The Black Oracle

Michael, a fiction writer, wrote a 20something profile last year. His book The Black Oracle is now available for purchase. Here’s what he had to say about it:

Humans, you are not alone.

“Joachim is a hunter in the jungle of a post-apocalyptic Earth. Though generations have passed since the Great Death, something has evolved in the trees beyond the giant glowing mushrooms, mutants that want to see human entrails spread along the jungle floor.

And now they’ve taken Joachim’s wife.

To get her back, Joachim will have to give the leader of these demons something in return: immortality. A creature knows when he is going to die, after all. Plunged into a world of magic and darkness, Joachim must find the only woman who knows where the ingredients are. She is a prophetess known as the Black Oracle living in the realm of Zalm, but she’s a little preoccupied at the moment. She leads a rebellion against the ruthless High Council, and when Joachim seeks her out, he too finds himself consumed by her struggle.

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20something profile: Luisa

This post was written by Luisa, who works with artificial intelligence and is a career coach:

Before graduating, I’d always thought I’d join one company and work my way to the top over the next two decades. The past few years could not have been more different. I’ve been a business analyst, a startup entrepreneur, an artificial intelligence analyst, and now a success coach.

I graduated in 2010 from Princeton with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Robotics. With a record of academic success under my belt, I fully expected to continue my success in the “real world.”

I could not have been more wrong.

Millennials doing worse than expected after college

Photo credit: head4success.com

Cosmopolitan.com conducted a survey where they asked around 800 twenty-somethings whether their post-college lives were better or worse than what they had expected. The majority of those surveyed — 73% of women and 53% of men — felt that they were doing worse than expected in their careers, savings, or living situations:

Most Millennials Are Doing Worse Than Expected After College (cosmopolitan.com)

20something profile: Stephanie

This post was written by Stephanie, who wants to provide counseling for families and children:

Hello all! I’m here to share my 20something journey thus far. My name is Stephanie Graham. I graduated in December 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a psychologist. When I was young, I wanted to be a psychologist because it was seemed to be a very appealing and professional career, plus I heard they make good money. 😉 When I grew older, I realized I loved helping people and had a natural ability in listening to others. Ask any of my friends, and they will tell you that I have a very reliable set of ears and give pretty insightful advice.

20something profile: Brittany

This post was written by Brittany, who has traveled throughout the world:

What are your career aspirations, and what have you done to fulfill those aspirations?

My vision is to have the greatest positive impact on the world as possible, through business, writing, travel, education, and community engagement. With a holistic perspective of business, I am passionate about finding the intersection of business strategy and sustainability.

Through sustainability consulting, I have worked with Fortune 500 companies across industries, developing sustainability strategies and reports/communications, analyzing and benchmarking sustainability performance, and facilitating workshops and stakeholder engagement initiatives. I capture sustainability trends and best practices from client engagements through blog posts and articles on SustainGenuity and GreenBiz Shift Happens.

What successful people were doing at 25

Oprah in her 20s (Photo credit: YouTube/OWN TV)

Last week’s guest post discussed how, in this age of technology where everything’s fast and instant, we expect professional success to come instantly as well.

And it doesn’t help that we’re constantly seeing and hearing about exceptional young athletes, musicians, and actors who have all achieved high levels of success before their mid-20s.

But not everyone who became successful had their careers figured out by their mid-20s, as this Business Insider article proves:

What 18 Extremely Successful People Were Doing At Age 25 (businessinsider.com)

20something profile: Irina

This post was written by Irina, who works in finance and blogs about beauty:

Since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, but before graduating school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. So, I decided to go with the flow and applied to a technical university. In 2009 I graduated Engineering and Management in Telecommunications, but I was still not sure that this was what I wanted to do further in my life.

A couple of months later, I started my master’s degree, also in Telecommunications. At the beginning of 2012, I was done with my university, and I was still indecisive about my future. I was feeling like I failed big time.

Nobody Likes You When You’re A Millennial

Photo credit: nanigans.com

This post was written by Dolly, a UCSB graduate and an aspiring lawyer: 

Some days, I wake up feeling like a barista-designed agave latte, ready to awaken the senses and release my potential. And some days, it’s gas station coffee. Welcome to my rarely lavish, mostly ludicrous, twenty-something life.

The other day, I thought about the weird urge I felt to have every part of my life planned out and why I was feeling so anxious to get all my ducks in line. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of being behind. It was like waiting for the light to turn green and I was at a yellow. And that got me thinking about the little things in my life that were shaping how I expected the big things to occur in turn.

20something profile: Sarah

This post was written by Sarah, who works in the biotech industry:

I graduated from UC Davis in 2009 with my BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. I chose that major not because I had a definite career path planned out after graduation but because it enthralled me. My choice in degree wasn’t a means to an end; it was an expression of my passion for biology.

People often ask me what I can do with that degree because it sounds so specific. And my answer to them is always anything. I personally have chosen to use it in my career path as a foundation for knowledge in a sales/marketing capacity within the biotech industry, but I could have chosen a myriad of other paths for myself.

20something entrepreneur starts bridesmaid-for-hire business

Photo credit: theweddinglibrary.com

Ever heard the expression “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?” Well, 26-year-old Jen Glantz has been a bridesmaid so many times that now she’s doing it as a profession!

After being a bridesmaid four times in the past year alone (and twice in one week), Glantz posted an ad on Craigslist offering her services as a professional bridesmaid. Her ad went viral: she got over 100 responses within 48 hours, and her new business got coverage on media outlets including the Huffington Post, USA Today, Good Morning America, and the Today Show.