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Successful life without college???

well, not in my opinion. That is why I am quitting my job and going back to school full time. I am sick of only making 30k a year. I know I am at a dead end job without one.
 
Well its kinda sketchy. I mean it could happen, and i wish it happend more than it does cause school is not for eveyrone. I am going to college cause i dont want to take my chances, i have some time now to screwup cause im young, once im an old fart, no more playing time. but yeah it is possible to be successful.. i fyou ahve the passion for something youll be successful no matter what
 
MooseKnuckle said:
if you arent willing to put in the time and effort of going to college than you dont deserve success.


That would be one of the most ignorant statements that I have ever heard.
 
Yes its possible. I have no intentions of going to college anymore, but am going to go into trade school after the military. I know people who are going to college, or have graduated and have no job that any person who didn't go to college could get.

All college gaurentees are expensive pieces of paper once completed. I looked around my class when the teacher asked who is going to go to college, I see hands going up that shouldn't be. The kids that do are frigging idiots who have no place in high school. They have no grasp on reality, don't do their work, and can barely pass highschool courses. Once they go to college noone will make sure they're homework is complete or try to help them. They'll just mark them absent, forget about it, and the school keeps collecting the nice size checks. A lot of people are going to college b/c its the cool thing to do.
 
I am not saying that there is really anything wrong with going to college. Hell I have been going for two years now and will probably just go ahead and finish although I own my own business.

But to say that going to college will make you successful or is the only way to become successful is ludicrous.
 
Bill Gates = dropout
Paul Allen = dropout
Larry Ellison = dropout
Michael Dell = dropout

These are 4 of the world's 20 wealthiest men. Food for thought.

Statistics say that those who have degrees earn more.

Skywalker says that most colleges teach you to aspire to mediocrity, and leave you less prepared for the working world than you were when you started. And - oh yeah...that little list above.

If you have a vision, drop out. If you want to pay $20K a year for a professor who has been holed up in a classroom, ducking life, to teach you his (or her) way of thinking, and then grade you on how close you come to it, then go to college.
 
Academia brings a studied perspective one cannot get in the real world. For instance, will you ever study Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" unless you do it in school? Likely you won't. Will you ever study Descartes in the real world? Likely you won't. Academia will bring you the unexposed......
 
Don't listen to Matt_the_Windbag,

He's a blow hard and doesn't know jack shit about the real world.

It's very competitive out in the real world. If you want to have an edge, you must have at least a bachelor's degree. If you're in a trade, then go to trade school and become certified.

In addition, college gives you an experience that will forever change you as a person. You'll most likely be much better rounded and can answer most questions on "Weakest Link."

Matt - As usual, I think your advice sucks donkey dick. For every Bill Gates you cite, I can give you 10 million drop outs that aren't do shit with their lives.
 
If your need is money, then of course you can avoid school........But if you want to get "smarter" then try school.....
 
Will you ever need "War and Peace" in the real world? Nah. If I want to get smarter I'll pick up a book and read.

To each his own.
 
Of course you won't read "War and Peace" in the real world----that's precisely the problem. There's alot of good ideas and observations existing in academia that you do not find in the real world.

Its all about what you want, of course....
 
May1010 said:
Don't listen to Matt_the_Windbag,

He's a blow hard and doesn't know jack shit about the real world.

Matt - As usual, I think your advice sucks donkey dick. For every Bill Gates you cite, I can give you 10 million drop outs that aren't do shit with their lives.


L-

I fucked off for four years in college and stole my degree when no one was looking. The only reason I passed some of my classes was because I played basketball. I didn't even attend 50% of class. It was boring and useless.

Yet I earn almost twice as much as you did when you were a highly educated CPA. I own a small consulting company, a web based placement company, a few pieces of real estate, and oh yeah my other job. Money isn't the only defintion of success, but I have had success finding it without using my degree.

I'm working on something that could generate millions a year - oddly I was considering asking for your advice (in return for a fair payment of course) but I'll look elsewhere.

I could have gone farther sooner, but college blinded my vision and it didn't come back until three years afterward.

Why are you such a hater?
 
The question should be whether or not an individual will be successful without college. If someone is successful with college, they most likely would be if they didnt go and vice versa. Its more subjective to the individual than a blanket question.
 
MattTheSkywalker said:
Why are you such a hater?


Honestly, I'm very happy that you've multiple successful business enterprises. You're achieved much. I wonder how much of it you would have achieved had you not gone to college. Therefore, you of all people, should not be telling our friend MaGilicuti that college teaches you to aspire to mediocrity. Did you become mediocre? I doubt it.

