Graduation is not the end, it's just the beginning

Congratulations to all new MUT graduates! We welcome you to the MUT Alumni Connection. Visit www.mut.ac.za/alumni and fill in the online form to get involved.




Graduates at the MUT Faculty of Engineering Graduation on 19
 April 2013

 

Here is a short message from the Alumni Affairs Office.


After three or four years of working hard to complete a tertiary qualification, there is a long sigh of relief, a feeling that you have made it to the top, that you've done all that is needed for success.

 This idea soon fades away, however, upon the realisation that the world does not owe you anything for the diploma or degree that you have just obtained. Instead, you find that you still have to prove your worth. After knocking on numerous doors, you may get no positive response.

You may even have to settle for a less than ideal job that bears no relation to the field of work you studied for. Horror stories have been told of master's graduates sitting at home, or being reduced to nothing more than a tea lady, the company messenger, or delivery boy. Nonetheless, this should not discourage graduates. Don't give up on your dreams when you see the long road ahead of you. Soldier on just like you did through those sleepless nights before exams and assignments. Cry a tear or two but don't wallow in your grief, pick yourself up and keep on believing.

The "we regret to inform you" letters, the enormous amount of money spent browsing for jobs at the internet cafe, those study fees still unpaid for, the hungry faces at home looking to their older graduate sibling, those countless interviews and taxi fares travelling to them. Yes! It's painful, we all know, but soldier on. 

Don't be disheartened; learn from our former President Dr Nelson Mandela who was persecuted for what he believed in. The 27 years he spent away from his family and friends was worth it, as painful as it was. He had hope that one day things would come right. Hope will always be your best friend.

Mandela also understood the art of living, that "after climbing a great hill, one realises that there are many more hills to climb."

To the MUT graduates of 2013, the 25% unemployment rate is high, but that should not deter you from striving to achieve your dreams. You have indeed climbed a great hill, but go on climb some more for this is the art of living. 

Bongeka Gumede-Alumni Relations Officer

gumedebz@mut.ac.za