During your four years of high school, there is always the topic of what you plan to do when you graduate.
Many students think about college and which school they want to attend, but there is always the obstacle of whether it is for you or how you’re going to pay for college.
What many students don’t know is there are always other options.
College isn’t for everyone, and it is not the only option when you graduate from high school.
Shelley Jellison, College and Career Teacher on Special Assignment (CCTOSA) says there are some options on what students choose to do post-high school beyond attending college. Some of those options include military, employment and apprenticeships.
“Many careers do not require a college degree; training and experience can come through on the job training, military service and apprenticeship, the trades, like electrician, plumber, construction, have apprenticeship opportunities where workers earn a living wage while learning the trade,” Jellison said.
Looking into opportunities and conversating with people are ways a student can get information on jobs.
“Opportunities are everywhere,” Jellison said. “Talk to people you know, they may have advice or referrals that can help get you into a career you would like to pursue.”
Trades can be a good option when looking for a job, where there is no cost for learning experiences.
“It depends on interests and skills. More and more students are looking into going into the trades. There is no cost; the trades have opportunity for high wages,” Jellison said.
Getting in touch with experienced people or searching for a job interest can help you when looking for a career opportunity.
“Depending on the type of career, apprenticeships are listed on the Labor & Industry website, recruiters would be a good resource for the military, and students looking for employment may use job search websites, job fairs or word of mouth,” Jellison said.
Senior Mekala Tailua plans on going out of state to start her career as a CNA.
“I plan on going to Alaska and working at the hospital in my hometown,” Tailua said. “It’s a pretty small town called Valdez. After this year, I get my CNA certification, so I can just go over there, hopefully transfer and work there, since I already know some people that work there. I think it’ll be a good transition to getting my RN if I continue my education, or just starting up the career.”
Tailua says that CNA is a certified nursing assistant, which doesn’t get paid as much but she would still get to work in a hospital and interact with patients.
“[I can] just get a feel for the career itself. I get to watch the nurses and assist them and see how their career works and then if I want to go ahead and get my RN, I can go back to school and get that or if I like being a CNA, I can just stay a CNA and save my money,” Tailua said.
Joining the CNA program is how Tailua says she decided what she wanted to do after high school.
“I chose this pathway because I had no clue what I was doing after high school, I did not know what I liked. I didn’t know how to apply for college, I didn’t know how I was gonna pay for college. I was talking to the counselors, and they told me it would give me a guaranteed job at the end of school, so I thought that was really cool, and I ended up really liking the program,” Tailua said.
Tailua says she hopes to become successful with her career path as a CNA.
“I hope that I’m just successful and happy working at the hospital, I just hope that I have fun and meet a lot of patients and just help them,” Tailua said.
Tailua wants to make a positive impact within where she works and for her future patients.
“For my career, I want to make an impact in a facility, like, whether it be a hospital or, like a senior home, anything like that, I just want to make people’s lives a little bit better,” Tailua said.
In the future from now Tailua says she hopes to see herself as a successful and uplifting CNA.
“I hope to see myself successful, happy, well-funded, I hope that I have my money up and, I just hope I excel in the career itself and just become more comfortable interacting with patients and doing skills on them, or like, you know, attending to them with ease,” Tailua said.
Senior Paul Busching decided after he graduates that he will join the Air Force with the hopes of becoming a police officer later down the line.
“Originally, [my post-high plan] was gonna be just getting a normal job, but I thought the Air Force would be good. They pay for your housing, and they pay for your food and stuff like that. I want to be a police officer in the future, and it’s a good experience,” Busching said.
Busching chose the Air Force rather than the other branches because of how it will benefit him in the long run.
“[Air Force] bases are a lot better quality because they have less people in them,” Busching said.
Busching says he plans to stay in the Air Force for a certain number of years before he starts the process of joining the police force.
“Maybe four, six or eight years, either one of those,” Busching said. “[After that] I’ll probably be contacting police departments and saying, ‘I’m going to get out soon’ and starting that whole process,” Busching said.