May 30th, 2008
Vital things to know that the college grad did not learn at college
As I have progressed from college, to post college, to whatever the this next stage is, there are quite a few things that Ive picked up that I thought “man, they sure don’t teach that in college, or high school, or anywhere.” Things that would have been good to know YEARS ago.
1) Start saving for retirement yesterday
I don’t care how old you are, the earlier you start, the better off you will be. I wish I had started when I got my first paper route. I would have a huge amount saved if I had been putting away even 5-10% of what I was making. The lovely thing I like to call “compound interest” is your friend. Trust me.
2) Go to work. On time.
I skipped a lot of classes in college…and Im hardly abnormal in that regard. The problem is, for many people, that attitude can carry over into the good ol real world. I was lucky in that I have been working fulltime (hmmm is that lucky?) during college so I didn’t exactly hit a wall when I came into the real world, but its a shock for some.
3) You need health insurance
The one point in my life when I didn’t have health insurance is when I had a bad accident and racked up a ton of medical bills. Health insurance (at least catastrophic) is not just about being healthy: accidents happen, and trust me, you don’t want tens of thousands in medical bills.
4) Get enough sleep
Ok I know, cramming for exams, playing video games until early hours and falling asleep in class is part of college for most people, but that kind of thing does not work out well in the business world. Staying up late playing around makes for a miserable work day the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Seriously, even one night of not sleeping can really wreck a week when you cant take a nap at 2 PM.
5) Dont rack up debt
One of the most common themes is the idea of “well Ill buy this now, and then pay for it when I have a job after college.” Thats the kind of thinking that has gotten the majority of us in America in debt. This seems to continue after graduation too… “I will buy this now and pay it back when I get my bonus.” Don’t. In fact, heres a little trick: think about how many hours of work (post taxes) it will take you to pay for something. That really puts it in perspective.
- 2 Comments
- Career
Yes, those would have been useful. Fortunately, I made it to almost all of my classes. Maybe missed 7? And half of those were audits anyway. I was compulsive about that. Unfortunately, I sometimes find myself pushing it when I go to work at the library. I think it’s that I dread actually leaving the apartment and driving. Vs. walking across campus.
I’m with mrs micah. I almost always go to class, usually get plenty of sleep etc. I do know that that most students are like this though. As sometimes they wake me up at 6 am b/c they havnt gone to bed yet when I got classes at 9, grrrr. Many students just don’t take school seriously.