What to do after high school?

Over on CBC’s website, Robert Smol notes that many parents equate their children’s success with participation in university education "regardless of whether or not university is the appropriate choice for their child". He poses a number of thought-provoking questions about career choice such as the following:

If the bully, the drug dealer and the ADHD student are being directed towards a career path where they could, if successful, make more money than their teacher [as in some skilled trades], why not promote the same option for the not-particularly-academic, university-bound student as well?

Few would dispute that information pertaining to all post-secondary options should be provided to prospective students; however, while "Can I afford it?" and "Is it worth it?" are essential and necessary questions, I suggest that the most important question youth (and the not-so-youthful) should ask is what do they want to achieve by participating in post-secondary education. Smol appears to question whether "pure intellectual fulfillment" is still a valid response to the latter question. It is.