College is a Waste of Time

[JE Gonzalez]

It is not really college that is a waste of time, but the useless clutter, and if you don't have a clear goal with college education then it is a waste of time If you want a career in law, medicine, or science you need college. But many many careers need not a degree. Artists such as illustrators and concept artists are never asked for a degree but a portfolio. When it comes to education I always think about Good Will Hunting. "You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have got for $1.50 in late charges at the public library "

[Victor Vikingr]

Originally Posted by RRR

I am not saying this works for everyone.. But compared to a 10 week course where I will lose my inspiration, be slowed down by other students, have to deal with incompetent professors, I can teach myself any subject very quickly and very well online or from a book. The internet has made colleges archaic, this will become very apparent in the next few years.

I agree, mostly. I can't grasp any subject, only the ones that interest me. That holds true for school too, though. My experience has been that as I get to choose more on my own what subjects I want to study, I meet like minded and interesting people, like one of my best friends. At the moment I have mostly interesting subjects, which makes school more of a place for socializing than study.

After summer, I'm going to study Japanese, and then I expect to meet people who also have a genuine interest for the subject, and thus have something in common with me.

By the way, I just found out that I could've done high school kind of like Steve did college: just take the required exams like Norwegian the first year, and instead of sitting through three years of classes that just recycled what we learned in junior high, just take the exam by studying on my own.

On the other hand, I know some people who might just as well have skipped upper secondary/ high school and gone right into working in their field of interest, then just learn from doing what they like.

[magi13]

^,^ it's a privilege

If you can go to college take advantage of it. :3 only the mass media say otherwise

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by magi13

^,^ it's a privilege

If you can go to college take advantage of it. :3 only the mass media say otherwise

Actually Mass Media is pro-college. People are socially conditioned to think that college is essential in life, when college-degree-requiring jobs are poor-quality, and college-style-education is mostly worthless and inefficient.

[magi13]

I know there are certain means to survive without relying in college, that's why I say, it is a privilege.

Is it safe to assume this is how you see it? Purely hypothetical mind you.

1. If you don't go to college you can make money via, business, call centers etc. right ?

2. If you go to college you'd be wasting money to pay for your diploma.

But is it safe to say that college is a waste of time? What about technical jobs? or those that require high expertise?

Let's say a person is knowledgeable but has no diploma, how will the companies base there performance?

Let's just say it may not be necessary but it's not a waste of time.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lupe

I guess I will have to write up a business plan, and why I think I'm going to succeed.

So tell us what is your business plan, and why you think you're going to succeed.

Also tell us why you think that working at McDonalds and blogging; is better than going to college and blogging.

Also tell us the URL of your current blog(s) and let us see if we think that your blog(s) is/are so good that we would be interested in visiting again.

If currently you do not even have a blog, then tell us why you think you will have enough interest to initiate and sustain your effort to make a career out of blogging-related activities.

[Eric Revelin]

Originally Posted by magi13

Let's say a person is knowledgeable but has no diploma, how will the companies base there performance?

Actual experience will go a lot further than a diploma. If you have knowledge but you don't have experience then you'll start where everyone else does: at the bottom, and you'll make your way up.

Let's just say it may not be necessary but it's not a waste of time.

That depends largely on the individual. For some it really and truly is a waste of time while others won't make it anywhere without it. There's no solid, one-size-fits-all answer to this.

[magi13]

Originally Posted by Eric Revelin

Actual experience will go a lot further than a diploma. If you have knowledge but you don't have experience then you'll start where everyone else does: at the bottom, and you'll make your way up.



That depends largely on the individual. For some it really and truly is a waste of time while others won't make it anywhere without it. There's no solid, one-size-fits-all answer to this.

Using your own words, its not that bad to have a college diploma. ^^ If you can afford go for it if not, then choose more practical options. ^^,

This is the safe answer to this problem.

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

So tell us what is your business plan, and why you think you're going to succeed.

