May seem kinda random. But its b/c I had a random thought. I remember reading a statistic where a large portion of millionaires either were high school drop outs, or never finished college.

Just a quick 'poll' here, and i know it may seem personal to many of you viewers. But just out of curiosity was wondering how many of you are actually doing something that you could actually be doing had you not finished college, and if you dont mind, include what your annual salary looks like...roughly of course.

Im trying to decide if I should finish school....and I know I should have a 'back up' plan, but I really dont plan on ever using my business admin degree. Corporate world isn't for me and all I've wanted to do since I was a kid was to be my own boss(which I am now and Im doing ok with no 9-5).

SO, what do you do? Did you finish school? How well are you doing financially?

 

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/...oneymag/4.html

 

God dammit. But i dont wannnnnt to finishhhh schooool.

 

Finish school or never be taken seriously by a serious employer
Seriously....

 

& I see your point. Thing is, where I live, its the 'rich asian kids' area. Most of my friends graduated from UC's and Cal in 3 years. NONE of them have landed a decent job. Some of them are receptionists...some are mechanics now...one is an airline hostess...one is a receptionist at a laser eye surgery firm....i know maybe 1 or 2 of them that are actually doing something, 1 is a risk analyst for SquareUp. Believe me these are the people who were all 3.5+ GPA students throughout high school with all these extra curricular stuff and all getting into good 4 year colleges....

 

then quit. if you're coming on a car forum looking for advice as to why you should get an education you're foolish. If you can't even complete school then how do you expect to succeed in the real world?

 

get your degree.

later on get another one

and so on.

 

I came on here b/c I thought the Z crowd was more "wealthy," hence having more members that would offer realistic advice. No point in asking on clubrsx or 8thcivic if you ask me!

Do you all have a career thats tied in with your degree?

 

Dude this isn't FerrariChat lol. Not many people here are "wealthy".

 

Got my BS degree in chemical engineering in 2009. Work at Merck as an engineer. Will have MS this December in chemical engineering. Will probably work at another company and make more money. Its definately worth it if you ask me. Otherwise, concider the military for tech training.

 

Finish school!

You may not find a job for what you want to do in the area you went to School/grew up/etc. If staying in that area is more important to you than what you do for a living, time to look at options that will get you a decent salary for the cost of living in that general area.

Even still a degree and salary rates vary a ton based on location. Petro engineers in Ohio range anywhere from 40k - 60k a year, some a little more but that's a decent average for the companies I've dealth with. Overseas, mid-risk areas, easily surpass 100k if you're willing to travel to some a less developed area and bust ***.

As a side note, if college graduates with Bachelors degrees are getting the unskilled laborer or skilled laborer's jobs, what jobs will be left for drop outs?

 

+1 I hope in getting a doctoral degree, worth the effort

 

While the job market sucks right now, I do not know anyone that would honestly recommend dropping out and working OVER finishing and getting a degree.

I actually think this is the best time to go to school, if you can afford to swing it.

While you could (hypothetically) make a lot of money saving up and investing, it is much more risky and requires a lot more work than it would take to finish a business degree. If you are lacking motivation in that, I find it hard to believe that you are going to push yourself to do that though.

I am not trying to put you down or anything, but if I am 3 years out of school, and if I compare my friends who graduated to the ones that didn't, its not a comparison. I'll admit I do know people that did graduate and struggled finding jobs, but all and all the people that could, did way better than any of my friends that did not.

Personally, I don't know why you wouldn't want to go to college. It's amazing.

As for me I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering Degree. Work in Aerospace. It is somewhat of a 9-5, but it is what i really like doing. Which in the end is much more important to me than my salary.

Last note: If nothing else, you already started, you might as well finish. If it is hard to find a job right now with a degree, it will be much harder without one. College is hard, but you shouldn't lose sight of the opportunities it opens.

 

Yes I'm doing what my career is tied to my degree. BA in Psychology, did case management for homeless youth and just finished my Masters in Social Work. I won't be rich but I get paid to help people which is rewarding and I love to do it. I won't be able to do individual therapy or supervise if I don't have my masters degree.

I may go for a phd or a Master in Public Admin in a few years depending on how that will enhance my career, in addition to my license clinical social worker LCSW.... Its a lot of hard work but I feel like I've found my niche that's given my life meaning in some way that I know I can leave this world someday knowing I've helped a few people.

Its really what you make of it imho. If you're not willing to do the work and aren't focused on your goals, then no matter what degree you have you won't go anywhere.

 

I started in the military with a technical start in medicine. ended with a bachelors in bio/chem from Uci but to be honest I found all my network connections when I was a surgical technician and now I'm working in the ophthalmic industry making 6 figures and creating my own schedule. some days I put in eight hours others I put in twelve plus depending on the projects I'm working on. the end result is dude finish school although jobs are scarce these days they won't always be, and I'll guarantee the ones with a degree will have a better shot than ones without when the time comes. just be patient and put your work in. my military training gave me the strongest platform to work off of when I was younger but the way I look at it.... you can assemble a very intricate machine and be very one sided or design and understand how that intricate machine works in variable applications and be very flexible.

 

School isn't for everyone.. I went for a few years realized I wasn't a follower... I have not had an employer since 1st year in college and have never looked back.. if you want to make someone else wealthy, go to college... If you are self motivated, go be your own boss doing what you like or good at! just my 2 cents...

Since you are asking.. prob just stay in school til you find your "path"

 

Got AAS in Philosophy, BASc in Psych & Philosophy, MA in clinical Psych.

Depending on your path, you will need to swing a wide bat, and be open to interpretation. In mental health, especially the clinical/plumber of the illness world I work in, you WILL NEVER BE LOOKING FOR A JOB.

That being said, I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, so moreso than the hospital, or college I teach at, I can make FAR more, and report what I DEEM reasonable as income being self employed.
But, if you do not have business background, or in family history....it is KEY to get this knowledge somehow

 

I'm active duty military right now. I went to 2 years of school for my job which ended up being like 45 college credits. I'm currently applying those credits to an associates and using tuition assistance to finish it up while making around $4000/month with NO bills. I hope to use my GI bill to get more degrees later on. I plan on owning my own business in 10-15 years but I figure go to school while you can, and like stated, jobs will always open up and being educated will never hurt you...

 

Current issue of Money mag - 90% of millionaires are college grads.

 

You'll probably never build your nest egg to exceed $1M either way...so go on and quit