Im 19, graduated high school last year. I now work as an undercover...

[Idealist]

...security/store detective.? Am i doing ok? Im 19, graduated high school last year. I now work as an undercover security/store detective.?
In addition, I've registered to take the Philadelphia police recruit exam may 31st. Ever since 8 it's been a personal, productive, and determination filled dream of mine. But at the same time i have a goal to attend temple uni. for my bac. in sociology. Im very determined to do this. One way or another. I believe to have not a plan, but a strategy. Im also a mix between mexican and black. But to society and documents, i am black. And i always hear the stats of "black people" of any age in poverty, and never having any good education. But i want to do this for myself because i can. In essence, am i on the right path mentally? Help yourself to giving me all the advice you can. Not that i have doubts, i just want to hear the world's perspective. Thank-you.

[coons69]

Get your Bachelor's then become a law enforcement officer that's what I did. You can't be a cop until you're 21 anyway.

[postal p]

Plans are good, but actions speak louder than words. Get moving as soon as possible on that college deal. Even as a police officer it can only help you. I may be off on this next statement, but I don't think so. I would emphasize the fact that you are mexican. Many jobs have better opportunities for people of spanish decent. If you could speak spanish it gets better. I've even met people whose mother was spanish, who changed their last name to their mother's spanish name. This helped them get hired and receive promotions. It seems in today's society, all things being equal, it is better to be spanish. I know all of this does not sound politically correct, but sad to say it is the way of the world. Good Luck and keep plugging away!

[Just Me]

i'd say you are well on your way to bigger and better things.there are many fields you can get into from there.you sound very grounded to me,except for the black thing,which i didn't even read the first time thru.why pay attention to statistics.pay attention to your goal,stategy,dreams and whatever else it takes to get where you need to go.apparently you are not part of the stats you are talking about.and anyway,wouldn't you want to prove people wrong? but going into it to prove a point is moot anyway since this is your carreer you are talking about.keep up the good work you are ok.

[Michelle M]

Well, if you're going into Sociology, I would recommend heading for your PhD, but aiming high is always my recommendation. See, if you research the requirements to receive a Masters &/or PhD in the subject you are most interested, you can be certain you do not go askew within the Bachelor degree level... ie, you don't accidentally miss an all-important requirement for you Masters/PhD. Plus, the education in America is not all that it used to be, so an AA is now like a HS diploma, a BA is like an AA, and so forth. Soon it will be the BA that is like the HS diploma. I'm not certain why this is, but I recall people were once able to receive better paying, more decent jobs than "cashier at a hardware store" with their AA several years back, and nowadays, that's not good enough.
Since I hear that security people at malls/parking lots get paid oodles of money, I would say in money making, yes you're doing alright for now. Your goals are wonderful. Use your minority standing (IE "Mexican" AND "Black" together) to find out if there are any scholarships available for you.
I do however have to admit that the unfortunate trend was that the more "rejected" or less "popular" kids in high school ended up with those jobs, HOWever, the ones I knew of (two of them) either were very motivated to continue, as you do, and worked their butt off to do so, or they would be like the other one, with no motivations in life, and probably just slipping down some spiral into nothingness. Please continue to be more like the former! :-)
And aim for that PhD in Sociology, because you'll get paid more money. NEVER stop at the bare minimum.

<3

[yvonnechoi12]

As an Asian woman who dropped out of college, I'd say that getting a bachelor's isn't the end-all, be-all. I'm now a manager at a large corporation, but I also recognize that I'm extremely lucky and that I've worked hard to prove my intelligence.

But, I would say that if I could have made it through college, I would have. Life is 10 times easier if you have a diploma because it's important to have a piece of paper in order to get your foot in the door. And nowadays, a bachelor's isn't enough. A PhD is important, depending on what field you're looking into.

All of that said, I guess my point is, I would go to college if I were you. Get your diploma, which is your goal anyway, and then be a policeman. We need educated policemen!

Good luck!