If you’re a college student or recent grad looking for direction in life after college–job searching, adulting, or making sense of it all–welcome! Life after college doesn’t have an instruction manual, a syllabus, or graduation requirements, which means you’ll be making a lot of choices that weren’t an issue before, from choosing insurance plans to figuring out how to spend your time outside of work. At Post-Grad Compass, I’ll be sharing tips and resources to help you on your journey.
Some of the lessons I’ll share come from good advice, from friends, mentors, or books; others come from learning the hard way. I will also share tips from colleagues, friends, and other experts, as well as the voices of individuals like you who have been navigating their own pathways.
Table of Contents
Why Post-Grad Compass? My Life After College.
Twenty years ago, I was a college senior who was finishing up 17 years of education and staring into the unknown (or really, pretending it didn’t exist). For those prior 17 years, I had been pretty successful in following rules, completing the assigned projects, and leveling up to the next grade. If I’m honest, I was a little terrified of stepping into the unknown of post-college life, with a vast expanse of possibility, but also none of the guardrails that had shaped the educational journey.
Career
As a liberal arts major, I didn’t have a clear path for what lay ahead, career-wise. And because I wasn’t interested in working for a large organization that did a lot of recruiting on campus—like consulting, investment banking, law school, or Teach for America–I wasn’t sure that the campus career center had anything to offer me. The possibilities seemed both endless and somewhat shapeless.
Adulting
Outside of figuring out “what to do,” I also felt like college had been great, but safe. I realized that while I had enjoyed living away from home, I hadn’t experienced life in the real world, and I wasn’t sure about the nitty-gritty that lay ahead, with things like:
- Finding a place to live
- Cooking for myself
- Budgeting, saving for retirement, or handling finances
Meaning
I also spent a lot of time trying to make meaning of the college experience I was concluding, and the gaping uncertainty of what lay ahead. I wondered how I would make friends or continue my closest college friendships and relationships. And I struggled to figure out how I might make a positive impact on the world around me, especially if I would be spending 40+ hours a week in an entry-level job.
In the 20 years since, I’ve had countless conversations with college students and alumni. I’ve learned that I was hardly alone in some of my fears and uncertainties about how to take a lifetime’s worth of education into “the real world.”
How to use Post-Grad Compass for your life after college
Post-Grad Compass is an opportunity to share some of what I’ve learned, and some of the tips, questions, and resources that I’ve gathered along the way. These will fall into three buckets:
- Career: Explore potential job opportunities and tips on using your resources to find a job and succeed in the one you get.
- Adulting: The nitty-gritty of post-college life, such as finding a place to live, furnishing your apartment on a budget, cooking at home, and leveling up your personal finances.
- Meaning: And some will offer ways to examine and reflect on your experience so far and to use that reflection to help you take ownership of what comes next.
I’ll also highlight resources beyond this blog that can help along the way, such as some of my favorites:
- Gorick Ng’s The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right. This is the best book I’ve ever read about succeeding in your first job(s) out of college.
- The Todoist app: a powerful tool for organizing work and life task
- My favorite personal finance resources to get you started in leveling up your money
Thanks for joining me along the way. Sign up for the newsletter to keep up with new posts!. And if something resonates with you, comment on the post, reach out to let me know, or share with a friend!
