Post-Graduation Reading List

For our graduating seniors who are about to enter the real world, we know it can be a little scary. We’ve put together a list of some books for you to read that can provide some helpful advice. All of the listed books are accessible online!

 

Life After College: So You Graduated...Now What? by Diane Lento-McGovern

 

Summary: Offers recent college graduates advice on setting career goals and finding work, and discusses graduate study, military careers, travel, and decision making

 

The Young Professional: A Real World Survival Guide for the New College Graduate by Andy J. Semotiuk

 

Summary: This year, nearly 2 million bachelors' degrees will be awarded from colleges across the U.S. After graduation, most of the students earning those degrees will head into the job market to seek employment in their chosen professions. In today's challenging economic environment, aspiring professionals need to learn all they can about what it takes to enter their target career field and achieve success. THE YOUNG PROFESSIONAL: A REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR THE NEW COLLEGE GRADUATE is the career book for young people looking to find their place in the professional workforce. Author Andy J. Semotiuk is a senior attorney who has spent more than 30 years helping young professionals--attorneys, nurses, teachers, and many others--as they seek to establish their careers and make their way in the business world. Featuring inspiring real-life stories and covering the topics most important to the new professional--from money, time-management, and personal motivation to sharpening presentation skills, power networking, and achieving work/life balance--this book is filled with concrete, practical advice that young professionals can put to work right now. Gain the skills and confidence you need to succeed with this book.

 

Life After College: The Complete Guide To Getting What You Want by Jenny Blake

 

Summary: Presents advice and written exercises for college graduates, covering issues that deal with work, friends, family, dating, health, leisure, personal growth, and life goals.

 

Constrained After College: Student Loans and Early-Career Occupational Choices by Jesse Rothstein and Cecilia Elena Rouse

 

Summary: In the early 2000s, a highly selective university introduced a "no-loans" policy under which the loan component of financial aid awards was replaced with grants. We use this natural experiment to identify the causal effect of student debt on employment outcomes. In the standard life-cycle model, young people make optimal educational investment decisions if they are able to finance these investments by borrowing against future earnings; the presence of debt has only income effects on future decisions. We find that debt causes graduates to choose substantially higher-salary jobs and reduces the probability that students choose low-paid "public interest" jobs. We also find some evidence that debt affects students' academic decisions during college. Our estimates suggest that recent college graduates are not life-cycle agents. Two potential explanations are that young workers are credit constrained or that they are averse to holding debt. We find suggestive evidence that debt reduces students' donations to the institution in the years after they graduate and increases the likelihood that a graduate will default on a pledge made during her senior year; we argue this result is more likely consistent with credit constraints than with debt aversion.





If you want to find more books, please check out the library search tool to see what is available for online or ebook reading!