It has been an absolute pleasure to work with you all in 2013. I have loved supporting you on your climb up Mount HSC as you overcame obstacles, struggled, and overcame some more struggles. The HSC is a metaphor for life. The more you put in, the more you get out of it.

Now that you are entering the world as an adult I would like to share some advice that I would like to have if I was 18 and had just completed my HSC.

1) Be a life long learner. Going to University will give you the opportunity to learn about the world, make new friends, work with a diverse bunch and create new and exciting opportunities for yourself. All of these things are very important but don’t forget that there are infinite opportunities to learn outside of the traditional “lecture hall”. As someone famous once said, “A formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune”. Not sure what you could be studying yourself outside of Uni? Feel free to ask me.

2) Teach yourself valuable skills. Linked to the above point around Self Education, there has never been a better opportunity to learn skills that were previously only taught in learning institutions. You can learn just about anything you want via YouTube and don’t forget about those things called books. The Khan Academy is embarking on a program to teach as many young people as they can to code computers. Even Barack Obama is getting involved!

3) Publishing websites is easy! Linked to the above piece of advice I need you know that to build and publish a website is extremely low cost and requires zero coding experience although the more you have the more cool stuff you can do. If you have a relative or family friend who needs a website why not create one for them. I guarantee that you have the skills to do it right now. Any questions about how to do this let me know. I am more than happy to help out.

4) Be aware of the outsourcing boom that is coming.  If you studied Business Studies you would be aware of the term “outsourcing” but what you might not realise is that we are in the early stages of an outsourcing revolution where businesses of all sizes will be outsourcing tasks such as Graphic Design, Web Development, App Development, Online Marketing, Bookkeeping, Search Engine Optimisation and many more to India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Eastern Europe at a fraction of the cost of employing someone in Australia.

Many of these tasks were previously filled by University students looking to develop their skills and get some work experience which means that the jobs that remain will become harder and harder to find. The good news though is that where ever there is change there is also opportunity. If you are interested in finding out what I think the opportunities are I am more than happy to share them with you. Contact me. Check out the website Fiverr to see all the services people are willing to do for just $5!

4) Be a customer service king!  If you want to be indispensable in your part time job while at Uni or even after Uni, your customer service skills need to be outstanding. Whether you work in a cafe or work in a Yoghurt store or you’re on a building site remember that the customer is king. Make sure your customer feels special and that you care about them and their experience with you. Great customer service is easy to do but so rare so go the extra mile in whatever job you take and be indispensable.

5) Start saving 5% of your wages now. If you earn $100 save $5, if you earn $500 save $25. Living in Sydney is amazing but it’s expensive. If you save 5% of every dollar you earn until you are 30 you will be in a fantastic position to buy a house for you and your family. I guarantee you will congratulate yourself for the rest of your life after buying that first home.

6) Don’t sweat the small stuff.  If you miss a festival, a party or a holiday with your friends your life will go on just fine and there will be many more opportunities to party hard. If you miss something, use the time to learn a new skill (like coding) so you can enjoy the next one even more.

7) Follow your dreams. At the age of 18 anything is possible for you if you have the courage to pursue your dreams. Unfortunately dreams only come true if you put in the effort and get out of your comfort zone. If you live to the age of 80 you have around 22,000 days left to do everything you will ever do on this beautiful planet so stay outside your comfort zone, set big goals and keep climbing mountains bigger than you thought you could.

It has been a pleasure working with you over the last year or two and I hope you can make our Class of 2013 reunion on Wednesday 22nd of January in Bondi and Thursday 24th of January for Mosman.

HSC CoWorks provides premium HSC tuition and coaching services in conjunction with an interactive online tuition platform, which allows students to be fully supported 24/7. For information on how we can assist you to reach HSC Success, contact us now on 1300 967 890 or make an online enquiry here.