Navigating Life After College

From the first tiny step into kindergarten to the first leaps into my college dorm, I have, for the most part, known my next move way before I had to take it. My path was paved for me, and I was okay with that. However, after I received my degree, something very strange and foreign occurred. Absolutely nothing. For the first time in my life, I didn't know where to go or what to do with my life. I was always told how valuable and versatile an English degree would be (even for non-teachers), but what they failed to mention was that the road to landing your first real job would not be as conventional as merely filling out an application.

For every self-starting, go-getter there is a handful of people who are going through life without a map or direction. Whether it is lack of motivation or lack of knowledge, beginning one's dream career can be a struggle.

It all sounds very daunting, until you realize there are people out there whose dream jobs revolve around helping misguided twentysomethings realize their dream jobs. Here is a list of books and links devoted to life after college:

• Gradspot.com's Guide to Life After College by Chris Schonberger, Stuart Schultz, and Tory Hoen
  
  
• CollegeAftermath.com
  
  
• Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life by Kristen Fischer
  
  
• "Starting Your Career" by Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com

The common theme? Networking. Stop watching Vh1 and go meet people. Oh, and be good at what you do, whatever it may be. For right now, I am going to do the best I can with what I have while I patiently wait for my Life GPS to arrive. I got it off of Craigslist, so it's most likely legit.