Why college? Why Bother?

[NoNameMcgee]

I think in your case you've just been lucky. Though I see where you're coming from.

I have no idea what I want to do that I would enjoy more than anything else, and nothing I'm particularly good at or care enough to get better at, to get me a unique job. Nor do I care about having some amazing career that would make people look up to me and go 'gosh, he's so lucky' because I don't completely sum my life up by what job I have, and don't care much if people judge me for not having career goals.

As for money; I like money, money is cool. A lot of it would be nice, but I would be perfectly content with an average wage. I don't plan on starting a family in the future (though its not something I'm fully decided on, to be fair, and I could change my mind anyway when I'm older) so I wouldn't need buckets of money to support kids, I don't need a huge house or an expensive car either and never feel like I will need those things.

Bottom line is, having all those nice little extra goodies a well-paid job would allow me to have would be good; but the effort it takes to go through years and years of education, especially when I'm not a very academic person and don't really have any major skills to motivate and help me... Well, its not worth it for me.

When I finish high school I would like to go to TAFE (for those who don't live in Australia, it's further education a little bit like college but for people who are not academic geniuses to begin with.) but I have no idea what I want to do there or if I'd really achieve at anything and I'm wondering if it's better to just go straight into work. Maybe I could get into an apprenticeship, but then I feel like I'm faced with the exact same issues.

Any advice peeps?

Really I think I'm just content with being average (reference to username, hardy harr) and I'm not convinced it's a bad thing at all.

 

[RobCoxxy]

College = degree = higher paid jobs = more games before bankruptcy/inevitable death

 

[thousandfaces]

Well its cool and all, but even though i havent finish my bac. degree the things ive learned outside the classroom and the experiences ive been through are priceless. And no job can offer that if you skip college. My 2 cents...

 

[Hellenion]

ummmmmm......

"you could have convinced an Urgal to become a farmer tonight."?

success!

exactly

Now cookies to those get the reference.....

Not to stray too off topic, but Inheritance is terrible. Amateurish, inconsistent and filled with enough mistakes, errors and general stupidities to make the Microsoft Word Paperclip explode in sad despair. Good reviews for the first two here: http://swankivy.com/writing/essays/info/inheritance.html

Anyway, on topic, as far as I understand, the US Higher Education System is vastly different to that of my home, the UK. In my opinion your "college" is rather a more advanced version of "high school". In the UK, you need some form of qualification equivalent to A Level to get a decent, high paying job. You don't have to go to University, but it helps for more advanced jobs with, as plagues this country, massive salaries.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I've already finished college, moving on to (hopefully) do my Law degree at University. I have no idea whether it'll pay off, or if I'll even reach the end of my multiple years of training, but I played Phoenix Wright one day and decided to give it a try. No, seriously.
Other than that my hobby is writing, and if I can make money off that in the very distant future...well, all the more.

 

[Venatio]

ummmmmm......

"you could have convinced an Urgal to become a farmer tonight."?

Who the hell quotes from Eragon?

Myself I plan to find to go into Political Science to perhaps become a lawyer and from there maybe a position in a Federal Agency - particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs because I have a great interest in helping those who have helped my country.

 

[quiet_samurai]

This can be true, the job I have now has nothing to do with the degree I pursued in college (never finished) and I make more money then most of my friends with very impressive educations and degrees. There is only a few out there that actually make good money with what they learnied in college, ones a psychologist and the others a lawyer. It's funny though, I have a friend girl that makes almost as much money as them as a bartender.

 

[Bouncing Ferret FIlm]

it really depends, it depends on the degree and it depends on you. my friend just finished with an insane degree in business but is a telemarketer, answering phones and selling bullshit on the phone... Mean while, other people who haven't finished college or even taken it, get killer jobs. Some jobs, like engineering, IS about what you know. but like mine for example. I make films, its not necessarily WHAT you know, its WHO you now and WHAT have you done.

SO all in all, its an individual question with an individual answer.

 

[Multi-Hobbyist]

I think in your case you've just been lucky. Though I see where you're coming from.

I have no idea what I want to do that I would enjoy more than anything else, and nothing I'm particularly good at or care enough to get better at, to get me a unique job. Nor do I care about having some amazing career that would make people look up to me and go 'gosh, he's so lucky' because I don't completely sum my life up by what job I have, and don't care much if people judge me for not having career goals.

