Walking into the office on the first day of your first job is incredibly intimidating. You don’t know where to go. You don’t know what you’re doing. What job were you hired for again? How long do you have until they realize you’re a hack?
Then you sit down at your desk. You have a long talk with your new boss. You get office supplies.
You think to yourself, “It isn’t so bad, this whole job thing.” You’re killing it. In fact, you’re peak adulting. And that’s just the start.
Here are seven ways your life improves exponentially after you’ve started your first job.
Payday.
Not having been married or given birth yet, I would rank Payday as the best of all days. Was I handed a check at my college graduation or my prom? No, I was not.
Seeing your name on a check is incredibly rewarding. And no one (save the government) can take that away from you.
Living on your own is within your reach.
Once you have a steady job, living on your own becomes a realistic goal.
Whether this means finally moving out of your parents' home or leaving your three roommates for the one-bedroom apartment of your dreams, you'll finally taste the sweet flavor of freedom.
You finally feel like a contributing member of society.
When you have a job, you have a purpose (and a reason to get out of bed before noon). You have a list of tasks to complete daily. You create a routine.
You’re officially part of the working world, and therefore a contributing member of society.
There will be more to life than chasing the perfect grade.
Most of us complete 17 years of education, from kindergarten to college graduation. That’s 17 years of chasing the perfect grade. That kind of monotony is exhausting.
But your first job means that every day is a different challenge. You still reap the benefits of validation, but now that you have a variety of goals like paychecks and promotions, grades are a thing of the past.
You’re bound to meet at least one best friend.
Your job provides all the necessary foundations for friendship. Similar interests? Check. Lots of time together? Double check. Mutual complaints about your bosses? Now you’ve hit the trifecta. With all these similarities, you’ll be bonded for life.
Free food in the office.
What is the one type of food everybody loves? Free food.
It’s hard to imagine before you enter the work force, but when you have a job it’s impossible to go hungry. Offices are teeming with free food.
There are so many perks to having your first job, but I think free food might even top Payday.
It’s time to upgrade from your hand-me-down car.
After you’ve socked away some of those Payday checks, you can decide on what big ticket item you’re saving up for.
If you’re like most of us, the answer to that conundrum is staring at you from its parking spot: your car.
You’ve been tooling around town in your sedan ever since your 17th birthday. The heat takes 23 minutes to kick in and you’ve replaced the right taillight twice already.
It’s time for an upgrade, and having a job means having the funds for those car payments.
When you finally land that first job and are ready to purchase your first car with that hard earned paycheck, Cars.com gives you the resources for a simpler and stress-free car-shopping experience. With Cars.com you can research, price and find the car that's right for you among the endless choices…drama free!
