When I was in college, my closest friends were almost all in the communications school with me. We all had the same interests and upon graduating, would pretty much all be working in the same industry. I was still close with all of my friends from high school though, and none of them were majoring in anything close to me. They were studying finance, health care, engineering, politics, etc.
When I was in college, I literally had no idea what to discuss with my friends from home when school came up (I studied television – no joke), but now that we’re older I’m glad they all remained my friends because having a diverse set of careers in your friend group is extremely important. Mostly so you don’t end up like this:
Here are 7 people you need professionally as friends in your 20s.
1. A nurse.
Instead of googling whatever your symptoms are online, you can just text your nurse friend and she/he will tell you what it means and what you should do. You won’t have to waste time sitting in an ER or waiting at a doctor’s office to hear the same thing from a random nurse you don’t even know. You’ve got your own.
2. A lawyer.
Need advice on a contract you have to sign for a new car, home, or job? Need help getting out of a parking ticket? Having a lawyer as a friend is necessary to avoid either not contacting a lawyer ever — or paying way too much money for 10 minutes of advice.
3. An accountant.
Taxes are hard and your parents aren’t going to do them forever. Having an accountant friend will help you get your shit together during tax season and beyond.
4. A PR person.
This is simply because PR people are *usually* fun to party with… and because they can *usually* get you free tickets to stuff. They’ve got the connections; you don’t. It’s necessary.
5. An engineer.
Okay maybe this isn’t true for all engineers, but engineers are usually good at putting stuff together, so like you need someone to help you put your Ikea furniture together? CALL YOUR ENGINEER FRIEND. They read Ikea.
6. A social media expert.
For those not in the field of communications, a social media friend is imperative when you need help building a LinkedIn and navigating your way through Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. They can help you understand what the whole Internet world means and how people are making a living from it, therefore making your smarter.
7. Someone who knows how to make a business plan.
Just in case you ever want to start your own business and write your own business plan.
8. A realtor.
Unless your realtor friend is still going to charge you a broker’s free, which in that case, this friend is not helping you out at all.
9. A tech nerd.
For those times your computer just won’t work. Or if you need advice on what new phone or TV you should get. Nerds are the best friend anyone can ever have, actually.
