Why won't someone just offer me a little advice... please! i'm stressed here... p.s I hate school!?

Question

Job vs. Career vs. fulltime student... big dilema and need a little advice!?

So I was recently offered a career in Life annuity and Insurance sales, at a pretty prominent company in my area, It goes along with my business major. I'm 20, and I'm in college, bored out of my mind with it, tired of being broke, and tired of being dependent so much on my parents, because no regular job seems to pay enough and give enough hours to allow me to do this. I can easily graduate in 2009 with no real work experience, hopefully making 35,000 a year. My parents are against me having a career right now because they think i'm really into school, but i'm not! I loathe it, and only continue to go so that they will support me until I can support myself, they just want me to work a regular job at the mall or something which I DON'T WANT! any real advice? Oh and I don't have the best grades, the are very mediocre!

I'm not going to drop out of school, i will just be going part time!

Answer 1

Accept the job if it meets the following requirements:

1) Salary large enough to support your own apartment and bills
2) Good health benefits to keep you independent
3) Reimbursement programs for continued education (college courses).


You simply cannot just quit college and walk away. The more education you have in your field, the more money you are worth -- an MBA for working in a high level business field is almost a must for any serious job promotion.

You need to make sure that your company promotes continuing education, and you need to motivate yourself to get out, take classes, and do better. You may find that you hate college less once you're out on your own and commuting to classes.

Answer 2

do what you think you should do. If you can get a great job now, that pays well and has great benefits-take it. The experience you'll get from that job will equal the college education. Let your parents know that not everyone who graduates college lands a great job. I went to school, I graduated with my bachelor's degree with honors, but I did nothing while I was at school to insure a good job when I graduated(like field experience, internships). Now I'm stuck at a dead end job, where I'm not getting any experience that's required to move on to a better job. I make so little money that I'm still living at home because I can't afford to live by myself, with a roommate or even several roommates. It's very frustrating knowing that I put so much time, effort and money in school to only end up with students loans in the end. And every job interview I've been to since I started my current job, all say the same thing- I don't have enough experience(even for something as simple as an office position/receptionist)- apparently it doesn't matter that I graduated with honors or even graduated at all for that matter, every place wants experience.
Needless to say with this rambling, do what you feel you should do. If you can make a career right now, do what's in the best interest for you-especially if you're not putting your all into your school work.

Answer 3

Well, if you're in good shape to graduate from college in 2009, you should do it. You've already invested time and money into a degree, unless you feel like your life's calling will not make use of your degree or experiences in college, there's no reason not to complete your studies. Afterall, some college experience with no degree is about as useful as never attended college.

You must be a sophomore in college, so you're almost halfway done with school. It'll be worth it for several reasons. With a degree, you can bargain for higher wages upon graduation. 35,000 may seem like a lot now, but after all your bills, etc it'll hardly seem like it's enough. A business degree has the potential to increase your starting salary by $10-15,000 or more than if you didn't have it. Don't sell yourself short and settle for less. A business degree is probably not very fun, so it sounds like the real problem is, you need to mix it up and make college fun for you. I graduated from college 2 years ago, and I can tell you already that people aren't kidding when they say college is the best years of your life. So enjoy it.

Answer 4

I understand why you are stressed. This is an important decision that will have a major impact on your life. Have you ever heard the expression...."You must crawl before you walk"? I am saying this to say consider your options.

Lets say (Option A) You take the job with no degree. Yes $35,000 sounds good for your current needs. Once you get out in the work force for a while, $35,000 may sound like $10,000. Please consider job stability. Employers may downsize and start laying people off...this leads me to option B.

Option B: With a college degree...you have more accountability and flexibility. If you get laid off, you have a degree to fall back on. Please research carefully. Now a days...a college degree may be equivalent to a high school diploma (depending on the field you are in) Many jobs with high paying salaries are asking for advanced degrees.

