Quentin Downey

5-11-19

Senior Portfolio

5 Year Plan

My 5 year plan after school has been changing within the past couple months, but it

basically stays within the same concept. I’ve planned on going to the community college to

continue my education and so I can either get into electrical, welding, or auto mechanics.

Another thought I was having was to get into dental and be a dentist assistant, or a nurse but both

of those require a lot more education than what I want to put myself through. I might be ready

for it in a couple of years, but as of right now I think I need to give myself a little break and take

an easier route. As soon as I graduate high school I plan on getting a job and working for a bit

and within a month or so after getting used my job, I’ll get back into school and start my college.

Like I said, it's been fluctuating and it’s been hectic, because now my dad is also giving his

suggestions of what I should do. He was telling me that I should get into the military, because we

have a few family members that went into the military. He tells me that it’ll be worth it and he

compares his life with our family that went to the military and he says that it’s one of things he

regrets and he doesn’t want me to feel the same. He’s just trying to look out for me.

For the first couple of weeks or so I was thinking about taking a break from school but

not too long of a break because I don't want to start late and get “behind” in life. I kind of need a

job because I have debts I need to pay back and I don’t like the feeling of owing someone

money, so I was planning on getting a job and getting comfortable with it. I was thinking like
somewhere within the timeline of a year, just so I can get comfortable with my job first then hop

into school and start my life.

To get into the industrial business I first stated I would need to go through some type of

training to get certified. This training is often referred to as trade school and the community

college here in Merced has a program in where I can get certified in all three of the mentioned

careers. I know for sure the auto mechanic course is a good program to go through if I’m trying

to get more into that, or at least that’s what my shop instructor keeps telling me. I heard about the

welding program, but not so much about the electrical certification and that is still something I

have to look into. Also, I mentioned how my dad wants me to get into military and I was

thinking I could get into military and do auto mechanics there and maybe even move up to

something more interesting than cars, like tanks, helicopters, airplanes, or something similar.

Another route I was thinking about taking was medical. I know it is more school and I’m

fine with that because in the long run it will be worth it, but the downside is that it’ll be more

school. I know I kind of contradicted myself but it’s true, and if you know who I am as a person

then you know how much I dislike school. Maybe it will be different when I go to college

because everyone I’ve talked to said the same thing, and that is college is a way different

experience from high school. So maybe my perspective on school will change when I’m in a

different environment, and if it doesn’t then I can always go to my first plan in the industrial

business.

With all these different options it’s kind of overwhelming and I think I just need a second

opinion on what I should do. The only thing about that, is that I’ve tried to get people's opinion

already, but they just asked me what do I want to do. Although I know they want me to chase my
dream and not the money it’s kind of hard for me to do such a thing when I’m in a situation like

this.