re: Looking for some realistic advice

You are in great financial shape for someone just out of school. If / when you go to grad school you will be making another good investment in yourself and future. I like Fozhizzle’s and Dusty Bottoms above advice. I use Fidelity and Vanguard and am happy with both. I would go with Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Mutual Fund to start off with. Vanguard just lowered their already low fees by reducing the account balance needed to qualify for their lowest fees.