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[DaCocoBrova]

Man...

My mother just gave me a supreme guilt trip.

*Backstory*

I attended College down in Hampton Virginia. Started in '94 and later got expelled in '96 for some legal trouble. Moved back to DC, took misc. classes here and there and eventually lost interest in school. I didn't see it as the end-all, cure-all my parents did.

I eventually got a good job, did all kinds of work on the side... Money wasn't a problem, making school even less desireable at that point. Then I became a father, which changed a lot.

It's now been 10 years since I started college. I know that I have to finish. I owe it to myself. I owe it to my family which has sacrificed a great deal. Both of my parents are accomplished, especially for their generation which had to deal w/ a great deal more in terms obstacles.

Now...

I need to figure out exactly what it is I want to do. Professionaly, I work in multimedia dealing w/ video production, audio/video integration, video teleconferencing, control room administration etc. It's fun. When there's down time, I can play videogames most of the day on display devices I could never afford...and get paid for it! I think I may want to stay in this field, but I'm not sure. Prior to this I did desktop support and network administration...

None of which I want to go to school for.

No matter what, I have to let my mother know today what I want to do in terms of college. It's like she wants it more than me. I have to want it.

Is anyone here on the fence about college? Has anyone else dropped out and gone back...? What value do you feel a degree has these days? Has the value diminished at all...?

Discuss.

 

[Saturnman]

Didn't you work at an escort service?

 

[8bit]

I had to take a year out of University for a sandwich course portion, and never went back. In the year out I started earning a very good contract rate, and going back would have put me in the poorhouse.
I went on to other jobs in the UK and eventually landed a job in Switzerland. Many of my contemporaries failed to land decent jobs at the end of the course, so I don't feel bad about not having finished.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Didn't you work at an escort service?

:lol

Nah. I'm just a consultant.

 

[Lord Error]

OK, I don't really get it. You are a father, have a really good job... Do you think your job there has a future? Do you think you will be able to get promotion(s) there? Do you think you are able to properly support your family with that job? Seems to me like going back to school now will screw you out of that job and get you, what he above said, in the poorhouse, when you least need it. I'm a firm supporter of having good knowledge and education, but I have to question your motives. Rather than asking yourself what your mother needs and what you owe to her, ask yourself whether you need to go back to school or whether the line of your present work will grant you better future.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Well, I would be able to maintain my job and go to college pretty easily depending on the course load. The job has plenty of growth potential, but who's to say how long this job will last. I want to be as marketable as possible if that does happen.

I need more. As much as I like my job, I do feel under-employed.

Ideally I'd love to go into (legit) business myself.

 

[Escape Goat]

Why not take 1 or 2 classes while you keep your current job?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

I got expelled my junior year. So I don't have too much more to take. I just don't know what to study. I refuse to invest time and money in some bullsh!t major. I want to reap the benefits in real time.

 

[robochimp]

go and be a nurse

 

[DarienA]

I got expelled my junior year. So I don't have too much more to take. I just don't know what to study. I refuse to invest time and money in some bullsh!t major. I want to reap the benefits in real time.

I remember absolutely zip about college courses... but can't you take classes that coincide somehow with what you currently do and love at work?

 

[Dilbert]

It's a long story, but I had to leave school for financial reasons between my fourth and fifth years at UCLA. I was out of school for TWO years, waiting to turn 24 so I could get more loans in my own name.

Those two years were unfathomably long -- I worked in a coffee shop with people who were either literally still in high school, or mentally had never left high school. There really isn't any training or practice that you can do on your own to keep up your skills in physics -- although I did have a tutoring job on the side, the material was much simpler than the stuff I REALLY needed to stay current on. Mostly, I worked out like a madman for those two years and tried not to think about the situation.

Going back to school was hard in certain ways, but MUCH easier in other ways. Thanks to working multiple jobs, skills like time management are much easier to apply...and of course, my motivation was through the roof. Also, I had gotten much smarter over those years -- hard to explain, but my thought process had matured in some ways, and school seemed paradoxically easier than when I had left...though I had certainly forgotten some important stuff.

I achieved my goals -- I limped to the finish line financially, but graduated cum laude. Even more important -- even though the statistics on people who leave school for even a semester are disheartening, I managed to overcome a two-year absence to get back on track.

The bottom line is that unless you REALLY want to go back to school, you will not succeed. If you do want to get a degree, though, I think you'll find that there will personal rewards for having accomplished something no one thought you'd finish...and possibly financial rewards in your future career.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Fuck college. If you're working now, that's all you need. Not too many places will demand a transcript from this point on, especially with that many years of experience. Just make sure you leave on good terms so you can use your boss as a ref. I wouldn't sweat it too much. But if you absolutely have to go back, then go for an MBA. I thought about it for a while since so many people in the business world have one, but it's really not anything you can't learn on your own. How about you and me start an e-business selling seeds or cones online? :lol PEACE.

