6 Things I Should Have Learned In School But Didn't

It wasn't until after I graduated college did I realize there were a lot of basic things that I should have been taught at some point during my education, but never was. They are as follows:

1. How to negotiate your salary. It wasn't until after school when I got I was searching for jobs within my industry, did I realize I had no idea how to discuss money with my superiors. And I was not the only one who felt this way. Many of my classmates realized that when it came to recognizing how much our degree was worth, and actually ensuring we were getting properly compensated, we had no idea how to do it. Of course, we knew how to ask for more money, but we felt like we simply couldn't go up to our superior and say, "Give me more money". We knew there had to be a proper way to go about it, but no one ever taught us!

2. How to file your taxes. Once again, it wasn't until after graduation where I got a real job with actual and consistent paychecks did I realize that taxes were in fact a thing, and something that I had to do. The problem? I have absolutely NO CLUE how to file my taxes. No one ever showed me, or even mentioned it in school. This is shocking to me. Why? Filing your taxes is something so normal, something that everyone has to do, so why don't they teach it in schools?

3. How to quit your job. I know this isn't something that should typically be taught in schools, after all, people want to promote prosperity and job success, but there are necessary circumstances that require a person to quit their job.

4. How to properly and successfully save and budget money. Unless you sign up to take a personal finance class, you will not learn how to properly save and budget your money. Once I got a job as a bartender and was receiving a lot of cash as a result of tips, I learned to disperse my money in separate envelopes that were dedicated to different financial topics. Did I learn this in school? No. I learned it on TikTok.

5. Apartment hunting and signing a lease. At one point or another, kids move out of their home and away from their parent. In order to do so, you have to find a place to move into. When I graduated college and had a job away from home, I had no idea where to even start when it came to searching for a place to live. And once I found a place? Then what? I had no idea, and the majority of people my age didn't know either. It's something that has never once been discussed during my upbringing and in my education, and I feel like it should be!

6. Basic cooking skills. It wasn't until I got to college and was fully independent from my family (at least until I went home for the holidays) did I realize I was in charge of my own meals. Here was the issue, besides the basics, I didn't know how to cook (at least enough meals to rotate and not get tired of eating). Now don't get me wrong, there are schools that offer home-ec classes, but I think they should be a requirement in all schools!