Earning a degree is often presented as the culmination of an academic journey. Yet, once your studies are over, a new question emerges: what do I do now?
For some, a degree opens the door to the professional world relatively quickly. For others, it means submitting countless applications, accepting a first job that may be far removed from their ambitions, or taking the risk of starting their own business. And sometimes, despite having qualifications, skills and motivation, unemployment becomes a difficult period to navigate.
The transition from education to professional life therefore does not follow a single path. The experience of Clara Nentille, founder of Substance Of Light®, provides an opportunity to explore this period of transition and the choices that can shape a professional journey.
The degree as a starting point
For some graduates, entering the professional world can happen very quickly. Clara is a good example. Before even completing her degree, she had already secured her first position in investment banking, in a particularly prestigious environment.
Her career path shows that life after graduation is not simply about finding a job. It can also be about understanding what you truly want to build, questioning the role that work plays in your life and identifying aspirations that may evolve over time.
Starting your career in a recognised and highly sought after sector does not necessarily mean that you have found your calling. The early stages of a career can therefore become a period of exploration, during which you learn to reconcile your expectations with professional reality and allow your plans to evolve.
Graduation is therefore not a final destination, but the beginning of a journey shaped by choices, experiences and, sometimes, new directions.
Entrepreneurship: creating your own path
After graduation, some students choose another path: entrepreneurship. But starting a business is not simply an alternative to employment. It requires an entirely different mindset.
Clara’s journey illustrates this particularly well. After working in investment banking, she founded Substance Of Light® in 2021 with the ambition of developing a new approach to sun protection. The brand eventually launched its first products in 2024, following several years of development and research.
Entrepreneurship means accepting uncertainty, continuously learning and turning an idea into a tangible project. A degree can provide valuable knowledge, but it does not necessarily prepare you for every reality of building a business.
What if unemployment became a period of transition?
Unemployment is often experienced as a failure, particularly when it comes after several years of study. Yet being without a job does not mean being without value or without a future.
This period can provide an opportunity to reassess your skills, explore new possibilities or build a different kind of project. It can also be financially and emotionally challenging, so it is important not to romanticise unemployment.
Ultimately, the challenge is not to allow a temporary situation to define your entire professional identity.
There is no single definition of professional success
After graduation, everyone moves forward with their own story, circumstances and ambitions. Finding a job, starting a business or going through a period of unemployment are not necessarily opposing paths. They can follow one another throughout the same career.
Clara’s journey above all reminds us that a professional trajectory can evolve far beyond the first career imagined after graduation.
In this episode of Inside Kodd, Clara shares her journey, her choices and her transition from the professional world to entrepreneurship. A conversation exploring what really happens after graduation.
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