college and experience
Originally Posted by TW00Si,Jun 14 2007, 02:13 PM
I think you need to go experience the college life then.
i still cant decide if i should stay fulltime working and be a part time student or be a full time student and have a part time job.
and what makes this worst is that i have to figure out what i want in a couple of months.
When I graduated high school, there were a few people who thought they were taking the smart route, and going to get a decent-paying job while the rest of us schmucks go off to college. They were living at home, throwing around their $30-35k salaries, which seemed like a lot to us broke college students. That was when we were 18.
Guess what? Fast forward 7 years, and we've all graduated. I'm making $15-20k more than they started at, and more than they are STILL making. They're also still living at home, and trying to go to night school while working full time. Meanwhile, I've got my BS, am looking at MBA programs, and am entry-level in a Fortune 500 company where the sky is the limit. They have barely budged from their right-out-of-HS job. Honestly, a BA/S is the new high school diploma. Everyone's got one. If you don't, you aren't going very far unless you do it on your own (Bill Gates-style). $32k seems like a lot now, but trust me, it's NOTHING when you want to have a wife, a kid, a house, etc. Start subtracting things like healthcare and 401(k) (if it's even offerred), and your bi-weekly paycheck will dip well under $1k, which is around what a decent apartment costs to rent around here for a month.
I'd say the odds of you moving up significantly from where you are now without a degree are very very slim. Get your degree so you don't have to make $30k for the rest of your life.
Guess what? Fast forward 7 years, and we've all graduated. I'm making $15-20k more than they started at, and more than they are STILL making. They're also still living at home, and trying to go to night school while working full time. Meanwhile, I've got my BS, am looking at MBA programs, and am entry-level in a Fortune 500 company where the sky is the limit. They have barely budged from their right-out-of-HS job. Honestly, a BA/S is the new high school diploma. Everyone's got one. If you don't, you aren't going very far unless you do it on your own (Bill Gates-style). $32k seems like a lot now, but trust me, it's NOTHING when you want to have a wife, a kid, a house, etc. Start subtracting things like healthcare and 401(k) (if it's even offerred), and your bi-weekly paycheck will dip well under $1k, which is around what a decent apartment costs to rent around here for a month.
I'd say the odds of you moving up significantly from where you are now without a degree are very very slim. Get your degree so you don't have to make $30k for the rest of your life.
Your priorities in life will change as you age. Don't sweat missing binge drinking or whatever you're thinking of. You'll still have some time in college to party (weekends and some nights). If your friends are good they'll buy you a few drinks 'cause you're poor and you'll make up for it after you land that big job.
Originally Posted by Chris Stack,Jun 15 2007, 06:13 AM
When I graduated high school, there were a few people who thought they were taking the smart route, and going to get a decent-paying job while the rest of us schmucks go off to college. They were living at home, throwing around their $30-35k salaries, which seemed like a lot to us broke college students. That was when we were 18.
Guess what? Fast forward 7 years, and we've all graduated. I'm making $15-20k more than they started at, and more than they are STILL making. They're also still living at home, and trying to go to night school while working full time. Meanwhile, I've got my BS, am looking at MBA programs, and am entry-level in a Fortune 500 company where the sky is the limit. They have barely budged from their right-out-of-HS job. Honestly, a BA/S is the new high school diploma. Everyone's got one. If you don't, you aren't going very far unless you do it on your own (Bill Gates-style). $32k seems like a lot now, but trust me, it's NOTHING when you want to have a wife, a kid, a house, etc. Start subtracting things like healthcare and 401(k) (if it's even offerred), and your bi-weekly paycheck will dip well under $1k, which is around what a decent apartment costs to rent around here for a month.
I'd say the odds of you moving up significantly from where you are now without a degree are very very slim. Get your degree so you don't have to make $30k for the rest of your life.
Guess what? Fast forward 7 years, and we've all graduated. I'm making $15-20k more than they started at, and more than they are STILL making. They're also still living at home, and trying to go to night school while working full time. Meanwhile, I've got my BS, am looking at MBA programs, and am entry-level in a Fortune 500 company where the sky is the limit. They have barely budged from their right-out-of-HS job. Honestly, a BA/S is the new high school diploma. Everyone's got one. If you don't, you aren't going very far unless you do it on your own (Bill Gates-style). $32k seems like a lot now, but trust me, it's NOTHING when you want to have a wife, a kid, a house, etc. Start subtracting things like healthcare and 401(k) (if it's even offerred), and your bi-weekly paycheck will dip well under $1k, which is around what a decent apartment costs to rent around here for a month.
I'd say the odds of you moving up significantly from where you are now without a degree are very very slim. Get your degree so you don't have to make $30k for the rest of your life.
as i stated before i will graduate college regarldless of what i choose one might take a little longer but it bothers me that im missing out in some stuff that people in college normally goes thru.
i work for a mulit billion $ company (real estate mortgage lenders) and from my position its only a matter of time before i start making some real money(2 years to say the least)
so i guess my real question is should i go back to college full time to have that experience in my life or i could go the route im going now which i will finish college but more or less ill be succesfull financially and miss out.
by the way thanks for all the input that people put into this thread.
Originally Posted by jclamor87,Jun 15 2007, 11:27 AM
im still part time in college(UMBC), my struggle is between going to college full time and have a part time job or work full time and be a part time student.
as i stated before i will graduate college regarldless of what i choose one might take a little longer but it bothers me that im missing out in some stuff that people in college normally goes thru.
i work for a mulit billion $ company (real estate mortgage lenders) and from my position its only a matter of time before i start making some real money(2 years to say the least)
so i guess my real question is should i go back to college full time to have that experience in my life or i could go the route im going now which i will finish college but more or less ill be succesfull financially and miss out.
by the way thanks for all the input that people put into this thread.
as i stated before i will graduate college regarldless of what i choose one might take a little longer but it bothers me that im missing out in some stuff that people in college normally goes thru.
i work for a mulit billion $ company (real estate mortgage lenders) and from my position its only a matter of time before i start making some real money(2 years to say the least)
so i guess my real question is should i go back to college full time to have that experience in my life or i could go the route im going now which i will finish college but more or less ill be succesfull financially and miss out.
by the way thanks for all the input that people put into this thread.
it depends on what turns your crank. do you want the starving student version of "fun"? or the non-starving adult version of "fun"?
you want steak, or a burger?
Originally Posted by jclamor87,Jun 14 2007, 06:08 PM
Im the IT director of maryland office.
my dilemma is not about financial since i know both ways i will earn money and still graduate.
its just that i feel like im missing out on what you experience in college, and the lessons learned outside of a class room.
my dilemma is not about financial since i know both ways i will earn money and still graduate.
its just that i feel like im missing out on what you experience in college, and the lessons learned outside of a class room.
) and some good things happened...and it helped me decide to go back to school.This may not be what you're looking for right now, since it sounds like you want to keep working, but for me it was a very important experience.