Is Ryan mediocre? No. Am I? Well, I don't think so. Neither are any of my friends, all of whom attended college.

I'm not a hater. You know that.


SG
 
also the south is filled with a lot of non college graduates and look at it. it makes you better in many ways.

So what are you saying? The south is a waste of space?
This isnt 1860 anymore, wake up.
 
Pickup trucks? Thats the best you can come up with? Springer guests come from all over the country by the way. All areas of the country has problems also.
 
MK-

Ellison is the founder and CEO of Oracle. He dropped out of the U. of Chicago. Dell is the founder of Dell, He dropped out of U of Texas.
 
Matt, you have to admit your argument is rather strange since you did go to college.
 
Matt---why do you always cite examples of success with corporate greedy assholes.....Don't you think success can be found in other ways.......
 
Things I learned in my Catholic high school:


1. Jews don't bleed


2. Homosexuality is a sin


3. People in the South eat dirt
 
MattTheSkywalker said:


Money isn't the only defintion of success


Ryan,

I made it very clear above that there are other forms of success. There are. You know that I acknowledge this. I cite corporate success because generally, that type of success is thought to require a degree.


Dave,

it is because I went to college and graduated that I have observed the uselessness of it. For other people it may be different.
 
MattTheSkywalker said:
Dave,

it is because I went to college and graduated that I have observed the uselessness of it.





Matt,

Why are you being such a pie hole?
 
my father became very succesfull with out college hell he only got to 6th grade no bullshit. he worked his ass off for 40 years. he owns sveral restaurants a catering company with contracts to disney and dreamworks when filming in Puerto Rico were he resides, and a motorhomes rental company. he is about to retire and will do so with no worries. i agree that college gives you an edge which is why i'm currently at college but it's not a definite answer to being succesfull. if you have the right attitude,goals, ambition, street smarts, and most important ready to work like a maniac you will be succesfull. success is a measure of that persons desires and willingness to work for what they belive in.
 
CrazyRican said:
i agree that college gives you an edge which is why i'm currently at college ...



Don't forget to sign up for an English 101 class.
 
i would say most resturant owners in the nj-ny area are not born in the U.S. and dont have college degrees,but yet they are living in nice houses and pushing sweet cars....the same would go with construction around here.Granted these jobs are not held in high regard in our society,but i still respect them. i know plenty of people like crazy rican's father and his story is not uncommon. Im attending college now and busting my ass at work too...i just hope its worth the effort
my 2 cents:)
 
if you go to college, choose a safe program that has a good chance of becoming a career type program... engineer, teacher, etc... none of that philosophy bullshit or you will end up like me...:mad:
 
possible but hard...at least college gives a crdibility. A diploma in your office looks better than an empty wall....
 
Just face the facts, guys. A college degree is useful only in two situations:

1) You simply do not possess the knowledge required to excel in your field and are unable to teach it to yourself, so you must go some place to learn it.

2) You are applying for a job that will not give you an interview without a college degree.

My friend is 22 with one semester of college and he made like 90k last year. College is bullshit.

-Warik
 
Here is the reality.. 2 of my friends graduated highschool in 1991 without a worry in their mind. They didnt go to school, but spent thew whole summer enjoying their life like all the other highschool graduates. When it was time for everyone to go away to school in sept, they got miniscule jobs that required hardly any higher education. Their 10 year reunion is comming up in Aug yet both of them have nothing to show for the last 10 years. One guy makes $10.00/hr and the other is struggling with a landscaping business making less than $20,000/year.
You can name 1000 people that didnt go to college/higher ed and became successful. But in todays time 90% of the people will not become wealthy unless they choose to do something other than highschool.
I have another friend who graduated highschool with me a few years ago. The kid knows more about computers than anyone. There's been times where he has woken up in the middle of the night and put together a computer out of spare parts because he couldnt sleep. He was lazy and dropped out of college within the first month and is now working at Comp USA. He didnt feel he needed to sit in a class room and listen to stuff he already knew. The problem with that is most places will not higher you without a piece of paper that says you know what your talking about, no matter how smart you are. Right now he's making the most out of anyone in our crew, but thats because he's working full time and the rest of us are still in college.
Education helps but you have to major in something productive. You also have to like what your doing our there will be no motivation to succeed.
 
Hell yes! I am signing a contract soon that will let me work as little as 6 months a year and make $84,500 a year or if I want to work 9 months a year I'll make $117,000 and that is WITHOUT A DEGREE. So life will be good. Less stress, more money same job I had a year ago, but without all the shit they kept pileing on my desk. Even the same parent company. It's possible for some to do this, your milage may vary, still I'd say go to school and get your degree, it's worth it, besides where else can you find so many little hotties running around but college? Spring break wouldn't be the same....
 
