College/Career advice for my younger brother - 1st generation student.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a younger brother who is 17 years old and will be a senior in high school come this September. I am kind of worried because he isn't really motivated with his school work and is not goal orientated. I would say he is somewhat lazy. I just want him to do well in life and not suffer. </p>

<p>I will not be with him to help him out when he has to fill out applications for college (that is if he chooses to) so this situation only intensifies my concern. Come this fall I will be attending Emory University as a transfer student from a community college and will have my mind on my studies. There is only so much I can do from afar. My older brother already graduated from NJIT and is an engineer...he works full time and possibly starting his own family so he too will have his hands full. My mother will be home with my younger brother but she works 6 days (5am to 5pm)a week and does not really know the application process and relies pretty much on me since I am currently home. I will be in NJ for 2 more weeks and than I will head off to Atlanta. It doesn't help that my younger brother is lazy and my mom doesn't know the process...I would think is a recipe for a disaster. </p>

<p>I am not sure what universities interest him or what major would he want to pursue.</p>

<p>Here is his background:
High school GPA:<br>
2.6 </p>

<p>SATs:<br>
Will take in the fall</p>

<p>Career Interest:<br>
Gym teacher or Police officer. He told me these two careers interest him because he said they are easy. My cousin is convincing him to be a police officer because he is trying to become a correctional officer (mind you he could not pass this training camp they do but he has 'connections' so he is reentering the academy). His favorite persuasive lines are "Look, school is overrated. Why go to school and take out so many loans when you can become a correctional officer. Just take an exam...pass it and you will start off with with a salary of $50,000 a year." My cousin is a bad influence. I would like to expand on this discussion but I would rather not and just take my word for it.</p>

<p>Hobbies:
Plays xbox 360...Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Halo 3. (surprisingly is really good)
I think he is in either the Spanish or Math Club...but he only attend 2 meetings.</p>

<p>Community Service:
None. However, he has had a summer seasonal job for the last 2 summers.</p>

<p>School Interest:
He once told me that he would want to go to a school in NJ. I wanted to explain to him there is a bigger and more diverse world outside of the city we live in...but something told me he would not care. </p>

<p>All in all...to me it seems that he will go to community college, which is not a bad thing. However, I would like for him to experience what it is like to have responsibilities and have goals and I think him getting out of this apartment would be a good thing. I feel this way because both my older brother and me could (if we had to for some unfortunate reason) live on our own at the age of 17. </p>

<p>On a bright note, my mom explained to me she is going to visit his counselor when school starts to discuss his future. My younger brother also explained to me he will actually try and said he will ace everything next year. He once told his counselor (jokingly) he could do the work assignments and everything he just chooses not to because it is boring to him. His teachers get frustrated because he is a smart young and respectful kid but is really unmotivated and lazy. My mom tries to enforce him to study but it seems to me that it makes him dislike it more. My approach of letting him experience and learn for himself so far isn't working either...</p>

<p>Can you help me approach this and how to go about this situation?</p>

<p>Thank you </p>

<p>PS... Even though he loves video games and is really good at it he vividly expressed that he would not want to go into a career of designing games or computers. He said he just enjoys playing nothing else.</p>

2

<p>Just to clarify.
I am not saying being a gym teacher or police officer is easy. I only want my younger brother to choose something he would enjoy and not just go with something that he ‘thinks’ is an easy way out. I do not mean to offend anyone.</p>

<p>I apologize for the lack of clarification.</p>

3

<p>Lots of kids (especially boys) are directionless at your brother’s age. In large part, this is due to the not-yet-complete development of their brains - it is a biological rather than a moral issue.</p>

<p>You need to keep encouraging your brother to think about what he would like to do with his life. Perhaps his HS guidance office has some career interest exams he could take? There are smaller liberal arts colleges that admit students with a 2.6 and help them find a direction in life, but it doesn’t look to me like your family would have the kind of money that that would require. Starting at a community college is probably his best bet. A career oriented program (e.g. an 18 month auto-mechanic program or the like) would give him immediate job skills, and when he is older and more focused he could pursue a college degree.</p>

