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You have just closed another chapter of your life, and now you need to open another.

It’s time to enter the workforce.

Entering your first job after graduation is a completely new and exciting experience. With anything new in life, fear comes along with it. However, once you get over the first day jitters, you’ll be well on track with your career. The first job will teach you a lot about the real world and work environment. It may feel uncomfortable starting out, but you will learn and grow while gaining valuable experience.

On the first day, you’ll want to do everything you can to start off on the right foot.

Here’s how to get the most out of your first day on the job:

Do research the night before

It’s good to know a little about the company before your first day. You likely took a look at the website and asked questions during the interview, but now is the time to research any of the company’s products or services and try to understand as much as you can. This is also helpful because you’ll have questions ready for the next day.

Introduce yourself to everyone

This is important for a few reasons. First, you are going to be working with your co-workers every day, 5 days a week. You’re going to want to get to know them and let them get to know you. Hopefully, at some point you’ll form friendships with some of them. If you’re working for a big company, get to know everyone in your department. Remember as many names as faces and you can. Starting off by making connections will help you feel more at home and happier, but will also allows others to get a good first impression of you.

Take notes

Most likely, you’ll be talking to your boss the first day. Very often, he or she will explain and assign your first tasks. Since you are still unfamiliar with the company and services, you’ll want to write down as much as you can to get a better understanding of your position and any projects you’ll be working on. It also looks professional and shows you care about getting the work done right.

Take time to learn 

On your first day, you’ll be given more information about the company and what is expected of you. Learn as much as you can about the company and your position because it will help you understand your role and perform your job better overall.

Ask questions

This is the best day to ask any questions, even if you think they are silly ones. Since it’s your first day, everyone will understand and will want to help. It’s always okay to ask questions, but the first day is most likely when you’ll have the most and getting answers right away will calm your nerves.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll leave the office feeling confident that you know the company and made a good impression. Your employer will probably take notice of your engagement and overall, it will be a great start to a new opportunity.

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Not only will it be hard to live with a roommate (and maybe even some suitemates as well), but you’ll have to learn to be independent and more responsible.

While you won’t be able to prepare yourself entirely for life in the dorms, you can take care of a few things ahead of time that will make the transition a little easier.

Learn how to do laundry

This seems like a no-brainer, but unfortunately, I missed the boat on this one. I was lucky enough to have parents who would do my laundry for me in high school, and I never had to learn how to do it. While both of them told me I should learn before I left, I (unfortunately) never got around to it. I ended up having to beg someone who lived on my floor to teach me after I got to the laundry room and realized I had no idea what I was doing. Save yourself the stress and ask for help before you leave. Also, don’t forget to start saving up quarters — you’ll be amazed how desperate you’ll feel when you have to do laundry last minute and don’t have any coins.

Stock up on toiletries

While I’m sure you understand the basics of what you need (i.e. comforter, towels, clothing), you’re bound to forget a lot if you leave your packing to the last minute. After I unpacked, my Mom and I took a trip to the Wal-Mart near campus, and she helped me stock up on items like shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, makeup and toothpaste. That ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made. Since I didn’t have a car on campus, I would’ve had to figure out a way to buy these items myself. It certainly took a lot of stress off my plate knowing I had a month or so’s worth of toiletries.

Hit up the grocery store

While you’re going to have your freshman year meal plan, there are going to be plenty of times when it becomes inconvenient to use. Whether it’s a rainy day on campus or the food courts are closed, you’ll want to have some snacks and meals in your room that can be made without too much of a hassle. Although it’s cliche, Ramen Noodles make for an easy (and cheap) meal that fills you up quickly.

Figure out your non-negotiables

One of the first things you’ll have to do when you get to school is to sign a roommate contract. While there is a lot of it that is laid out for you, you’ll have the ability to write in additional guidelines with your roommate. However, with the buzz of everything going on around you, it’ll be hard to focus, and you could leave some very important details out. Figure out what you can’t live with ahead of time and make a list so that you’re prepared!

Get ready for class

While I’m sure going to class is probably the last thing on your mind, you’ve got to get your school supply list straightened out. You’ll probably be able to find most of these items at the school bookstore, but prices could be jacked up, so you’ll probably want to head to a Walmart or Target instead. Since you’re not sure exactly what you’ll need yet, I would only invest in a few packs of pens and pencils, a few notebooks and/or binders and a backpack. Also, a good thing to print out ahead of time is a map of campus and your official list of classes and their meeting times/locations. You don’t want to be scrambling on the first day of class!

