Four Myths About College
What Every Teenager Should Know Before Going to College
Myth 1: You must go to college to get a good job.
This may have been true decades ago, but it holds little muster these days. There are plenty of high-paying jobs that can be attained without a degree. All it takes is a little legwork to get yourself in the door at a reputable company, and you can work your way up the chain from there. In as little as seven years, you could be holding a senior position. Imagine if you hit the workforce at age 18. You could hang your nameplate outside that corner office before you turn 30. Meanwhile, all your peers are floundering about at ground level, wondering if they'll ever pay off their student loans. The truth is: everyone is on equal flooring when entering the workforce.
In case you are still not convinced, here are some alternatives to college that require minimal commitment and less money. There are trade schools such as dentistry, chiropractics, airplane mechanics, culinary arts and truck driving. You can get your Realtor's license, become a financial planner, software developer, database administrator, or get certified in other programs such as web design, C++, Java or Perl. You can also take short courses in management. You can take a week-long course for just about any software program and become a specialist. You can apprentice small business owners to see if you want to open your own business. You can own a chain restaurant like any of the fast food joints or get onto the management track at one of them. Or you can get an entry-level job at a large company and browse their job postings until you find something that sounds more interesting to you and work towards that. The possibilities are endless.
Myth 2: College is a place to explore different career opportunities and discover the career for you.
Take a survey of those you know. Ask them what they majored in college, and then ask them what they do now for a living. Nine times out of ten, people end up working in far different fields than what they studied in college. There are various reasons for this, but the top reasons are: a) they couldn't find a job in their field that paid well enough to scrape out a living, and b) they tried their field of work and found they actually hated it. The college environment is hugely different than the workplace environment. They cannot be compared.
Myth 3: College prepares you for the real world.
If drunken spring breaks, keg parties, panty raids and "study groups" are the stuff the real world is made of, then I missed that memo. College is more like a very expensive, four-year long party with all your closest friends and neighbors. No where in the real world do you get to live with your friends while someone else foots the bill, go to classes at odd hours and still have plenty of free time left over, or just not show up without suffering dire consequences. The majority of college grads come out still not knowing the basics, such as balancing the checkbook, preparing for retirement, dealing with a demented boss, maintaining a household, and selecting a suitable life partner - all things one should know to live out a happy, low-stress life. The college environment is vastly different from the real world, which is why there are so many depressed college grads out there trying to find jobs.
Myth 4: You will regret not going to college.
This one is right up there with, "you'll regret not having kids." How does one who went to college know that life would not be worth living if they hadn't gone to college? How can anyone predict what somebody else will regret doing or not doing? Only you can predict your own future and how you feel about your choices. Life is an endless conveyor belt of choices. You pick the things that look the best to you and you work to make the right choices, or to make the choices right. The only thing you will ever regret is if you go through life following the path others have laid out before you when your heart is not in it. Follow your heart.
College will have more meaning if you go because you truly have a desire to learn more about a certain field of interest that has no basis in your earning potential. After several years in the workforce, your interests will naturally float to the surface and you can decide then if you wish to deepen your knowledge in those interests.
Published by Susan J.
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10 Comments
Post a CommentI totally agree that college is not for every recent high school grad. However I do think that most people should eventually go for career training, when they are ready. A four year liberal arts school will help you find your self, but not a career.
Nice to see a good article. Having my family shove college down my throat has forever left a bad taste in my mouth. Wonderful to know I have other options. It's just too bad my family will forever view me as 'inferior' because of this. Oh well.
This article is garbage. The "nine out of ten" people that did not end up working in what they majored in was not the college's fault. Instead of "drunken spring breaks,keg parties, panty raids and 'study groups'", They can use what the college has to offer. You get out of college depending how much you put into it. Through college you can apply for internships that involve your field of study. As an intern you have your foot in the door. Once an intern graduates they will take him over an employee at the bottom any day. Also.. college is not that expensive.. a State university will probably run at $4,000 a year. If you are smart about it, you will get money in return from scholarships... I get $6,500 over my expenses per year. You will regret not going to college, most of my friends do. If you do end up being in the "nine out of ten" then you can just regret not making the most out of your time in college.
I have read your short article on the myths about college. But what I do not see is how this outrightly affects you when you already have a job when you do not have a college degree. It is only pertaining to before you acquire a job, not when you do not have one. And I for one do not have a job nor am I no longer in college. I had to stop when my mind nor soul was in it.
So, I would like to read an article that could help other about getting the ball rolling if they don't have a college degree.
Thank you.
This might be true for a little bit longer... But soon enough, no college diploma= no high paying job. I'd love to know how much you can make without vs. with the degree. College degrees also promise career GROWTH. NO big deal, though, if you don't want to get pay raises.
First off who can afford College? I'm 52 years, when I started working IT tech field was the way to go, no days They just pass you by if you don't at lease have a basic degree even if it's not nessary for your work
This is bullshit...anyone who thinks that they can get ahead without going to college is sadly mistaken because no matter what, at some point you are going to hit a road block. There are opportunities that a college degree can open up that are not even conceivable when you only have a high school degree.
Go to college. You actually will regret it if you don't go. Not only is it incredibly fun, but it's also an amazing learning experience that you can only really have once in your life.
This is an interesting perspective. I have to agree that university does not completely prepare you for the real world. It prepares you to meet deadlines. However, it does discipline you to work hard under pressure, and to think analytically. But you can still learn all that even if you did not go to university.
Sophie
I don't entirely agree with your comment that college is useless unless you know exactly what job you're going for.
Business is one of those areas that covers an umbrella, and really applies to all levels of any organization.
Interesting article. There are definitely many myths about going to college.