Customer Reviews

Life After School Explained

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My son got this book when he graduated college, and wishes he had it right after high school. It has a lot of common-sense advice that generally takes a few years out of school to learn on your own. You'll find info on stocks and bonds, how to act appropriately during a dinner with your boss (you're really not there to eat), what clothes to wear for different functions (business casual vs. business dress), insurance programs, and buying durable goods. A lot of it centers around finances and how to keep yourself out of hot water, and it at least gives you the basics. It's a worthwhile book for all young adults, because they rarely listen to the wisdom of their parents. The tongue-in-cheek advice is perfect for young people, is succinct and makes for an easy read.

I wish I'd had this book after I graduated. It took years to learn what I could have learned in one afternoon reading this book! Kudos to Cap and Compass! I'll tell every parent of a college student I know about this fantastic book!

I loved this book. It was written for people like me who don't know anything about living on their own or how to file taxes, what the heck a w4 is, and how to look for an apartment. I think it is a perfect graduation gift for college kids. (I wish somebody bought it for me).

Collee graduates for years have managed to find apartments, join gyms, and pay taxes. After reading this, I'm shocked!!

This book starts with the assumptions that 1. such tasks are rocket science, and 2. there are one-sized fits all answers for all situations. The latter is more problematic. For example, the taxes chapter was the only one that seemed to be more than a list of common sense guidelines with a few (occassionally) funny jokes thrown in. But because the treatment was so short, the advice was superficial and not so useful. They publish guides for many cities, but as far as I can tell don't have staff there - but the Chicago one I have doesn't have any really useful city-specific information.

In short, if you have even an ounce of self-sufficiency, ignore this book and research more in-depth resources on the subject you need to learn about.

As a young person a few years out of college- I wish I would have read this book right after graduation. I actually came across it at a friend's house and found it to be very useful (tips on everything from handling business dinners to 401Ks) and very funny.

Great for the "fresh out of the water" grad!

On the face of it, the premise of the book is valuable: impart real-world advice in matters where graduates do not have a lot of experience. However, in practice, the book is narrowly concerned with its readers impressing the right people and maintaining a certain appearance. While this may be useful, particularly to graduates very interested in social climbing, it does not explain that what others think of you, including your bosses and colleagues, should run your life or determine your self-esteem or identity. A common refrain is keeping readers from "looking like an idiot", especially at dinner or in other social situations, reinforcing irrelevant mores about which fork to use in front of clients. I can see it causing readers an undue amount of anxiety, trying to follow the many rules of social-business engagements, that may not go away for years.

Moreover, the prose is written with what passes for humor for some people, but comes off in this book merely as unfocused, tangential, confusing, and flippant. (And disastrously unfunny.) When combined with actual advice, it could be quite difficult for young readers to be able to tell the difference and nearly impossible for non-Americans to glean what information is real and what is not.

Skip this book. Ask Home Depot how to buy paint (there's a section on buying paint...) Make your own mistakes in life and learn from them; that would be more valuable than this book.

The book got to me in a timely manner, so kudos to the broker. It's cute and informative about much more than money.

This is a great, reasonably priced book that gives good common sense advice for young people entering the workforce fresh out of college. It helps them think about all of those things they may have never have had to worry about as they were growing up and while in school.

I just graduated from college in a small town and was lucky enough to be heading to New York City for a new job. This book let me know a whole bunch of things to look out for when finding a place in NYC. I have my first day next week, and I'm planning on bringing this book to reference as I fill out my tax forms.

This book tells you mostly about how to have a checking account, and how to order in a restaurant. The people that wrote this are total idiots.