Not all students must go to college in order to achieve success. With the finances required for college and the possibility of facing employment troubles, senior Miguel Guerrero chooses the police academy to ensure his success.

“I want to join the police academy because I’m interested in the job and its been in my family for three generations,” Guerrero said.

With 46 percent of students not graduating in the first six years of college, students consider whether or not college helps toward their success. The public school system, pushes for students to believe a college degree as the only way to achieve their goals. Guerrero decided not to go to a four year college after high school.

“To become a police officer, I do not require a four year university,” Guerrero said.

With tuition costs increasing at twice the rate of inflation, many college graduates face large student loan debt amounting to approximately $1 trillion in United States student loan debt. These graduates rely on the income from their expected jobs to repay these debts. Because underemployment among college graduates rose to 19.1 percent in 2012, these students may face trouble ridding themselves of student debt.

“[The rising tuition costs] is pushing a lot of students to stay at home and enroll into community colleges,” counselor Beth Morrison said.

Students who decide to go to Tarrant County College or other community colleges have the opportunity to earn college credit at a lower tuition.

“You can get an associates degree which is great because a lot of students can take that and get a really good job,” Morrison said.

With 53 percent of recent graduates with a bachelor degree working in jobs that do not require a bachelor degree, these graduates face trouble in finding a job that will allow them to repay student loan debt. Howard Ritz explains the change in difficulty in finding adequate employment in the current economy.

“I didn’t have to wait a year [to get a job] like people do now, I waited two months,” Debate teacher Howard Ritz said. “It would be harder to get a job now because people from other work forces are applying to be teachers as well.”

For students who decide not to seek a four-year degree immediately after high school, there are other options such as vocational schools. Vocational schools prepare students for specific jobs since they focus on skills and information that is necessary for a particular job. The vocational school provides an education that is relevant to the job the student seeks, instead of information that may be irrelevant in their field.

“I think college isn’t for everyone, some kids already know what they want to do, they have a trade and they work with that trade, that job skill,” Mrs. Morrison

The Uncollege movement encourages high school graduates to take time from their academic career and discover their own abilities for a self-directed education. This practice became known as a “gap year” and gained more popularity and support from organizations and entrepreneurs.  The Thiel Fellowship pays talented students a large sum to not go to college and to pursue other world changing interests instead.

“We have a society where successful people are encouraged to go to college,”  PayPal founder Peter Thiel said. “But it’s a mistake to think that’s what makes people successful.”

The United States offers a wide range of jobs for students straight out of high school. Students have the opportunity to enlist for military service immediately after high school. Shortly after graduation, an enlistee receives approximately $16,000 a year during basic training. Salary for an enlistee increases with rank and comes with a wide range of benefits.

Guerrero plans on going to the police academy after he graduates from high school.  After his completion of the academy and fulfilling other requirements, Guerrero has a chance of serving the public as a Police Officer and finding his success that way.

“Criminal justice is in my blood,” Guerrero said,  “I love the idea of protecting the community since my family’s move from Mexico.”

Guerrero has chosen to seek his own successes without a four-year college education and the overwhelming debt that comes with it. He is able to prove college is not a necessary factor for success.

“I would consider myself successful when my picture in uniform is up in Applebee’s,” Guerrero said.

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