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Many of the classes that I took have been useful in some fashion:
Engineering/Physical Science courses - helped me develop critical thinking and a disciplined mind and a basic understanding of how things work. Even if I have not applied a class in my job, there has been some benefit to everyday living.
Engineering labs and basic English grammar/writing courses - prepared me for the technical report writing required in my job. I never thought my career would require this much writing.
Engineering Economics and Cost Accounting - basics of cash flow, net present worth, net future worth, rates of return, etc. have helped me greatly in financial and retirement planning.
Contract or Business Law - useful in knowing how to stay out of trouble.
Chemistry - useful in understanding basics of cooking.
Spanish - useful living in the southwest; cannot speak Spanish but can recognize many words and read signs.
Typing - useful in computer work, especially report writing.
Sadly, keyboarding seems to be dying out as a class in high school. At least at the NYC area high schools that I'm familiar with. Funny thing is that I hated the course initially
I don't recall taking any keyboarding classes in high school, but I had been taking computer classes since 1st grade. By high school it wasn't a needed class. I took other computer classes, like web design, but nothing that was specifically for typing.
Although it was over 50 years ago, HS auto mechanics has probably been the most useful to me. It didn't make me any money but it has likely saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.
The second most useful classes were probably English.
I don't recall taking any keyboarding classes in high school, but I had been taking computer classes since 1st grade. By high school it wasn't a needed class. I took other computer classes, like web design, but nothing that was specifically for typing.
A lot of this will depend on when you were in school and where.
Where I was (rural midwest, 1980s), elementary school computer programs were not that commonplace. There weren't even really the Commodore 64 Oregon Trail type activities that others had access to, because it was an economically depressed area in the midst of the farm crisis, there was no Gates Foundation funding computer labs in underserved low income schools, yet, etc. So it wasn't until high school that I even had access to an in-school computer lab for student use. At that point, actual keyboarding (formerly typing) coursework was common.
We used a combination of the older school typing methods, and computer programs like "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing," which looks very rudimentary compared to any tutorials available today. But, it was effective, and having an insanely high degree of speed and accuracy was a real boon to me, in the late nineties and early 2000s, in my first gig out of college as a newspaper reporter and editor, where I had typing out my ears as a part of getting each issue to press.
My high school senior year (back in the 60's) all seniors were required to take "Making a living".
It was split into quarters - 9 weeks of Civic Duty (how our local city and state government worked, how the city budget was designed and spent, how the school budget was designed and spent),
9 weeks of personal finance (how to balance a checkbook, create a budget, rent an apartment and pay bills),
9 weeks of credit management (the difference between how much you make and how much you take home in your paycheck, how to finance and buy a car, how to finance and buy a house)
and then the boys took 9 weeks of "domestic work" (how to iron a shirt, sew on a button and make bacon and eggs and meatloaf),
girls took 9 weeks of "household mechanics" (how to rewire a lamp, how to change the oil on a car and how to change the clapper on a toilet).
I've used all these skills at some point in my life.
My high school required a semester of "consumer economics" to graduate. It was basically a "young adulthood 101," where topics covered were everything from how to look for an apartment, how to write a resume and cover letter, how to set up a simple budget, how to keep a checkbook register and balance a checkbook (yes, back on the cusp of debit cards and online banking), how to shop for a car, how to write a thank you note after a job interview, how insurance works, basics of accounting and investing/retirement accounts,
It was very geared for the non-college bound, going into the workforce after high school, both because of the time and the location, and because it was a senior year requirement, it was often taken after the college-bound in the class had already applied and gotten into their colleges of choice. But, still, everyone took it, and it wasn't without usefulness.
A lot of the stuff wasn't unfamiliar to me, because I had pretty on-the-ball parents who were responsible in what they taught my siblings and I, but for many I graduated with, I'm sure it was extremely valuable.
All of the various computer classes I've taken and their use in other classes.
I was in 1st grade back in 98-99 and our elementary school already had us using computers. In middle school we had a computer science class that everyone took at least one quarter of the school year. We began each class with typing lessons. 6th and 7th grade were rough but it really clicked for me in 8th grade and I became proficient at typing the "correct" way. I went from barely 20 wpm when I started MS to I think 50 or 60 when I left. Nowadays I can do 80 or so and it really helps with all the reports I've had to write.
I'm also really glad that K-12 education was so focused on computers and their use for class. I've seen a ton of jobs that require knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite. Well, I've been playing around on Excel, Word, and Powerpoint since elementary school. Obviously not doing anything complex but as I got older I learned more and more and really it's become second nature using various programs that are pretty common in the workplace (for my interests at least).
As much as I disliked all my language arts classes, they really deserve credit for helping communication skills and helping with report writing.
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