What to Do If You Don’t Want to Go to College

Society has made us believe that the normal course of action after high school is to go to college.  As a junior in high school, I already had people asking me where I wanted to go to college.  The truth is, how can someone know where they want to go to college if they have no idea what they want to do with their life?  Or better yet, if they even want to go to college at all…

At the surface, college sounds like a nice idea.  You go to school for four or more years, study something that interests you, make new friends, and graduate with a degree that tells the world how smart you are.  But dig a little deeper and you’ll uncover some statistics that no one wants to tell you.

• Up to 40% of people who graduate college don’t use their degree.
• The average student loan debt after graduation is around $30,000.
• Studies show that 50-70% of people hate their jobs; and people work an average of 1/3 of their lives.
• The over all student loan debt is $1.41 trillion dollars (2019)

Imagine leaving college with loads of debt, and a job you hate and could have gotten without a degree.  If these statistics make you question societies norms of going to college, don’t fret, you have other options!

There’s so much pressure on young people to decide on a career they’ll find fulfilling, and little emphasis on discovering what that career might be.  That’s probably why 80% of college students change their major at least once while in school (most people change majors three times!).  Imagine discovering what your passion in life is before spending all your money.  This extra time spent on self- discovery could potentially lead to people being happier in their jobs, and financially more stable by the time they’re the age of college graduates.

Self- discovery starts with you.  Identifying the five “W’s” can be a great place to start.

1. What do you want to do in this life?
2. Where do you see yourself in the future?
3. Who do you want to be with?
4. Why do you want this?
5. When do you want this?

Ask yourself these questions and really reflect on them.  If you don’t know the answers to these questions yet, don’t worry, there are tons of resources right at your fingertips to help you identify your five W’s.

Your life experiences are some of your greatest assets when discovering yourself.  What do you like to do?  It’s a simple yet meaningful question.  If you don’t want to fall into one of the 70% of people who hate their job, it’s probably a good idea to find a job you’re passionate about.

Think back to times when you felt like you were completely enjoying yourself.  Maybe it’s a hobby of yours.  Or a wonderful experience you had.  Pay attention to the things that bring you joy.  They are little insights into your true self.

You can also ask yourself, “What am I good at?”.  Maybe you dominate at one subject in particular.  Now imagine a world where everyone focuses on their strengths, rather than spending their time and energy trying to be good at everything.  There’s no telling how productive and influential people could be if they focused on what they are good at.  You don’t have to be an expert at everything, you just have to be an expert at something.  And why not make that something that you’re passionate about.

Informational books are one of the easiest and most underrated resources we have available to us.  Making the very small investment in reading self- development books is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself.  Books about self- development can help you to grow and better understand yourself.  It’s a shame more self- development books are not read by young people before choosing a career.  It was a book that changed the course of my life, and it could be a book that changes yours.

Along with self- development books, there are also endless books written about every topic under the sun.  If you find yourself interested in a particular thing in your life, do some research and learn more about it.  Most people choose career paths on vague assumptions about the job they want.  Doing some extra research can’t hurt.  Start by reading 5-10 books by the most masterful people in the field.  There is so much information and knowledge to be learned, right at our fingertips.

If you find yourself interested in a particular career path, getting a job in the field can be a great place to start.  Working in your desired area can help you gain experience and see if it is something you could be interested in long-term.  Even if it’s not your dream job when you start out, being in the atmosphere can give you good insight as to whether it’s something you’d like to pursue further.  And the great thing about getting a job is getting paid to gain experience.

If the career of interest doesn’t have many opportunities for getting an “entry level” job, you can also get a job doing something in a different field.  Although this may not be your dream job, working different jobs can help you gain experience and decide what you like and don’t like in the workplace.

Most college students have to work jobs to help pay for their tuition anyway.  Instead of playing a game of tug of war with yourself, you can still get a job but spend your free time focusing on what you’re passionate about.  This will most likely be more inexpensive and more efficient that going to college and working a part time job.

Living in the age of the internet is one of your greatest assets!  No matter what you’re interested in, there are online courses, videos and free learning available online.  Set aside time each day to research what you’re interested in.  There’s no way to find out what you like without exploring different things!

Another great thing about living in the age of the internet is the opportunity to create an online business.  You can create an online business around almost anything you’re passionate about.  If you’d like to explore the world of running an online business further, check out this video.  This type of business also doesn’t require a college degree, and most training is free or fairly inexpensive.  There is also lots of opportunity to scale your business as big as you can imagine.

Taking a gap year has many advantages when it comes to deciding on going to college or not.  The extra time can be utilized to further understanding yourself and your goals.  You can use the time to explore different options and find something you’d like to commit to.  And enjoy all the new experiences you’d normally miss out on if you decided to go to college right away.

You may decide college is the path that makes the most sense to you.  If not, you can go after whatever it is that inspires you!

Whether you’ve decided college isn’t right for you, or you’re still on the fence, just know that there are lots of options outside of college.  Finding something you’re passionate about will be one of the best things you can do for yourself.  And the exploration doesn’t have to cost a ton of money and waste several years of your life.  You can start down the path to your dream life today.