Your advice about the military is good for younger folks, I had way too much revulsion towards the military back when I was in high school to have considered it. It's one of my regrets in life that I listened to a bunch of McGovernites who just simply hated this country and everything it stood for, rather than look out after my own future, and my country's freedom.
I graduated from High School in 1975. My dad was a 30 USN vet who had retired in 1973, so I grew up a navy brat. My whole life, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. But I was an absolutely horrible student, and as I went through my last two years, my parents kept saying "Are you thinking about college? You better apply..." etc.
I knew I wasn't college material. I finally decided to join the Navy, which is what I really wanted to do all along. My parents were wonderful about it, and proud.
I did my time as a jet mechanic and saw things most people in the USA don't get to see while working the flight deck. I went to a lot of foreign countries, drank a lot of alcohol on liberty, and came to the conclusion that I wanted to go to college. I took some courses while on the ship, got into college, and did well as a chemistry major. Not bad, taking Physical Chemistry for someone who had only passed two math courses in Elementary and High School with a D+ and C. It was all about motivation. I hated school with a passion that I find difficult to recall. I loved going to college. I loved the challenge. Again, the motivation was everything.
The point is, the military is a great profession, and a great springboard. There is no better way to motivate a young person than immersing them in work, and letting them find out what they DON'T want to do for the rest of their life.
And if they do like it, some of the most talented Americans populate the ranks of our military. It is just one of the reasons they are that good at what they do.