It's almost too easy to complain about college life while you are there. The cramming for exams, the all-nighters spent finishing projects and the general dismay of working on the homework for all of your classes can seem like an never-ending stream of irritation that prevents one from heading out every night of the week.

Then there are the obnoxious students, both in and out of the classroom, who are the bane of your existence. The overly-competitive, high-academic achievers who obsess over every point might be polar opposite of the drunken fiends you see out at night, who can never seem to decide if they are dancing or falling, but both have their merits in the annoying category.

In order to power through these and many other ordeals, you think to yourself, “One day I’ll leave here and finally be living the good life. It’ll probably be like one week (two weeks TOPS) after I graduate, and I’ll land this killer, high-paying job where everyone recognizes and appreciates my talents. I’ll probably get promoted in like a month, hello salary bump. With that I’ll be able to afford this incredible apartment without any roommates, but it’s ok because I’ll still be able to afford to go out basically every night and socialize with REAL adults and still be fine working a 40 hour week.” 

Thinking that thought might help get you through a particularly rough academic period, but unless you are the luckiest person to ever graduate from college, transitioning to the real world is going to be a much different story. This is a list of things that you might not think about, but will drastically change in the real world. Brace yourself if you are faint of heart.  

Drink deals 

After a hard week of classes, nothing beats heading out to a bar for $1 drinks. It’s cheap, it’s fun and it won’t break the bank. After heading to a bar after a particularly taxing work week, seeing the “deals” will make you want to buy more drinks that you can’t afford. You’ll be happy if you find a place that will serve a drink for $5.  

Work/Bar Peers

Remember that overly-competitive, high-academic achiever who was the absolute worst to have in class? Well wouldn’t you know it, he/she (or some other version of him/her) graduated too and now works with you. Looks like that promotion you’re after is going to be a little trickier to get.  After the work day, head to the bar, and you’ll see some version of your least favorite drunken person from college, probably talking about what a big deal they were “back in the day."

Roommates.

If you move to a new city to work, chances are you will need to have roommates in order to afford a reasonable apartment. If you move far away, it’s likely they will have to be random people you find from Craigslist. It’s a great way to meet new people, but make sure you have a lock on your bedroom door before you get to know them.  

Budget. 

Seeing that number on your first grown-up job paycheck will fill you with a lot of thoughts. The first will probably be, “Why is that number so low?! I basically lived at the office these past two weeks!” That is when you remember those things like taxes and social security. The bigger the check, the more they take out. After that passes you think, “Well, that is still more than I made at my minimum wage job, I can definitely live on this and go out a few times a week.” BUT WAIT. You can’t forget bills, rent, groceries, student loan payments, transportation costs and other miscellaneous things that will add up to consume the majority of your hard earned paycheck. By the end of the thought process, you’ll come to the realization that you have earned just enough to survive and that the Ramen life may not entirely be in your past.  

Bosses are not like teachers. 

In class, if you mess up, you’ll probably lose a few points, and in some instances, the teacher will talk to you to dish out some constructive criticism. If you miss a day without checking in, it’s fine, you have several unexcused absences to use up. Working in the real world, one no-show could easily lead to a permanent one. For the most part, employers expect you to know what you are doing. Sure, there is a learning curve at the beginning, but there is no Syllabus Week. It is more like Welcome Hour at a real job. 

Going out every night is no longer a possibility.

Yeah, you went out and have an 8 A.M. tomorrow? So you went to class from 8:00-9:00 AM, hungover (or possibly still drunk) and still reeking of last night’s booze? That’s all good when you can go back home and sleep the away the rest of the day.  However, sitting at a nine to five job all day hungover, while trying to hide it from your boss, one time will make you keep your partying reserved for the weekends except for the rarest of occasions.  

That being said, there is something immensely satisfying about using your degree to become an independent adult. Sure, you might work long hours, get paid barely enough to survive and have figure out how to have fun without getting hammered on $1 drinks, but making it on your own is still making it on your own. So appreciate your time in college, no matter how difficult you perceive it to be, because the challenges, though satisfying to overcome, will continue to come.