Should i go to school?

[Larson0]

Should i go to community / uni? i went right after highschool to community because i felt thats what i was supposed to do. i didn't try too hard and used drugs a lot to stay up late studying and then to make me pass out. then my mom had a stroke and my drug addiction went outta control so i stopped going. i was also working 45 hours and doing full time school and it burnt me out quick.

that was when i was 18 though. ill be 24 at the end of the month, am no longer dependent on drugs, and have matured a lot. i feel if i went to school i would take it seriously and be able to do it. i wouldn't know where to begin though. i live in Florida currently (southwest) and people often take classes at FGCU or Edison college, which is at least 3500 a semester. i dont make a lot of money and i enjoy hands on work. i also enjoy learning at work. its what keeps me coming back and enjoying what i do.

currently im a sous chef in a nice restaurant. i took this job to learn under a good chef and loved it. i only make 700-800 biweekly though. it isn't shit and i work my dick off a lot. i love the fast paced deal though but know i cant do it forever. if i had a chef salary it would be another story, and thats what im aiming for, but i didn't go to cooking school or anything. im not ready to take over a kitchen although i pretty much do it now and have at every job i've had. i still dont know enough about food to really make my own menus, but that could be learned i suppose. florida is very seasonal too so 4 months out of the year there is no business.

im just wondering what are your guys opinions on school? i like hands on work but not back breaking shit. i wouldn't have a clue what classes or anything besides the regular core shit. i love learning at work too. if i could have a job learning new things all the time i would be very happy. but what jobs have that? are there even any left? my girlfriend went to uni, put herself through, etc. got a job as a counselor in high school and made like 8 dollars an hour. parents are brutal too. she serves now and makes way more money than she did at the schools. i brought it up to her and she says i should furthur my education but dont expect to get a job when im done with it.

also, i didn't do well in high school. i graduated but didn't take it seriously so my grades weren't great. does that even matter 6 years later?

 

[morpher001]

I think if you are going to take the time to do additional study, it should be with the a goal job, profession or at least industry in mind. When you say a job that involves constant learning, not quite sure what you had in mind re this, but any of the professions might suit you. Due to the nature of a profession, you need to be constantly moving forward with latest techniques, legislative changes etc.

Or perhaps consider a trade? The right apprenticeship can set up a steady income going forward.

Your grades in school doesn't necessarily mean much, if you are undertaking this next course of education with years of extra maturity and an entirely different attitude.

 

[Cyc]

Normally when asked, I would tell just about anyone to pursue school. I personally think academia is good for the soul, and after working for a while and growing up a bit like you have, it's more like a safe haven from a zombie apocalypse in the food court of a mall.

Compared to thankless kitchen work, school will seem like a dream come true, and when you stick it on your resume after graduating, thankless employers will think twice before pigeon-holing you as a kitchen grunt.

But I may be biased because I truly do love being in school. Work sucks.

 

[dannymac]

Go to the library or online and do some research into what are the in demand careers today. There are lots of niche progressions you'd never even think about that you can do a 2 year diploma course for or something similar, which will pay a very good salary.

And trades are good too if you can find a way to get an in to one which is in demand.

I read an article the other day which said that the median salary in the USA, so 50% are above and 50% below, is $26 000. I don't know how anyone can make ends meet on that as even a single person, let alone the surely many people with families doing it. And without any education beyond high school it's very difficult to move much beyond that.

The key is to pick something which will give you skills so that you are a commodity in the job market. You're still young so you still have lots of opportunities to do something, but don't wait on it because once you get to 25 or so the chances of you ever doing something get lower and lower. And you risk ending up where the circumstances of life require you to earn whatever living you can in the present day, so extra skills or education will be an unavailable luxury.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

once you get to 25 or so the chances of you ever doing something get lower and lower. And you risk ending up where the circumstances of life require you to earn whatever living you can in the present day, so extra skills or education will be an unavailable luxury.

Where did you hear that? I have never heard that once you turn 25 your chances of getting a job get lower.

