College

[LovingChi]

@ Ashley, I am doing online schooling to get a few nutrition degrees. (Nutrition Counseling, Herbalism, Holistic Health Practitioner). I'm not really motivated to actually DO the work right now. but its already paid for. I've decided to wait until I really find the passion for it, other than stressing about it.

Going into Nutrition can be sketchy. there are soooo many different diets to learn about. I've been studying nutrition on and off for the last 10 years in my free time, and there is a lot of BS in the field from "top experts". I've been getting annoyed at Dr. Mercola. Even though he makes many good points, he is a fear mongerer and self-promoting.

 

[ashley00]

LovingChi - Yeah I bet there is a lot of controversy. I really enjoy learning about how different foods affect your body. I'd like to take just a 101 class or something. Oh, and I'd so love to take cooking and baking classes, but not a whole degree.

Christina - Good luck finishing your first semester! Forensic psychology sounds pretty interesting. Good luck getting into your major too!

 

[caiti]

I have had trouble in school. When I was a kid--I got straight A's...until high school. I was the one smoking butts in the girl's bathroom, hehe. I never graduated high school so I thought I might not go to college. I really wanted to go though, so I went (got GED, took night classes and matriculated, then transferred to a better school). I had trouble in college too, but my last year I got fed up with my bad grades and metaphorically smacked myself so hard across the face I snapped myself out of it. I got almost straight A's my last year of college. I swear to god--if I can do it, there's a good chance anyone can!

I got my BS in animal science last may. No one else in my family has a bachelors. My parents don't have any college degrees at all, actually, but they are doing fantastic without them so I do think college is not an end-all and there are problems with it that for some people make getting a degree an illogical choice. I think, for me at least, there are more effective ways to learn more information. But school has really changed my life and I've learned a lot; I love the schools I went to and am grateful I could go.

It's pretty interesting to see everyone's stories. Ger--I used to want to be a lawyer (my grandfather had a law firm in Queens, NY and his side of the family had several other lawyers in it) but I've loved science as much as arguing, and I somehow find ways to get my arguing fix. Papers (even unfinished, unpublished ones I write for myself) work well for that, like arguing social/environmental/political change based on science. Which I guess would sort of be what you're doing anyways. Science and Law are probably my top two picks for occupations, so I appreciate your taste in career choices!

 

[GorillaJTA]

Honestly, I hate the modern culture of "Every student college-bound." It is not realistic. We still have to have electricians, plumbers, construction workers, etc. And there are plenty of people who are amazingly happy tinkering with a motor. Do they need to know the chemical composition of gasoline for that? No. They need to know a sprocket from a valve timer- something learned on the job. One of the brightest kids in my graduating class is an electrician now and loves it. He does not have a college degree in the traditional sense (he has his electrician certifications). He gets up monday through friday, goes to work, comes home, drinks a beer, and plays with his kids- and makes decent money doing it. It is all about not settling for what you can do and always looking for that next step up.
You can look at your job one of two ways- working for the weekend, or loving your job so that it is your relief. Nothing is wrong with either one and they are not mutually exclusive. When I started working in a lab, I loved it and going to work was fun. Eventually it got mundane and I started going just so I didn't get fired. Since I was doing it 7 days a week, there was no "working for the weekend," it was just draining my life away.

 

[LovingChi]

Hey Gorilla man... if you love to complain, check out whyihatepeople.com great site and (mostly) civil!

 

[LeoMonster]

Honestly, I hate the modern culture of "Every student college-bound." It is not realistic. We still have to have electricians, plumbers, construction workers, etc. And there are plenty of people who are amazingly happy tinkering with a motor. Do they need to know the chemical composition of gasoline for that? No. They need to know a sprocket from a valve timer- something learned on the job. One of the brightest kids in my graduating class is an electrician now and loves it. He does not have a college degree in the traditional sense (he has his electrician certifications). He gets up monday through friday, goes to work, comes home, drinks a beer, and plays with his kids- and makes decent money doing it. It is all about not settling for what you can do and always looking for that next step up.
You can look at your job one of two ways- working for the weekend, or loving your job so that it is your relief. Nothing is wrong with either one and they are not mutually exclusive. When I started working in a lab, I loved it and going to work was fun. Eventually it got mundane and I started going just so I didn't get fired. Since I was doing it 7 days a week, there was no "working for the weekend," it was just draining my life away.

My boyfriend is one of these people, he did the college thing for a year, kinda flunked/dropped out and came home, had a full time construction job and went to community college at night part time. Hated that and dropped school all together to stay in construction, but then his boss was a "brat" so he quit, became a plumbers assistant and he LOVED it. Work got slow though so he kind of got laid off but now he's working for a company that replaces windshields on cars. He's just one of those people who enjoys working with his hands, and I would never call him stupid because he never finished college. Although I do worry for him because I feel like our society is going into the thought of mind where if you don't have a college degree you're useless, and like I don't want him to get caught later in life.

