The American Opportunity Index recently published an analysis of the best employers for high school graduates who do not plan to enroll in college.
According to their research, about 40% of 2024 high school graduates do not plan to enroll in college this fall. While reasons vary, a recurring theme is financial concerns. This generation of high school graduates are wary of increasing tuition rates and taking on significant debt (read more about this generational trend).
The Index focuses on “the 50 best large companies for those with high school degrees to start their careers… based on an assessment of entry-level workers’ career trajectories over the past five years.” The leaders include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Lowe’s and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The American Opportunity Index based their rankings on how well firms hire entry-level workers and how will firms provide opportunities for their workers to advance within and beyond. While this analysis focused on large corporate entities, the same metrics can easily be applied to the many career opportunities in franchised automotive dealerships for high school graduates.
Hiring entry level
Experience is not required for many automotive retail jobs. And the experience that is valued in many of these roles is not what you’d expect (read more about leveraging non-auto experience into a dealership career).
There are entry-level positions in all dealership departments that include on-the-job training (often including opportunities for higher education at the employer’s expense), full benefits and competitive wages.
Advancement within and beyond
In the same four years a student spends in college, a dealership employee could move from a product specialist to a high-earning salesperson on the management track. A service technician could have earned multiple certification levels through on-the-job training, increasing their pay and decreasing their hours.
And, of course, it does not stop there. At every dealership across the country, 19-year-old cashiers have worked up the ladder. Some of them are now running their own stores and buying more. They will all tell you that the most valuable education for their careers came from their time on the job.
Want proof? Here are just a few stories:
- Carmen Hinton: from receptionist to service manager
- Glenn Kashima: from parts delivery driver to parts and service director
- Diana Kennedy: from high school runaway to general manager
These stories of growth often exist within the same dealership. There are salespeople who have built relationships with generations of customers and master technicians who have graduated to the role of mentor and trainer – all at the same store.
But there are also many automotive retail careers that involve transitions to new stores – or even new industries – to grow experience and seek new challenges and opportunities. No matter what an employee’s next step may be, a job in automotive retail opens up multiple paths for a successful career.
