What to Do After High School: Options for Finding Your Career
When I was a senior in high school, the only option I thought there was to do after high school was go to college.
If you asked me back then, I thought people who didn’t go to college were just bad at school and would never make it in the real world. It sounds a bit bratty I know, but in the 200’s, college was shoved down everyone’s throat like a Nathan’s hotdog on 4th of July.
My parents got me a college counselor coach person to help me decide what college to go to (she was nice but a huge waste of money) and after a search process that made me feel like I was The Bachelor and the colleges were the women trying to fight for a ring, I decided on Seton Hall University.
While I don’t regret going to college or Seton Hall (I’m legally obligated to say that in case my parents read this) I will say my life could be completely different if I explored alternative options.
What are those options you ask?
A Few Things to Think About Before You Continue Reading
· Before we get into it, I’ll say, you can be a straight A high school student or terrible at school and you have potential to do well at any of these options.
· I’ll also mention that if you decide not to go to college after high school, you can always revisit your decision in five years and change your mind. Deciding not to go to college after high school doesn’t mean you’ve chosen a life in the mines and can never revisit the college option.
Now that we’ve gotten some disclaimers out of the way, let’s look at your options, and if you have a parent or loved one who’s very invested in your decision, you should read this with them. (Actually, read it on separate computers so I get more clicks on the article).
What to Do After High School; Explore Your Options
Option 1: Go to college or university (2-year or 4-year)
As I write this article, this is still the most common option. Going to college, whether it’s a 2 year or 4 year college, is the most “normal” thing for a high school student to do.
I should say, I’m not anti-college, I think it’s a great option if you know what you want to do with your life.
For example, if you want to be an accountant, attorney, doctor, teacher among other careers, college is a must. Having a college degree is a requirement for a number of careers, so there’s no way around going to college if you’re going into one of these fields.
If you’re on the fence about what you want to do and are thinking about business or engineering, you might want to check to see if you need a 4 year degree or you can swing it with a two year degree. Many times, 2 year colleges are a lot cheaper to go to and easier to get into, and then you can decide if you need more school or not after your two years are done.
If you know you want to go to college, check out this blog post that can help you decide where.
What to Consider When Going to College:
1. Price: Make sure you can afford the college you’re going to, avoid loans at all costs.
2. Location: Make sure you’re choosing the right college for you.
3. Know your major: Have a plan and don’t just be undecided in college for 3 years taking general education classes, it’s not a vacation.
Option 2: Join a trade or apprenticeship program
Another dumb thing I thought when I was in high school was the people who were going to be plumbers, electricians or other handyman type jobs were not smart enough to have real jobs.
Fast forward to when I became a homeowner and was paying some of these people $200 just to come out to tell me what was wrong with my toilet. I realized quickly how wrong I was.
I was extremely wrong.
Especially now, these jobs are in such high demand because they are so difficult to do. Also, since college is marketed so well, they steer you away from these types of jobs because trade schools and apprenticeships cost so much less.
If you are good working with your hands, liking fixing things and problem solving and have great people skills, this is an avenue you should seriously consider.
Sure, it’s not as glamorous as becoming the Wolf of Wall Street (news flash, that’s not very glamour either, been there done that), but you will make a very nice living.
What to Consider:
1. Choose your path: There a number of ways to go so make sure you evaluate your strengths, likes, dislikes, all that good stuff.
2. Learning curve: Rewiring the electric in for an attic fan isn’t something they teach you in regular school, so you are going to have to spend time learning and perfecting your craft.
3. You’ll need to have business acumen: Even if you work for a company, you’ll need to know how to network to get more business.
Option 3: Enter the workforce directly
This might sound crazy, but if you have a part-time job that you like and think you can move up in, just do that.
Let me explain…
Let’s say you have a summer job in high school working on a golf course. The guy who owns the golf course has shown you the ins and outs of the course, you’ve gotten to do a bunch of jobs there and have learned a lot, and the owner likes you.
If it seems like you have potential to become an Assistant Manager or General Manager, you are allowed to put college on hold and give that a shot.
The worst case scenario is two or three years down the road you realize your salary isn’t going to get to where you want it, and you want to try your hand at college. As a high school graduate, you’re only 18 years old. I’m not saying this to be patronizing, but that’s a baby. Even if you’re at the golf course for three years after high school and it fails, you’ll still just be 21.
And you know what a 21 year old college freshman is?
The same age as my roommate freshman year. He made it through college just fine besides a few old man jokes from me here and there.
What to Consider:
1. Your Job Status: How much do you like the job you’re working at part-time?
2. Your Pay Potential: How much can you make if you were to stay at this job and work full-time hours for a few years.
Option 4: Join the military
This was an option I was aware of in high school, I just never saw myself in the military. I also didn’t realize you could join the military and do other things besides fighting on the front lines.
In my defense, when I was graduating high school, we were in the thick of things in Iraq and I didn’t want to take that chance and wind up going there.
That being said, there are thousands of jobs and you’re not signing up for a life sentence. Joining the military is a great path if you know you don’t want to go to college, but don’t really know what to do.
I would caution that depending on when you join and what branch you join, there is always a chance you could see combat. The way this world is, World War 3 could happen at any moment.
What to Consider:
1. Your Patriotism: If you feel passionate about serving the country, after high school might be the time to do it when you don’t have much other responsibilities.
2. Structure: The military offers you structure and many other things that can’t be learned in college.
What To Do After Considering Your Options:
I should have mentioned earlier that it would be ideal if you didn’t do this a month before you graduate. The sooner you start thing about what to do after high school, the less pressured you’ll feel when you make your decision.
You should be sure to include all of the important people in your life to help you decide, but realize, the decision is yours and yours alone. If you decide to go to college 2000 miles away and your mommy is sad about it because she’ll miss you, don’t let that guilt change your mind.
Make sure you do some serious self-reflection and evaluate all these options and give them a real chance. Also remember that it’s okay if you choose an option and realize six months or a year later that you might have made the wrong decision and change your mind. You’re only 17 or 18 years old, you have a lot of life ahead of you. (Unless that World War 3 thing happens).
If you feel like you want to talk to a professional about it, click on this link and you can schedule a free discovery call with one of our Career Strategists and coaches and they can help you along the way.
Good luck, I know you’ll do great.