5 Things to Think About Before Choosing Your Post High School Pathway

​Congratulations! You finished 13 years of schooling, what an achievement! But, with this achievement comes a lot of responsibility. You need to decide what to do next. This can be a really challenging decision for many young adults, so we’ve put together a few ideas to help make your decision easier.

Think About What You Are Good At
This goes beyond what you were good at as far as subjects go. Many aspects of careers and life in general are more related to the fundamental skills you learn throughout your childhood. Do you like caring for others? Do you work well under pressure? Are you a strong leader? Do you have patience, attention to detail, people skills? All of these come in to play when choosing your post high school pathway.

Take a Year off
This may seem counterproductive to some, but you may have been so focused on study and homework, as well as extracurricular activities for the last few years, that you actually have no idea what you want to do. Take a year and go on a working holiday, undertaking various activities along the way. You will learn a lot about yourself, the things you like and what you don’t like.

Don’t Let Other People Make the Decision For You
This is where I messed up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good teacher and I like the job, but it doesn’t fit well with the lifestyle I yearn for. No one made the decision for me to be a teacher as such, but I was told that I had to go to university. Now I think that I may have been more suited to an apprenticeship. Advice is definitely something you need, but don’t be scared to take a different path if it is truly what you believe is right.

You Can Change Your Mind
If you make a decision, and then decide it may not be the right one, you can always change. At least you now know that is NOT what you want to do. Do your research and take your time to decide on the next step.

Even if you finish a course and begin a career, that’s not to say you will be stuck in that job forever. You may be able to use the skill set you acquired to take you on a different path. Or, you can always apply for another course.

You Don’t Have to Love Your Job
Wouldn’t it be great to love your job so much that even if you were a billionaire, you would still want to go to work? I’m not sure that this is often the case. You need to like your job. You need to be good at your job. Other than that, choose a pathway which will fit in with your preferred lifestyle as much as possible. If you like to travel, for example, you may choose to be an air host/hostess or a national/global company representative. If you want flexibility you might like to choose a business course so you can work for yourself when you please.

Hopefully these tips help you think outside the box a little as you think about your post high school pathway.