Don’t know what you want to do for a living? Get a job

***Updated for 2023***

Don’t know what you want to do for a living? Get a job

Seriously – get a job – any job at all.

Are you getting ready to graduate from high school? Already graduated? Are you looking in the rearview mirror of academia, reflecting on the abundance of advice you’ve received? In the midst of college and having an identity crisis because of crushing debt (you’re likely not thinking of), unsure of what you should do for the rest of your life? Perhaps you’re post-college reading this article, trying to find out what you are supposed to do with your life (I apologize in advance for your situation).

If you fit into any of the above, OR you are a parent or loved one of anyone from the above, then this article is for YOU. Don’t click away; I’m going to tell you something your guidance counselors, teachers, and even parents don’t and/or won’t tell you.

You’ve been told a lie

You’ve been told a lie and I want you to get off the educational conveyor belt ASAP

You see, for decades now the youth have been told a lie. Perhaps you were a victim of it yourself. Perhaps you were a participant in the lie. Wherever you find yourself in this situation, the truth is, the lie that “you have to go to college to get a good job” just simply isn’t true. In fact, it’s destructive and irresponsible; saddling an entire generation with non-bankruptcy debt and depriving you of other viable opportunities is the antithesis of being prudent.

I have said much more about this but for the sake of brevity, I’ll refer you to those posts about college. You can read a host of my articles about college, here. To access my abundant writings about the skilled trades, click here.

When you know the lane you should be in – peace of mind follows

Don’t know what to do after school? GET A JOB

Jump on in the labor market and begin your launch into adulthood

Do you know what you want to do when you graduate? No? Get a job. Yes, that’s right. Go get a job. Seriously, any job will do starting out. Hopefully, you’ll read this before making life-altering decisions like taking on debt you can’t claim bankruptcy on but if not, take note and pass on this important information (and this article) to others you know. Make it widespread and a well-known resource of yours.

Let’s reason together for a moment, ok?

Scenario 1 – An all too common occurrence

Life is tough enough without saddling yourself with decades of debt

You graduate high school and don’t really know what you want to do for the rest of your life. Not many who are 18 do, to be frank. Taking this to be true, what advice have you heard leading up to your graduation and even afterward? “You have to go to college to get a good job.” I’ve heard that one, too.

Remember, you don’t even really know what it is you want to do for the rest of your life, but you’re supposed to borrow money to pay for a degree – all the while you’re STILL not sure you want to do for a living. It’s likely you’re told by some (even you parents) to stay in college, taking classes until you figure it out. And while you’re doing this, you’re amassing debt.

And what happens when you graduate? You now have a degree, after changing majors a few times, trying to figure out what it is you think you’d like to do for the rest of your life. Now it’s time to start paying those loans back. It wasn’t free money, after all. It’s time to pay the piper – and with interest, I might add.

Worse still, you picked a major that, while interesting, doesn’t have great career prospects. So now you have a degree, college debt, and STILL no idea what you want – or could – do for the rest of your life.

Does that sound like a familiar scenario? It should; millions of young adults have found themselves in that very situation.

Scenario 2 – Adulting the right way and get a job

Far better for you to pursue opportunity and avoid the conveyor belt of systemic education

You graduate high school and just like in scenario 1, you don’t really know what you want to do. Instead of following the scores of your peers, though, you decide to go get a job – ANY job will do at this point. Chances are, you won’t like this job, either. Do you know what happens then?

While you’re complaining about the job you have, you should begin to wonder “What DO I want to do for a living – because it sure isn’t this.”

And that is EXACTLY what you should be thinking. 

Rather than delay your launch into adulthood – which is what millions of young adults do by attending college – you should be thinking about what you want to do. Can you see how a crappy job makes you think about other possibilities? Other opportunities? Viable career paths you were not told about until you were an adult?

While working at that crappy job, you should begin to think (and hopefully research) other opportunities out there for you to capitalize on. Plus, you shouldn’t be thinking about just what sounds interesting, either; instead, you should be focusing on what opportunities are out there. I won’t flesh out the “passion vs opportunity” debate here; instead, you can check it out here.

You see what’s going on? Do you see where this is going?

Working that crappy job should fuel your career search whereas college has the ability to prolong it. It should give you some real experience to draw from when career searching and that experience can prove to be invaluable.

It’s common sense, isn’t it?

