Studies show that men who have more sex have a steady income job. Have their own place, pay the rent/bills, and know how to clean and cook for themselves.

In America, you are nobody if you don’t establish good credit. Pay your bills, but especially your credit card bills, increase your credit score early on in your adult life. So you won’t struggle when you want to make those massive investments, like buying a home, or require assistance for any possible emergency. Be sure to check your credit score at least once a year. You can ask your bank to refer and help you with this.

Try to secure an apprenticeship in your city if possible. It might help you more in your career than going to college first. If you do decide to go to college in the future, make sure you have a steady income, whether it is from a part-time or full-time job.

HDCUSA believes the best age to go to college is 24 and up, so that you won’t be restricted by financial aid guidelines in having a parent co-sign if you are under the age of 24. By that time, you will have some money saved in the bank and work/life experience.

Remember, you are more valuable to a company while working there and attaining a degree or new skills as an apprentice. It is best to take on an unpaid or paid internship while you are still in college, and if anything unethical needs to be reported, while you get college internship credit, your school won’t allow exploitation and will take legal matters if required if companies are doing illegal activity when interning, as you are still enrolled.

Most colleges and Universities won’t invest heavily in the students who have graduated to place them in internships or apprenticeships. The harsh reality is that Recruiters are tasked to place current students, not graduating students. They will help everyone because that is their job, but if you have graduated more than a year ago, you won’t be placed at the top of that hiring list. This applies to traditional schools and for-profit schools; at the end of the day, they all function like a business, with the goals for the financial department and the recruiting department being to meet their quotas in sales, recruiting, and retention.

You also have the option to move on from the company you are working for to one that will appreciate the certification or new level of education you are seeking and acquiring. Your end goal is to make more money than you did in your last role or gain a new skill that you can use to get a higher financial rate in another role.

If you ever come across anybody who tries to sabotage your goals, learn how to navigate through those people who are trying to prevent you from getting promoted out of jealousy. If you are a hard worker, it will be noticed, and you might have a person or group trying to prevent you from advancing. The best thing to do while working in a toxic environment is to not say anything, keep to yourself, study and work on your personal private goals in discretion, so you can apply and transfer to a new department without any issues or move to a different company that will not only appreciate you but pay you more.

The only time you might have to say something is if toxic groups gossip or twist what you say if it becomes a legal issue. Remember HR doesn’t want liabilities; they don’t care and will hold anybody and everybody affiliated if there is slander due to gossip or if the law has been broken and someone or people at that company have been put in a dangerous position.

HR is not your friend, even if you report something, know that you’d better be prepared and not waste their time.