Finding success after high school: sometimes the path to success after high school doesn't always lead where you expect

When Nathan Steele graduated from high school, he had a lot going for him. He was a talented artist whose paintings had won awards in a statewide art contest. In his senior year, he starred in the senior class play and hosted the school talent show. Nathan had even earned varsity letters in tennis and ice hockey. His grades were pretty good, and he could have had his pick of many good four-year colleges. But college wasn't in his immediate future.

One Step at a Time

"I was kind of confused," Nathan explains. "I wasn't sure about what I wanted to do, and I really didn't have enough money for college."

So Nathan found a job working as a sales associate at a sporting goods store. "I decided to take some time to figure out what I wanted to do and to earn some money," he recalls. "I guess my plan was to take things one step at a time."

Within six months Nathan was promoted to assistant manager, but he wasn't pleased with his salary or benefits. He sent out a few resumes and was lucky enough to land a full-time job at a company that offers college course tuition as a benefit.

With his interest and talent in art, Nathan liked what he saw when he watched graphic designers at work in his new company. He soon realized that a career in graphic design would be an excellent goal for him. Now he works from 3 to 11 p.m. and takes courses at a local college during the day.

Time Management

"Working full time and going to college can be really stressful," Nathan admits. "It's tough to find time to study."

Nathan has had to adjust to the demands on his time by cutting back on some of his weekend activities. He explains, "Finding time to study really eats up your social life."

Tricks like using flash cards at work to help study vocabulary terms have helped Nathan make better use of his time, but in the end, the struggle is to use his time more wisely. "Time is the biggest challenge in my life," he admits.

College or Work Experience?

Nathan has this advice for high school seniors who don't know what they want to do with their lives: "Don't force yourself to make other people happy. Take your time. Don't jump into a college program that you're not sure about."

Bill Hicks, a guidance counselor with more than 30 years of experience, agrees with Nathan completely. "Many high school students don't have any idea about what they want to do, so they go to college, and they're often not ready." Hicks reports that only one quarter of all college students actually earn degrees in four years. "Older college students are often better students," he explains. "They generally know what they want, and they're more mature."

Hicks recommends that high school graduates spend time gaining experience if they're not sure about their goals for the future. "Work experience is important. Job shadowing is a great way to find out about careers," Hicks says. "People make better choices when those choices are based on experience."

Hicks stresses the importance of not rushing into a college decision. "Unfortunately many high school students think that they have to go right to college after graduation," he explains. "Take some time. Gain some experience. Figure out what's best for you."

Nathan recognizes that people achieve different levels of success in college. "I have friends who are doing great in college," he says, "but I also know people who are fed up. Everybody's different."

"Take one step at a time," he adds. "Be sure that you're making progress toward your goals."

Experience Through Service

Hicks believes that service programs are great opportunities for young adults to gain life experience and form future goals. "Volunteering in something that interests you is a good way to find out if you'd be happy in a related career."

"Spend time with the elderly, help out in a day care center, or offer your time at a hospital," Hicks recommends. "You can find out a lot about yourself when you give back to the community."

G.I. Goals

Craig Doherty, his team's starting fullback in high school, probably could have played college-level football, but that wasn't part of his plan. He decided that community service might be a good way to find out what he wanted to do with his life. In his case, service meant wearing a uniform. After high school graduation, Craig enlisted in the U.S. Army as a missile system computer technician.

"I wasn't sure if I was ready for college," Craig recalls, "and service in the military was kind of a family tradition." Craig knew that military service had other advantages. "I was also really interested in the college benefits and the chance to travel."

Craig certainly did travel during his two years in the Army. After training in Oklahoma and Texas, Craig's unit was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. "My company was responsible for security at a former Iraqi air base north of Baghdad," he explains. "We guarded heaps of captured Iraqi weapons and ammunition."

After completing his active duty obligation, Craig has returned home to civilian life. "It was a great life experience, and I'm really glad I did it," he says with pride.

Learning in Uniform

Service in the military was a learning experience in itself, according to Craig. "I learned a lot of things in the Army, including work habits and how to get along with all kinds of different people," Craig explains, "and I guess I grew up a lot in the Army." He adds, "I also became more assertive and much more independent."

Interestingly enough, Craig has chosen not to use his military training in his future career choice. "I thought I wanted to work with computers when I signed up," he says, "but I found out that it wasn't what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life."

As a 21-year-old military veteran, Craig can receive up to $50,000 in college tuition under the G.I. Bill. He plans to use his benefits by enrolling in a criminal justice college program. Craig also is eligible for other veterans' benefits, such as medical care, job training programs, and preference in hiring for some government jobs.

There is one other benefit to Craig's service. "I know I served my country ... and I'm proud of that."

Craig is the first to admit that the military may not be the best option for many young adults. "It's a good experience for some, but it's not for everybody."

