Start Planning Now!

Figuring out what career you want to pursue out of high school can be one of the biggest and most important decisions of your life. Making this decision can be so hard because you are so young and inexperienced about the “real world”, and may have not given your future much thought. It is important to start looking into potential careers during the high school years. You want to have a plan and a specific goal when you graduate. Deciding a career can be scary because you may not be sure what interests you, which is why it’s important to start researching while in high school. There are many factors that can help you determine what career choice is best for you. Among those factors are salary, hours, and type of work, schooling requirements, and many more. There are also many things you can start doing now if you think you have found a career that interests you.

“How do I decide what career is best for me?”

            To determine what career you want you will need to figure out what you are interested in. No one wants to wake up every morning and go to a job they hate. You should be passionate about what you are doing. Think about factors like whether or not you enjoy working with people, do you like to work indoors, or do you prefer outdoors? What are you good at, and what subjects do you find most interesting in school? Once have an idea for your interests you should start researching careers that include your interests.

“How do I know if this career is right for me?”

            When you think you have an idea of what you want to do it’s important to get as much information about the career as possible. To do this you can go to the internet and simply search about the career type. The things you are going to want to know are, the job description and what it will entitle, the hours, benefits, salary, and education requirements. There are also other ways to get this information. You can set up a job shadow. A job shadow allows you to go into the job environment and watch someone in that profession do their job. This gives you a chance to see the work first hand and allows you to ask the person questions about the job. The information that you can get from a job shadowing is much more valuable than anything you can get from online because it’s first hand information from someone who has experience in the field you are interested in. Another thing you can do similar is set up an interview with the person. This similar to job shadowing except you doesn’t get a chance to see the work first hand.

            It’s important to research careers because once you find one you are going to need to know the education requirements to get into that field and you are going to need a plan for when you graduate high school. You will need to find a school that has the classes needed to fit your career. A good thing about college is it gives you a chance to explore different careers through different classes. A lot of college students decide that they want to change their major. This is totally fine. The career you pick in high school doesn’t have to be set in stone; however it is important to have a plan when you graduate. If you don’t have any goals what are you aiming for?

Commuting

After six weeks of being a commuting college student I have seen many pros and cons in the decision to stay at home rather than living on campus. The decision for me was easy since I live 20 minutes from my school. In making my decision I looked at factors like, money, practicality, and what would be best for academic growth. I choose to commute because it saved me a lot in tuition, and it isn’t practical for me to live away from home if it is only 18 miles away. I have noticed many positive things about my decision, however I have also noticed many things that made me wish I would have chose to live on campus.

            On of the worst parts about being a commuter is the social aspect of it. You are only at school for your classes and then you go home. You have fewer chances to meet new people and make friends. That makes it very important to get involved in a club, sport, or organization so you have the chance to meet others with the same interests as you. Just because you don’t live on campus doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of the school. So if you are a commuter make sure you get involved because if you don’t you may be missing out on lots of opportunities.

            Another downfall to commuting isn’t just the social aspect, but it can also affect academics as well. Students who live on campus can go to tutors and use academic resources like the library basically whenever they want. They also live in a setting that is probably more suitable for focusing on schoolwork. A commuter may have more distractions if they live at home. I personally feel like there are more distractions studying at my house than there would be at the University. I have also found you have to watch how you schedule so you don’t have massive breaks in between class. It wouldn’t be much fun sitting in the parking lot for 3 hours. Being able to live on campus and have all the academic resources available to you seems like it would be a huge advantage.

            Some pros to commuting are the money it saves you in tuition. Deciding to commute cut my tuition nearly in half. It also makes it easy to work and keeps me close to my family and friends. I also race motocross and I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was living away from home due to the amount of preparation on the bike before the race. Living at home also keeps me away from negative influences and allows me to focus on my work. Don’t get me wrong friends and family can be a distraction, however they provide a positive influence unlike being around parties. Commuting isn’t for everyone. I’m not the most social person in the world so its not a big deal for me not to stay on campus, but some people may enjoy getting away from home, everyone is different and everyone makes different decisions. Even with all the cons to commuting I still feel like I have made the right decision.

             

           

             

Getting the Most Out of Your Tuition

It is important to get the most out of what your college has to offer. You are paying thousands of dollars in tuition and you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck. How can you make sure you are getting the most of your college tuition? Colleges have many services that help you succeed. These services are all figured into your tuition and are accessible to you at all times. Among some of these services are tutors, student success centers, the library, office hours for your professors, counselors, and most colleges will have a computer service desk the will help you with any questions you may have. All of these services are figured into your tuition and are there to help you succeed. Why not take full advantage of this?

One of the most useful services college offers is a free tutor. Tutors are available for all classes. Tutors are usually upper classmen that have taken the classes you are struggling with. They are usually very smart in the subject they are tutoring you on and can probably give you many helpful tips since they have taken the classes before. They can show you what techniques work best for the class or subject and can even show you things they wish they had done different in the class. Tutors can usually be found in the schools student success center.

Another useful college resource is your school library. The library can help you find valuable information for research projects and the librarians can help you with citations and finding information you can’t find on your own. Some libraries have online databases that are full of information that ranges from books, websites, and even newspaper and magazine articles. The library can also be used in between classes or free time for studying, and typing papers. It offers a quiet studying environment free from distractions.

The most helpful resource that I have taken advantage of is the professor’s office hours. Office hours allow for additional help from your instructor outside of the class, and allow you to work on your assignments. If you run into any issues you can talk to your professor before your next class to get everything figured out. I have found this very helpful in my math classes.  I do my homework after class and before the next class I go in and ask about the problems I didn’t understand. This ensures that I know what I’m doing before the next quiz or test and I am not moving onto a new section without fully understanding the other sections.