Sean Marshall
Independent since 2010
LEGACY MEMBER
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I'm not quite sure if this is the appropriate place to vent this but it seems there's an epidemic of "going back to school" syndrome.
I'm 37 years old. I'm a college drop out. I don't have any credentials that most of society holds precious.
Yet, I work only 10 hours a week, make good money with my own business, and spent 3 years living in the Caribbean and Europe... together with my family. In other words, I wouldn't change my life for anything, regardless of what society says.
That outlook is totally confirmed when I have MBA's talking to me on the beaches of Playa del Carmen saying, "I sure wish I could do what you're doing!". Yeah, you can bro. You're just too conditioned not to.
Coming back to the states though, I've seen a LOT of my peers who just aren't making the money they want to be making at their jobs so they think they need to go back to school.
Before I continue, I think college is a very necessary for some key professions. Not all. Just some. Also, I believe that education is VITAL for ALL professions. It just may not come in the form of a university. Education yes. University, maybe... if it's a must for your career of choice (MD, bioengineer, etc).
The challenge I see lately is the 30-something who's not quite making it in life and decides to go back to school. He or she says to the world, "I'm going back to school to get my MBA or PhD and THEN I'll be happy and make the money I want".
And just under the surface, where they don't want to admit it, they know they don't have to worry about making money for a while. They're totally off the hook.
Why? Because you can say to anyone, "I'm going back to school!" and people commend you for it. "Oh good for you!" they say. I know. I've witnessed it.
It doesn't matter that you're 37 and have a degree in communications. It doesn't matter that you're about to live off of college loans that will take forever to pay back. It doesn't matter that you're basically avoiding the whole concept of making money and providing for your family.
Again, just to be clear, I'm not ranting about the people who genuinely have had a renewed focus and are going back to school to become something better and need the degree to do it.
I'm talking about the people who are simply avoiding life (and making money for their family) by going back to school. Instead of slapping them upside the head and saying, "Take care of your family!" society says, "Good for you!".
Sigh.
THE SOLUTION
I'm not just complaining without a solution. If anyone here happens to fall in this category (and if you're not totally pissed off by now) then here's what to do:
Identify your core motivation. Be honest with yourself. If you're just trying to avoid making money and being a grown-up, then you gotta check that attitude fast. By going back to school, it's only delaying the inevitable. And you'll pile up a bunch of debt along the way.
If you really want to take care of your family (happy family = happy life) then figure out how to make money. Get the skills that you need to make a difference in the market place. Get real, practical, hands-on education from somebody already doing what you want to do.
Then, get really good at it and create a scalable business around it. It takes time sure. You may have to do it in your spare time. But it will be faster than another 3-10 years at school and you'll be making money as you learn.
There has never been a better time to learn and then do. In fact, in this forum alone are enough business blueprints for anyone to make money! There's gold in this forum if people will just take the time to study what others are saying and the get busy applying.
I'm 37 years old. I'm a college drop out. I don't have any credentials that most of society holds precious.
Yet, I work only 10 hours a week, make good money with my own business, and spent 3 years living in the Caribbean and Europe... together with my family. In other words, I wouldn't change my life for anything, regardless of what society says.
That outlook is totally confirmed when I have MBA's talking to me on the beaches of Playa del Carmen saying, "I sure wish I could do what you're doing!". Yeah, you can bro. You're just too conditioned not to.
Coming back to the states though, I've seen a LOT of my peers who just aren't making the money they want to be making at their jobs so they think they need to go back to school.
Before I continue, I think college is a very necessary for some key professions. Not all. Just some. Also, I believe that education is VITAL for ALL professions. It just may not come in the form of a university. Education yes. University, maybe... if it's a must for your career of choice (MD, bioengineer, etc).
The challenge I see lately is the 30-something who's not quite making it in life and decides to go back to school. He or she says to the world, "I'm going back to school to get my MBA or PhD and THEN I'll be happy and make the money I want".
And just under the surface, where they don't want to admit it, they know they don't have to worry about making money for a while. They're totally off the hook.
Why? Because you can say to anyone, "I'm going back to school!" and people commend you for it. "Oh good for you!" they say. I know. I've witnessed it.
It doesn't matter that you're 37 and have a degree in communications. It doesn't matter that you're about to live off of college loans that will take forever to pay back. It doesn't matter that you're basically avoiding the whole concept of making money and providing for your family.
Again, just to be clear, I'm not ranting about the people who genuinely have had a renewed focus and are going back to school to become something better and need the degree to do it.
I'm talking about the people who are simply avoiding life (and making money for their family) by going back to school. Instead of slapping them upside the head and saying, "Take care of your family!" society says, "Good for you!".
Sigh.
THE SOLUTION
I'm not just complaining without a solution. If anyone here happens to fall in this category (and if you're not totally pissed off by now) then here's what to do:
Identify your core motivation. Be honest with yourself. If you're just trying to avoid making money and being a grown-up, then you gotta check that attitude fast. By going back to school, it's only delaying the inevitable. And you'll pile up a bunch of debt along the way.
If you really want to take care of your family (happy family = happy life) then figure out how to make money. Get the skills that you need to make a difference in the market place. Get real, practical, hands-on education from somebody already doing what you want to do.
Then, get really good at it and create a scalable business around it. It takes time sure. You may have to do it in your spare time. But it will be faster than another 3-10 years at school and you'll be making money as you learn.
There has never been a better time to learn and then do. In fact, in this forum alone are enough business blueprints for anyone to make money! There's gold in this forum if people will just take the time to study what others are saying and the get busy applying.
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