Yesterday I went out for drinks with a group who graduated two years before me (I’m in the second year of my master’s, so they’re from my undergraduate year group).
They’re already into their second year of working — there’s a settled quality to them now. A real reminder of how different their lives are from mine.
Some had no Obon break, some had switched jobs, some had 10 or more days off — all kinds of situations. But it was clear they all thought “students have it easier.”
But honestly, undergraduate life and graduate school life are on completely different levels. I’m pretty sure they don’t really get that.
Starting next year, I’ll be joining the working world too. I took away a lot from the evening.