Unfortunately, most of the world still believes that there are two options after high school, University or joining the Workforce. That’s just not true, it never has been, and almost assuredly never will be. When you ask someone what to do after high school, they’ll usually just tell you what they did. That’s what their advisers did for them, and that’s how those two options became mainstays. In reality, there’s so many options for what you could do!
You aren’t trapped with just those two, thank god. Here, I’ll go over a few of the many different things to do after high school, without getting trapped in the system. I’ll also go over those two main options, the workforce and college.
Joining The Workforce, Is The Head-Start Worth It?
Here’s your short answer, no. It is almost never worth the head start to rush to working. There are very few industries, and even fewer jobs in those industries, where it is important to get that head-start. Usually, when it comes to getting a job, that piece of paper you get from college is worth more than a four or so year head start. I’m not recommending either path, but getting that few year lead in the working class doesn’t mean much in the long run.
If you’re considering going right into the workforce, I’d *definitely* suggest you reading my father’s article on employment. Once you’ve read through that, then you’ll be able to rethink employment. If you choose to continue with the path of employment, then more power to you, that’s your decision.
Going Off To University, Is A College Campus The Correct Choice?
Easily the most pushed for option in school, College is the route that approximately 75% of people take. With the emphasis that school places on “getting a good education”, most of the four years you spend in high school will be solely to prepare you *for* college. This isn’t to say that all of high school is useless in the real world, there are some genuine skills that you can learn there. Trades classes such as metals, woods, and other shop classes are the most valuable in my opinion.
Regardless, is college the right option? If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, or another highly skilled profession, yes. If your inner calling isn’t dire-set on a profession that requires six or more years of schooling or something of the sort, then my recommendation is no. You can learn anything you want these days, for completely free, on the Internet. That’s how I learned to fix up snowblowers, cars, boats, anything under the sun.
That skill, one college wouldn’t teach me (without costing many tens of thousands of dollars, that is), got me a free Porsche, S2000, motorcycle, drift car, and tons more. That’s a story for another tab, another time though. College, contrary to popular belief, NOT the end-all-be-all after high school. There are absolutely better answers, which are below (what a coincidence!).
Taking an Off-Year, Is R&R Really The Right Recourse?
Taking an off-year, or gap year, really just gives you more time to figure out what you want to do with your life. It’s a big decision for sure, so some people do take that extra year to make sure their choice is well thought-out. For some, this year is just procrastination, though. That’s the risk of offering an off year, there’s no guarantee that it’ll be put to use, that somebody won’t just take it to not have to work. I wouldn’t recommend taking a gap year, just because I know how easy it is to let days slip away without doing anything productive. Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months, and before you know it, your year has slipped by.
Travelling, Traversing Treacherous Terrain, Totally Trashy or Truly Treasured?
Yes, I’m proud of myself for that alliteration, thank you! Travelling after High School certainly isn’t the most common practice, but that doesn’t discount it as an idea. People have many different reasons as to why they travel. Some do it for pleasure, some do it to search for opportunities, and some do it just because they don’t know what else to do. Whether I recommend travelling or not depends on which of those three you are. If you’re travelling just for fun, or because you don’t know what else to do, then my answer is no.
It’s not worth it unless you have a sense of purpose, a reason to be doing so. If you are hunting an opportunity, that’s where I’d be okay with travelling. I do it on a small scale. Did it with a BMW 650i in Baltimore, flew out and drove it home. It’s more a matter of principle than anything here.
My Best Option, Entrepreneurship!
I’ll absolutely recommend becoming an entrepreneur straight out of high school as, well, that’s what I’m doing right now! Not only that, but *it’s working*! If you’d like to read how it’s worked for me, step by step, I wrote my whole story on here. If you’re wondering how YOU can do it too, don’t fret! We’ve got you covered for that too! Any way you choose to go, remember to take pride in yourself! Whatever you choose to do, *you did that*, you made yourself into something!
