re: Recent college grads - is this experience the norm?

When I started my first Professional job, I didnt have much. My boss could tell.

So the company loaned me my first months pay.

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Just wondering if some of these issues are potential barriers to folks re-locating for better opportunities.

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A lot of companies of decent size will, at a minimum, lend a few thousand dollars if needed for moving expenses, with it being repaid over a year, at no interest.

But hey like everything else in life, the graduates that come from families with money start out in better position than the graduates who don't come from families with money.

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is it not commonplace for new graduates to sleep on a mattress and have lawn furniture anymore?

most of my furniture from my first apartment were either from garage sale or hand-me-downs

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I had a wire spool for a coffee table, a card table from Target and a hand me down couch from my aunt in my first apartment.

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Just to reiterate, he nor his dad thought any of this is out of the norm

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Well,

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His dad was a high school dropout and doesn't really have much credit history either. Quit school to help work in the family business in a really small town. Not sure he even has a credit card.

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His dad has no experience in this.

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I wouldn't count them as reimbursable. I would consider things like a U-Haul rental, possible storage, hiring movers, gas (or mileage) from said drive at a minimum. But you've got to ask for extras like house hunting costs, meals while traveling.

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Well this depends on how they give it out. Lump sum or receipts needed for reimbursement.

Moving is expensive.

I took the full sized bed and dresser that I slept on at my parents' place since I was a preschooler. My brother and I shared it until I was in 4th grade. I slept on it through Oct. of 2010. My roommate was already in Dallas, and had bought living room and dinning room furniture. I rented a small U-haul truck to take everything I had. The truck wasn't close to being full. Splitting deposit costs with a roommate made the whole move doable.

When I moved into a place by myself a year later, I bought a big all wood coffee table with a parquet top, and a close to a match rocking chair from a garage sale. I had a big wooden spool as a table, and two folding LSU chairs on my balcony. Bought a friends old dinning room suite when they bought new.

Was in 1984, so none of it was really expensive. By that point, I had quit using credit cards. I had run up a $3000 balance on one credit card, and that much more between five or six others, buying clothes and partying in the first six or seven months out there.

I had to sleep in a sleeping bag for a few weeks. Got a mattress that I put on the floor shortly after. Was able to get a couch for pretty cheap about two months later. I lived off of boiled pasta with nothing added and ham sandwiches. When I moved I traveled as light as I possibly could. It was like college student living on steroids
Pretty funny looking back at it

Live at home until you can afford it if possible or

Pay with credit card
Negotiate as part of new job

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He didn't save any money from his $15/hr internship?

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He did a little, and I don't know for sure it was $15 per hour. It wasn't much, and for most of that time it was only part time. The last month or so was full time. Plus the last month he was no longer in school and had to rent a room from a friend of a friend.

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70k is low for mechanical starting salary, well lower half for sure.

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maybe he was in the lower half of his graduating class?