Mentoro sits down with the COO of Praxis to discuss finding your path and choosing the education that is best for you
With rising inflation, career uncertainty, and the cost of tuition, many people are taking a second look at their decision to attend college directly following high school. For many in our society, the decision to attend a traditional four-year university is rarely questioned, and often people feel that they do not have any other options in creating a healthy, financially stable career for themselves.
This is where they are wrong. Although attending a four-year university can seem like a safe option, for many, this option may be the highest risk. A recent study revealed a startling statistic, 40% of undergraduates that began college dropped out before finishing their degree. As of February 2023, student loan debt has amassed over $1.6 trillion. The personal toll on the dropout’s bank account is high, with an average of $3.8 billion lost each year.
For many people, attending college is the first and one of the most significant financial decisions they will ever make. The average student takes on $30,000 of debt in the pursuit of a degree. This is where programs like Praxis can open doors for people who do not wish to follow the traditional path of a 4-year undergraduate degree. Mitchell Earl, COO of Praxis, describes it this way: “Praxis is a yearlong program; we work with young adults to help them discover and find work that makes them come alive. The way I like to think about it is we help young adults make the strongest start possible. We help them build their skills, and their network and help them land their first professional opportunity.”
In our Bullpen interview with Mitchell, he gave parents and young people some concrete tips on how best to approach starting a successful career and ways to be entrepreneurial and craft essential skills and knowledge to take into any career.
Tip #1: Learn how to be valuable to other people
One of Mitchell’s first recommendations for young people was to figure out something they can do, that other people would want at a reasonable price.
He said, “Get your first job early – in your first job you get an appreciation for each dollar you earn. Think about your time as money. There are different ways to make money. You don’t have a ton of skills when you start out, so you need to trade your time for money. This is the way you build your skills. Learn how to be increasingly valuable over time. Become financially independent as soon as you can and learn the value of work.”
Why can work be valuable (outside of just the paycheck)?
- Self-respect
- Impacting your life and your family
- Basic Provisions are taken care of
- Makes you prioritize what is most important
Tip #2: Capture the Value you Create
Everyone usually has one question when they get their first paycheck after a week of hard work, “This is all I get after I get paid?” While this can be disappointing at first, Mitchell explained that the more expert you are and the more value you can create leads to capturing more wealth. It is vital to learn how to create valuable situations that no one else can create. Become someone who is difficult to replace.
Mitchell recommended challenging conventional wisdom when it comes to money. Rules of thumb can be wildly wrong for the wealth building strategy that is best for you. You must ask yourself the question, what are the results you want to achieve? For example, investing a significant amount into a 401k account was not the smartest path for him because Mitchell wanted to have easy access to that capital to do more aggressive investments. It is all about what goal you are aiming for.
Tip #3: Conserve the Value you Capture
Saving money is not a way of cheating yourself out of life. Saving is preserving optionality for down the road. By overspending in the present, you may limit your ability to say yes in the future to bigger and better opportunities. Be more intentional about how you want to spend your money and open your options. Mitchell labeled this as an “opportunity fund.”
We want to be able to afford to change our minds. It is not all about making that magic salary, fulfillment in your job can be much more impactful in your life than the paystub. Mitchell concluded the interview with a few last tips for parents and young people. For parents, he said, “It is important to lighten up and not put too much pressure on your children to follow the same path that you did.” Even though times are ever-changing, and uncertainty is still present in the workforce, hard work and character are still important indicators of success. For young people who may be unsure of what step to take next, Mitchell recommended giving themselves some time to figure everything out and said not to be afraid to try things because you never know where you may find your passion. Want to learn more about Praxis? Visit https://discoverpraxis.com/. Mentoro can help you figure out how to reach your financial goals and walk into every stage of your life with confidence. Meet with your Mentor today to get started.