>it's another should I go to college thread From the

Everyone's definition of worthwhile is different.

Nothing comes fast for normal people.

You want quick and low risk of failure then join the armed forces. You may need to go to war, you may die, but once you're in, you're in.

Take a break year a do a bunch of casual jobs.

At least narrow down the field or what you want involved.

Do I want to work with people?
Do I want to create things?
Do I want to work alone?
Sciences?
Arts?
Engineering?

The odds of the quick and low risk job being the stimulated, occupied, unique and worthwhile job are unlikely.

If you don't want to go to college (and if you live in America, the debt makes it pointless unless you NEED a qualification like Brain Surgeon) online courses, community colleges, short courses, random people in the paper teaching things, they are far cheaper, low committal ways of gaining skills while also sussing out what you enjoy and don't like.

Get a part time or casual job anywhere asap though. Rack up work experience anywhere because it's easier to get jobs if you've already had one (which is stupid)

Don't underestimate the power of connections either. See if your parents, or friends of your parents, or parents of friends know of anywhere.

You're 18. Life is a buffet at the moment so try and grab a little bit of as much as you can to suss out what your favourites are.

Otherwise, join the forces.

I'm 26 and still have no idea where I'm going, I just make sure that I don't stop. Whatever course I can afford, whatever job I can get, it's how I learnt I love being around people, arranging product displays, and coding applications.

>>17970357
I've worked retail and such but that type of shit makes me want to blow my brains out. I'm alright with people. I led a camp teaching little kids how to skateboard for the past couple of summers so I guess I'm relatively responsible. I would pride myself on versitility seeing as I really don't give a fuck about what it is I'm doing as long as it's fascinating or worthwhile.

But yeh I am a burger and the whole idea of the military intrigues and also intimidates me. I just don't know who to talk to about it. My friends dad was telling me about how he was a nuclear engineer for the Navy and that for that type of work they never even consider you for recruitment.

>>17970317
Yes

>t. an old person who works everyday and regrets not going to college

>>17970385
Spare time for detail/story? At least specify current salary would help

The quickest path to a successful job with growth prospects and >60k $ per year is Engineering.


Depending on what science subjects you enjoyed in high school and your skills at math, engineering should come pretty naturally to you.


Plus, American made engineers are in huge demand, because a fuckton of companies only hire US citizens. Just don't do drugs, study hard and work hard, and you'll get a job in 4 years straight

>>17970394
Isn't plain engineering considered the hardest major for lots of schools? Not like that would stop me, just asking. What kind of classes exactly would I be taking? I'd definitely have to start getting tutoring in math asap because I've only gone up to precalc and I was pretty shit at the time. Would require some catching up but that doesn't scare me away. Just would want to know how deep the pool I'd be dipping my toes into is.

>>17970317
>Took half a year off then comm then transferred

IMO the best delineation is where you see that you need growth. If you have shit to sort personally (have difficulty making relationships, mental instability, etc.) then taking time off is probably much better than diving headfirst into the funnel.
However if you don't care as much about personal growth in areas of weakness as you do about critical development, you might want to go to college.

Of course taking a year off these days is always a viable option, but IMO college is the "have a blast" option (make sure you choose the right college) and the decision mainly comes down to when you can benefit the most from that.

In terms of how it looks on resumes, nobody gives a shit if you take a couple years off, as long as you go to college at some point.

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Hello /adv/, I'm in a bit of a personal crisis.

This will require a tiny bit of history:
In 2013 I studied I.T but was an out of control kid and couldn't finish it.
In 2014 I studied psychology and left after first year because my perspective on the world grew and I realised it was wrong.
In 2016 I studied nursing and enjoyed it but as I learn about myself I feel that it is not the best match for me.
Now I have a desire to leave nursing and go back to I.T because I have learned a lot about myself and the world and feel that this is truly the best path.

Now the problems:
1: More student debt (not too much, but still)
2: Making my single mother and family sad because I'm not graduating anything
3: I'm already 23 in 2017 - am I getting too old to switch over to another 3 year degree?

I don't know what to do. Follow my own desires or be a little more selfless and make my family proud.

>>17970408

Engineering is hard, no doubt about it. If your math is bad you can definitely improve. I sucked at precalc, but got really good at it by relentlessly solving problem after problem after problem. To a certain degree, math depends on how well you can spot patterns, and 99% of math skill comes from practice. Einstein didn't become Einstein overnight, it took him decades of practice of math and physics. Keep at it.

>>17970432
That's all nice and I know I'm capable and all, but the real underlying question I'm posing is would that really be worth it long run. I think the way I'm quantifying 'worth' is salary. For example I'd rather do business or some shit if it got me towards those same tiers of earning faster and through less effort

>>17970426
Depends on how far into nursing you are.

