Should I drop out of college? It's my second semester and I have no motivation to go, I feel as if I am getting nothing out of it and I really don't see myself going 4 years to graduate. Should I take a year off and think about what I want to do? I would get a full time job or work 2 part time jobs in the mean time.
I never went to college. Matter of fact, most people I know who did would never repeat it. You could always return later should you change your mind. Comes down to job skills, which you can learn form a variety of sources. What do you want to do with yourself? A trade? Or a professional level job? Never get into a job field just for the money. Make sure its something you actually WANT to do. And that can change in a heartbeat. x
I understand a dilemma you may feel when contemplating this. I dont really have any passion torwards college. Yet, im force fed the idea that going to college is the only way to success, and not going makes you a loser. I dont see college in my future, maybe trade school, maybe not that either. Who knows, i may just die tomorow any way, and if i dont, then i will continue to live. Survival, thats a job i guess. Perhaps traveling for a year or more can help you out. Just wander, i plan on doing this. You could always join the Peace Corp. or volunteer in something. Do what you feel is right. If you feel hesitation, examine the restraints that are binding you, and decide whether it will be good to sever these restraints.
You could try getting a shitty job and it might motivate you. I know a few people that dropped out and work shitty jobs and vowed to go back to collage and get a better job. Might work I know how you feel I went to collage a few years and got burned out on it, It just got freaken boring… It kind of hard thought they make you think that if you just graduate you have it made but in reality so many people with degrees never use them. They just gradate more people then there are positions for.
I think college education may become obsolete or at least out of the common man's reach. Every professional job requires at least a bachelor's degree, all in the name of competition. Eventually everyone will have a bachelor degree, leading employers to demand higher degrees. Unfortunatly, people wont be able to afford a college eduaction, even with financial aid. Its just a thought tho, one turn off for me about college is the student loans and debt you have to repay.
If you've not got the motivation then what's the likelihood that you'll reach your full potential? Maybe you just need a break from the educational system. Adult learning isn't exactly taboo if you wanted to go back later.
^Good point.. If there is only a job market for the top 10% to 20% of your gradating class only the top most ambitious people are going to get those jobs or the ones with family of fraternity connections. If your motivation is all ready low you probably wont be able to compete with the top 20%. I know so many people with expensive degrees that never were able to use them. The collages try to make you think as long as you pay them and stay in school you will have it made but its false advertising if you really look into it and look at facts and figures the collages haven’t twisted and tweaked for advertisement purposes.
xexon: I could stare at your av for hours...trippy stuff! Most of what you all are saying is right...I'm 25, about 3/4 of the way done, lots of student loans. My problem is I'm into everything subject-wise, but I get all set on a track and then lose interest along the way. I want to get done soon, but I haven't been back in three years and I'm dragging my feet on it now. School sucks, but so much of society places a premium on it....catch-22.
When i get high i feel like a bum if i dont do something i used to go to the gym to feel productive i think im going to go to college just so i know somethings moving in my life in case i ever decided to chill
Thank you! That thought had not crossed my mind. In fact, no one has ever even suggested such a thing. What a revelation! Ha ha, but seriously, I get that. It's just not as easy once you start paying back student loans and paying for other things in life / working a full-time job plus stuff on the side. It's a case of motivation and the means to accomplish the goal(s). Why waste time and money trying to finish something your heart's not in 100%? It takes a step or two back from a situation to evaluate it from another angle and rededicate oneself on a career path. If your terse reply was good-intentioned, I agree and thank you. If not, well, no problems either.
It was genuine advice, if that is what you're questioning. The thinking behind it goes something like this: Education has it's own intrinsic value, regardless of future career application, and is an essential part of becoming a "good" human being. While this doesn't necessarily have to come through formal schooling, if the issue is one of motivation, I think it is much less likely you or the OP will become an automath. I also think perseverence is a virtue. While quitting halfway through school doesn't necessarily make you a bad person, I think it is quite telling about your character. And while my opinion of you should mean exactly jack shit to you, I think a little moral self-reflection will leave you feeling the same. So I'm recommending that you do what I think is the "right" thing. Third, that spot you took first year is a spot that wasn't given to somebody who genuinely wanted a degree and to learn, and would be willing to work for it. Taking his spot, then quitting halfway is a slap to the face to this anonymous stranger. So yeah, I think the right thing to do is to finish what you start. Take it for what it's worth.
Yes, in a perfect world education has intrinsic value. More accurately, learning has intrinsic value. The harsh reality of it is that education and learning are not even close to the same thing. I LOVE learning; that's a part of life that a person can always improve. I really enjoy reading anything and everything. Education is the means to buy a degree to 'prove' that you are a certified master of your craft, whatever that may be. A man with a degree in economics cannot use that degree (no matter how hard he worked for it) to become a medical doctor. I'm not sure how your college/university functions, but at the one I've attended you have to follow a pretty rigid path to a particular degree. After gen-ed credit requirements are satisfied, you are pretty much required to take a curriculum befitting of your degree of choice. My issue was that I started out as a journalist, decided to study to become a veterinarian, and honestly, I realized I couldn't be a vet if it meant dealing with animal abuse from owners and having to euthanize a beloved pet for a crying family. Stepping back from that, I decided I was wasting my time and money by travelling down these career paths and not completing my goals. Call it weak character or whatever you'd like, it doesn't bother me coming from a well-intentioned but complete stranger. I'm envious of you for finishing your education with a clear goal in mind. I wholeheartedly plan to finish my degree as soon as I can settle on a career. I'm still searching right now though, but every dead-end office job helps point me towards the direction I think I'm seeking. To address your third point, I fail to sympathize with you over the lack of an education for someone with a stronger moral fiber. Without knowing me at all, I'd say it's presumptuous to suggest my enrollment in the university kept someone else out, someone who was more deserving. Frankly, if the person was more deserving, they would have beaten me out. I didn't go to an Ivy League school and nothing was handed to me upon entry. My parents didn't pay for my education. The school didn't pay my way. It's a part of life man, if you want to school, you CAN find a way through scholarships or grants or whatever. I don't think my quitting halfway affected anyone but myself. To wrap this up, I appreciate your advice again. You seem like a good guy. A touch arrogant and condescending, but good nonetheless. Take it easy.
That definitely seems like a true outlook to a sad future. I always valued the working man. Without farmers, engineers, able seamen, etc. we'd be nothing. So far college has not appealed to me because I cannot stand the thought of another 4 years of sitting on my ass all day listening to someone talk about something they know so much about. I hope the ideal of an apprenticeship never ceases to exist.
