Quote:
Originally Posted by MickMcGeough
There is some bad advice in this thread.
If there was ever a day that you could say unequivocally "get a degree/diploma", that day is not today. There are plenty of fields where it's essential, but there are fields where universities and colleges have very little to offer, instruction-wise.
Investing four years of the prime of your life (and thousands of dollars) into getting an education so that you have something "to fall back on" is possibly the worst advice I've ever seen given.
Far better to spend that time traveling, exploring your interests, dedicating yourself to something you love (frivolous or not), etc. Figure out what makes you tick before investing those years into education, because once they're gone, they're gone for good.
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I think ma-skis.com's advice is good. IMO,getting a post secondary education "to fall back on" is good advice for most people, and most certainly is not time wasted.
Doing some travelling before settling down, may be advantageous for some, particularly if you are too young and immature to be successful at higher education.
However I have seen young people wasting too much of their young life devoted to having fun, doing things like trying to be "rock stars", doing creative things that they have no formal training or education in, etc.
Some of the possible drawbacks in this sort of lifestyle include:
1. Failure in being successful, resulting in loss of self esteem, and the
attendant problems
2. Unintentional pregnancy and obligations, which makes it much harder
to go back to school
3. Losing the most creative and energetic time of your life, that could be used to further your career. I believe a person's creativity peaks for most careers somewhere between 35 and 45 years of age and even much younger for the most gifted.
4. Falling in with the wrong crowd, etc.