I'm finishing school (college) and I don't know what to do?
372335
Understand one thing about a degree, employeers are not really concerned about the field of study, unless it is education, nursing, or social services field.  To most employeers the degree simple identifies that you are able and willing to start and finish something, which says a lot in todays society, so go get a job doing something that you enjoy.  Go into law enforcment, become a teacher with a lateral entry possition.  Have fun and make money
1026671
When I went to college, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  During September 1996 I was already over $5000 in debt and not producing, not earning any money.  At the end of college, May 2000, I was 30000 in debt and still didn't know.  The idea of having "an education" as some solution to some social problem, dreamt up by the same academics I'm funding to come up with that theory, is useless unless there is some specific course of study that I will use to make money that will counterbalance the current debt I am in.  \n\nI majored in a subject that would have paid off my loans in the first 2 or 3 years.  Six years later, I owe  $28000.  I am still struggling to find a life's purpose while struggling to keep bill collectors off my back.\n\nDo not go to college because of some sentimental whim or urging from people who think they know better.   Go to work.  Find yourself, what you love to do and find some responsibility.  When you've been working a few years, and say you are sure you love what you do, go to college (maybe at night).  Get the degree to excel at what you've been working at and to climb higher on the ladder in that industry.  Do it to start your own business or to be a vice president.  Most 18 year olds are entering a fantasy world and then just stuck in a corporate rut living for their debts and fuzzy on the fact that any of it means anything to them.
95859
I don't know what I want in life.. and I'm enrolling into college for a Management's bachelor.. and I don't even get math.. so I don't think either not going or going is okay if at the end u don't effin know wtf...
673705
Try working for yourself, pick something you like to do and see if you can make money doing it. \n\nAsk your parents for ideas.\nAsk your teachers and guidance counselors.\n\nIt will look great on your college applications
590829
I have graduated and still have no idea what I want to do.  Try to get a hands on experience in the fields you are interested in.  It may turn out to be a disappointment.  Even if you have to volunteer, it would be worth it.  I did an internship the last year of college and was shocked and hated every minute of it, now, I'm a little stuck.  Get some experience and then make a decision.
860323
My advice is not to plan out your entire future right now. When you get to college (and go anywhere you want--choose a place you like for lots of reasons, not just their psych department), try lots of things. You might find you like something else better.
363528
Try getting a job washing dishes or serving customers at a local restaurant.....or flipping burgers. Then tell yourself, "This is where I'll be for the rest of my life if I don't finish school."\n\nYou'll probably graduate early, and with honors! LOL! Seriously, it takes a minimum of a Bachelor's degree to really get anywhere in this world these days - it's a bad setup, but that's what we have now.\n\nAnd you're right to think friends aren't an option - if anything, far too many of them are probably encouraging you to "blow off class" at any time of the day, right? And you're paying an awful lot of money to be using it as essentially the cover charge for a never-ending party - you're still young (I'm assuming) and will have *plenty* of time to party once you're out of school, so get yourself through it while you're young enough to enjoy the fruits of your labors. You'll look back on your Bachelor's (or higher, if you're so inclined) and think, "Man, that Wheezer guy was right!" while you're getting your Burger King order from the partiers who couldn't quite finish.....\n\n; )\n\nGood luck!
449210
After the year is over, go on a vacation to clear your mind. Spend a lot of time thinking and be sure to only do what YOU want. If you still don't know work some 'mindless' job for a couple of months or maybe join the service. Don't pay a college money you don't even know you want to go to. Finding out what you want to do is the most important thing for the rest of your life - give it all the time it needs.
893089
It depends on whether or not you want to go to college.  I wouldn't get to overwhelmed with what "career" you will have after graduation because most people go through about 7+ in a lifetime!\n\nIf you don't expect to go to college then I would start thinking Junior or Senior year as to what technical job you are interested in.  Do you like work with tools?  people? ideas? \n\nIf you do plan on going to college I would focus on what area of education you are interested in rather than what "career" as again that can change.  So just do something that interests you or you'd like to learn more about and you will do well!\n\nStill it's best to narrow these ideas down by at least Senior year.  Visit a high school counselor and he/she will be more than happy to work with you and help you take career development tests etc.
349505
Karen,\nAs a university instructor, the advice I give students in your position is to TAKE A SEMESTER OFF!!  There's no timeline in life where formal education is concerned and in\norder to get the best life has to offer you have to remember that: a) most learning takes place outside of the\nclassroom and b) learning is a lifelong endeavor.\nTake some time to really think about what you want to do.\nIf you continue along this vein, you're really just spinning your wheels, wasting your time and money, and will\nend up with a career that's not suited to you at all.\nStep away from college for awhile.  Flip burgers, travel,\njoin Americorps....anything that gives you some time to\nfind your real joy and goals in life.
