Ask HN: What did you do (or wish you did) when you got out of highschool?

I currently live in a small town in Northern California where there's not much room for opportunity... So far my plan is to get a minimum-wage job and save up until I can afford to move to Sacramento, where I have a couple friends I can live with and obviously better job opportunities. I plan on going to college and getting a degree in CS afterwards, and then try to make my way into the tech industry.

Is this a bad idea? ... What should I do if so?

I grew up in a small desert town with not much room to grow. The opportunities there were limited for what I wanted to do, and I knew that if I was still living in that town when I was 40, or even 30, I wouldn't be happy.

Being the procrastinator that I am, I knew that I had to take action immediately, or I would inevitably fall into a lull of complacence: a mediocre job, a girlfriend, a dog? And then I would be stuck; eternally glued to this town that I hated by second-rate obligations. (Not entirely true, people make drastic changes even with other obligations all the time, but it's not common.)

I was (and still am) young, and I believe that you should take as many calculated risks as possible when you're young. Do it before you have a mortgage, a spouse, a kid. It's so much easier then, because failing doesn't mean letting your child go hungry, or losing your home and living on the streets. Worst case, you have to move back in with your parents (assuming they're supportive).

When I'm laying on my deathbed and analyzing my life, I would rather regret trying and failing to achieve my dreams than regret not trying at all. When it gets right down to it, I don't think I would regret failing one bit. Failure is part of life, and since I've moved here I've failed plenty of times. Probably more times than I've succeeded. But the value of my few successes outweighs my many failures, and that's the key.

I've gotten a good job, learned and grown more than I would have imagined possible, met dozens of amazing people, made lifelong friends, co-founded an organization, and I'm happier than I've ever been. Not only that, but I'm excited for the future.

I've still got a long way to go, but I'm so glad that I had the courage and drive to go out of my comfort zone, into a completely foreign situation, all alone, and just do it. Granted, I was extremely lucky to have the full support of my parents and family, but even if I hadn't I think I still would have gone out and done it.

Of course, this is not advice for everyone. It's not really advice at all, just my own experience. Yours may vary. Best of luck.

Next summer, I figured if I only mowed one lawn a day, I'd make the same $$$. Ended up mowing 10+ lawns a week at $25-40 a piece ( I averaged ~$20 - $25/hr depending on the week ). My favorite move was to go to my customer's neighbors and say "Hi! I'm cutting Sam's lawn for $x. If you let me cut your lawn for $x - $5, I'll knock $5 off Sam's lawn as well. Get your lawn cut and save your neighbor some cash." That worked pretty well and kept my transit time down.

Even if you take a min wage job for stability, try contracting yourself out a bit on the side and bank that cash. You'll get where you're going quicker.