Poll: Dropping out of high school?

[shado_temple]

I also know that different degrees have differing degrees of demand. Apparently everyone wants engineers nowadays.

Exactly. If you plan to go out to get a 4-year degree, you have to get a feel for what sort of jobs will be available when you graduate. I saw a growing need for engineers as I was shopping for colleges as a high schooler, and did my best to (hopefully) take advantage of said need.

 

[lightningmagurn]

Same minimum wage where I live. I am currently in the 10th grade, age 16, working three jobs part time, making minimum wage at all of them. My suggestion? Join the Navy, Coast Guard or Airforce. You don't have to have a dangerous job, you are garenteed a paycheck, you have all the basics given to you, and you have job security and you will stay in good shape. If you are feeling daring, you could go Army or Marines, but then you might get a combat related job.

 

[img5016]

Gotta admit I'm sticking with what I love. I'll spend the rest of my life not having an education that is not profitable compared to a lot of the other possible things I could be doing. I'm a physics major, on my second year and still got grad school left. . . The economy is in a shlump cause the jobs and market are still catering to the unskilled labor that ran most of America for years and those people trying to live in a world that changed so suddenly. second the current high-school education system is really crap shit not preparing anyone for the real world, continuing a culture of ignorance and stupidity, and people that dont know how to reason things out. Kids need to be ready for what life brings. and i do agree we need an after high school degree, we need people with trade skills too. but we need to prepare kids for shit storm that lies ahead else they get outa school and do nothing but suck the money from our society by not spending it wisely or what not.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Same minimum wage where I live. I am currently in the 10th grade, age 16, working three jobs part time, making minimum wage at all of them. My suggestion? Join the Navy, Coast Guard or Airforce. You don't have to have a dangerous job, you are garenteed a paycheck, you have all the basics given to you, and you have job security and you will stay in good shape. If you are feeling daring, you could go Army or Marines, but then you might get a combat related job.

There's no such thing as a safe/non-dangerous job in any branch of the military. Just google "coast guard iraq" or "national guard iraq." Also see this page.
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter5.htm
I could probably make close to that living at home (you probably already are), while getting to keep most body parts.

 

[emeraldrafael]

If you're making minimum wage and your argument is based around you'd be making minimum wage as a drop out, how are you making less? unless you're working less hours (whch in that the case is you have a part time job, and should file your taxes and such in that manner).

It also depends on the degree and the job market. Plus how much initiative you are showing, and what your position is. Though I dont know why you're expecting a raise cause you worked in the same position (which must be pretty low if youre making min wage) for three years.

 

[spartan231490]

You're also not counting expenses in your math there. Like food, rent, utilities, car insurance, ect. You're also not counting the possibility that you could still get hired because of your degree. My brother took 8 years out of college to get a job related to his degree. You're also not counting any friends you made in college, or the stress of living on your own and paying your own way from the age of 16, or the stress of telling your parents that you're dropping out, ect.

 

[lightningmagurn]

There's no such thing as a safe/non-dangerous job in any branch of the military. Just google "coast guard iraq" or "national guard iraq." Also see this page.
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter5.htm
I could probably make close to that living at home (you probably already are), while getting to keep most body parts.[/quote]
I know there are no truly safe jobs in the military. However, there are jobs that are as statistically as dangerous as driving a car. I don't mean that every MOS in the Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force is not dangerous, or will not result in dangerous deployments. I am friends with a man who took 5 deployments to Iraq with the Air Force. He has seen more combat that most of the men and women I know from the Army. The National Guard can be extremely dangerous, and even more so than Active Duty units, because of less training, loosely enforced PT standards, and second rate equipment. I know this better than most, because my father is the Chief of the Joint Staffs for the MA National Guard. Every MOS that is represented in the Active Duty Army is also in the Guard and Reserves, and many of today's front line troops are drawn from them. This, combined with less choice in MOS is why I didn't mention them.
These asides there are certain jobs that will not expose you to enemy action as much or as readily. These jobs are a great way to learn a good trade, earn money for college, save money, and just survive in a world where jobs are hard to come by. On the other hand, you could join up, serve your tour, fight, maybe die and maybe be maimed and crippled for your country. It's not for everybody.

 

[MasterOfWorlds]

Look at college as a long term investment instead of an immediate return and you'll start seeing why it's the better way to go instead of the GED thing. Not that you can't get into college with the GED, but it's easier in life with a regular high school diploma.

You'll make more money long term, so relax.

 

[kortin]

Look at college as a long term investment instead of an immediate return and you'll start seeing why it's the better way to go instead of the GED thing. Not that you can't get into college with the GED, but it's easier in life with a regular high school diploma.

You'll make more money long term, so relax.

I think im going to agree with this guy. I really don't have anything else to add but to insist that you read this and think about it a little.

 

[OneEyeX]

FML

I will not have intercourse with your life story. Sorry.

Advice is fine too, I hope.

In my opinion; pull a loan and go get a Masters.

 

[Hashime]

Dropping out of high school shuts so many doors that it is not worth it. People learn more than what is in books through high school and university.
Plus if you want to be a professional you NEED at least 4 years of post-secondary.

 

[Dags90]

Yeah, there's no going back and changing anything. This is merely a thought experiment and additional info for people who think they HAVE to go to college. You don't really HAVE to do anything.

What exactly is your degree in?

I dropped out of high school when I was 17 and started college a semester early. I wish I had dropped out of high school sooner. I should finish up my degree by May of next year.

 

[BRex21]

Hmmm, i dropped out of mainstream highschool and went to an adult ed-centre. I also graduated from college.
I think leaving my terrible high school was the right choice, but i think you need an education to be taken seriously in todays workforce.

...Says the electrician who works in plant breeding...

