I'm thinking of taking some time off of uni

[insertnamehere]

Work a shit ton to support myself at crappy low pay jobs, maybe take some classes at a community college that actually teach marketable skills (like how to work a computer)... then maybe once i get my shit together and know what i want to do, go back.

Thoughts?

[-T-]

I don't know.....

[Auton]

most people i've known who have done that never ended up going back, stuck to their minimum wage job, and ended up being losers and alcoholics. if you leave school, you really better have a good idea of exactly what you want to do with yourself.

[insertnamehere]

see, my problem is i dont know what to do and i just keep taking random classes and taking out loans to pay for them. ive wanted to change my major (not 100% sure to what) but my school wont let me change majors unless i get my gpa up to a 2.5. i did the math and it would take at least this fall and spring semesters to do that, so that means another year of bullshit classes that i'll have to pay for later (i guess another semester, since ive already started the fall). since ive planned on changing my major, i havnt actually taken anything that really counts towards my major

people have told me before now that i should take some time off to get my shit together and i woudlnt do it for fear that i woudlnt come back, but right now im wasting time and money and have no direction and no idea what to do.

had i not totally fucked up everything, id be graduating this spring. as things stand, it will take me at least 2 more years (probably more) to get any kind of degree.

i fail at life :(

[Auton]

what do you like to do? what are your skills?

[insertnamehere]

i dont really have any skills...

i cant think of anything that i like to do that translates into any kind of realistic job either

[Bob]

major in poli sci

very few poli sci majors have any real skills or hobbies and most of them make it i think

[insertnamehere]

i hate politics. to be honest, i really dont know anything about it, except that i hate it. and economics.

[DIGI]

computers. do computers. anything with computers.

[TurdBerglar]

computers. do computers. anything with computers.

yes

[Mr Films]

I did that a few years back just to get my fucking head on straight.

It is my opinion that it's a bad idea to go straight from high school to college unless you're absolutely certain what you want to do/be. I was like a deer in headlights my freshman year getting pressure from all sides about wasting money at school with no direction.

so I quit in the fall of 2003 and started working in the film industry here and there. getting a feel for what I wanted to do specifically.

then, just this sememster I went back to get into graphic design/advertising and such and I fucking love it. I've been going for 3 weeks and I fucking love it. Whereas the first time around I was super depressed all the time from feeling like I was under the gun.

that's my story. dunno if it applies here at all.

[insertnamehere]

computers. do computers. anything with computers.

this is what i was thinking. right now my mastery of computers lies basically in being able to use word and excel, and most of all, interwebz. not actually being able to do anything with interwebz, just, you know, being familiar with all the memes and such. which unfortunately i dont think i can get anyone to pay me for

[The Notorious LOL]

reality check:


A four year college degree 9 times out of 10 amounts to little, regardless of what your guidance counselor or college recruiter tells you.


Also, IT isnt the crazy hot field it was say...10 years ago. If you get an in, its not hard to work your way up. The problem lies in finding the "in".

A start in that regard would be certifications whether vendor specific (CCNA, Dell, etc) or more generalized (CompTIA)

[insertnamehere]

i didnt understand half of what you said. i think it was something to the effect of that doing computer stuff doest promise good job. and really, nothing can do that. but i fell that my complete computer retardation could get in the way of me getting jobs.

what is the hot new profession these days?

[insertnamehere]

oh yeah and ive realized that a 4 year degree isnt the cats pajamas and thats why id be ok with leaving school and getting some technical training. i feel like it would be good to have a B.S. of some sort for future application purposes but i know now that what your major is and what your job is are rarely the same. basically you just need a piece of paper to prove that you're at least capeable enough to get through college. or at least thats my impression of it.

[Bob]

reality check:


A four year college degree 9 times out of 10 amounts to little, regardless of what your guidance counselor or college recruiter tells you.


Also, IT isnt the crazy hot field it was say...10 years ago. If you get an in, its not hard to work your way up. The problem lies in finding the "in".

A start in that regard would be certifications whether vendor specific (CCNA, Dell, etc) or more generalized (CompTIA)

yeah, computer science is the new philosophy. thanks a lot, india

plus, if you just generally aren't good at computer things, don't expect to suddenly become a genius at it by taking basic courses. in high school, i taught myself to make games on my TI-83, so i assumed that i'd do ok in a basic C++ programming course to fulfill my computer credit requirement. that shit was hard, i couldn't even make a program to do long division. i studied my ass off for the first exam, got a C and said "fuck this i'm quitting" and dropped out of it

seriously, poli sci is easy as hell. you don't even have to care about politics. i sure don't (well, not since getting my degree, anyway)

[The Notorious LOL]

Well, anything healthcare related tends to be the type of position thats not going anywhere and will surely grow significantly as the baby boom generation has a life expectancy of 86+ years. Anyone who goes into nursing, or better yet, nurse practitioner, will pretty much have people beating down their doors.


IT = information technology...computer shit

There tends to be somewhat of a misconception (on the part of colleges) that anything computer related is an open playing field and people are just begging to hire you as soon as you set foot out the door from a college. That was true ten years ago but now a large portion of the IT workforce is being outsourced to India.

I dont know. I never went to a four year university proper. I worked after high school for a few years and got a feel for what I enjoyed and did a year long training course. That earned me a nice paying job at a lawfirm doing computer shit. I think its better to just work after high school and figure things out, then do the training. That way you have experience to back up your field of study.


I know a lot of people who have too much training, too. Kids who got masters degrees that cant find entry level positions because they're overqualified, and they cant find middle of the road positions because they dont have experience.

