Members JnBroadbent Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Discuss. If you are part of the 'college failure but successful in life' crew, tell us about your success and how college didn't help. For those who are wondering, I am in college and just enrolled for my classes next semester. I'm just not sure if it's really for me however I will graduate with some sort of degree within the next few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mseriously30 Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Discuss. If you are part of the 'college failure but successful in life' crew, tell us about your success and how college didn't help. For those who are wondering, I am in college and just enrolled for my classes next semester. I'm just not sure if it's really for me however I will graduate with some sort of degree within the next few years. Me? I have a BA in English. I work as an estimator for an electrical supply house. There's a lot of conjecture on this subject of college, to go or not to go, etc. It lead me to where I am today. I sure don't use my degree though, but I bet it would help out in some situations. If I could do it over, I'd just travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Academia is not the real world. There are heaps of successful people out there who either flunked university, or use jack {censored} of their degrees in their successful careers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Weathered Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I was a college dropout for a semester - when I was working at GC, I decided to focus on work rather than school. I went back and finished my BA in Business with a focus in Legal Studies in May '06, and while I'm hardly making what I'd be making had a focused in Finance or Accounting, I'm doing okay for a 24 year old, and will be finishing my second degree (in Marketing) soon. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA, but once I finish my Marketing degree, I should have something like a 3.2 in my major, which is definitely good enough to put down on a resume. Do I use my degree on a regular basis? Nope. Did it help me get the job I currently have? Definitely yes. I work as a project specialist for an electrical distributor. It's not what I want to be doing, but I'm putting in my time and getting my experience before I try and move into a more analytical position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PlayboyChris Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I wouldn't say he was a failure in college, but a buddy of mine was a straight-C student and always worried about it. I told him he'd do just fine, and he's making well into the 6 figures today. Unless you're gonna be a scientist or something, it ain't about grades. It's about social skills, which IMO is the big reason why college is beneficial. You learn to deal with many different types of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trendkill1168 Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 {censored} I'm in the "high school failure but successful in life" group. Never went to college, never graduated high school but I did manage to get my GED. Got into the mortgage business about 12 years ago and have had a pretty comfortable existence ever since. I was way too busy partying in school and never liked it to begin with. I know a {censored}load of people that went to college and don't even work in the same field as they studied in. It does work for some folks though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knucklefux Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 why not ask bill gates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Weathered Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 why not ask bill gates? Troof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackwater Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 College is about learning {censored} you will not learn in the real world. I look at college as a tool to expand my mind and develop my talents in the arts. I have had many professors literally change certain aspects of my thinking that I would have never questioned had I not been mentored by them. Also only 23% of people over the age of 30 have college degrees, so that does place you pretty high on the pole of the hiring pool in big business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trendkill1168 Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 why not ask bill gates? Yeah....tru dat!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Weathered Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Also only 23% of people over the age of 30 have college degrees, so that does place you pretty high on the pole of the hiring pool in big business. I wonder how that number is going to change in 10 years or so. I'd say about half of my HS graduating class went to college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I think it is all a hoax because the only way you will ever really make big money is to run the show. Yup. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLfreak Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I was a failure in high school but a success in college, so I'd say yeah, anything is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PurityS.L.G. Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I was going to college to be an automotive tech and had to drop out to get a full time job due to my ex-girlfriend getting knocked up. Turned out she wasn't knocked up. She lied to me to get extra attention. I was devastated by the phallucy so I dumped her, got myself out of a depression rut, kept my head up, climed up the latter within the company I work for and now I'm currently in the position to become a regional sales manager making $90,000+ a year. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you maintain a positive attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltaire Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I'm a CUSTODIAN. my life SUCKS. that said-I'm going to college starting in january so I never have to lift a broom again in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackwater Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I'm a CUSTODIAN.my life SUCKS.that said-I'm going to college starting in january so I never have to lift a broom again in my life. But we need custodians!