 

[DarienA]

As a network administrator it surprises many folks that I did not graduate from college... a rough relationship with my father which translated in to little to no financial support meant I only spent two years in school... and of those two years I hardly applied myself(school had always come easy so I just didn't bother).

I got lucky after returning from my time in the military, fell in to some office jobs, had a knack for PC skills and just kept going, acquired lots of knowledge(because I did alot of reading on PC's and such on my own because it's a topic I have personal interest, not just job related interest in), and have now held various network admin positions.

I've thought about going back to school for my bachelor's, but after having spoken to a variety of folks I've decided to instead go focus on MS and/or Novell certifications. For me those certifications along with the solid years of net admin experience I've built up I feel will help me be a strong candidate for any positions I wish to pursue in the future(which hopefully won't be for a long time, I'm really liking the new job).

 

[Minotauro]

Experience trumps education. Seriously, why go back to school now?

 

[PhatSaqs]

Experience trumps education. Seriously, why go back to school now?

True up to a point. And that point WILL come. It might be after a number of years of earning good money where you're pretty much satisfied with your situation/income. But seeing others with less experience than you start to eventually earn more than you because they have a degree will tear at your ego and mental. Or hearing the boss tell you "we cant move you up because the position calls for a degree".

It's not necessary at all and you can make good money without one for a good while. But it will become an issue later on in your career. It's up to you whether or not you're satisfied with the money you make, knowing you could make more by having that sheepskin.

 

[DarienA]

True up to a point. And that point WILL come. It might be after a number of years of earning good money where you're pretty much satisfied with your situation/income. But seeing others with less experience than you start to eventually earn more than you because they have a degree will tear at your ego and mental. Or hearing the boss tell you "we cant move you up because the position calls for a degree".

It's not necessary at all and you can make good money without one for a good while. But it will become an issue later on in your career. It's up to you whether or not you're satisfied with the money you make, knowing you could make more by having that sheepskin.

I need to quantify that this really depends on alot of factors, one being the career, two being the company's you work at.

SOME places may in the future limit you becuase you don't have a degree... others won't. But if you've been at a company for a few years, it should be pretty easy to find out, conversate, mingle to see what your company's advancement policy is at it relates to degrees.

 

[levious]

True up to a point.

Yes... and experience also only means more than an education provided that you have that education to begin with.

DCB,

My situation was similar to yours, but I went back in 98... my degree wasn't worth much, BA in anthropology and english, but my plan was always to go on to graduate school. If you're in DC, look into one of those programs that cater towards working people who want to finish with old credits.

 

[NetMapel]

It is going to be hard for you to go back to school after 10 years of work experience. I wonder, can you get an MBA without a bachelor degree ? If so, then get an MBA.

 

[Lhadatt]

Listen to PS and Darian. They speak teh truth.

All of the "screw college yo" people have probably not hit the point in their career where a degree is necessary, have not seen this happen to other people or are content with being slackers.

I have personally seen two IT workers get hit with this problem just this year. In both cases, they were faced with the lack of advancement opportunities for self-trained newtwork administrators. Both went back to school to get their degrees to overcome this limitation.

I have also seen many, many people in the same situation as the original poster go back to school and successfully get their degrees. There are many ways to pull this off -- drop work totally, go to school at night while working in the day, take online/distance courses, etc. There are many options available, make sure you take advantage of them.

Also, don't go back because you're guilt-tripped into it. Your parents are people just like you, they fall prey to the same motivations, concerns and pitfalls that any other person would. If you're going to go back, don't do it because Mommy woke up one day with some urgent need for her [grown] child to finally graduate. Don't allow your prime motivation for going back turn into something that only strokes her ego. Do this for yourself -- and don't do it until you know what it is you want to do.

 

[Lhadatt]

It is going to be hard for you to go back to school after 10 years of work experience. I wonder, can you get an MBA without a bachelor degree ? If so, then get an MBA.

No, it isn't, no, you can't, and no, he shouldn't necessarily.

MBAs are really not all they're cracked up to be. It's like a buzzword right now. "Yes he's a prime canidate for managing this nuclear power station, but does he have a MBA?" Yes, they DO help, but I don't see why you would need one unless you wanted to get into management. Most masters degree holders I know aren't any smarter than anyone else here, they just went to school longer. That doesn't mean you learn anything you wouldn't in the real world, it just means you paid for the MBA and have some modicum of management training.

