I’m 18 years old and a senior in highschool who recently got fired from his job at whataburger. I have horrible highschool grades and no plans for college. No car no license just 20K in savings that’s it. No living expenses at the moment. What should be my next move? I graduate in about 6 months.
I just got fired from my job at 18
byu/Complete_Second8986 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Complete_Second8986
41 Comments
Pick a hobby and throw yourself into it ASAP so you can graduate with some degree of personal intrigue, then go to community college
Get a new job?
Revisit what you did that got yourself fired
Hey, 20K savings is more than most 18 year olds have. Sucks that you got fired, but I’d use this time to focus on your schoolwork. And next time do a better job.
Look into trade schools. There’s less pressure on having good grades and they’re less likely to be replaced by AI. Plus, you’ll have the satisfaction of actually making/doing something with your hands.
Pick up a trade. There’s good money in any trade these days because it’s such a path less walked and in demand
Self-reflection? Think about why you got fired and how to prevent that in the future. Think honestly about your skills and what kind of career you could see yourself doing long term. Talk to adults in your life about realistic trajectories for you (apprenticeship? tradeschool? community college? working in family business? Idk)
Identify a trade school (hvac, electrician, mechanic, plumbing, welding) that you can attend after graduation to secure employment
Work on getting your driver’s license. You’ll probably have more resources while in HS to get this done. Do they offer driver’s education?
While I didn’t do it, I’d highly recommend the military. Its a cheat code if you do it right and make use of all the resources, structure, training, and experiences.
You’ll get paid food, housing, college/training, leadership experience, fitness knowledge, benefits, plus a paycheck on top of it. And once you do your first contract, you’ll be marked a veteran for the rest of your life which has countless benefits (discounts, health insurance, special housing loan, support programs, priority for certain things, employers tend to love hiring veterans, etc.)
While I went to college and have a career now, if I could restart at 18 I would 100% go that route.
I had 0$ till 26. I’m not sure what the issue is, get another job or finish a degree and start a career.
$20,000 is pretty good for 18! Make a plan and start executing it. The richest guy in my graduating class started a lawn car company and now runs a bunch of trucks and makes 6 figures. Check out a local community college, they usually don’t require great grades: respiratory therapy, IT repairman. Try to look for an entry level job in something that interests you.
Are you going to be able to continue living where you are (assuming with mom and dad)? Housing is going to be your biggest expense, so if you can stay put, you’ll be in a better position to plan.
You say you’re not planning to go to college, but community colleges have more programs than just academics. They often offer programs in the skilled trades or healthcare. Try researching what types of jobs you think you’d be interested in (ONET (https://www.onetonline.org/) is a great resource for this). If you seek out an apprenticeship in HVAC or plumbing, you could easily be making six figures by the time you’re 30 if not sooner.
With six months until you graduate, your priority should be to find a new job. Your $20,000 in savings is a great start, and you should put it in a high-yield savings account to keep it safe. You could use some of that money to get your driver’s license and a cheap, used car to give you more job opportunities. Once you have a steady income, you can start building a career, and you can always go to community college later if you decide to.
I think getting fired from whataburger means there’s a good chance you should do a self-reflection on what got you fired and change that so you are able to hold anything higher than an entry level job.
You’ve done great for yourself so far though so congrats on that! $20k in savings by 18 is a very good! Just start researching all different kind of careers to see what might interest you at all and start going down that route until you find what calls to you.
Also, highschool grades really don’t matter at all. If you want to go to college in the future just start with community college. Make sure to get good grades and those will carry you into any other university you might want to attend. But my advice would be to get as much done in community college as you can because it typically is so much cheaper.
If you think you have peaked with Whataburger step 1 is believing you’re better than that job.
Get a new job. Look at trade school or apprenticeship in a field you’re interested in.
If you don’t want to go to 4 year college consider a trade; coding; nursing; public safety ext…
You’re in a great spot with savings. Invest in your education or some sort.
Also consider why you were fired. If it was your fault make a note and move on. If it was bad management make a note and move on.
I was fired from my 2nd major job after HS. It was stressed at the time but really it was no big deal and I committed to never put my own employees through that situation and be a better person/manager
Keep your savings congratulations it seems like you’re doing a good job there. Ask the ChatGPT to be your coach and tell him everything going on and maybe you can get some direction and some ideas.
Do some soul-searching and jot down what makes your heart sing what types of work you might be interested in and go and do some research and start applying for them. Do exercise every day during your job search. You are so young and you’re going to find something better soon.
Figure out why you got fired. Find a union looking for apprentices. Join that union. Show up every day on time.
My dude you have your whole life ahead of you.
One day you’ll look back at this and laugh.
Remember a car is an expense, not an investment. If you can buy a car for $9k-$11k you can use it to work for yourself. Deliver pizza or car parts, or drive Uber.
Bro 20k in savings at 18? If you stick that into a low-cost index fund that tracks the world market you will have 1.2M at age 65 even if you never save another dime until then.
