James Altucher's 8 Alternatives to College

Anyone who listens to this asshole is doom to failure.
Make people laugh? Paint? Travel (what job pays you to go on a vacation?)

Hey I have a ninth suggestion. Shit in one hand and wish into the other and tell me which one fills up first!

Jerry

jerryb wrote:Shit in one hand

Most degrees are worth about as much nowadays.

I agree Kyle. This guy is a dildo, he could have presented his case much better than he did. A trade school could be a better option, certifications in a certain job type. Unless your getting a degree in some type of engineering, medical or some type of career in high demand you can wipe your ass with the paper its printed on. Your forced to take classes you dont need to accomplish your career choice. What the fuck do you need a humanities or history course for if your getting a Chemical engineering degree. Its BS, they just want to milk you for every penny they can. i see these poor people graduate from college in debt up to their ears and then they cant even find a fucking job. A prime example what good does a degree in Criminal justice do you...not a fucking thing. If you want to be a CPA, then you should only need to take classes relating to that degree. It will save you money and shorten the time you are in college.

My wife has a Masters degree in Mental health counseling. Not a bad degree...you need at least a masters for it to be worth shit. Yet my broke ass with 2 years of college and no degree makes almost double what she does. She spent 6 years in college and still has school debt to pay. Yes I could one day be shot,stabbed,beaten up or killed in a car crash ,but my job is a necessity and always will be...hence the pay and benefits. But not everyone has the desire or stomach for that. Skilled mechanics,medical, communications are other career choices that are lucrative.

I agree. I have a Master's degree in Mental Health and and even though the potential is there to make big money, I certainly was not prepared to do so coming out of grad school. To make big money in my field you also have to be a businessman, not just a clinician. So you have to learn the skills of marketing, networking, collecting, and investing.

A four year degree can be worthless if it's not in an area where there is high demand. For instance, you have a nursing degree, you'll find a 60,000 dollar job right out of school with good hours and probably decent benefits . Now take the same amount of money that you paid for that nursing degree and get yourself a B.A in English, or Psychology, or History. What the hell are you going to do with that ? Teach maybe, in Junior High. Bachelors are getting even worse these days. 10 years ago you could graduate with a Bachelors in electrical engineering and almost have a guaranteed job right out of college. Now you need a master's degree for the that kind of guarantee.

and Bill, cops aren't the only folks that benefit from a high demand area. Look at all these tech guys that have a 2 year tech degree working with Cisco Routers and shit, making good money in an industry that needs them.

But do I still plan to send my kids to college... HELL YES. The college experience is more than what you learn in class, it's everything else. And I'm not just talking about the partying, I'm talking about the exposure to all different sorts of interests and pursuits, as well as meeting so many different people.

It's the one time in most people's lives, that they can simply learn and be mature enough "hopefully" to appreciate it, and not just look at is as chore like you do in highschool.

Ovich wrote: and Bill, cops aren't the only folks that benefit from a high demand area. Look at all these tech guys that have a 2 year tech degree working with Cisco Routers and shit, making good money in an industry that needs them.

Tech degrees are pretty worthless nowadays because of certification programs. The tech industry also has the problem that a new hot thing becomes the job to get that everyone jumps on and floods the market, it's happened to pretty much all facets of IT. Going to college for IT degrees has become pretty much pointless unless you are trying to make it in a big company who generally also want some business experience as well to go with the IT training, but then you are usually one against thousands for a single position. And of course with all the flooding of quick training tech certifications that come and flood the market, and also lower the general pay being put out, you got aspects of the industry that constantly get outsourced to other countries.

College has lot of benefits especially for maturing a person I think when younger, but the system is messed up with the cost of education becoming more and more ridiculous.

My tech degree isn't worthless - it's the reason I can find a job in 2 months in this economy when others search for over 1 year.

It's the reason I can now sit at home in my sweat pants and work for Disney.

No fly by night certification holds the weight of a 4 year degree.

What exact degree do you have?

Bachelors of Science in Computer Information Systems

Harvard?

ShadowMaster wrote:Bachelors of Science in Computer Information Systems

Wow, I got the same degree, maybe that's good for me, but I never tried to look anyways as I currently work with the family business which makes far more money than I could in an IT job. Course various professors would even tell us how worthless the degrees were becoming and had one telling students it would be better for them to just get a certification if they wanted to focus on a specific area. After I got my Bachelors I did get A+ certified for the heck of it as well, but again I haven't used any of my education because I just got better opportunities elsewhere.

Though buddies who went to school with me have not had much luck with same degree up in Orlando.

from what iv seen(at least in my field) is that its both experience and degrees

i got a job within 3 days of being fired

hivefleet psychodelic wrote:from what iv seen(at least in my field) is that its both experience and degrees

i got a job within 3 days of being fired

Damn Psych, I have a degree - Bachelor Information Technology (graduated with honors) and CompTIA Network +; A + certifications. I have been out of work and looking for over a year!

like i said jerry i its the field and city

i have close to 12 years of experience and a associates in culinary plus im in Miami

Whatever, guys, the point we're trying to make is that the same schmoe who got a 4 year degree in Philosophy is gonna have a harder time finding a job than someone with a 2 year tech degree. Unless it's not in the field he studied like Kyle and his family business.

University is no longer about just having a good career, it's about life experience and being in an environment unlike any other place. Most professors will tell you that they didn't just become a professor because they love their area of study, they became one because they love the college atmosphere and academia.

My brother has a PHD in Computer Science. He can go work for Microsoft or Apple or any large Computer industry company, but is instead doing a fellowship at Harvard, why? Because he likes to look at beautiful young ass, sip mocha late on campus, and show up for work at 11 oclock to teach his 1 class.

