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Too late for school? Hopeless?

W

WokenDeer

Sep 24, 2011
259
3
37
southeast louisiana
#1
I've been thinking lately. I'm 23, I didn't make the best of grades in high school (which I regret, take heed younger ones. Schools not the worst thing in your life). I graduated, barely. I never went to college though.
My mind has been set on my future though. I don't want to work a meaningless job for the rest of my life. I'd like to have my own home some day. It's already hard to save money. My credit is actually good, so as long as I hold my meaningless job I can make it, but what happens if/when I lose or leave this job. Or at the very least I get too old one day and have no retirement or fallback.
I want to go back to school but I have absolutely no idea what I want to do, what courses I should take. I don't want to waste time with a general studies degree. And also can I even get in to a local college if my gpa from high school was low? And money for college is an issue also.
I almost feel like its impossible or just not worth the trouble. And as small as it is I would hate to spend less time with music. That's what keeps me going. I'd have to quit my band to go to school and carry a job. I know it'd be for the best and its what I should do its just hard
Sorry for contributing to all the depressing threads I've seen lately. Just had to dump this somewhere.

As far as too long didn't read, don't worry about it.
 
#2
It depends what you want to do, you're not too old for anything at 23 imo. Do you enjoy working with your hands? I'm asking because of you do, there's plenty of jobs that are only 1-2 years program that could be great. Ex: plumbers over here are in high demand, they do about what an engineer does because there's only three in the city. I'm just thinking out loud, it may not be worth much.
 
#3
Do not despair! My best advice: don't go to college. For many (if not most) people, it's a waste of time and money. Check out this post: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] This blogger has many posts about why it is a good idea NOT to go to college.
 
#5
At 23, you have your whole life ahead of you! Personally, and this is coming from someone who will be graduating college within a year, don't go to college unless you know what you want to get out of it. I didn't know what I wanted to do going into it, and I wasted the first 2-3 years of my college career just going through the motions without having any real direction or drive. It made it unbearable at times, and I definitely haven't done as well as I could have had I gone into it knowing what I wanted.
 
#6
I was in a very similar spot at your age. I did not try hard enough in HS..
I went to a technical college right after high school and got a certificate to be a diesel tech. I was hired by a local Caterpillar dealership and worked there for about 2 years. Then the economy got bad and I was laid off, since I was the new guy...

Anyway, I'm 26 now and I am a sophomore in college. I plan to graduate with a bachelors in history education. I'll be looking for a job as a high school/middle school teacher. Just make sure you try your best if you do decide to go to college. It sure isn't for everyone. I have to make a big effort to get through my semesters but its not impossible.
 
#7
I agree with wanting to know what I want if I made the effort to go to school. I have a few friends who are just floating through on a general studies degree, wasting money on books and tuition. That's part of my problem, not really having a direction. I also need to be interested to really apply myself, or il just lose momentum.
 
#9
Lacuga said:
Do not despair! My best advice: don't go to college. For many (if not most) people, it's a waste of time and money. Check out this post: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] This blogger has many posts about why it is a good idea NOT to go to college.
Click to expand...

I don't think I can buy what that particular link is selling. I'm no college graduate, but I would consider Alternatives to College to list things like valued trades that pay well (someone mentioned plumbing: the world will always need plumbers).

I'm a 27 year old soon to be Veteran. I'm my time I've boinked a few college girls. But I've also had opportunities to meet people from all walks of life, doing all kinds of things, and making all kinds of money. I would say that skilled trades pay very good: Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC, etc. There is still schooling involved, and you will have to put a few years in at the lowest rung, but I re-iterate: There will always be a need for plumbers.

My uncle is a corporate headhunter, and one of his biggest projects is finding engineers for a big oil corporation. They want kids fresh from school who don't mind getting dirty to go be field engineers. They are looking on average for about 300/yr. The energy sector is booming, and they need more than just roughnecks.

My specialty is in the Telecom field, and that's not going away anytime soon. There's always fiber to run or fix, hardware that needs upgrades, or buildings that need their LAN hard-wired in. And don't forget about all those customers that have problems every day.

But back to the OP: whatever you do, do something. I'm going to tell you right now: after 8 years of active service I'm really looking forward to going home, working a dead-end job while helping my folks out, and then going back to school. Honestly, I'm glad I had the time away from school to get my head right and figure out where I wanted to go in life, and also Live my life for a while before returning to academia - I think it's made me a better person overall. But when I look at one of my girlfriends from High School who went straight to college, graduated with a degree in Pharmacy, and is now pulling $70k/year...I do wanna hang my head a bit :).

But just think about what you want to do, what interests you or is a passion?? I love working in the telecom field, and will inevitably return to it because I like it. But I want to be able to get paid more when I do return, so thus I go to college :)

Peace,
Greg
 
#12
kanonfodr said:
I don't think I can buy what that particular link is selling. I'm no college graduate, but I would consider Alternatives to College to list things like valued trades that pay well (someone mentioned plumbing: the world will always need plumbers).