20k in savings? You’re already ahead of the curve man, I’m 24 and working myself out of debt 😂
Find another job, go to community college, maybe buy a cheap car under 10k preferably so you can get around easier? I know it feels overwhelming at 18 but there’s a lot of time, good luck!
Why no college? No trade school? No apprenticeship? Do you really want to flip burgers for the rest of your life?
Let this be the only time in your life you get fired. It happens to most people once. Look to pick up a trade if you’re not going to continue school.
How do you have 20 K in savings if you’re horrible at everything? Also you’re 18 you’ll get another job.
You have good savings. It’s an entry level job and I wouldn’t worry about the fact you got fired. Just move on and find another job
Self reflection and some time asking yourself some hard questions would be the best start. Why are your grades poor? Why did you get fired? How is your mental health? What CAN you control or change that has influenced your life negatively? Be as honest and truthful as possible, if you are contributing to your own suffering NOW is the best time to try and change that. Don’t wind up in your mid-thirties with a laundry list of what ifs and health problems from 17 years of poor choices
Please go to trade school and learn plumbing .. you can get a certificate in a year for around $1000 ( this is of-course state dependent ) .. but since you have no bills at this time ,, it’s a good time to use it to learn something useful .
You have 20k at 18. That’s impressive.
Get another job, and contemplate why you lost your job so you don’t again.
You’re fine.
Get a new job, and decide whether you want to enroll in trade school or community college. You can afford both.
If you’re graduating in 6 months, you should have plenty of time to figure this all out.
Get in touch with a financial advisor, or at least watch Analyzing Finance with Nick on YouTube. Set up some personal retirement accounts, and you’ll be able to get a good life insurance plan in a few years.
I got let go after 17 years at my job, but its given me everything I have in life. It’s just time to try something new my friend. Good thing you have some cushion and it can go a long way. Find something with 401k options.
You are not in a bad spot, unless you got fired because you’re just terrible in a work place. 20k is a great start. At a minimum it should be in a high yield savings account at some place like Ally, and if you wanna get really smart about it and follow the advice of responsible investors before you: max out or put big dents in your roth IRA contribution every year and make that Vanguard S&P 500 shares. Brainless and easy.
For work, the next job you apply for you just say it’s your first. If you can get away from food service, there are other jobs like valet or hospitality that put tips in your pocket or pay a touch better because you have good social skills and can read the room.
You’re all good!
Get yourself into trades ASAP.
Constitution, HVAC, Electrical stuff anything that cannot be done by AI in the next 10 years.
Find a path. 20k saved is amazing. There are a lot of trades, as a one time electrician i vote this path but choose your own. Getting fired from what burger means fuck all. Who cares. Your farther ahead then most. If you can stay home then stay home. Get a job though. You don’t need to be a burden to family but you can help and also set yourself up for the future. This will also make it easier to actually stay home. Get a job, pay some rent, save save save, learn a career.
Why’d you get fired? Savings is pretty good for an 18 year old
Find out what classes are available at your local community college in the trades and take some kind of accounting class and/or class in running a small business. Great to know a trade like plumbing, electrical or welding – but then you have to know how to run the business.
Think about where you want to work, pursue education in that direction, pass highschool, get a job.
College is not the only form of education. A lot of decent work like electrician or plumbing also requires education.
get a different job and reevaluate why you were fired. get your license (you don’t need to immediately buy a car after) just to check it off the list and be more prepared for the future. keep your savings in a HYSA if possible.
in terms of the future, consider the military or trade school. everyone in the comments is saying the trades are overlooked- personally almost every guy i know between the ages of 18-30 is going to or went to a trade school at some point, so i don’t know how that will hold up in the next few years. military will give you insurance (although it’s not very good) and will help with some school/saving more money, but be sure you’re actively trying to build a support network and skills outside of just the military simply because the adjustment after is less likely to suck.
Nobody can tell you what to do with your life.
Generally speaking, you need a job to earn money – how you get there is up to you, but I would recommend taking it seriously before you eat through what you have and run out of options.
Talk to a therapist or a guidance counselor at your school if you’re struggling with anxiety or behavioral problems.
Get focused on school, plan for community college or a trade (both are good).
You have saved a lot for your age, and it shows you can be disciplined. Take some of that mentality to other parts of your life.
Trade school 100%. Besides the obvious plumbers, electricians, welders, linemen, etc. there’s a whole world of trade jobs out there, many with the last remaining strong unions in the country. Aviation technicians in unions make bank. Forget whataburger, they’ve been shit since getting bought out by private equity.
Or if you want to help people, become a wildland firefighter for a couple years or work the peace corp or something for a couple years.
There’s almost certainly a trade show in your region that you could go talk to people at.
Under no circumstances join the military or waste 2 more seconds thinking about whataburger. A lot of out of touch people in these comments acting like it’s a moral failure to be fired from a fastfood chain
Either go to college, or get into a trade that’s represented by a union.