To farm or not to farm that is the question!

Most people never know what they are going to do when they grow up, including grown-ups. Careers, jobs, and goals commonly shift through life and resemble a maze of footpaths rather than an arrow-straight highway. Researching and exploring the future is good, but best when tempered with flexibility. I grew up being told that college means a good job and is for everyone. It does not and is not, though it does carry other benefits. Both my private college double major husband and my private college double major self have found that community college and certifications versus degrees are what are getting us towards what we want to do, and are easier on the wallet no less. We can also work while we learn with much more ease.

What kind of farming do you want to do? That will change the directions you life takes. For us, we want to get into small scale, sustainable farming. We are both getting into the IT field because it offers us the financial security many farmers are finding is no longer there, and the chance to work from home and/or for ourselves. Similar jobs like editing seem to be increasing amongst new generations of farmers for these reasons and more. Course, that can change to, and we will have to change with it. Real estate would be an example of a career that did not pan out like many were expecting.

 

Oh tuff choice! I think it would be cool for you to start your own farm!

 

I would finish high school, maybe you'll have time to further explore your options over the next year.

 

No matter what you ultimately choose to do, a high school diploma will be an asset. I strongly recommend finishing; it's only another year and you can see if you can find work on a farm somewhere for the weekends; that'll give you a good idea of what farming's like.

Any time you work for yourself, you put in more hours than being an "employee" somewhere. You also have a lot more responsibilities, and will have a lot of decisions to make It's also very satisfying but it's a LOT of hard work.

I know how you feel...you just want to get ON with it, but try to be patient...you have an awful lot of years ahead of you and nothing is written in stone. You might end up working at a a research station (I agree, there are a lot of totally awesome ones), and then later make a switch to something else.

Hang in there, bud...1 more year; get your diploma...you won't regret it...I promise. When you get to be an "oldster" like me, you realize...you don't regret the things you did nearly as much as the things you didn't do when you had the chance

 

Farming is a business, even if it is running a small farm to sustain yourself. Education about business topics as well as soil science, etc are going to be very helpful if you want to farm. Buying a farm is also going to require capital. You might want to sit down and figure out what assets you need in terms of money, education, training, land, start up costs, etc for which ever route you decide to go. These will help you make the choice. You might also want to set up the pros and cons of each route. As Punk said, you might need a paying job to support a farming habit. That might be a factor in deciding how much more schooling you need. Even when I was a kid, a small farm required an outside job to make it a supporting venture.

 

Is there a way you can get your high school diploma, while providing you the freedom to farm at the same time? Perhaps, homeschooling or a Cyber school? I finished my last year with the PA Cyber School system. I worked on my school work for a couple of hours a day, or a couple of days a week. It takes some self discipline, but it saves a great deal of time.

 

Finish High School, get your diploma and THEN worry about what to do