Should You Continue School?
School has become a pride or shame game. I’m here to tell you it’s okay that you don’t continue in formal education or know what you want to do. Some skills cannot be taught and some careers don’t benefit from a classroom setting. You need to ask yourself why you would go on to higher education. If you want to be a nurse, please go to school! If you want an electrician’s job look into apprenticeship and mentorship programs.
Doesn’t everyone ask you what school you’re in, what you want to be or where you are going to go to school? I’ll give you a little insight…. some older adults have no idea how to talk to the younger generation and you possibly intimidate them. They feel awkward and don’t know what to say so they bounce the responsibility of conversation to you by asking about school. Don’t worry about having an answer for them. Ask them where they went to school or where they work. Ask them how they ended up in their field and if they still like it. If it’s anything your interested in ask them for some tips on how to get there. It is a rare individual that landed that perfect job out of school and is still doing it until retirement.
Who you are is not about what you do for a living. You will be learning most things in life on the job through experience, trial and error. This thing called career or work is another journey inside the journey of life. There are many goals to set in life to make it better, richer and healthier but enjoy the journey. I want you to know that it’s okay if you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up. There is a big difference between who you want to be and what you want to do for a living. I’ve always had jobs that I really enjoyed but I never had a passion to do something specific. I needed to pay bills so I got an office job and really liked it. Most of the jobs I’ve had since were in office spaces and it paid me well. I have several nurse friends and you can tell the difference between the ones who are nurses for pay or because their parents made them do it and the ones that are nurturing caregivers 24 – 7 because it’s who they are. Both have value, earn a living and get satisfaction from their careers.
I’ve never known what I wanted to be when I grow up and I still don’t. I’m at peace with God; I enjoy life with my family and friends. I’m confident that I’ve always been where I’m supposed to be while making a living but it was never my identity. I know many people like myself that got a job to pay the bills and then ended up in management or owning the business because they realized it was something they enjoyed doing.
So I encourage you to get a job. Give it some time and if you really hate it get a different job. (Please do NOT quit the job you have to look for another one.) By all means have lots of jobs. The experiences will teach you so much while you build new skills and learn what really interests you. You will either find something you really like or realize the things you really can’t see yourself doing every day. Either way it will bring direction and clarity to what you like and begin to reveal who you are. Please don’t feel shame saying you’re undecided about school or looking for a job right now, we’re all different. Some people just know and move through all of the steps like they have a road map but there are also a lot of us that figure it out as we go. My cousin planned her whole life and did it. She decided what school to go to, what age she would marry and when to have her first child etc, etc. It all went according to her plan! NOTHING I plan happens the way that I plan and never on any timeline I lay out. It’s okay with me. The “accidents” all turned out for the best. The detours taught me many things about the people in my life and myself. The impulsive decisions made me smarter and a little less impulsive. It has all made me who I am and brought me to this place. Don’t be afraid to fail or fall, you’ll learn or you’ll fly.
It’s much more useful to ask yourself what you like or what interests you already have when looking into a job or career than asking what you want to be. Job opportunities change with time and culture. The amount you can earn changes according to location and demand. Asking yourself what you want to be is too final and overwhelming. Move forward with the idea that you get to find out what you like to do and make money along the way. If you find out you like something that requires a degree or special license then sign up for class.
Questions to ponder:
- Does the field you want to go into require a formal education or diploma?
- Is it worth the financial debt or your parent’s money if you’re not sure you like it?
- Will the income from a specific job be able to support you and the student loan payments?
- Am I willing to see it through to the finish after paying for it?
- Is this career path a current popular trend or will it hold up to the test of time?
My husband always wanted a degree. He had it somewhere in the back of his head that it would make him someone. He’s a smart man but he does not conform to a conventional classroom, he’s an outside kind of guy who likes to work with his hands. He found a career that he really enjoys that requires a lot of licensing. He is always studying and taking tests but a formal classroom education with history and social studies would not have benefited him. I’m also confident he would not have been able to sit still for four years and we would have more debt. He is not a lesser man because education is not his identity. He is dependable, capable, trustworthy, hardworking and gifted in his field of work. What he does fits him. Find out what fits you!