<prompt> Human: Background: 21M, Im an electrical engineering student in Silicon Valley who is a year away from being done with that degree. Considering taking an extra half year to finish up a physics degree as well.Problem Statement: Ive had paid research positions in the past but after my internship this summer is over will be the first time in my life Ill actually have real money to work with and I want to get a sense of what I should be doing with it right now to set myself up for the future.Additional Information: I have very little real-world experience with managing money, most of what I know about budgeting and investing comes from reading posts on here but its all very theoretical and hazy. On the advice of my father Im currently in the process of setting up a Roth IRA through Vanguard that I plan to dump 10 of my salary into each pay cycle. Beyond that and keeping a basic budget to get a sense of what Im able to spend each month, I have no idea. Im a solid student with connections and a lot of interest in what I am studying so grad school is an option, but I also have a good work ethic and a lot of confidence in my ability to learn on my own so Im weighing going directly into the work force against pursuing a doctoral degree. The financial aspect plays a big role in this decision.  <response>: One thing lll bring up that you should watch out for salary misconceptions and unrealistic in decorations. When I was a kid growing up I remember asking my dad, how much is a good salary?, and my dad told me that 50,000 was a good salary. That number kind of stuck with me for a long time, and when I got my first engineering job I was very excited to recieve am enormous starting salary of about 60K. Let me tell you what 60K is like in these parts: you get 3400mo to take home. 500 either goes to loans or savings depending on your personal situation. A crappy apartment is 1k but you figure youve worked hard so you deserve to drop 1400 on a nicer place to live. You buy a moderately priced car and pay 400mo payments plus 100 for insurance. A few hundred for groceries and then utilities, phone, eat out a few times, and you are broke. Not bad, but not exactly the lavish life I used to expect even 50K would bring you. My point is, throughout the US and Canada at least, baller lifestyles cost six figures in 2017. You can be totally comfortable with much less, but dont fall for the sticker shock of the 50-70K jobs most new engineers will start in. That money is nice, but itll go fast even without living it up. 