I am a freshman in college and i dont know if it is worth it to continue my schooling. I originally wanted to transfer to a big university and get a BA degree in manufacturing engineering, but now i dont know. The more i think about it, it makes less and less sense to continue. I am currently working full time making around 260 a week. If i quit school i would get another part time job or work 3rd shift in a factory or somthing. That way i can keep saving my money and move out and get my own place to move on with my life. If i were to continue going to school in 4 years i would have a degree but i would be 40k in debt, probably still living at home, probably wouldnt have a carrer based job because the are'nt any. so to me it seems like im just wasting my money. I just doesnt make any sense especially with the way the economy is going. With school i dont fell motivated to do anything. I havent done alot of my math homework since it isnt graded which lead to failing the first exam. Im not doing very well in my english class due to the fact that i hate writing and that kinda thing so i dont try very hard. Im doing ok in my other 2 classes but i really wish i didnt have to go. So i have the choice to continue school and having no money or quiting school and having a little bit of money. I can see it maybe paying of to continue but i cant see it happening for at least 10 years. So i dont know what to do any more. Sorry i wasted your time reading this i just needed to vent.[sm=headbang.gif]

 

Enjoy life and stay in college. Don't be in a too big of a hurry to get out there in the work field. Get your 4 year degree even if you never work in the field you get your degree in. It will pay off.

Take it from a 42 year old with no degree. I thank God for the job I have, but I can see where a 4 year degree could have helped so much.

 

I'd stay. I'm currently in my first year of HVAC-R classes and I'm enjoying myself. I'm going for the 2-year degree, but I'm thinking of taking a half-load of morning classes and doing service calls the rest of the day instead of just going ahead and knocking it out in 2 years. That way I'll have a lot more money to work with while I'm in school.

 

A BA in engineering? Don't you mean a Bsc? There are lots of job opportunities in Engineering fields worldwide, you could always relocate after you graduate. Not to mention that the economy goes through phases, it is not going to be in this state forever. Trust me, 260 a week is nothing. I was making more than that in a day and even then it's not that much. I still quit this summer and am a student once again because I know it is worth it in the long run.

 

Take it from a guy thats been in HVAC/R for 28 years: you'll learn more in the field than in class.

Casey

 

Yeah I know. I have been coming along with my pops since I was old enough to use a screwdriver!I'm acing the class. I took the CFC exam more than a week ago after 8 weeks of school and got certified Universal. I could stop now and go right into the field if I didn't want to learn about centrifugal chillers and ice machines. [/align]

 

Definitely stay in school...Youre barely halfway through your first semester....College isnt easy, and you really have to dedicate yourself to it. You might wanna look into a job on campus. They usually will work around your class schedule to get you the most hours, while not interferring with class.

And seriously...go to class....Skipping is fun and seems like a great idea at the time...but then you get to finals and realize you havnt learned anything at all..Why throw away all that money and postpone your real life just to have an extra free hour during the week?

 

Dude stay in school it is not worth it to withdraw! Yea you may have the money now but everything adds up fast when your by yourself, you have rent, phone, internet, cable, water, electric, gas, and not to mention what will happen when your blazer breaks down? And once you start a family that money your making right now wont be nothing and you wont have time to spend with your kids because you'll be working crazy amount of shifts! What about time for yourself? The things you like to do. Go and get your degree that way you'll have something! You don't want to be working in a factory at all!!!!! I have 3 generations of factory workers in my family and they all say yea the money's good but the conditions such! My grandpa has had to have his knees replaced twice, and my dad is getting there. So go great that degree and yea you may be in debt but you will have plenty of time to pay it off, especially with a engineering degree. And if you don't like that then you could (not saying its a good idea) fall back onto a factory job.

 

Just remember

 

This may be an old post, but I am a freshman/sophmore Mechanical Engineering student at U of M. I had the same thoughts as I entered Calculus 2 and got my first B ever, but stick it through. I work on research projects with grads who start at $60K/yr. I know college can be expensive, but its worth it. I suggest applying for scholarships. I did, and wound up getting a full ride, but books are still expensive. Good luck!