College is something not everyone is cut out for, but there are more than just the typical college educations.
There are two types of college students: the type who go for themselves because they want to and the type who go because their parents want them to go. If someone is going to make it through college and enjoy it, that person has to go for his own reasons.
Whether students are going for their own reasons or for their parents, all people should get some type of higher education. A university degree is not the only option out there. There are the trade schools that focus on one thing, and students get more hands-on experience like working on a car at these types of schools. Trade schools are for the type of person who is better with hands on work, and the type that learns better from doing it on their own.
There is the military. It may not be the typical higher education, but I look at it as an education. The training someone gets while in the military is only given while in the military, such as great team training or problem solving skills.
If the student has a hard time focusing with lots of different classes there are the block training schools. A school who does classes in blocks just means the main focus is on a small amount of classes at once. Students at block type schools finish classes before moving on to the next set of small classes. These schools still offer the same degrees a university can offer; the breakdown of classes is the only difference.
No matter where a student goes, everyone needs some type of higher education. It is true that it is hard to get a good job without some type of higher education; the workforce is just too competitive not to have some type of higher education, like a degree. I think this is why there is so much pressure for young people to get some type of education. According to a study on study.com with information from the National Center for Education Statistics, college graduates earn an average of 60 percent more than non-graduates.
Besides knowing what type of education a student wants to get, mapping out how much it is going to cost is very important as well. If the student can map out the price of however long it is going to take to complete the desired education, then it can help in deciding what route the student should go.
If I could go back and talk to high school students, I would tell them they need some type of higher education. I would tell them to do lots of thinking before just jumping in and choosing one place to go. They also need to go for their own reasons and not for their families. After they have decided where they want to go I think it is important to go visit that school and see what it has to offer the student. I would also tell them, yes, they can change degrees, but it will cost them more time and money.