I'm a 27 year old soon to be Veteran. I'm my time I've boinked a few college girls. But I've also had opportunities to meet people from all walks of life, doing all kinds of things, and making all kinds of money. I would say that skilled trades pay very good: Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC, etc. There is still schooling involved, and you will have to put a few years in at the lowest rung, but I re-iterate: There will always be a need for plumbers.

My uncle is a corporate headhunter, and one of his biggest projects is finding engineers for a big oil corporation. They want kids fresh from school who don't mind getting dirty to go be field engineers. They are looking on average for about 300/yr. The energy sector is booming, and they need more than just roughnecks.

My specialty is in the Telecom field, and that's not going away anytime soon. There's always fiber to run or fix, hardware that needs upgrades, or buildings that need their LAN hard-wired in. And don't forget about all those customers that have problems every day.

But back to the OP: whatever you do, do something. I'm going to tell you right now: after 8 years of active service I'm really looking forward to going home, working a dead-end job while helping my folks out, and then going back to school. Honestly, I'm glad I had the time away from school to get my head right and figure out where I wanted to go in life, and also Live my life for a while before returning to academia - I think it's made me a better person overall. But when I look at one of my girlfriends from High School who went straight to college, graduated with a degree in Pharmacy, and is now pulling $70k/year...I do wanna hang my head a bit :).

But just think about what you want to do, what interests you or is a passion?? I love working in the telecom field, and will inevitably return to it because I like it. But I want to be able to get paid more when I do return, so thus I go to college :)

Peace,
Greg
Click to expand...

As lame as it sounds, I'm not too sure what interests me outside of music. Maybe something sound related in general. Working with waves or frequencies. But that's just brain storming. No real concrete ideas there. May not even be practical thinking. I'm leaning more towards the trade ideas. I honestly don't think I'm cut out to save money and stick it out for 4 or more years. I mean maybe, but it would definitely take some life changing.
 
#13
WokenDeer said:
Hey jmatt. Does school interfere with your music endeavors much? Judging from your posts it seems you guys are making some progress and enjoying yourselves. While keeping up with real life.
Click to expand...

It really doesn't, but I also keep myself honest when it comes to taking on projects. Just this past month I had to decline an offer to join a really killer group because I just couldn't balance the additional rehearsals and gigs with my workload from school. I currently rehearse with my main group around 2-3 times a week, and we tend to gig about 1-2 times a week. I definitely am able scratch my 'music itch', but I do have to be pretty organized so that I'm able to get all my school work done on time as well.

Please don't hesitate to ask me anymore questions you might have. I've known a lot of guys who have tried to do music and school at the same time who've had to quit one or the other entirely because they couldn't handle the balancing act. I'd rather that not happen to you if we can help it :)
 
#15
If I had it to do over, I would have gone to VoTech and studied electronics. I would love to be able to fix & hot rod amps.

Everybody has gear that needs repaired at some point - and that way you would stay connected with all kinds of musicians in the process.
 
#16
I did college on the "one class at a time" plan while I was working a couple of "pay the rent" jobs and raising kids. I don't think I really made up my mind about what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was in my 30's, and then one of the firm decisions was that I might have to get old, but I don't have to grow up. The part-time approach did give me time to try a lot of things though, so I don't regret it.

The advice I give my kids (all in their 20's) is to find something you really enjoy first. Then you can figure out what kind of jobs will keep you involved with that. Loving what you do makes it not feel like work, and when you enjoy it, it shows.
 
#18
You want to do a job you love, but at the same time you don't want to struggle the rest of your life. You have to find a compromise. I am 36 and am in my second year of college working towards my BSN. I wish I would have done it when I was your age. I have nothing to show financially for the first half of my working career- no retirement, no investments, nothing, all things I could have had if I had gotten my BSN 10 years ago.

Don't put it off. Pick a career wisely, something that's in demand now and will continue to be in demand in the years to come. Pick a job that can't be outsourced. The last thing you want to do is graduate and not be able to get a job.
 
#20
A couple of thoughts:

Community College - the courses are ridiculously cheap, and most universities accept a majority of the transfer credits. This gives you the opportunity to do well & rebuild your academic reputation, and build your studying skills to an acceptable level.

Your course options will be limited in a community college (e.g., most of them do not have engineering programs), but you can get all of the general ed courses out of the way. If you decide to transfer to a bachelor's program, you will have already established decent habits necessary to succeed.

Before selecting a program of study - analyze the various options available & job availability after graduation. Some programs enable more fun, others are exceptionally hard. Some areas of study are much better than others, especially with respect to ability to get a job & make decent income afterwards.
 

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