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.
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
The future belongs to those who want to make a better world for humanity and the planet, and if boomers are onboard with that great, if not they need to retire!