Big choice, please advise

[Sander Prins]

Hi guys, I have a very important decision to make and I was wondering if you could give me some advice.

So the problem is, I am in my first year of university now(industrial design) and I have successfully finished all semesters except 1(so 5/6). But now I am having second thoughts about whether this is the right path for me. I have a pretty clear picture in mind about how I want my life to be in the future(entrepreneur), so I know what I want to learn. But it feels like my education isn't always useful for my goals, the useful things are to easy for me to really learn something from it and the things that don't interest me cost too much of my time.

Sadly there are a few things that are holding me back from dropping out(see picture)
Debt part might seem little strange but here in the Netherlands we have a system that if you get a degree within 8 years, the government pays a lot of your student loans and public transportation cost. My debt right now is already €5k.

thanks in advance!

 

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[Sander Prins]

Hi guys, I have a very important decision to make and I was wondering if you could give me some advice.

So the problem is, I am in my first year of university now(industrial design) and I have successfully finished all semesters except 1(so 5/6). But now I am having second thoughts about whether this is the right path for me. I have a pretty clear picture in mind about how I want my life to be in the future(entrepreneur), so I know what I want to learn. But it feels like my education isn't always useful for my goals, the useful things are to easy for me to really learn something from it and the things that don't interest me cost too much of my time.

Sadly there are a few things that are holding me back from dropping out(see picture)
Debt part might seem little strange but here in the Netherlands we have a system that if you get a degree within 8 years, the government pays a lot of your student loans and public transportation cost. My debt right now is already €5k.

thanks in advance!

see here for image: http://imgur.com/twv865f

 

[kph200]

I have a pretty clear picture in mind about how I want my life to be in the future(entrepreneur)

^ ^This...you have a picture in your brain not a actual business that makes real money. So lets say you quit and you go ahead with your project but it does not deliver, then my friend you are in double trouble.
Try your idea while you are till doing your college and if it rocks and makes ton of money or has a prospect to do that in near future then you can quit.

 

[Ecom man]

I don't know how this works with the loan repayment etc. but why not change your major to something that would be useful in your new business? Learn marketing, coding, or a whole host of other things that could be useful. Why would you quit going to college if you have no clear direction after that? "Well, I quit college to start my new business... Wonder what it should be?"

Figure it out now! Start the business now! I started learning and working my business while in college, why can't you?

 

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[Solrac]

If you have $$$$ coming in do it if not, stay until you do.

 

[Sander Prins]

Thanks guys, that was some pretty solid advice. I am going to start doing more courses next to my actually Industrial design courses like coding etc.
And I am thinking of writing a book for kindle to get a bit of cash flow started so I can decrease my loan a bit, so stopping in the future will be easier

thanks again!

 

[cautiouscapy]

That far through the degree, finish it and get the piece of paper.

Then, what others said above.

 

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[Mattie]

Debt part might seem little strange but here in the Netherlands we have a system that if you get a degree within 8 years, the government pays a lot of your student loans and public transportation cost. My debt right now is already €5k.

I would say 5k is really nothing if you've almost completed your degree. In the U.S. loans for me were 3-5k a term for going to a private college. If you only have on more term, it's better to have the degree. You can change to something else after you completed it, but still have the degree to back you up. It's not like your degree is your destiny. I felt the same way at the end of my degree. You grow and change, and just because you started with one path, doesn't mean you have to stay there if you no longer agree with it. Life will take you down many paths and there is nothing written in stone that says you will stay in one place. The majority of people switch careers many times during there life time. Even as an entrepreneur they may switch from one product to another.

 

[Sander Prins]

That far through the degree

I would say 5k is really nothing if you've almost completed your degree.

sadly my degree is still 2 years away, I am only 3/4 through my 1st year. So 2 whole more years will set me back around 15k more(I only live on my own since a few months so my student loan is a lot higher that before). The loan system here is made to keep people in school, once you started you can't go back without paying the price.

 

[H. Palmer]

You're 20 years old.

Because you're young you think a 5 K or 20 K loan is a problem.

