Is College Worth It?

in #blog6 years ago

I don't really think so anymore.


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I apologize for using the IW and guns tags, but I frequently post in them, so the regulars might already know me a bit and I would value their feedback.

I've been struggling with some thoughts and I have discussed them with a few people. I wanted to lay them out in a written form and I would really like to some opinions in the comments below. It would mean a lot!

Quick Background

I competed at a high-level in a particular sport for nearly 9 years spanning from middle school up until early my freshman fall. I didn't like it one bit. I would go so far as to say I despised it, but I did it because I felt like it was expected for me. I am currently attending a well known and esteemed research university somewhere in Maryland (I know "esteemed" sounds obnoxious and I apologize, I just can't think of a more suitable word). I would constantly have the desire to quit, but I kept up with it because I didn't think I had the choice. As far as college is concerned, I am currently finishing out my 2nd semester of my sophomore year and I can say with confidence that I have the same sorts of feelings towards higher education that I had towards my competitive athletics. Truth be told, I only applied because I was expected to. I never particularly wanted to in the first place.

What Sports Taught Me

I had one particular coach. He was a bitter ex-soviet Olympian and a vile man. Imagine someone who beats children with metal sticks and benches people for smiling, and you will get some of the picture. He made a sucky situation suck more, and I had enough of it. At one point I started pushing back. Just because he is miserable, doesn't mean that he has the power to drag me into his personal hell. I was happy that I stood up for what I wanted, and wouldn't play by his rules. I felt the same feeling when I decided to stop going to team practice. I had only been doing it for the past 6 years because I felt like I didn't have a choice; it was what I was expected to do. These experiences taught me something: The world and other people inherently owe me no happiness. Any freedom and enjoyment I get out of life I must take for myself. No one will do it for me.

How I Feel About College

I have intense periods of absolutely abhorring it which will last for a solid few weeks. I then talk myself out of really doing anything about it because I have friends here, I'm almost halfway done, and crap like that. After I back away from that metaphorical ledge, it's back to the regularly schedules apathy. On paper it looks like I am doing well here, but I am in no way happy and I don't think this warrants my time. Not only that, but my passions lay outside of what I can get through a college major. If there is something I want to learn, I will do so. I don't need or want someone else's blessing to do so.

I also have in inclination that the financial situation of this country is headed for a downturn sometime in the next decade. The signs seem pretty evident. With such a shakeup, the market demand for a degree will be in for a sharp downward correction. So much student debt will absolutely ruin people across the country and it could easily spell the end of the college system in favor of something more free-wheeling. In such a case, having a degree "in my back pocket" would be pointless because they are no longer valued.

What Do I want?

If I had to say what my ideal life would be as of right now, I can't imagine a happier life than owning or working at a gun store in a small town and living deep in the middle of my own nowhere where I can have a garden large enough to sustain myself decently. I want space, peace, and quite away from the 24/7 HD1080p stream of noise and garbage. I don't really give a toss about money or any of that. I want to make enough money to make sure I can take care of my needs and my interests. I only want good friends, enough money to not be unhappy, and the space to pursue what interests me.

Bring it All Together

I had the same sorts of feelings towards sports that I do towards college. I don't want to do it, and I have stayed in thus far because whether I was going to or not was treated as a forgone conclusion. I had taken too passive a role in my life and there is no value in living the life of least resistance, deepening the same path others have walked and told me to follow. I am ready to make real change, to take real control over my life, and to shape it in my own image.

Will I make mistakes along the way? Absolutely, but at least I can say they were mine.

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Thank you for reading. If you would like, I would greatly appreciate feedback and I will upvote for your time.

-@roofcore

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I am a little biased.

Everything i learned in college, i later learned was wrong. EVERYTHING!
(especially the sciences)

There are only a few jobs that actually require a degree. Most of those are in STEM. If you are in one of those, you will want to finish the degree.

All other degrees aren't worth the paper they are printed on, and their value is falling daily.

Worthless: The Young Person's Indispensable Guide to Choosing the Right Major by Aaron Clarey
You might find this book very helpful, especially in explaining your plans to other people. Aaron Clarey has a youtube channel and it may be very beneficial as he talks about this subject a lot.


Now, the reality of the situation.
If you took all the money you were paying for college and stuck it into crypto-currencies, you would have more money for the rest of your life than you know what to do with. The degree will most likely not even pay for itself.

