The INVISIBLE GAP IN BETWEEN STUDENT LIFE AND THE REAL WORLD

Published on Oct. 4, 2025 written By Anelisiwe Phakamile

The South African youth’s unemployment rate was 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025,

highlighting their vulnerability in the job market. This consists of individuals aged 15-

34 years old, including graduates. The Universities prepare students academically,

but not necessarily for the chaotic, practical, and often harsh realities of adulthood.

Most job vacancies have requirements that most graduates do not have, as they’re

still green.

The student life has its own structure that creates community and routine, making it

easier to feel “safe” as being a student provides comfort and stability. Your classes

dictate your day, friendships within walking distance, and even your biggest

stressors, which are the exam season and heartbreak. You exist within a predictable

cycle.

Then comes the real world, where Mondays don’t come with a timetable, friends

scatter across cities, and you are left with questions that no lecturer prepared you

for: Who am I without this institution? How do I handle rejection letters that pile up?

Why do I feel like an imposter even when I am “qualified”?

The gap after graduation is not only emotionally straining but also financially and

professionally. The aftermath is like the end of a fairytale, where you are in a position

where you’re forced to face reality. There is no longer understanding, aid, or discount

being offered because you’re a student.

Many young graduates quietly wrestle with post-graduation depression. It’s not

spoken about enough, but the sudden absence of community, structure, and purpose

leaves a void. This invisible emotional gap is as real as any financial or professional

one.

If you were on NSFAS or a scholarship, money often came in cycles; it was late,

stressful, but eventually. For others, parents or part-time jobs provided enough to

scrape by. But the real world flips the script; you must be a responsible adult who

includes rent, transport, data, and groceries, which become inescapable monthly

bills.

The cruel irony is that entry-level jobs, when available, often pay just enough to keep

you afloat but not enough to build. For those who don’t secure employment right

away, the financial gap becomes a free fall into debt, odd jobs, or dependence on

family that may already be stretched thin.

We were taught how to calculate trigonometric equations, but not how to calculate

tax. We learned about supply and demand, but not how to demand fair pay. The gap

here is not just financial, it’s systemic. Adding more pressure to the unemployment

rate, individuals turn to illegal endeavours, increasing the crime rate of this country.

The real world does not care about your distinctions if you cannot prove practical

experience. Employers want adaptability, communication, and initiative, and those

are skills often honed through internships, freelancing, or volunteering rather than

textbooks.

But here lies another invisible trap: many internships are unpaid or underpaid,

meaning only the privileged can afford them. For first-generation graduates, for

whom education was supposed to be the ticket out of poverty, this creates yet

another cycle of exclusion. Universities produce graduates, but the real world

demands professionals. Without intentional bridging, the gap becomes a cliff.

Universities need to expand their vision of education. They must offer students life-

readiness modules. Modules such as financial literacy and mental health awareness

should also be mandatory and part of the curriculum, as these tools will make the

transition for the students much smoother.

Also, employers must acknowledge that potential matters as much as experience.

Structured entry-level programmes with mentorship can smooth the transition rather

than punish fresh graduates for their inexperience. When having vacancies, they

need to acknowledge the fact that most graduates do not have the experience.

Bridging this invisible gap would require initiatives, understanding, and transparency.

We need honest conversations about the struggles that follow graduation.

Normalising these discussions can ease the shame of “not having it all figured out”

and remind young people that struggling in the gap does not mean failure, it means

transition.