Not right now, as I’m broker than broke. The bureaucratic nightmare of reapplying for federal aid, necessary loans, to schools, the possibility that I’m still not mentally capable enough, not willful enough to overcome my disabilities in order to thrive in a learning environment… Higher education in the U.S. is also just such a racket. International schools still charge absurd prices for foreigners, especially from the U.S., because they know they can. There are so many universities to choose from, some programs deemed more prestigious than others, some degrees that mean everything and some that mean utterly nothing. It’s a chaotic, confusing mess and I’m mortified of the prospect of dealing with it again.
On the other hand, I need a goal. A purpose. Passion. Something to move me forward rather than just being stuck in a dead end job I can barely tolerate just to continue living paycheck to paycheck. When I first tried college, I studied anthropology and I loved it. I just couldn’t keep up with the course work, or the physical labor of getting to class every day (20 minute walk to and from class, had class ~3 times a day, all hours apart). I became an alcoholic and barely made it out alive… by flunking out. I also absolutely despise gen-ed courses like algebra, science, etc. when they don’t specifically pertain to my field of study and it makes it very difficult to stay motivated to not fail out of them.
Idk. I have ideas brewing in my head about what I could do with a degree, specifically an Anthropology-Korean dual major, or anthro major Korean minor. I could write a counter-ethnography dispelling the hegemonic western, liberal orientalism regarding the DPRK from shit like “The Cleanest Race”, with specific interest in DPRKorea’s nuclear program and the way the people view it, especially when it comes to their nuclear power outside of the purview of western mouthpieces, like the nuclear power electrifying their nation. But I’m also a white Amerikan. Do we need more white Amerikans writing ethnographies? Could I accidentally wind up contributing to the orientalist hegemon I despise so much? At a personal level, could I even survive if I pursued this path, or would I simply die a destitute, ridiculed anthropologist?
Just something I’ve been thinking about. I’d like to know comrades’ thoughts.
Can you imagine living somewhere with free schooling and college? Just go and take some courses for the hell of it just to learn things?
If your passion is a field in academia and you will be working in academia you will be fine, imo. The thing about academia is that the connections you make will be with the professors who teach you, so it’s easier in that regard (as someone who graduated in biology). Passion shines through, and the best/hardest workers and those who thrived and grew the most were those who enjoyed the field.
You may be able to find marxists in your field, and if not then maybe in your history department which should be next door. As a side note - if you’re trying to explain anti imperialist concepts, try listening to what Jeffrey Sachs has to say and quote him and/or distill stuff in the same manner as he does - as you know, western academics LOVE other people with strong western academic backgrounds.
I’m in a similar position to you where I’m considering going back to school but my mental health has taken a battering these last few years. I feel you when you say you’re not sure if you’ll last without a drive - I already did that in biology and I’m terrified of doing it again. So I don’t know what to go back for…it has to be right. Love that you’re considering a language minor as I am self studying Japanese by myself and it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve done since graduating.
I dropped out of school and went back a few years later to finish my B.A specializing in philosophy at a very prestigious school. While I found some topics interesting I was mainly disappointed by the curriculum and classes and felt like I was just trying to get a very expensive piece of paper. That sucks but at least it would improve my employment prospects and open up the job market to me, or so I thought. Decent jobs related to my degree are few and far between, and degrees are a dime a dozen these days. Decent jobs are so competitive these days it’s crazy. I have a job I like now but the pay isn’t great and a degree isn’t required for it. I’m still paying off student loans nearly 15 years later from when I first started and will be for years.
That being said, I still had a good experience overall, especially with extracuriculars and socializing, but was it worth it? Probably not. If I can give some advice, it would be to either study in a field that is in demand so that you have better chances of getting a good job, or if you go the dreamer route like I did, to have the mindset that you will truly be ok with your degree not paying off, and that it will be worth it for personal interest and development.
I live with my folks. I’ve been trying to avoid college at all costs for a while, despite the coercion of a lot of people older than me…
It feels so dark and exploitative the situation out there, I can’t have it as long as I have the smallest ability to resist it.
Good for you for seeing through the illusory promise of success to the truth of it. I was pressured to go by my family as well because I got good grades and they still had the mentality that a degree was still the ticket to success that it was pre-2000s. Universities are like degree factories these days. They’re just businesses trying to extract as much money as they can from the gullible.
I should have been more clear in my original comment- I don’t recommend going to university lol
Oh it’s disgusting. I was just thinking about it. As a younger person I wanted to hang low and get the f out of amerikkka in time, but I was disrupted by adults like that, they don’t respect my wishes.
And it’s been a very painful thing. They don’t get what they want from me, there is no way for them to do that as I have absolutely not allowed it.
And I get nothing productive for myself. Think of all the better things you can do with that sort of money and time.
Boomers need to understand it’s not the 60s anymore. Unless you have connections or are super lucky it’s a losing game. I’ve come across articles that show even STEM grads are having a hard time finding jobs. Keep standing your ground and living your best life G 💪
Gary Roth talks about this problem in The Educated Underclass: Students and the False Promise of Social Mobility if anyone needs some academic research to prove how bad the situation is.
