Gabe: Am I headed for failure? Every teenager has probably asked him or herself this question at least once after being stressed out by an ever-increasing workload. Although it might seem a little overdramatic even to ask, I may have an inkling of an answer.

Whether through school or job, every teenager is preparing for the future, and the best way to preclude failure is by applying great effort. These are the years during which you build the chassis of the metaphorical car you will drive throughout your adult life. Pay attention to what materials you use and how you use them so your car doesn’t fall apart when you turn on the ignition.

Double Take columnists Gabe Magee and Dr. Wes Crenshaw

With that opening, you may be expecting a lecture about how good grades lead to total success; you would be wrong. Many of today’s employers don’t require prospective employees to have college degrees. They recognize that it’s not the end-all be-all of the hiring process, and degree-less interviewees can do the job better sometimes. Don’t think for a second that this road is an easy one, though. You have to work hard to make yourself stand out from everyone else. Get experience and special training to build that resume.

Still, a lot of jobs require post-high school training. If you’re lucky enough to know what general area you want to go into, look for a school that has a good program in that field. Do some research. If you keep your grades as good as possible and try your hardest, it’s less likely you’ll be disappointed.

That said, almost no adults have their lives figured out, so why expect us to do it at 17 and 18? The average undergrad changes his or her major five times. For the majority who don’t know what they want to do, I would offer the same advice: Try hard to build up a good report card and an impressive resume to give yourself more options down the road. An impressive “brag sheet” matters wherever you go.

As far as what field to go into, you may have to feel it out if you aren’t certain (and even if you are) to know where you want to go. College is a great place to do that because you are exposed to more ideas and people than anywhere else.

Don’t walk away from this column thinking I believe the world will fall at your feet if you work hard and build your resume. Life is more complicated than that. You have to have a lot of luck and sometimes, sadly, know the right people. But by keeping vigilant to what direction your life-car’s construction is taking, and what you can do to make it better, you’ll increase your odds of success a hundredfold.

Wes: The toughest thing about the “am I headed for failure” question is how many ways there are to fall apart and how few the paths to success. That may sound like the biggest bummer on record, but one need only look at the statistics to realize how accurate it is. High college dropout rates, skyrocketing student loan debt, the prevalence of unmarketable degrees and declining wage scales combine to form an education and career obstacle course that can trip even strong, hardworking students.

I could lay blame for this all day long, but at the top of the list is what I’ve come to term the Educational-Industrial Complex that convinces high school students their path is worthwhile only if it includes traditional four-year college, preferably one of those new fad STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering, math). This translates to a stratified academic experience that drops college prep kids into stressful, “advanced placement” classes and everyone else into “on level” courses, but rarely guides anyone to find out what fits their style of learning and interest area and lands a paycheck. “Follow your heart” is about the worst advice anyone can dish out and yet that seems often to be the zeitgeist of career selection.

Being a good consumer is never more important than when it comes to education and career choice, and it’s never too early to start good habits. Fortunately, today’s students and families can draw on vast online resources to understand what success will mean 10 and 20 years down the road, make wise decisions and then seek every opportunity available to reach their goals.

— Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his writing and practice at dr-wes.com. Gabe Magee is a Bishop Seabury Academy senior. Send your confidential 200-word question to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.