Avoid over-packing

I only used about half of the clothes I brought to school freshman year. Whatever you think you need to bring, you can probably divide it by half. Unless you’re going to school on the other side of the country, you should be able to make it home at some point before winter to switch out your fall/summer and winter/spring wardrobes. Now is also a good time to go through your entire closet and figure out what you don’t use anymore. Consider donating your discarded clothing to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

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While the College World Series doesn’t get nearly as much attention as March Madness or the BCS National Championship Game, it’s a great chance for baseball fans to watch some talented teams battle it out for the national title.

The 67th year of the tournament kicks off on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.,  with Oregon State vs. Mississippi State at 3 p.m. ET.

Match-ups for the week include:

• Indiana vs. Louisville, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
• North Carolina vs. NC State, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
• UCLA vs. LSU, Sunday at 8 p.m. ET

About the tournament

The teams you’ll see playing this weekend competed in regional and super regional tournaments held across the nation to get to Omaha. The eight teams competing in the College World Series were narrowed down from a field of 64.

The CWS is set up as a double-elimination tournament, meaning teams have to lose twice to be completely out of the running for the championship game. The two teams left standing will face off in a best-of-three series, which kicks off June 24. Click here to see the full bracket and game times.

Why you should watch

What’s great about the format is that you can see a team lose big on their first outing in the CWS, but they still have the opportunity to bounce back and fight to move on to the next round as long as they keep winning. It is truly inspirational to see the players carry on throughout the week, even though you know they’re mentally and physically exhausted. You will also get to see some great story lines develop as you get to know the teams better throughout the week.

If you love to watch baseball, you’ll love to watch the tournament unfold. You can tell these young men are in this for the love of the game AND for the love of their universities, which is refreshing to watch. Since many of them are heading off to the MLB soon, you’ll also get a preview of the talent that could be coming to your favorite professional team.

If your school is in the hunt for the title, make sure to tune in and cheer them on! Even better, consider hosting a viewing party for your college friends so you can root on your alma mater together.

Even if you don’t have a horse in this race, it’s still fun to take in all of the championship action. My own team of choice, the South Carolina Gamecocks, got eliminated by North Carolina, but I’m still going to be watching every minute of it (even if it stings a little bit).

Want to know more? Check out these facts from NCAA.com:

• The first College World Series was held in 1947. Eight teams battled it out, with California winning it all.
• Southern California holds 12 championships, the most of any team.
• ESPN started airing CWS games for the first time in 1980.
• The tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999.
• Check out the full list of champions here.

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But the question is, how much do college majors really matter?

Are they binding, and do they really restrict your post-college career?

Source: Wikipedia Commons by Ralph Daily

Of course, there are always a few exceptions; if you’re planning to be a surgeon, a pre-med or bio major is compulsory. The same goes, I’d imagine, for chemical engineers and the like.

But what about people like my recently graduated cousin, a psychology major? She already has an interview set up for an entry-level position – at a finance company. On the other side of the spectrum, my mother earned her bachelor’s in the very same major, but went on to be a successful labor and employment lawyer.

For the most part, your college major doesn’t seem to truly limit your future career. Although most employers today require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, the subject studied isn’t necessarily the only thing they’re looking at.

Instead of focusing on applicants’ majors, the idea of them having experienced a variety of fields throughout their undergraduate studies – a key feature of most liberal arts schools – may even be more attractive to employers, as it suggests well-roundedness.

Furthermore, college is a time when one is able to hone personal skills such as critical thinking and intelligent, professional writing – skills applicable to almost every type of workplace. Does it truly matter, then, in what context these skills are learned and applied? Perhaps it is even better to learn these skills in a general sense and be able to apply them to a variety of fields throughout your college education in order to prepare you for a multitude of post-graduate possibilities.

My university, like many other liberal arts schools, requires that all students complete a set of core classes. In other words, of the 40 classes required to graduate, 18 of those are “core classes,” while the remaining 22 are comprised of major, minor, and elective classes. Our core is admittedly larger than many other schools’, and consists of intro- and upper-level courses in English, history, philosophy, math, science, theology, as well as a fine arts, ethics, diversity, and language requirement.

Although these extensive requirements are the bane of some of my fellow students’ existences, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I’m a Writing & Art History major with a minor in Political Science, and yet I’ve learned about binary code, the physics behind human vision, theoretical statistics, Decartes, and a thousand other interesting things.

