Adulting

The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks

Succeeding in "mundane" but necessary tasks often seems unattainable but with a little bit of planning and guidance, mastery of these skills can be achieved!

Post-Collegiate Skills

A successful job search after graduation is the goal of every student.  

Christopher D. Lee, Ph.D., SPHR recorded the following webcast in reference to job searches in the field of higher education but we believe that many of the same principles apply to all job fields.  Let his calming voice impart some wonderful job search knowledge to you! 

Alumni from the University of Montana also have access to the services available through the Career Services office including Cover Letter/Resume writing assistance, Mock Interviews and access to Job Databases.  

After a successful job search, salary negotiation is crucial to receiving a fair compensation for the talent and value you will bring to your new place of employment.  This video has some great examples of how to creatively negotiate your salary to reach an agreement that benefits both you and your future employer.  (Note that while we agree with the content of the video and his comments on salary negotiating, we are not a promoter of his business).

Adjusting to a non-college budget can be difficult but with a little bit of planning the transition can be easy.  

When considering a job offer use this paycheck calculator to see what your take-home pay (i.e. net pay) will be.   

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Sometimes it's handy to know what the equivalent hourly salary is when given an annual salary amount.  This calculator will convert annual salary to hourly salary.  

If you are going to relocate for a new job, you may also want to consider how the cost of living in your new location will compare to your current location.  This site compares cost of living in major cities and tells you the price different of Groceries, Housing, Utilities, Transportation and Health Care.  

Insurance is risk management. 

When you own a car, you are risking the chance that your vehicle could be damaged or stolen and you would have to pay the entire cost of fixing or replacing that vehicle.  When you purchase an insurance policy, you are paying the insurance company to take on the risk of that event happening.  And if a catastrophic (i.e. expensive) event does happen then they will pay for the vehicle to be repaired/replaced instead of you having to pay that amount.  

Health Insurance, Renters Insurance, Life Insurance...they all do similar things.  You purchase them to take on the risk of expensive events happening (e.g. medical surgery, burst pipe in your apartment which destroys your personal items, death when you still have a family to support, etc.) so you don't have to pay for them out of your pocket.  

Health Insurance is one of the most common and expensive forms of insurance you will encounter.  The Montana State University Extension Office offers a webinar series called Solid Finances that offers free financial education opportunities for adults.  Here is their most recent webinar on Health Insurance which does an excellent job of explaining common health insurance terminology.