Is university necessary? (Page 1 of 2)

I attended university and felt really bad all the way long, because it was boring and tough.
But now I live my life the way I want (that means not "normally") and my fight is pretty softened because of the degree I have.It plays like a shield against the most stupid people because they respect what I achieved.
Now I can do the most crazy things (like not working for the NWO) but I always have respect because of that, and this is good for self respect too.

Hi Daisy

I’m actually at uni at the moment in my second year studying commerce. My degree is three years so I finish next year but I can do another Honours year if I wanted to. Looking back, I’ve wondered if studying this was the optimal thing to do at this stage in my life. In my last year of high school I despised what I’m actually doing now but now I don’t actually mind it. Maybe I’ve been numbed by the experience.

I had a lot of degree options to choose from and I couldn’t decide which way was the best way to go. I thought maybe an Arts/Science degree with a major in philosophy and maths would be a generalist approach. I could have got a double degree with Law if I pursued it enough. However I ended up with Commerce. I studied the maths/science subjects in high school so I had no idea about business, the economy or what the hell an interest rate was. Now, I’m learning about micro and macro economics, a little accounting, finance, some scientific programming, a lot of pure and applied maths, probability and statistics, a management subject, and financial maths. I majored early with my major called Actuarial studies – pretty dry to say the least. However I’ve learnt a lot about the business world and I’m actually glad I learnt all that stuff.

After I graduate I might work in a corporate environment (!!!) because that’s where the money is! Although I will be self-employed on the side, implementing whatever ideas I have. Working for someone else just isn’t sustainable in this society at this present time. Once you are able to take care of yourself and are street smart, work for yourself.

From my experience here are a few benefits of learning business/commerce:
*You know what an economy is and how it works to an extent (economics)
*You can easily understand how to invest in shares for example (finance)
*You could start your own business (accounting)
*You can haggle and learn how to get the best deals for home loans, credit options etc (finance)
*Control over your financial life and being at ease and having clarity about where your money is going and how it’s going to help you. A key concept here would be that the first chunk of money you earn is going to be the hardest. After you have a certain amount of money, it’s easier to get more money because by then you would have financial investments/securities which make money for you. Money making money sounds divine doesn’t it. 

One piece of advice I’ve taken aboard is you can do more than one thing at a time. So if you are at uni, you might have other pursuits on the side. You could learn how to draw, learn to play an instrument, work, learn and practise spirituality. Going to college doesn’t mean you just go to college. As Aya said before he did a lot of self-learning while at college. I would recommend that highly if you desire to choose the college path. If you don’t, then it’s even more important ?. From my perspective, a lot of the stuff being taught in my degree isn’t too useful, but it has given me fresh perspectives on things that I wouldn’t normally come across on my own. I do recommend college for everything else it offers though: the people and the activities.

Some people have treated uni as a game. Steve Pavlina who is a personal development teacher is a good example. He completed a science degree majoring in maths and computer science in 3 semesters! I would love to do that but the beaurecracy here at my uni wouldn’t let anyone do that.
Another benefit of having a degree is the amount of recognition you get from others. Adama said above it acts like a ‘shield’ and I think it would. You might also have more self-respect if you completed a degree. If you treated it as a game and had a goal in mind of what you wanted to achieve in your degree and achieved it, then for me that is great. Keep in mind though, having a degree doesn’t mean anything to an employer. The employer only hires those who can do the job and do it well. That’s if you want to be employed in the first place. If you wanted to work for yourself, then you might need some business skills and ideas to implement. Most of this would come from self-learning I believe.

On the subject of money, although many people think that having the bare minimum amount of money is ok, it certainly isn’t comfortable. Money isn’t evil and it has its uses. Having a good grip on where you finances is integral to not only your physical but also psychological wellbeing. Having a couple million dollars in the bank does make you feel good. Here is a good list of why money is important and what it’s good for:

Money can buy pleasure, but it can’t buy happiness.
Money can buy knowledge, but it can’t buy culture.
Money can buy abundance, but it can’t buy contentment.
Money can buy entertainment, but it can’t buy wit.
Money can buy beauty, but it can’t buy true appreciation of beauty.
Money can buy comfort, but it can’t buy friendship.
Money can buy security and the remove the fear of want. It can’t buy serenity.

