School/education

[Majarra]

Ok my grandparents keep tellng me to just do amazing in school,go to an amazing college/universety,and well just keep life focused on school. Now i know lots of people have better lives when they go to/focus on school. But i also know many others who didnt do that great/finish school whove had decent lives.[factory workers,servers,chefs etc] Just right now im kinda confused. Should i keep trying to do good in school? Or just "yeah finish it but dont do an extra couple of years and just a get decent paying job and live" life. I cant really focus on it that well[notADD] just cant get brain in the learning place and just sit there and read for hours about something i probaly wont utilize in my life ever again. So should i just keep tryin to do well? Or just yea finish school, find a job, and live happily ever after?:-?

[KodiaX987]

Earning a good degree = chances are you'll land a good job.

Not earning a good degree = chances are you will not land a good job.

The more you work in school, the less you'll need to work afterwards, and the more you'll get paid for it.

Maximize your chances. Gopher it.

[Sayara]

Having a college degree will really increase your opportunities for your future job. Even get a job in a career choice of something you like. (ie teaching)

While it IS possible to be successful as a Clerk, server and stuff its ultimately harder to do so. Wages can only go so far in this world now a days with the increase on gas prices, and other commodities.


I presume you're a young fellow, take this time of youth and try to do great. A degree in HS and Universities are good for any job application you apply for. Though it is NOT neccessarly needed to go to Awesome U or Amazing COllege, simply getting to a uni and getting that Batchlors/Masters in something is a great enough goal.


If you have the time, go for it. Its easier to STAY in school then it is to start school up again.

[Toadthroat]

Go to school only if you want to go to school.
Don't do it because someone else did, or told you to. In the end you have to live with the choices in life you make, and no one else. Its better to make your own way.

Now with that being said, college isn't something ESSENTIAL to land a nice job, but it will make things easier.
Either way, you will have to put in some hard work.
Yes, there are people who have a degree in something, yet they wind up getting a job in a completely different field. But that is not always the case. If there is a major you want to take in college, go for it, but be prepared to fight for a job afterward.

[Darkly]

just think of all those what if - if i tried harder in school stories blaa blaa - you might think live for today but with the time you spend not doing college youd probably just spend it messing about, so why not set urself up for a good life, chances are your not going to die tommorow.

[Sidney]

You think it's hard going to school with ADD? Hun, I have a chronic auto-immune disease and I'm still in class whenever I can be. I understand ADD is a struggle, but if I can keep going with all my issues, so can you. Life presents you lots of difficulty when it comes to getting an education, but you have to plow through it. Getting an education is incredibly worth it. At the very least, please finish high school. Also, speaking as a university student, I like university a lot more. You should at least try college and see if you like it.

Sorry for being tough on you, I just don't like hearing excuses!

EDIT: Sorry OP, read your post wrong! I just saw that it said "Not ADD". This makes what I lectured about even more pertinent! Just go for it and don't make excuses because it'll be hard or unpleasant at times. I think your quality of life would be much better if you got an education. Getting an education is hard and stressful, but you can't expect things to be handed to you on a silver platter.

[CelestialBlade]

In today's economy, I wouldn't want to be without a degree. Not saying you can't be happy in some sort of union job, but they're disappearing fast and the wages aren't competitive anymore. If you have the ability to go to college, don't waste it. That is a gift that not everyone has. Give it a chance, it's one of the best things you can do for yourself.

I'll give you an example. For my mechanical engineering program, I did three internships as a manufacturing engineer at an assembly plant, doing data analysis and assembly line studies. Most union workers that were there had been there 20-30 years, hopeful for the ability to retire soon. During my second internship, we were suddenly informed that the head company was shutting the plant down as part of a large restructuring effort. Now, if you've been working in a factory for that long, it is *very* hard to find another job afterward. We had people there that couldn't read or write, but they were good honest people and it was a real shame to have to see them get so close to being rewarded for 20-30 years, only to have it taken from them at the last second.

As I talked with some of them, many of them said the same thing: I'm so very lucky to be in college, where I could still have an opportunity for something else even if this happened to me. They admired me, people that have been doing manual labor for 30 years always asking me about how college is and how much they respected me for going the extra mile and getting my degree. That means the world to me, to receive that degree of admiration from people that have had to build their entire lives from the ground up, in small steps. They wanted to be in my position, and I just really wished there was more I could do with them. So I'm not putting down the position of a union worker at all, but keep this situation in mind. You're a *lot* more vulnerable to this sort of thing without a degree.

Which are you going to weigh more, the inconvenience of class or potentially being jobless in the future and not having anywhere to turn?

[Sidney]

^ I second these sentiments without any hesitation. My father, who does not have a college degree, will be laid off from the job he has had for 26 years. The current job market is horrible. It's even worse for my father; nowadays, even for his type of position, they are asking for a degree. He expresses to me a lot his regrets in not getting one.

[Leviathan]

If you want to live a life where you go by with what checks you get then don't go to college.

If you want to have a somewhat wealthy to wealthy life then go to college. Now a days it's exxential for so many jobs, you just need to find a career that interests you. Also: I'm pretty sure college.uni is fun. :wacko:

Eventually you will need a degree to flip burgers at McDonalds.

[amtalx]

You can go to school and make 6 figures after being out for only a few years, or you can try to get lucky, slowly working your way up to 6 figures after working for the same company for 25 years.

Unless you already posses a highly desired skill, go to college. As someone that used to assist the HR department in selecting resumes, I wouldn't even consider it unless they had a degree from a 4 year university. The simple fact is that everyone likes to think they are a unique snowflake that will bring something special to a company. You aren't. You're a name in a stack of other equally or better qualified names. Do everything you can to set yourself apart.

