I've often wondered, if I were asked to deliver a graduation speech to high school students today, what I would say to them?

The first thing I would warn them about are the personal land mines that lay ahead for young people graduating from high school, which are many.  Among these adult pitfalls are:

1 in 8 will abuse alcohol and become alcoholics.

Another 10% will end up using illicit drugs; another 3% will get hooked on prescription drugs (opioids most likely). Be aware, alcohol and drug abusers comprise most of the homeless population.

Among those who marry, 40-50% will end up in the anguish of divorce.

Can students learn to navigate around these landmines that may destroy their lives?  Can they be taught to weather a crisis or failure in their lives without resorting to stimulants or sedatives?  What did they learn in school or from their parents, teachers or youth leaders to see their way through these pitfalls of adulthood?  Maybe nothing.

What you learn today may not apply to tomorrow

A modern high school degree or even a college diploma may be of little help in carving out a future.  We live in an age of information and the global volume of inforamtion will grow from ~18,000 to ~40,000 exabytes annually by the year 2020.  Whatever textbooks will be used in college, they will be years behind current knowledge.   If you can imagine, students entering college may have to prepare for a job that doesn't exist yet!  The days of working a lifetime at one job and receiving a wristwatch for long-term service are gone.  Entrepreneur James Altucher says we will have 14 different careers before we retire.

What must a student learn then?

What kind of skills can one develop in a job market driven by fast-developing technology?  Answer: learn how to be a problem solver.  If you can solve problems, any company will hire you regardless of the industry it is in.

You value may be determined by supply and demand

A new entrant in the job marketplace needs to know their value is determined by supply versus demand.  Many people can clean homes, lay bricks, clerk at a store, wash windows, and do gardening.  These are low paid jobs because they require few skills and almost anybody can do them.  You make more money if what you do can only be done by a few.  Be aware, there may even be a glut of highly trained people such as engineers.  The more who qualify for a job the less they will be paid.

Working towards career dead ends

You may be on a track towards a career dead end and not even know it.

After the company you work for lays you off in middle age because they don't want to be on the hook for your retirement check, you may be suddenly confronted with the fact you are too old to get hired by anybody and not ready to start your own business.  Don't get caught flat-footed half way into your career years.