As for money; I like money, money is cool. A lot of it would be nice, but I would be perfectly content with an average wage. I don't plan on starting a family in the future (though its not something I'm fully decided on, to be fair, and I could change my mind anyway when I'm older) so I wouldn't need buckets of money to support kids, I don't need a huge house or an expensive car either and never feel like I will need those things.

Bottom line is, having all those nice little extra goodies a well-paid job would allow me to have would be good; but the effort it takes to go through years and years of education, especially when I'm not a very academic person and don't really have any major skills to motivate and help me... Well, its not worth it for me.

When I finish high school I would like to go to TAFE (for those who don't live in Australia, it's further education a little bit like college but for people who are not academic geniuses to begin with.) but I have no idea what I want to do there or if I'd really achieve at anything and I'm wondering if it's better to just go straight into work. Maybe I could get into an apprenticeship, but then I feel like I'm faced with the exact same issues.

Any advice peeps?

Really I think I'm just content with being average (reference to username, hardy harr) and I'm not convinced it's a bad thing at all.

Well, the way im looking at it, i'd recommend taking it easy. With your mind not yet maid up on a lot of things, only you can give it more thought and follow through on said thoughts later in life. If being average isn't such a bad thing (which I agree on, but theres a limit to average, seeing how most average people are still struggling to the end to make ends meet, which is NO fun) then be content with it, to a higher degree. Just take it easy and think it all through while you still got the time, ya know? Whatever floats your boat down shit creek, just make sure you have a paddle for when tough times smack you in the face.

 

[Chaos Bringer]

I don't reaally wantto go to coolege unless I'm doing some sort of sort myself. But my parents are forcing me too.

 

[Hellenion]

(In response to Tenmar)

I'm saying that there's shit recently about unfairly massive salaries in certain office and political positions, but at least those unfairly paid positions need a good education to be hired for. That provides an incentive to go to "college" or University, for the unfairly big salaries.

 

[Fraeir]

The magic of life is basically: Find a way to do what you enjoy the most, and earn money while doing it. If you can do that, you've found your calling..

 

[Player 2]

I'm going because I'm too lazy too get a job.

 

[delete101]

You should of course go to school and study what interests you as a person, but you should
factor in the possible future. If you study something really narrow, then you have to realize
that finding a job will be hard. I myself chose a rather broad field of study for the sake of
finding a future job, but to each his own I guess.

 

[Tdc2182]

If you don't know why you need college than you shouldn't be worried about getting in. Lets just say that soon enough your not gonna have enough money to be going on the internet anymore.

 

[Jak The Great]

Um... okay. I know that in the long run its generally better to just take what ever you would have spent on college and go out into the world and run with it but college still helps in more ways then just a job. How many high school kids are ready to go out immediately after school as compared to college kids? the maturity level is different and people's ideas on what the world is about change very quickly once they leave home. Having some time to still be in school makes that time more valuable rather then being forced into getting a job.

that idea would be better initially (provided you have the money in cash before you go) but in the long run there's no way that it would be better. To put it in perspective I made the money I spent on college in 1 year.

I had part time jobs in college too, so you could say that I missed out on 4 years of 20 hour work weeks at about 8 bucks an hour (I worked 20 hours a week so 20+20=40). That amounts up to about $33K over 4 years. so hypothetically I would have made 66k over those four years had I not gone into college.

but here's the kicker; now that I'm out of college, the amount I make compared to my part time jobs has more than quadrupled. It doesn't take long to make up the money I missed out on by not going to college but then to add on top of that. (and to be clear about this; I love my job and am not in this for money, though it is a nice perk)

College is very much worth your time and investment. Even if you don't get a job in the field you want, that piece of paper opens many more doors than you could imagine. If you can find a job that pays well that doesn't require much education, more power to you. Just be sure that that is what you want to do.

 

[HerrBobo]

Well I'm just finished college, I'm 28 now. I left a 800 Euro a week job to study, for the last 3 years I have been earing, about, 170-200 Euro per week. I did not go to college to get a good job, I had a good job. I went to get a better understanding of a subject that I love; history.

I moved 200 miles, to the other side of this island to do too.

Was it worth it? Hell yes! Sure, I'm broke, but I have bettered myself, I have a deeper understanding of history, I met the love of my life in college and I live in a fatastic city.

College is fantastic!!