Ask Blue_Nose

'Ask Blue_Nose' recently received this question from a curious reader:

What should I do after high school?

Well, luckily for you, career and life management is an area in which I am particularly an expert.

Want the short answer? If you're planning on obtaining some form of post-secondary education (and you should, even if it’s not univeristy), ask yourself if the field of study actually sounds like a job:

Pharmacy? Solid program, good job = sounds good.

Engineering? Probably the most 'bang for your buck', educationally = even better.

Education? Learn a few subjects, and get a second degree in only one extra year = why not.

Learn a Trade? The most underrated choice = if I had to do things all over again...

Architecture? Someone has to keep those damned engineers on their toes = go for it.



Now lets look at some examples of BAD choices:

Philosophy? Who the hell gets a job as a philosopher? = screw it.

Physics? Just an engineering degree with virtually no practical application = give your head a shake

Math? Try to have a conversation with anyone with a degree in math, and let me know if that's where you want to end up = no thanks

History? "Learn from the past", my ass = live in the now.

English? I'm sure reading the Old English version of Beowulf will pay off someday = might as well shoot yourself in the face.

Now for the long answer:

Note, in my lists above, that it's not always as simple as sciences vs. arts - that was intentional on my part because, while there's a lot of pointless BAs floating around, there are just as many pointless BScs. You might feel like getting a 'general' (aka, boring) degree will keep your options open for anything you might want to do in the future, but you're not doing yourself any favours - employers want marketable skills, and your ability to recite some historic dates that nobody cares about, or to solve fourth-order differential equations, won't really mean squat. Most will tell you that you're going to end up learning your job by actually doing your job (not by sitting in a classroom), so you might as well make that classroom time as valuable as possible.

Now obviously some do well with these degrees that I've slagged (and that is by no means a comprehensive list), but it usually involves some interdisciplinary study, focussed honours work, or post grad degrees (if the university world is good for anything, it’s perpetuating useless study in the name of ‘academia’). These cases, however, aren’t for Joe Guy who doesn’t really know what he wants to do with his life, and just wants to get out of his parents’ house for a few years – he might as well choose something that’s going to put him ahead when/if he graduates. If he changes his mind (or if Jane changes her mind), then it doesn’t really matter what you started out with.

Now, if this process doesn’t work for you, try looking for areas of study that have some sort of co-op/work term program in place – if people want to hire you before you even graduate, chances are, you’ve chosen something that will actually be of value to you in the future. While there's no real gaurantee that you'll get a job right away, I don’t expect to see the career fair people begging for Bachelors of Philosophy any time soon.

Universities want your money, so they stock their calendars full of bullshit programs to suck unsuspecting kids in. If you want to be an academic, then go ahead and choose whatever tickles your fancy. If you want a job, then you should start with something that actually sounds like a job.

I didn’t even touch on trades very much, but it is honestly the most underrated option for people out there. Why someone would sit at the mall selling discounted flared jeans, when they could take a course for a few weeks, become an apprentice, and actually develop some real, marketable, valuable skills is beyond me. On a personal note, if I hadn’t have chosen to pursue engineering, I would likely have taken up carpentry and become a contractor after a few years – no lie.

Hope that answers your question. If it’s only provoked more questions, you know where to find me.