Jobs after high school

[GoldenBear]

I'm 16 and a junior now, turning 17 the day after Christmas. My grades have really dropped since my freshman year where I got all A's, and I plan to graduate with a GPA of around 3.5-3.6. I really don't see a real point in spending so much money when I could be making that amount of money, get equal experience, and learn a whole lot more on the job.

I'm in the Bay Area right now where there's a whole lot of tech jobs, but the living cost is totally outrageous. I plan to move up north a bit where there's less jobs but living costs are actually reasonable. I've been using computers since I was about 5-6, and can basically do anything on it. I've even started up a couple websites which have failed for one reason or another.

So exactly what opportunities are out there for me? Are 18 year old high school graduates with lots of experience in computers a high demand out there nowadays?

 

[Zedfu]

nowadays where jobs rely heavily on post secondary school education (college, university). i think that, although you can get a job mostly likely for sure, your best bet is to stick with further education. nowadays, big shot companies want employees with degrees or any other sorts of proof of education, regardless of the experience you claim to have. it's dumb, but they want to see it on ink. for this reasons, i decided to play it safe and pursue computer engineering starting next year. for whatever you choose, good luck

 

[pulse8]

You could probably get a job that seems good out of school, but with no growth because there are guys out there who do have degrees.

David

 

[DAM]

yeah GB best bet is to go to college, you might have all the knowledge necessary, but you will not move forward too far. Education.









dam()

 

[Lalakai]

you can get some jobs that will give you some "fail-safe" security (construction, trades, ect.). Many people are happy with those. If you go the college route, you'll find that college basically teaches you how to learn the experience that you'll need to do the job that you really want (whatever that is).

try this: write down on a piece of paper a goal for the end of 1-week, 1-month, 1-year, 5-years. Look at what you've written and go from there. good luck.

ps - I've worked as a short-order cook (lots of fun and low pay), construction (good pay and some fun), Peace Corps Volunteer (terrible pay but the best time ever), Park Ranger (so-so), security guard (little bit worse), and a field technical specialist for the USDA (moderate pay and fun, but the administrative stuff is bs). So take some time and explore what you really want from life, along with what's realistic for you.

 

[Champo41]

3.5 or 3.6 is still a really good GPA tp graduate with, maybe it'll get higher because you're senior year is basically a time where you just have to show up to pass (at least I did with my classes). I graduated with around 3.4 after making 4.0 straight through senior year. Now think how low it would be if I didn't make a 4.0...yeah, it's that easy.

My point is not to skip college. Even if you go to a community college, it'll still be the best time of your life. No one tells you what to do or when to leave class (hell, sometimes I get up in the middle of class and leave). Take the classes you want to take, in this case, technology. If you know a lot about it, it'll be a breeze and you walk away with that all elusive college diploma that employers are going to be looking for rather than a high school one.

Graduate from high school, go to college, have a fsckin' blast, and graduate. It's that easy.

 

[GhettoBlaster]

Go to college cause companies like people with degrees. Gain experiance while in college. Get an internship. I have a friend that started off as a tech-support intern at a local ISP and now he is the head of webmaster operations and web design. He is graduating this semester and he has a secure full-time job w/ benifits. Not too shabby for a 22 year old.

 

[Riskhk]

hehe isnt 3.5 an A...I havent had those since ahhh...never....and I still got in a UC.....hehe.....Union City huh....you go to Logan High School?

 

[Soybomb]

If this is the best time of my life I'm gonna be really depressed late. Quite frankly I hate college, I hope it gets better after I leave community college. I'm gonna try a semester at the 4 year university and after that i'll decide if i'll stay or not. At the very least a 4 year degree would be an asset, it wil lnever hurt you. Personally though i'm unhappy enough with school to try without...almost!

 

[GoldenBear]

Yes I do go to Logan. Were you from arond here?

 

[GoldenBear]

And thanks for the replies everyone, I've found them all useful and encouraging. I really can't imagine college (especially a community one) being all that different from what I'm facing right now. I mean, instead of working hard several hours a day for free, I'll now have to PAY for it? Sure I might make more money with a degree, but at what cost? Four years out of my life and spending thousands of dollars? It doesn't seem TOO logical in that regard.

I think people view their lives as graduating high school, go to college, get job, get married, and that's it. That vision is almost a customary thing nowadays. There's definitely reasons for it though, as college is a great place to get more mature and learn a whole lot of things, but I feel I am all that already, I just don't have a diploma to prove it. I mean, I've basically always found myself to be a bit "old" compared to the rest of my classmates in my attitude and actions. I would typically hang out with kids 1-2 years older than me, and I'd fit right in.

So basically what I want to do when I'm 22 is to have my life on a good course, not just having it begin. From college, which is 10's of thousands of dollars and about four years, what do I get out of it, a degree that may or may not matter to employers?

 

[noxipoo]

Soybomb: if you don't like community college, you are gonna hate 4 year universities.

 

[Mule]

If you really don't want to bother with a "real" degree, then I suggest you go to some place like DeVry. It's pretty much like an accelerated high school rather than a University. Many courses can be waived by taking exams. If you are very proficient in your high classes, then you will most likely pass the exams for the initial classes. I don't even think they hit calculus, which is pretty much a standard in Universities. Anyway instead for graduating in their 3 year plan, you can probably do it in 2 years. And you do get a BS degree. Most companies don't really think much of them, but it's certainly better then nothing, and for an additional 2 years of education you can start off with 40K/year. And if you really know what you're doing then you can climb the ladder of sucess.

 

[SuperTool]

Dood. Go to college. I am not kidding. You will have to eventually if you want to get ahead in life. Do you want to be a "super-senior" when you are 30? Besides, in CA, so many good public schools. All UC's, even community colleges. Go to CC, and then transfer. I think SJSU is very good choice. It's not that good of a school compared to Cornells, Berkeleys and MIT's of the world, but it's right in silicon valley, so you can get a job easy if you study EE.
Starting work straight might sound good now, cus economy is still very good. But if it starts turning sour, you will be the first to get fired. And if not, not having a college degree is an excuse for other people to use you as cheap labor. You might be better then someone else at something, but if that guy has a college degree, he will get paid a lot more, no matter how much better you are. Wouldn't that make you feel bad?

 

[focusyn]

go to college, not jus for the degree, but as much as i study my @$$ off in college, i'm still learning more outside of class. i was debating on whether or not to go to college too at one point, but i'm glad that i made this decision... even tho i'll probably be in school forever.

 

[dcdomain]

Give college a try... without a degree, you'll never advance very far. However, if after a semester you don't like what's going on or your heart isn't in it, don't waste your money. Take a break, find a job, and then go back to college when you get the inspiration or the drive to. Whatever you do, go and finish college before you are thirty or you'll never climb up the feeding ladder.

 

[bigben]

Dude, you can have jobs while in college that still let you walk away with fat stacks of cash money.

Just look around and be prepared to work alot.