Also tell us why you think that working at McDonalds and blogging; is better than going to college and blogging.

Also tell us the URL of your current blog(s) and let us see if we think that your blog(s) is/are so good that we would be interested in visiting again.

If currently you do not even have a blog, then tell us why you think you will have enough interest to initiate and sustain your effort to make a career out of blogging-related activities.

College takes too much time.

[magi13]

If you have the money and time and you want a specific job that requires technical knowledge go for college. Or if you want fall back.

But if you really want to do business college becomes an option. ^^

College is not a waste of time, that in itself is not a maybe but a fact. ^^, Also it is a choice to do or not to do. Prioritize what you want to be in life :3 that'll help

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by magi13

If you have the money and time and you want a specific job that requires technical knowledge go for college. Or if you want fall back.

But if you really want to do business college becomes an option. ^^

College is not a waste of time, that in itself is not a maybe but a fact. ^^, Also it is a choice to do or not to do. Prioritize what you want to be in life :3 that'll help

What does this mean? ":3"

[magi13]

^^ let's keep it to the topic.

smiley to be specific a poring (from my online gaming days)

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lupe

College takes too much time.

What your answer demonstrates, my friend, is that you haven't thought through your plans.

4 years of college takes exactly as much time as 4 years of a job at McDonalds. The time taken is 4 years.

Bill Gates didn't drop out of Harvard because college takes too much time. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard because he had a better plan than college, and he had ideas on what he would do to make that plan happen.

So far, you haven't got a plan. You see?

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

What your answer demonstrates, my friend, is that you haven't thought through your plans.

4 years of college takes exactly as much time as 4 years of a job at McDonalds. The time taken is 4 years.

Bill Gates didn't drop out of Harvard because college takes too much time. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard because he had a better plan than college, and he had ideas on what he would do to make that plan happen.

So far, you haven't got a plan. You see?

College takes too much time during the day. Too much studying and homework that you worry about. Meanwhile a McDonalds job wouldn't cause too much worry, and your mind is free! Live without worrying about grades or picking a worthwhile major and what classes to choose, how much to study, etc.

It is an immense distraction.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lupe

It is an immense distraction.

Distraction from what? The business plan that you don't have?

I hope you take my comments in good light. If you genuinely have a good idea that's an alternative to college, I would say, "Go for it." But right now, I don't get that impression from you AT ALL.

And no, I don't think that working at McDonalds and blogging in your free time is a good alternative.

It is possible that my impression of you right now is a wrong impression. That is why I asked questions like:

Also tell us why you think that working at McDonalds and blogging; is better than going to college and blogging.

Also tell us the URL of your current blog(s) and let us see if we think that your blog(s) is/are so good that we would be interested in visiting again.

If currently you do not even have a blog, then tell us why you think you will have enough interest to initiate and sustain your effort to make a career out of blogging-related activities.

I was hoping that you might actually give some quite good solid answers. So far they were not forthcoming.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lupe

Meanwhile a McDonalds job wouldn't cause too much worry, and your mind is free! Live without worrying about grades or picking a worthwhile major and what classes to choose, how much to study, etc.

If your mind would be free just like that, McDonalds workers must be the happiest people in the world. And college professors on sabbatical would choose to work at McDonalds.

Somehow I doubt it.

[Lupe]

I'm going to start a clone site for zen habits but only take in what I would think is actually useful information. It's uncopyrighted, and the site design is poor in my opinion. For example, he has his contents at the bottom not the side.

So I'll get the useful info and dress it in nice template.

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

If your mind would be free just like that, McDonalds workers must be the happiest people in the world. And college professors on sabbatical would choose to work at McDonalds.

Somehow I doubt it.

Not completely free, but a lot more free than college students or the type of jobs college students get after getting that useful degree-- engineering?

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lupe

I'm going to start a clone site for zen habits but only take in what I would think is actually useful information. It's uncopyrighted, and the site design is poor in my opinion. For example, he has his contents at the bottom not the side.