My point is not necessarily to convince you to attend a college with a strong core curriculum (although I wouldn’t argue against it), but rather that your college experience is what you make of it. This includes everything from choosing meaningful campus clubs to become involved with to strategically selecting your electives. I was forced to take classes that I would never have otherwise; if your school doesn’t have a core, I’d still urge you to step outside your comfort zone with a few of your elective classes. Microeconomics might not be fun, but will it diversify your skills and make you more attractive to potential employers? Probably.

I will leave college as, predominantly, a writer, but one who has experienced a leadership position as the chair of my university’s Honor Council, whose hearings are court-like in structure. And one who knows her way (however tentatively) around HTML code. And one who can wax poetic on theory versus practice of the institution of democracy.

The point is, if you diversify your classes and interests during the most formative years of your life, you will emerge a multi-faceted person with a countless number of skills and far-reaching knowledge. And this – rather than a laser-focus attention on one specific field – may prove more beneficial in the long run.

Do you agree? Does your college major not really matter? Or are these are just the self-reassuring musings of a Writing major fast approaching the real-life, post-recession world?

Sound off in the comments!

The post College Majors: Why Your College Major Might Not Matter appeared first on College Cures | Everything College, No Prerequisites..

Luckily, learning how to meet guys is easier earning a college degree.

The simplest way to find a significant other after graduation is to step out of your comfort zone. Unfortunately, it can also be the hardest. Whether it’s a marathon training group or joining a sci-fi book club, get involved in something.

Socialize

Volunteering, joining a club or even signing up for an intramural sports team are small ways to expand your circle and meet guys. The great thing about meeting a potential suitor through a club or organization is that you know you share at least one interest. It also creates a structured time and place to get to know him, instead of the pressure of having to schedule hangout time.

Although it might be tempting to drag a friend along as a safety buffer, it’s better to go solo. Doing so forces you to talk to new people and makes you less intimidating for other people to approach. Plus, you automatically get dibs on the cutest guy in the room.

Use your own guys

Even though you’re ditching your friends to meet new men, feel free to also exploit your friends. Think of all the couples you know. How many met through mutual friends? Exactly. A major benefit of meeting a guy through a mutual friend is that he passed the friend test. If you’re worried about ruining a potential friendship, date outside your inner circle of friends. But from experience, women love playing matchmaker and chances are you have one friend that knows the “perfect” guy for you.

If you still feel uncomfortable using close friends to meet guys, then close acquaintances are also a good place to start, especially if you they aren’t part of your usual inner circle. By hanging with a new crew, you’re exposed to new people, which spices up the type of men you’ll meet.

Another way to meet guys is by working out.

Yes, you have to get over talking to the male sex while not looking your best, but who wants a guy who only likes you for your looks? Getting a gym membership or attending fitness classes are prime opportunities to meet guys while getting in shape. And even if you fail to meet a new dude, your toned body will definitely help in attracting other men to you.

Drinks anyone?

You can also return any freshly single college student’s square one: the bars. Although most recent grads know the dating pool at bars lean toward the sketchy side, it isn’t unheard of to meet a decent guy while sipping beers. The laidback atmosphere helps disperse nerves and the pressure to click automatically. Bars also provide a decent quantity of prospects. If the first guy you talk to is the picture of who you don’t want to date, relocate to the other side of the bar and start talking to another man.

Use your web tools

Finally, there’s the Internet. Although most college grads grew up with parents preaching the dangers of strange men in chat rooms, there are plenty of online dating websites that provide safe ways to meet parent-approved boyfriends. Match.com and eHarmony are two of the most popular sites and even match couples based off interests and goals, eliminating a lot of the men that would never make it to a second date. Although some women may dislike the stigma associated with online dating, a cute “how we met” story is not worth passing on your dream guy.

It doesn’t take a Doctorate to meet eligible men.

Just don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. With a little luck, and a little fuller calendar, you’ll find a guy who could convince you to get your MRS.

The post Dating after Diploma: How to Meet Guys after Graduating appeared first on College Cures | Everything College, No Prerequisites..

Photo by africa. FreeDigitalPhotos

That six-month grace period is quickly closing. The loans that you took out your freshman, sophomore and maybe all four years are ready and waiting to gnaw at your paycheck.

FinAid says more than $100 billion in federal education loans and $10 billion in private student loans are originated each year. That is a lot of money and maybe you’re a part of those billions.

