Thinking about leaving college

vicious_armbar · 2014-12-27T19:02:17+00:00

I'm almost a decade out of college so I have a little bit of perspective on this. Don't expect a $50,000 a year job without a college degree, unless you live in a heavily unionized big city [Chicago, New York, and some parts of California]. Even then it's hard to manage to get a union job, and the long term outlook is bad. Unions are dying in America and have been dying for decades.

Almost all of the guys that didn't finish college, and took up a trade are uneducated losers barely making it by financially. It's sad. Red pill pioneer Tom Leykis did a good show on this that I strongly recommend you listen to. Finish college. If you like being outdoors and enjoy: hiking, camping, kayaking, etc then there are plenty of degrees that have paths to jobs which will pay you to do those sort of things. If your university doesn't offer any degrees that you want; then go to one that does. You can go to a local community college first to decrease costs, and establish residency if you have to move out of state.

I know someone who got their degree in Oceanography for example. Every day she'd to to a research facility right on the ocean. Beautiful view, near some great restaurants, she could go to the beach as soon as she got off of work, and she'd often get paid to spend the day out on the water to check on the oyster populations.

Another degree that you might be interested in is archeology. I know an archeologist who got a job with the federal government. She helped with site excavation so she was always outside. She got to work in some pretty awesome locals. For example she got a job out west where she helped maintain and excavate the pueblo buildings carved into the side of the cliffs. She got good benefits, the government paid for her housing, and she got in plenty of travel because she'd move every 1 or 2 years. Basically the federal government paid her to see the wilderness in our national parks. Sounds like a job you'd be into.

That being said I think it was valuable for me to work shit jobs for a while to see what my future would hold if I didn't get my degree. If you feel like you must, then take 1 year and only one year off. While you're taking time off from school you should completely support yourself [no help from mommy or daddy]. Try your best to make as much money and find a fulfilling as possible career as you can. Trust me after a year of being treated like shit in exchange for slave wages you'll be sprinting back to your local community college. And for gods sake don't knock someone up in the meantime! Otherwise you'll probably be suck as a loser. Remember: condoms, condoms, condoms!

speed3_freak · 2014-12-27T20:57:56+00:00

College isn't for everyone. There is nothing that would stop you from having a successful career as long as you continue to learn and improve yourself. That said, it is typically much easier to make good money with a college education. Know that without it your life will probably be much harder.

If you still think that you don't want what college offers, look into vocational training or an apprenticeship. Find something that you love doing and figure out how to make a living. I met a guy once who was an underwater welder. He'd done an apprenticeship in welding, and became a certified commercial diver. He had no traditional college, but he made ~$150k per year. He had to travel a lot, and he was out on the water away from his friends and family, but he loved it. One of my good friends went to Nashville Auto Diesel College and is now a head mechanic on a huge farm making $60k per year. He mainly sets his own hours and as long as everything is going well he has full autonomy over his job. Bad thing is that he is 30 and is probably already at his maximum earning potential.

Bottom line is to make sure that you aren't wanting to quit college because you don't want to work or don't want to learn. You should never stop improving yourself, and never stop learning. Make sure if you do quit that you learn the fundamentals of the subjects that you actually will need in your life. Learn the basics of statistics, accounting, communication, and most importantly finance. I ran an amortization schedule for my sister and BIL over Christmas to show them what they were paying in interest every month on their mortgage. It blew my mind that they were so oblivious to how a loan works, and they are both very intelligent people.

College is a great time for you to take an opportunity to "do what's next" while you figure yourself out. Make sure that if you do deviate from this opportunity that you are doing it so you can do something that will be better in the long run. Maybe take a year off and work in the North Dakota oil fields or something.

rptosseracct · 2014-12-27T21:24:25+00:00

Had the same experience at my first college, which was a business school. I dropped out and got an office job for two years, decided it definitely wasn't for me. A few years later I enrolled in a maritime academy. Graduated this year with a third mates license, first job I got is a month on month off that pays 80k yearly. It's not for everyone but I love it and I have time off to travel, camp etc. College is different these days than it was in the 60s and 70s. Degrees definitely open doors, but they're also getting to be a dime a dozen, and there are a lot of grads out there who will never pay off their loans because of this. If you don't like where you are get out quick before you go too far into debt. Do your research and find a program with good job placement and salary upon completion. Don't just believe whatever the school tells you either, do your own research into the field you'll be getting into. Best of luck.

[deleted] · 2014-12-30T19:48:58+00:00

[permanently deleted]

favours_of_the_moon · 2014-12-27T21:35:17+00:00

Learn how to locksmith too. Nice money on the side.

tombreck2 · 2014-12-27T18:00:50+00:00

Get a good degree (IT, Accounting, etc.) and do that job while you work on finding work that you want to do.

I started out in IT and hated it until discovered a niche position while on the job, taught myself with company money, and now am doing what I love.

gqtrees · 2014-12-27T17:55:44+00:00

I understand the weight of depression and i dont want to sound like an ass but dont be an idiot. You can take half a year off college...maaaaybe a year. But do your life a favor and stay and finish eventually. College will open doors for you. Dont close it.

Title	Thinking about leaving college
Author	shartsandgiggles
Upvotes	1
Comments	14
Date	December 27, 2014 5:51 PM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/2qjndb/thinking_about_leaving_college/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/thinking-about-leaving-college.144729 https://theredarchive.com/post/144729

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