Alright, you’re getting ready to graduate from high school, now what?

Do you know what you want to do? If not, take some time and try to really figure out what direction you want to move before signing up for student loans and going to college. Here are the top 7 things to consider when figuring out what you want to do.

1. What inspires you? This is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Take the time and find something you love doing and your life will be much more rewarding.

2. Is there a market for what inspires you?

3. How much can you make in that profession?

4. How much schooling, if any, is required to do what you love?

5. How much does that schooling cost?

6. How are you going to pay for that schooling?

7. If you have to take out loans to finance your schooling, How long will it take you to pay those loans off after graduating?

Student loans should not be taken lightly as they can take a long time to repay based on your income after graduating and typically cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. See unsecured vs. secured debt.

When choosing what direction you would like to go it’s important to look at how much is that degree going to cost you and what kind of money are you going to make in that profession.

Let me be clear, the deciding factors of what you do with your life career wise should not simply be based on how much money you’re going to make but at least by doing these exercises you will know what you are getting in to.