4

<p>If he’s not interested in school, why not encourage him to look at vocational and/or technical careers? My younger brother was never really focused in high school - he was smart and respectful, but he just didn’t like the classes. He graduated with just above a 3.0 and attended community college for a semester when he realized - he didn’t want to spend 4 years in college, at all. So he went to a technical training program for 18 weeks, and became an electrical line technician. He’s a hard worker and he likes working with his hands, so he got a job before he even graduated at a local electrical company. He makes over $40,000 a year and he just bought a house - he’ll be 22 in September! He’s an apprentice and will be for another 3 years, but after that he’ll advance to journeyman and he’ll be making around $60,000 then, with the potential to go even higher, and he’s been funneling money into his 401K since he was 19 years old.</p>

<p>There are other alternatives to going to college for four years and getting a BA. I mean if he’s lazy, then that’s one thing - he’s got to work hard. But you can be an x-ray technician, a nurse, an occupational therapist’s assistant, a medical assistant, a plumber, construction worker, carpenter, electrician, or any number of trades with 2 years or less of technical training. And then if he wants, he can go back to get a 4-year degree when he has more direction and patience.</p>

<p>A lot of police officers have 4-year degrees now, and it’s difficult to get hired without one in some areas. I don’t necessarily see what’s wrong with your brother attending a community college or a public university in NJ like Rutgers, College of New Jersey, Kean, Montclair State, Jersey City, Ramapo, Rowan, whatever. Maybe to YOU it was important to get out there, see the world and it’s diversity, but not to your younger brother. Sometimes you just have different values from your siblings. I loved learning and wanted to see the world, so I went to a top 100 college and an Ivy League PhD program. My brother hated school and wanted to make money, so he did a practical tech program. My sister also dislikes college and just wants to make money and have fun. It’s hard for top students to imagine why their younger siblings don’t possess the same love of learning and discovery that they do, but sometimes the best way you can help your siblings is to love them for who they are and find career information that’s tailored to their interests, not what you think they should be interested in.</p>

5

<p>“If he’s not interested in school, why not encourage him to look at vocational and/or technical careers?”</p>

<p>I agree. In order to support themselves, people now need some kind of post high school vocational training or academic education.</p>

<p>Maybe you could have him check out the vocational programs your community college offers. Where I live, the local public college’s career center offers free career counseling to anyone. Some public and private colleges offer this at a relatively low cost. They offer assessments to help people realize what careers would be good fits for them, and how to enter such careers.</p>

<p>This also could be something for you to have your brother look into. Maybe it would be possible for him to take such an assessment before you leave again for college.</p>

<p>Your brother is fortunate to have a sibling who cares so much about his welfare.</p>

6

<p>To be a gym teacher at a public school, he would have to have a 4 year degree plus a teaching certification. He may also be required to teach another type of course. Same with private schools, and they may want people with Master’s degrees.
[Physical</a> Education Teacher: How to Become a P.E. Teacher](<a href=“http://education-portal.com/articles/Physical_Education_Teacher:_How_to_Become_a_P.E._Teacher.html]Physical”>How to Become a PE Teacher: Education, Licensure & Skills)</p>

<p>For Police Officer (which is one of the hardest, most stressful jobs I can think of) he should look into Criminal Justice degree, he can start at community college.</p>

7

<p>Thank you everyone for the advice. I will get in contact with my brother’s counselor and see if there are any assessments that his school offers to help him make his decision. I also mentioned to him about the technical training programs before and it did not really interest him along with the university suggestions…I think he might be overwhelmed at the fact that he is already a senior and adulthood is just around the corner. I sort of experienced the same thing, so really I am just trying to look out for him. I will also sit with him one of these days and just play video games with him and try and discuss it in an informal way. Once again thanks.</p>

<p>I really did not expect someone saying I am making his decision. I do not have anything wrong with him going to community college…I went to a community college too. I would think I’d be the biggest advocate in supporting it but I do not want to instill what worked for me as something that will work for him. And my older brother went to New Jersey Institute of Technology…However, I would like for him to carve his own path in life and do what is best for him not just do something because he believe it is the easy way out. The only reason I am telling him there is a world out there other than New Jersey is because he doesn’t know there is a world out there. The point of me trying to help my younger brother is to find his interest and build a plan…</p>

8

<p>Who cares? He’s clearly a loser, so let him fail.</p>