Life After School Explained

by Jesse Vickey, Andy Ferguson, Nicole Vickey

Credit cards, HMOs, leases, business dinners... this witty book explains all of the "life skills" that no one bothers to teach in the classroom. The book was written by a team of young professionals, and is full of funny first-hand experiences from their first few years in the real world. This book is the definitive reference guide for life after school. It is full of helpful and humorous hints for anyone who eats, spends money, works, or pays taxes. The book draws on tips from the popular Cap & Compass campus seminars, and includes a lot of feedback from graduating seniors and recent grads. It's the perfect gift for recent graduates (college or high school). A few of the topics covered include: mutual funds, 401k's, work dinner etiquette, buying vs. leasing a car, engagement rings, student loans, auto insurance, dressing for the job, taxes, ...

Genres: Nonfiction, College

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful upon graduation. Even more so because I stayed in college another year. Give this, or something like it, to every student you know at the BEGINNING of their senior year.

[Jaymes Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little crash-course manual for when you get out of school. Mine ended up saying on my shelf for a couple of years after college before I seriously started reading. What was I thinking!?

It has many useful pieces of advice and sections in a quick summary, such dinner etiquette, mortgage overview, financial understanding & health (including money management, taxes, IRAs, mutual funds, credit cards, etc). There's many other minor things they tackle, outside of the financial perspective (dress-attire for work, painting, moving, job-related, etc), but the text focus often returns to financial.

Did I mention this book is also puny, as well as loaded with a lot of sarcasm and jokes for enjoyable reading? Keeps the info light between the serious discussions. Definitely a book I am holding on to for a bit.

Highly recommend if you are new to adult life: college graduate or not.

[Josh Hovance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It is funny and is written for recent college graduates. 2003.. so a little outdated but the information is still very relevant. Talks about anything you need to know as a young professional from dining etiquette to taxes to retirement investments to engagement rings. I going to recommend this to every recent college graduate I know in the future.

[Mystique]

Another professional book - this one is used for recent recruits who join our firm. It's particularly good for people entering the professional world without any professional experience. The book does a decent job of detailing transitional principles and prepares the reader for the difference between the "feel-good world" of academia and the "get 'er done"/"you're no longer a unique snowflake, you're part of the corporate machine" side of corporate America.

Tips like, "If you are invited to lunch, remember that this is a business opportunity, not a pie-eating contest," are boldly honest statements that people need to hear when they enter the workforce. As an HR professional, I find that too many people enter the pro. work force with expectations that it's "all about me" and "what's in it for me?". This book is starkly frank about the fact that corp. America isn't about you. It's about feeding the machine and how you can get some of the oil for yourself, in the process...if you're smart.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book as a gift and I did not read it in an entirely linear fashion. It is informational yet interesting, using humor to help make the information more palatable and easier to digest. I will keep this book around for future reference.

Great quotes and funny lines... in the section about "Apartments": "Determine who is responsible for fixing appliances. Some landlords are only responsible for repairing permanent fixtures such as sink, shower, and toilet. If that's the case, make sure you are handy with a wrench or have the survival skills to keep food cold in the toilet"

My brother read that part and ran around the house yelling "Mom dad, we don't need a fridge anymore, we have survival skills!" It was funny (although you prolly had to be there to truly appreciate it).

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely essential for anyone coming out of college into the real world.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of the "real world". Don't expect too much detail, though.