I graduated with my master degree cum laude this past friday and I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment or desire to celebrate because I’m not coming out of it with a job. I finished my course exams over a year ago and prolonged writing my thesis/graduating until now, in the meantime applying for jobs internships everything without success. It felt like pursuing this degree was what kept me going and kept me from feeling like a complete failure and now that it’s completed, the reality of being unemployed despite having two degrees and a few years of experience, watching all of my colleagues get hired, watching my partner grow his career makes me feel like this degree was for nothing/I shouldn’t be proud of it/I don’t deserve to celebrate and be happy. My boyfriend and my mom came to watch me defend my thesis but I didn’t invite any colleagues or friends because I’m so ashamed that there is no “next step” after graduating. There were some moments that I felt truly proud but within a few minutes those feelings were gone