There’s no doubt that your squad makes your life better. Your friends pick you up when you’re down, celebrate your milestone moments, and hang out with you just because you rock in between. But beyond providing awesome support—and lots of laughs—several studies reveal that your friends can also influence your financial achievements, career performance and opportunities, and general life success.

Here are five ways, according to science, that your friends can help you get more out of work and life:

In this installment of our Member Spotlight series, we profile Lauren Powell, an attorney from Madison, Wisconsin, and the $150,000 grand prize winner of our #WhyISoFi member contest. She beat out 1,500 other contestants, thanks to her personal entry and creative, relentless campaigning.

SoFi supports entrepreneurship and startups through our Entrepreneur Program, which provides members with networking, mentorship, and an opportunity to defer their student loans. Our #SoFiStartups series profiles members who participate in the program, highlights the ups and downs of their entrepreneurship journey, and offers advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs.

With a background in architecture and engineering, SoFi member Ben Silverman spent the early part of his career designing building facades that were highly energy efficient. But his interest in sustainability soon extended past structures and into another one of his passions—food.

For SoFi’s latest member spotlight, we sit down with JJ Owen, Director of Development for the Movember Foundation, to discuss mental health, finances and, of course, moustaches. We learn about JJ’s college days playing baseball, getting his MBA and how refinancing student loans became his first major financial decision, enabling him to take better control of the present to plan for his family’s future. 

Graduate school is all about lots of work, little sleep, and often tight budgets. But after years of ramen and roommates, you’ll graduate with an advanced degree and likely some student loan debt as well. Fortunately, new data from SoFi reveals that your extra work really can lead to increased earning power —and the ability to pay down your debt faster.