19, starting out on my own (Birmingham: loans, home, find a job)

[route231]

I'm a 19-year-old male currently in my first year of college in Birmingham, AL. I'm considering dropping out after this semester to avoid debt and because I'm not sure if college is the best thing for me right now. My question is where is a good place for me to find a job/start a career without a degree.

My main considerations:
1) Availability of jobs
2) Cost of living (rent, gas, food, utilities)
3) Climate - I'm originally from Ohio and hate the cold winters there. Warm is good. I'm even OK with very hot as long as it's not too humid. I love the outdoors, so some scenery would be nice. Birmingham is actually ideal in this respect.

I've always had an interest in Texas (Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio) but I have no idea if any of those places would be feasible in my situation. I would be fine staying here in Birmingham if I could make it work.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

[Lodestar 77]

I advise you to stay in school because once you drop out you will most likely never go back. You are very young, you have the time to get a degree while working. You don't want to look back and say "woulda, shoulda, coulda". Time is going to go by quickly for you now, so stay in school if at all possible.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by route231

I'm a 19-year-old male currently in my first year of college in Birmingham, AL. I'm considering dropping out after this semester to avoid debt and because I'm not sure if college is the best thing for me right now. My question is where is a good place for me to find a job/start a career without a degree.

My main considerations:
1) Availability of jobs
2) Cost of living (rent, gas, food, utilities)
3) Climate - I'm originally from Ohio and hate the cold winters there. Warm is good. I'm even OK with very hot as long as it's not too humid. I love the outdoors, so some scenery would be nice. Birmingham is actually ideal in this respect.

I've always had an interest in Texas (Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio) but I have no idea if any of those places would be feasible in my situation. I would be fine staying here in Birmingham if I could make it work.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

Stay in school. Debt is a poor reason to leave school. The vast majority of people who graduate from college have a sizable debt. Sure, it sucks having debt, but since you're much more employable (assuming you get a good degree) if you have a college degree, it's worth the debt.

[route231]

I understand there are good reasons to go to college, but I don't think it's the right thing for me at the moment, for financial as well as personal reasons. Right now I'd like to try my luck in the workplace. If it doesn't work out, I can always go back to school. I appreciate your advice though.

[MaseMan]

I disagree with some of the other posters. "Debt is not a big deal" is simply not true, and not a good reason to stay in school. There are hundreds of thousands of people who stayed in college to get unmarketable degrees tied to loads of debt, who now can barely survive.

Take a year off and figure out what you want to do. Maybe save up some money for future classes.

[believe007]

Originally Posted by route231

I'm a 19-year-old male currently in my first year of college in Birmingham, AL. I'm considering dropping out after this semester to avoid debt and because I'm not sure if college is the best thing for me right now. My question is where is a good place for me to find a job/start a career without a degree.

My main considerations:
1) Availability of jobs
2) Cost of living (rent, gas, food, utilities)
3) Climate - I'm originally from Ohio and hate the cold winters there. Warm is good. I'm even OK with very hot as long as it's not too humid. I love the outdoors, so some scenery would be nice. Birmingham is actually ideal in this respect.

I've always had an interest in Texas (Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio) but I have no idea if any of those places would be feasible in my situation. I would be fine staying here in Birmingham if I could make it work.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

So are you paying all your own bills?
Can you afford to pack up & move to another state?
Do you have a family that's supporting you at all?
I agree with you- college isn't for everyone & I also know quite a few people with advanced degrees who are unemployed.
That being said, what are your skills? What kind of work do you want to get into?

I'd say that you have some good ideas for places so far; it all depends on what kind of work you're going to be doing, & if it's in demand wherever you're going.

[Timing2012]

Originally Posted by route231

I understand there are good reasons to go to college, but I don't think it's the right thing for me at the moment, for financial as well as personal reasons. Right now I'd like to try my luck in the workplace. If it doesn't work out, I can always go back to school. I appreciate your advice though.

What kind of skills do you have? What kind of job can you and do you want to get?

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by MaseMan

I disagree with some of the other posters. "Debt is not a big deal" is simply not true, and not a good reason to stay in school. There are hundreds of thousands of people who stayed in college to get unmarketable degrees tied to loads of debt, who now can barely survive.

Take a year off and figure out what you want to do. Maybe save up some money for future classes.

I do agree, not all degrees are created equal. You don't want to go to college and get a worthless degree and end up in debt for that. Make sure it's something that's marketable.

To the OP, if you are going to try your luck in the workforce get into some sort of apprenticeship program or trade school. Although having no degree or training doesn't mean you are surely going to be doomed to work for minimum wage, it does increase your chances. Proceed with caution.

[route231]

Originally Posted by believe007

So are you paying all your own bills?
Can you afford to pack up & move to another state?
Do you have a family that's supporting you at all?
I agree with you- college isn't for everyone & I also know quite a few people with advanced degrees who are unemployed.
That being said, what are your skills? What kind of work do you want to get into?

I'd say that you have some good ideas for places so far; it all depends on what kind of work you're going to be doing, & if it's in demand wherever you're going.

I probably should have clarified in my first post... I'm not planning on moving anywhere right away. After this semester I'm going home to Ohio for the summer. I'll live with my family and work as much as I can, however long it takes me to build up my savings. My main reason for looking into other cities is for me to have a more long-term goal to work towards.

To answer your questions, my family is helping me financially. I'm also on a considerable scholarship (which will still be available if I decide to come back). The rest is coming from loans and from my personal savings, which is why I'm questioning the wisdom of being in school right now.

As far as skills go, I don't have any specific skills. The only real work experience I have is running my own small lawn mowing business. This is the tragedy of our education system, in my opinion. So much emphasis is placed on getting into the best college, but there's little encouragement to learn practical skills or gain valuable experience in the workplace. College isn't for everyone, whether for financial reasons or simply because the career that you are best cut out for doesn't require a college degree. I think it's impractical to send droves of students off to college who have little or no idea what they want to do with their lives, or have an incorrect idea of what their chosen career is like in reality. When you're paying thousands upon thousands of dollars a year to be at college, that's hardly the optimal time to be "finding yourself." But I digress...

I'm seriously considering the apprenticeship/internship route. One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by route231

I probably should have clarified in my first post... I'm not planning on moving anywhere right away. After this semester I'm going home to Ohio for the summer. I'll live with my family and work as much as I can, however long it takes me to build up my savings. My main reason for looking into other cities is for me to have a more long-term goal to work towards.

To answer your questions, my family is helping me financially. I'm also on a considerable scholarship (which will still be available if I decide to come back). The rest is coming from loans and from my personal savings, which is why I'm questioning the wisdom of being in school right now.

As far as skills go, I don't have any specific skills. The only real work experience I have is running my own small lawn mowing business. This is the tragedy of our education system, in my opinion. So much emphasis is placed on getting into the best college, but there's little encouragement to learn practical skills or gain valuable experience in the workplace. College isn't for everyone, whether for financial reasons or simply because the career that you are best cut out for doesn't require a college degree. I think it's impractical to send droves of students off to college who have little or no idea what they want to do with their lives, or have an incorrect idea of what their chosen career is like in reality. When you're paying thousands upon thousands of dollars a year to be at college, that's hardly the optimal time to be "finding yourself." But I digress...

I'm seriously considering the apprenticeship/internship route. One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?

I don't know anything about logistics or transportation, but there might be a forum on here that talks about that. Take a look and see if you can get some help that way. If you don't want to go to college you would be smart to think about the apprenticeship route. There are good jobs you can get with other training. Just don't count on a high school diploma to be the only thing that will get you through life. A diploma just doesn't mean much anymore.