Getting a MBA doesn't mean you know all there is to know about management, it just means you have a greater propensity to be a PHB once you rise up in the ranks. It's still kind of a conundrum though, since they do make you look better (on paper -- show me a MBA grad fresh out of school and I'll show you a trained circus monkey), and some degree plans do teach advanced skills. Unfortunately, a great many MBA plans are just used for rubber-stamping people as management material, whether they are or not.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Finally this thread takes off... There's some really good advice here. Especially what -jinx- had to say, as I too feel as though my thought process has matured.

Really, having a degree won't in any way hurt me and my marketability, so I don't see the harm in going back. What I do worry about is getting there and being bored, like I was for 2.5 years in under grad. Not using it (school) for the vehicle that it is. That and being stuck in a course of study that either a) doesn't jive well with my interests, or b) has no real value post-undergrad.

I also found it odd that there aren't any courses in college that teach you how to succesfully get through college. It's like a trap. I was paranoid from day one about getting caught up while in school, and it ended up happening anyway. More money for them I suppose.

 

[BojTrek]

I am going back to school after a 5 year layoff... I am currently 34 years old and started college in 1988-89... I went to one school for 2 years, another school for a year, after that... classes on and off for 15 years...

The wife and I decided that I need to finish and get my degree... so I looking into where I am going to go and what classes I need to finish.

At least I can check out some cute 18-21 year old chicks... which is a plus!

 

[DaCocoBrova]

^^^
Yeah, the 'bunnies' are the bonus. I was thinking about that today. Neither of us look a day over 23 anyway... I'm sure our real ages would be to our advantage in the long run.

I majored in Mass Communications/Advertising, but only started getting deep in the classes that pertained to that. So a shift in major shouldn't cancel out most of my already earned credits. Plus, I think you can get credit hours for real world experience.

Admissions:

I've been locked up before. Nothing serious, but I've been booked a number of times... Will this hurt my chances of admission?

 

[BojTrek]

Stop getting locked up damnit...

Let make it a goal for both of us... get our degrees and adding another $10-20,000 to our salaries...

How long do we give ourselves? 2 years?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

That's do-able.

2 Years...

Damn. This is real now...

*shudder*

 

[belgurdo]

I've been going to school for five years and I'm finding that it's a roadblock: People over my job use my changing school hours as an excuse to dick me out of promotions and work a decent amount of hours, plus I have no free time to go find something better because I have no car, I have to study all the time, and getting stuff for the classes is a money pit. Plus since I'm an English major it may be years before I actually find something of substance!

Maybe that's why most people who go to school seem to get into nursing or education. Judging from some of the people I've seen in those fields you can be a dumb fucker but if you can read and point things out on a chart you can simply bullshit around until you finish and get picked up by not-very-picky schools/hospitals days after graduation

On the flip side though, having SOME school experience may help you on potential future problems. Thinking about my mother and how she has a job as a Teacher's Assistant; she's been working for 30 years but only makes like $10.60/hr. (I make $10.40 and I basically stock books at a library.) Plus she almost lost her job because of that No Child Left Behind bullshit (read: having to take a "weeding out" test that she could barely study for because she caught hepatitis and stayed bedridded on and off.) Taking about 2 years of education classes could potentially stick her in a higher pay bracket

 

[karasu]

Hampton is my hometown. We're the chit.

 

[open_mouth_]

I graduated under-grad a little over a year ago and have been working ever since (well-paying and bright future job), but I've been thinking about going *back* to school next fall for law school possibly (part-time). I'm just not sure if i'll be able to fit it in.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

OK.

I narrowed the school down to Univ. of Maryland. I'm currently going through their courses and seeing what interests me the most.

How do I handle the admissions thing? I write well, so I was thinking about just giving 'em my life story...the 'PG' rated one. Would that be too much? Do I front like a 'Goody Goody' and not let them know the whole story...

After getting expelled, I tried to get into Howard. Following my parent's advice, I told them everything since my parents knew people on the inside. They later rejected the application.

 

[BojTrek]

Dude all you need are your grades... so get your transcipts and that should be it.

I have never given any history to get in a college, all I needed were my grades, picture ID, and MONEY.

Don't worry about your problems from the past, learn from them and try to grow from them... and remember SEGA/ESPN VIDEOGAMES ALL THE WAY!

 

[fart]

i dropped out for a couple of years, but i'm completely worthless in the real world, so going back was really my only option. you seem to be operating pretty well outside of the academic world. if you're going to go back you might as well get a degree that interests you regardless of its practicality. art? music? sky's the limit.

also, if i were you, i would speak frankly but eloquently about my experiences. to admissions types they make you a more rounded person, just try not to offend anyone, and most of all you should be apologetic and reflective about your criminal activities, alleged or otherwise.