Changes: School Time, To Life!
Author: Bill Garwood
Changes: School Time, to Life!
We ALL know we are getting older - imagine that, we who just a few years ago (Decades), were Invincible! Young and full of energy and felt nothing could stop us in whatever we decided to do. Surprise, life was in the bushes …waiting. We had no, or very little, actual life experience; some of you had farm/ranch experience. Many don’t but there is knowledge, everywhere, just yours for the taking.
You NEED to seek it out, learn read or better yet get with someone who actually KNOWS a job. If possible, become their apprentice and learn by doing! This is the best way to get the type of career you want. When I graduated High School in 1973 (Yeah, I know I’m old) I had no idea what I wanted to do, or become in life. This can be a very scary time for new Graduates, all of a sudden you are…OUT IN LIFE! EEK. What to do? Certain career paths are not for everybody, I’ll admit that. I looked around my hometown and found next to nothing, IF I had stayed there, I would have ended up pumping gas or driving a beer or fuel oil truck. I put in applications but, to do what?
You have to look at it as if YOUR LIFE, is a ball of clay. You can mold it to be anything you want, start by realizing that school taught you many things but not about what you choose to become. This is where “trade schools” come to mind, you can get a great “Vocational” training in most any field. Thousands of young people are finding out that this is the way to go. Find a training program for the job you want, most times you learn as you work and can be paid a bit as you learn the job.
There is also the way I did it…(You knew I was going to bring up the Military, didn’t you?). As I looked for work after school, I found myself turning, to at least check out the Military. I was incredibly surprised; any job you can think of they have an M.O.S. (Military Occupational Specialty) for. Even things like Veterinary school. Carpentry, plumbing, electrician, all the trade schools. And the schools are FREE! Yes, you have to sign up for a few years, and there IS the chance that you could be deployed to a strange land. OR spend your years right around where you grew up. ONE BIG DIFFERENCE: IF you go into the NATIONAL Guard or Reserves, most times you will have to have a full-time job in Civilian life too. I spent 18 years active-duty Army, some of the best years of my life! Then I transferred to National Guard, duty. Luckily, I found a full-time job as a Federal Technician. And finished out my career. One last thought, you can do ANYTHING you just have to put in the work. Life will reward you if you get out there and TRY!