>Am 26, no degree
So no, you aren't. You never will be. Education doesn't have an age restriction.

Do what you love and what makes you happy. You family has their own lives, them being proud of you won't make you happier when you're 30 and hating your job and resenting your family because you did it for them, but also sucking it up because their pride in you is the reason you're there in the first place.

They will be proud of you for living you're own life, and making choices that you feel are best for you, like an adult.

Consider others, but when it comes down to it, you will be the one living your choice, not them.

>>17970452

If your quantifying worth is 'salary' then engineering or medicine is the way to go. Some computer engineers in the Bay Area get paid ridiculous salaries (upwards of 6 figures) right after graduation, and these jobs aren't too rare. The top notch business positions, on the other hand, are exceedingly lucrative (CEOs, investment bankers, stock brokers, traders etc.) and the vast majority of them go to people from prestigious universities, so those jobs are more of a networking thing than raw talent.

>>17970519
This is great information anon youve been v helpful. Also kinda funny I do happen to live in the bay area (walnut creek) so hopefully that rings true in my near future since I hope to stick around here.
FUCK decisions like these are so hard because being so young I can completely shift my perogative in a day and want to pursue art or some trash just based off of mood and circumstance. I suppose I just need to go for it before I settle on homelessness or something.

>>17970408
Engineering. Hardest to become, easiest to do.

>>17970627
Elaborate? I'm still unsure as to what type of classes I'd be taking. Like that'd be a shit ton of school if u have to learn every discipline. Do you speak from experience?

>>17970317
>130-35 IQ
Just by stating this and believing it you have already shown that you are a moron. I suggest stop thinking you're really that smart and realize you're just an idiot like most everyone else.
>>17970385
You just have a really shitty job. Most jobs sucks sometimes but you just have to find one that doesn't suck all the time.

>t. also an old person who works everyday and didn't graduate from college

>>17970695
How else should I have enstated that I'm not stupid? Given you my grades? I am the last person to swear by a fucking IQ number. I was trying to provide some sort of reference that could create a picture of my situation. I'm here for advice not to satisfy your degeneracy.

pumpin

>>17970317
>should I go to college thread
If you need to ask this question at all, No, don't go to college.

>Which path is the quickest and lowest risk to success and job security?

Pick personal interests that have job possibilities, for example:
Art
Music
Programming

Do one for 6 hours every day, stick to that one.
In 3 years you will find a great job.

Only do this if you want to be happy in life.

>>17971264
>Ruin a hobby by turning it into career
No thanks

Also
>(((Great jobs))) magically appear out of thin air
Yeh next time I'm filling out an application I'll just make sure to include "did it for 6 hours a day" under the experience section.

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>>17971313
hahaha

Anon you do realize that with things like Art, Music, and Programming, people care MUCH more about experience and actual examples of work you have done over any degree, right?

Do you honestly think that if you went up to someone looking for an artist, showed them pic related, that they wouldn't hire you?

Hey maybe you are just another retard that has fallen into the meme that certification means anything outside of the medical field.

The point of working on something for 6 hours every day for 3 years is that you will become a professional at it. And people want professionals.

>>17971313
Not guy your replying to but if you do anything for 6 hours a day for 3 years you're gonna be pretty good at it. Especially an art

>>17971324
Shadows are off

>>17971324
>>17971339
Yes I'm not retarded I know that those jobs would require a portfolio. However, I'm not a god damn artist so this is irrelevant.
>the meme that certification means anything outside of the medical field
I never mentioned getting certified. I'm speaking about job experience. From what I can assume, most jobs with a 6 figure salary aren't exactly just handed out like welfare checks. You need a shitload of prior experience or really really REALLY good references/connections.

Also, that looks pretty bad imo

>>17971423

Anon if you don't care about what you do, and you are just going to act like a faggot with prick in his ass, I'll tell you exactly what to do:

Literally just get a job and put 15% of your paycheck in a savings account
Thats it

Now fuck off

>>17970317
>Which path is the quickest and lowest risk to success and job security?
That would be the STEM meme.

Decide right now if you want to work with software or hardware. As I understand it, you don't necessarily need a degree to do software, but you definitely do for mechanical/chemical/civil engineering.

If a degree is needed, figure out a plan that will culminate in you getting a bachelor's in engineering or comp. sci. from the best public program in your state. Direct admission is easier socially, and you will get better internship/research opportunities early, but transferring from another campus will be cheaper and you'll get more attention from profs.

Once enrolled, do internships like a motherfucker. Use them to figure out what you actually want to do.

