After spending thousands of dollars on a degree (or putting it on HECS, whatever), you want to come away with some bang for your buck.

Sure, you’ve gained “knowledge” about “facts”, but you’ve also developed some sweet skills that will set you up for your working life. Here they are.

#1 Making Friends With People You Wouldn’t Otherwise Hang Out With

Uni classes bring together people you maybe wouldn’t gravitate towards otherwise – people from different suburbs, ages, genders and cultural backgrounds than your own. But when you get shoved together for a group assignment, you often discover that these people are actually worth getting to know.

The same thing can happen in the workplace. By putting yourself out there you might learn that you share a favourite footy team or TV show with your colleagues, and so begins a beautiful friendship.

Just don’t put too much of yourself out there – no one at work needs to hear your super intimate oversharing. That’s what your weekend friends are for.

#2 Scoping Out The Best Coffee Spot In A 1km Radius

Chances are by the end of your degree your barista knew not only your name but your wildest dreams. You spent that much time with them.

After a few mediocre macchiatos you finally found the tastiest/cheapest/most hipster coffee place close enough to your classrooms that popping in wouldn’t make you late (or at least not too late). This talent for finding the best coffee will help see you through the workday and land you a new barista bestie.

#3 Getting Through A Hangover

Ahh, student nights. Such fun! Such an assault to the human body! By now you’ve had enough of them to know how to make it through the next day without too much suffering.

The catch is, if you did your timetable right you probably had time for a post-lecture nap, but you won’t necessarily get that in your job. And while your lecturers might not have noticed your drooping eyelids and constant bathroom breaks, your bosses might not be so lenient towards your post-bevy struggle.

#4 Meeting A Deadline

There’s two ways to do this. The first one is to muck around for a while, start with the easiest part of the task, quickly become overwhelmed by the approaching deadline and stress-cry until you’ve done a very rough job of the bare minimum.

The second one is to make a plan, break the work down into parts and allocate enough time for each part, then calmly finish the task. Hopefully your uni career has shown you that the second way is so much less painful and more rewarding. Make life easier for yourself and your co-workers by working steadily to reach your deadlines.

#5 Making The Most Of It

Remember your first semester, when you were fresh-faced and completely scared of everyone and everything about uni?

Now think about your second semester, when you were feeling confident enough to find out about some of the awesome opportunities your degree offered. Maybe you joined a club or took a new language class, or even went on exchange.

Wasn’t it so satisfying once you got over the initial apprehension? Use this same skill in your new workplace by saying yes to new opportunities. Depending on how established the company is, you could have the chance for some useful professional development or maybe a stint in a different city.

Be open to new possibilities, and you never know where you might end up.