Did you go to college?
If “Yes”, what did you study and was it worth it? If “No”, do wish you had gone?
If you’re currently in college, what are you studying and do you think it’s going to be worth it? If you’re still in high school, do you plan to go to college (if so, what will you study)? If you’re in elementary school, go tell your parents to put a block on this website.
→ 12 answers so far ↓
1
MissBella
// Nov 24, 2009 at 10:32 am
Currently in, and studying Comm. And No, I’m not gonna end up working at Borders, which is what people tell me.
But I don’t have the whole “college experience” of being in a dorm, partying every night and holding my friend’s hair back when they puke. I like 20 mins away, save a buttload of money and eat and sleep at my house when I’m around. Some people can say that sucks, but I wanted to stay in the city after high school and that’s what I did.
I can only hope it’s all worth it.
2
Natalie
// Nov 24, 2009 at 11:44 am
I didn’t go to a traditional college. I went to audio engineering school and not until many, many years after high school. Once I graduated, I had a lot of different jobs in the field which meant I was insanely poor and worked ungodly hours. But I also spent a lot of time around musicians which eventually led me to start playing and writing music myself. And now I even get paid to make music sometimes and get really funny feedback on my work, like this note from the project manager on a piece I wrote last week for a video game: “I think this achieves the proper sense of grandiosity and militance, and has a nice Wagnerian edge to it that implies a yen to conquer.”
I occasionally wish I’d had the regular college experience, but I’m pretty stoked about how things turned out for me. I wouldn’t want to change any of it.
3
beth
// Nov 24, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Yes. I studied Communications, I work in that field today and love my job. I am very happy with my choice of topic, especially because it wasn’t my initial major. It found me and it is a perfect fit.
@MissBella you are right – don’t listen to discouraging things people might say about this field…you’ll soon see that it can be applied in many different ways once you leave school and it leaves your options wide open. If detractors persist – simply explain that you prefer to not pigeonhole yourself.
BTW – In addition to your standard comms classes, I high encourage you to take some graphic/web design courses as well, if you aren’t already – or at least learn the software and lingo. It greatly helps.
4
c lo
// Nov 24, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I went to college and I have a degree in theatre. Even though it took me way longer than normal to get it, I feel it was worth it. I would tell anyone else doing it to drink less and finish faster, though.
I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college so that’s kind of cool.
5
feverishpoptart
// Nov 24, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I’m a fashion school drop out so I don’t know if that quaifies. Right now I am debating whether or not I want to return to school and continue my fashion education. If I do go back I will study at a community college and not spend 15,000 like I did on my one year at fidm.
6
Stace
// Nov 24, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I went to college and graduated with a BSBA in International Business and Marketing. I’m now in process of waiting to see if I got into to start an MBA program. Was it worth it? Depends, I’m pulling in a good amount, however I didn’t have a lot of scholarships to attend so I think I may be debt free in 5 years, I’ve been paying on it for 4.5 years as it is in amount that’s only a couple of hundred short of my rent, or about equal to my car payment. Assuming I can pay as I go for the MBA program, I will be debt free in five years.
As far as the more non-debt related worth, I think it was. I didn’t want to go to a public school and attend class with 200 other students in every class. My graudating class from the business school was the size of my high school class (~130). I’m not actually convinced the school’s name helped me any as no one out here knows about it (or just some general stats on it).
Future schooling: The MBA is the new BSBA so it will, in theory, let me advance faster than without.
7
phil
// Nov 24, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I went to school and studied Spanish & History. I learned a lot and taught Spanish for a while and I like running my mouth off about things I know so in a sense it helped me.
I say it was worth it, but my late grandmother paid my tuition bill. If I’d had to pay it myself I would probably think differently. I also went to some grad school which was worth it because it allowed me to get a teaching license.
8
dav
// Nov 24, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I graduated with a degree in Environmental Science. It helped for my first couple of years out of college when I went to work for the EPA. I then quickly realized that I hated this field, and all office work, so I ate shit and went on the road playing music. Now I make music and art and build stages (for actual money) and am fairly happy how it all turned out.
9
Tiffany!
// Nov 25, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Yes, I went to college. I am the proud holder of a BA in English Lit from SFSU, an AA (Hons) Bio, an AA (Hons) Humanities-Theatre, and an AA (also Hons) English.
Having just finished that BA in May, I have to say it was entirely worth it. Not only for the job market, which I can tell you means “you must have at least a BA” when they say “BA preferred,” but also for the self-worth it has given me. I mean, I know that it is just a piece of paper, but it really isn’t. The degree meant proving to myself that I could go back and finish my last year with all the smart youngsters and still do well. The papers which I completed over the past year are a testament to my ability to go through the most emotionally heartbreaking time of my life and still hold down a job, get to class, and even have organized, coherent, and original thought.
I am in the market for a job at present, and having the degrees seems to make me look good enough in paper to interview… So, if I can keep it together in front of those demanding interviews, it will all be even sweeter.
10
ryanb
// Nov 30, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I
have an AA in liberal arts from Mendocino College, and maybe 5-6 years of undergrad at various schools in various subjects, and never graduated.
My last 2 years of wasting money was at Sonoma State, where I ostensibly studied history. For a job, I worked in the computer lab/help desk part-time. That quickly became my #1 activity, and I started tweaking around with other IT-related stuff, building computers, etc, in my off hours. All of it was to optimise my Quake game, which I played straight for probably 4-5 years in various forms. Anyhow, the help desk/lab job lead me to apply for a position at UCSC with the Astronomy Dept, and I left college with a semester to go for graduation, although I was probably going to be dismissed for academic probation anyhow. I’ve been working in IT for about 10-12 years now give or take.
The subjects I studied in college have never been instrumental or even pertinent to anything I’ve done for a living (I’ve never taken a comp-sci class). If I had to do it again I’d get a degree in MIS or something, just to have it on my resume, but even that has little to do with what I do now. Most jobs in my field have listed as a requirement “BS in blah blah, or equivalent experience”.
11
sarah
// Dec 18, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I have a BA in Sociology from UCSC and in terms of where I am today, it was absolutely instrumental. I went to law school directly out of college, which was a huge mistake. However, I am still in the legal field as a paralegal and find my career very rewarding. If I hadn’t majored in something so nebulous as an undergrad, I wouldn’t have made the snap decision to go to law school and I wouldn’t have discovered a job I am very good at. The money ain’t bad either.
In terms of being “worth it”, my parents paid for my entire tuition and I’d like to think that they feel they made a wise investment. In-state tuition was ridiculously cheap and I never lived in the dorms – total bargain. However, I took out loans for law school and will be paying off that one year for the rest of my adult life.
12
Jamie
// Dec 21, 2009 at 12:46 pm
BA in Sociology from SFSU and I just finished (like literally on Friday) a post-grad Music Business certificate program at SFSU Extended Learning.
Both compliment what I am doing now: non-profit that serves as a resource to the music community around social activism, philanthropy and non-partisan political activities. and hopefully will continue to when I get a sweet digital music distribution job (hopefully)!
Bummer that I have to start the pay train now though, monthly well into the future…..
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