^^^^^^ sounds like my kinda gig! Live like Hank Moody!

So what do i do with my life after highschool, you guys depress me =/

Well depends what you wanted to do. Some options are better than others depending on what field you are interested in.

I have switched what I wanted to do after highschool soo many times idk man. At first I was thinking pyschology but i hear it's trash, then some type of biology more towards the marine half, but not sure how the pay is what the hell the demand for a job is in that, now i'm leaning towards business, but i heard the obama adminstration has fucked small businesses big time so I really don't know what to do when the reality of finshing highschool is a year away for me and I'm worried on what the hell i'ma do with my life. I'm not your A's and B's student but i'm sure as hell not failing anything. =/

There are no easy answers.

I went to college and graduated with two degrees, one in computer science and one in English. The English was what I wanted to do. The computer science is what I did to get a job willing to sponsor me for a green card. I worked three jobs and it took me several years but I got those degrees. I figured computers were not a bad gig and that's where the money was at and technology is in demand (at least, that's what my guidance counselor told me).

Got hired as a programmer right after college. Six years later, I'm on the cusp of getting that green card...through marriage.

What did I learn in that time? That I fucking hate computers programming, that people are utter assholes who'll exploit the motherfucking shit out of you, and, more importantly, that you can't do something just because of the money.

You know what they say about programmers making the big bucks? That's true. What they don't tell you is that to get those type of jobs (i.e. the Microsoft, Amazon, et al jobs) you have to really good, and really know what you're doing, which means you have to keep hitting the books, keep studying, keep practicing your skills. And there's no way in hell you'll be able to keep at it unless you have a passion for it.

Otherwise, it will all look different. You'll schlep in and out of a cubicle on a daily basis, an interminable purgatory where the clock can't move fast enough to release you home, where you spend your time counting down - to lunch, to the evening, to the weekend, to the next holiday... and you'll wonder if it's worth it (hit: it's not).

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make, whatever you do, stop thinking about it in terms of the money. God knows I did that, and yeah, check out my history in the trading board, my BTown rating, and my eBay rating. God knows I've had the money for plenty of toys.

Am I happy? Fuck no. I wake up angry every morning and dread going to bed every night (some weeks I have endless insomnia).

Look, find something that you like to do. Something you enjoy. You don't even have to be sure if you want to do it the rest of your life. But the US is huge, and as long as you're willing to adapt, you can make money (remember, Miami has one of the highest costs of livings and the lowest salary averages in the country).

If you go to college, try to get in on as many things as you think you want to do as you can. That's a great time to figure out what you want from life. If you don't go (and even if you do), there's a sense of accomplishment from building up your own business. It may be a lot of work, but if you have an idea that you really believe in, you'll put the work in - my sister doesn't have a college degree, but owns two businesses, about to start expanding to more, drives a Mercedes, and is by far the most successful person in my family. Fuck, I might even go into business with her.

Or listen to our fine men in blue and do something that society needs and you won't mind doing.

Just stop thinking of it as "OMG how am I going to get guaranteed money?" because that's a slippery slope.

The best part of growing up is that you're not stuck in any one place for long. At most after four years in any one school life changes completely and you start again. The real world can stay exactly the same for a fucking eternity.

@Z
I'll concur with Endre that you really need to love what you do in order to be successful at it.

I can relate to his tale of cubicle life. I've had some jobs I just dread to go to over the years. Each day is long and awful.

I also don't like to program (much), so I found myself a niche in performance testing. That I do like and that I am good at.

@Endre - If you hate to program, you need to find a new niche. BA, PM, QA, etc. If you want out of development completely, then I'd give your sister a call as that sounds like a good option to try something new.

If you'd like I can cross train you on the HP automation test tools (QTP, LoadRunner, etc). You need some light C code, but you certainly don't need to crank it out 8 hours a day. It's an in demand skill set that pays very well once you master it. Plus you get to open bug logss instead of fix them.

Zephel,
My advice to you is to not be afraid to network, because that's how you learn, from other people. I know the idea of networking to a highschooler, sounds like a bunch of bullshit. But that's the best way to get information about the industry that you may be going into. Don't be afraid to call someone up out of the blue and ask them if you can talk to them for about 10 minutes to pick their brain. The worse they can do is say "no".

Example. : Let's say you're interested in Psychology. There's nothing wrong with calling up a psychologist in the yellow pages and asking if you can have 10 minutes of their time because you are a graduating highschool student and want to learn more about the industry. I know if someone called me up, I'd give them that time, why ? Because I'll get their name and email and #, and 5 years down the road, if I've occasionally stayed in touch, that person is going to remember me and hook me up with something that I may need. I scratch your back you scratch mine... that's the way everything works, business, politics, economy, everything.

So go out there, talk to people who know and who will be genuine. Figure out what interests you and go for it. College will give a you a few chances to experiment with shit that you may be interested in. Remember that even if you're interested in something, or have a passion for it, it may not translate into a wonderful career. You might love painting miniatures, but start working for a company where you have to paint 500 miniatures a week and when you slow down you have some asshole breathing down your neck, and you have to paint them a certain way, not the way you like to do it, and then you have document what you painted and how much paint you used and which brushes need replacement and so forth and so on. Pretty soon that dream job turned to shit...

So it can be a little disconcerting, but get out there and talk to people, because if you stay in a vacuum, that's how you'll end up making poor decisions.

I guess. I've even thought of (though probablly stupid difficult) of either getting good at painting models and trying to work for GW or opening a kind of shop similar to joel's here in hialeah. But meh idk. I'm also in that kind of state of limbo of " I don't know what really interests me." like something that I can get passoniate about.