The Challenges of Being a First-in-Family Tertiary Student

Being a 'first-in-family' tertiary student can be challenging. A bit of seasoned advice can go a long way!

First-in-family tertiary students often face distinct structural, financial and cultural challenges. They also face unique barriers translating their degrees into careers upon graduation. They lack professional networks, struggle to decode hidden job market rules, experience imposter syndrome, and receive little guidance on translating academic skills into corporate or industry terms, leading to career anxiety and underemployment.

Revolution Career Counselling can provide a wealth of knowledge and practical guidance, guaranteed to help you successfully navigate the tricky waters of tertiary education and enter the exact vocational area of your choice!

Cultural and Social Challenges

• Hidden Curriculum: Lack of institutional knowledge about university systems, jargon, and expectations.

  
  

• Family Disconnect: Difficulty sharing the university experience with family members who cannot relate.

  
  

• Identity Conflict: Feeling caught between their home environment and the academic world.

  
  

• Imposter Syndrome: Intense self-doubt regarding their belonging and capability in higher education.

Handling Financial and Logistical Pressures Without the Benefit of Parental/Other Family Member Tertiary Education Experience

• High Employment Hours: Juggling long paid work shifts alongside full-time study requirements.

  
  

• Commuter Burdens: Spending significant time travelling due to living far from campus.

  
  

• Financial Constraints: Navigating textbook costs, technology requirements and living expenses without parental safety nets.

  
  

• Time Poverty: Managing competing demands of work, family responsibilities, and academic loads.

Academic and Support Barriers

• Help-Seeking Hesitancy: Reluctance to use university support services due to pride or shame.

  
  

• Lower Preparation: Entering tertiary study through non-traditional paths with less academic grounding.

  
  

• Isolation: Lacking established peer networks or mentors from similar backgrounds.

Barriers To Translating Qualification Into Careers

• No Family Network: Parents or family members often have few corporate or professional contacts.

• Job Leads and Referrals: Students may miss out on insider referrals or informal job leads.

  
  

• Mentors: They often struggle to find suitable, well connected mentors in their chosen field.

Hidden Rules of Hiring

• Networking and LinkedIn: They do not know how to network or use LinkedIn effectively.

  
  

• Resumes, Applications and Interview Skills: Resume, application writing and interview norms feel foreign or intimidating.

  
  

• Industry Expectations and Standards: They miss many important unwritten industry hiring expectations and standards.

Translating Skills

• Presenting Your Unique Value Proposition to an Employer: It can be hard to explain what one’s qualification and training means to an employer if you don’t really know this yourself.

  
  

• Tertiary bases Internships, Workplace Placement and Project Experience:  Students and graduates struggle to successfully link study projects to real workplace tasks.

  
  

• Undervaluing Work History: Many students undervalue their part-time or non-academic work history.

Emotional Pressure

• Fear Around Time and Debt: Ill-informed fears around wasting time spent studying and high university debt can cause unnecessary anxiety and contribute to bad decisions.

• Family Pressure: Pressure from family to succeed right away.

  
  

• Guilt and Lack of Confidence in One’s Potential: Feelings of guilt or not belonging in professional spaces.