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Old 01-18-2011, 06:19 AM
 
11,642 posts, read 23,801,950 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerksticks View Post
I'd argue that college is a joke on the American people, in general of course; this doesn't apply to the cutting edge science that is performed at top universities, but it does to pretty much any other of these "fields of study". College is just another form of the easy way out. Let me explain:

You keep hearing everywhere things like:
"I wish I could go to college so I could get a BETTER job"
"I have my associates, but a bachelor's degree would open so many doors"
"That place won't even grant you an interview without a BA in anything"
"Maybe I should go back and get my master's degree. I was a good student"

Opening doors to what exactly? Doors to the rat race? The top professions that require the MOST schooling are doctors, lawyers etc who top out at what 100-500k a year, paying 38% of that in taxes each year? But that's after a decade of loans, working for no pay, working extra long hours. So if this is the so-called tip of the iceberg, because it has to be if it's the most grueling field of study at college, then what about all these other degrees? What slice of the pie could they ever get you? 40k, 60k, 80k, 120k? Oh wait, but it puts you in 100k of debt out of the gate.

But at least you are securely placed in the world of debt, that old friend, that secure world of debt. Forced to stay at your job to pay off that debt that opened all these doors...well these doors are leaving people unskilled and useless and scared- and it's not their fault, it's what we're all programmed to do the first day of public school.

So I understand that venturing off into the world and pursuing TRUE interests is terrifying, but so is telling your offspring that college will open doors that it cannot. You still have to network yourself to the right people anyway, with or without college. Need proof? Look at all the college graduates unemployed. There are tens-hundreds of thousands of them.

Well-the average earnings of a college graduate (BA-not professional degrees) is $52K. The average earnings of a college graduate is around $30K. On average a college graduate will make back $100K before they turn 30.

I am not of the belief that college is an absolute requirement for people, but it is a pretty good value if you look at average earnings over a lifetime.
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Old 01-18-2011, 06:45 AM
 
Location: Florida
7,195 posts, read 5,680,475 times
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I dropped out and while my main gig is unpaid (SAHM), I am also a freelance writer, and I make a very good hourly wage. I'm only doing it part time at the moment, but I know that it's something I can do full-time if/when that becomes necessary/desirable. The whole "you need college to make a livable wage" thing is just a myth.
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Old 01-18-2011, 09:42 AM
 
6,129 posts, read 6,772,165 times
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My old roommate dropped out after freshman year. She took a job as a receptionist, gained some bookeeping/office management type skills at that job, soon traded up to a better one, etc. Eventually she ended up a manager at MTV.

She did end up finishing her bachelors online after a while, but she has never been unemployed and always earned a decent salary.

As a general rule I'd say getting a college degree is better than not getting one, but of course everyone has to examine their own life circumstances and make decisions accordingly. In my old roommate's case, she just didn't want to be there. She was doing it to make her parents happy and her grades were reflecting that. It was better that she left when she did.
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Old 01-18-2011, 09:58 AM
 
8,652 posts, read 17,179,979 times
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If you want to become rich start your own business..
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Old 01-18-2011, 12:52 PM
 
326 posts, read 811,006 times
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Thanks all of you are making great points, i dont want to be in debt
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Old 01-18-2011, 01:50 PM
 
111 posts, read 294,496 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Houston3 View Post
If you want to become rich start your own business..
I think that is the ONLY way to get rich, even as cliche as that line has become on here.

College is like shooting yourself in the foot, but you don't feel it until later in life.
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Old 01-19-2011, 09:05 AM
(-)
 
690 posts, read 1,858,405 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Houston3 View Post
If you want to become rich start your own business..
i agree with this. very few people actually attain wealth working for someone else.
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Old 01-19-2011, 10:23 AM
 
Location: EAST-SIDE INDIANAPOLIS
355 posts, read 907,090 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by (-) View Post
i agree with this. very few people actually attain wealth working for someone else.
Not 100% true, another way is to work in politics for years and then take a break go on a book/speaking/lecture tour and you'll get lots and lots of money. They all do it, then after that you'll get a job as president/dean of a good university.
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Old 01-19-2011, 11:22 AM
 
326 posts, read 811,006 times
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good idea
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Old 01-19-2011, 11:39 AM
 
610 posts, read 1,291,777 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tweetybird11208 View Post
dropped out of college and are making a decent living? What do they do?
There are probably quite many dropouts who are succesfull, but i think the majority of dropouts are like the dropouts I know; screwups.
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