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am i really missing out?

saucy2040

saucy2040

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
1,288
id think this question belongs in this section, so here goes.

i just got out of high school but failed my senior year. i didnt graduate, but i have only one credit left until i get my diploma that ill finish up at the community college.
after that i dont plan on going to a university, and even if i did i dont think id get in any since my GPA and grades through out high school have been shitty all 4 years.

although im sure if i went to the community college for a year or so i could maybe get my grades up and get transfered to some university, but thats still on down the road.

so im asking this to all who are in college or have experienced the life style of it, am i missing out on something really that good? i never had a desire to go to college but now thinking bout it i keep hearin how fun it is, and i feel like i might miss out on something very important and fun in life. whats it like exactly?
 
im having a little bit of fun here. i partied more with my friends from high school though. idk. it kinda sucks if you are the only one of your friends at a campus. but you do get to meet alot of interesting people.
 
if you have the opportunity to go to college, take it. i fucked around my first 2 years and have nothing to show for it other than the annoyance of realizing that i actually do want a degree and i've made no progress on it so far. as shitty as high school was, and as much as you don't want to go to school for another 2-4+ years, just get going on it. you'll make tons of great friends, learn about the things you choose to learn about, and have an excuse not to have a full time job for a while if nothing else. i hated high school as much if not more than you did and the thought of more school just pissed me off.

but here are your possible outcomes: either you'll be content with a job/career that has no upward mobility, you'll get lucky and invent something dank or acquire a skilled trade that will provide for you and your family, or you'll realize that a degree is necessary in the world today and even if you're not going to apply it to the rest of your life, it's still something you need to pick up so you get the respect you deserve from the professional world.
 
college can be alot of fun if you end up living with some cool people and dont take school to seriously. I would def. recommend at least starting out at a community college, bring your grades up and than transfer to a university. make sure you keep your grades up though, its expensive but it could definitly help you out in the future life.
 
college is different for everyone. some people love it, some people hate it and some people are in between.
 
just visit your friend who live at college and live vicariously through them. that's what i did, since i couldn't afford to go away to school (i lived at home the whole time.) i got enough of a taste of the college life on those random weekend visits to keep me satisfied.
 
^^ actually, it DOES make sense. i just finished up grad school, so i've had my fair share of an education (graduated with a 4.0, btw). as far as opportunities, i've been published in a peer-reviewed educational journal. i participated in activities at school and made friends and what not. BUT i didn't have the authentic experience of staying away from home, living with roommates, etc. i got to see what that what like when i visited my friends at their schools.

so yeah, i didn't go away to school, but i definitely got an education and numerous opportunities.
 
I didn't go to college right out of high school... and I regret it. I see all the people at work that come home for breaks and they talk about just how much fun they're having... yeah... I wish I had done the whole dorm thing and all
 
but here are your possible outcomes: either you'll be content with a job/career that has no upward mobility, you'll get lucky and invent something dank or acquire a skilled trade that will provide for you and your family, or you'll realize that a degree is necessary in the world today and even if you're not going to apply it to the rest of your life, it's still something you need to pick up so you get the respect you deserve from the professional world.
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This is the best advice you are going to get.

Seriously.

Think about the outcomes of not going to college and the outcomes of going to college. You can still be ridiculously successful without a college degree, depending on what you want to do and how committed you are to doing it.

Learning a trade is a good way to make a hell of a lot of money, because people ALWAYS need plumbers/electricians/roofers etc. Most tradespeople are pretty well off... they aren't millionaires but hey, most people aren't millionaires ;)

But that said, college is a very fun and useful time, although it can be quite expensive, so make sure you are going for the right reasons.

CB :)
 
college is a gateway into different futures. without going to college your options become limited if you want upwards mobility in any job field. you could join a union or something else but in almost every career field having college units, if not a BA/BS (4 year degree) is the big step up to decent salary. Post college work like a masters is also really great and more and more in demand.

