We are closing in on another high school and college graduation season. It’s amazing how fast a school year can fly by, unless you’re the student when it seems to crawl.

I’ve noticed a trend lately where a lot of people graduate from college enter the workforce and, before you know it, do a 180-degree turn and go back to school to study something else.

I give those people a lot of credit. I couldn’t do that.

I was a late bloomer in graduating from college and, when not much was happening for me in the field of public relations, I had a talk with a friend of mine who had been teaching for many years and was looking to retire in the near future.

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He took me aside and said I should be a teacher and, for about 10 minutes, I actually entertained the idea.

Because I was a communications major, I didn’t have to take English, Math, or Sciences. If I wanted to teach, I would have to take a lot of core classes.

I made up my mind and enrolled at Marywood University where I had earned my bachelor’s degree. I took three days of classes into the semester and realized I would have to spend nearly $20,000 to get my teaching degree.

After doing the math, I knew that wouldn’t work. I wasn’t sure I had any backing to get into any of the local districts without help.

I’ve seen a lot of people recently head back to school for a second career in the medical profession.

There has to be a realization in one’s life that what you are doing is not working. When I thought about another career, tuition wasn’t as high as it is today, so hats off to those making the financial commitment to change careers and change lives.

The medical profession has always been a good field to get into and, with an aging population in our area, hospitals are filled, nursing homes are filled and you rarely find a hospice facility with empty beds. Doing an about-face and entering the medical profession is a safe bet.

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Although public relations sounded great and seemed to fit my personality early on and I enjoyed working in that field, it wasn’t cup of tea in the long run.

If I was going graduating from high school today, I would struggle about what I should do for a living. My parents never instilled higher education into me because they, along with other members of their generation, didn’t go to college of have the money for college.

Life is cyclical and, when I graduated from high school, we were told the only way to get anywhere in life was with a sheepskin, better known as a degree. Getting jobs got to be competitive and it was hard to get a job over someone with a college degree.

I read once that 25% of those graduating from college actually get a job in their field. I wonder if any of my friends in human resources can tell me otherwise about that number today.

With a four-year degree costing up to $50,000+ a year, it’s safe to say paying back $200,000 for a college education is scary. Many high school grads are thinking twice about spending that kind of money.

Two-year associates degrees, certifications or trade school educations are all viable solutions where you can earn money relatively quickly and cut your education time in half.

The cost of education is astronomical. I hope something happens in the future where it’s more economical for high school students or those thinking of changing careers to afford.

Quote of the week

“It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier, American writer.

Thought of the week

“For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, the essences and quintessence of their lives.” – Amy Lowell, American critic and poet.

Bumper sticker

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian.

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My Corner,

Your Corner

Tony Callaio