What ever your decision, think carefully about it. The most important thing is, that you are happy. Also about the grades, don't let that discourage you from finishing school. My undergrad grades were C average. I was still able to get in to one of the top Graduate Schools and graduated with an A average. Think about your interests and why you are bored with school. College is not for everyone. But, just make sure that whatever decision you make, will benefit you in the future.

Best of luck!

Answer 5

Can you take a break? Go try something else and see what the real world is like? I told my daughter to do this and it took a year of real world experience to see that I was right in the first place, but neither of us ever thought it was a waste of time because she learned the harsh facts of earning a living the only way she would respect it, by living it. Very few people stay in the insurance game, its difficult to make a living and involves staggering hours, but my telling you that won't make you believe it, so take a hiatus and give it a go.
Understand this though, without a college degree, you severely limit your choices, employers will only consider college graduates for any job with a future, even if their degrees is in some obscure discipline. They need the degree as proof that you have some brains and the ability to stick to completion with something. And to cover their asses if you don't work out.

Answer 6

I understand that you hate college, but think about it, what if you drop out of school, take the money making job now and in 2009, when you would have graduated and could get a great paying job in your field of studies, learn that the company you gave school up for suddenly goes under? Then what? You can't get anywhere these days without a college degree. Just try and stick it out. The next two years are going to fly by anyway and besides, live off of your parents for as long as they will let you, I wish I would have!

Answer 7

finish school first because it's easier to start off making more money, get a promotion, and/or find a better job than the one you've been offered with a degree than without it. plus once you start working full time its hard to go back to school later and finish. also, you can enjoy and focus on your career more knowing that you dont have to worry about finishing your education. but if you really want the job and need the money then see if you can work part time until you graduate. most jobs do allow that and may even offer to help you with your tuition. it looks better for a company to have more employees with a complete education than a partial one or none at all because other companies see that and are more likely to want to do business with people that have degrees. if you cant work for the company part time then still go on to graduate and either try again afterwards if there's still a position available or find something else. either way, you will be in a better position to apply for a job because school will no longer be an obligation and then you can work full time. and obviously your resume is good enough to get you a career with a prominent company (even without a degree) so im sure other places will want you too, especially since you will have graduated which could automatically put you into a higher salary and make you capable for a higher position than the one offered to you now. even though you dont like school, you dont have to stay there forever and the whole point of it is to get you in and get you out so that you can go on to get a job that allows you freedom, independence, and financial stability. but be grateful that your parents dont mind providing for you while in school so that you dont have to slave away at a crappy job just to make ends meet like other college students having to divide their time and attention. even better is that it gives you less financial stress and more focus so that you can be successful and graduate on time. and dont stay in school just because of your parents...its your life! also, dont worry about your grades because in the real world, all businesses want to know is that you DID graduate but after that they could care less about your A in history, your D in physics, and dropping math because you kept failing the quizzes. however, the other thing they care about is your legal and credit history so dont break the law and dont get into an enormous amount of bad debt and you should be just fine. good luck!

Answer 8

without a college education your annual income will top out at anywhere between 20 and 32k a year. That is busting your butt 40 hours a week and you may not be offered the benefits that graduates are offered. And if you lose your job in insurance sale there is no guarantee you will be able to get another job doing the same thing without some sort of degree. stick it out another two years, it may seem like a long time and alot of crap to go through but you wont regret it. P.s. you have great parents if they are willing to support you through school. I am 27 and my parents cant afford to support me.

Answer 9

Although you may make some decent money for yourself ($35,000) right now, in the long run when you start a family this amount may not be enough. Yes, you can work your way up in your career path. However, having the education and schooling behind this path will allow you to make much more money. Think about your family and kids in the future. You want to be comfortable and be able to provide for them as well as yourself. Even though you hate it, STAY IN SCHOOL :)

Answer 10

You only go around in this life once. Take advantage of it while you still have the chance.........You need to step up to the plate grab the chance for educating yourself now. There are more minimum wage jobs than jobs for professionals.
Good Luck!