#CareerAdvice #CollegeGrad #LifeAfterCollege
Hey everyone! 🌟 So I just graduated from college at 22 and found myself in a bit of a pickle. I was all set to go to grad school for something that didn’t feel right, so I pulled the plug last minute. Now I’m here with a degree in public health, feeling a bit lost. Anyone else been in a similar situation?
I have some loans coming due soon and I’m not sure where to start in terms of finding a job that’s a good fit for me. If you could turn back time to 22, what would you do differently? Any advice or insights you wish you had back then?
Here are some possible solutions that I’ve been considering:
– Exploring the medical field further through internships or volunteering 🏥
– Looking into job shadowing opportunities to get a feel for different roles
– Researching industries with growth potential and stability 📈
Let’s share our experiences and help each other out! 🌟 Any advice is appreciated.
Travel around, and do not be tethered to your family. 16k of debt is easy peasy. Work in whatever field you have to to make these payments while you find yourself. I really wish I tried harder to be 22 when I was 22. I created an excellent adult foundation, but it has also served to hold me down.
Focus on your health fitness, do some travel as much as possible and kill your loans/ buy a house/condo as early as possible
How did you leave college with only 16k loans in debt?
Get through that debt, and don’t pick up more debt. The worse advice I’ve heard people say is to pay that debt and instantly accrue more debt. Once that debt is complete, take time for yourself. Live without debt for a bit, it’s really refreshing and gameplan on what’s next for you. That’s the best thing I learned. Unless you absolutely have to, don’t force more debt on yourself. Live without needing a credit card!!
Forget my college degree completely go straight into the buying and selling cars business to get that ramped up faster.
Degree just gets you tied into corporate bullshit dealing with stupid people for not enough reward.
Work for yourself and focus on making as much money as possible to be able to have freedom.
Probably the trades or something healthcare. I can’t do needles but looking back, probably could have gotten over that with a lot of practice. I would have focused more practical. I make good money, over 6 figs but my job is really erratic. My day to day can swing a lot. It’s also very subjective in terms of the work, whereas other fields it just seems like it’s the job and no grey area. I’d prefer that because all the grey areas give me a headache and it’s difficult to prove your worth- to yourself and your employer.
join the military
Stay at my first job and climb the ladder there. Every job move I’ve made I hate the new company more and more. The 10-15% pay increases are not worth it
Jork my peanits
Join the Air Force
Steer clear of credit cards. Pick a career path based on income potential as opposed to passion.
Sales and it’s not even close. Yes years of grinding majority of the time early on but what an amazing useful high income skill to have that or marketing or both.
I worked in trash for 10 years made great money the last 5 years but I’m so limited to that experience vs if I would have done sales I could have had a better skill that payed significantly more and maybe even be a manger by now.
I’m starting in sales at 32 years old for sure wish I did it 10 years ago.
Try applying for government jobs and don’t stress over the student loan debt. 16k is nothing and if you’re eligible for the SAVE plan the payments will be minuscule.
Prioritize myself. I ran myself into the ground doing things for others with little reward.
Also, have more fun. It’s good to grind, but not at exclusion of having fun.
Join a trade school if you go through the union route school is paid for and you make decent income once you are a licensed. In a trade you’ll go as high as you want without that debt piling up look into it.
Firstly, I would not want to do it over again.
Secondly, I would get a business degree with a minor in the field I love.
Thirdly, I would work in the business field while side-hustling in my love field while stashing away money in stocks.
Try and start companies around all the ideas I had. You’ll never have less “real” responsibilities than you do at 22. And even if it doesn’t work out, ownership / entrepreneurship experience will be very helpful in the next phase.
Get implants and be “discovered” at a game like Kate Upton. Then marry rich.
Disclaimer: I’m 100% serious.
Honestly, if you can find a way to start work while still living with your parents you will be surprised at how quickly that debt will disappear and your savings will grow.
I think you have more options than you realize with a background in Public Health. Perhaps you should look into a certificate program or an MA in something that might complement it. I could see Data Science, Project Management or an MBA really boosting your career potential.
Step 1: Commission in the military.
Step 2: Get grad degree while in for free while paying off undergrad debt.
Step 3: Come out with 4 years experience as a leadership role.
Step 4: Profit.
