Alternative Options After High School

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Approaching high school graduation can bring up a lot of uncertainty or anxiety for young adults.

  • What should I do next?
  • What if I choose the wrong thing?
  • How am I supposed to know what I want to do with the rest of my life?
  • How am I going to earn income to take care of myself? 
  • Do I even really know how to be on my own in the world yet?

These are just a few of the perfectly normal and common questions you might be asking yourself if you’re approaching high school graduation. 

Upon high school graduation, students are usually presented with a few typical, often limited options:

One

Go to college for a practical degree

You might choose this option to get an in-demand job like computer programming, administration, accounting, nursing, etc. You might try to “follow your passion,” taking required courses in hopes of figuring out what you’re best suited for.  You might land a job, and it might seem great for a while. Yet all too often, people discover soon into their 20’s that they don’t actually love their job or field, and they’re still obligated to pay off enormous college debt, so they keep looking for higher paying, but unfulfilling work.
Two

Get a 4-year degree with intentions of grad school​

Many are attracted to advanced degrees without being clear why.  The challenge is that few truly understand what the work really feels like or if it’s suited for them. Many go to school interested in being of service, and later learn they’re beholden to a highly bureaucratic or uncaring system that limits their ability to connect with those they long to serve. They often find themselves deep in debt, and burning out, dissatisfied with a path they believed would bring them proven security and success.​ Very little is available to help students discern what they really want before investing significant resources to find out if it’s right for them.​
Three

Enroll in trade school or a certificate program

This option is attractive in that in a matter of months, you can learn specific skills that support placing you in a job. Stepping into the workplace sooner can be great, but if you’re not sure what you really want to do, it can be “just something to make a living” rather than a true livelihood that really expresses your unique talents. You might land a job, and still be wondering how you could share more of your uniqueness and leadership with the world.
Four

Take a gap year or step straight into a paying job

A gap year offers the opportunity to take time for assessing your options. Many students will do this with the hope that they can truly explore themselves and discover what they want in life. They might seek employment during this time, though the income is generally low due to lack of skilled training. Often, there can be a sense of limitation due to lack of income for college education or further training, feeling like there are few other options than to “take what you can get” for income. More importantly, there’s a lack of direction or mentorship that can end up wasting a precious opportunity of a year.​

These are the typical options, but are there any others?

Upon raising young adults, and watching numerous adults later in life wishing they’d gained certain skills and opportunities much earlier in their lives, the founders of Markao Business Academy realized that it’s time for an alternative to these “typical” options after high school.

We listened to many young adults saying how they wish they knew more about who they are, what their passions are, and how they can create a life that really feels meaningful to them.  They have ideas, creativity, interests and visions, but don’t know how to implement or manifest them. They have fears, concerns and insecurities, but aren’t sure how to address them.

We listened to many older adults saying how they’ve earned one or more degrees that they aren’t using, realizing too late how they could’ve avoided a lot of time, energy and money if they’d learned more about what they really wanted, and how to focus on what was most important to them. 

So, we decided to create something different.

Markao is education built for the future. 

Markao Business Academy offers high school graduates the option to discover who they are and what their passions are, and then work with their inherent strengths and talents to turn those passions into a fulfilling and successful business.  

You get to be your own boss, and focus on what’s most meaningful to you.

Markao is an affordable option that can make a gap year extremely valuable, allowing you precious time to explore what you really want for your life, and giving you skills, perspective, and relationships that will support you to make a living and get to know yourself better.

Our program can also serve as an alternative to college, or be a powerful ally and compliment to other trainings you wish to apply. Markao helps students determine the path that feels best for them, easing that feeling of insecurity or uncertainty that can come with moving into adulthood.

What would having personalized ongoing mentoring from experienced business and life coaches, while implementing real, hands-on projects that result in valuable skills and a viable business feel like as an option for you? 

We’d love to hear your questions, and learn more about you.  Contact us and let us know your thoughts.

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