Nice to see you again. Follow me, @SydneyOwen. Thanks for being here!
Working 9-5 (okay, 8:30-5:30) is pretty awesome. My evenings are free and I am faced with a lot of time to do what I like to do, or nothing at all. It’s luxurious, really.
The hardest part about the transition so far? Waiting for a paycheck.
I miss bartending. Not the politics involved, not the actual act of pouring a drink for people who are winding down when all you want is to have one yourself, but the money. I can’t just go pick up a shift at the agency and walk home with $200-$300. It’s an adjustment that I’m doing well with, but definitely struggling.
But, I have to say, taking a pay cut by 2/3 is okay, because the opportunity is greater. I learned about that in Economics class, opportunity cost vs. the cost it actually takes to produce something. Like driving for three hours trying to find parking or paying $13 to park in a public garage. What’s worth more to you? Well if time is money, then it’s a no brainer.
But back to the pay cut. I came in the middle of a pay period so my first check will actually be like a cajillion dollars. Two weeks of no money feels like forever when you’re used to cash on hand at all times. I’ve always been good at budgeting, but I haven’t made a deposit to my account for almost two weeks. I’m used to dropping cash into that account every day. So that’s the adjusting part. Budgeting between checks, and not living like I was living when I was making at least $200 a night. One week of bartending and I could pay all of my bills for that month. One good week and I could pay bills and a half.
But I wasn’t learning. Sure, I was learning about myself and developing amazing social skills, including the ability to read people well (which will serve me well in the future, I just know it). But I wasn’t learning the way I’m learning at my 9-5. I am learning so much there I wonder if I went to college. A wise man passed along a book called “They Don’t Teach Corporate in College”. Oh. Em. Gee. You’re not kidding!
Everything that has tripped me up is something that I wish they would have taught me while I was shelling out thousands for an education. It makes me wonder – what’s the point of going to school? Everything you learned will surely come in handy some day, but the things that trip you up in the adjustment process seemingly come out of left field because it’s so new. They don’t warn you about this stuff.
So, the learning adventure continues. All I know is that I’m thankful for the internship as a process. I can’t imagine getting hired on full time at an agency, with no experience in a corporate setting, without going through this process first. I would be drowning.
I have already learned a ton, and I’m starting on week three. I wonder what will come my way this week. I’ll keep you posted. 
How long does the adjustment period last? How did you ease your transition into a corporate life? Are you still learning in your current position?