Post University Routine....Career Cycle?

I was just thinking, I noticed that a common cycle exists among students looking to break in to finance. Most of us on this board became interested in banking/finance/accounting/etc. around our junior year. We knew that an internship was more or less needed to secure a full-time gig after we graduate, so we slug through ocr, networking, interviews, applications, all while taking on school, exams, and maybe a job too. If we are fortunate to receive an internship, we chug away and try to make the best impression on our seniors so that we can snag the coveted ft offer. For those of us that got good news and have received offers, we go into senior year happy as hell to not have to do the whole ocr thing again; maybe we slack just a bit too. As our start date comes to, the university cycle comes to an end. Mission accomplished hopefully.

My thought, or question, is how does this type of cycle play out in our careers post university? There has to be some kind of parallel. I would like to hear some of your thoughts on this and maybe some experiences too.