I'm about to enter my third year in college, and I see it as purely an investment in my future. A financial one. My curriculum does not consist of Tolstoy or Dante. I left that in high school. Do I feel that what I am learning now will directly benefit me in my career? No. Do I think the diploma will? Yes. I've got several friends who love the college experience and want it to last forever. Personally, I despise it. I have a family to support and it becomes a real struggle to do so when spending 12-15hrs per week at school, plus studying and whatnot. I guess there's no point to my post, just wallowing in self misery.
 
For the first time on elite, I agree with skywalker utterly. I spent four years in college studying mathematics, business, and astronomy, and it netted me zero in acumen.

All I wound up with is a piece of paper that the majority of the world believes is tantamount to erudition. Well, I've got news for you, it isn't. If you want to learn, read. Use the library. It is free, and you can learn at your own pace without being held back by the cavalcade of mediocrity that is the student body.

If you have a vision (quote the skywalker), make it so.

If you want to submerge yourself in someone else's machine then get a degree. If you want to learn to think "inside the box," by all means, head to the local U. Your scope will narrow, your creative self will atrophy, but hey, you will have that degree.
 
moose...

You do not have to be a college student to learn.

That is what books are for. They are really cheap, too.
 
Warik said:
Just face the facts, guys. A college degree is useful only in two situations:

1) You simply do not possess the knowledge required to excel in your field and are unable to teach it to yourself, so you must go some place to learn it.

2) You are applying for a job that will not give you an interview without a college degree.

My friend is 22 with one semester of college and he made like 90k last year. College is bullshit.

-Warik

Exactly. I went 3 years of college and majored in Baseball. Like Matt I got my grades based on athletic ability as much as scores on test, etc.... No degree, no experience when I was done playing pro ball and now am in the upper class. If you have initiative, desire, and aren't a quitter you can make it.
 
If you are in it for the experience I agree completely. If you are in it for "da learnin'" I think it is a waste of time.

College, to quote myself, is a large slumber party. Take a bunch of people who aren't mature enough to be on there own and stick them someplace barely supervised. They drink, stay up late, talk about the opposite sex, do each others hair, etc...

I think it is a profound analogy:D
 
MooseKnuckle said:
why would anyone not want to go to college?

Maybe to not be in debt for 10 years as soon as you get out.

My buddy got his degree to be a physical therapist. Got an awesome job right out of college making 55K/yr.... problem is he will be paying that much and some for all the student loans he had to take out to get that degree. He started his career in the hole.
 
Read the "Millionaire next Door"

Most only have a year or two.
If you have drive you'll get what you want.

I want to be a PAW.
 
puc said:

All I wound up with is a piece of paper that the majority of the world believes is tantamount to erudition.

i agree with almost everything you said, puc. but let's face it, the majority of the world DOES believe that your sheepskin means something. a college degree will open doors for you that would otherwise be closed. i'm curious to know what you do for a living and whether you think you would have had an opportunity to do it without your degree.

i spent more time in college learning on my own, and learned more through my "pleasure" reading than i did from my professors. my access to an incredible library and its vast stores of knowledge was a big perk in going to school.

too many anecdotes about successful and/or unsuccessful people who did/didn't graduate from college (warik's friend, bill gates, etc.). the statistics don't lie (though they must be properly analyzed)...those who graduate from college make a lot more money than those who don't. (i'll grant you that those who do graduate from college are smarter and more driven than those who don't...on average. guess we can't TRULY know how they WOULD HAVE done had they not gone to college)

what worries me is that too often people use advice like skywalker's or stories like gates' to convince themselves that college would not be beneficial to them. i can't count how many times people have gone back to school after realizing that not getting a degree was a big mistake....
 
MooseKnuckle said:
in high school you learn a lot of stuff that you will never use. does that mean you shouldnt go to high school now?

If I could get an interview for a job without a high school diploma, sure. For the most part, high school was a waste for me. There are five, five out of TWENTY FOUR classes I took in high school that I actually thought were worth my while.

Five out of twenty four.

"The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school."

-Warik
 
runner said:
the statistics don't lie (though they must be properly analyzed)...those who graduate from college make a lot more money than those who don't.

In terms of those statistics, proper analysis is impossible. The problem with these "graduates make more than dropouts" statistics is the fact that they take into account ALL dropouts/people who don't go - even those with the intellectual capacity of a turnip. Why don't we do a statistical analysis of ALL college graduates and ALL people who didn't attend college who were actually good students in high school? It should be a crime to compare the financial status of Mr. College Degree to the financial status of Mr. "I had a 2.3GPA in HS and that's why I couldn't get into college" for these purposes.