Taking your time and working as an unpaid intern for the next 2 years is a better path to gaining skills and future employment. A degree does not teach you any skills. The internship will.

So, really, you need to find what you wish to do. And wasting money on a college is wasting a lot of money.

Also, look for a machine shop class. There are trade schools about, and they may even be free. From govern-cement programs and such. If you really want to work with firearms, this may be a really good path.

I am currently in a STEM major, but I really have no intention to get a career in the field even if I get the degree.

Thanks a lot for your input man, I really value it. I will think about it

Outside of a handful of careers a college degree isn't really worth the money debt. A lot of skills can be learned for free and certification can be challenged. More and more employers are finding college students don't have any useful skills or knowledge and end up having to train them anyways. If you can get an entry level job and work your way up it might be better. 4 years of school vs 4 years of work experience with income.

The US is economy is doing good right now, if the Trump administration can curtail illegal immigration the demand for legal labor will increase. At rally he mentioned plans proposal to replacement for ACA in a few weeks from now. This could further reduce the burden on employers of legal labor. I was a bear on the US economy until Trump got elected and moved my investments into the US.

Study business and finance in your free time. The two best ways to get rich is investment and business. https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain <- they have a good series to get you started in economics and finance.

thanks for the thought man! I love learning, and I am bummed that I have to jump through someone else's hoops to learn what I want since I can go online to sights like khan academy and do exactly that for free. Downturn is always something to contend with and no matter who is president, as long as we have centralized banking and FIAT currency, it's simply a waiting game.

The central banks will fail, their original plan was to use a debt bomb as an excuse for SDR reserve or whatever global reserve currency they wanted to create to replace the USD. Crypto technology is advancing a rapid pace, once we really figure it out we can drop the central banks. I don't think they will pull the plug because it will be their down fall. If they want to survive there is going to be a partial or full debt jubilee. Possibly a return to the gold standard.

Crypto is check, and its mate once the markets fully implement it. Crypto is too speculative right now for most businesses that need price stability.

That is very true

Sorry I hadn't seen this earlier, before I asked you about homesteading! I commented on all the comments and for the past hour I've been working my way down through everyone's blogs :)

I think college is worth it if you're going to pursue something that definitely requires the degree to even apply, and you have a pretty good idea you'll make it in that field. I'm a History major who got into the Navy as a supply officer. Degree was required to be an officer; specialty didn't matter since they want to train you their way anyway. So in my case, college was worth it.

Do you have background in business or accounting? I ask because I personally know of small businesses whose owners have great ideas, but struggle to execute them efficiently, or fail, all because they may be great when it comes to their product or service, but are clueless about finances and marketing and such. Maybe your time would be better worth gaining some knowledge in those areas so you could open that gun store with more ammo (pun intended) in your pocket :)

I say that if something makes you that miserable, you should quit. It's one thing to honor commitment and power through the tough times and yadda yadda, but if you don't even have something to look forward to at the end of the tunnel, to inspire you through it, why spend that time being unhappy? Think of college like a bad relationship...would you advise somebody who was miserable and envisioned no future with a significant other, "you've been together two years, you should stick it out longer"?

No problem at all, and hanks a lot for the input! Luckily, my parents have owned a small business for my entire life and I have worked summers there since I was probably 14 or 15. I will be doing it again this summer. I will need to spend some time outside of work learning the ins and outs of bookkeeping, but I am familiar with the process of dealer accounts, receiving orders, and stuff like that. Obviously there would need to be a transition period for me to learn whatever field specific software there might be, but I have luckily been in a similar environment.

Not that I wouldn't mind working at a gun store, besides that, your "what I want" section describes my wants to a T. I did a year and half at a community college and even that was enough for me to call it quits.

As @builderofcastles said, unless you're going into a STEM field, a degree isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The college our parents drive us towards is not the same college they attended in the 60's-80's. The times have changed, and so have the necessities of what is assumed to be the normal life path.

Life is short, if you're not happy doing what you're doing, then quit. Then find something your passionate about it, and fucking crush it. Best of luck!

Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Pretty much. We need to get with the times. Thanks for the input my guy. I don't think I've seen you around before so have a follow.

very nice post... thanks for shareing...
@upvoted

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