Weigh this common sense advice in the scales

On the face of it, this seems simple. I wish I could market this advice because, as I’m sure you are aware by now, it seems the opposite is ingrained in the very fabric of society. For the vast majority, it’s a foregone conclusion about college. You’re going to graduate high school and going to go college. What’s more, it’s expected that your family (that’s you if you are a parent) is going to contribute/pay for your college experience. Talk about a forgone conclusion. Amazingly enough, there are well-known financial gurus who also seem to expect this – and have you factor it into your financial plan. It’s astounding to me that as the years tick by and the debt monster grows, prominent people in the financial world advocate not only going to college but also that parents pay for it. If the reasoning behind this is to help keep kids out of debt I have an even better plan: how about not taking it on in the first place?

What’s the harm in waiting while you get a job?

There is no real harm in waiting a bit to find out what you want to do for a living

The argument is often made students should go right into college after high school because they won’t go back if they wait. What’s worse is it primarily comes from well-intentioned parents. I won’t quibble over statistics; maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. Instead, I’ll end run the entire argument with a question: what’s the harm in waiting when scores of youth have no real idea what they want to do for the rest of their life?

I’ve already made the case that college is a rather lousy place to “find yourself” or “figure out what you want to do.” A more pertinent action is to get a job so you can find out how miserable some jobs really are – goading you into some self-discovery.

The answer to the above then becomes, who cares if they don’t go in the first place if it’s not what they wanted to do/saddles them in debt/leaves them with fewer choices?

Don’t believe the lie

Don’t believe the lie – get on with the truth instead

If there was one thing I could pass on it would be for you, the reader, to not believe the lie. There are other avenues. There are other options. There are abundant examples backing up just what I’ve written in this post – a whole disenfranchised generation for starters. Moreover, there is a staggering amount of college debt that must be paid – coming in at 1.7 TRILLION. Don’t be so quick to chalk it up as an investment in the future or the burden which must be had.

Advice for all

Take notes – I’m giving you some sound advice here

Students: Tread carefully when deciding on your future. It is, after all, YOUR future. It’s YOUR debt to pay. It’s YOUR decision because, after all, YOU have to deal with the outcome. Live with your choices, learn to accept and embrace responsibility, and don’t pass the buck. When you fail, learn from your mistakes and use them to fuel your determination to succeed. Do your research (outside of your school resources, that is. Get objective facts). Ask questions. Be tenacious. Most of all, though, recognize there are NO formulas that guarantee success. Sure, there are situations, opportunities, trends, statistics, and unforeseen circumstances that carry some measure of weight in how things progress – and most hope they help them. Still, the ability to recognize shifting sands and call audibles is a great skill to have.

Oh, and before I forget, one last thing: Realize you don’t just have rights but also obligations. I cannot stress that enough.

Guidance Counselors & Educators: Quit lying to those within your realm of influence. Or, at the very least and if it applies to you, stop neglecting other viable options through omission. There are other paths students can take after high school that do not involve college. Moreover, there are alternative paths that will net many with a more fulfilling and lively career – with more money than the alternative college route always espoused to boot. Do your research, see viable alternatives for what they truly are, and promote them with the same tenacity you promote college. You just may be surprised at who thanks you for it.

Parents: In your wheelhouse is a whole lot of influence, thought you may not agree. Your word is the incessant noise in many ears, constantly reminding and/or reinforcing the lie that you have to go to college to get a good job. Recognize your part to play in all this and understand the ramifications of your voice. We desperately need voices of reason, so be one. It’s not setting your kids up for success with taking college debt; often it’s an albatross around their neck, limiting their options and affecting their future. Scores of people have college debt they will pay back for decades. Know there are other options, understand they are truly viable, and embrace decisions to pursue them.

And for the love of all that’s holy, you who are in the skilled trades, embrace it – and let your kids see it. I’ve seen a great disservice from some in the trades as they tell the younger generation to do something else – not really knowing what that something else is. You want your kids to respect you and accept responsibility? Let’s start with you and your part to play in all this.

End Note

The last thing I would say for readers is to understand the difference between being “anti-college” and “anti-you have to go to college to get a good job.” KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. You’ll note the title of the post is “Don’t know what you want to do after high school? get a job.” This is because there are indeed options in which higher education is not only viable but a must. Doctors, nurses, veterinarians, lawyers, scientists – the list goes on. IF you know what you want to do AND it involves pursuing higher education THEN by all means forge on. Just understand what you are getting into and what’s at stake. It’s life-altering, after all.