-Warik
 
I am a contract PC/Web applications developer working for a consulting company.

I love my job because it allows me creative freedom. Of course, I am atypical in my love of logic (programs are poems to those who appreciate their flow and interplay)

I also like it because it doesn't require me to take the "time clock" approach to work. When I wake up, I go to work, when I get tired, I leave. No one is watching my back.

Now, to answer the latter question, I could do this without a degree. Many do, the information boom has freed people with my skillset from needing degrees. However, simply because I haven't noticed a glass ceiling yet doesn't mean one doesn't exists. I have a degree which might render it imperceptible.
 
Also, let's note that George's job advertisement says nothing about college education.

"Well I don't have any experience, but Mr. Spellwin, I went to college for 10 years!"

"Next applicant please."

-Warik
 
ok, warik...i agree the statistics are indecipherable.

btw, from what little i know of you i actually have some respect for you. tell me this, though...if you're so convinced that college is unnecessary and worthless, then why do you persist in going? why not drop out?
 
You people are the biggest bunch of fucking liars!!!!!! If anyone could walk out and make 80K a year without a college degree, why the fuck would anyone be working at Mcdonalds, or Walmart? You people who have responded the a college degree is a waste are just being defensive bc you don't have what it takes to get one.
 
MooseKnuckle said:
because the guy without the degree was to lazy or stupid to get one.

Or because he was too busy working and getting job experience than to worry about spending 10+ hours a week at school and several more at home "learning" what he could have learned by simply reading a book.

Experience > Education.

-Warik
 
Jimsbbc said:
If anyone could walk out and make 80K a year without a college degree, why the fuck would anyone be working at Mcdonalds, or Walmart?

How many people working at McDonalds or Walmart can construct a grammatically correct sentence or perform tasks with greater complexity than moving an item over an optical scanner or punching: "Quarter pounder with cheese" on a computer? These are the people who should have gone to college and gotten an education instead of drinking and "drugging" all throughout high school and the years following.

People who walk out of high school with more skills than half the world don't need to waste their time unless they have a good reason for doing so.

-Warik
 
I don't agree with that. If you own your own biz, that is fine. If you are going into a corporate environment, I think it is mandatory
 
Why does every one act like money is success. I could be making more money as a geologist right now but most (at least entry level) geology jobs require more traveling than I want to do and require 70 -80 hour work weeks. I enjoy the job I have and am happy. I make enough to live comfortably.
 
runner said:
if you're so convinced that college is unnecessary and worthless, then why do you persist in going?

Lol... who says I go to college to learn? I go to college to work for my job. I take my laptop with me and work in the library between classes, and in my computer classes I work DURING class because it looks like I'm taking notes or trying out programs and such.

I don't mean to present myself as the perfect human, because I'm not (as a matter of fact, I just shuddered when I considered the possibility of me actually being human). Anyway... basically I persist in going to college because:

a) It's free. (I earned two free-ride scholarships.... not the boldface, RyanH and others... you know who you are.)

b) I get an extra free $1,000 in my pocket every semester that I can invest or spend on components for my computer.

c) It's easy. I've honestly had to fight the urge to luagh out loud when given some assignments in my programming classes.

d) I only have to waste 3 years instead of 4.

e) I can do hours for my job between/during class.

f) I get to live at home.

g) Comic relief.

h) It's easy.

I'd be glad to elaborate on any of the above points if you wish.

College is really not that big a deal for me, although I shouldn't have to bother with it because of some employer obsession with: "He didn't waste 4 years of his life so he must not know anything!!!!"

-Warik
 
Depends on what you are going to do with your life.

I know alot of high school grads who are successful and well off/wealthy.

I know alot of university grads who are paying off $20000-30000 student loans while they work at a $30000 a year carreer.

One thing I will say is the people I know who didn't go to college or got kicked out like myself who are doing well are constantly reading and learning and it never stops.

School will give you a degree, but the life you live is the ultimate education and only losers stop learning.
 
okay it is possible to be successful without college but its not an easy task. you can't be lazy to be successful either way.

this thread makes me wanna quit school. anti college post
 
Over the long haul, the college grad statistically makes much more $ than the non degree skilled worker. Anyone who beats the system just got lucky or had great connections.
 
Jimsbbc said:
I don't agree with that. If you own your own biz, that is fine. If you are going into a corporate environment, I think it is mandatory

True but working for a large corporation SUXXXXXXX

And I know plenty of college grads that aren't even in the field that they got their degree in!!!!
 
