That would make a good board game..........oh, wait........
Some of us did both at the same time. Didn’t kill us.
That would make a good board game..........oh, wait........
Not mutually-exclusive choices
If one has to ask the question, then the answer is almost certainly: work for a year or two before going to college. If nothing else, working a dead-end job for a year or two and realizing that it’s a dead-end job will create a lot more incentive to do well in college and to pick a major that has some practical value.
Any job you work at and do right by is worthwhile.
You learn to appreciate what you work for, you learn good job habits, you learn that life isn’t a free ride.
I have never worked a job where I didn’t learn something that was worthwhile to me later in life.
There is always a chance he may find a job he likes and he decides not to go to college.
That’s ok too, There are some good trades that pay well.
Go to a cmmunity college while working part-time, then transfer in a year or two to regular college. This works particularly well if you have a kid who isn’t that mature and may spend the first year or two ‘away at college’ partying, not studying. If they prove themselves with good grades, then send them on. Some parents, because community college is much less expensive, have the kids pay for those classes themselves .... amazing how grades improve when it is the kid’s money paying for the class & they are more appreciative of any help the parents do give them.
What should come first College of Work...neither...The Military should come first!
The legal age of majority is 18, however, nature says that you are not mentally an adult until 26. What to do between 18 and 26. You need to become a responsible adult.
At 18 to 21 you will not study or learn if there are other distractions like partying and fun, thus, most college students in the 18 to 21 bracket aren’t serious about college.
The solution: Go to work or join the service. This will mature you and then at 21 or 25 you may be mature enough to take college seriously and actually learn something.
I worked FULL TIME and went to school FULL TIME in my late 20’s....any kid without responsibilities should be able to do that
A year of work won’t kill the lad. If anything it will make him realize the value of a solid education and he’ll try harder in college - might not major in partyology.
I wasn’t ready or motivated for college when I graduated from High School. My parents, bless them, would have paid (they offered) and likely taken another mortgage to do so, but I decided there was no way I would succeed at it, so I joined the Navy.
Best thing I ever did. It focused me, and when I go out after serving my hitch, I was not only ready, but prepared.
Correlation is not causation. Most people with a bachelor's degree do not work in their field of study. Income is more strongly correlated with healthy brain cell count. Colleges don't hand those out, just endorse who has them. Many colleges are now converting their reputation into cash. They can only do that one time.
Today kids can't get jobs like that. They don't exist.
since when is hinest work of any sort “not worthwhile”? A job will insure that he knows how to suit up and show up and do what is required of him. There is much to be learned about the work ethic by simply WORKING.
I am so glad that I worked as a waitress as a teenager! After killing myself from 5PM until 1AM every night, I realized that I didn’t want to live that way. It made me take college MUCH more seriously.
My son went to work right after highschool. He’s always hated the idea of college, but now I’m hearing him talking about it more and more. He’s finally realizing that he’s not going to reach his goals without it, no matter how hard he works.
Sometimes, taking time off to experience life without college give kids the time to realize what they’re missing and learn to appreciate it.
I say, let the kid grind out hamburgers for a year. Forget the idea that it’s alright if he can find a job that’s ‘meaningful’ to him. Let him suffer.
First, if he thinks he’s not ready for college, it means he’s probably not ready.
The real question is: why does he fell not ready ?
- maybe not going to college is a way for him to stay at home... and you should work on his autonomy ?
- maybe he doesn’t want to pursue a white-collar/socially valued/pleasant to the parents career, and hasn’t found a way to tell you ?
- maybe he’s got a good reason to want to stay put, a GF comes to mind ?
- maybe he’s just really aware of the kind of commitment college demands, especially if you want no to party it away ^^
- or a host of other perfectly valid reasons...
Looking back, I should have taken a gap year or two myself. I was significantly less mature than other students, had no ideas why I was studying except to please the ‘rents and teachers, and was juggling 3 jobs to make it work. I needed a few life lessons, which came later.