What I would do if I could go back to 22 is irrelevant, what I would do if I were in your situation is:
1. Get a job (obviously). Health care is practically begging for people, your degree may be less useless than you think.
2. If they will let you and if it does not affect your quality of life, stay with your parents and pay that debt off immediately. It isn’t cool or fun advice, but it will pay dividends, trust me. I lived with my parents until I was 25. When I left, I had zero debt and got to keep every penny I earned except for what went into taxes because I had a paid off car, zero credit card debt, zero college debt, and a 6 month emergency fund in my savings in case something happened to my job. Aim to accomplish all of these before leaving the nest. You only have $16k in debt, this should be easy if you don’t have bills. You might feel old and grown up now, but you’re still young. To quote someone here: you will never have less “real” responsibilities than you do now. You will also never be able to keep as much of your income as you are now, at least for a long time, so make it work for you.
3. Avoid BAD debt. I disagree people saying to stay away from credit cards. In fact, I’d urge you to get a secured credit card as soon as possible, if you don’t have one already. BUT – and this is huge – ONLY use it for purchases that you have the ability to pay back IMMEDIATELY. I used my credit card to pay my cell phone plan then immediately paid my credit card off, had a 750 credit score within 2 years.
I would look into government work. I started at 24 – starting my 4th year now. I’ll have 30 years and a full pension and 401k at 54 years old. Never worry about losing my job, 4 weeks of vacation a year plus every holiday. Just burned a month of sick time for medical needs. I recommend it to every young person I can. But it’s not for everyone as I’m tied to a certain area for my career, and could potentially make more in the private sector.
38yo here… I would not change anything! Life is pretty good and all my choices so far has been good ones!
I would go back to nursing school. Which I am at 29! I received a health science degree and started working at a mental health company. After six years, I became a regional manager over two states and I hated it. I cried everyday and I didn’t care about the business analytics side of healthcare. I couldn’t imagine doing that for 30+ years. So I started pre-recs for a local community college for my associates in nursing. Found a new job at a local hospital. They are paying for all of it. It’s hard to go back to school and I was embarrassed because of my age. Still am. But you need to create the life you want and don’t let others determine it for you. Eventually I will bridge my associates into a bachelors. Which will be paid for by the hospital. My goal is to be a NP. But don’t get me wrong, no matter what you go into, it’s a business. Even patient care. But I rather do that three days a week than sit at a desk from 9-5 daily as remote work is slowly starting to decline.
The cool thing about nursing is that you can do bedside nursing, corporate nursing, research (this would go well with your current degree!), and going through a community college is very cheap. It’s only 13k. Also, you’re young, and you could eventually do travel nursing.
I’m not sure how life works currently, but when I was young, your 20’s were spent “paying your dues” like the generations before you. Then when I had spent my dues, and was late 30’s, everyone wanted to hire fresh faced 22 year olds. Now I’m 54, and everyone is into side hustles and I’m living at home taking care of my mom. I rode the front wave of capitalism by owning a photo studio for a while. Avoid this. People attack your pricing and taxes take half. Small-scale Capitalism is bloodletting unless you have zero overhead. Government work is indeed smart.
You have an amazing opportunity in that no one gives your generation credit for shit so if you can: show up on time, stay off your phone, be polite and intelligent, get to work reliably, not be burdened by tattoos and nose rings, and God forbid iron a shirt, you’ll be promoted endlessly. Join Rotary so you can give back to the community and world, make friends and connections, and get opportunities for
Leadership. You can visit ANY Rotary club worldwide and be treated like a king.
Create a pseudonym account for everything online so your viewpoints aren’t distorted and thrown back at you.
Good luck and read “the three boxes of life” some afternoon.
Health coaching and entrepreneurship could be a great fit with your degree and experience!
If I could start over, I’d go to med school.
Just live below you means your first few years of your career until you pay off all of your debt and have a rainy day fund saved.
If you are single, I would prioritize taking a risk and living in a place that you really desire. It’s much harder to do that as you get older and start a family.
Invest just $100 a month into ETFs. I started at 27, then stopped as went back to school again.
I studied physics, struggled to get a job. I’d still do physics but I’d skip the minors I did, I’d go easier on myself as far as research and work and actually have fun. I’d go into materials science at a cheaper university for grad school.
Im in healthcare for the last 12 years of my life, I got my BAS in public safety management, became a firefighter, ended up getting my paramedic and enjoyed the medical side more than being up 24 hours every shift. Currently work as a contract medic at 31 yo, I can travel to almost any state I want for a contract and enjoy various amounts of time there and make pretty good money. Life isn’t guaranteed for a day, I enjoy going home at night knowing I made a difference in someones life that day, that’s enough for me.