Life after school

[qviri]

Lots of smart people here. We might not always agree, but I'd appreciate your opinion now.

Let's say you finish your undergraduate degree next year in April. You have some decent internship experience, with transferable skills, but no particular job lined up. You have no loans, no obligations, no commitments, and nothing holding you in place except for a small Thinkpad collection. Your bank balance is slim but positive.

Based on your life, experiences, and knowing what you do now, what would you do?

Just to be explicit, this isn't a trick question, there are no wrong answers. I have some plans, but all is far from fixed, and I'm wondering if I'm overlooking or undervaluing something.

Thanks.

[Harryc]

What is the Undergraduate degree in?

[RealBlackStuff]

Invest ~ $350.- in a "Rosetta Stone" Spanish course.
Pack up your collection of Thinkpads, empty your bank account and move to the Caribbean, where you can apply your new skills at your leisure, and in a friendlier climate.
Belize and Honduras are the up and coming countries.

[BillMorrow]

well, in spite of our differences, which will change when you get mugged by reality, it all depends upon what your personal goals are..

also, everything will and apparently IS changing world wide so whats true today is not going to be true in a year..

[GomJabbar]

You might find the movie "Americano" (with Joshua Jackson and Dennis Hopper) gives some things to think about. It is about 3 college graduates in a similar situation.

[BillMorrow]

You might find the movie "Americano" (with Joshua Jackson and Dennis Hopper) gives some things to think about. It is about 3 college graduates in a similar situation.

and IF you are a netflix member you can play americano on your computer..
right now..

[emeraldgirl08]

lol so it all boils down to having a netflix account eh

I thank qviri for the post. I'll be in the same sitch soon. I do have things planned out and most definitely will enjoy the responses to this thread as they come in!

[BillMorrow]

emerald, qviri seems to be a product of the liberal education system that supposes big government knows best for everyone from birth to death and i subscribe to individual liberty and individual responsibility..

curiously, this all came from my childhood in 1950's san francisco when i learned individualism..

i was always FOR personal liberty, or the ability to swing my arm around as long as i did not connect with someone else's nose..
now what was a liberal (me) becomes a latter day conservative (me)..

when you and qviri ask "schools over, now what?? " i would ask you what do YOU want to do..?

it has been said that a neo-conservative is someone who has been mugged by reality..

i would say that there are some general rules to follow, like:
1. "there is NO free lunch"
this 5 word comment carries a LOT of wisdom..
from personal to political..

2. "judge slowly"
there 2 words will save you from making a lot of mistakes..

and that old radical saying:

3. "question authority"..
or simplified "question"
just be skeptical, remember #1..

there are more but i can't think of any at this moment..

so i toss it right back at you..
what inspires YOU..?

[killer]

An amazing question, qviri!

You present a blank canvas and ask us to paint in some outlines so you may either finish the picture or wash over it and start afresh. None of us can ever give you the correct answer. Great advice from people so far as to what to avoid or what to emulate.

You are the artist of your destiny and it is your canvas.

Whatever you choose, I sincerely wish you the very best of luck and my only advice is to care for people and remember to keep a sense of humanity.

Have fun!

[qviri]

qviri seems to be a product of the liberal education system that supposes big government knows best for everyone from birth to death and i subscribe to individual liberty and individual responsibility..

when you and qviri ask "schools over, now what?? " i would ask you what do YOU want to do..?

Whoa, let's back up a little here.

I have wide open options and am fortunate enough to have plenty of choice. That does not mean I am clueless and don't know what to do and would like Them to decide for me.

I simply realize that although I'd like to think I've considered many options, chances are there are things I didn't think of that I don't know I didn't think of, to use the unfairly maligned Rumsfeld quote. The best way to discover those is to ask others, and this forum has a lot of people with different viewpoints, so I figured it'd be as good a place as any to start.

If you ask a couple of friends for advice on what colour you should paint your walls, are you relinquishing your individualism? If one of them suggests turquoise and you realize you've never considered turquoise before, but, you know, it really would work... does that limit your liberty?

In my question, I didn't mean "how the [censored] do I make money now?" or "what is the meaning of life?" or even "what inspires me?". I can figure that out myself. I meant "did you do something that you thought worked out particularly well for you?" I try to avoid regrets myself, but I did also mean "if you were in my position and had a chance to do things differently than you did the first time around, what would you do?" if people would like to share that.


