Is it Better to Go to College or Work After High School

After high school, everyone has to determine if pursuing a college education or getting a job is the next top priority.  As a result, choosing to go to college or work after high school is a situational question, however, if one option must be chosen, working a job that would give you stability would be more valuable than going to college right away. This is because if you don’t have the stability via a reliable income, it may hinder you in college. Since this question is situational, we will go in more detail about the circumstances that may make you pick one option over the other.

Stability First

No matter if you are considering a job or college after high school, your first priority as an adult is stability for you and your family. This is important because you want to make sure you can afford all the bills every month to maintain financial independence. If you do not have the financial independence, you can lose everything.

Going to Work First

As we mentioned early on, getting a job first would be your best bet with minimal knowledge of your situation. With a job, you can build up to the lifestyle you want and always purse college while you have a job or after saving up enough money. On the other hand, if you were fortunate enough to have been awarded money for college or have parents to pay for your bills (You’re in luck!) working a job would likely only be problematic in college.

What is Stability

Up until this point, we’ve been mentioning job and stability a few times. To get a clear understanding of how we calculate financial independence, see our explanation here. This is important because any job you work may not get you the money you need. Following this further, you could be making enough money but still not getting ahead financially we’ve also explained the answer to that problem here.

A Job First is for You

Working a job first is a good option for you if: you may not be able to afford college, you need money as soon as possible, you did not like school, you had no desire for college or if you know how wealthy people make money. Although these are good reasons to not attend college, it is important that you learn how to achieve your goals outside of college. Throughout this article, we will be going deeper into how working a job without a degree can still lead to you accomplishing your financial desires.

Working a Job

Although going straight to a job may not be the path your friends are taking, this does not have to be so bad. Especially, if you learn the concepts we are about to cover. 

College is only a vehicle to more easily get a job that can help you find stability. If you already have stability with working a job outside of college, you may not need to attend college altogether. Although everyone makes a big deal about college, it is not necessary for success in life. The only way college would be necessary for success in life is if you deemed a college graduate a successful person. Otherwise, it is just a tool to help you get a more desirable job and won’t make you successful.

The Next Steps

So, now that you are working a job, you might be wondering, “when do I go to college?” My question to you is, would you need to college if you already have the stability? Your argument could be, I don’t like this lousy job or I need more pay. Fortunately for you, we have answers to both problems. Most people get stuck in jobs but you will now gain the wisdom to go further.

I Don’t Like My Job

If you’ve chosen to go to work before college, you may have ended up with a job you are not particularly proud of. As a result, we’ve written the next steps for when you don’t like a job but don’t know what else to do. By following the instructions given in our shared post, you will overcome the issues related to your job which will ultimately allow you to leave any job comfortably.

I Don’t Get Paid Enough

Next, if you have a job you don’t mind doing but the pay is just not enough, you can resolve that with our solution here. Why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. When you apply the concepts of the wealthy which include owning assets, you will overcome the issue of not having enough pay.

Going to College First

Now, if you were one of the fortunate ones to have your bills under control prior to college, it may be fine to go straight to college without getting a job first. This is a very fortunate way to attend college and will make it very easy to focus since you do not have to worry about bills.

College First is For You

College first is a good option for you if: funding college won’t be an issue, you don’t need money right away for liabilities, you are absolutely set on working a degree-specific job regardless of the pay, or if you have a clear plan of how to handle college if you change your mind.

How Long You Should Attend College

If you will be pursuing the path of college first, be sure to definitely check out our post which tells you how long you should attend in college. Although it may be a good idea to go to college first, you can waste your time if you stay too long. Go to college with a clear path in mind to save the most time and money.

Working a Job While in College

If you, unfortunately, need more money while attending college, you may need to get a job after all. Although your funding may have seemed promising in the beginning, you can, unfortunately, lose any support or assistance you had with income. As a result, you may have to work a job.

Working a job while in college can be very difficult and will take a good handle on priorities. In addition, you  will need a strong understanding that you may not have as much fun as your friends who are not needing to juggle both; working and studying. Personally, I had to work and go to college and it gives you limited time to really enjoy life outside of being busy. At least be warned that if you have to do both, it will take a strong commitment to balance both well and to continue doing quality work in both fields. Be sure to get your minimum amount of sleep to feel rejuvenated otherwise, you will also be battling tiredness on top of a mountain of tasks or responsibilities.

The Next Steps After College

Once you finally finish college, it’s time you get the job you’ve been working for. Just in case you eventually want to do something else or you did not plan your entire life to be spent at a job, ensure you stop here to learn the bad things about a job. Not only will you learn the major challenges with a job, you will also get some solutions for those problems. If you like this type of information, be sure to check out our email list. Knowledge is shared here.