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SevenString Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Back in '83, I had a 4.0, but dropped out of college after a year. However, lack of a degree didn't keep me from having a successful career as a software developer. After I dropped out, I immediately landed a short-term contract job developing software graphics tools for a video game company, and from there, went on to head up the 3D software development group at a large imaging hardware company. I started that second job when I was 19. I've led the graphics tools group at EA, ran the entire development team at an educational software company, headed the software tools group at Disney Interactive, and architected some large-scale client-server software systems at Sony. I also have been responsible developing large-scale 3D game engines and toolsets for various game companies. In the course of my career, I have had several patents filed under my name, some while at Sony, some while at other companies. Currently, I'm the CTO and Founder of an artificial intelligence company that is having some success. I currently have a couple of PhDs in the field working for me, with no friction, only enthusiasm for the work that we're doing. Monetarily? I've always done pretty well, and since the mid-90's, have made well into six figures. Currently? I'm making a good CTO salary, but even better, I own a very large percentage of a $100M company. So I'm in a position where nobody can say jack-{censored} to me about not having a university degree. Okay.... now after all that, let me talk about the potential downside. Why am I where I'm at today? Well, brains didn't hurt, but I have ALWAYS, since I was a little kid, had a passion for computers. My mom took me to see "2001" when I was 4yo, and decided then and there that I wanted to be the one to make "HAL". I started programming when I was about 12, and I never stopped. 30 years later and I'm still just as passionate as ever about what I'm doing. So, if you have a serious passion about pursuing a career, and you have enough chops under your belt to back up that passion by getting a decent starting job in the industry TODAY, then maybe MAYBE college can wait on the back burner. However, if you haven't found yourself in terms of what you want to be when you grow up (and NO, "rock star" does not count), then DO go to college and explore some options, at least for a year or so like I did. Even if you DO know what you want to do and think you can hack it without a degree, spend a year (or two) at school anyway just to make sure you aren't missing out on something important. If you keep your grades up for a year or two, THEN decide to drop out and pursue something else, then you can always come back later and finish up where you left off if you need to do so. No harm, no foul. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JKD Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 You can still be intelligent and have a talent for something without going near college... Having a qualification will definitely look good in an employers eyes...some jobs it's a minimum requirement of course but experience will make you just as qualified/employable IMO I jumped up the salary ladder by around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltaire Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 But we need custodians!!! I KNOW. but, there are always other people w/o a brain to fill my job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oblivion DC Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 I was devastated by the phallucy Dude - it sounds like someone attacked you with a giant penis! A Falsity is a perversion of truth originating in the deceitfulness of one party, and culminating in the damage of another party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lucius Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Depends what your idea of success is?? Money, power, fame, family?? I'm successful in family and do alright in the money department. Don't have much power other then when I am working on a 400VDC switcher and I hope to be famous for eating cheese cake! Cheers, Lucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SevenString Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 Dude - it sounds like someone attacked you with a giant penis! A Falsity is a perversion of truth originating in the deceitfulness of one party, and culminating in the damage of another party. probably meant fallacy, meaning a misapprehension or flawed component in an argument. very similar in meaning, though, and both can lead to getting dicked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverDriven Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 You can be successful without college. You just have to be a bit more creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Satyrist Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 As far as financial success goes, I don't think college has much to do with it. But that's not really the value of the college experience. And it's not the partying or the chicks either. Both are great, but also available outside of college. The real point is spending a few years being encouraged to think, question, examine and reflect. I was an English major, so it was never about learning facts, formulas, dates or whatever. It's really about learning how to think critically. And in this media-saturated world, that's pretty important. Helps you not fall for the bull{censored} that's constantly being shoved down your throat. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaceU4her Posted December 19, 2007 Members Share Posted December 19, 2007 i think it comes down to the ol' saying its not what you know, but who you know. i have more friends that were average or below students at regular state schools, only to get out and get these big shot jobs at some bank or wherever, and you ask yourself geez how did that guy get that job, only to find out later on it was their cousin or parents best friend who hired them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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