Was this a good idea on my part? I mean the fact is I'll be moving down to Florida, which is already a cheap state to live in, and I figure I could work full time for minimum wage somewhere to pay for what I need.
I dropped out of college.
- Thread starter Colodomoko
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I dropped out too. I joined the Army.
Sometimes I think I made the wrong decision about both dropping out and enlisting, but I think in situations like these, it's hard to not have second thoughts.
Sometimes I think I made the wrong decision about both dropping out and enlisting, but I think in situations like these, it's hard to not have second thoughts.
Depends on a million other factors.Colodomoko said:
I'm going to say no based on:
[qutoe]I mean the fact is I'll be moving down to Florida, which is already a cheap state to live in, and I figure I could work full time for minimum wage somewhere to pay for what I need.[/quote]
Sure, or, you could find a decent job that does not require a university education. There are fucking loads of them out there, people (especially University educated people or those who've spent their entire life being told that University is the be-all and end-all) are often just too stupid to find them.
So, think about what skills you do have and what you're interested in consider where they might be applicable, then go for that.
If you can't think of any, go back to Uni, then come out with a degree - and get a minimum wage job to pay the bills.
Until you decide what you want out of life, it makes little difference either way.
Congrats on making what will probably be the biggest mistake of your life.
Seriously, where is the drive in people? Who the fuck wants to earn minimum wage?
I dont get it.
Seriously, where is the drive in people? Who the fuck wants to earn minimum wage?
I dont get it.
Get a decent plan, that gets you a decent job, and stick to it. It may be harder or easier depending on your situation, but either way, you can't really change that now so all the replies saying you shouldn't have dropped out are useless. For now you need to get a long-term plan going in something you can bear doing every morning.
I would say no, it wasn't a good idea. While you stil lcan get to the position you want to be, its probably goign to be a lot longer (and possibly harder) to get there. Yes, you could make up for your lack of schooling with effort and sheer gumption, but its going to be a while before you get to a comfortable a position as you would otherwise have with a university education.
For now, try to find a job you can bear to go to. Working at Tesco (or the American equivalent. Wall-Mart, maybe?) for the rest of your life could be a stop-gap, but you don't want to keep doing it for long.
For now, try to find a job you can bear to go to. Working at Tesco (or the American equivalent. Wall-Mart, maybe?) for the rest of your life could be a stop-gap, but you don't want to keep doing it for long.
Its not about the money. Its about the pride. Money is a measure of success. A good and rewarding job is a measure of success. Doing something you love and being good at it is a measure of success. its not about the money. Its about being the best you you can be. Its about being able to think, act, perform at a higher level of thought and freedom.SmashLovesTitanQuest said:
Its about being able to say, Fuck it, I want to buy a boat and sail on the weekends. And then going out and having the ability to do that. Its about freedom.
Decisions can be wrong. This one is. Dont baby people
It's tough to say without a more detailed explanation about why you dropped out, but my gut feeling is no. I mean, do you have any aspirations outside of college, or do you just want to work minimum wage jobs for the rest of your life? I can't see that as being fulfilling.
In the UK you can go to University/college at any age after leaving school. I didn't go to University straight from school because I could not afford it. I jumped from job to job for ten years and now I'm going back to University. Is this not the same in the US?Pimppeter2 said:
If not, disregard this, if so - he is not necessarily making a mistake. Your life doesn't climax at 25. Hell, even at 30.
Just because it kind of worked out for you, doesn't mean that its a good idea. And you should be smart enough to realize that. Hell, a lot of rock stars got to be super famous because they took hardcore drugs and had crazy sex that they could write about in their songs. A lot of famous thinkers and writers loved getting high as fuck. A lot of highschool dropouts ended up being successful.Spot1990 said:
Doesnt mean you should encourage people to do those things. Hey, maybe it works out well for the OP. I hope it does like it did for you. But thats not the way these things go most of the time.
I didnt say it was the end of his life. I said it was a bad decision. Which it is.
Maybe that isn't the right way to put it.SmashLovesTitanQuest said:
A university or college education is about having both experience and options. I would say only 10% of the value of college is the education. The remaining 90% is the experience you get and the options that are made available by having a degree.
And by experience, I mean this: there is no better place than college to explore career paths that you might not get to see otherwise. Good universities have plentiful career counseling opportunities. You might find something you love that you had no idea existed. By not going, you cut yourself off from a whole world of potential opportunities. It makes your world a lot bigger, basically.
Then of course there are the options. There are some good careers and fields that don't require a degree, this much is true. But there aren't that many of them, and having a degree will still make you far more competitive in those fields. So having that degree makes those areas of employment available to you, even if you might not want them. Because a few years down the line, if (when) you think that being a waiter, janitor, salesman or 'data entry clerk' (whatever the fuck that is) is no longer good enough for you, you'll want those options.
Money isn't the only measure of success by a long shot, I would say that satisfaction is far more important. But why get paid to work when you can get paid a lot more to do something you really enjoy? Or at least make enough money and have a secure job so that you can do other things you love. That is why you go to college.
And let us not forget the social experience. You shouldn't just go for the parties and the almost 2:1 women to men ratio, but believe me that is the tastiest icing on the world's most delicious cake.
What youre saying is just dumb, and you clearly didn't read my post. I said money was one measure of success. And it is, so dont even pretend like it isnt. I mentioned many others. So go ahead and justify whatever you need to. Call me hollow, call me whatever.SmashLovesTitanQuest said:
At least I can read.
Having a degree certainly makes finding a good job a lot easier, I just applied for a position to a callcentre that employs a lot of my old schoolmates, since it's the only place that's hiring in my area. My friends dropped out of university and only had one job option: working on the call centre phones for close to minimum wage, but I was able to apply to their higher level graduate program because of my degree, that will place me into an immediately better paid programming job, with better chance of promotion in the long term.
It's not my first choice of employment, but having my degree opened that door.
The flip side of the whole thing is that I am still £15,000 in debt due to student loans, and they've been earning for a few years, so are in the black, but that should get paid off pretty fast once I start earning, and in a few years my pay will be potentially double my classmates who didn't finish their degrees, because employers really will take as much advantage of any workforce they deem expendable, and since their jobs take less training and expertise, their wages aren't exactly competitive.
You will find that dropping out will limit the types of jobs you can apply for, and you will most likely end up in a fairly remedial position with little scope for promotion, but if you can find a job that you really enjoy doing, and if you can live comfortably on the lower pay, then go for it.
But I will warn you that money (although it isn't everything) will always be a stress if you don't have enough. Having a few thousand in the bank as a cushion for emergencies is an unsung recipe for contentment in life; knowing you can pay for your bills, food, and entertainment without having to obsessively count every penny is a happiness that can't be underestimated.
It's not my first choice of employment, but having my degree opened that door.
The flip side of the whole thing is that I am still £15,000 in debt due to student loans, and they've been earning for a few years, so are in the black, but that should get paid off pretty fast once I start earning, and in a few years my pay will be potentially double my classmates who didn't finish their degrees, because employers really will take as much advantage of any workforce they deem expendable, and since their jobs take less training and expertise, their wages aren't exactly competitive.
You will find that dropping out will limit the types of jobs you can apply for, and you will most likely end up in a fairly remedial position with little scope for promotion, but if you can find a job that you really enjoy doing, and if you can live comfortably on the lower pay, then go for it.
But I will warn you that money (although it isn't everything) will always be a stress if you don't have enough. Having a few thousand in the bank as a cushion for emergencies is an unsung recipe for contentment in life; knowing you can pay for your bills, food, and entertainment without having to obsessively count every penny is a happiness that can't be underestimated.