. Not just from the course that’s costing you an arm and a leg, but about what you’ll do when you land your dream job (and, I’m not referring to the Gucci graduation present).

I’ve met far too many graduates who, five years into earning big bucks, have nothing to show for it.

Take the time to work out a budget (even if the end goal is having enough to blow on Thursday night).

THIS is also a good time to figure out your goals. What do you want to achieve over the next few years while you’re studying?

It could be to live debt-free, maybe it’s to seduce your lecturer, or perhaps it’s to develop a strong network for your future career.

What about the five years after that? As the honourable philosopher Bruce Springsteen once cautioned, “time slips away and leaves you with nothing Mister but boring stories of glory days”.

Which funnily enough seems to have happened to the Boss.

Getting your head around the notion of working life, career and future prospects might sound like a distant chore at this stage, but I can let you in on a little secret: it’s what all successful people do, something we learn from reading their stories and hearing them talk (or listening to their music in the case of Bruce).

If you’ve sorted your goals and your budget, it also makes planning your financial security so much easier.

So take some time to learn about how to invest at this point in your life.

These strategies have the ability to put you streets ahead of your less disciplined mates who graduate with trophy degrees.

The decade after throwing your cap in the air has the ability to set you up or stuff you up.

A few hours of light reading and some action will put you in the box seat even if you graduate with an arts history major.

Fourth survival skill: accept (almost) all offers

Survival guide number four is to take advantage of student packages.

Marketers love students, because unlike both your parents and your lecturers, they see your potential – to be life-long customers.

Most of the banks offer a basic student-banking package that will charge zero fees, but will also commonly come with a credit card.

Don’t touch the plastic.

It’s their first step towards training you to live a life on credit. There’s no rule that states you need to rack up the average $3000 the rest of the population has.

Instead, get a pre-paid debit card that has the same functionality (web purchases, setting up a bar tab), but without the nasty bill once a month.

Fifth survival skill: enjoy it

Survival guide number five is to have as much fun as possible. As those of us who adhere to the daily grind would attest, there are few times in your life where you can truly enjoy such freedom.

As I sit in my office and look up at the degree hanging on my wall, I now realise that the learning that comes from university happens just as much outside of the lecture hall as it does inside.

So this week if a drunken third-year student asks you to jump on a bus, just watch out for those garbage bags. Let the learning begin!

Tread your own path!

Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/funky64/4293841672/

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