It isn't. Life will probably throw a few bad things in your direction now and then, but a 20 K loan is not one of them.
It shouldn't be a factor in any decision that you are going to make.

Focus on what you want. On a dream. Then learn the skills you need to realize the dream.
Your current education may be part of the skill set you need.
That's for you to decide.

Don't fret over one or two courses that you think you don't need. You're probably too inexperienced to have a good feel for what you need anyway.
If Industrial Design is in any way shape or form part of what you need to realize your dream then accept the whole package.

But focus on your dream first. If you need extra skills beside your education get the skills from somewhere else.

 

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[lucasmello]

As incoming freshman I can relate to you and here is what I think:

I don't like institutionalized education such as school and university, however, I realize how they are valued nowadays.

I've set up my business(a small e-commerce shop) and let me tell you: It is not easy. You won't make money right away.

Although I don't have the debt factor in my mind, I will continue in college until my business is generating enough income to maintain me.

Also, honestly, university isn't that hard, you don't even need excellent grades, if you are smart you can pass and devote 3/4 of your time to your business.

 

[Mattie]

I have successfully finished all semesters except 1(so 5/6)

I guess I misunderstood what you wrote here. If you're only on your first year, it seems you may be able to choose a different major. Again I don't know dutch rules and policies. I am here in the Netherlands though, and I would say it is no different then the rest of the world right now when it comes to getting a job/career/starting a business.

Like they said above, starting a business isn't going to happen instantly over night. I would talk to an adviser at your school and see what options you have in changing things if you're unhappy with what you've already chosen. And being young, it doesn't surprise me that you're questioning what route you're taking. Are you bailing out of college because you think this is the easier path and you won't have to do the work? Because there is work involved in being an Entrepreneur. And if you are not clear about what you want to do, and know your why, then it's going to make matters difficult.

Either way it requires commitment, dedication, devotion, and you putting yourself in situations you don't like to learn the things you don't necessarily want to learn. There things I don't like learning being an entrepreneur, but I have to anyway. There is no bed of roses or guarantees. No one can make this choice for you, but I'd figure out your plan before you just stop going to school.

 

[SlowlaneJay]

Check out the resources here:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/pages/do-i-go-to-college-dropout/

And be sure to read this:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/i-am-not-responsible-required-reading.20271/

That said, there's something I rarely see mentioned when these threads come up. And it's strange because it actually makes a big difference later on in your life.

I'm not a college graduate. I'm not currently enrolled, and I don't have any plans to.

And here's what sucks the most about that decision. It's not the pay cut. It's not the dance I have to do in interviews when they ask about my qualifications. It's not even the disapproval of my mother at Thanksgiving.

What sucks the most is, like me, you intend to hang around with successful people. In the beginning, a lot of these successful people will be Slowlane folks who've worked their way up the corporate ladder. Or, they might be Fastlane people who've broken free from their cubicle.

But when you meet them, after you finish the how-are-yous, nice-weather-todays, and how-bout-them-sports-teams, they always ask you:

"So, did you just finish school? What school did you go to? What was your major?"​

Girls ask this when they're sizing you up. Guys asks this when they're looking for new friends.

It sucks.

You can't take part in conversations about "Senior year," or "graduation parties," or how you got so wasted that one time when…

And I know this seems trivial, but it's not. It takes a lot of effort to break down this barrier between you and other young people.

So yeah, college will probably get you a bigger paycheck. College will probably leave you with a powerful business network to use later. Your degree will probably make it easier to get jobs and I imagine you will have a lot of fun getting it.

But I don't know if any of those are true. What I do know, is not going to college alienates you from your peers. You're an outsider by default, and have to work damn hard not to be.

And that's enough to make me wonder if I should have just sucked it up, put in the four years, and been done with it.

You only have two years left:

 

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[RBefort]

You have one semester left...how is this even a big decision? Maybe if you had over a year left or the like, before you started a major. I'm sure industrial design is useful and you have 3-4 months of your life left in school. Why would you consider dropping out, unless you were dying in the next month?

 

[obrian]