As students approach their futures after high school, they begin to explore thoughts for college, the military, trade school and jobs. These future decisions provide students with options for sources of income and some may prioritize financial independence. The rise of entrepreneurship can support such students in achieving that independence. For those students who strive for financial success, entrepreneurship and starting their own businesses can result in rethinking the choice to pursue a higher education.
According to an article from the Journal of Professional School Counseling, “School networks that convey information and expectations about college going are more adept at sending their graduating seniors to college.”
On the guided path for students, there is often an expectation for them to pursue higher education, such as college. On campus, students are supported with resources to help them attend college, including meetings with college advisors at the College Career Center. For students, this means working hard on college admissions, with common options like community college, California state schools and private universities. Others prioritize finding sources of income, usually by picking up a part-time job.
In recent times, entrepreneurship and starting small businesses have been more popular due to the developments and help of social media platforms. Teenagers utilize specific trends like influencer marketing and investing, as well as ideas for personally owned businesses like work in nails, day trading and more. These different sources of income can influence the entrepreneurs to have second thoughts about attending college, especially if the business is successful.
This rise of social media has helped senior Taylor Moffett, who utilizes Instagram to promote her nail business and connect with clients. After her senior year, Moffett decided to go to trade school for an esthetician license, but this wasn’t always her plan.
“Before, I just was like, I’ll go to community college and figure it out. Like this, I actually have a passion for. When if I was just going to go to college, I really wouldn’t know what I was going to do,” Moffett said.
Moffett decided she will pursue higher education, but it is a directly specialized education for the skill of an esthetician to support her nail business, not traditional academic-based schooling because it wouldn’t allow her to obtain an esthetician license.
“I realized that doing nails is profitable, and doing in the beauty industry is profitable, especially right now. I saw it was more and more possible for me to live off and accomplish things with my business,” Moffett said.
Moffett’s decision reflects how the influence of business changed her mind of attending college after high school.
Kessie Aguilar, a college advisor on campus, notices online trends that can bring in income for individuals.
“There’s also a trend of influencers, and I feel like that has affected it, because students don’t think they have to go into school, and then maybe they might choose not to, to pursue being an influencer or doing their business,” Aguilar said.
However, entrepeneurship has no drastic change in the amount of people applying to college.
¨I haven’t really heard about it… maybe this would be something I would see later on in second semester,¨ Aguilar said.
Instead, for the students who have their own ways of making money, entrepreneurship can provide stability when facing thoughts about college. The topic of not going to college can be stressful, but being somewhat financially independent can provide confidence for these entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneur senior Angelo Gregorio, runs three different online businesses, but has also decided to go to college. His businesses have given him the confidence to be successful in being an entrepreneur at the same time as attending college for a separate career.
“It shows me that there’s other routes, especially that I’m finding success at a young age. It shows me that maybe I don’t have to go to school for all four or eight years just to start making money,” Gregorio said.
Here, students are encouraged to follow the college path after high school. Students who want a source of income work a part-time job along with going to school as they plan for college, but the few student-entrepreneurs who have found success have more reason to think twice about that traditional path.
But as seen, most students of their own will choose to pursue a type of higher education, whether it be to help them continue with their business or to complete courses for a different career.