You need to know the basics on what to expect and how to weigh your loan options after graduation.

Organize all of your loan information

Pull all of your important loan information and place it in a safe place. If you’re the type who loves to work with hard paper, print all of your documents out and put them somewhere you’ll remember. I chose to put my loan information in my Google Drive in a private Google Doc that I share with my parents. It’s an easy way to check my account information, passwords and make sure I am on top of all of my loans.

Call your lender

You would be very surprised how helpful those folks on the phone can be. They can answer just about any question you have. The best thing about calling your lender is that they’re typically open longer than a normal bank. My bank can be reached by phone until 8 p.m. each night which is great since I work 9-6 most days.

Loan forgiveness plans

Public Service Loan Forgiveness or PSLF is a program for people who have federal student loans that work in a wide range of jobs that are considered “public service” jobs. That category includes work in government and nonprofits. Check out this website to find out more and to see if you are or could be eligible to get those loans practically liquidated. Here is a specified list of jobs that qualify for loan forgiveness. It’s a very simple list!

Be prepared and calculate

How high is your interest rate? How much did you take out? How long do you have or want to pay the loan off? Calculate this all up and be prepared for the future. Here’s a quick site that will tell you how much you’ll end up paying at the end of your loan life.

Should you consolidate?

If you pulled out multiple loans throughout your college career, you have to option to consolidate them. This would mean that instead of finding and paying each loan off, they would combine to create one solid loan. This could possibly lower your interest rate as well. Something that I found out is that you have to apply to consolidate your loans. This would mean that you may need a cosigner as well. So, plan ahead and try to consolidate early. Remember that you cannot consolidate federal loans with a private lender!

How many loans do I have out?

The FAFSA website can tell you exactly how many federal loans are out in your name under your social security number.  You can also get a hold of Sallie Mae to figure out whether the loans you have are federal or private. Throughout your payment session, you can also grab your credit report for free each year. This will let you know how your credit is doing as you pay your debt. This score can also determine whether you can take out any more loans later in life.

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Walk Dogs in Your Neighborhood

Image via Flickr by Magnus Brath

If you enjoy taking long walks, then you could earn money by taking a few furry friends with you. Many people have busy careers that don’t give them much time to walk their dogs during the morning or evening hours. If you’re available, then you can earn extra income by becoming a dog walker.

To make this side business work, you’ll need attractive advertisements and references to build a client list. You should also consider taking a first aid class for canines.

Sell Items You Don’t Use

A yard sale can help you get rid of unwanted items taking up space in your home. But there’s no reason to limit yourself by selling products off your lawn. Use an online auction to get top dollar for bikes, vintage clothes, old computer equipment, and other items.

If you’re not using them, you might as well make some money.

You can even start a business by hunting for antiques and vintage clothes that you can re-sell at higher prices on your website.

Become a Tutor

If you excel in math, science, history, or other subjects, then you could earn money as a tutor. Depending on how much you know, you might want to focus on middle school, high school, or college students.

Contact the schools in your area to see if they can connect you with students who need help. Parents are often willing to pay $20 to $30 an hour for tutoring services.

Donate Your Eggs

Most healthy women under the age of 33 can make money by donating their eggs. Some agencies pay $10,000 or more. The egg donation process only takes a few months. During that time, you’ll get health checkups and might have to take hormones. Once you’re ready, a doctor extracts the egg through a minor surgery.

It’s one of the easiest ways to make that much money. Plus, you get to help a women struggling with infertility.

Use Your Special Talents

Put your talents to use by charging customers for the things you make. If you’ve been painting, drawing, or making other types of art for years, then you might want to open a storefront on Etsy.

If you’re a musician, look for gigs at local bars and restaurants. Whether you get paid a flat rate or through tips, you can pull in a decent amount on the nights you play.

Depending on where you live, you could even get a license to busk in certain areas. Playing on the street could bring in more money than paid gigs, especially if you get a spot with plenty of foot traffic.

What other unique ways can you think of to earn some extra money? Do you know of anyone who has turned a side project into a career?

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A lot more work and responsibilities are put on students’ shoulders should they choose to go to college to get a degree. Most jobs that students might want require Associates or Bachelor’s Degree, such as Art, History, Education, Business, and other subject areas. It is also necessary to network with other people while in college to get help in getting a job. Networking is the process of people helping people learn new ideas of a company, find a career they enjoy, and other activities. All undergrads need college networking tips before graduating.

