So here’s the deal. I’m 22 years old and I’ll be graduating from college with my B.A. in a few months. In my field, there aren’t really any jobs I can get right away that pay a ton. I’ll have to start with a lower-paying job and work my way up towards a higher-paying job. The thing is, the jobs I’ll start out with won’t pay enough for me to support myself. Therefore, I’ll probably be living with my parents for at-least a year after I’ve graduated and they’ll be financially supporting me during that time as well. Is it normal that I’ll still be financially dependent on my parents even after I graduate from college?
You don’t give very many details here. When you say the jobs you’ll start out with won’t pay enough for you to support yourself, does that mean you’re looking at $10/hr in an area where median rent for a studio is $1,200 a month, making it nearly impossible for you to pay for your regular expenses? Or are you looking at $18 an hour in that same area, where you will be able to survive (in a literal sense) but will be unable to afford luxuries like going out or saving for retirement?
For my wife, she graduated from college and couldn’t find a job related to her major, so she wound up working at a home improvement store, for $12/hr, for several years before getting a professional certificate and starting her career. When she was making $12/hr, though, she lived in an apartment that cost $550 a month, and she split her rent with a roommate, so while $12/hr wasn’t very much, it was certainly enough to survive, even if it wasn’t the easiest life.
+1,000 When you’re in your 20’s, you shouldn’t expect to be supporting a high quality of life. All of us have to start from the bottom. At your age, a roommate in a one-bedroom apartment should be good enough for you. The vast majority of 20-somethings can’t afford a house but they afford a one-bedroom apartment with roommates, no tv, and no car. This is how you need to start, and from there, you can climb up the ladder.