 

[zelda2fanboy]

I dropped out of high school when I was 17 and started college a semester early. I wish I had dropped out of high school sooner. I should finish up my degree by May of next year.

My exact degree is Business Administration with a Concentration in Management i.e. a shorthand to let employers I'm not good at decision making and will take the path of least resistance. Truly, it is utterly worthless.

In my opinion; pull a loan and go get a Masters.

Ha ha ha... no. If there's one thing to make a person LESS employable, it's a masters degree. Why hire a guy who you'll have to pay more, when you can get a cheaper four year applicant for the same entry level position that you won't have to worry about promoting? I warned my buddy not to do that, but he did anyway. Now he's in just as bad a way as me, but worse because he hasn't been working and he's much deeper in debt. It's like recommending me to do more of that thing that didn't work in the first place.

 

[EHKOS]

I'm not aiming really high anyways, like enough for video games, an apartment, crappy car, and enough to get to a bar to find a wife. So I dropped out, I'm going to be eighteen in about twenty days and I just applied for a job at Mcdonalds. And it felt so good to drop out. Sure my mom is on me to get a job (what parent wouldn't?) but for now I've been able to sit around all day.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

If you're making minimum wage and your argument is based around you'd be making minimum wage as a drop out, how are you making less? unless you're working less hours (whch in that the case is you have a part time job, and should file your taxes and such in that manner).

It also depends on the degree and the job market. Plus how much initiative you are showing, and what your position is. Though I dont know why you're expecting a raise cause you worked in the same position (which must be pretty low if youre making min wage) for three years.

Yes, I am part time, busily looking for a full time job that pays for my degree. In a minimum wage job, it's fairly difficult to get full time status with all the benefits that come with it. I'm also calculating based off of working 30 hours a week for all those high school / college years, which still counts as part time. I'm not saying I'm making less having gone to college - I'm making the same amount as those who didn't. I'm also noting that if I had been working instead of going to college, I'd have a nice big chunk of money in my pocket, as opposed to being in debt and paying 70 bucks of interest every month. And I never said I was "expecting a raise."

You're also not counting expenses in your math there. Like food, rent, utilities, car insurance, ect. You're also not counting the possibility that you could still get hired because of your degree. My brother took 8 years out of college to get a job related to his degree. You're also not counting any friends you made in college, or the stress of living on your own and paying your own way from the age of 16, or the stress of telling your parents that you're dropping out, ect.

This is an "all things equal" hypothetical situation we're looking at. This is assuming my parents would continue to cover most of my expenses and let me live at home, which they did throughout college. My parents rock, by the way. Considering how often I see my "college friends," I think I'd swap those brief tenuous relationships with snobs for being debt free and having 80 grand in the bank. Believe me, if I'd gotten any action during college, this thread probably wouldn't exist.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

That was a very well said post you made there- complicated and makes sense. But, in truth I think it was best that you stayed within your educational classes and got your 4-year degree. I passed High School with all A's (no joke), but in College I am struggling big time. 12 units isn't even funny.. because 4 classes Monday - Thursday is no easy matter. I don't mind the work or classes, but when they expect you to do homework the next following day- that's to much for me. Maybe if I had two, I would have time to work on homework.
But, how can I complete my English, Math, Art, and Keyboarding all within 4 days straight when their homework amount is 4-6 hours long each? Ridiculous and I even seen people saying that College isn't even helping find jobs so I was thinking of dropping out of there and just preparing to work my way up. What do you think? (Though, College drop out as I heard sounds bad and people take that as a let down even more then a high school drop out which worries me)

You shouldn't drop out of college if you have money already invested in it. You're right when you say it looks bad on a resume, but also all of the money and time put in counts as an automatic loss. I can't speak for all situations, but my first two years in community college were WAY more intense than my last three at universities. I worked with a guy who built up a bunch of credits in college, but dropped out and couldn't start up again until he paid off his original government loan. I'm definitely not recommending any course of action for anybody, but just examining how life might have gone differently for me had I the ability to see the future.

 

[Evidencebased]

Not to be a snot but, what about intellectual stimulation? You have the potential to get into more interesting and stimulating careers with a college degree; working at McDonald's might pay the bills but I can't imagine it gives you a lot of mental exercise. And college can be a good time for intellectual maturation, too, even if you can't directly translate that into income.

But my undergrad degree was in biology... which you need if you want to go into the field, or to do anything particularly interesting. And if I had been smart and became a doctor (which I'm not doing) I'd be very employable. But most of all it's stuff I like learning about, so even if I won't be the highest paid schlub ever at least I'll be a mentally engaged one.

 

[ten.to.ten]

I'm a virtually unemployable cripple who got too sick for school three weeks into secondary.
Personally I think I would have liked going to school better. Seems a lot nicer than dropping out and being a useless parasite.

That's just me, though. I'm sure this grass truly is much greener.

You too, huh?

 

[OneEyeX]

In my opinion; pull a loan and go get a Masters.

Ha ha ha... no. If there's one thing to make a person LESS employable, it's a masters degree. Why hire a guy who you'll have to pay more, when you can get a cheaper four year applicant for the same entry level position that you won't have to worry about promoting? I warned my buddy not to do that, but he did anyway. Now he's in just as bad a way as me, but worse because he hasn't been working and he's much deeper in debt. It's like recommending me to do more of that thing that didn't work in the first place.

Because a Masters opens up other opportunities. An MBA gets you into a small-medium company with a well paying job. Less education isn't the solution; a degree into an early year job won't pay well. I think you're in a difficult position and you're blaming the system over your own personal misfortune.

My advice to you would be to call a University or College and ask them questions about what a Masters could do for you and what you WANT out of your future profession. Show motivation and effort is the first step to getting out of the dirt.