Going to university used to be a passport to future success, but that’s no longer the case. For some students, it’s still a good choice that leads to a successful career after graduation, but for many their degrees are worthless pieces of paper. Choose the wrong program and graduation is more likely to lead to disillusionment and debt than a steady paycheque.

Yet parents, guidance counselors, and politicians still push higher education as if it’s the only option for building a secure future. In this book, Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison set out to explore the many educational opportunities and career paths open to Canadian high-school students and those in their twenties. This book is designed to help young adults decide whether to pursue a degree, enrol for skills training, or investigate one of the many other options that are available.

In this special excerpt, we take the crucial action of pondering the right future for you, including such steps as 1. The Crossroads: Making Choices That Matter, 2. Know Yourself, 3. The University Option, 4. The College Option, and 5. Polytechnics. This book will help you consider all the options in a clear, rational way.

A graduate of McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario, BILL MORRISON worked from 1969 to 2010 as a university professor and administrator in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia and as a visiting professor in the United States. He has published fourteen books, twelve of them in collaboration with Kenneth Coates.

Bill Morrison's profile page

Ken S. Coates was raised in Whitehorse and has a long-standing interest in northern themes. Titles include Canada’s Colonies, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia, The Modern North, North to Alaska (on the building of the Alaska Highway) and many academic books. He has worked on north-centred television documentaries and served as a consultant to northern governments and organizations. He is currently Professor of History and Dean of Arts, University of Waterloo.

Ken S. Coates' profile page