You all keep saying, "I had no clue."
Don't you think there is a reason for that? Those who attended a vocational school usually get a good idea. Those of us who went to the standard academic school get absolutely no direction or even guidance of a future career.
Sure, you have guidance counselors but all they can really say to you is, "either go to college, join the military, or work around here"
we had a very large technology, engineering department (put on by RIT) in my high school. that certainly pointed me in the right direction. a majority of my friends from school took at least 10 engineering classes and we are all either going to some engineering field or computer related field.