Time is running out...

[JimC]

So I started this blog thing on July 7th, so it is roughly 1 month old. The thing here is that I graduate college in October... that gives me about 2 months to get things straightened out and choose my direction. The reason that I only have 2 months is because I will have to start paying my student loans back which pretty much means that I must find a source of income. (Got a wopping $2.00 from Adsense so far)

So I highly doubt I will be making an income from a 3 month old blog, and I'm OK with that... it's more of a hobby at the moment anyway. My goal, however, is similar to Steve's- in that I just flat out don't want a job, yet I am willing to work hard on a project that will earn me an income in the long run.

So I have a choice... get a job, hoping that it's temporary (doubt it) or I can go back to school in January and that would give me an extra year to find an income source- unfortunately that would mean my loans would double.

So should I go back to school to buy myself more time while increasing dept or should I just go out and get a job?

For the record, I am getting my AS degree in Computer Networking (BS if I go back in January) but I have no interest in "working" in an IT department. I'm not lazy, I just want to keep focused on my goal of having a decent income without being like everyone else, where I have to "start at the bottom and work my way up", but I feel this getting harder and harder to pursue as time cuts short.

[ZHereford]

If I were you I would put my energies into whatever will get you to where you want to be in the most efficient manner.

You may need to do a problem solving pro/con assessment. If you're just going back to school because it might help, I'd think twice. It may not be the answer for your particular situation. If you go back to school for the enjoyment of it whether or not it gets you anywhere faster then maybe it's not right for you at this time.

If making sacrifices now will put you further ahead in the long run, again weigh that out as well. There are no cut and dried answers. You have to decide what will work best for you and that will take planning and problem solving.

I have a couple of articles that might help you get to the bottom of this:

Keys To Making A Good Decision
Learn To Think Critically and Problem Solve

Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

[JimC]

I am putting all of my energy in to this site... which basically uses up most of my time outside of school. So I am trying to find out a way to force this to be successful before I am required pay back my loans.

I was hoping going back to school would buy me more time to make this successful, you don't think it's a good idea? Should I get a part time job while working on the business?

I won't base my decision solely on the responses of this forum, so it's safe to say what you honestly think I should do.

[ZHereford]

Originally Posted by JimC

I was hoping going back to school would buy me more time to make this successful, you don't think it's a good idea? Should I get a part time job while working on the business?

Is your only motivation for going back to school to buy you time?

I personally think going back to school is very good because it enriches you in so many ways. If, however, it will get you in more debt and not where you want to be then I would get a part-time job and work on what you love to do.

[Freelancer]

If its what you love to do than do it.

Be carefull though, it sounds like your only running away from 'something' and this just seems like the right direction to run right now. Basically the idea of a headless chicken running away from a bonfire, no idea where it'll end up next.

No offense meant by the way, I don't think your a headless chicken.

[vladtess]

I am not very experienced in life, yet if I were in your situation I would do the following, assuming you love what you are learning in college. I would go to college.

If you go to college you'll learn vast amounts of information. If you have a choice what field to go next year, I would pick to go for business/finance. Classes like advertisement will help you make your small business more stable. In any case, if you can't choose your next year's field, you I would still go to college.

I believe that you shouldn't go to work because you probably will spend most of your time getting tired for your boss. You may not have time to work on you business as much as you have now. And I know that it is much better to work for yourself than for someone else.

Another thing I would suggest is to get to know people in general -- acquaint them with your business and your future bugets. Connections is a vital part in business. Who knows, maybe someone may want to invest in your company in some way.

It does sound very scary about the loans. However if you take time to build your business, you'll have little trouble paying off tripple of your loans. As far as I know, as long as you are persitant and diligent you'll be successful in anything.

Don't take a safe path -- getting a plain job with little reward potential; take a path where you see a pile of gold behind rough mountains.

[JimC]

All of you guys make really good points, it's a hard decision.

I had a talk with the family and they said I could stay as long as I needed as long as I pay my loans and buy my own clothes/transport etc... when I graduate in October. So that's great to hear. I know I can make that kind of money on my own.

Now I do like technology, but now that I have completed (almost) my associates program in Computer Science, it's slowly moving more and more in to specific job based stuff now, really low level, which will not be very useful for writing/blogging.

So I don't think continuing school is the best thing, unless I decide to go through a business/writing program in the future, which I plan on doing.

Since my total income will only need to be about $1000 a month, I could easily get a part time job just long enough to get things rolling with the business, then I can quit and focus on the writing and eventually get a nice place of my own if things go well.


Thanks for the positive responses everyone!

[ZHereford]

Good luck and much success to you JimC!