GO TO COLLEGE... A little Rant.

[Castillo]

Why so many successful people are saying "don't go to college if you want to open a business...." or "it's a waste of time" but then if you have to close your business you end up with no certification, no proof of your skills, no diploma..and i doubt that with millions of unemployed people you'll end up with a good job after that.
(Grant Cardone, Gary V and all of them..)

Then start another hussle

 

[Ninjakid]

I reject the idea that you should spend these four years just having and enjoying your youth, and get into the "real world" after. What if you F*ck up and those four years aren't how you would have liked? Did you blow your only chance? Will you never get another shot?

I'm more of a "engineer your life the way you want, and live that every day" kinda guy. If you do choose to go to post-secondary, what yuo do should be a reflection of your true character.

 

[Contrarian]

Even though I didn't discover entrepreneurship until much later, I always thought university was a scam.

When I was at college (in the UK, compulsory education finishes at 16, and you can go to college from 16-18 if you want to - and it's free), noone would shut up about how I "have to go to uni". Teachers, other students, everyone. "You'll be wasting your potential!", "You're making a terrible mistake", they would say.

And my favourite - "You have a gift for English, you have to study English literature!"

What, so I can become an English teacher? Woo-hoo, sign me up.

I was one of those students that barely did any homework, did my coursework the night before it was due, and barely revised, but still aced all the exams.

Academia bored me to tears. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted to DO something. Not spend another three years in pointless classrooms.

In one of my first (and worst) jobs, working in a dodgy boiler room call centre flogging home security systems, one of my colleagues was a 27 year old psychology graduate. I felt very good about my decision right then.

And I've never, ever regretted not having a degree.

 

[MMatt]

I've been graduated from high school for two years now and I must say i am a bit jealous of the college life of my buddies however they are usually getting free rides from parents or are burying themselves in dept.

The sole reason I'd like to go is for the experience. That being said I can hold an intelligent conversation about finances/business with my college bound buddies while my knowledge comes only from books.

So, is having fun worth every penny I've saved up to this point? I have yet to justify that.

 

[socaldude]

I wasn't sure if you were in the United States or not... but since you are... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE to this great country.

I second that. atriot:

Speaking of service. You can join the Air Force right out of high school for four years and go to a state university full time. You get FREE housing and FREE 4 meals a day at a U.S. air base!! PLUS I think they will pay half of your tuition. So lets say its 3.5k/year times 4 years thats 14k for bachelors degree!!!!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Skys]

To tell a target audience of 18-22 that college is a waste of time, in a phase of their life so easily influenced, is pretty dangerous.

I am sure a lot of entrepreneurs finished their college, worked hard and made money slowlane and then went fastlane. The same as a lot of entrepreneurs did it without going to college. It's not a key element to be succesful, going to college. Making money is a key element to be able to have a comfortable life.

 

[Skys]

Fastlane is the road to wealth. To retire early, as they say. Fastlane can make you rich quick, not easy. A college degree will cost you money, + it will take you 4 years of your life. So, with those facts, you could easily spend between 40k and 80k on a college degree, pass at the age of 25, and have the 80k (max) paid back in full before the age of 35! (depending how quick your fastlane business will grow)

Personally. I would rather be a waiter on the weekends to hold my head up and work on a business during the week than ever working a 9-5 slowlane salaried job that my degree can get me.

Yeah, what works for you works for you. Me, personally, I see no harm in working hard in a job, maybe even longer then 5.. Make good money that I can then invest in my own business and provide my family. My nephew earns 7k a month. That really isn't bad at all. If somebody can't life comfortable with that kind of money, well, you have very high standards.

Maybe the one thing that is most important for me that the fastlane book learned me, is that you should not spend 120 when you have 100. Also, the fastlane is not a get rich tomorrow plan. If college is part of your plan, go for it.

And maybe, just maybe, somebody is just not build to be an entrepreneur, but can be one hell of a high paid slowlaner. If you then really love what you do, but it's not passive income, I would say screw the passive income and go for it. I am pretty sure Anthony Robbins loves what he does, he is F*cking rich but still works hard at seminars, coaching etc (obv. he also makes lots of passive income with his books etc, but i am just pointing out you can be very high paid as a 'slowlaner'.) As a slowlaner though, you better LOVE what you do, since you might be spending the rest of your life doing just that.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kuz]

My degree wasn't a challenge at all. I skipped most of my lectures, never turned up to class, did my coursework last minute and still scored the second highest grade (with honours) you can get for UK degree.

