Children often look forward to growing up, and they see adulthood as a chance to prove how smart, tough, and capable they are. Youngsters are eager to show others what they are made of, but too often, by the time they really are grown up (around age 20-21), they are missing more than a few pieces of information about adult life. Your age is one thing. Your preparedness and maturity are something else entirely. It is the duty of your parents or guardians to teach you the various things you should know about adulthood, and you can learn other things you should know online and from reference books, and any other reliable source. Often, this involves the little things, from buying new hose clamps for your car’s engine parts to handling auto injury cases and criminal law, among others. There is always something new to learn.
What Qualifications You Need for a Field of Work
What sort of work should you do for a living, and what sort of education and training will you need beforehand? There are many options for what you can do beyond high school. Things you should know involve college applications, job training, internships, temp work, professional networking, and more. Consider the old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Don’t take that too literally, but there is merit to that. Consider getting to know your college professors better so they can write letters of recommendation for later college or work, and try using websites such as LinkedIn to stay in the know about the American workforce as a whole.
Some jobs will certainly call for a college education, and a degree may prove to employers that you have learned the things you should know about a field of work, from lidar surveying to data management to criminal defense lawyer work to pharmaceuticals. More Americans than ever hold college degrees, and many believe that you must have one just to stay in the game, let alone get ahead. Depending on your intended field of work, this may certainly be true, and schools such as law school or med school can help, too.
Of course, college is not an obligation, and for some fields of work, a trade school is the better option. College can be costly and take time, so you must be sure that you truly need a college degree for your intended field. Some jobs may seem blue-collar by comparison, but they often pay well, such as plumbing or electrician work, or HVAC repairs.
You do not have to aim for the loftiest jobs or degrees out there; rather, carefully assess your own expertise and interests, and find the route that suits you best. Some young adults may find much more success going to trade school so they can repair truck engines, as compared to slogging their way toward a bachelor’s degree. All sorts of jobs exist out there, after all, and someone has to do them. Your options are far and wide.
What Role the Internet Plays in Society
At first, this may seem silly; who doesn’t know how to use the internet? But there is more to the World Wide Web than chat rooms and celebrity Instagram accounts. The things you should know about the internet include not only basic safety but knowing how the internet can educate you and give you tools for developing your adult life. Think of it as a bonus, usually a free classroom. You can learn a lot on the internet if you know where to look and who to talk to.
Safety first. The things you should know about internet safety often involve protecting your personal information and avoiding malware such as viruses and worms, and not everyone is literate about internet safety. For one thing, don’t click on links or open attachments from emails that came from unknown senders, as this is often how viruses are transmitted. Also, be aware of phishing scams and know how to spot them. Often, they pose as your bank or credit card company or a retailer, asking you for personal information to confirm your identity. Such as “someone tried to hack into your bank. Confirm your bank account number and routing number here”, but this is a trick. Real banks and credit card companies will never ask for this information via emails or text messages. And typically, scam emails include typos, spelling errors, and odd phrasing.
The internet can be a lot of fun to browse, but it can also serve as a free classroom, especially with the rise of Youtube and the like. You can learn all the things you should know online through trusted sources, and this includes YouTube accounts, forums, and more. On top of that, most businesses in the current age tend to have expansive websites you can visit for more information, from banks to law firms to plumbing companies. Meanwhile, major undertakings such as looking for an apartment to rent, online shopping, applying to a college or a job, or finding lawyers can be done via the net as well. If your home has strong internet capacity services, you can browse all this at lightning speed, and this can make a job hunt a little easier.
How and When to Rent Certain Things
One thing you may soon realize about adult life is that the owner of an item and that item’s user are often two different people. Even well-off adults or strong companies often rent items that they need rather than purchase them, both for convenience and to save money. This includes choosing to rent truck trailers rather than find trailers for sale, such as a trailer for moving to a new apartment. Young adults in particular often rent everything from a car to their living space to save money, and this even includes taking limos to a high school prom or to a relative’s wedding. Something similar can be said about taking out loans.
When and how should you rent something? To begin with, make sure that you have good credit, and it also helps if you have no history of bankruptcy or delinquent loans. If your credit is low, or you don’t even have any, you may ask an older relative to co-sign with you for something, such as an auto loan or a mortgage, or even a credit card. Once that loan is secured, paying it off responsibly can allow you to start building up credit. Bear in mind that borrowing from banks may prove tough since banks have high standards and they don’t like risky borrowers. Even small companies, such as small truck carrier businesses, may have trouble getting bank loans, but specialized lenders for auto loans or mortgages are more lenient. Still, they have somestandards, and even if you can get approved while you have a bad credit score, the loan’s terms will be less than savory. Be prepared for that.
