89 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Superficial Guide for the Clueless to On-Going Parties, December 28, 2000
This review is from: The Everything After College Book; Real-World Advice for Surviving and Thriving on Your Own (Paperback)
Research on recent college graduates has shown that lifetime happiness and success are most closely associated with writing down a set of life goals and continuing to monitor them. This book successfully avoids considering that as something to do around the time of college graduation.
Congratulations on your impending or recent college graduation. I'm sure this is a very exciting and scary time for you. The decisions you make now will determine whether or not you get the experience and knowledge that you will need to build a beautiful life. If you start by knowing what you want, you'll do a lot better. I'm on your side and hope that you do get everything from life that you would like.
As time passes, you will come to realize that helping others selflessly is one of the most rewarding part of life. I suggest that thinking about what you would like to give of yourself should be one of your life goals that you establish now.
I recommend you avoid this book. Let me explain why.
This book manages to focus on almost every question that will come up near college graduation time in a short and superficial way. The book assumes that the reader has never considered anything other than where to get the next date or the next beer prior to graduation day.
The book always takes the easy way out, if it is available. For example, the section on Living at Home after college talks about volunteering for the easiest, fastest-to-be-done chores (taking out the trash ranks first) so you can continue to take advantage of dear old Mom and Dad. On the question of where to go for graduate school, "It's as easy as one, two, three." " . . . [Making the decision] shouldn't take more time than figuring out which was your favorite subject in college." "[Just apply} . . . to the appropriate school."
To show the high analytical rigor of this book, consider the preface. "College graduation is like getting on an elevator without any knowledge of which button does what." Now, if you have that little idea of what might come next, one would think you would like a little helpful advice. What does the book propose? "Cultivating the ability and desire to learn from your past mistakes will ensure future triumphs." So essentially the idea here is to help you make lots of mistakes quickly and learn from them? Hmmm.
The first four chapters focus on issues like how to keep a relationship with your old college steady after one of you moves way, moving back into your parents' house, getting a place to live on your own, or starting to date people who aren't in college. In evaluating each of these areas, the primary perspective is how to get the most out of your social relations.
By chapter five, the idea of a job appears. "Getting the Job You So Desperately Need" is the name of the chapter. Clearly, this is just a stop gap between social engagements. The focus is primarily on applying and getting the job rather than fitting into your life goals. Then once you've got the job, chapter 6 gives you ideas for not abusing the job so much that you get fired. And it encourages you to look to the next pasture. "If you're less than content . . . , there's simply no reason to turn down another offer." It's like dating, in that way.
Before you're done you'll also get a little financial advice, such as avoiding borrowing money on credit cards and how your employer's pension fund contribution plans work.
My advice is to those who want to have a happy life: Don't look at this book. It will just send you off in the wrong direction.
Take the time instead to think about what you would like to accomplish, what your priorities are, and what it takes to make you happy. Write your goals down, and review them every so often to check for whether or not you are on the right track.
God bless you and good luck with achieving your goals!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go out and get it!, October 10, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Everything After College Book; Real-World Advice for Surviving and Thriving on Your Own (Paperback)
I loved this book! Even though I've been out of college for about four years now, this book really helped me cope with some issue I'm still facing today.It's a must read for anyone under 30.
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