Ultimately I don't think about how much fun I had in college, even tho I did have a blast, but it allowed me access to my present job which I really enjoy. Further, it taught me a great deal about responsibility. Getting through college is about jumping through 4 years of hoops. It trains you well for the working world where its one hoop after another til you retire. Better to learn early.
 
so the majority would recommend to not rely on learnin nothin but a trade, but to go to a college amd get some degree or another?

i wanna be a chief or jus a cook in a resteraunt, what would u guys recommend be the best route for pursuing that kind of career? would a commnutiy college jus do? or do i have to go to a univ. to be succesfull in that field?
 
You'll never know what you didn't miss out on. Life's full of "what if's?"
I say fuck it, go to college. I loved community college.
I'm busting my ass but i'm loving this new university i'm @ right now.

All i know is that I dropped out of community college to become a professional heroin addict. :\ well 2 years down the road, i had gained all sorts of experience (so much that i'm too jaded to listen to people's "we were so wasted" stories). But since your on bluelight you probably won't be missing out on the partying. I was sick of meat head keg parties by the time i was 19 anyway.

those 2 years being a heroin addict out of school working 'real' 9-5 jobs sucked. It sucked enough that eventually i cleaned up my act and made my way back to school.

I'd say take your pick. Do you wanna learn stuff? college/uni is way more chill than highschool too. But then again, some could say that those who don't spend years following summer music festivals "missed out". It all depends on what you wanna do. If unsure it never hurts to have parents pay for the first semester, i think you get like a week to drop classes with a full refund most places n e way.
 
oh so very true. i just turned 20 and I am finally staring college in january. i've been working in the IT world for about 2 years now and ive advanced as far as you can without a degree. %)


Bauer095 said:
if you have the opportunity to go to college, take it. i fucked around my first 2 years and have nothing to show for it other than the annoyance of realizing that i actually do want a degree and i've made no progress on it so far. as shitty as high school was, and as much as you don't want to go to school for another 2-4+ years, just get going on it. you'll make tons of great friends, learn about the things you choose to learn about, and have an excuse not to have a full time job for a while if nothing else. i hated high school as much if not more than you did and the thought of more school just pissed me off.

but here are your possible outcomes: either you'll be content with a job/career that has no upward mobility, you'll get lucky and invent something dank or acquire a skilled trade that will provide for you and your family, or you'll realize that a degree is necessary in the world today and even if you're not going to apply it to the rest of your life, it's still something you need to pick up so you get the respect you deserve from the professional world.
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the thing about college is that...you should want to be there to learn and grow. if your there because you think its going to make you a bunch of money or any other reason, you in it for the wrong reason. statistically people that go to college do not make much more money, just have a slightly easier job. they say if you were to take all the money that college costs, put it in a interest bearing account, and learn a trade like being a mechanic, that you would have made much more money than going to college.

so you gotta ask yourself, do i WANT to go to college?
 
^ Obviously you have to want to be in college to succeed, but some people simply are there for the "wrong reasons" and that's OK too. If you're in college to get a higher paying job then you're on a path to success; it's irrelevant that you don't give a shit about learning or growing, you're there and that's what matters.

Not only does your diploma get you access to higher paying jobs with upward mobility, it also gives you negotiating power for higher pay, benefits, etc.

Do what you want to do, but if you force yourself through college and hate every minute of it, chances are you'll still be glad you did it when you can see the light at the tunnel in the form of being able to afford the things you need and want, as well as proving to yourself that you can succeed in the face of adversity.
 
^Actually statistically your not on a 'path to success', most people do not use their degrees to get a better job, or better pay. Its a very common misconception that going to college is going to assure you a better job with better pay. I wish i find the article my psychology professor gave me so i could site my source, I'll look again later. I cant remember clearly, but most people who had obtained a degree, made 30,000 or less, and people that had gone to a trade school for something like being a mechanic etc. made 50,000+ and often owned their own business.
 
i think speaking about the earning power of college grads in general is over simplifying things greatly. IF you decide to get a degree in psych or comparative literature or philosophy or something like that then you shouldnt expect to make much money, but if you get an engineering or accounting or business degree or something like that you can expect to do a lot better than someone who just went to trade school.

ultimatly you should find something you really enjoy doing and get a degree in that. money dosn't equal happiness and i find that i derive a great deal more utility from time spent doing things i enjoy than from time spend making good money but not enjoying myself.
 
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