Finishing a PhD and moving into a postdoc, faculty position, or industry job can feel like a huge financial transition. After years of living on a stipend, your first real paycheck can suddenly make your income feel enormous, but that does not necessarily mean it is time to upgrade your entire lifestyle.

In this episode, Neeka walks through the financial basics academics should consider after graduate school.

She also talks about the pressure to compare yourself to peers who take different career paths, why renting can actually be a valuable form of flexibility, and how small financial habits now can make your future much easier. 

The goal is not to have the next ten years figured out. It is to build a strong enough financial foundation that you have options when new opportunities come along.

Episodes referenced:

Starting a New Academic Job? Here’s How to Pick the Right Retirement Plan: https://attainablewealthfp.com/starting-a-new-academic-job-heres-how-to-pick-the-right-retirement-plan/

Part 2: Starting a New Academic Job? Breaking Down Your Retirement Plan’s Investment Choices—Without the Jargon: https://attainablewealthfp.com/part-2-starting-a-new-academic-job-breaking-down-your-retirement-plans-investment-choices-without-the-jargon/

From Professor to Business Owner: The Financial Basics Every Academic Entrepreneur Needs to Know: https://attainablewealthfp.com/from-professor-to-business-owner-the-financial-basics-every-academic-entrepreneur-needs-to-know/

Annual Benefit Enrollment Explained: Making the Most of Your Workplace Benefits as an Academic: https://attainablewealthfp.com/annual-benefit-enrollment-explained-making-the-most-of-your-workplace-benefits-as-an-academic/

Financial Therapy Episodes:

Financial Therapy Month: You Don’t Have a Money Problem, You Have a Nervous System Problem with Oliver Schnusenberg: https://attainablewealthfp.com/financial-therapy-month-you-dont-have-a-money-problem-you-have-a-nervous-system-problem-with-oliver-schnusenberg/

Financial Therapy Month: Building a Healthier Financial Life, Practical Tools for Money & Emotions with Nate Astle: https://attainablewealthfp.com/financial-therapy-month-building-a-healthier-financial-life-practical-tools-for-money-emotions-with-nate-astle/