I'm going to have to hold you to the same standards as my students and ask where you got this information. If you can't cite a reliable source, posting stuff like that only makes you look foolish.

To the OP, don't listen to that guy. You're almost 24 and you have plenty of time to get your education if that is what you want to do. I'm a 32 year old grad student and I still have 5 or 6 more years of schooling to go. I'm not worried at all about finding employment when I finish school.

 

[Larson0]

how would i even go about this? first attend community to get the core classes done? how crippling can student loans be?

 

[Jerry Atrick]

how would i even go about this? first attend community to get the core classes done? how crippling can student loans be?

I went directly into a four year college so I can't really speak for people who went to community college first. I have heard many advantages to taking your core classes at a community college. The only thing I would make sure to do is try to stay in the same state. As I understand, it is easier to get community college hours to transfer if the university is in the same state as the CC. Maybe someone who has gone the CC route can chime in and clarify or refute my claim.

As far as student loans go, they are often a necessary evil. I said this to someone else recently, consider student loans an investment in your future. You mentioned you are more mature than you used to be. That is a good sign that you have the ability to finish what you start. It would be good to sit down with a financial aid counselor at the school you wish to go to and work out a plan for how much you can afford to pay out of pocket (if any) versus how much loan money you want to take out. Don't forget, there are also need-based grants like the Pell Grant that you don't have to pay back.

Student loans are not to be feared, they are to be respected. If you are motivated to do well in school and graduate on time, I don't see anything wrong with using them. I have around $30K in student loan debt and will probably double that if I can't get funding for a PhD program. But I make good grades and am motivated to get a good job when I (eventually) finish school, which justifies my debt.

 

[dannymac]

Where did you hear that? I have never heard that once you turn 25 your chances of getting a job get lower.

I'm going to have to hold you to the same standards as my students and ask where you got this information. If you can't cite a reliable source, posting stuff like that only makes you look foolish.

To the OP, don't listen to that guy. You're almost 24 and you have plenty of time to get your education if that is what you want to do. I'm a 32 year old grad student and I still have 5 or 6 more years of schooling to go. I'm not worried at all about finding employment when I finish school.

No not that your chances of getting a job get lower, that your chances of going back to school get lower. Life gets in the way and it's not possible. You run into financial problems, someone might end up with a child, etc. etc. and then education becomes a luxury you can't afford because you just need to make what you can to support yourself in the present.

I'm saying don't stroll along and work at some joe job for a couple years if you have the ability to go do something that will give you job skills today, because the longer someone's away from the kind of lifestyle you have while you're getting an education the harder it will be to go back.

Where did you come up with that I didn't say anything about how he won't be able to find a job because he's older...

 

[Jerry Atrick]

once you get to 25 or so the chances of you ever doing something get lower and lower. And you risk ending up where the circumstances of life require you to earn whatever living you can in the present day, so extra skills or education will be an unavailable luxury.

This is the statement I quoted ^.

I must have misinterpreted your ambiguous language. You said, "doing something," and I read that as, "getting a job."

Either way, I still think I have a valid argument. I know many people who got married right out of high school and started popping out kids and they still got their college educations. I dropped out of college at 21, went back to finish my degree at 30, and enrolled in grad school at 31.

I understand what you are saying, but your logic comes off as discouraging towards people who are thinking about going (back) to school late in life. It sounds as if you're urging him/her to "hurry up" and get his/her education before it's too late. That may not be what you mean, but that's how it can be read.

Moral of the story: Try not to make broad generalizations and present them as fact.

 

[rangrz]

I would say go to school if you can! Always. Learning and seeing new idea's is never harmful. But can be a great reward in of it self.

I'm in grad school, for a subject nothing to do with my career, in a career where I could plod along just fine without. Why? The sheer joy of learning and seeing how the world works.

Money is funny coloured paper, it really, of it self, does nothing useful. Trading it for stuff that useful is its only value. I suggest trading some for some more knowledge.