I'm not sure college is right for me. Can you really be successful without going to college?

Question

It’s always been expected that I go to college. I make pretty good grades in my all honors classes and am the president of two clubs at my school and belong to two others. I am going to be a junior next year but just to get ahead I took two classes at my local community college. When I was there I found it was the most boring thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m really big into the environment, so I took environmental geology, but I found myself yawning most of the time. What I really enjoyed the most was the research that I did on my own. I come from a poor family so if I did go to college it would be with financial aid and with my own money. I really don’t know if I want to spend 4 years of my life and money doing something I don’t enjoy just so I can have a degree. I don’t want to be rich, just make a comfortable living. But is that really possible without a college education?

If you have any ideas or could help talk with me about this my e-mail is [e-mail]

Answer 1

There are other degree options for students who don't want to just go to a regular 4-year college. Nursing is an excellent choice, as the demand for nurses is high. You'll be given many many job offers when you get your degree (which doesn't require a bachelor's; I think it's actually an equivalent), and the pay is quite comfortable to make a good living. Not to mention, nurses are a very respected group. If you want to advance yourself after a few years, there are always more degrees you can get, like becoming a Certified Nurse Anesthetist (the school is tough, but the pay is $100,000+ after 2.5 years of it) after a few years experience, or getting a Master's degree. The Bachelor's of Nursing can be said to be a much more "useful" degree than a lot of offerings that are at colleges.

If nursing is not for you, well, I'm not extremely familiar with the other options but I know that they exist, though if they are as promising and as plentiful as the nursing field I do not know.

If you're really big into the environment, I know a bunch of people that join GreenPeace or something like that. Costs etc. I don't know, but the person I did it wasn't "rich" at all. That may lead to a job that you want to pursue somewhere, or at least give you a good direction to go in.

And of course, you can always go to college. You don't necessarily need to go to an extremely expensive or prestigious one. Financial aid can be more generous than you think, just make sure you take a look before you back out of there.

As for the "boringness," I may be personally biased, but a local community college may not offer the greatest array of interesting classes with outstanding teachers. There are, of course, some very good community colleges, but many of them are not so much. A local university may still have some boring classes, but it should offer you more opportunities to take classes that you are really interested in, and you can be pretty sure that your professor is interested in it too.

If anything, I definitely recommend that you engage in SOME sort of educational pursuit after you graduate. Your counselor should be able to help you with that. You're only going to be a junior anyway, you've got at least a little bit of time.

Answer 2

It's too bad that you didn't enjoy your college experience. But colleges are not entertainment. The question is, did you learn something? If you wanted to have a career of some kind in the environmental area, you need to have a strong science background. No science, no career. (Unless you consider lawn care a career and you don't mind competing with illegal aliens for work.)

It's enitrely possible that the reason you had a bad experience is because the teachers were bad. OK, so if you go to a better school and are in class with a bunch of kids who are excited about learning, then maybe you will have a more positive and rewarding time.

I wouldn't say that you need to go to college to be "successful." But people who have college degrees on the average make a LOT more money than others, have much more job security as a rule, and also have a richer life because college has exposed them to many areas of life that are truly interesting and engaging for intelligent people. In theory you could learn about art, music, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, biology, etc on your own. But it wouldnt be easy!

Having a comfortable life is a lot easier if you are an educated person. Don't give up on college so easily.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Honestly college is not for everyone. Bill Gates didn't finish college and he's the richest man in the world!! My brother in law didn't go to college and he's making $300K a year and growing. I graduated from college and the job I have now, I don't even need a college degree and I'm making 80K a year. Point being is college is not for everyone. To me it helps finding certain jobs, but its not neccesary. If you have a plan to start your own business, want to work in a trade, or have good social skills already, you may not need to go to college.

Point being is find something you are interesting in being. Find out if you need a college education to be it. You want to make sure you are happy with your job. Sounds like you don't care too much about money, so I think you'll be fine. Just be happy at whatever you want to do. Ever thinka bout being a wildlife firefighter, park ranger, or anything like that? Being that I also just got offered a job in the boy scouts, you may even want to look at that?. They do lots of things in the environment and pay pretty good. Just some suggestions, its all up to you.

Answer 4

Absolutely, but not going to college makes it harder, especially if you plan to work for an existing company. The best way to be totally successful without getting a degree would be to be an entrepreneur. Most companies recognize degrees as important and will tend to promote those with degrees over those who don't.

Answer 5

if you want to live comfortably, you will need a college degree. Very few people without colleges degrees have a sustainable income. Reckon you are still in high school, you will realize that most college classes are pretty boring, even if you have an interest in the material. As for money woes, i would probably recommend a state university.

Answer 6

Community college classes are not the same as university/traditional college classes. I took two classes one summer at a community college in between my freshman and sophomore year of college and they completely bored me to death. Of course, you'll always have those boring classes, but college overall is an experience in itself. You should try it out, and if it doesn't work for you, try something else.

Anyway, good luck!

Answer 7

College may not be for everyone. Have you checked into VO-Tech schools in your area? Many vo-tech schools are "hands on" learning. You can take courses ranging from Automotive Diagnosis to Interior Design courses.
Check into it, call them for a handbook and then decide what will be right for you.
Best of luck in whatever you choose to do. Perseverance pays.

Answer 8

It is tough to even think of that a book can assist individuals to alter their fates however } countless males and ladies, individuals that they have benefitted in a huge

Answer 9

Yes. That persons name is Bill Gates. As in microsoft,as in one of the richest men on the planet. He didn't even graduate high school.
But it is better on the resume if you have a college education.

Answer 10

to be honest ur qeastion is way to long so i dindt even read it but i also dont wanna go to colege tomuch money to much effort i wish i would jsut win the lottery or inherit some cash mayb even become a succssesful drug lord that would be cool well for the good lif w/o college i would say if u dont wanna be a janitor or trashman mise well take 4 more expensive *** years of buttsex eduvcation