>>17971488
Does school choice really matter much, or should I just go to the nearest one with a program that I want?

>>17971450
Damn you really cannot handle criticism huh. Middle child?

>>17971497
It's important for internships/jobs. I attended the flagship campus of a well-known public engineering school, and it was really easy to get in touch with companies for internships (multiple job fairs per year, campus visits all the time, etc). I don't know how it is at other schools, but most of the people on here who didn't benefit from STEM went to smaller, less prestigious schools.

>>17971488
Mein gott, what a get!

>>17971584
I just don't know what to do man. The only school close enough to my parents house to commute from is CSU San Bernardino, anything else would mean killing myself to pay for housing. I can't really find anything that would suggest it's anything more than adequate at best.

All the CE schools everyone talks about are either in expensive towns, are private, or are in another state and I'd have to go live there for a year first. Or a combination of the three.

>>17970643
~90% math and physics
~5% chemistry
~5% liberal arts "you have to have a well-rounded education" bullshit

pretty sure that means you need to take a high risk opportunity to push your envelope into oblivion so you can scramble back into a decent career pathway op

>>17970357
>130-35 IQ
wew lad, your whole post reeks of "teenager who's a little bit smarter than his friend group and so thinks he's a fucking genius", but I'll humour you

Here's the down-low buster

First up, ignore any shitty vague advice, or remorseful old-timers. College isn't what it used to be, so "go, I didn't and regret it!" doesn't count for anything anymore.

For college, at least in Australia, law, business, and engineering (!!!) are all meme, saturated degrees. Funnily enough, CS is actually a viable path. I know that's not the case in the states. Unless you're going to do medicine, commerce/finance, hardcore maths/physics shit or computer science, consider whether college is for you. Everything else is a waste of money. That said, I think people who go on about how college is pointless because you can learn from the library or khan academy are fucking retarded. Your degree counts for a lot more than you may think.

If you decide you don't want to go to college, seriously consider whether being a tradesman or army man is for you. Judging from your post I'm skeptical you'd go very far in the boorish, masculine and physical environments they are, but maybe you'll do fine. The advantage and lure of trade/army is that you can start earning right away and have stable money forever, but there's a pretty certain ceiling, whereas with a college degree you could go to greater heights. The six figure tradie earners are those who run their own business or are the most talented in their field.

>>17972086
Dude.. Fuck off
Your comments are predictable and annoying

>>17971324
>Anon you do realize that with things like [...] Programming, people care MUCH more about experience and actual examples of work you have done over any degree, right?

where did this narrative come from where you can just do codecademy and LARP as a web developer for a while and someone will want to hire you? If you want to get a job, you're going to need either extreme luck, great skill, or internships. Places are not going to hire some NEET and his bedroom projects over a student for their intern. And if you're extremely good or lucky, then it really never mattered whether you went to college or not in the first place because you probably have bigger fish to fry.

Tech companies more than ever want people who aren't autistic, can follow instructions and obey deadlines, can work in a team with people, that sort of thing. You cannot learn to be a professional, or even just work in a (human) team by just doing /g/'s programming challenge 6 hours a day. No, contributing to github projects doesn't count. EVERY single interview I have been to, whether for an internship or a real job, didn't really care about my actual skill level beyond making sure I wasn't making things up, and were far more curious about my team-work projects and ability to learn new things quickly.

Sure, coasting during your degree will get you nowhere, but that doesn't make the whole system worthless.

>>17972190
how am I supposed to even respond to that? Which comments? This whole thread is vague wishy-washy bullshit or people making huge assumptions about industries they clearly know nothing about

>>17972086
>The six figure tradie earners are those who run their own business or are the most talented in their field.
or work 100 hours a week and die early

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OP here again. I've been reading up on the value of degrees and what not and it seems like the whole idea of there being a ceiling for those without a BA is in fact correct. Additionally I fucking LOVE learning so I think I've made up my mind that I'm going. Thanks for all your help, feel free to stick around and continue to shittalk each other if u want. If you need me I'll be elsewhere developing my new app. Bye now.

>>17972901
just dont be bummed that you don't do well in academia or get into a decent school given your belief, they'd probably require standardized tests.

>If you need me I'll be elsewhere developing my new app
lol 13 yos can develop apps nowadays on Khanacademy with the help of current platforms. When I was 15 I derived the planetary orbit from inverse square law. Let us know of your grand scheme when you actually succeeded.

>>17972929
>lol 13 yos can develop apps nowadays on Khanacademy with the help of current platforms
>Thinky that would be a significant enough to deterrent from at least even trying
Wew!

>>17972989
still here? lmao
Let's go back to our productive life and do our best. I'm gonna sign out too.