Now there's a website dedicate to coaching young professionals on how to cope with being out of school. www.lifeaftercollege.com The web site celebrated its first birthday in December 2008 and is chock full of blogs and personal opinions on how to make life richer and better after college. It offers advice on finances, career, coping with stress and a variety of other topics. The web sites mission is to provide simple, practical tips that help you focus on the BIG picture of your life...not just the details. The sites author, Jenny Blake, says on the site, I had tremendous opportunities and responsibilities, but I hadn't anticipated what it would be like to be in the real world - to work full time, to save money, to spend so much money, to be so far from my friends.

 

As much as I loved the confidence I got from working so hard and learning so much every day, at times I felt incredibly lonely and confused. In this modern age, it's weird and maybe a little said that people have to turn to a web site for advice on how to be out of school rather than talk to coworkers, get advice from oh, I don't know, say family or friends. Is it necessary to blog to strangers about what to do when a weird office etiquette situation crops up or how to budget rent and going out on the weekends? Wouldn't it be better for these 20-somethings to reach out to real people they know, or maybe they are and they are also using the web site to share knowledge and insight to others. Colleges should offer better advice on coping after college, but it's also time for post-grads to band together and share their experiences in how to transitions well.