Blog 1 – What Can a High School Student Do to Get the Right Job?

You probably need more than an internet search, the local newspaper, or a social network “grapevine” to   find a job.

Social media is fine … but does anyone really think that they are going to get “insider information” about where all the best, juiciest jobs are? Sounds “purr-fect” … but not likely to happen very often.

Yep … been there … done that. Something better is needed.

I am a retired college professor. My graduating students would come to me for counseling to find a job … but not just any job. They wanted the one that was right for them … and they wanted it wherever it was.

It did not matter what they thought they already knew … the “big unknown” had a way of becoming even bigger the closer the graduation date approached.

The five, core group of questions (and problems) that always came up were the same:

1. Am I ready? What do I do to get ready? How do I get ready?
2. Where are the jobs? Where should I go? Where are the best places?
3. How do I know which job(s) to apply? How can I compare jobs?
4. How do I apply? Where do I apply? How can I compete with others?
5. How will I know the best job for me? What jobs are out there?

These concerns do not necessarily come in any special order, but all of them are eventually important because they will affect something, somewhere in our life.

But, without proper directions and guidance, life can be like wandering around in the dark bare-footed. There can be nasty, sharp things that we don’t want to step on.

The good thing is that it is never “too late” to get all the answers to make things work out better. Most people are readily adaptable to preparing and putting things in order once they know how and why.

Many graduating students wrestle with the same question: “Should I Go to college … or just get a job?”

The answers to either question require different approaches and preparation … as well as making sure what end-result (or goal) is wanted.

Whether one choice is better than the other depends upon the individual’s needs and their willingness to do all that is necessary to accomplish their eventual goal.

The popular label that “one size fits all” is definitely not applicable to job preparations or to differences in personal abilities or preferences … nor to cover letters, resumes and career evaluation services.

When I was teaching at a popular university, I developed many online courses for a wide range of subjects. And, I found out that one online course will definitely NOT satisfy the needs of all groups of students.

High school students (and recent graduates) are on the threshold of having to make some important decisions about their lives and futures.

Whether to go to college … or not … is an important decision that many people worry about day and night.

If you do decide to go to college, you probably have a few questions like everyone else:

• What can I do with a college degree (or any college degree)?
• Is it worth the time and effort?
• Can I afford it?
• Is it a waste of time?
• How long will it take me to pay back the loan?

If you do not go to college … what are your options? What can you do without a college degree?

Actually … you can do a whole lot more than most people realize.

For example, in 2016 the U. S. Department of Labor listed about 1373 different “Occupations” or job types.

But … here is the secret … there can be hundreds of thousands of “jobs” springing out from those 1373 types of occupational job categories.

The first big problem is that most high school students don’t have a clue about what they “can do” with their lives.

The second big problem is do they even “want to do” that type of work.

Why? It’s because they do not know what is out there in the great, big wide world that they might want to do … and that brings us back to the first problem.

And, that first problem sounds like a “catch-22” problem, doesn’t it?

What it means is this: If a person does not know what jobs are out there, how could they possibly know what they might actually want to do, and what is required to get into that job (or field) in the first place?

In case you might have a little confusion about job types, here are a few examples:

• Aircraft pilot – There many different types of airplanes you can learn how to fly. And each one can be for a different type of job.
• Chef – There are many types of food chefs, fast-order cooks, etc.
• Doctor – There are many different types of specialties in medicine.
• Mechanic – Wow. There are so many different types of planes, trains, and automobiles that you could learn how to repair and maintain.
• Teacher – Just about anything you can imagine … there is a teacher for it (i.e., math, music, English, Spanish, chemistry, biology, etc., etc.).

The point of these examples is to show that an “Occupation” might have many, many subcategories of things (jobs) that a person might want to dig deeper into because they might have a special interest or talent for that “job.”

I have heard many students say things like:

• “I don’t know what I am going to do after I graduate.”
• “I wish I knew what to do, but I don’t know what there is to do.”
• “There is nothing to do, and I don’t like anything.”
• “There is nothing around except junk-jobs … everywhere.”

My plan is to develop stream-lined courses that will not waste a person’s time (or at least, not much of it).

For example, if my job is to develop an online course for people who want to learn “Skydiving,” I should not waste their time talking airplane propellers, space shuttles, or hot-air balloon landings.

While that other stuff might be interesting, it would be irrelevant “fluff” meant to puff-up the course content (and maybe charge more money for it).

It appears that I need to develop two different online courses for high school students.

One course would be for those students who want to find jobs without going to college.

The other course would be for those students who want to go to college … and find the right courses and/or careers to pursue.

Both online courses would contain their own content … and much of the course content would be different because there are two different approaches to accomplish two different career (or job) goals.

It would be unfair to develop one big course, containing information for both approaches, and then charge a large a big course fee like $497.  That’s just not fair.

For example, when a student only wants the information for one or the other approaches, the student should only have to pay for what he or she wants.

Playing with statistics is sometimes a “fool’s” game, but let’s try to get an idea of the need for an online course for people who either do not go to college or those who do not complete college.

If 66% of high school graduates actually start college, but only 53% actually graduate, how many students are likely to need an online course as if they never even went to college?

Well, that’ easy (even though no one knows for sure).  If sixty-six students out of a hundred students started college, and only 53% actually graduated, how many students graduated from college?

Like I said, that’s easy to figure out. The simple calculation would be 66 students x 53% equals 35 students out of a hundred would graduate from college.

Then, practically speaking, 65 students out of a hundred would need to look for jobs that do not require a college degree.Some jobs could give some preference for people who had some college education.

Some jobs could give some preference for people who had some college education.

However, I want to develop an online course for some people as if they never went to college for any length of time.  After all, more people who graduated from high school wind up without college degrees than those who did go to college.

Why should I do that? Well, I need to start somewhere … and that is as good a place to start as any.

Plus, if people can get some credit for having “some” college education … just consider that as a “little icing” on the cake when they start trying to figure out approaches to the job markets out there that do not require a college education.

I am not going to do a survey to find out if anyone without a college degree wants or needs an online course to help them figure out what kind of job they want … and how to get it. I already know there are many people out there who need this kind of help.

But … but … but … what about all those people out there who already have a college degree … who cannot find a job? And … they are really angry about it!

I know … it’s a sad problem. Here is a very short story for you. I once met a person with PhD … but this is a more common problem than you might imagine.

I asked why the person needed the PhD. The answer is astounding.

The person said, “I got a BS degree, but couldn’t get a job. I got a Masters degree, and still couldn’t get a job. So, I got a PhD degree so that I could teach this stuff in a university!”

I know … I know.  Been there, done that. I crammed a 4-year college degree into 6 years because I kept on NOT finding out what I could do with a college degree. Now … I do!

I now have a Master’s degree in “Curriculum and Instruction” so that I can teach just about anything after I conquer it myself.

Don’t worry. I am going to develop an online course for those people with college degrees (but no jobs yet) as well. I have to start somewhere … and there are more people out there without college degrees who need this kind of information first.

If you want to get the information as soon as it is available, just let me know so that I can let you know when to expect its release.

Just enter your contact information in the sign-up form for notification when the course is available:

Best of success … I’ll be back in touch with you soon.

Professor “Bumblebee” Watrous

PS: I like Bumblebees because they are always looking for something new … and they don’t mess with you even if you stand close and watch what they are doing.