These days, midlife crises are happening more frequently to those around age 20, most likely due to the early success of recent billionaires such as Mark Zuckerberg, the self-made Facebook billionaire by age 23, and Jack Dorsey, the self-made Twitter billionaire by age 35. Because of the media hype about the young, successful and rich, today’s 20 year olds feel a lot of pressure to succeed early in life, hence, the quarter-life crisis.

Unfortunately, most 20 year olds must realize that becoming a billionaire before they graduate is unrealistic. No one expects every college sophomore to have already built a billion dollar empire. In fact, most people just hope that at age 20 you have some sort of paying job, good grades and maybe even a resume-boosting internship. That realization will relieve 75 percent of the distress that contributes to a 20 year old’s quarter-life crisis. For the other 25 percent, here are some tips to help you overcome your feelings of discontent.

1. Make sure to study what you want to be studying. Your studies should be a jumping off point for your future career and success. If you don’t like what you’re doing, change it! Most students are afraid to change majors because of pressures such as parents influence, graduating on time or even friend groups. However changing majors is not as daunting as it may seem. Once you are studying something you enjoy, you’ll feel a huge weight lifted from your shoulders.      

2. Find a paying job. Even if it’s a part-time shift at a local grocery store or an ice cream parlor, go out and find a job that will earn you a few extra bucks. Depositing a paycheck every few weeks into your savings account will give you bursts of happiness and feelings of mini success, especially if you save up enough to buy something nice for yourself!   

3. Create a brand. Whether you’re creating a brand for a product, a blog, or yourself, design the brand you want to back in your spare time. Perhaps you have a fashion blog you post to at night or you just want your Instagram’s to be more cohesive. Creating a brand is a simple starting point for defining yourself or your product in the business world. Recreating yourself as a brand will make you feel like you’re taking steps toward your career and defining how you want to be viewed as a professional.   

4. Shadow an office. Meeting professionals in the field that you want to go into helps build your contact list and your confidence that there are happy and successful people out there doing what you want to do. Just ask an office if you can come in for a day and shadow someone or just come in to talk over coffee about how they came into their position and what a day in their life is like.  

5. Attend a local summit or conference. Attending a summit or conference will allow you to meet professionals in your field from all over. Building your contact network and learning from seasoned professionals will help you focus your career goals and get you back on track from your quarter-life crisis.

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