What did you do after high school?

[robsls3]

Tired to sign for the Air force but they couldnt guarantee me I would be trained to fly helicopters.

So..so so.

Work...work...work because I accidently missed the first day of Trade school. The rules were if you missed the first day you were kicked out. It was a city trade school and not going actually turned out better for me.

[Redemption]

There's a lot of good advice here. I'll give you mine, just cause you asked!

I took a year off after HS, cause I was working and making $55k a year. My folks couldnt afford to help me with college, and I wasnt really interested in it.

I ended up going to school a year later, and mostly partied, worked and class SOMETIMES. I was just bored. I've always been a "do-er" not a student. School was always really easy for me, so I got bored really fast.

Lost my job and dropped out of school 2 years later. Had my dream car repo'ed and my credit score was trashed for 15 years.

Now, that being said.... If someone will pay for your school, GO TO SCHOOL! Its just a stupid piece of paper, but for some reason our society respects it. But dont get hung up on it.

I have a high school diploma and make 6 figures+ and Im fairly happy with my job.

The KEY is, do what you LOVE, no matter what! You cant loose if you follow your heart.

Jason

[RubyCamaro]

Went to college 1 year, got married for 3 years, divorced, went back to college for 6 years & got a masters degree in Sociology (would not recommend that major),then started working in Hental health as a therapist. Been doing that over 25 years now. (somehow there are a few years Missing in there?) I agree with other posters who said do something you love. All jobs have parts about them that you will hate. If it was all fun they probably would not pay you to do it. But if the general area in which you work interests you & you enjoy the field you are in, Life will be Soooo much better. My youngest child is also graduating this year. I hope he seeks out wisdom somewhere. Like most teens, nothing I say is considered valid guidance. Good luck.

[Dave Coyle]

Well, should have gone to college but didn't, should have worn protection but didn't so with all the "wasted" time I did after high school I ended up married with a child by the time I was 20. I actually graduated @ 18, was married just a few months before I turned 20 and had my 1st of 3 children a few months after I turned 20. Never got to enjoy my money because I had to "grow-up" and raise my family. Can't say that I regret any part of it but if I were you and knowing what I do now I would tell you to go to college and get a better education and have a little fun in the process, just be careful doing so. Once you get older you soon realize that you can not go back and do it all over, so make sure that you give your self time to "be young"!!! Good luck and don't worry about what you need to do, do what your heart tells you to do!!!!

[aldaron327]

This is long:

Originally, I wanted to fly either jets in the Air Force or Attack Helicopters in the Army fresh out of high school. Unfortunately, that's when the big draw-down after the Gulf War started happening. The Air Force didn't want me because I didn't have a degree and the Army was cutting back on the "highschool to flightschool" program. Since that's all I wanted to do, I put it on the back burner and off to college I went. I went to a state school that was pretty close to home so I commuted for the first couple of years, but was really lost because what I REALLY wanted to do was fly. After changing majors 6 times and just spinning my wheels, I finally settled on an Exercise Science major. I graduated from College with a B.S. and went to work as a personal trainer/gym rat. It was okay but I found out that most of my clients lacked the dedication to stick to the program and would bail pretty quick when they didn't see results in the first two weeks.

Anyway, I got burned out from the 0500-2200 days and not getting paid what I thought I was worth and found work elsewhere. I felt trapped and got pretty depressed until one day I decided that I was still the master of my own destiny and got up, shaved, put on a suit, and went to a job fair. I saw an Army recruiter there who asked me, "What can the Army do for you?" I said, "Teach me to fly" and he said, "Done." One year later, I was humping a rucksack through the trails of Ft. Benning and shortly after I was at good 'ol Ft. Rucker in Warrant Officer Candidate School. Flight school was extremely challenging at times but the second the skids (and later, the wheels) left the ground, life was perfect. I went on to fly AH-64Ds and fell in love with my job. I got to live in Germany and see Europe. I've gotten to fly over several Countries and meet really cool people along the way. I've been deployed and seen and done some crazy stuff, but it was the time of my life. Sadly, my career got cut short because I suffered an injury early on and it caught up to me. Now I'm a vet who works as a contractor with all the same people that I used to work with as a green suiter, so I'm happy. My degree paid dividends for me well after I thought it was useless though, because without it, I'd never have gotten the job I've got. So I'm extremely thankful that my parents kept a boot in my butt about finishing my degree because I wanted to quit more times than I can count.

My story is one of providence or lucky coincidences depending on your beliefs. I did end up where I wanted to be despite the many costly and painful detours, but I started out with a goal. Now's the time to think about what you want for yourself and what you're passionate about. If you don't know right away, then really do take a little time off to figure it out, but be disciplined about it, unless you somehow find a job that you're happy with and you're making insane bucks doing it. Don't be that person that takes time off to "find themselves" and ends up with a kid, a car payment they can't make, and barely a roof over their head when that's not what you wanted in the first place because it's a very difficult row to hoe to get where you want to be when you have other obligations.

I don't know if your school had any sort of career counselors but that might be something else to look into. Anyway, best of luck with whatever you decide!

-Tim

[SSMOKINHOT]

That is true...you CANNOT fly ANY type of aircraft/helicopter in the Air Force straight out of high school! In order to be a pilot of any sort, you have to be an officer. In order to be an officer, you have to have a bachelor's degree. Also, to get into the AF as enlisted nowadays, you gotta score really high on the ASVAB....we are going through cuts again and it is really competitive to get in! That being said, it has a lot to offer if you can get in the door!!

[Z28RockStar]

I joined the U.S. Coast Guard, then went to college afterwards!

[danhr]

I'm still in high school

[Brokinarrow]

Went into the Marines 2 weeks after graduation - TIP: DON'T JOIN BOOT 2 WEEKS AFTER GRADUATION, ENJOY YOUR DANG SUMMER FIRST!

[tjbusa]

Joined the Marines too, but delayed entry, went right after Thanksgiving. Winter is a much better time to get thru bootcamp.

[98_Camaro]

The plan right now is to attend a University of California (fingers crossed for Los Angeles ), major in English, get my bachelor's in 3 years, go to law school, and be working as a prosecutor by the time I'm 23.
Once I pay off my student loans (if any), I'm going to start investing in small businesses and the stock market. After I get a decent sum of money, start playing around in real estate. The goal is to have $1 million saved up (whether physically or in assets) by the time I'm 30, and even if I don't get there, I know I'll have gotten farther by trying than if I hadn't.

[RubyCamaro]

Originally Posted by 98_Camaro

The plan right now is to attend a University of California (fingers crossed for Los Angeles ), major in English, get my bachelor's in 3 years, go to law school, and be working as a prosecutor by the time I'm 23.
Once I pay off my student loans (if any), I'm going to start investing in small businesses and the stock market. After I get a decent sum of money, start playing around in real estate. The goal is to have $1 million saved up (whether physically or in assets) by the time I'm 30, and even if I don't get there, I know I'll have gotten farther by trying than if I hadn't.

Wow! I am impressed. If your follow through is half as good as your plan you will be an amazing catch.

[custompainter]

Graduated high school
Freelance gynocologist
Semi-truck tireman (never do this job)
Deisel mechanic
Building contractor
Autobody Technician/painter
Old Guy

[Cristoff]

Graduated Highschool 1987
4 year U.S. Army enlistment
Bachelor's Degree in Electronics
Got into Car Sales in 1996
Now I run a large Infiniti Dealership in Pleasanton, CA.

You never know where you'll be until you get there!