The Student News Site of Cartersville High School

The Chipper
The Student News Site of Cartersville High School

The Chipper
The Student News Site of Cartersville High School

The Chipper

Graduation Plan: A Guide

Zachary Hilliard-roberts, Writer
March 24, 2025

What do you plan to do?

This is the hardest question to answer after high school. Some people might know exactly what they want to do since they were in middle school, but others don’t find this out until they are in their mid-20s. Well, there are a number of ways you can go. The options we will be talking about in this article, though, are joining the workforce, the military, going to a trade school, or college.

It matters what you pick but try not to stress about whatever you pick. Your career should be based on at least one of these three aspects:

  • Stability – Does this job have a big field of careers in it/When is work available?
  • Money – Does the job make enough money to support you and your endeavors?
  • Passion – Does this job make you happy or fulfilled?

How to figure out a career pathway you might want to pursue

  • Research various career fields that you might be interested in
  • You can use various sites to find careers
  • Do you want to make your hobby into a job, or do you want to separate your hobby and your job?
  • If you find something that interests you down the line, even if it’s from fiction, then LOOK INTO IT! I cannot stress this enough. This is how I found the career I want to go down it could help you too
  • Are you considering going into the military? If so, why are you going into the military? Is it for college or is it something you are passionate about?
  • Are you considering trade school? If so, then what trade do you want to get?
  • Are you considering college? If so, then what would you want to major in?
  • Recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

What the Workforce Provides:

Joining the workforce right after high school allows you to gain experience, develop skills, and make money without anyone to owe it to instantly for certain jobs. Many careers do not require a school to make a living. If you decide that you want to join the workforce here are things that you should work on before graduating.

 

Workforce: What to Work on Before Graduation

    • Resume:
      • A resume is going to be the main thing you need to join the workforce. A resume shows the experience you have in an organized way. 
      • The more professional your resume looks makes you more likely to get the job you want.
      • There are many good websites to make a resume on. You can use sites like Kickresume, Zety, and Visual CV.
  • Try to Build Connections
      • Building connections can help you a lot in the workforce. If you build your connections before leaving high school, you can easily join the workforce straight out of high school.
      • Some basic connections you might have are going to be from people like your parents/guardians. 
      • You can participate in career fairs and intern at these companies before finishing high schools which will help you not only build connections but also build your resume
  • Try to Find a Company That Hire Straight Out of High School
    • You can go on a website like indeed (https://www.indeed.com/) to not only find jobs but also apply to them
    • You can also post your resume and companies could reach out to you
    • There are many hiring agencies out there that can help you find work
      • The department of labor can assist you in finding work

What the Military Provides:

Joining the military has a ton of benefits. Some of these benefits can include free college, reduced or free insurance, early retirement options, etc. People will often tell you not to go to the military because of the dangers in it, while of course you have a lot more responsibility to the country then you do with any other pathway after high school, a lot of people overestimate how dangerous it is to be in the military right now. There are many fields in the military you can join. Here is a list of the many paths you can enter straight out of high school:

  • Army
  • Air Force
  • Coast Guard
  • Marine Corps
  • National Guard
  • Navy
  • Space Force

With the different branches you often get the same/similar benefits that other branches would get. With the national guard you would get both the benefits that other military branches would have plus state benefits, something that none of the other branches have right now.

At Cartersville High School we have a recruiter who wants to recruit anyone who wants to join the Georgia National Guard. The national guard is a home-based branch of the military whose purpose is to support the people if disaster were to happen in their state. They respond to both natural and man-made disasters.

What are the Benefits of Joining the Georgia National Guard

  • Reduced prices on insurance – Extends to your immediate family.
  • Veteran discounts from companies that support the military – Extends to your immediate family.
  • A scholarship to a college you want that is within the state of Georgia as long as you can maintain a 2.0 in college.
  • Can pay up to $50,000 in student loans
  • It is easier for you to buy a house than others.
  • An organization called Work for Warriors gives you a guaranteed 5 job interviews.
  • You can swap branches easily if you decide you want to work for another branch of the military.
  • You can swap to another state’s national guard with ease if you decide to move elsewhere.
  • It takes about 20 years and then you can retire.
  • GI Bill Reserve: Pays $481 while you are in college
  • GI Bill Kicker: Pays an extra $350 while you are in college if you score a 50 or above on the ASVAB
  • You get paid your GI Bill if you are actively taking classes in a school every time you have a drill.

Requirements to Join the Georgia National Guard

  • At least 17 years old
  • At least a Junior in high school
  • You can meet the medical and moral requirements.

[IMPORTANT] Interested in joining the Georgia National Guard?

If you are interested in the Georgia National Guard, then please contact SSG Lynch from the info listed below to get more information.

Where to Find a Recruiter/Apply the Different Branches:

What Trade School Provides

Trade school, also known as technical school, is a school that you go to, much like college, that allows you to get a certification in a field. Unlike college, trade schools are much cheaper, way less time-consuming, and require less to get into. Trade schools also take less of a focus on academic education and allow you to get experience in the field that you want to pursue. Though trade schools do sound like the best alternative to college, the negative to it comes with less experience than college, but more importantly, the jobs after finishing trade school are not that flexible because you specialize in one thing.

What are the Benefits of Joining a Trade School

  • You can find work relatively fast after graduation
  • Lower cost than college
  • GPAs are way less important than in college
  • You can specialize in many highly demanding jobs
  • A wide variety of jobs are available through the certificates achieved
  • You can have many opportunities to enter an apprenticeship
  • It’s good at advancing careers

Here are all the Trade Schools in Georgia

What College/University Provides

College is a good way to try to work for a high-paying career. Oftentimes, you will need to get a degree for some careers. College is where you need to go to get these degrees. Colleges tend to be more about academics than experience, but a degree can help you get into fields that would otherwise be impenetrable. College can also give you connections to certain fields so after you leave college you can use that degree to get a high-paying job. Though you can get a degree in a lot of things in college I would recommend going to college for something you know you can get a job in. Oftentimes people will go to college and get a degree in something they are neither interested in nor have that many uses in the workforce, and they get in a lot of debt that they can’t use their degree to help them pay off.

What are the Good Parts of College

  • Fun experience
  • There are many job opportunities that college can give you
  • Good job security
  • Higher income
  • Understand yourself better

What Should You Do Before College?

Once You Get Accepted

  • When you get accepted make sure you are certain that it is the college you wish to go to
  • Check your email and make sure you remember how you can log in to your student account.
  • Complete your FAFSA for the year that you will be taking college.
    • If you are graduating in May of 2025 and wish to go straight to college, apply for the fall of 2025
    • You will need to complete your FAFSA once every year to maintain funding.
  • Look for scholarships and grants.
  • Look at their housing options.
    • Some colleges make you stay in a dorm your first-year
  • Apply to the housing the instant you can
    • Rooms can be taken up fast and you might end up living in a dorm or apartment that you might not want to be in
  • Get a meal plan
  • Are you doing college part-time, full-time, or as a student worker?
    • Part-Time: You have a job outside of school that you need to take less classes for
    • Full Time: You are dedicated to school and should use some of your free time to study to help keep your GPA up
    • Student Worker: You are hired by your college and will gain benefits and pay for helping them
  • Sign up for orientation.
    • Orientation is where you will choose your classes and major.
  • Look in the community to see if there is anything you might want to do
    • When you make it to college you are an adult, it’s good to make connections with people in the community (This is coming from an introvert)
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