RE: employment oppurtunitys
I'm agreeing with the general educational theme going here...however, to avoid redundancy I’m going to approach this from a different angle: PAYING for that education everyone is yelling at you to get.
My answer comes in three letters ‘UPS’. While the PART TIME hours are tough, and the physical labor is even tougher UPS will pay you $2,000 per semester towards school during the spring and fall along with $1,500 during the summer classes if you chose to take them. In addition the benefits they offer are second to none, except maybe the US Government. The $9.50 an hour they pay you to bust your a** for 20 hours a week is just a little extra gravy.
My suggestion:
Seek out a job at UPS, and if you’re really strapped for money, or if you don’t have the high school GPA to do it then start out at a community college instead of a public or private college/university. Between UPS and community college, you could earn the grades for a scholarship to a University and pay nothing for your community college while you’re at it. Just make sure UPS accredits the college before you enroll.
This is just one way to go about obtaining your education. I’m just trying to show you that the opportunities are there, even for those who may think they cannot afford them.