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> Had I gone right out of high school I would have wasted a lot of time and money. Why is that, if I may ask? For me personally, my goal was to graduate with a

> Had I gone right out of high school I would have wasted a lot of time and money. Why is that, if I may ask? For me personally, my goal was to graduate with a CS degree as soon as possible right after high school so I could start my much higher paying full time engineering job as quickly as possible. I noticed you also majored in CS, so I wonder what I might have overlooked?

selllikesybok 9y ago
Since I had a similar experience, to add another response to your question, in my case it was a lack of direction and maturity. I knew the outcome I wanted, but had no real motivation to work for it. And I lacked the coping skills I needed to overcome emotional a psychological challenges presented by college life. Working a job (and getting fired, and working another job, and so on) prepared me much better for completing college than my K-12 education did. If I'd waited until my late 20s, I'd have been much better off! Worse, my father (who somehow got much smarter as I got older), anticipated this and told me so. So of course I did the opposite of what he recommended. I was a CS major, originally, though not a very good one. Obviously, each person is different and handles life differently. But for me, a few years not in school would have been a much better solution. I wound up behind my peer group career-wise regardless. Better to do it at lower cost.
Nickersf 9y ago
I was totally disengaged from school socially and academically. I went and worked in a kitchen so I could buy a van, guitar and amp at 17. I spent my 20's touring around North America and Europe within the underground crust/punk community. I worked at record stores and DIY labels. All of it has been a great learning opportunity and helped me develop on the fly critical thinking and problem solving skills. It helped me appreciate the value of the dollar and what not having a place to live is like. It also taught me how the private sector works, networking and selling products in a limited market. I learned vast alcohol consumption causes problems when trying to do all those things, and not having your shit together is costly. However, the big thing is I learned all of that without being crippled with student loans, in fact I came out of it with savings, and capital.
- Hydraulix989 9y ago
  Wow, that's a great story! College definitely isn't for everyone, and I'm hearing more and more of other people with stories just like yours.

selllikesybok 9y ago

Since I had a similar experience, to add another response to your question, in my case it was a lack of direction and maturity. I knew the outcome I wanted, but had no real motivation to work for it. And I lacked the coping skills I needed to overcome emotional a psychological challenges presented by college life. Working a job (and getting fired, and working another job, and so on) prepared me much better for completing college than my K-12 education did. If I'd waited until my late 20s, I'd have been much better off! Worse, my father (who somehow got much smarter as I got older), anticipated this and told me so. So of course I did the opposite of what he recommended. I was a CS major, originally, though not a very good one. Obviously, each person is different and handles life differently. But for me, a few years not in school would have been a much better solution. I wound up behind my peer group career-wise regardless. Better to do it at lower cost.

Nickersf 9y ago

I was totally disengaged from school socially and academically. I went and worked in a kitchen so I could buy a van, guitar and amp at 17. I spent my 20's touring around North America and Europe within the underground crust/punk community. I worked at record stores and DIY labels. All of it has been a great learning opportunity and helped me develop on the fly critical thinking and problem solving skills. It helped me appreciate the value of the dollar and what not having a place to live is like. It also taught me how the private sector works, networking and selling products in a limited market. I learned vast alcohol consumption causes problems when trying to do all those things, and not having your shit together is costly. However, the big thing is I learned all of that without being crippled with student loans, in fact I came out of it with savings, and capital.

Hydraulix989 9y ago
Wow, that's a great story! College definitely isn't for everyone, and I'm hearing more and more of other people with stories just like yours.