393347
I hear you.  It's next to impossible to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life right off the bat when graduating from college.  The best advice I'd give is to make a list of a few careers you might want to try and talk to as many people in those professions as you can to find out what they are like.  Get your feet wet and try to intern at a company in that job.  If you like it, go for it.  If not, nothing lost.  You've done great to get your degree.  I've been in HR for 10 yrs and it's not easy, but very rewarding personally.  Good luck.
1110347
Seek out your course syllabus or guidance counselor.  Either one should help you line out your courses
40321
While school may not be interesting to you now, it may if you decide to go to college.  I was never into school either until I got to college where I was learning about things I was interested in.  Try to get through it and you'll probablly be reward for it in the future.
367550
Find something to do to keep your mind distracted and not thinking about the letters. You can start a jigsaw puzzle with friends, rent all the movies you haven't seen, have some outdoor fun (frisbee, skating, etc).\n\nRelax and think positively. College is just another step in life, and, contrary to popular belief, it does not define your life (personally or professionally).
549802
Does your school offer something like taking classes at a college near you?  The schools here have a program that lets students take classes in areas where they have exhausted the school's ability to offer classes in those areas.  The school district even pays for their tuition and books.  One of my kids took art and history classes a couple hours a day during his last year of high school. He got to go to three different colleges and had a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each of them when it was time to pick a college to go to.  A friend of his took computer courses and got a head start on college that way.\n\nIf your school doesn't have this program, you might try signing up for an independent study class with a faculty member at your school.  That can be a lot less structured than a regular class and you can go in the direction of your interest with someone who will guide you and may enjoy the experience with you.  You can probably help decide what your final project will be and you can make it something you're really excited about learning.\n\nOr take an evening class at a college near you--see if your school will give you credit for it.  If not, too bad, but you'll still get to infuse your intellectual life with some new energy.\n\nIs there some way to get experience in things you don't do as easily as learning at your school?  How about leadership skills, or exploring career areas through mentorships or job shadowing?  Volunteering to help less able students might challenge you more than learning does, but life skills are even more important than intellectual ones in the long run.\n\nYou really have a long time coming in that life you don't want to waste any of.  I understand how you feel, truly I do, but you should take a long, wise view here.  Unless you can demonstrate to your school district that you know it all already or you can convince a college to offer you entrance without a high school diploma (which might be an option, actually), or you're wealthy enough to live without getting a job, you're stuck in school.  \n\nYou do have my sympathy.  I know it's no easier for very talented students to make it through school than it is for intellectually challenged ones.  In both cases, special education options are needed.
808895
Hey?  Have you completed your undergrad degree? What is it in? Do you have career goals that really call for an advanced degree?  Doctors need to do it.  An MBA?  If you get it from Harvard it can open doors.  \n\nWhy go to college at all?  It all depends upon your future plans.  If the advanced LEARNING will serve you, then, of course, you should do it.  On the other hand, are you just after a degree?  \n\nIt seems to me that if you are truly a student and the information that you'll learn from a post BA degree will be helpful, it's a no brainer.  Some folks have degrees from the School of Hard Knocks and are millionaires!  I'd guess that there are PhDs who can't balance a check book, too.\n\nIf you love learning.  Go to school. If you long for money, then go to work!\n\nMake sense?
363107
I was in the same situation as you..\nat the end of high school I had a million people telling me I had all the potential, and where was I going to college? \nI had mixed feelings about all this..  should I just go to make every one else happy? or what?  ..\n I decided that college wasn't the right thing for right away.. mostly because I didn't have any money and I was afraid of spending money on something I wasn't really sure I wanted to do anyway...\nIt took me one year out of High school to realize how much I missed being in school and missed the interaction with peers and all that...\n I also came to a realization that I really did have a passion in life and I finally decided to peruse it regardless of what other people told me about women in the profession... I moved 3000 miles to the other side of the country.. I took a huge risk in asking my BF of 4 years at that point to come with me or loose me... and I am now in my 3rd out of 5 yrs in architecture school and I am actually ranked 1st in my class.....\nmy point in telling my "life story" is that some times you just need some time to yourself to step back and reflect on where and who you are..  I know it sounds cheesy but during that year off I learned  a llot about "the real world" and myself and knew that I could do better than $8.25/hr at my local retail store ...  good luck.. you sound like an intelligent girl, trying to make the right decision...\nmy advice is talk to your parents but don't feel as though you are disappointing them if you don't want the same thing as them.. look into some colleges or even some certificate programs.. like massage therapy and other one year programs.. most community colleges have them...  see if you are finding anything you are interested in... if not there is nothing wrong with taking a year off.. and besides that year will be a good time to save money if you do decide to go to college....but like I said you are an intelligent person.. you just have to find "your thing"    good luck in life :)\n but like the other girl said ..  college is a great experience and you don't want to regret never going... or at least trying :)