Some serious questions

[LieutenantLime]

So, I'm a junior in high school, and I have a couple fairly lofty goals for college. I think its best that I get some opinions from lots of varied sources.

My first goal is to graduate with with zero student debt with at least a 4 year degree, most likely in some branch of engineering. I think this is achievable because I'm very likely to get National Merit Finalist status. I'm in a watch group in my school with the kids most likely to make the cut from the PSAT/NMSQT. If not, that's cool too. My ACT score is quite good, and I have lots of options for scholarships. The schools I'm looking at are fairly affordable.

My second goal is less clear right now. I want to set aside money to start my own small business just in case I don't like my options working for x company as an engineer. The idea of working my own hours and the option of working from home often seems appealing to me and my future family. Basically, I want to gain the necessary capital and knowledge to have a backup plan.

TL;DR: what do you wish you did as a high schooler to prepare for the future?

[minibois]

Hmm, not a whole lot.

I could say "I wish I would have done better for a higher level study", but nah.. I'll just finish the college I'm doing now and be done with it and probably wont do a higher level.

I just HATE school and think a lot of it is just a waste of time (Just keep in mind I said "a lot", not all of it. Stay in school kids. don't do drugs.)

[I need a better name]

(Stay in school kids. don't do drugs.)

and remember to pray to Lord Gaben every day

[LieutenantLime]

To be honest, I'm doing all of this so I can have the easiest life later on. I'm not a fan of most of school too, but I can't talk much about it before I start derailing into the overly structured, under effective education system.

[Nuluvius]

TL;DR: what do you wish you did as a high schooler to prepare for the future?

 

There's many things that I could spend my days, weeks, months and even years wishing were different. In the end if it could have been different then I would also be different and thus the whole context would therefore be invalid. In other words if one spends one's time obsessing over the past then one has not really learned the lessons that they were meant to.

 

I digress. You have an excellent plan in my opinion. You should aim for the horizon, never settle for less than absolute best and always strive for more.

 

This is perhaps one of the most intelligent things that I think I've seen to date coming from 'one of your generation':

 

...the overly structured, under effective education system.

 

Well done; for spotting it so early on and for seeking that easy life - it's well worth every bit of the shit and gravel that you'll imminently have to drag yourself though.

 

Failure is not an option.

[Volbet]

I finished high school when I was 26, so everything that I should have done, I did.

Both high school and now university have pretty much been a ´take it as it come´ - experience for me, so there wasn't much preperation that I could have done.

I might regret that there was a 10 year gap between me finishing middle school and getting into high school, but atleast I'm an experience richer.

[Bsmith]

-snip-

TL;DR: what do you wish you did as a high schooler to prepare for the future?

 

high school age here in Netherlands: 13-18 roughly.

18+ college and/or university

 

nothing, honestly knowing the way I am going, the "mistakes"(according to the psych I visited) I made, the people I met and the study I chose out of curiosity became the best choice in my life.

It might not be the best for me, but F#ck that, I love it in every way possible, although I struggle with it sometimes, for me(the type that needs a challenge) it works better out then following the study that suits me.

They(psychologist) told me that I should study economics due to the way I easily handle "tricky"(relative) math questions, but economics is mostly percentage kind of math, unless you decide to throw in algorithm's for the stock exchange, as someone that doesn't find joy in calculating the % of income lost on X amount of profit, I went with a chemical/physical analyst study, which sometimes comes down on the percentage stuff, but then you aren't finished with it, or you need to take 2-4 steps before even knowing what you calculate.

Adding up with my passion for my hobby(photography) and the fact I'm pretty likely to get an internship at FujiFilm on the R&D floor, does make me regret my choice.

The choice out of boredom and will to get out of high school ASAP(the place sucked, could have taken a higher course though) combined with my lust for challenges brought me to the perfect spot for me, no matter what other people, say, claim, shout, show or put down in front of me.

 

my moral on the story:

F#ck the past, it made me who I am and what I wanted to be, happy with my choice.

 

But on the otehrhand, I'm also the kind of guy that loves learning and discovering stuff, would love to give university a shot even if it's just an internship.

[Brenz]

Just some advice for your second goal. Saving money is great and is always going to come in useful but don't leave college and start your own business.

 

Get a job working with other engineers. They will have a lot more knowledge and skills that they will naturally pass on to you that you won't get from college and you really do need a good amount of engineering experience before anyone is going to hire you.

 

Plus don't forget the idea of being your own boss and choosing your own hours always works out as you working even more hours than you would in a normal job

[TopDollar]

Becoming a licensed professional engineer (at least in the US) would be extremely beneficial for starting a business but its way too early to start thinking about that yet.

Focus on scholarships to help out with paying for school for sure but also don't put too much pressure on yourself either. For example, many scholarships will require maintaining a specific GPA. Trying to keep a cumulative GPA over say 3.5 can be pretty impractical in an engineering field. Maintaining above 3.0 GPA is usually fairly achievable and a good goal as it leads to better and higher paying entry-level positions.

Another tip is that it's totally OK to take your time earning a degree. Take the time to do internships and semester long coops. It's actually quite common to take 5 years to get a 4 year engineering degree for this reason.

[LieutenantLime]

Thanks for the really good advice.

The underlying reason behind this thread is that my father, the breadwinner of the home, lost a job in the great bureaucratic machine that is the company he works at. He found a position within the company, but at a huge cut. Compared to what goes on, we got pretty lucky. We just dodged another round of layoffs.

So, I'm trying to put my future family in the best position for a secure lifestyle, but if the opportunity arises to take a worthwhile risk, then I want to take it.

I'm not even totally sure if engineering is the place I need to be. Thinking I should have everything figured out this very second is just silly, which is totally not my intention.