Success Means Setting Goals

Jim Desrosiers never graduated from college. As he explains, "College wasn't an option for my family, so I joined the military and spent four years refueling jets in mid-air." After leaving the military, Jim entered the business world and eventually became a top sales representative and corporate trainer.

"I found that I really enjoyed helping people take the next step and find success," says Desrosiers. The next step for Desrosiers meant establishing his own company, GROWTHco. Through his speaking engagements and book, Young People's Guide to Goal Setting, Desrosiers has helped many young adults find success by setting goals and planning to meet their goals.

"In our society we have it backwards," Desrosiers explains. "We expect young people to be successful before we teach them how to succeed."

Desrosiers' goal-setting process is the same for young adults as it is for professionals in the middle of their careers. He describes his simple process like this: "Determine what you want. Determine a deadline to achieve that goal to eliminate procrastination. Determine why you want it, what it will take to get it, when you will do each step, what obstacles will come up, and how you will overcome them."

If the process for success is so simple, why isn't everyone successful? Desrosiers explains that people don't always take the time to define success and commit to getting there. Committing to success involves setting goals and taking appropriate action.

"There are two types of people in the world," he explains, "people who are just interested in success and people who are really committed to their own success."

Are you ready to become committed to your own success?

Taking Control of Time

--Take control of your life.

Probably the most important thing to manage in the adult world is time. As Ben Franklin said, "Time is money," and we all know that Ben was a pretty smart guy.

When you're out on your own, you keep your own schedule, Mom won't remind you to get up, and Dad won't offer to drive you to work--it's all up to you.

There's another saying that goes, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Time management depends on a plan, and that plan needs to be written unless you have a mind like Einstein's. If you don't plan your time, you'll miss appointments, forget to get projects completed, and always be behind on your work.

Try these tips to manage your time:

1. Buy a good watch and alarm clock. You can't manage your time if you don't know what time it is.

2. Use a journal, pocket calendar, or diary to write down important future events and deadlines. If you don't remind yourself when things happen, you may forget them.

3. Make a daily plan significant events and priority activities. Unless you make something a priority, other events (some of which are not all that important) ill get in the way.

4. Watch out for time wasters, such as video games, TV, or phone chats, that can eat up hours if you're not careful. Set aside a time for relaxing and fun, but stick to your time limits.

5. Plan backward to figure out exactly how much time you need. If you have to be at work by 9 a.m. for example, and you know it takes 30 minutes to shower and get dressed, 15 minutes to eat breakfast, and 20 minutes to travel to work--then you know you have to get up by 7:55 a.m.

6. Don't procrastinate. Putting something off until later just wastes time and increases your annoyance. Do unpleasant or difficult tasks as soon as possible. They'll go away quicker and you'll worry about them much less.

It's obvious that you need to manage your time so you get your work done and still have time for play, but there's another reason. People who can't manage their time create a great deal of stress for themselves. They often feel bad because they miss out on important events, let others down unintentionally, and never accomplish what they want to get done.

So manage your time and take control of your life.

Success After High School

Students will consider different paths to success after high school.

REVIEW/DISCUSS

* After high school, what are some alternatives to college? (Military service, work, trade school)

* What can a high school graduate gain from an alternative path? (experience, maturity, and a better idea of career goals)

* How can you find success after high school? (by thinking about setting goals and going after them)

* What is your personal definition of success?

ACTIVITIES

1. Have students list the pros and cons of attending college immediately after high school. List these on the chalkboard.

2. Ask students "What does it mean to be ready for college?" Have groups of students develop checklists for deciding if a person is ready.

3. Assign students to write want ads for their ideal yearlong post-high school experience, and have them consider what their ads reveal about them.

4. Since volunteering is a good way to form career goals, have students list the volunteer and extracurricular experiences they have had and what each taught them about themselves. Have them complete a chart with three columns: Volunteer Experiences I've Had, What I Learned, and Volunteering I'd Like to Do.

5. Help students clarify their personal definitions of success by circling the words in the list below that best embody their concept of success:

wealth fame power recognition satisfaction helping status

creativity making a difference innovation adventure learning seeing results being with people travel

making things independence flexibility self-expression security other

6. Invite a guidance counselor to talk to the class about options after high school and how to get in touch with their goals.

7. Guide students to read biographies or autobiographies of people they admire to find out how they accomplished their goals. Help students to set goals and plan for post-high school success by completing the activities on the Reproduction Master.

"Options After High School," video $89.95 or CD-ROM $99.95; "Life After High School," video, $89.95; Meridian Education Corporation, P.O. Box 911, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852-0911, 1-800-727-5507. "School-to-Work Career Center," CD-ROM, $385.95; "Great Jobs Without a College Degree," video $98; Linx Educational, P.O. Box 50009, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32240-0009, 1-800-717-5469. "Succeeding Without College," video, $89; "Careers Without College," video, $79.95; Social Studies School Service, 10200 Jefferson Blvd., P.O. Box 802, Culver City, CA 90232-0802, 1-800-421-4246.

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