With the endless opportunities in our modern world, you might find yourself discovering your goals and itching to achieve them as soon as possible. Perhaps that is making you question whether completing high school is necessary for you.
Dropping out of school is good idea if you have a job lined up. Ideal jobs for early school leavers are traineeships and apprenticeships. Quitting school without having a job does not display commitment or productivity. It reduces your chance of getting a good job and puts you at risk of unemployment.
With these opportunities in mind, the question is how do you know if dropping out of high school is a good idea?
Is dropping out of high school worth it?
Academic studies might be challenging for you. Maybe you feel frustrated trying to keep up at school and still struggle no matter how many extra study hours you put in. This may be affecting your self-esteem because success seems to be an impossible outcome within your studies. There’s no need to be down on yourself. In fact, it is why a lot of students drop out of school before Year 12. Often, if you struggle with the academic side of schooling, you might ask yourself is it good to drop out of school and will I thrive in a trade environment.
If trades are more of your calling, there are plenty of apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities that will help you rebuild your confidence whilst starting to build your career.
School can be a very stressful environment and, whilst some of your peers can handle the pressure, you might struggle with balancing high school life. This can often affect your mental health. If you are struggling with the pressure of high school workloads, there are options such as TAFE or Vocational Education Institutions that can offer a less stressing educational environment. These programs would offer you the successful completion of higher study levels with a possible reduced course load. Don’t forget that you can also contact a labour hire agency that can connect you with an employer and get you some good work experience. This will enable you to work out what you enjoy!
What are the effects of high school dropouts?
Many people drop out of high school and lead successful fulfilling lives with good jobs. So, you might be wondering, is it really a bad idea to drop out of high school? What are the disadvantages of not going to school?
High school pushes you to learn resilience and to follow through with commitments. You should question if you are wanting to drop out because you are looking for the easy way out, or if you genuinely struggle in school.
If you are thinking of dropping out because you can’t really be bothered finishing high school, you aren’t reinforcing good patterns in your mentality. A downside of dropping out is that this mindset will impact your commitments in all areas of your life. This can cause you to be less likely to achieve your goals because you form a habit of not finishing things. Whether this be your high school education, your projects or house chores, you are offering yourself an excuse to opt out and not have to finish. If you want to drop out, to give yourself the best chance at getting a good career start, apply for jobs while you are still at school.
Having a high school certificate is commended by many employers and can be a direct pass into your desired career, rather than needing to take extra steps through TAFE or other educational institutes.
Without this certificate, securing a quality job is a lowered possibility for you. You also risk increasing short- and long-term unemployment because you haven’t shown the ability to commit to completing a job or certificate.
Who to talk to about leaving school?
You should talk to your parents about your thoughts on leaving school because they are your main supporters in your education. However, it can be an intimidating conversation to have.
You can talk to a trusted teacher and your career/pathways leaders at your high school because they can help find a different course for you to undertake. This helps you build your plan for leaving school.
Both parents and teachers can help you with applications for apprenticeships and traineeships if they know what you want to do.
Another great person to talk to is a recruitment agency, as they can look at your experience and give you advice on your prospects, whether you need to get more experience before they could even consider placing oyu in a job.
If there is an impact on your mental health, it is a good idea to consider talking to youth mental health foundation such as Headspace. By talking with these organisations, you can learn the tools you need to look after your mental health outside of a school environment.
When can you legally dropout of school Australia?
The Australian Government has decided that the acceptable age for you to leave high school is 17. If you aren’t yet 17, the equivalent is to have completed your high school education up to year 10.
More information from the Australian Government about leaving school can be found through this website.
What can you do when you dropout of school?
Building a career without finishing high school will require you to complete internships, apprenticeships, or traineeships, depending on what your career goal is.
- Apprenticeships – mostly trade-based. There are plenty of apprenticeship opportunities in these areas for young Australians. They include work as a bricklayer, carpenters jobs, tiler and many more construction jobs.
- Traineeships – combine work experience with a qualification such as beauty and hairdressing certificates that you can complete through TAFE. They also involve hands-on experience where you can do placement in the workspace, but you also complete formal tasks to be assessed that will gain you a qualification.
- Internships – involve on-the-job training where you work set hours whilst learning the skills and tools you will need to succeed in that industry. They are the first steps to take in many workplaces whether you have completed high school or not.
- Get a job – this might be an entry-level position or employment in your local supermarket. Depending on your career goals at this time, getting a job and sticking at it for a while could be a good option for you. For labour jobs in Canberra, check out a labour hire agency.
All of these options can provide income options as many pay you for your work on the job or in your work experience.
Feeling more intrigued about work life? See the reasons behind why you should become a carpenter or you can check out our investigation into the best entry level jobs. Maybe you’re wondering if you should continue work or start a business. Canberra Labour Hire offers opportunities to answer your questions and connect employers with labour workers.
