Workforce VS Education: Be Cool, Stay in School

Seniors rejoice! While it may be the beginning of June, it is the end of the school year. In fact, it is the end of high school entirely. For some, it's a sigh of relief; no more getting slammed into lockers by the future drop-outs, and no more dealing with catty gossip and rumors. For others, the idea of finishing school and leaving it behind is a dream thirteen years in the making. A formality at best, school is simply not for everyone. At least, that's the way psyched seniors start out thinking.

The Forces That Be

Teenagers who have absolutely no intentions of going to college are left with little to no options. Living with your parents until your thirty without having to pay a single bill may sound like the American dream, but certainly not for them. They spent eighteen years of their life raising you. It's now their time to be "husband and wife" again, not just "mom and dad". At that point you have to decide: "What are my alternatives?"

Armed Forces: The United States has five armed forces or services; the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Marine Corps. Any recruiter will be more than happy to help you enlist.

U.S. Army: The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. Like all armies, it has the primary responsibility for land-based military operations.

U.S. Navy: The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas."

U.S. Coast Guard: The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States armed forces and is involved in maritime law enforcement, mariner assistance, search and rescue, and national defense.

U.S. Air Force: The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services.

U.S. Marine Corps: The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea, utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces.

Workforce: A much different kind of "force", the work force The workforce is the labor pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry. The term generally excludes the employers and management, and implies those involved in manual labor. It may also mean all those that are available for work. Roughly translated: The rest of your life for the next forty-five years.

With just a high school diploma, it's very difficult to find anything that pays more than a hair's-breath over minimum wage. Do you want to take other peoples' orders until you're sixty-five and ready for retirement? Are you going to be able to lift those fifty pound boxes at the factory after your fiftieth birthday? More importantly, are you going to be happy doing those things every day for the rest of your life?

The I-Know-It-All Syndrome

I know what you're thinking. This shares more common characteristics with an article than it does with an editorial. I assure you, this knowledge is vital to my statement, and ultimately my opinion, which is this: I was one of those teenagers who found high school a formality. There was nothing I was more convinced of than joining the workforce and making a paycheck. To live on my own and pay my own way was my American dream. It wasn't long after experiencing it for myself that reality decided to stop by and pay my all-knowing teenage self a visit.

You cannot pay rent, buy groceries, pay your cell phone bill, your car insurance bill, your cable and internet bill, your utility bill, your credit card bills, or gas money to and from work on $7.50 - $10.00 and hour. This scarcely includes little things like toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, dish soap, dishes, laundry soap, towels, new clothes, the occasional visit to the doctor or dentist, pet and pet related accessories (if you have a pet), toilet paper, new batteries when they die on your remote, light bulbs when they burn out, and all the other little things that go wrong or run out on a week-to-week basis.

After all that money goes out the window for the necessities, don't even think about leisure activities. Going to the movie theater, mini-golfing, bowling, getting a drink with friends, eating out at a restaurant, buying yourself that new computer you had your eye on, all become separate little American dreams that have to wait until your tax returns come back.

Not many teenagers think about these things. Some adults are still oblivious to it, which is a good example of why the average unsecured family debt is somewhere around $3,300. When your yearly income is only $16,500, how long do you think it would take to climb out of that hole you dug yourself?

Go to college. Go to a trade school. Make $40,000 or more a year instead. That new computer you had your eye on wouldn't seem so out of reach then. I have since learned through experience that even though high school wasn't so fun, having to scrape your way through life makes you crave that prison-like setting. Further your education, and make your American dream your American reality.