Did you go for grad school or an MBA that you thought were super helpful or a total waste of time? (I'm not giving either much priority right now, but things can change.) Did you move across the country or across the world, do you think that was a good decision? Did you attempt to settle down immediately, or lived the life for a couple more years or decades; how did that work out? Did you do the corporate world, or the independent and the free; why and would you do it again? Best yet -- have you done something I haven't named here, and would you care to share your experiences?


Bill, I would actually particularly appreciate thoughts from you; what did you do in your 20s, why, how did that work out, would you do it again? I don't expect your answers will be what first came to my mind when I was thinking about this, but that's exactly why they will be valuable.

I will make the final decision myself.

I apologize if I haven't made this explicitly clear; I tried to get a bit too poetic. I should have emphasized this thread is about others, not about me. I have purposefully tried to keep this general, trying to keep stereotypes about university majors and locations and people out of the loop.

By the way, thanks for assuming, but my formative years were spent in a country that, after decades of an imposed, dysfunctional, corrupt farce of a political system swung hard to the right and could be described as "liberal" only by an American, in a family that disliked big government and looked down on government assistance.

Also, Netflix is only available in the United States of America.

so i toss it right back at you..
what inspires YOU..?

Right now, Toronto inspires me. But I know myself, know life, know that that can change on a whim, and I know that's a poor basis for a choice. A year ago, it was a person I now don't speak to; two years ago, it was Reykjavík; five years ago, it was physics and robotics.


Harryc, since you asked, I am in engineering; technically speaking my program is robotics, though I've worked and seem to enjoy straight up software creation the most.

RealBlackStuff, I actually rather like the temperate climate with distinct seasons. I am, however, definitely considering moving countries. I have some reservations about my language-learning skills, although on the other hand immersion is probably the best way there is.

GomJabbar, thanks for the recommendation. I'm not sure I quite have the time to watch the movie right now, but I will keep it in mind.

Thanks to all of you. Keep them coming, if you'd like to.

[Kyocera]

Touching story .

You might get some more good suggestions from Youtube.

Post a real sincere video on Youtube and future employers will watch it and "favorite" your video, then you'll get some subscribers and friends, and before you know it you'll have your life all plotted out.

Google?

DogPile?

[BillMorrow]

just FYI, maybe the oil business has some future potential in canada and the USA..

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

[RealBlackStuff]

I have lived in such varied countries as Ireland, Holland, Canada, Switzerland and recently the USA.
I'm retired now, but most of my working days I have spent as a freelance contractor (mainframe programmer on IBM and Sperry/Unisys).
I never liked "working for a boss", or being a salary-man (as they say in Japan), and it panned out fine for me and my family.
If you have enough self-discipline, it's definitely a path worth considering.

[bill bolton]

If I could go back and tell my early 20s self to change one thing about my life it would be to start a plan for funding my far future retirement as soon as I could.

I am indeed fortunate that I'm now (at age 59) in a position to walk away from full time employment when it suits me, but that is only partially because of careful planning (which I didn't start until my 30s) and might have not been the case were it not for some largely unpredictable life events.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[ajkula66]

RBS wrote:

I never liked "working for a boss", or being a salary-man (as they say in Japan), and it panned out fine for me and my family.
If you have enough self-discipline, it's definitely a path worth considering.

bill bolton wrote:

If I could go back and tell my early 20s self to change one thing about my life it would be to start a plan for funding my far future retirement as soon as I could.

Two gentlemen older than myself have given you a ton of excellent advice in these two quotes. The only small addition on my part would be to say: go away once you're done with school, somewhere where you've never been, and think things through...I could throw places at you, but that's me, and I've been away from school and your age for quite a while now...

[ARD]

Independence and liberty.
Hmm...

[miketoro]

If you don't know what to do don't do anything at all.

I graduated in a very similar situation. I traveled around the US for almost two years working odd and wild jobs. I was always able to put gas in the car and keep my belly full. I was often treated to a free lunch. Then I stumbled into a career I loved and as that started changing on me I applied to graduate school. And here I sit. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

m.

[qviri]

RBS, contracting sounds great, at least for time being, but in the long term, I wonder if the time of the freelance software contractor is over. Seems to happen to many industries as they mature. On the other hand, I am seeing a lot of start-up and other 'independent' activity still flourishing. Will consider everything, thanks.

Mr. Bolton (too many Bills ), input most appreciated, but I've always wondered about the inherent dependence on other people when saving up for retirement. As far as I can see, all it takes is some unfortunate politicians turned economists, or a panicked crowd, and a short episode of hyperinflation later one's no better than they started off in the beginning. I suppose there's always Swiss accounts and gold, but the most independent insurance plan I can think of is a family-sized parcel of fertile land, and even that can be ruined by others.

