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The big problem that I had was ignorance over what jobs were out there and what jobs I might have wanted or enjoyed.
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This! High school counselors are suppose to help with this, but I've found they are worthless. They rely on the standard test (remember when you took those in HS and they told you you should be a scientist or something?) and have no idea what the student is capable of (or not capable of). I spoke to my niece's (she is under our guardianship) HS counselor when we first enrolled her at the local HS. This was a mid to late 20's woman who apparently had a masters in education. I was floored to learn how narrow minded she was. She hadn't taken the time to talk to my niece to find out anything about her before recommending classes. What was even more disappointing was that she tried to steer my niece down a path that is traditionally female! WTF! This is not 1970. The cream on top...as she turned around to pick something off her desk her shirt was pulled up to reveal a big arse tramp stamp on her arse. Great...I remember those girls in college...they weren't particularly wise...and weren't so difficult to get into the sack. These are the people we have influencing our kids at their schools...(not all of course)...additional evidence...see the "horny teacher thread."
Not because of the above, but parents have a major role in directing their children's future. They know their child best! So the parents must educate themselves enough to help steer their kids toward a good path...career path, and they must be realistic enough to understand that college is not for every child.
One problem in the 70s and 80s (I'm being hopeful here) was there weren't as many college educated nor professional parents as there are today (the hopeful part). Perhaps if you grew up in an 80's white collar neighborhood, you were lucky to have never known this reality. So a lot of kids went off to college without a good game plan. The fortunate thing is that it might have been easier in the 80's and 90's to get a job with a less-in-demand degree. Some of the smarter and luckier kids used the job as a stepping stone to a real career if they didn't like it.
Still today, there are a lot of kids who have the opportunity to go to college from blue-collar families (or white collar families not grounded in reality) who don't have the right advisors around them. This is great for colleges....but not so great for the kids, nor our work force.
As for my niece...I made sure she took classes that I felt were going to help her prepare for college despite what the tramp counselor recommended. My niece just started her second semester in Finance at Southern Illinois University, and in her first semester, she got a 4.0 and is on the Dean's List. I take every opportunity to guide her toward a good career, never missing an opportunity to point out the successes of those who made the right move. So as to not be too overbearing, I've encouraged her to be prepared to change paths if the right opportunity presents itself, but she must have a good base to start from..a degree in Finance with perhaps a minor in Accounting in her case.