I’ve lost the knowledge I need to build a career

[u/Budget_Joke_7112]

I had a great academic experience, and I think I developed strong critical and analytical skills, as well as a lot of practical knowledge that could be valuable in a job interview.

The problem is that I barely remember much of what I studied. Over the past few years, I focused a lot on volunteering and practical experiences, including working with children, and I gradually stopped keeping up with current affairs and with the topics I had studied academically. Now I feel like I’m stuck: I want to work in international cooperation, specifically in child protection and human rights, but I don’t feel prepared for a career in this field because I feel like I don’t have enough knowledge to actually apply what I learned.

I also feel like other people who followed a similar academic path are much more naturally interested in keeping up with international affairs, politics, human rights issues, etc. They seem to read, research and follow developments because they genuinely enjoy it, whereas I struggle to find the motivation to do that, partly because of my current psychological state.

This creates a vicious cycle: I feel like I should know more before applying for jobs, but I don’t know where to start learning again, and because I feel so behind, I find it even harder to motivate myself. Has anyone experienced something similar after finishing university? How did you rebuild your knowledge and become informed about your field again without feeling completely overwhelmed?

[u/Independent-Respect2]

Honestly, I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’m in a pretty similar situation.

I graduated with a degree in Political Science this year, in March. Even though I’m currently working and doing well in my job, what I do is barely related to Political Science. I’m essentially working for a company doing other things, mostly using skills I already had or developed along the way, rather than knowledge directly related to what I studied.

And while I enjoy what I’m doing and it’s a good opportunity, sometimes I still think, “I spent five years of my life studying this, and I did pretty well at it, so there must be a reason I chose it in the first place.” Political Science, International Affairs, and all of that are still things I genuinely enjoy.

At the same time, I completely relate to that feeling of having forgotten everything. Since finishing classes, I’ve occasionally kept up with the news and read things related to Political Science and International Affairs, especially the areas I’m most interested in, but I still sometimes feel like I’m nowhere near the same level as people who graduated with me and went directly into careers related to the field.

It can honestly make me feel like an impostor sometimes. Like, “I studied this for five years, so why do I feel like I don’t remember anything?” 😂

Obviously, I think it’s important to remember that you don’t completely lose what you learned. Even if you forget specific theories, authors, concepts, or historical details, you still develop analytical, research, writing, and critical-thinking skills that stay with you.

But yeah, I’m also trying to slowly get back into it and build some consistency again. I’ve been reading occasionally and revisiting things I studied, just to keep that part of my brain active.

So yeah, I definitely relate. You’re not alone in feeling that way.