[insertnamehere]

why would someone not hire someone for being OVERqualified?

i really like medical type shit, but like, well, i dont like people. i coudlnt be a nurse i dont think, cause i coudlnt deal with all the dumbfucks id have to nurse all the time. i especially get weirded out by old people. that sounds bad, but its true.

thats why i was considering vet school. i <3 animals. but i fucked up too bad to ever have any hopes of doing that.

so then i thought about being a vet tech... like an animal nurse, but i looked into it and it typically pays in the $20,000/yr range. Now before you give the the "what really matters is that you like your job" speech, no, money is not my primary concern, but when it was just me and my dad and he was making $22,000/yr.... fuck. I've been poor my whole life. I'm kinda tired of it. I don't even want to be rich, I just want to not live entirely paycheck to paycheck and to be able to get things that i need... like not have to drive around on a spare tire for months cause i dont have money for a new tire, to be able to provide my future doggies with healthcare, etc.

im not trying to be pessimistic. just realistic. im not looking for some super awesome dream job and be rich. im looking for mediocre, average, and getting by, like most of the rest of the western world.

[jabumbo]

nursing and engineering are the only two undergraduate degrees that are truly worth their own weight

[Bob]

why would someone not hire someone for being OVERqualified?


the concern is that you're too qualified for the job, and that you'd eventually leave to work somewhere better. from the employer's point of view, why hire someone and spend the resources to get them up to speed, only to have them leave in a year and have to train somewhere new?

but then logically, there'd have to be somewhere that you'd be perfectly qualified for, so why wouldn't they hire you? now that you mention it, yeah, that doesn't make much sense

[insertnamehere]

nursing and engineering are the only two undergraduate degrees that are truly worth their own weight

engineering is out of the question. seriously considered it. tried it even. calc kicked my ass, then held me down while physics raped me. it was not a good semester.

[The Notorious LOL]

thats why i was considering vet school. i <3 animals. but i fucked up too bad to ever have any hopes of doing that.


elaborate on that. I assume you're still buying into this whole mentality drilled in during high school that GPA means anything?

[insertnamehere]

vet school is harder to get into than med school. its very competative. there are only 28 of them in the country. in all the ones ive seen, you have to have certain classes in undergrad to apply (certain chemistries and whatnot) and you have to have a C in those classes or higher. if you retake the classes, they have to average to a C. a few of those classes ive already failed. three times. that's just for starters. i could go further in depth to the college admissions requirements for vet schools but i think i made my point.

i know GPA in itself is not the ultimate determining factor of success in life, but when there are thousands of applicants trying to snag 90 spots, i dont think my 2.08 and 3 times failing chem 101 would give me favorable consideration...

an admissions person at the vet school here came to a meeting i went to for kids interested in vet school and pretty much said dont bother if you dont have above a 3.4 and are amazing in numerous other ways cause you'll be wasting your application fee.

also, in order to apply, you have to have minimum 400hours of experience under the direct supervision of a vet and minimum 100 hours of experience in an animal related field. ok, so i went into more detail after all.

[The Notorious LOL]

all that to make $20k a year and deal with cats puking and shitting on you? Fuck that. Id rather join a plumbers union and make $50 an hour and deal with shit in pipes.

[insertnamehere]

no no you're confused. i wanted to be a veterenarian. animal doctor. but i cant get in. the job that makes $20k is animal nurse. i was gonna settle for animal nurse, but you know, it pays $20k and you clean up shit for the vet. vets make like 70-80k or something like that

[Kid Presentable]

Take the time off.

[-T-]

Well It does not sound like you are accomplishing anything going to school right now. The biggest concern about leaving as already mentioned is not going back. If you want leave for the reasons you said and want to go back to school when you have a better plan I would say leave. Work make money an dreally think of what you could enjoy to do and observe what some other people do that looks interesting.

When I graduated high school I took a year off. SO many people told me if you don't go now you will never go. Bullshit. I had no clue what so ever what i wanted to do. I could have taken gen eds but I wanted some time to think and enjoy myself. Especially since a lot of money comes out of my own pocket for school. Lat year I went part time and found something I enjoy doing and learning about. I also go part time this year and work. A friend and I are starting a business now to try to live our dream but if that does not work I will have something else I can do.

[insertnamehere]

^ exactly

This is something I will need to give a lot more thought to, but it seems like it might be the way to go. There's a lot of stuff I need to look into. Like I know if I drop below full time, I have to start paying back my loans, and I lose my current health insurance. It would entail taking on a lot more responsibility. Right now I'm living in the dorms and a good deal of that is paid for with financial aid/loans, so having a place of my own would be a new expense. Then there's things like, well, that I get to still be on my mom's health insurance, and that she pays my phone bill, that I will lose. And I think I need to talk with a counselor here just about what "going back to school" entails, like, what steps I will have to take when I DO want to start back, so that I know what I'm getting myself into. I think I might even need to consider a different school.

I'm just kind of in my beginning stages of considering this and wanted some input. Right now primary main object is to make good grades this semester so that I can get my GPA up. Regardless of what I decide to do in the future, if it involves any college, I gotta get that shit up. Right now it's too low for me to be allowed to change my major or to transfer schools, so yeah.

Thanks everybody.

[mikizee]

Is it true that workers in the US only get 2 weeks paid vacation a year?

In australia we get 4. And because I'm so awesome, I get 5.

Just sayin.

Oh yeah, and mr t (http://a0.vox.com/6a00bf76d0a9b7438300c2252095a08e1d-500pi) says stay in school.

[TurdBerglar]

we get no vacations and work 70 hours a week


AND NO OVERTIME

[Bob]

we get no vacations and work 70 hours a week


AND NO OVERTIME

yeah it's pretty rough

i hear that in australia you only have to work 20 hours a week and you spend the rest of the time hanging out naked on the beach eating lobsters as big as canoes