This is sad.
"Beats the system" I didn't realize there was a "system". I just thought college was a choice. JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IN LIFE.

Let's take a guy I know who is an OR Nurse. He went to school for his nursing cert. (RN I believe). He didn't go to college. Now he lives in Maui, with FREE housing, a food/grocery allowance, an auto allowance, and makes like $36/HR. in addition to all that. And still has time to surf and kiteboard. He's not a millionaire, but he has time and money and he's happy doing what he wants.

I agree with most of Matt & Puc's posts (and a few of the others). You have to have a VISION and a clearly laid out plan, and the burning desire to accomplish that plan. This will drive a person to succeed, if their dream is big enough. And yes, ANYONE CAN do it! Not everyone will, because most people are lazy and look for the easiest route to take.
 
A vast majority of the financially successful people in America are business owners. Most, I'd say, have at least some college experience. It might surprise most of you to know the number that don't have a degree (I'm not sure of it, although I've heard it before and was surprised myself).

It's a lot easier (IMO) to stay in college and get your degree, and just go out there and do what the educated derelicts you had for professors (most of them (again IMO)) brainwashed you to do; and that is to just go get a job.

It's easier to follow the status quo than to go start a business. Most people aren't comfortable with the risk involved in starting their own business. Most people don't want to have to wait five years (on avg.) to get out of the red. But, the rewards after that can be out of this world.

I believe success is:
TO HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OVER TIME AND MONEY.
That way one can do whatever they want, with whomever they want, whenever they want.
 
Just some info:
A 25 y/o who wants to retire at age 50 with a net (after tax) income of $5,000 a month (today's dollars):

Given an inflation rate of 3.5%, will mean it will take $11,979.11 in 25 years to buy what that $5000 will buy him today.

Let's say our man wants to have this income last until death at the ripe old age of 95, and keep pace with inflation. We'll assume a rate of return on his "pile" of 10%, minus our 3.5% inflation, for a net rate of return of 6.5%. The "pile" of money he would have to have accumulated by age 50, on his retirement date will be:
$2,091,906.63 (that's 2 MILLION +) ;-)
And, that will have to be in a tax free vehicle, otherwise the "pile" would have to be bigger.

Now, if he's starting today with zero, and is investing in a tax deferred plan, earning 12% on his money (about what the S&P and a combination of small and mid company stocks have done over the last 75 years), he'll have to start saving,
$1113.40 a month (before any fees incurred from his investment choices)

Now, he can never miss a month. He has to invest that amount every month or else he will miss his goal (given these assumptions).

food for thought

Oh, and one more thing, this is not an advertisement nor solicitation to buy or sell any securities. The examples used here are hypothetical, and may not be indicative of your situation.
 
Yes of course you can be successful with out college, but that depends on what you think success is. I don't have one, I spent 6yrs in the USMC and now work in the chemical industry and made $65K last yr and have already made that so far this yr. I might add that I will make more $ this yr than most of the college degreed Engineers at my company. ;)
 
I went to 2 yrs of jr college..didn't like it changed went to Trade school- have my own business....a typical day will leave me with at least 300.00- 500.00 in my pocket- RADAR
 
weird that I would see this subject at this time. . .

I've dropped out of college many times but were beyond my control (circumstances). . . now Im on the verge of finally enrolling in something Im really interested in and circumstances are smooth but guess what??. . . parents lost the mailbox key so now I can't get the friggin papers I need to confirm everything

school starts in 6 days. . . I have no clue what's going on.

My point is that this could be a 'sign' of some sort that I should stick to making music full-time as I have been since Jan. 2001, instead of going to school full-time. . . hmmmmm:alien:

somewhat related rant. . .
 
need college and more

Sure some people do very well without college. I hire people for my office. College simply tells me they have some ability to set a goal and achieve it. I have been hammering home to my daughters that they will not only need college but post graduate work and other skills that will set them apart from the crowd. I electected to go into government. I won't get rich (although I make a very good living) and enjoy what I do.

hasta

litig8r
 
Rex said:
Radar what trade are you in?
Rex-My business is electronics repair......Proj TV is the big money maker labor rates start at 225-250.00 plus parts....i can repair an average of 4 per day plus other smaller stuff...27" TV/VCRs etc!!! RADAR
 
I know few things in life but I know them well...

-College may not guarantee success, but it helps.

-Successful people have one common characteristic: Drive

-Magilicuti is a depressing, whiney boy. Cheer the fuck up!
 
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