I was sickened by the academic process, and, to be honest, most of my contemporaries were too.

That's if you do a stupid "arts" degrees.. . people who do proper degrees like medicine, or engineering or architecture etc.. yeah, that's hard work and worth while

But F*cking "philosophy" "english literature" "politics" "soccial studies", "history" bla bla bla. Absolute F*cking joke.

 

[Vigilante]

By the way, this week I will drop 2 of my kids off at their respective colleges.

My oldest will be a clinical psychologist. Impossible to do without an education.

My son will be an automotive engineer. Also requires an engineering degree.

So... there are some paths that require a formalized education. If that is your destiny, than you have to do what you have to do to make it happen.

But...

college is not for everyone.

 

[Skys]

The facts are that college is NOT the place for 75% of the population.

And how many are not made for entrepreneurship?

I think we can agree that some part of the population are just screwed, F*ck ups no matter what they do.

 

[FastlaneTiger]

This is the most demotivating, depressing thread that I've ever read.

 

[Harley]

no --- for the most part, there's only 2 reasons to go to college :

1. to postpone adulthood for a while or
2. because you want to enter a field, such as being an automotive engineer, that require it

I am more and more convinced that business degrees are worth almost nothing.

There was a really funny episode of dragons den in Canada a few years back, where some University students actually got the backing of the Dragons and the Dragons flew in to hand over the cheque. However, the business students professor was there to act as an advisor for the students and started to question the dragons over their academic business credentials and even belittled jim treliving for flying in on his private Jet. robert herjavec actually ripped up the cheque in front of him. Irony is this guy was working the slow lane for a pittance and lecturing these guys on their academic skills, all of whom who could buy his whole town and many Ferraris in one day.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ArthurDayne]

1. What are you even talking about? Don't... most 17 year olds... live with their parents? I don't even get your point. Would they be smarter if they were homeless?

2. Most of us accomplish nothing from ages 17 to 23. What are you saying? I should accomplish nothing and go into debt while I do it?

I really don't understand the condescending attitude toward teenagers. What, were you independent and rich before you turned 14? What does anything you two have said even contribute to the conversation?

Sorry I wasn't clear enough. I just picked a number from the air - there's nothing wrong with living at home during school or college. Do I expect a 20 year old to accomplish anything? Hell no. I certainly didn't.

To be more specific (and accurate), here's what I was trying to say: It is genuinely worrying to see someone who's in their early 20s post about their plan for fastlane life, but instead of doing it because they have an idea or entrepreneurial passion (legit reasons), they do it because they assume that anything traditionally educational or slowlane HAS to be rejected and is in fact beneath them from the get-go.

 

[jazb]

Go to college, run a business on the side. you will have more than enough time to do it. If your business grows massively, then you could leave

 

[SerpKing]

If you're 100% committed to the fastlane then college is nothing more than procrastination. You aren't going to learn a thing in college that will help you. Hardly worth the lost years of time and the potential debt. It's easy to say to yourself "OH I'm going to go to college while I wait for a fastlane opportunity." No, go out and find one.

Slowlane jobs, College, are all forms of procrastination if you're intent on being an entrepreneur. You're either diving in head first or your not.

College is only useful if your end goal profession requires it (Doc, Engineer).

I get a rush of anxiety thinking about spending all day studying for a pointless exam now. What a waste of time.

 

[sle3pyguii]

I have a fear that if I don't get the degree I won't be able to get into the software field. This may be due to my fathers relentless pressure he has placed on me.

From what I've seen in the US startup world, the programming field is the most forgiving when it comes to not having degrees.

Not sure about the corporate world, but lots of startups don't care about a CS degree, as long as you know how to code and can prove that you can with a portfolio of side projects on GitHub and sometimes even passing a coding challenge they issue.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SYK]

You aren't going to learn a thing in college that will help you.

A few of the things I honed in college: social skills, presentation skills, communications skills, media/PR skills (my degree). Could they be learnt outside college? Of course. But that's not the statement you made.

College is only useful if your end goal profession requires it (Doc, Engineer)

What I learnt, and the degrees I left college with, got me a job in an international company. It made me an advisor to the CEO and Executive team. Among other things, it regularly took me into the office of our country's Prime Minister (our version of a President).

I've left that environment now to pursue my own business interests and I can assure you having watched high level execs work up close my sense of business is better for it.