As for how to rent, you should work out your budget and determine what you can afford to pay, and how soon you need a rented vehicle or service. If you are renting a moving truck or boat or car, for example, look over that vehicle in person and check it for any outstanding issues. You can even do this for limousine rentals, and most limo rental companies are on the small side anyway. As for renting an apartment, you can use particular websites to find a promising apartment in your price range and preferred area, but there is no substitute for visiting in person and checking out the place with your own eyes. This way, you can confirm any problems or issues that won’t appear on apartment finder websites, from drywall stains to termite-damaged wood to creaky floorboards or drafty windows.
How to Purchase and Care for Jewelry
This will be a fairly brief topic, but an interesting one. Most people, especially women, like to own jewelry, and it’s common for mothers and grandmothers to pass down jewelry to later generations of the family. Meanwhile, what about buying it? Diamonds, in particular, are common and young men will concern themselves with finding a good diamond engagement ring for their partners. Many younger diamond buyers, though, are concerned about the presence of blood diamonds, and conflict-free diamonds are proving a popular alternative, such as lab-grown diamonds that are practically indistinguishable from traditional ones. If you share this concern, ask your local jewelers about conflict-free diamonds, and make sure that your jewelry is responsibly sourced.
Also, be aware that diamonds and similar gems have a rating system for quality, from flawless (incredibly rare and expensive) to flawed/included (generally not worth it). Most often, young adult jewelry buyers may purchase gems rated VS (very slightly included) to SI (slightly included). Lastly, don’t be afraid to swap out a diamond for some other gem on an engagement ring; more and more often, jewelry buyers are customizing engagement rings, in terms of the gem’s type (emerald, ruby, sapphire, etc) to the gem’s cut to the patterns etched on the ring’s body, or even the metal type. When ordering a custom ring, be specific about the gem’s and metal’s properties, and make sure the jeweler completes a colored sketch so both parties can confirm the details. Then you just have to wait until your custom ring us completed and ready for pickup.
How to Drive Safely
This is a big one. Most Americans drive cars and even those that don’t often spend time walking on sidewalks and using crosswalks. But while most car drivers are safe and responsible on the road, there is always the risk of impaired or distracted drivers, and hit and run cases are tragically common. You must watch out for these drivers (and never be one yourself), and you must know what to do if you are injured in an auto accident.
You must absolutely never drive while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, and no, driving “buzzed” is not a safe alternative. The law recognizes drunk driving as operating a motor vehicle while you have a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.08% or higher, though some states have lower thresholds than that. And don’t drive distracted, either, such as using mobile devices while on the road. This splits your attention, and you may miss red lights or stop signs, and you may be too late to avoid hitting a car or pedestrians. If the weather is poor, such as heavy rain or snow or fog, drive more slowly and carefully, and use your headlights. Should the roads be slick with ice or snow, take caution, and consider putting chains on your tires or using special tires rated for snow driving.
What if you do gt in an auto accident, and you are injured? This is when you call upon not only the paramedics but probably a lawyer, too. Most likely, you will want to pursue litigation against the at-fault party, though this may prove difficult to do alone. So, once able, you can look up local personal injury law firms, and many of them may be auto-related law firms in particular since auto accident injuries are so common. You can get consultations from the attorneys working there (this may or may not incur a fee) and hire one whose experience, skills, and personality are to your liking. You and your lawyer then may build a case for litigation or even court.
What will your attorney do? That lawyer can calculate the financial impact of your injuries based on your medical bills, and if your injuries will prevent you from doing paying work in the future, then this huge and complex financial impact can be calculated, too, and factored into the case. Also, if the at-fault party’s insurance company tries to stonewall you or act in bad faith, your lawyer will probably know what to do about that, too. Finally, if the case is a complex one (multiple parties involved), a lawyer will know best how to assign blame and distribute settlement money.
In short, the things you should know about adult life run the gamut from managing your finances to taking out loans to figuring out your higher education plans to road safety, and knowing how to handle all this can make your adult life a lot safer, smoother, and more purposeful. Better yet, the internet and the Information Age make it easier than ever to learn about nearly any field, and there is professional and amateur (like customer reviews) reference for just about anything. Combine all this with good education and knowing the right people, and you can set clear goals for yourself and work toward them steadily and with confidence. This can pay big dividends later in your adult life.