I was recently clearing out some bookmarks when I came across the one I will share with you. For many years after struggling through 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and 3 years of residency and finally becoming a practicing physician, it still took seemingly forever to achieve the lifestyle I dreamed of. By the time I was done paying off my college debts I was nearly 40 years old. Throw in a couple of divorces and having to start over and the dream slipped away several times. I remember reading an article in the NY Times entitled something like “The Million Dollar Mistake?” that highlighted just how much money it cost to get a medical degree when you factored in all the years of borrowing endless money and NOT MAKING ANY! In today’s AI driven society I doubt there will be any value at all in spending 12 years memorizing facts….but I digress.
For many years I’ve watched friends and family send their children off to college….because you simply HAD to go to college if you were ever going to be successful! Parents invested literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on a dubious education that ends up essentially being USELESS. Studies show that over 50% of college graduates are employed in businesses that DON’T REQUIRE even a BS degree! Charlie Kirk was right…..college is a scam! Susie’s degree in “Communications” will NEVER help her achieve the lifestyle she dreams of. New cars, a house and kids, vacations in France or ski trips to Vail, the newest iphone, Gucci bags, a closet filled with Louboutons.
But guess what NO ONE ever tells high school kids? THE TRUTH. Yes, it’s a wonderful desire to become a Social Worker and help the World. Yes, that degree in “communications” was pretty easy to finish up. Yes, it is wonderful to become a teacher and shape lives. BUT the truth is that SOME CAREERS simply are not going to EVER give you the lifestyle you dream of. It’s appalling that NO ONE ever tells these kids the TRUTH while there’s still time to figure it out.
So for a number of years I thought about a way of having EVERY Freshman in high school take a QUIZ …BEFORE they pick their classes. The quiz would look at all the things you want to accomplish and dream of having. The family with 2 kids, a new car every few years, a vacation a couple of times a year, nice stylish clothes, regular visits to spas and salons, a pool in the yard, ebikes, the latest cell phones, dinner out with cocktails on the weekend, a country club membership! Have them take the quiz and after all the answers were tallied they would find out HOW MUCH WILL MY DREAM LIFESTYLE COST PER YEAR….. AND, what careers were likely to accomplish earning that much.
Simple……right? If only. Well after kicking the idea for THE $$$ QUIZ for a number of years I started researching how to put it together and KABOOM! …I found this had already been done by Arkansas NEXT…..Arkansas’ annual magazine! It states on their website that it provides “A guide to colleges, degree programs, and careers for Arkansas high-school students. Built by Arkansas Business Publishing Group and the Department of Workforce Services” FABULOUS! And voila! I had found what I was looking for. I sent a copy to my step-daughter and some of her friends. Most of them were already on a career path but they found it pretty enlightening.
My thanks and credit go to Arkansas NEXT and I hope they don’t mind my sharing their QUIZ. I think EVERY SINGLE student should be taking this BEFORE starting high school let alone college and realize Tik-Tok, selfies, YouTube videos, becoming “influencers” and thinking you’ll be a professional athlete just AIN’T gonna cut it! Success in achieving your lifestyle dream is hard enough even when you’re ON THE RIGHT TRACK to getting there. The old “careers” just aren’t what they were anymore. Becoming a physician or lawyer isn’t what it used to be. Lawyers practicing in small firms and for the government make about $50-75K a year. Social workers top out at $65K. Less than 2% of NCAA athletes make it to the pros. The trades are becoming the career of the future and TOTALLY make sense for so many! Get rid of the stigma of not going to college and start making $$ sooner!
FINALLY…..here’s the link to the Arkansas NEXT article. I hope they are ok with my sharing it. I believe it could serve as a great starting point to a new way of approaching course choices starting while in high school Let me know your thoughts and have a great day…..remember “It’s Later Than You Think”.
https://www.arkansasnext.com/article/135711/quiz-how-much-money-do-you-need-for-your-dream-life