~quoted from Make Your Life Worth Living by Grenville Kleiser

I hope that helps!

Yang

Ayahuasca pretty much summed up the pros and cons in a balanced and sensible way and I can't think of much to add to what's already been said other than I'm somebody who didn't go to university.  So I have the other side perspective.  People who do go to college would probably look at my job resume and cringe because it consists of the sorts of jobs that they deem lowly.  From ages 18 to about 23 I did a lot of waitressing and restaurant work - cocktailing, hostess/cashier, and waiting tables.   Also hotels, as a front desk clerk.   It's not easy but at that point for who I was I enjoyed it.   Working at restaurants and hotels gave me tons of people experience, I saw a lot and learned a lot.  I also went on a lot of road trips during the time period when others are in school, so I was traveling around, seeing things.   Combined, it was all the equivelant, if not more so, than the experience people - supposedly - gain at college.   And it cost a lot less and was much more fun.   Although really, how much are you learning about people and life when you're either partying or have your head buried in books?     At age 23 on the advise of a fellow waitress I signed on with a temp agency (in SoCal) and so began my last ten years of office work in four different states.  For awhile I mixed up offices, hotels and restaurants, but by this point in the game where it's strictly office work via temp agencies.  I'll never go back to hotels and restaurants if I can help it. 

At this point I'm quite happy with what I'm doing.  Temping in offices is not for everybody, and I'm not making $75,000 a year.........but I'm not willing to go through what others go through in order to make $75K a year.   I can't, it'll kill my soul.   I can not sit there and learn subjects I'm not interested in.  I tried twice, and left college twice because of that.   I can't can't can't do it.  I had this biology class and lab at Saddleback Valley Community college in Mission Viejo CA back in '94 with a teacher that droned on and on and on in this monotone way, soulless and bland, and I couldn't sit still.  I kept getting up to leave to go to the rest room and walk around outside aimlessly as an excuse to just to get away.   I felt like I was wasting my life and my money.  It was pointless.   And the architecture of that place, especially the library...........it was like prison.   Big fortress looking place with minimal windows.   We talked about that before here at NR, how so many of these community/technical/art etc. colleges are designed like prisons.  And so I finally left.  (I was 20 at the time.  Now I'm 32.)  I never regretted my decision.   The weird part was, grade-wise I was doing fine.  I was taking Algebra, Humanities, Biology, script writing, and other assorted general ed classes and getting A's, with a B in algebra.   But sitting through those classes....doing work I didn't enjoy, forced to read books I didn't give two craps about, learning subjects that I don't like, listening to teachers with bad presentations.........and the Humanities class.............she wanted us to pair up in these little groups and do these little group projects...........just like we were in highschool.  There was no difference.   It was highschool for "adults."

And that's the most important thing to note.  Can one endure what's expected of college?   It has its pros as some have outlined, but it also has its cons, including having to take courses you don't enjoy and can't stomach, with no choice in the matter because it's a stipulation of getting your degree.  There's also the strenuous workload, late nights writing papers, cramming for tests (again, often times on subjects that are of no interest to you or stuff you may even outright disagree with..)  all of which does drain people.   People come out of college different from how they were when they went in, and it's not always for the better.   They often seem flattened, deadened.   I have personal experience with people who had the life sucked out of them at school.  It wasn't pretty!   

When we're out and about here in town we see college kids all over the place, studying at cafes and coffeeshops, since there's the University of Virginia here.   Each and every time I have a personal shudder and feel so thankful that I'm not them.   I don't envy them hunched over books, looking miserable.   And they usually always look pretty miserable.    I feel like I'm free.  I temp in offices, I make what I need to survive with money left over to save...............I have no college debts and student loans to pay off.  I'm free.  They're not.   