[Majarra]

its seems pointless when you keep failing all this stuff that you need to learn though. Parents really dont care if i do good or not. And i dont live with grandparents so they cant really make sure im doin B-A+ good. Imean i want to do good but im just not really that good. Man lifes gonna be a pain in the ass and im just starting it. This is gonna get good.

[Nitro Vordex]

A lot of teachers won't care about your grades if they know you're trying. Seriously, any teacher that knows what they're doing will gladly help you if you need it. Don't be afraid to go in after school, before school or something. They appreciate that you're taking time out of your life to study, and get better grades.

Keep at it.

[CelestialBlade]

YOU have to care about your grades, you can't depend on anyone else for that. If you want to do well in college, you have to put forth the effort for it. If your professors see that you're putting forth that extra effort to talk to them when you need help, they'll be more than willing to help you.

Other people can motivate you, but it's ultimately you that has to give a shit about the path you're choosing to take.

[Sidney]

Agreed with Typheros, again. You have to be the one to care - it's your job to do so. You keep making excuses for yourself, "My parents don't care!", "I'm failing anyways!", "I can't concentrate!", but, hate to break it to you, those are pathetic excuses. I think you've already made up your mind if you keep churning out excuses. I have the feeling what you really wanted us to say was "Go ahead and leave school, you can get a good job", and you heard what you didn't want to hear.

As I said earlier, I have a valid reason not to be in school, and I still am attending school. If I can do it, then you can as well.

[KodiaX987]

its seems pointless when you keep failing all this stuff that you need to learn though. Parents really dont care if i do good or not. And i dont live with grandparents so they cant really make sure im doin B-A+ good. Imean i want to do good but im just not really that good. Man lifes gonna be a pain in the ass and im just starting it. This is gonna get good.

You don't study to make someone else happy. You study so you can be happy later. You're much better off studying too much and not use half the knowledge, than not study enough and find yourself in a jam later on.

There's also a wise man who said that not caring about a class is more the reason to do very well in it. If you can prove that you can do your best and succeed even if you hate the class with a passion, then imagine what happens when you like what you are doing.

[Kylie]

You do what you can comfortably say you're capable of doing. But if you really want a higher education, don't tell yourself that you can't, and if you don't care for one, don't bother. College isn't everything. Personally though, I couldn't see myself doing anything that didn't require a degree.

[Tetsaru]

DEFINITELY go to college if you're able to. I got out of college for a year because I couldn't find a major that I liked, and ended up getting depressed over it, not knowing what to do with my life. I ended up working at a rather low-paying job at Wal-Mart as a truck unloader for about a year, and a lot of the people I worked with were very immature and didn't seem very intelligent - several told me they wished they HAD a college education. Finally, I got my head on straight and found a major that I seem to like now, and I still have at least part of my band scholarship to help pay for it.

When you're in college, it's important to immerse yourself in the areas that interest you. I had no idea that my little old Arkansas college actually had an Anime Club and a Gamer's Club. Of course, what you major in is especially important - I now have a lot of friends in the music department, both students AND teachers, and many of them are more than happy to help you out with your studies.

You just have to be able to find areas in your college that interest you. If you can't, there's usually a counselor or someone available to help you out - don't be afraid to take their advice. It took me about 4 years to find out I love music, but I did it, lol. :3

[Kent]

Having just graduated college (i.e. that happened last Wednesday)... Yes, I'm staring several dozen really good opportunities in the face at the moment.

...But what I really want to do, is go back and get my Master's. :/

Which, unfortunately, isn't offered at my school, so... I guess I'll have to make due to getting a real job and making lots of moneys until I work my way toward one that does. :nono:

[Tessu]

Well, you never know where you're going until you get there.
Why stop early? Maybe you'll end up finding something you really enjoy and feel like you can focus on and it ends up being worthwhile.

I can't tell you what to do, but my advice is, go to college. Certainly there are people who do good without going to or finishing college, but those are the people who know what they want to do and are willing to put in the extra work to do it. Unless you have a plan and the resources to fulfill it, my advice would be to keep going down the road of education.

[Aisha379]

Depends on what kind of career you want, really. Or if you even know what you want to do.

I graduated high school two years ago, but I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, so at the current time I am not attending college. Since, to me, wasting parents money and getting loans if you aren't sure what you want to do is just plain foolish. Plus I've somewhat set the goal in my mind to become super rich without a college education, just to prove its possible, if nothing else.

Although, another reason I don't feel its worth my time/money right now is my complete and total inability to memorize things. I can sit and stare at something for hours and forget almost everything about it in half that time.

Example from high school = algebra. I possessed the intelligence to correctly solve problems, but only when I knew the formula. If the formula was written on the page or told, I'd always get it right 100% of the time. If it wasn't, or if it was expressed in the form of a word problem, I always got confused and done the wrong thing, and would get it wrong 100% of the time =|



But about college, I'd like to use my dad as an example. He dropped out of school in 5th grade, but now owns his own painting business (which I work for).

Frankly, he makes big, big money. It varies by job of course, but the best one that I'm aware of, is getting $10,000 for a 2 day (which equates to 8 hours, since my dad only likes to work 4 hours a day) job. This is why I and the two other guys that work with us get paid so well ($25 an hour).

My wages alone dwarf a fair number of graduate occupations, my dads just blows the majority of them out of the water.

...Wait what was my point. Oh yeah, what I'm saying is, just know it is far from REQUIRED to have a college education for a good paying job. My advice is figure out what you wanna do first, and then figure out how to go about it.