Moving beyond high school to a lifetime of work is not easy. In high school, most things are dished up for you. You have some choice over subjects you study. You may have worked part-time, and you chose which extracurricular activities you engaged in. But whether you go on to college or enter the workforce directly, you face daunting choices and tradeoffs.

If you go to college, what will you specialize in and how much debt are you willing to take on? If you go directly into the workforce, what and where and how will you hope to work? Will you find it in a place you want to live and where y...