I’ve spent a bunch of these posts on smart financial decisions but up to now have ignored the biggest asset you have: your ability to get paid for your time.  Life in your first job is a classic example of being tossed into the weeds with only tools, but little guidance on the environment.  School hopefully provided the basic skills to do the job, but rarely will you be given guidance on how to succeed at work.  Here are my suggestions for this new world.

• Seek positions where you have maximum opportunity to learn.  This is extremely important early in your career.  I’ve made far more money later in my career due to knowledge gained in these early assignments vs seeking early assignments paying a slightly higher salary but without the intellectual challenge.  For your first few positions, heavily value the knowledge gained.  This is a type of hidden compensation and as a bonus, these jobs will likely be more interesting.
• Show initiative.  In school, the structure is generally centered around some authority figure providing you a well-defined, detailed problem for you to solve.  Work structure is rarely this straight-forward.  Frequently it is your job to uncover what needs to be done, then do it.  In other words, come up with the questions and the solutions.  When uncovering a problem, try to solve it best you can without needing a lot of help from your superiors.  Don’t keep beating your head against the wall, but at least give it your best shot.  Remember your bosses also have a lot to do and greatly appreciate someone who is able to make progress on problem without a bunch of hand holding.  A key skill is knowing when you’ve hit your limit and need help, which is part of my next point.
• Build your corporate network.  I know I just said try to do as much as you can without constant oversight, but the combined company resources will be a huge key to your success.  With every interaction, learn what that person does.  Even seemingly ‘wasted’ conversations can help you understand someone’s expertise and help you build your network of experts to lean on when you need it.  My advice to to keep a database/address book with each person and his/her expertise.  Build this network.
• Document everything.  Have a working notebook for what you do.  Record what is said and decided in meetings relevant to you.  Write down your own thoughts as well.  This might seem tedious and will slow you down a little, but you will absolutely need to refer back to it.  Plus your attention to detail and diligence will be noted.

Remember, your number one financial asset is you. Learn. Improve. Your ability to get paid for your time is by far the biggest investment return. A job earning 10% more but going nowhere and teaching you nothing is much, much less valuable than a job teaching you skills and challenging you.  You think education is finally over when you finish school, but it is actually just beginning. The real part anyway. All your education did is get you in the door. What you do from this point forward makes your career. Dedicate yourself to constant learning, the reward (financial or otherwise) will be tremendous.