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Local boy, Dominic Miller, has made the mistake of believing his overall position score actually matters to anyone.

During a conversation with adults a good ten years his senior, the peppy law student happily quipped that his ATAR was in the 99’s before asking the entire table what their score was.

Much to his surprise, Dominic was met with a mix of blank stares and scoffs of laughter.

“Yeah I was really confused,” says Dominic, visibly shaken from the experience.

“I thought ATAR scores mattered.”

“My mates mention it all the time. I thought it was something to be proud of. Like all they tell you at school is that if you get a shit ATAR your future is screwed.”

“You’re telling me…it doesn’t actually matter!?”

Save for a couple of doctors and lawyers, Dominic’s older pals revealed that their OP scores hadn’t really impacted their lives at all and that the real money was in the trades.

“Nobody told me how much plumbers and electricians make,” says Dominic.

“Why the hell am I studying law? Why am I doing this to myself?”

Unfortunately for Dominic, this marks as one of the many realisations that will come to shatter the nice, safe cocoon he’s built for himself.

As a former straight-A student from a good school, Dominic thought he had a pretty clear idea of what his future would look like, and the milestones he would come to achieve.

Now realising that his class is full of people just as smart as him, Dominic’s status has quickly gone from big fish to one of many plankton.

More to come.