All good advice I think. I'd advise kids to carefully consider how their future educational choices will prepare them for employment. I personally don't believe it's wise to just follow your passion if it won't get you a job when you're done with the education. Also that it's okay to consider a vocational/trade school if they think they'd prefer that kind of work. They can always add on a four-year degree later if they want and they will be able to support themselves while they do.

I took lots of classes just out of curiosity - geology, philosophy, piano, jazz studies, ballroom dance, accounting, American studies, etc. Though I had a science major, liberal arts courses were required. I also worked in the summer because I was funding my own education and did an unpaid internship that helped me realize I didn't want to go into a particular field of employment. No study abroad - I don't think that was a thing when/where I went to school

Kswl, like I said, no one remembers it anyway. Although, I remember when we were getting married, I told a relative ”we decided, if one of us makes dinner, the other one cleans up”. He said, ”actually the one who cares will cook, and the one who cares will clean up.”. Turns out he was exactly right! although, maybe that wasn’t advice so much as an observation.

No, but now it's all on Youtube so many some will circle back and listen to what was said. Maybe it doesn't matter. All the angst and UNKNOWN stress is gone the next morning when you wake and find life is just not that dramatic after all. We video taped our wedding--the new THING back then and I was glad I could go back and listen to the pastors' talk to us. Sadly I don't think people have the luxury to follow the advise your speaker gave--classes are waaaay too expensive to take them for FUN or frivolity.

My kids are finally really listening to me again (late 20s, early 30s). And the irony is now my elderly parents dismiss almost everything I suggest intended to make their lives easier.

Arcy, true that when we wake up the next day, life goes on. I suppose that’s why we mark occasions with special music and words, lest we forget and just let life become a boring blue. But some of the most important moments aren’t marked that way, are they? Like the moment you realize ”hey, I love this person!” or ”I believe!” or ”you mean I can do that for a living?”

I skipped all commencement ceremonies until grad school, but you are correct, I don’t remember a word of the speech.

I remember reading that a lot of universities are encouraging HS graduates to take a year off and get some work or travel experience before starting university studies, since this opportunity would not likely happen again before the next graduation.

I did not do this, and I probably should have, as I changed majors after my freshman year from physics to German/English literature. I should have majored in architecture from the start, as my mother advised, but I thought that architects did not make enough money. It turns out that those who major in German/English make even less.

Anyway, I ended up as a designer anyway, but it took me longer to figure this out than it should have.

It’s too bad that there aren’t more internships available to high schoolers. I understand that some high schoolers aren’t mature enough to work in a professional environment, but it’s sure helpful when you are trying to decide on your educational path to a career.

I remember reading a study decades ago that found that something like 70% of college graduates didn’t end up working in their exact degree field.

On the flip side, when I was hiring employess, I was more interested in those who could problem-solve and contribute positively to the team than those that had only developed technical skills. My position was that I could teach technical skills, but it’s much harder to teach critical thinking.

It seems like getting a part-time job in high school would serve the purpose of an internship and help develop maturity. I would think there are entry level jobs often filled by young people where the employer is used to dealing with some level of immaturity.

I suppose, @3katz4me, but a part-time job is usually retail or restaurant. I was thinking more about working for an attorney or architect or plumber or electrician, jobs that have a long-term career path.

Back in the 80's-when I graduated from high school, we weren't as immature as kids are today, IMO. Sure, there were some, but on the whole-we weren't held captive by helicopter moms. And yes, I was guilty of that too. Thank goodness I have a husband that continuously countered my thinking on that issue.

For instance, my SIL graduated from high school and went to work for a bank for a couple of years then, she went to work for a law firm, knowing nothing except how to type and some banking-and left the law firm 12 years later with them begging her and would pay her about anything she wanted to stay, she was that good. Learning all on the job. She did go part-time for awhile, but in the end wanted to be home full-time with my baby nephew. Through the years, they would call and ask her to come in on special occasions. You don't have to have college in most areas. I knew MANY who did just that back then-never going to college or having to worry about incurring college debt. Learning on the job and being out in the real world is preferred over going to college for four years for faster maturity-I don't see how anyone can debate that.

eta: I graduated college and she made more money than I did.

In the end, it depends on how bad you want something, willing to start at entry level and how hard you want to work and if companies are willing now to take on "on-the-job" training. Of course, I am not talking about very specialized training in some areas.

@Fun2BHere - I suppose though I worked in an engineering firm in high school as a receptionist one summer. I think some "good" jobs could be found but it might require some parental networking. The company I retired from had a summer paid internship program for employees' kids/other young relatives - high school age up - to do miscellaneous jobs that we otherwise never got around to. Depending on the kids' skills some were more interesting than others. If someone were willing to do an unpaid internship I can't imagine that there wouldn't be an opportunity some where.

I learned something, or at least took away something, from every part-time or temporary job I’ve had, starting with a few weeks alphabetizing applications at the state scholarship commission. I was about 15, my first job. Yes, of course we already knew how to alphabetize, it was a unit in grade school and middle school in the library! We learned about work, authority, etc. (My current library, they used to alphabetize the videos and dvds by first letter only. My friend and I used to conspire to break in on Sundays in summer to alphabetize them. We asked the librarian once why they didn’t alphabetize beyond the first letter, she said that they use student pages for that kind of thing and they don’t know how! And besides, patrons never put things back in the right order anyway. Sheesh. When a new library director came in, within a month I noticed that the media was in lovely order and it stays that way.)

Bpath, whe i used to work in a library and videos were a new thing, we only alphabetized by the first letter. The reason was that we got new videos all the time and it wojld have meant switching the entire shelf to accommodate them. Things have probably changed by now.

I have always admired Steve Jobs commencement speech where he advised the graduates ”"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

I would have benefited from that advice.

The only thing I remember on high school graduation day and university graduation day was how stupidly hot it was on both days.

Most of what i remember of my hs graduation was wishing it would end so i could get out of there and head to the beach for the summer.

Our graduate school graduation we had a speaker who reminded us that we were very privileged to be masters and Ph.D. graduates, that so few people in the world have accomplished what we did, and we shouldn’t forget it. So I have not!

When I was in undergrad, I had a HS friend who worked for an employment agency, so I did office temping in the summers for extra money. I was always a good typist, so if you can do that, you can always find work. So, I alays worked in interesting environments. Some of them were corporate but some were solo proprietors. That same friend had an uncle who had a caramel corn business and we helped out in summer time in HS when it was time for the county fairs packaging caramel corn.

Gsci, good point about typing. When my dad graduated from high school in the waning days of the WWII, like all his buddies he was immediately drafted. On his forms, he indicated that he could type x words a minute (he could, he took a class in HS), so he was made a company clerk a la Radar O’Reilly! (My high school ”college typing and notehand” course was the most useful class I took. Not just typing, but how to format, use style guides, take and organize notes, etc.)