Poll: Which is better: studying or work?

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

It's a difficult thing for me to compare the two.

On the one hand, now that I have control of my education and am taking classes to get into a career I really want to be in professionally; school and studying is a joy for me. I actually am hating this summer because it means I'm not in class, learning more about how to light scenes or build coherent shot-lists or edit. It can feel far to theoretical though, dragging on when what you really want to do is go out and DO IT! Still, if you genuinely love the source material, you come to love school (and the amazing people you'll meet in it). 18 months of University has already netted me a large network of friends who will work with me anytime and vice-versa.

On the other hand... Work pays. By simply being patient and doing a series of repetitive tasks for a period of 8 hours in a single day, I can build up money to take care of rent, food, entertainment, etc. Its dull, its often full of other people bringing drama into where you need to be productive and occasionally the bosses are bullshit... All of that aside, I'd be lying if I said I hate work. A good days work in which you feel you really left your place better than when you came in is satisfying.

So... I just don't know.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I like University better than school because drinking and agency and whatnot, and I'm ambivalent towards the work I do now (which is basically things a robot will be doing in a few decades). I think it comes down to whether you like what you learn/do. I haven't had experience working doing something I love, and I imagine that would be the best time. I am currently studying largely things I hate doing in an attempt to work at something I like, because although programming and maths don't have a lot to do with each other, someone thought it was a good idea to have it all unavoidably in the same course, with the result that about 3 in 4 subjects aren't programming.

There are plenty of courses I could have done that I would love. Animation, game design, graphic design, and the slim possibility that I would be fine with law. But I chose engineering for job security and that's the price you pay for not playing to your strengths. A lot of tedious work you do hoping you'll never have to look at it again.

Essentially my reckoning is that if you're learning something you love, that's better than working doing something you hate, and vice versa. But I wouldn't really know.