system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: High schools should have a career path option for those who aren't planning to go to college

The high school system in the US serves mainly as college prep. It's unrealistic and honestly just ridiculous to expect all high schoolers to go on to to higher education. It does not properly serve students who will be going directly into the workforce. I believe this plays a role in how many students drop out and unemployment rates for young people. 

Sure, there are some trade programs you may be able to get into. The problem is there is that these programs have limited availability and only serve a handful of careers. For this reason, I am disregarding trade programs in my argument. 

Here's my proposed solution: 
High school would have two paths, college and career (like the game of life). Coursework would be the same for 9th and 10th grade. The usual core classes
For 11th grade, you get to choose either a college or career pathway. I feel this is the most appropriate time to allow students to make this decision. With how it is currently, students are expected to start their college search in 11th grade and have the option of dropping out. 

The career path would consist of classes teaching the essential skills needed to find work and become independent. Example classes would be:
-Job searching and interviewing
-Basic computer literacy (word, excel, etc)
-budgeting and money management
-courses specific to different industries like food safety, customer service interactions, etc. 
-part time employment would count as a certain amount of school credit
Some core subjects would still be required but in a form where it focuses more on real life skills, like an English class that is centered around resume writing, writing professional emails, etc. 

If after a career path student graduates they change their mind and want to go to college, they still can. Plenty of students who drop out still go on to get a college degree, they just need to take some extra courses. 

I feel this is the best way to prepare young people going into the workforce and increase graduation rates. But I'm sure there must be a flaw with this plan otherwise it probably would be implemented. CMV.
gpt
Contrary to popular teenage belief, the vast majority of high schoolers have no clue what they want to do with their lives or at least have an unrealistic idea of how the pathway to their dreams will go.

Giving the students preparatory information for college is essentially preparing them for the tougher scenario (education-wise). It's a hell of a lot easier to take a few resume, LinkedIn, and interview workshops compared to catching up on years of high school education lost to this alternate pathway. Changing your mind and going into the workforce immediately after being prepped for college is orders of magnitude easier than someone who was never prepped for college changing their mind and wanting to go to college.

In addition, the proposed alternate course load is objectively easier and less time consuming than a traditional course load, making it very exploitable for lazy students who are just looking to breeze through while learning as little as possible. This one is more of a minor point but still something to consider.

Essentially, high schoolers should not be trusted to make such an important and long-term decision until at the very least they've graduated. We should continue to prep them for the toughest scenario (college/university) with immediate entry into the workforce being an alternate choice that can still often benefit from high school education. Let them be prepared for college and change their minds later if they want. It's a hell of a lot easier than dealing with someone years behind in education wanting to suddenly go to college.