Real Life

Real Life 101

Everyone in high school anticipates the last day of their senior year. The day when high school is over and “real life” begins. I felt this day was the day I could be on my own. Get a full time job to support myself. Have no one telling me what to do or how to live. I could finally control my won life. Then it hit me. I can’t live a comfortable life without a college education.

The first thing I did after graduation was to go out and find a real job. I was sick of school and I just wanted to start a career I could hold until I retired. I got a job at a local car dealership, Toyota of Redlands, as a technician. My job included changing oil, rotating tires and any other maintenance related duties. I thought it would be a good start and I could work my way up through the ranks and become a master technician or maybe a service manager. I quickly realized that I only enjoy working on cars in my free time, not when it was a requirement everyday. The pay also never increases unless you go to a Toyota Tech School. As I mentioned earlier I was very sick of school and Tech School did not appeal to me.

One day, my manager at Toyota took me aside and told me “Kyle, you are one of our hardest workers on the lot and I know you could be manager material. In order to do that, you are going to have to go to our Toyota Certified Two Year Academy. The dealership will pay for everything.” Although this would have been a great career

opportunity, making almost $200,000 a year, I really didn’t want to go back to school. I also came to the conclusion that I did not want to work on cars for the rest of my life.

After working for Toyota of Redlands for two years, I found a new job at ABI/VIP Attorney Services in Redlands. The pay was better and I really did not want to do hard manual labor anymore. This job was exactly what I needed after working at Toyota. I was now sitting in an air conditioned office with no physical exertion necessary. My job at ABI consisted of sitting at my desk and scanning files, reviewing files and emailing clients. I liked my job, but in order to make enough money at ABI to live on my own or support a family, I would need a degree. While I was working at ABI I finally realized that the only way to have a career I would enjoy and make enough money to be comfortable I would have to go back to school.

When I think back to what I would want to do for a career, the one thing that has stuck with me my whole life is helping people. I have always admired the nurses and doctors who help people in need. I was not exactly sure what field to pursue. One of my good friends told me he knew of someone