College isn’t for everybody. Some people in high school lack the skills that college life requires. The last thing on most of their minds is sitting in class for another four years.

Not so long ago, when I was in high school, I hung out with a big group of friends. There must have been 30 or so of us spread out through three different high schools that drank on the weekends, partied or caused some sort of general mischief.

But when the time came, only four of us went away to college. Most of the rest ended up at the local junior college taking full loads. As time marched on, however, that full load dwindled to six units and then to no school at all. They made a choice: College life was not for them and now the working world was.

Unfortunately for them and society at large, they are woefully unprepared and lack the skills necessary to survive in the ’90s workplace. Most of them don’t know the first thing about computers or resumes, and all but one has any sort of trade skills like carpentry or brick laying.

So they mull about earning pathetic hourly wages in service jobs. These jobs do nothing to increase their workplace skills so that they can step stone into other, higher paying jobs. That’s the dilemma, that’s the catch-22: They don’t have any skills to begin with so they end up in jobs that don’t require any skills; hence, they don’t learn anything new (expect how to count back change or balance dirty dishes).

Of course, many of us right now work in service jobs as a way to pay for college. But we are learning skills in college that will help us, hopefully, to find, not just jobs, but careers when we enter the work force after graduation. These careers will allow us the opportunity to further ourselves and to make more money. Most of our careers will be much more satisfying and enjoyable than the sordid jobs of our friends who ended their education after high school.

In high school, I remember that I could point out those people that weren’t going to college, my friends included. I can probably walk onto any campus in this state and do the very same thing today. If I can identify the students whose educational careers will end after the 12th grade, why can’t teachers?

Well, teachers can identify those students who do not have the desire to go on to college. And when they do, our schools need a mechanism for channeling these students into productive careers not just jobs that will benefit them and the society at large. The following steps need to be taken:

College isn’t for everybody. That must be made clear to all students in high school. Not everyone desires a university- level education. Society, it seems, generally looks down on those who didn’t continue their education, but that need not be the case.

Most of my friends wasted precious time in junior college after high school because they felt like it was the thing that they should do, rather than the right thing to do. If my buddies would have concentrated on auto mechanics or plumbing, rather than trying to fulfill their general education requirements, they’d be a lot better off today.

High school should channel students into proper careers. When students begin high school, those who are going to college and those who aren’t need to be identified. Those who are going to college need to stick to the college- prep track, while those who aren’t need a new system. High schools need to view themselves as businesses that produce a product. In this case, the product is skilled workers and well-rounded people. Each year high schools dump their products (students) onto the streets with very little real world skills. What happened to drafting, auto shop and woodworking classes? High school needs to add a trade school mentality to its class list. Schools should include trades like plumbing, construction and electrical maintenance. These jobs are in high demand and pay extremely well. My friend who lays tile makes more money now than I probably will the first few years after I graduate from college.

Restore music and art classes. While this may do little to improve job prospects for those not going to college, it does much for the mind and soul. Music and art are a way for people to take their minds off other things and concentrate on self-improvement where results can be immediately evaluated. Plus, art skills are in demand in all sorts of high-tech industries like computing, television and movie production, advertising and publishing. Finding those with artistic talent while they are young and encouraging and developing that talent is a good policy for everyone. Even if you can’t draw or play an instrument like me you can appreciate the works of those who do.

These suggestions aren’t a cure-all for the nation’s schooling problems, but will have concrete and measurable results in as little as four years. If students graduated from high school with computer skills, trade skills and office skills, their chances of finding good paying work would increase, the welfare rolls would decrease and business would have a wider pool of talent from which to drink.

H.A. Loudermilk is a philosophy junior and opinion editor of The Daily Aztec. His E-mail address is alouderm@mail.sdsu.edu.