Now tell me again that college wasn't useful.

Am I saying it's right for everyone? No. What I'm pointing out is that there are so many absolute claims being made about the virtues of college - a subject that is anything but absolute.

Some will find value in it, some won't.

I know I feel much more comfortable knowing that if my business plans don't work out I can walk into a solid job again. Do I want that? No. But it is assuring.

 

[Angus]

this looks like an atheists vs. christians debate
no logical foundation at all

 

[SteveO]

College is a dreamland for kids 18-23. After that you're too old (too mature) to really enjoy the partying aspects.

No. Some people can be old and still be immature....

 

[DeletedUser394]

I. CAN'T. DECIDE.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

I feel I can contribute a good amount to this thread, so here's my insight.

A little background first: I'm 21 years old now. I started at community college, transferred to a 4 year school, and now I'm at a point where I wish I hadn't gone to college looking back on it. *HOWEVER*, I would not, and I could not be at the level of self-awareness, personal development, and business building skills WITHOUT having gone down the paths of community college and 4 year school to get me there... Although they were not the direct reasons to my 'enlightenment' if you will, they certainly helped.

Community College
I didn't smart here because I was smart, but it certainly turned out to be a smart decision. Started out here because my grades were shit in high school and i didn't know what I was doing. I did two years and transferred

PROS

• If you're going to transfer, you can get your general bullshit classes (Art histories, english writing, etc) done for CHEAP and carry the credits to the next school
• If you're looking to learn a technical skill or a trade, this can be a great, cost effective way to get you the skill you want to develop
• Tuition is very cheap so you can most likely stay out of debt and get yourself an associates.. (I did this)
• You'll learn the shit you need to learn based on what it is you're taking
• This is a good entry-level for meeting peers, or as I call them fellows of adventure..
• Great way to get your feet wet... Learning, taking risks while being *SAFE*, there really isn't much at risk in a 2 year CC..
• Great way to figure out what you want to do with your life by dabbling in different classes

CONS

• The modern education system is a joke, so don't expect to get out of CC and be a fastlaner unless you are doing shit on the side like reading this forum and actually taking action outside the classroom
• Most professors are in the slowlane and will not be able to mentor you to the place you want to go. It was frustrating for me to have professors tell me I was a real hustler and if I worked hard I could get a good accounting job for 70K a year. That was the last thing I wanted, but they thought that equaled success
• Most students around you are either playing the 'safe' route by not taking risk to dive into a 4 year school or business or SOMETHING
• Most students fall into one of these two categories: They're there because they're smart and have a gameplan (very small percentage), they're there because they don't give a F*ck and have no direction in life (large percentage), or they're there because it's safe and they aren't ready to step-up (inbetween small and medium percentage of people)
• Social life / club involvements / life outside the classroom is minimal. It was always frustrating for me because i wanted to get involved in clubs and organizations but there were not that many you could get involved in.. I remember going to an organization fair and seeing shit like the book club, the bible club, or student senate. I tried to get on senate but by the time I found out about senate/ by the time I networked with those guys I was transferring schools

FOUR YEAR SCHOOL (For me, Business school)

PROS

• With risk comes reward.. You get what you pay for, etc. You'll have a better opportunity to 'get a job' once you graduate.. NOTHING WRONG WITH GETTING A JOB if you have a PLAN to get in the fastlane. There are a LOT of things to LEARN... imagine you go to class all day and sit there. You're paying someone else to learn. Now imagine getting paid 50K a year and you sit and listen and go through training etc.. now YOU'RE GETTING PAID TO LEARN
• Huge networking opportunities... 4 year schools, unless you go to a 30 person school (Yes those exist lol) you'll be able to meet a lot of people
• With meeting a lot of people, plenty of room to develop your personal-relations skills, which is very important in business..
• ample opportunities to get involved in clubs and organizations
• Plenty of time to further develop what it is that interests you (What NICHE, maybe, that you want to dive into) - If you're at business school like me, there's still a lot to discover, like i mentioned, niche, etc..
• Live on campus - Great way to get away from parents and start developing as a human being.. For most people 4 year school is their first break from mommy and daddy and the nest... That's why you see them let-loose and get hammered, get tied up in drama etc... It's their first time OUT.. (You can USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE, or your disadvantage..)
• Financial aid can help you afford the school and not walk out with buttloads of debt that will keep you a slowlaner or sidewalker forever

