The ‘Real World’ Is Full Of Secrets And People In This Online Group Are Spilling Them To Help The Young Adults Entering It (30 Pieces Of Advice)

Forget all the b******t you learned as a kid.

People aren’t fair. Working hard doesn’t always mean you will be successful. But not working hard at least some of the time ensures failure. The police are only your friends when your life is in danger. Any other time, on anything else, they are likely to think you are the bad guy. You can’t afford to be sick now. Taxes are a b***h and no, they won’t spend them the way you want them too regardless how much of a keyboard warrior you are. A perfect job doesn’t exist. Every job sucks at least some of the time. Get used to it, but do not let it destroy your health. Kids are more expensive than you think. Love doesn’t always last forever, even for families.

"Legal" and "illegal" are not the same as "right" and "wrong".

Don't expect things to work out in your favor just because you "did the right thing" - there is no invisible hand that punishes the bad and rewards the good.

Just because you have the money to buy something doesn't mean that you can afford it

CONDOMS, use them

Trust your gut. If something feels off, there is a pretty good chance that it is.

Don’t cook bacon naked

When furnishing your home with stuff you find on the side of the road, it's fine to take hard things (tables, art, etc) but never pick up soft things (upholstered chairs, carpets...)

It's ok to say no.

It's just a job, there will be others.

Don't try fitting in if it requires you to break your personal values.

Being respectful and polite is cool.

Never stop learning.

Keep up with your old hobbies and interests, and pick up new ones. Takes classes, free ones and pay for those you can afford. Join groups for people with your interests so you can learn from them and learn from teaching them.

Learn to think for YOURSELF. All of your life your parents taught and promoted THEIR views on life, politics, religion, etc. and probably also told you how wrong the other viewpoints are. Now is the time to go, "How do I feel? What do I think?"

Your employer is usually a neutral party at best. Rare exceptions to this exist, but as a rule your boss is not your friend and does not have your best interests at heart.

They have you there to make money off of your labor, no more and no less. This is a business arrangement, learn to automatically see this as the default.

You need to look out for your own interests. Get a better offer elsewhere? Don't think for a second you owe loyalty to your boss, they'd replace you in a heartbeat if you keeled over at your desk.

Similarly: mental health days are sick days. Don't trick yourself into believing that you're 'letting the team down' because you need to take care of yourself. No one else at your job is going to take care of you, at best they will do the bare minimum to meet legal requirements.

There are exceptions to the above and sometimes the right people or management can earn your loyalty. Just remember that you come first. Not customers, not co-workers, not managers. Do the job, get paid, go home. Never believe that you have to sacrifice your physical or mental wellbeing for a job, they don't pay you enough for that. Ever.

A long commute is rarely worth it.

Be very careful of being dragged into any sort of workplace drama/politics. That friendly coworker who is dishing you all the dirt as you learn the ropes is looking for allies. You have no obligation to hang out with these people in a social setting.

Look after your teeth because they are expensive to fix, toothpaste, a good toothbrush and dental floss are cheap so use them well. Look after your credit rating, it is difficult to fix when it goes wrong and also remember that things do go wrong so perhaps have a small contingency available if you can. Learn to save and budget so you know how much you can use and save comfortably. Be good to yourself and look after mental health.

Don't just react to things. Think critically. Take a few seconds to analyze situations and come up with conclusions. Always be self-aware and never let people use your emotions against you.

Buy a plunger before you move in to your first place on your own, buy it BEFORE you NEED it.

The real world is actually really small. Be careful of burning bridges because you’d be surprised how easy it is to run into someone years and years after you last saw them.

Honesty and humility get you far in the work place, as it can often be a game of likability (just be careful not to be a doormat).

E.g. I work in IT and once I was troubleshooting an issue that ended up being my fault. I told my boss it was my fault, how, why, and what we did to fix it. He told me someone else not only blamed me, but took responsibility for fixing it. I ended up coming out looking better, despite all of it being my fault, simply because I was honest. I was promoted a few months later.

Everyone makes mistakes. There is no real point in constantly trying to avoid novel mistakes. Instead, accept that you are human, and instead make sure to learn from you mistakes when they happen.

"This isn't a mistake, it's a happy little accident" - Bob Ross

If you're unhappy with your job, put tons of effort into finding a new one ASAP. Also learn to recognize toxic work environments. I once saw a guy quit his job in under 4 hours, just noped right out.