Should I go to College?
I'm planning on taking a year off (perhaps more) of school after finishing high school to get a job. Yeah, not sure how I'm going to spin a 19 year old with little work experience into anything, but I think if I work hard I'll find something, even volunteer work if I have to. It'll be helpful that I can work any time, nights, days, weekends, etc. I just don't know whether I should go back to school for an English degree or just get some experience within the editing world and move my way up (or even stay happily in a smaller position)?
What do you think? Try to be unbiased, I don't want rants about how I'm a loser because I can't understand math and thus can't get into business like I was planning (and thus can't get into STEM programs). I can give more information if your opinion requires more about my situation.
I've missed the uni. application date already, so I'm clearly working this year even if I didn't want to. I just DO NOT have the money to apply, at all. Plus I NEED experience.
You should go to college whenever you can, I'd advise doing something you can see as you're career.
If you have to take a year before make the mos of it, I'm not sure how college fees work there but you should thing about traveling or getting outside you comfert zone a little bit.
I get 70% of Uni paid by my father's child support. Let's just say the judge didn't like my father very much XD Mom will pay for most of the rest, while I contribute what I can. And the title should have been "Should I go to University?" since college and university are rather different here.
I still want the work experience for a year, no matter if I go to uni. or not, because I feel like I need to practice this before I can be good in the workspace.
While it would be wonderful to work editing; I think that may be aiming too high for a 19 year old. My former husband is a novelist who's been in association with the publishing world for decades. Editing jobs are sought competitively by college graduates even though they're very low paying at the entry level. Few editing jobs; many quality applicants.
You will, however enhance your employ-ability, post university, if you work at a job; any job, for a year before entering college. Employers want to know that the folks they hire for professional positions have proven work ethic experience such as punctuality, turning up for work on all scheduled days, decent customer service, frustration tolerance in the workplace, etc. And you will benefit by developing the kind of endurance the workplace demands.
In this economy you can feel blessed to get any kind of job; supermarket, drug store, department store, restaurant, office receptionist; anything. It will not be wasted effort and you will enjoy the weekly paycheck.
One of my daughters taught sailing three summers in HS & college and ran sailing programs as head instructor another two summers in college. She graduated college with honors and was unable to even land an interview in her chosen profession the 1st summer after graduation, even though she'd held jobs with fairly high level responsibility. She then pieced together a living running a sailing program, tutoring, and doing business document translations (English/Spanish). In doing so, she also did marketing for the sailing center, thus gaining experience in her field. It took her 6 years to transition into her field; finally landing a professional position marketing a firm.
I am not trying to discourage you, I am simply pointing out how difficult this economy is right now for college graduates. They can survive if they are willing to work hard at lower level positions until they finally land what they're looking for. Don't be discouraged; just plow ahead, work hard and don't worry about the relative low status of your jobs in the mean time.
*nods* I know it's a hard economy right now, that's why I'm trying to look at my options. I don't think Ottawa is doing as bad as some other places, I do see advertisements for jobs and stuff. If all else fails, I'm sure my sister can find something volunteer for me in the disability, she's done that before for me It's not about the pay right now, I'm on disability. I just need some experience, and the feeling that I'm actually doing something with my life will probably help me in the long run too.
I'm planning to work for about a year before uni (aka I am, I just don't have said job yet), so that's good that it helps employ-ability.
And no, I don't mean to say I want to go into editing right now That's my overall goal, like if I said I want to be an astronaut, I don't expect to be up in space right now
And I don't care about status or anything. I really do want to go into editing eventually, but I don't care about the name of what I do in the mean time. If picking up trash makes me look like a good employee and won't send me into an Autistic meltdown (no McDonalds for me!), I'll do it (though I really would rather not do something outdoors...winter here is COLD)