CONS

• Can be expensive
• The time spent can be time wasted if you don't have your shit together (Just think about the majority of 18-21 year olds in college... Every night is a party)
• The education system as I mentioned with CC, is the same. Professors are just that, professors. For the most part, they don't know jack about the fastlane..
• Schools are designed to GEAR YOU TOWARDS GETTING A JOB.. So if you don't WANT a job, you better learn on your own time the skills you need to learn
• Huge time constraint (Going to classes, living on campus, clubs and orgs, getting involved, hanging with friends... it's a freaking lifestyle you get sucked into when youre in college...)
• Most people, again, do not have their shit together, so you will have plenty of opportunities to meet people and do your thing but 99% of the time they aren't going to be potential business partners.... Its unfortunate, but if everybody was doing it there wouldn't be a need to call it the fast-lane..

(As far as my final statement on wishing I hadn't gone to college..)

When you can decide that 'college isn't for me'

It took me *YEARS* to really get to a point and understanding in life about the fastlane, far before even stumbling across this forum or MJ DeMarco's book etc. I get the concept and it's something i've been telling myself i want to live for the past few years. Without college, I don't think i'd be quite there yet, but who really knows. Without college, I wouldn't have all the personal development skills I have, the personal relations skills, the personal relationships, the friends, the lessons, the knowledge, the experience (in a SAFETY NET, mind you), the failures, the wins, etc. Would I have been able to get all of that without college? Yes. Would it have been faster? I don't know. I can't turn the cards back in and get a new hand, I've already played out 2 years of community college and 2 years of 4 year school.

For those of you who consider college, look at what I wrote above and figure out if it's going to help you.
For those of you who are considering against college, I list you a few pieces of advice.

1. You better have a gameplan, and you better be ready to fail. There's nothing wrong WITH failing, you just need to LEARN from it
2. You better have yourself pretty figured out, otherwise you need more time, more lessons, etc, and college can be a great way to develop all of that. What I mean by 'having yourself figured out' is a personal development piece. Most teens and young 20 year old guys aren't even close. Do you take care of your health? Do you understand why you act the way you act? Do you understand why you do the things you do? Have you taken the time to have deep consideration for the world and your fit in it? Do you take care of your health? Do you have a solid groundwork on LIFE? Do you have a routine that keeps you sane, fit, and ready to conquer the world? (Most top level performers don't just jump out of the bed and build businesses... they have certain key elements and things they do every day that keep them as a high performer, such as working out, reading books, finding and developing relationships with coaches and mentors who can guide them in the right direction, they take notes, they take action, they fail, they take more notes, they learn, they meditate, they stretch, do yoga, or some combination of the things i listed). Do you surround yourself with people who are helping you, not sabotaging you? Do you know WHY you need to surround yourself with those people?

There are way too many things to list, so let that be a good gist of ideas and food for thought for anyone thinking "College? That's the slow-lane.. I'll just go be a Richard Branson and start companies and make billions" -- Not so fast, there are a lot of intangibles that go into the successful equation that you need to understand far beyond just learning some business skills or coming up with ideas.

Get your shit together. Start young, and start early. Build relationships. Find mentors. Hire coaches. Ask questions. Think outside the box. Ask questions to people who are where you want to be. If you wouldn't want to trade shoes with them, take their advice with a grain of salt. Learn the power of rapport and relationship skills. Work out. Meditate. Have deep consideration and thought for the world. Find ways to add value.

Then, and only then, when you have the equation balanced on both sides, can you safely say "College isn't for me" and continue on your way to the fastlane.

Hope that helps anyone out there considering their options

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RHL]

Get off your a$$ in high school and get some of the billions of dollars in scholarships that are available. Rather than earning $7.00/hr flipping burgers, earn $3000 for writing a 1,000 word essay on environmental conservation, $10,000 for a project developing algorithms for 2D video processing, etc. I once won $5000 by memorizing a historical document word for word and reciting it; I calculated the return on time, it was like getting paid $83/hr. Know many high school jobs that pay that kind of salary?

If college is free or nearly free, it's a no brainer-you can even use the tons of spare time you have in college to explore and build a fast-lane. I paid off all my (interest-delayed) student loans with pocket change in the first pay period they came due, my entire education cost less than I make in a month today.

 

[amp0193]

I've gained a great skill in music that I love sharpening, I'm just now taking business classes (it's my 5th year in college).

Music Education graduate here.