Face to face networking and social networking are two types of networking that people use in today’s world.

Whether locally or online, people are finding ways to help find out what is going on in the business world, financial areas, home-based business and other types of activities.

Networking can also be a lot of fun when it comes to social networking in which you can keep up with your friends on what is going on in their hometowns and outside the country.

Networking is also helpful in which to educate people how to find a job, succeed at a job interview, and learn the rules of what should be done or not to be done at the workplace, depending on the employer.

Another use for networking is that students need to find a mentor should they have social anxiety, job anxiety, depression, tension, stress, and to look for positive ways to find a comfortable mindset in any situation that comes a student’s way.

Networking is so beneficial because without networking, students and business owners won’t be able to succeed in finding productivity or running a business successfully.

People need to give new and emerging minds of the business world a chance to grow, shine, and use their talents wisely to perform the best that they can in any job or task given by employers.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are great tools to use when social networking.

LinkedIn

On LinkedIn, students can set up their profile, resume, what talents they have, and professional photos of themselves. There, students can find jobs, join like-minded individuals, and converse with employers and their employees what they think about a particular product or service a company sells.

Facebook

On Facebook, students can upload their favorite music, photos, and basic information about themselves and can set personal information to private or friends only. On Facebook, people can write posts about their work experience, what home-based business is successful, and what to do should they encounter scams on the Internet.

Amway

Amway is another company in which people can network with. People that join Amway need to buy their own website and get their own products to endorse. In order to be successful with Amway and other companies, people need to have their own business mindset, friends to help share ideas, and sales training experience.

Networking, in general, is fun at times and business at times.

People can get to learn lots of new ideas from others that they might have never heard of before or get to meet people who share similar ideas. Networking in economics, art, science, education, home-based businesses, and other subject areas is beneficial. We can network daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to become better people and increase our knowledge of the world around us. Without new knowledge, we wouldn’t be able to see other people’s points of view and networking is a great tool to use any time.

It is recommended to network anywhere students go or travel to, inside or outside of the country. There are millions of people using social media to network with other people ever since the government let people use the Internet for fun, business, and research purposes.

Networking always is an awesome tool to use. There is a world outside textbooks and written exams. People enjoy networking with each other so that our world’s economy can grow each year based on new and innovative ideas.

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Being a good intern is a lot more than completing your work on time — there are a lot of other elements that come into play if you’re hoping to have a successful and productive experience.

As someone who has not only had multiple internships but has been on the other side of things and seen how interns interact in my workplace, I think these are a few crucial things to remember.

Dress appropriately

Nothing is going to get you a bad reputation more quickly if you’re constantly dressing inappropriately. While every office is different, shorts, strapless dresses and sandals are traditionally not considered to be appropriate workplace attire. Getting this right is one of the easiest things to do, but is also one of the most easily forgotten. If in doubt, play it safe — it’s better to dress more formally than too casually.

Be punctual

This one seems like a no-brainer, but you’ll be amazed by how easily you can forget this one. Showing up late is an easy way to offend others in the office, especially if you’re expected to be in a meeting. Try your best to show up 10 or 15 minutes early every day. Not only will it give you a chance to get a head start on your work, but it will help you make a solid impression.

If you’re running late, contact your supervisor and let him or her know (make sure to find out ahead of time if email or phone call is best). While you shouldn’t be late on a daily basis, your supervisor will understand if you have a doctor’s appointment or something unexpected, like getting a flat tire, happens.

Watch your chatter

While us college students love talking about our drunken exploits, it’s not a good idea to bring those up in the office. Be aware of your surroundings! Even if you’re chatting with fellow interns, there could be someone in the cubicle next to you who is going to be less than amused when they’re trying to work. Also, make sure to be aware of your surroundings. Some workplaces are a lot more quiet than others, so you may need to adjust your volume accordingly.

Be respectful

As you’ll quickly learn, you may not agree with everything that your bosses do or say, but as an intern, you’ve got to make sure that you respond in a respectful manner. Body language is important, too! Remember that this applies to all forms of communication. Whether it’s an email, a phone call or a text message, responding appropriately is required at all times.

Take notes

Anytime you’re getting trained on something, take notes. It not only shows that you’re taking the training seriously, but it also shows that you care about committing it to memory. It will also help you avoid asking questions that you should already know the answers to down the road.

Clean up your mess

This could range from anything from properly disposing of your lunch to clearing off your workspace when you’re done for the day. You should never expect anyone to clean up after you.

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