College Degrees May Not Lead the Way to your Dream
Some college degrees are over glamorized by media promotions. Other degrees are sought not because of a purely defined career or self-satisfaction, but by the senseless and often vain effort of satisfying someone’s dream they hold for you. These college degrees offer a little more than a high risk of joining the group of recently graduated unemployed or under-employed. At the time of this posting, the rate of recent college graduates unable to find employment upon exiting the fun life of frat parties and cool courses is hovering at around 11% nationally.
It is a fact that some college degrees are more marketable than others, but changing market demands and a constantly evolving economic system can often throw a wrench unexpectedly into the mix at pursuing college degrees once in high demand just four years earlier. What seemed to be highly marketable college degrees four years ago may have come and gone by the time you tuck that diploma under your arm while heading out the door to see where its usefulness might apply…or not!
In the case of extremes, you may have built up a hefty if not huge debt in student loans you were sure to easily handle once you secured your place in the field of choice. But then again you might find yourself looking back, asking yourself the question just who did you do this for? Was it for your true self or was it all for show? Sadly, many college grads end up in the midst of this self-administered evaluation.
So what are the options? First, listen to your heart! Don’t give place to the naysayer who tells you it isn’t for you or it can’t be done. Don’t let some well-meaning brother-in-law who’s been a plumber’s helper his entire life tell you what you should or shouldn’t do with your life’s choice of occupation or profession. Be true to you! And that means go where your dreams take you.
Chances are good that while you sit there reading this, you may not be clear on what you want to do or where you want your life to take you. And so you’re asking yourself where can I begin? You may have heard the answer before but you weren’t really in a place in your life you took notice of it. So here it is again: consider exploring various alternative or “continued” educational options. Consider focusing on a subject or an interest you may have at this moment or one that you’ve had in the past. Just pick one and get started discovering if it is a “fit” for you…. or not. It may cost you, but the question is: are you willing to pay a little now to discover your calling, or much more before you discover it’s not you at all?
All kinds of courses of “discovery” are made readily available in today’s world of high-tech and internet convenience. From discovering Photoshop to exploring a career in nursing, or discovering the pleasures of poetry, if you know where to look, doors of possibility stand waiting to be opened all around you. Step out and learn a new language or venture the world of technology. Alternative educational options are vast and plentiful, covering just about any subject you wish to delve into. And at a fraction of what college degrees can cost. But don’t leave this blog thinking that I don’t place value on college degrees. I posses a Bachelor of Arts degree and I am presently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Aviation. But there are options available other than getting locked into a full-blown college curriculum at an expense that may or may not be within your means.
Let me leave you with this thought: Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and (among other things) a technology entrepreneur who taught a class at Stanford University called Computer Science 183, actually pays promising students to “quit” school because he believes you’ll learn much more in the real world than you would in college. I’m not saying its right or wrong, but even Bill Gates of Microsoft dropped out of formal education because he had a dream to pursue. FOLLOW YOURS!