All non-education music majors would be more valuable if they made students take 2-3 years of business courses. There's no point in having a skill if you can't market or sell that skill. Music history, music theory, aural skills... all a waste of time.

I live 2 miles from the biggest music school in the country. There are probably hundreds of current and former music students living within 5 miles of me. None of them have websites, none of them are advertising, none of them use Craigslist. It took me two weeks to find someone to hire to play at my wife's work for Valentine's day.

But... "All the good gigs are taken", "Musicians aren't paid enough these days", "I'll practice for 20 years, get 3 degress, and maybe then I can land a symphony gig".

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Runum]

Music Education graduate here.

All non-education music majors would be more valuable if they made students take 2-3 years of business courses. There's no point in having a skill if you can't market or sell that skill. Music history, music theory, aural skills... all a waste of time.

I live 2 miles from the biggest music school in the country. There are probably hundreds of current and former music students living within 5 miles of me. None of them have websites, none of them are advertising, none of them use Craigslist. It took me two weeks to find someone to hire to play at my wife's work for Valentine's day.

But... "All the good gigs are taken", "Musicians aren't paid enough these days", "I'll practice for 20 years, get 3 degress, and maybe then I can land a symphony gig".

Totally agree. My kid wanted to major in art. I agreed as long as business was included. I showed her art galleries, shows, management, and other ways to make a living in art. Most of the artists just want to be creative and not pollute the art. The artists fail to understand they have to eat too.

 

[ZeroTo100]

I agree - college for me was about building relationships, making friends, and finding patrons for my company at the time.

I was an economics major and I learned a few things but the truth is, most of it was pretty much useless and the best learning experience I ever had was hands on - the stuff I taught myself. I think most would agree with that.

College to me was a great experience though and matured me. I paid my own way and never took a loan.

I recently hiked Machu Picchu and we had an 18 year old German kid in our group. He was on what they call a "gap" year. They take the year off after high school and explore the world. Young people don't know half the time what they want to do with their life and parents pay way too much money to send their kids to school. We should do this in the States.

I feel like every kid deserves to experience college but only if they're there for the right reasons. A gap year gives them a chance to get their crap together so they don't waste their parents money.

On this site, over and over, people ask, should I go to school, It's free, it's expensive, is it a waste of time? It's this or that.

Let me tell you something. For all your wanting to be great, for all your needing to be great, for all the lies you tell yourself about how great you are.

You are probably not and odds are you are going to fail. Sorry but it is true. Business is tough, if you think School is hard, wait tell you open a business.

It's 4, well maybe for some of you slow ones 6 years. from 18-22... Go get the experience. Go live your life, have fun.

Do you really think all those losers who do nothing but party and bang chicks are going to be sad in 10 years.

They might be, but they are going to have some great memories..

You on the other hand took a shot, it failed, and all the memories you got out of 18-22 is your business failing, your parents yelling at you, you losing friends. etc.


I myself never went to college, and I am one of the lucky ones who made money right out of the gate. But most of you won't be lucky. Trust me on that.

Go to School, have fun. learn. Open a business if you have to and see. Even the great Bills Gates had a business going before he dropped out.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[policebaton]

I was in school for 4.5 years in a top nursing program.. until it came to me that we have the ability to work hard and accomplish whatever the hell we wanna do. The realization that made me quit was: why the hell am I busting my a$$ in school to work in a job I didn't even really pick, and probably won't enjoy? Once that really set in, I dropped out. One morning it was time to wake up and wipe some asses, and I just called in and didn't go to school anymore.

Granted i had a job where I could make about 30K, was doing just fine, and had some grace period. It's been the greatest decision I've ever made.

I'm now working in a startup, making about the same I would've as a nurse, and having a lot more fun.

If you have something to fall back on, some money coming in, and you really really don't like your college... make considerations towards dropping out. But know that no matter what you do, you'll have dues to pay. That could be 4 years of debt ridden studying, 4 years of practicing sales and getting your a$$ whooped in a new industry while trying to survive, that could mean being poor for 5-10 years bootstrapping a startup. You have work to do either way.

 

[ThirtyOne]

Of course it will always be the plan, it's a necessity to work for yourself, but there's a chance you can't get a job anywhere else than a fastfood/night job for the rest of your life

I don't think any real entrepreneurs give any credence to your last statement.

