Life After UCCS

Now that you have graduated, you will need to decide on the career you want. Most likely the career will intertwine with your degree, but that may not always be the case. This is where you research and focus on the details of the career you are interested in. A good resource is the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center.
Whether you have a quality job lined up or not, revisiting and updating your needs and wants will help you transfer to the professional world with little financial concern.  Starting Salaries Rise for New Grads

You have chosen the career you want to pursue. Now its time to apply for the job openings related your chosen career and prepare for the interviews that you will be forced to endure. mock interviews and resume reviews are provided by the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center.
Refer back to the College in Colorado resources to explore careers and learn more about what skills you possess for certain careers. Building a professional profile is essential before applying to jobs in your career path. College in Colorado provides numerous resources to help you explore careers and build your resume and cover letters for those interviews. Career Planning
Here you can learn about yourself, explore careers, and refine your interview skills to help land that job. When exploring careers you're interested in, the database available allows you to search for specific careers and gives you valuable information in relation to your specific career.

One of the biggest decision that could affect your career success is the ability to travel.  Most big businesses are not located where you want them to be.  There might be a better job in a different state, or even in a different continent.  It may be tough not wanting to move away from family and friends, it still something that you would have to consider.

Now that you passed the threshold of staying or moving, it is time to choose how your living is going to be.  For example, if you moving to New York City, you might want to only plan for a studio apartment and go easy on the utilities because that is expensive for a recently graduated student.  The second thought that should be on your mind is whether or not you can afford the living expense.
Whatever situation you find yourself in financially, most often you will benefit by continuing to live like a college student which will help to take care of the debts occurred during school, as well as continuing to manage finances as efficiently as possible. Could you Survive on Fast Food Wages?

The best way to ensure that you can afford your living expense is to build a Budget Plan.  This will allow you to forecast your savings, and expense. vs your income you receive.  depending on how much detail you but in your budget plan, the forecast can be years out, giving you thought and mind. 
Use your six month loan interest grace period to prepare for your first loan payment. Waiting until you get your first bill to start budgeting and planning is not recommended. Start communicating with your lender upon graduation so you know what to expect and can create a budget for the payments awaiting you.
Here are a few budget templates you can use:

• Basic Monthly Budget
• Paying for College Budget
• Consumer.gov Budget Worksheet

One of the main expenses that should be in the budget plan is the paying off of student debts, such as student loans.  There are many options that can help with that and many resources for help.  Here are a few resources about debt repayment: 

• Repaying Your Loans
• Loan Forgiveness
• Consequences of Default
• Direct Loan Rights and Responsibilities

If you have not already been made aware, there is a 6 month grace period following graduation before your loan payments will begin to start. It is critical to be proactive far before your 6 month grace period is up and you continue your lifestyle living as a college student and making good financial decisions.

This is the common question that most students had to answer to get a scholarship.  Now it is time to review those financial goals and make sure they are feasible and achievable.  To start you would have your overall long-term financial goal like, own 2 houses and a ranch or make 6 figure income.  In order to insure that is feasible and achievable, smaller or 'short-term' goals must be meant.  Just break down the large goal into those short goals and take time to accomplish each one.  The strategy here is to be patience and resilient.  It may seem like you will never reach all the goals but in time you will get there.