I will definitely keep the (currently seemingly very far) future in mind, though. Thanks.

George and Miketoro, your thoughts are encouraging since, er, non-focused periods :p aren't particularly approved by a lot of people on this continent. Mike, really glad to hear it's worked out for you.

Mr. Morrow, I saw your post, it was interesting. Thank you.

[emeraldgirl08]

If you don't know what to do don't do anything at all.

I graduated in a very similar situation. I traveled around the US for almost two years working odd and wild jobs. I was always able to put gas in the car and keep my belly full. I was often treated to a free lunch. Then I stumbled into a career I loved and as that started changing on me I applied to graduate school. And here I sit. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

m.

Mike. Your post is something that I can relate to. I've held jobs from fast food places, working in the local courthouse, as a Med Tech in a teaching hospital, etc. I've just restarted school after a couple of years doing cliche "finding myself" period. Circumstances involving people, place, and time intertwined with what motivates me is propelling me in the direction I believe in. I'm pretty much what you would call a free-spirit. I love variety in my life and enjoy learning as much as I can.

Now if only that nursing license was already in my possession I'd be pretty stoked

[Unknown_K]

Get a job in your field as soon as you can.

Spend less then you earn.

Keep some cash around for emergencies.

Build up a good credit rating.

Don't let the stuff you own, own you.

When that inevitable layoff happens view it as a chance to take a vacation then find something else that interests you to
do (most people tend to have many different carears anymore).

Do not overwork yourself, nothing you do in your 20's (for somebody else) will mean that much to you 20 years later if you are burned out (also causes physical ailments).

Don't eat out all the time, learn how to cook (not hamberger helper). People who eat well tend to live a better life.

Do not make your job your life, there are many other interesting things you should be doing while you can, too many people bust their rears to retire and enjoy the good life that do not live long enough to retire, or do not have any friends or family to share the good life even if they did because they never built those friendship bonds working 60 hrs a week 52 weeks a year. I know quite a few people younger then me who are dead for ones reason or another, or are so crippled from accidents or other issues they cannot enjoy life anymore. Retirement realy means you are too senile or fragile to make the treck to a place you like working at anymore. You will miss being part of a productive team when you retire.

[bill bolton]

but I've always wondered about the inherent dependence on other people when saving up for retirement

Over a ~40 year period lots of short term events (both boom and bust) equal out...... you need to take a long term view and have spread of risk.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[qviri]

Over a ~40 year period lots of short term events (both boom and bust) equal out......

I was thinking of quite literal hyperinflation. I can't see the next boom being that great if all I have is paper.

you need to take a long term view and have spread of risk.

But this is an excellent point, thanks for the reminder.

People who eat well tend to live a better life.

And with this, I am off for a midnight snack on some veggies. Thanks.

[dsvochak]

Since 12/21/12 will apparently be the end of the world as we know it, enjoy the time you've got left.

[Marin85]

Since 12/21/12 will apparently be the end of the world as we know it, enjoy the time you've got left.

Seriously, you don´t believe this, or do you?

Perhaps, qviri should change the topic to life after death

[sparta.rising]

Since you have no immediate job prospect but no debt and some modest savings, take a year to travel. You don't have to call it "finding yourself" its just seeing whats out there while you are still young. Your career isn't going to be hurt by starting it a year later. But as soon as you get into a career, its going to be impossible to take a vacation free of obligations, unless you are laid off. Take the time now while you are free of obligations like a mortgage, car payments, children.

Find odd jobs as you move around, work at hostels, paint houses. Just don't spend money you don't have. Always keep a buffer. I traveled around Europe and met too many people who didn't keep an eye on their money and ended up sleeping under bridges and eating out of trash cans. Its totally unnecessary.

[dsvochak]

After my flip response, motivated by the doom predictions in the EU thread, I believe you deserve a serious answer to your question.

Knowing what I know now, what I’d do is get a copy of Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley” and use it as a tour guide. What are Americans like today, and are they significantly different than what Steinbeck concluded in 1960? You may not get an answer but at least the conclusion wouldn’t be filtered by anyone but yourself.

ps: Life experience and “getting mugged by reality” do not necessarily cause liberals to become conservatives. They can also cause movement in the other direction along the political spectrum.

[ajkula66]

Since I do like you and wish you the very best, please disregard the last verse of the song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1aUu5FDfDY

Hope you like it.