When you graduated from high school, what opportunities were there for you?

Where I grew up, the options that most of us considered were 4-year-college or community college (with the pressure to go to a 4-year much greater). I went straight to UC Davis and it was the right choice for me. 

Straight up to Ithaca and my first choice for college, Cornell U.

Go to college, bag groceries, or flip burgers.

Cadetship. Full time work, part time study. Money was tight.

I could have gone to college but chose not to.  The high school I attended had a placement service for commercial course grads and they got me a job at a law firm.  I've done that as my main career since graduation and still work at it part-time.

 

  The disconnect was between those that were available to me and those that I knew about. In reality, however, I only considered a solitary option:


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I quit (rural) high school with grade X which left much only farming and labor construction type job opportunities. Two years later I joined the Navy.

The only thing I would consider was going to work.  I did not want to go to school for a while, but knew I would go to college eventually. which I did.  I landed a really great job right out of high school and stayed with that company until I retired with 30 years of service.  I held positions in several departments and several cities through those years.  I took the elective business classes in high school.  The large companies recruited from my high school.   My business teacher took the seniors to four personnel offices to submit applications for employment in May before graduation.  I had three calls with job offers that I refused.  I accepted the fourth one.  Times change.