Another thing that winds me up is that in that time of growth in the West, boomers were able to do well without a degree. A degree / trade qualifications just decided how cushy the job was.
Thanks for that, I’ll keep that on hand if I ever need to dunk on some boomers lol.
Yeah they really had it made, so much so that they never had to learn anything else and are mentally stuck in those times, telling young people to " just get a job" as if that will solve all their problems. It’s infuriating.
it’s my feeling that the boomers have lost their right to run society now, they can have some advisory roles but most of the time they are just full of it, regressives
You’re in the USA? consider community college to start, cheaper, and credits can be transferred to a four year university
Absolutely. Advisors can help you figure out the best way to transfer to university too. See if you can work for the college or university for tuition reduction. That was the only way my family could make higher Ed work without taking on loads of debt
I need a goal. A purpose. Passion.
I think alot of people feel like this nowadays, without religion where do the wanderers and great seekers of truth go for enlightenment and wisdom? CNN? alot of people turn to conspiracy theories, as if the aliens and MIB are covering up some great truth. College presents itself as a place for knowledge yet as you say you just wind up taking remedial math courses while hungover, the multibillion dollar system of higher education has one simple goal, pointless mind-numbing careerism. Ironically the reason American anthropologists have to take remedial math is to avoid such a conundrum, and give the student a broader more diverse education. I suppose we could blame the wealthy as keeping the serfs illiterate has always been a longtime goal of theirs. However I think that makes as much sense as banning us from reading the bible. sure you as an illiterate peasant are banned from learning latin, but there is no great truth in the bible, so you shouldn’t want to learn latin to begin with.
“We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.” - Charlie Chaplin
I feel you on the point about finding school abroad :(. I’m on the fence about trying to find cheaper school abroad, but I honestly don’t think it’ll be as easy as I have it in my mind. Also, having to uproot your life can be pretty draining, and in my own life, it’s been something I’ve done quite a bit.
I recently got back into class, and shit, math is kicking my ass but I can’t keep doing my day-job. Having to flip burgers day in and day out just drains the absolute life from me. I wish you well in your academic endeavors (I had to use auto-correct to spell endeavors…) :). Try to pace yourself if you can, and take advantage of whatever services you can. Government Wifi, ebt, whatever!
I would recommend against it if you primarily want the extracurricular social experience and your finances are limited. However I think if there’s a field you enjoy and the USA university learning style more or less works for you, I think it is perfectly valid to pursue a degree for the sake of learning, as long as you can avoid most of the financial burden.
In-state public colleges can be quite affordable if (1) you avoid the housing and dining system at all costs (they are pretty universally a massive scam in my opinion, as much as I like the idea of centralized dining facilities and cafeterias), and (2) you secure an employee discount. It seems common that universities grant a ~75% tuition/fees discount to faculty and staff, which may be used by them or their family members (some schools have different stipulations). If a family member is not going to switch jobs to help you out, you may be able to seek a part-time classified staff position (NOT a student-employee position) that is eligible for such a discount.
Regarding the difficulty of scheduling and of travelling to campus everyday, you could consider a reduced course load and possibly adding a class or two over the summer term, as well as planning your schedule to only have classes Tuesday/Thursday or MWF. You could also stick to only morning or afternoon classes and only go to campus once a day. This is harder if you have more specialized coursework though.
Hopefully some of this is helpful. Best of luck with whatever you choose to do. Someone mentioned studying Marxism in China, whirh would be incredibly badass if you’re up to it—though I think it’d be hard, unfortunately I don’t think I’d be cut out for it.
While I’m home-schooled now, I kind of miss the days of my middle school, you know it wasn’t something that good, then I thought it was bad, but now looking back it was actually good, of course it wasn’t the best experience ever, but miles better than high school was, there were plenty of pricks of course and much conflict every now and then in the class, the school as a whole even had a nickname ‘‘cowboy school’’, but nothing compared to high-school morons and miles better than it(it’s literally hell), even all teachers except 1 or 2 were top notch.
Shame I had to change it though, it would be actually beautiful if I stayed until 8th grade until the end, new school after was terrible since they hyped it up as ‘‘much better than the previous’’, better my ass, almost everyone was mean and removed there and teachers were the biggest downgrade but even that pales in comparison to high school, ugh I hate it, kind got over with a rant lol.
I present two options for your consideration:-
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Provided you meet the entry requirements, enroll at ELAM in Cuba and become a bi-lingual doctor basically for free.
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Devote your life to the class struggle, join a local communist party recognised by the Chinese government, learn to speak Mandarin and then apply through your party to study applied Marxism abroad in China through the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Damn, standards for U.S. enrollment are higher for ELAM. I can understand why but it’s still a bummer.
Fr though, both sound like the dream.
Reckon you’d consider giving either a crack? In terms of a life goal or purpose I don’t think you could do much better than healing the sick or fighting for the working class. With regards to the latter, Marxism is a pretty hot degree these days now that Xi Jinping is emphasising ideological piety throughout the party. There are plenty of opportunities to live in the course of the struggle. Increasingly, fighting the good fight doesn’t mean we have to carry a cross on our backs.
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