The day I graduated from High School, my BFF and I loaded up my VW Bug with as many clothes as we could fit in it and hit the road from El Paso, Texas to Denver, Colorado to find our new life. We wanted the big city life with opportunity to do anything we wanted and make more than minimum wage. It helped that my sister lived in Denver so we had a place to stay until we found jobs.
It turned out that we both got data entry jobs at a credit reporting agency in Downtown Denver making, uumm, minimum wage. BUT, — we had benefits! So, it was a start. We sat across the office isle from each other and spent eight hours a day entering people’s credit information into their credit reports. We got 30 minutes for lunch and two 15- minute breaks. There were no other positions to be promoted to without some college.
Yeah, but on Friday – it was party time! It didn’t take us long to realize after we got an apartment that we had no money to party. No beer money, no travel money, no nightlife money, and no extra gas money – how could this be? We did not plan our future or our career or our living budget. After six months, my BFF’s Dad came to Denver to rescue us from being “Stupid blondes” and took us back home to El Paso where we had a home and food.
Download This Personal Finance Budget Sheet
So, if you are a high school grad, how do you plan for a successful career? The two main career goals you should focus on are job security and opportunities for advancement with or without a college education. Perhaps you want to go to college, but need college tuition assistance from a good company. Make a list of what you want in life besides money to party: a car, food, a place to live, maybe some college or technical job training. Make a budget for all the things you need in your apartment, for your transportation, and for the other things you want, including party money.
Here is a good personal finance budget sheet that you can download from Microsoft Office Online. (click here). Then, make sure your career path provides for your budget needs. If not, you will need to cut some expenses or find a new career path. Trust me, living with your parents until you are 30 years old is not what you really want to do.
Best careers for high school grads:
Military/Government Civil Service
A year after high school graduation, I decided to join the Air Force. My BFF joined the Army, and my nephew joined the Navy. Later in my life, my daughter also joined the Air Force and was accepted into the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. You can read my article about the Rewards and Fears of Joining the Military to see what it is really like to be in a military career. The military is not for everyone, just like college is not for everyone. You may also look at getting a civil service entry-level job with any government agency and work your way up in a career path. The military and the civil service definitely provide the best job security and opportunities for advancement or to attend college.
Medical
The medical field is loaded with career opportunities for high school grads. There are many entry-level positions in administration, clerical, or operations (like housekeeping, shipping/receiving, mailroom, etc.) that have job security and opportunities for advancement. If medical insurance is on your list of important things in life, you will get great benefits from choosing a career in the medical field. Most medical facilities offer tuition assistance as part of their benefits package, so you may decide after being in a certain job, that you want to attend college and become certified in a specific medical field.
Manufacturing/Transportation
Even though in hard economic times, the manufacturing industry takes some hard hits and has large numbers of lay-offs, it is still a career field that has plenty of jobs for high school grads. Manufacturing is the backbone of the U.S. economy and without it our country would not see progress. Transportation is another industry that is vital to our country’s economy. Whether it is trucking, railroad, air freight, or public transit, people and goods always have to move from one place to another no matter what the economy is. If you have experience in either of these industries, chances are you will be able to find another job if you get laid off from one.
Administrative
Almost every school district in America now requires that high school students graduate with some level of computer proficiency. If you know how to use MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Outlook Express, and perhaps a graphics program like Adobe Acrobat or Photoshop, you should be able to get some good administrative assistant jobs in good companies. Make sure when you look at administrative jobs, that there is a career path for promotion even without getting a college degree. Often times, large organizations and government agencies have good career paths for high school grads.
Sales
It never hurts to have sales experience in your career path. You might not think you would be good at it, but you could give it a try with careers like Rental Car Sales Associate with Avis, or Wireless Sales Associate with AT&T;, or Health and Beauty Sales Associate with Macys. It is amazing how many other career opportunities you will have if you have sales and customer service experience. If you are good in sales, you have endless opportunities for advancement in these large companies.
U.S. Census Bureau Statistics about Careers
In 2007, 22.5 million female workers 16 and older worked in educational services, health care and social assistance. Among male workers 16 and older, 11.3 million were employed in manufacturing industries. Other careers Americans have:
3.5 million are Chefs/Head Cooks
1.9 million are Customer Service Reps
2.1 million are Janitors/Building Cleaners
373,000 are Taxi Drivers
751,000 are Farmers/Ranchers
As for me, I wanted more money and went on to get my MBA. I did many exciting things in my career including teaching high school, sales and marketing jobs in the publishing industry, and owning my own retail business. As for you…congrats on graduating from high school! Take your time to decide what to do – but PLAN for success and you will have a happy life. Best wishes!
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/013970.html