Society pummels us with programming that we can't make it in this world without a college degree.  Well, I did.  And I'm doing better than many college grads are, actually.   Ratio-wise, I seem to actually be on par with what they're making many times......if not more so.  Because they have loans and debts they have to pay off, mortgages and car payments, credit cards and sometimes even kids.  All this stuff I don't have.   So I make less......but yet I may actually be making more than they are in life after you figure in all their expenses they have to pay for that I don't have.  They followed society's programming and look where it got them.   Even worse.........often times they're competing with people like me for jobs.    Now what's THAT all about?  !!   Isn't a college degree supposed to net you higher range jobs?   Not anymore, apparently.  People graduate school and find themselves competing with people like me, or taking jobs they hate that have nothing at all to do with their majors, just so they can HAVE a job.   That's not what having a degree is supposed to do.  Isn't having a degree supposed to pretty much guarantee well paying jobs in your chosen major?     

There are exceptions to every rule and there are college grads who have fulfilling careers making $100-200K a year, with the "respect" that goes with it, but I still wouldn't trade places with them.   I don't need society's respect - it wants to look down on me because I don't have a degree?   Shrug.  That's their problem, not mine.  They have a lot to learn.   Also their lives have stress that I don't have.  They paid a price in my opinion.   Do they have all this free time to just lay around, knitting, going for walks in the woods, sipping tea, reading, writing, etc.?  No.  People are always running around stressed in this life wishing they had time to do the things I do.   So I don't envy them.   I dress way nicer than a lot of these college grads who are supposed to be making more money than me, I have more free time and less stress overall.    But society said that the route I took was the wrong way to go.  That I'd fail in life.     My highschool teacher warned us so many times, "If you don't go to college you'll wind up driving the Hostess HoHo's truck!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   (good ol' Mrs. Marietta...what a character!  )  Well, I didn't go to collge...and I'm not driving the HoHos truck. 

I carved out a nice little niche for myself in life with office work, which isn't for everybody.  So my only recommendation for somebody who's considering not going to school is to think of what you'd be doing instead.  I accidentally fell into the things I'm doing, living an accidental life, but it all worked out.  So, what about you?  What would you be doing instead?

Hi

I was enrolled in university for two years, and ended up attending about 3-6 weeks of classes total.  The environment is pretty cool, if you're into the whole scene.  It wasn't for me though.  I've learned more away from school than I ever did and will in school.  And now I can say that I feel free, and am closer to being than I've ever been in a long time.

If those ideas appeal to you then probably the best thing you can do is try and find work in those places. Setting up a business on your own without any experience is probably not a great idea, particularly if you're not entirely sure if you'll enjoy it. So, why not contact all the health food stores within a 5-10 mile radius from where you live, and ask them if they can give you a job or if they'll keep your name on file if a job becomes available in the near future.

Also try natural health centres, perhaps as admin/receptionist initially, which may be a bit boring but at least you'd come into contact with a lot of therapists/counsellors so you can get to know them and learn how they operate.

I know quite a lot about the holistic/natural health industry, particularly here in the UK if that's where you are, so you're welcome to email me privately if you need more specific information or contacts. I also run www.holisticlocal.co.uk which is a good place to network with thousands of people who are running holistic/ethical businesses.

Andy

I have the oppurtunity in January to go to the University of Connecticut and have been pondering night and day whether I should go or not.  I feel like it will be good for me because right now all I'm doing is living at my parents not really working or getting out much.  But after researching for months on the events that are close at hand, it seems like it would not be a good time to get into debt.  I would say that is my biggest issue.
Any advice on this?

It might offer an experience that you are meant to have...or it might not.

Before you go to sleep at night, ask the question to the dream world. And when you awake, write down your dreams. Keep writing them down, every day, the answer will be there. But make sure you write them down. I have found that the dream that contains the message is not always part of the dream (s) that we remember apon awakening. The unremembered dream may be seperate from the unconsious mind. It possibly exists at a different level. But writing down the other dreams trigger your memory of the higher dream that contains the answer.

For example, about a week ago I was writing down a dream when I awoke - which triggered the memory of another dream that I dreamt - that happened AFTER the experience of the dream i was writing down. And it had the answer I was looking for! But I couldn't remember it when I awoke in the morning even though it was the last experience I had while in the dream world that night/morning. It was too "high," I guess, maybe.

Also, as you awake every day, pose your question to the universe and then pay attention throughout the day. Waking reality is symoblic and metaphorical and miraculous!   

personally, I don't think you should let the fear of debt stop you if you really want to go. 

aNDRE dILOn