DR. WALLACE: I'm a high school student and I had the experience recently of participating in a project in one of my classes where each student was asked a series of questions. These questions were designed to find out each person's unique levels of risk-taking versus risk-averse behavior.

Almost all of the students graded out heavily in one direction or the other, meaning they were very much against taking risks or they were the type of individuals who thrive on taking risks! But as for me, I was the only person in the class who graded close to the center line, meaning that I was sort of ambidextrous when it came to the topic of risk.

I was graded as risk-averse when it came to allocating my time to study or managing my money, but very much a risk taker with my personal hobbies, such as rock climbing and my social behavior, which is to engage in conversations with strangers at a moment's notice. Do you feel there could be something wrong with me? — I'm Both a Taker and Avoider, via email

I'M BOTH A RISK TAKER AND AVOIDER: I don't think there's anything wrong with you at all based on what you've told me here. The reason you landed in the middle was probably that you truly took into consideration several aspects of your personal life, rather than just going with a gut feeling as to whether you avoid risks or take them on willingly.

From my perspective, I'd say that you're prudent in terms of risk avoidance as a young person who enjoys the outdoors. Rock climbing is indeed considered a risky behavior, but it can be tempered with preparation, good judgment, and following all safety protocols consistently and carefully — which I trust you do.

As for speaking to strangers, openly and willingly, you obviously have an outgoing personality that to me is more of a personality trait than a risk-taking endeavor. I assume you mean talking to strangers at your school and others in your age range, versus going into risky environments and speaking to anyone, anywhere about anything. If you feel you're overall acting prudently in the areas in which you indicated you are a risk taker, then I feel you have absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact, you appear to be enjoying the best of both worlds.

I NEED TO FINANCE MY NEW JOB TRAINING

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who's 18 and instead of going to college, I'm seriously considering attending a "manual labor" trade school. I've heard that jobs such as plumbing, welding, and becoming a heating and air conditioning technician can pay extremely well once a candidate graduates from training classes and begins working in the real world.

My father doesn't have the resources to loan me the money for the trade school, but one of my uncles said he could loan me a portion of it, which would be about one-third of what I need. Are there any other ways I could get enough money to make this dream of mine a reality? — Ready to Get Started, via email

READY TO GET STARTED: Your best bet would be to start studying carefully. What programs may be available to you? Certain accredited programs are qualified for federal direct student loans. In addition, there are options such as private lenders like Sallie Mae (originally the student loan marketing association), which is now fully privatized. Sallie Mae offers products that help students pay for training and search for suitable scholarships.

Certain accredited trade schools participate in the Title IV program, which provides access to federal loans. You should also look into the employer, sponsorship, and potential tuition reimbursement. Before you make any firm commitments, seek out many potential trade employers, as some of them pay for training in exchange for future employment.

Spend a lot of time doing research over the next month or so and speak to as many people as you can about your current situation. I trust there will be several viable opportunities available to you. The good news is that trade school education has substantially lower overall costs compared to four-year degrees at major universities.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu at Unsplash