You’ve just picked up your college diploma, what are you going to do next? No, go to Disney World is not the correct answer, even though it is the fun answer. You get to do something much more fun - handle life all by yourself for the very first time. Before you actually graduate from college this spring, make a post-graduation plan to save yourself from some of the shock that can occur after leaving the cocoon of school. “You are now responsible for feeding, clothing, and transporting yourself – not to mention keeping a roof over your head, plus saving for the day you’ll retire and insuring yourself, and paying taxes,” says Kristen Gustafson, author of "Graduate!: Everything You Need to Succeed After College" (Capital Books, $ 14.95).
Besides telling recent graduates how to find a job, buy a car, rent an apartment, get along with a roommate, and fill a refrigerator, in "Graduate!," Kristen Gustafson offers these five bits of advice that most parents and teachers don’t think to give.
1) Keep a journal. “This is one of the most amazing times in your life and the best way to remember it is to keep a journal. And then there may be days when you just need to let off steam and the only things that will listen are the pages of your journal.”
2) There will be bad days. “You will have some downright terrible days, but for every horrible day, there will be an equally spectacular day. Realize that the situation is not hopeless.”
3) Set goals for yourself. “Whether you make a formal list, write yourself a check based on future earnings, or whatever, set a goal for yourself. Putting your aspirations into writing gives them a form and gives you a reason to get out of bed every day.”
4) You don’t have to have it all figured out. “For years you’ve had to make decisions based on what you thought would be best for you down the road. The pervasive mode of operation in our society is to have everything figured out. But, really, you don’t have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. This is the time to explore, to figure out what makes you happy, and to go for it. Ride by the seat of your pants and enjoy the ride.”
5) Who you work for is as important as what you do. “You may take a job with someone who is little known or unknown in the industry and it could be the best career move you ever made, if they are a generous and supportive mentor. Your reputation can precede you and the decisions you make now can have a profound effect on your future career. If you work for someone with a bad reputation, yours could suffer as well.”
Making sure you have the basic knowledge that is necessary to become a capable and intelligent-sounding college graduate also is important to have before leaving school. Homer Moyer, an international corporate lawyer, developed "The R.A.T. (Real World Aptitude Test)" (Capital Books, $ 19.95) to help his own children develop this basic knowledge before they left school.
“The R.A.T. is a test to be taken and passed before leaving home to enter the real world – the real world of work, further education, adventure, or some combination of the three,” explains Moyer. “It is designed to test skills and knowledge you might not learn in school but that could be quite useful in life.”
Some of the questions (and answers) covered in The. R.A.T. are:
1) Credit Card Debt. If you have a $ 2,000 balance on your credit card and make a minimum payment of $ 40 a month every month, how long – assuming you make no new purchases – will it take you to pay off your credit card balance?
a. ______ Just under a year
b. ______ Just over four years
c. ______ Nearly eight years
2) Recipes. Which of the following statements about following and cooking from recipes is true?
a. ______ The terms “baking” and “roasting” involve the same type of cooking.
b. ______ In following a recipe, ingredients should be prepared or mixed in exactly the same
sequence that they are listed.
c. ______ In baking, particularly breads, increasing the amount of baking powder, salt, or sugar can sometimes enhance the flavor without significantly affecting the recipe.
d. ______ In stir-frying Asian food in a wok, sunflower oil, vegetable oil, and peanut oil are equally good.
e. ______ When a recipe calls for “sifted flour,” the flour should be measured before it is sifted, not after.
3) Security Deposits. When renting an apartment, you may be required to pay a “security deposit.” A security deposit is:
a. _____ Payment for the security guards who ensure that only residents and guests are admitted
b. _____ The fee that landlords routinely charge for installing new locks for new tenants
c. _____ A sum the landlord holds in case renters fail to pay their last monthly rent
d. _____ A sum the landlord holds to pay for any damage renters have done during the term of their
lease.
So, don’t panic if you are leaving college with just a diploma and not a life plan, first job, and new car. With a little forethought and a lot of courage and curiousity, the world is out there waiting to be discovered by you. In all of your free time now that you won’t have anymore homework, here are more resources you might enjoy reading: "Use Your Fingers, Use Your Toes: Quick and Easy Step-by-Step Solutions to Your Everyday Math Problems" by Beth Norcross (Capital Books, $ 14.95), “'Just Sign Here, Honey:' Women’s 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes & How to Avoid Them" by Marilyn Barrett (Capital Books, $ 14.95), "Safe Living in a Dangerous World: An Expert Answers Your Every Question from Homeland Security to Home Safety" by Nancy Harvey Steorts (Capital Books, $ 14.95), "Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck & Career" by Andrea Nierenberg (Capital Books, $ 19.95).
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