So I'll get the useful info and dress it in nice template.

You're going to copy someone else's self-improvement blog and put it in a better blog design.

You believe that you can make a viable living out of this. And you think that this endeavour is better than going to college.

You also believe that copying someone else's material and inserting it into a better-looking blog design will take up so much of your time that you can't afford to go to college.

Okay, no further comments. Maybe some other readers will share with you their points of view on this.

[Lupe]

That's just the beginning though. But to get better I would need much time. Like brainstorming several hours on blog original content. Can't do that with college.

[Acting Like Godot]

Well, you're not in college right now. What kind of blog do you have? Would you like to share with us your current original material?

[AO1]

Lupe, why are you fearful of college?

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by AO1

Lupe, why are you fearful of college?

I am fearful of wasting my time, and college is a wonderful way to do that. I want to be a pro-blogger, and you don't need a degree to do that.

[AO1]

Then great, I wish you luck on your journey in becoming a pro-blogger.

Btw, I wonder why you invest so much time in defending your viewpoint of college - why the need to convince us? Isn't this a waste of your time? If you think college is not for you, then get on with your blog and keep us updated

[Acting Like Godot]

My God ... I just saw your new blog which you set up yesterday. You basically just stole material straight off Zen Habits.

You want to make a living out of this? And you think this is better than college?

Good luck for your next four years as a professional "blogger". By the end of that time, not only will you be broke, but your brain will have half-died from boredom caused by the excruciating tedium of cut-&-paste.

Steve Pavlina: I'm sure you can smell your own influences all over this poor, misguided kid. And of course he has taken you and your blog in an entirely wrong way. Please give him some words of your advice.

[Fullcrum]

Lupe: If you seemed like a different kind of person I'd probably support you. But judging by what you're saying and doing, you're just immature.

You're not going to make money making best of posts of your favorite blogs.

Do you have anything of value to create? Create it. Figure out a way to get it to a lot of people.

What is your purpose, anyway?

[Hyperchiller]

Hey Lupe

Are you're missing something? One question you might want to ask yourself is are you a man? If you are paying your bills and financially self-sufficient you're more able to be grounded in reality and see how things really are.

This might seem harsh but I went through this too and it's the truth. Being a man or transitioning into being a man changes a lot of things.

Yang

[Eric Revelin]

Lupe, if you spent half as much time on your projects as you do trying to convince us all that college is a bad idea, or creating new sites to host other people's content, you'd probably have something by now.

If you want this you've got to be serious, and you can't simply use what other people have done. Think this through, man. College isn't for you? Fine! You've made your decision; there's no one left to convince. Sure it might be easier if you can get your parents on your side, but in the end you've got to do what's best for you and you're the only one who knows what that is.

If you're not entirely convinced, give college a try. If nothing else it'll buy you some time. To be frank it sounds like you're wasting it right now as it is so you'd have nothing to lose.

You come across as desperate and ill-informed. It sounds like you want to make a living through blogging because you've heard some other entrepreneurs have done it and it sounds better than the usual "go to college-get a job" model society would have you follow. It's great you want to be independent but you're setting yourself up for failure. You'll need a paradigm shift before you can even think of achieving success by your own means.

If you can, find a mentor. Do some soul searching that doesn't relate to what other people think or ask of you. Take your dreams and ideals and try to integrate them within reality. Whatever you do, don't stay where you are. You've got to push if you want to make something of yourself.

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Hyperchiller

Hey Lupe

Are you're missing something? One question you might want to ask yourself is are you a man? If you are paying your bills and financially self-sufficient you're more able to be grounded in reality and see how things really are.

This might seem harsh but I went through this too and it's the truth. Being a man or transitioning into being a man changes a lot of things.

Yang

You mean you also didn't want to go to college but ended up going?

[N0lIdzIzPowa]

Lupe, give College a shot, and report back with your experiences in a few months.