Why are you still in school then? Why go to college?
This is what I ask friends that complain to me about their studies. As tempting as it is to be ostentatious with your credentials earned from a college, the problem is that more credentials isn’t the panacea to all of life’s problems. There’s more to making money and getting the most out of life then just staying in school to add more letters after your name.
This is why I wanted to look at the idea of going back to school this year. Deciding what to do after college is scary. More college is often the number one choice.
What are you doing back in school?
Let’s look at the main reasons to go to college.
Some of the main reasons for going back to college include:
- The social experience. What better way to meet new friends then to be forced to complete an assignment at the last-minute? The main benefit of staying in school is the social experience. You can drink yourself silly on a Wednesday night and wake up at noon every single day.
- Increase your credentials. More education will increase your credentials. Usually. Not in all cases.
- Improve your earning potential. With more knowledge on your side, you can make more money. If you’re not happy with your current salary, you can always upgrade your skills by going back to school.
- Make your parents proud. I’m not sure about you but my parents love to boast about our education (my brothers and I). Nothing makes your parents more proud than being a good little boy or girl who goes to college, finds a job, and gets married.
- Life sucks. If you don’t get the job that you wanted or the income that you were hoping for, it’s tempting to go back to school. You don’t have to stress about your finances in school. You can do whatever you want pretty much.
Why are you realistically in school?
There’s a difference between what we do and what we tell ourselves.
Why are you in school? I had a friend tell me straight up that they wanted to take the time to master their social skills and grow up before jumping right into work. Fair enough. What’s your reason?
Is there a right answer for your education?
This all depends on your situation. Okay that’s a cop-out. I’ll explain my core tenets on education.
You should only go back to school in your 20s if you have a direct plan. If you know that a graduate school degree will increase your income by X percent then you have all the reason to push yourself to suck it up for a few more years. If you’re just disenchanted with your life, education won’t solve all of your problems.
If you’re coming right out of high school, you don’t have much to lose. If you can keep your student loans down to a minimum, then there’s nothing wrong with enrolling in a program that won’t pay you the big bucks.
Should I go to college? I’m all for education. I love to learn new things. I’m currently trying to learn Spanish. I just don’t believe that formal education is the solution to everything. I want you to open your mind and try some alternatives to graduate school.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I originally went to school to become a teacher. There is pretty much only one path to get your teaching certificate (well, there are two, but at the end of the day, they both involve college). When I decided teaching wasn’t for me in my senior year, I dropped out only to return 5 years later when I realized I could graduate in a different program by taking just 3 classes.
Looking back, I probably would have been better not doing that. Instead, I should have narrowed down to precisely one career and started over to get the training I needed for it. By already having gen-ed’s completed, I probably could have graduated in 2 years with actual experience and training needed to get a job.