| It's infinitely easier to discuss the necessity of higher education post successful career-launch. (Did I really need to do that vs. Do I really need to finish this?) I find it disconcerting to hear the anti-college sentiment coming directly from an about-to-drop-out college student. I suppose it is possible to find yourself, suddenly and without a degree, launching or exiting or doing something amazing, but it seems far more likely that the lack thereof (for those that decide to drop-out or never go at all,) may at some point hold you back (regardless of talent.) I am speaking from the perspective of a drop-out. I didn't have help paying for college, but I tried to do it anyway. The demands of working full time (to pay for classes) made actually going to classes too difficult, and I failed. I was left with a tremendous amount of debt I was not able to capitalize upon, and for the next several years I paid back that debt while working from the ground up in my career field. I hit the ceiling much faster than I anticipated - If I wanted to advance, regardless of my natural talent, I would have to go back to school. I was still paying back loans from the first go, and had to try, yet again, to manage the demands of a career and school as well. I eventually did graduate, and found that once I could check the box for that piece of paper, my opportunities for advancement evolved into true tests of my talent, not just my ability to prove I could finish something I started. YMMV; it's easier to ask myself now: 'what did I really gain from this?' A deeper understaning of how to navigate beurocracy, a small fortune in debt, few (if any) of the skills I use on a daily basis... but the point is I can ask the question from the financially secure and comfortable seat I couldn't have gotten into any other way. I understand that every person's path is different, and that my situation may not be the situation that Josh will find himself in. In fact, I hope that for him. Because the thought of leaving college a) so close to completion and b) that is subsidized partially by his family (leaving very little to pay off) for anything less than a six-figure exit just doesn't make sense to me. |