 

[ThirtyOne]

It's the truth, let's say you work for Mcdonalds because you've failed your last venture and you want to get a job at a Real Estate agency and become a broker, even if you've read a lot of books and knows the law and everything, the guy will always ask for experience and diploma because he don't want to lose time and money on someone who has never sell any RE . (Can be different in the US, but in France if you don't have experience/diploma = no job)

Line upon line, my friend. Of course it's hard to go from fry cook to RE broker.

But you could go from fry-cook to top employee for coming up with creative ways to bring business into your McDonald's store. Or you could be working on providing value/bootstrapping after hours until you have some legitimacy as a broker/salesman.

There's many roads to a goal. Entreps are creative and make it work.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Niptuck MD]

I forgot to mention this fact based on my past pre-university course.

A month ago, I was finishing Australian Matriculation, and there was this kind of (unintended?) sentiment that kids don't like STEM subjects.

In a preliminary briefing, the lecturer told us that if we chose science-themed subjects like Chemistry or Math Methods, we would get like 10% extra marks from their individual scores added to the overall grading.

Not very much, but it does make things VERY different.

I never heard of such a scheme in other courses....but I checked the mainstream Australian scorers, and most of them took arts subjects. So I suppose that probably the type of field of degrees can be a good entry barrier, but of course things can be overridden, as you have mentioned with outsourcing.

On the quality of lecturers, some of them are there because they couldn't find jobs in the industry. My brother who is in A levels had some biochemistry teachers who got washed out by lack of demand for the field in my country. Such lecturers can meet the needs of kids who just want book knowledge, but for us who want life-changing education, that frees us in terms of opportunity, that might become lacking.

But I found I learned more with my STEM subjects ( I had some maths and chemistry for college...I replaced physics with economics) by myself, assessing and analysing with my own decision-making. At best, my teachers gave the tips on 'best practices', so to speak. I took what I needed.

My chemistry teacher was a nerd who rambled quite a bit. Had to stop him at times to digest stuff.

But one day he talked a bit on the industrial usage of certain polymers to cover up IC chips so that rival companies couldn't break into them in their gadgets to steal the design.

I thought about stuff like how to make the polymer composition stronger, more affordable, or if something else can be used to replace the polymer....and poof, a Fastlane opportunity presented itself?

So yes, not everything is totally bad in college.

Don't hate on college. In whatever I did, I worked hard to think 'process' as Fastlane demanded, and it was a lot more peaceful and productive than hate.

I can tell you based on numerous STEM students at the universities I attended (3) that over 90% of the professors werent worth a damn in terms of COMPREHENSIBILITY>

They TOEFL test is a farce and a joke IMHO.

There are teachers that teach STEM subjects (i.e Leonard Susskind, Richard Feynman etc) and then there are teachers that "teach" (meaning, they are just there to teach because they have to and only care about their research and stresses for maybe becoming tenured)

Something needs to be done.... Khan academy helps a little bit but still why pay outrageous $$'s when you could sit at home and learn? I think online degree programs are going to be a big thing in the future as home-schooling is becoming a more favored option in many states now.... Online degrees are much cheaper too (hundreds less per credit hour)

 

[JByers210]

I posted in here earlier, and I'll add a note as a 5th year soon-to-be college graduate:

If you aren't sure what you want to do, you should be heavily considering college. Which is most people.
There ARE ways to finance college without going $100K - $300K in debt. And, unless you're coming out as a doctor or lawyer making $150K a year to start, you shouldn't be racking up monumental debt.

I've done 5 years of college. I have less than $40,000 in loans. I have a sales job for a high-level company that can lead to a 6 figure income in a little over a year. I'm still pursuing entrepreneurial adventures. I'm capital-poor, and want to learn some skills, continue to meet people, grow, etc.

People will argue that school is a waste of time, or getting a job is a waste of time. They're both part of your development. Guys will go running around preaching Gary Vaynerchuk shit on dropping out of business school, but they forget the fact that Gary V graduated from business school.

I recommend listening to Jeff Hoffman and what he has to say about being an entrepreneur. Watch this video. All of it. In depth. TWICE... and take notes.

Just read this and checked out your profile. Were those 5 years of college and 40K you got in loans worth it? Did you hit your goal you set for the yourself once you turned 25? I'm not sure that all the guys preaching "Gary Vaynerchuck sh*t" and building businesses instead of being in classes are unhappy and full of regret. Obviously there's more factors involved though like whether they dropped to actually work or just to be lazy.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.