I was also an advanced student, in a very small school with few advanced classes. We did have a math teacher who to this day remains the smartest man I have ever met. I had him 2 hours as a sophomore, 2 hours as a junior, and had him scheduled for Calc and Physics 2 hours as a senior. He would turn me loose on stuff way ahead of the rest of the class and challenge the hell outta me to find a way to apply it to my interest (motorsports). He helped me decide that mechanical engineering was my way into a motorsports job that paid enough that I could also play as a driver. This was back in 1990-91. 6 years later every NASCAR team had an engineer, as well as multiple on each Indycar team, F1 team, Indy lights, etc.

This teacher died in a farm accident 2 weeks into my senior year. The only replacement the school could find was a newly graduated basic math teacher. I actually taught my physics class the rest of the year because I was more qualified than her. She was horrible at calculus. I felt like I hadn't learned anything my senior year so even though I had already been accepted into Missouri Rolla (excellent engineering school) I was afraid I would be in over my head and went to a normal university thinking I could get caught back up then transfer.

Wrong!!!

I was bored outta my head. Only had to show up on test days and was still setting the curve in my math classes. Could not stand the fact that they were making me pay them to take fine arts credits and physical ed credits and literature credits when that had nothing to do with what I wanted to study. I decided to quit school and took a job that paid 30-40K per year. Great money for a 20 year old in 1993 right?

Fast forward 20 years...never went back to school..still in that salary range but married with a child. I am lucky enough to get to drive other peoples racecars off and on but that falls short of my life's aspirations.

I was on track to be kissing the bricks with the rest of the team while Hornish or Marco or BC was thanking me for the setup I gave them that let them run qualifying speeds on old tires. A freak twist of fate caused me to make a couple bad decisions regarding school and I wiped out any shot at that. Although I am very happy with my life, my family and everything we have been blessed with I still can't go one day without thinking "What if".

My advice to you would be....GO TO SCHOOL!!! Go to an engineering school. Take classes that make you work your butt off. Challenge yourself to finish in 4 years. (Most people with engineering degrees end up needing 5 plus years) Stay home and study on nights/weekends. Studying doesn't cost you a dime. If you need something to do unrelated to school find a local raceteam that will pay for your pitpass that you can help on the weekends. Be willing to live in poverty for a few years now. Baloney sandwiches and Kool Aid instead of beer and steak. Don't let a short term job opportunity take you away from school. 4 years of sacrifice now will sure make for a much cooler 60 years to finish your time on earth.