On a side note, ahh being a lawyer would be so cool. I think if I didn't go into fashion design I would've possibly tried law school. I did mock trial in high school (head lawyer/team captain.....not to brag or anything lol) and I absolutely loved it. And I was really good at it. But I know the amount of work that goes into it and there's a *possibility* that the lawyer world is more cut throat than the fashion world....lol just a possibility though

 

[Christemo]

I went to undergrad (graduated 2011) with a B.S. in Psychology... working on my M.A. in Forensic Psychology right now.

 

[Brittany]

I'm in my 7th year of college. 5 years of undergrad produced a Bachelors in Music Education and a Bachelors in Music Performance. This spring will be my final semester, in May I'm graduating with my MM in Performance!!! Plan on teaching in the public schools for a few years to pay down loans, and then it's back to school for my DMA. Yeah I've been told I'm crazy on several occasions.

 

[momenteller]

Honestly, I hate the modern culture of "Every student college-bound." It is not realistic.

I totally agree with this. I got my bachelors in Psychology. I was burnt-out and unmotivated, also getting my first taste of freedom. Needless to say I didn't do well. My parents took out loans for the first few years, then told me if wanted to continue, I'd have to figure it out myself. The school then let me take on my parents loans also. I am now a stay-at-home mom with little interest in Psych counseling and 50k in debt over my head. I know its my fault-- but I feel some school couselors should advise on whether the end justifies the means. I was obviously naive thinking I'd have such a great job after school because I had a degree, and that paying down loans wouldn't be a challenge. I think if you aren't passionate about college, you should wait until you are because its a huge investment.

I now have two daughters and while they are both crazy smart, I will encourage them to possibly take a year or two off after high school unless they are super sure about what they want to do. I want them to go to college if it makes them happy and if its their dream, and we do have a college fund for them, but if its not their thing, that's okay.

 

[caiti]

I was obviously naive thinking I'd have such a great job after school because I had a degree...

I now have two daughters and while they are both crazy smart, I will encourage them to possibly take a year or two off after high school unless they are super sure about what they want to do. I want them to go to college if it makes them happy and if its their dream, and we do have a college fund for them, but if its not their thing, that's okay.

I agree with that as well. My job now doesn't pay well and I think everyone I work with forgets I went to college because there is so much I don't know how to do. I have a BS, though they all have AS's but in veterinary technology so they know more specific technical stuff than I do and I feel like my degree really isn't helping me a ton at the moment. The thing is, I don't know what I want to pursue as a permanent career so it might really help me out in the future. I'm not sure if I would get the same degree if I had to do it all over, but I am glad I learned what I have learned. My parents never pushed college either; they saved for my brother and I to go and said we should try to educate ourselves but that didn't mean we had to do it through school. My brother and I just always wanted to go to college. I would really like to get my masters if I can ever afford that--monetarily and temporally. It would push me to do the writing and research projects I probably wouldn't have the will power to do on my own (because who writes theses for fun?!?!).

I don't think people who forgo college are stupid, and I have met many stupid people with college degrees so it's really not a defining factor. Proving yourself by volunteering etc. and having references can definitely allow someone to be considered as highly as someone else with formal education.

 

[mishalaa]

I wanted to take a year or so off after high school before going to college, but my parents wouldn't let me. My two older brothers had both dropped out of high school, only one went and got his GED, and my parents were afraid that if I stopped my education, I would never go back.

What ended up happening is I went to college at their behest with really no idea what I wanted to do. I sailed through the first two years as it was mostly general education, but when it came time to pick a major I chose English only because one of my English professors told me I was a good writer and should pursue it. I had to declare a major at that point so I went with it. So the next two years I struggled with a major I was decent at but had no passion for. I skipped a lot of classes, ended up failing a lot of classes, but I was afraid of disappointing my parents so I kept at it. They paid my first four years - at out-of-state tuition rates - which was a huge waste. I paid for my 5th year via student loans, but still didn't go to classes, so I'm in debt with nothing to show for it as well. So I eventually dropped out and got a job instead.

After a few years working, I now have a passion for something and am ready to pursue it... (hint: it's not English). But starting over to earn a degree in science, and still hold down my full time job, would take so long that it wouldn't be worth it. I'd be in my 50s before I graduated. I found out, though, your undergraduate degree does not have to be related to your graduate studies, so it will be much quicker for me to finish the 20some credits I need to earn my BA in English and then go into Biology as a grad, than it would be to try and earn a BS in Biology.

So that's where I'm at. I may have dropped out of college - twice in fact - but I AM going back, with resolve this time. I don't know if I would have arrived at this point had my folks let me take that break after high school or not, I did enjoy my time as a full-time undergrad outside of classes and got valuable away-from-home experience. But there was a lot wasted as well.