[Ravioli]

I'll have to admit it. I really hated my high school days. I attended a ghetto high school and I got bullied a lot. I ended up attending college but I messed up big time. I wasn't interested in the courses in college because the ghetto environment of high school really made me lose interest in school. I failed a lot of my courses because I hated my college, the people, the environment, the boring courses, but now I really want my degree. I would give up all my luxuries just to have a degree because it's just too embarassing to meet new people and tell them that I don't have a degree.

Is it too late? I have a full time unionized job with good benefits and four weeks of vacation.

[Heinzftw]

Originally Posted by Ravioli

I'll have to admit it. I really hated my high school days. I attended a ghetto high school and I got bullied a lot. I ended up attending college but I messed up big time. I wasn't interested in the courses in college because the ghetto environment of high school really made me lose interest in school. I failed a lot of my courses because I hated my college, the people, the environment, the boring courses, but now I really want my degree. I would give up all my luxuries just to have a degree because it's just too embarassing to meet new people and tell them that I don't have a degree.

Is it too late? I have a full time unionized job with good benefits and four weeks of vacation.

Ahem, but first off look at your benefits. Your UNION! 99% of the time the union and/or your employer will pay you to go back to school. While attending my first semester of college the grocery store I worked at paid for 80% of it!
Best of luck!

[BMW F22]

If you are successful then who cares if you don't have a degree? Seriously if I've made it I wouldn't care what anyone thinks. The only reason that I would go back and finish up the degree is so that I can say that I've accomplished it (I hate giving up in general).

Anyhow, you can take online or night classes to fulfill the units. If you really want to dedicate the time it's actually not that bad.

[krote345]

Going back solely for your ego is foolish. You will do the same thing that you did before and probably do poorly because the motivation is not there. (Not intended to be derogatory in any way)

Going back, however, could be a fantastic idea if it is for the right reasons. Ie: career change, promotion opportunity, knowledge in a particular field, etc. My father worked after high school and busted his balls to raise our family with no college education At 29, he decided that he needed a college degree to support us so he went back to school. He busted his ass for the first year at Penn State and earned himself a full scholarship for his 3 remaining years at Bucknell's engineering college. He graduated, got a good engineering job, and now makes more from one job than he was making at 3 before. He loves what he does and the degree changed his entire life.

Moral of the story: The degree IS worth it, but only if you want something more than bragging rights. Plus the potential for you to have your education paid for is pretty enticing.

[Maestro]

As it was said, what do you want to do with it... if it is not going to make your life better why take on the expense... There are lots of very successful people in this work who have not degree... Steve Jobs never finished college either.

Union jobs are okay since you work get a nice pay and benefits and go home and do not have to worry about job once you leave. The down side is you always make the same amount as the guy next to you even if you work harder and know more.

You could always go out and do your own thing and be far more successful than someone with a degree... I have two one paid for by my company and I can tell you other than when I first started working out of college, no one asked me what my background is anymore, they look at what I am doing right now and decide whether it adds value.

[Crimson92]

go back to school

[jeremyc74]

How old are you?

I tried community college for a while after high school, but I was working full time, (and partying full time) and it got the best of me. I joined the Marine Corps when I was 20, and did four years working in electronics. When I got out I went into industrial electronics and have worked my way up into a position normally held by someone with an engineering degree. I found that experience counts for a lot when you put someone under the gun, and a lot of the guys coming out of school just couldn't take the pressure of some of the larger project, or dealing with hostile customers. I've always made equal or better money than the guys working around me, and had a better grasp of what was going on than a lot of them.

So the lack of a degree never really held me back..........until recently. There are so many people out of work, that employers can go through a stack of resumes and just toss out everyone without a degree without even looking at them. I've considered going back to school, or doing online course, but at 35 yeras old I hate to put forth that much effort (and cash) to get a piece of paper that says I have skills I've had for years. As of right now I still have a job I had taken before the economy went south, and I'm hanging onto it as long as I can, but I'm certain that if I get laid off, I'm going to take a serious pay cut to find work, and it will likely mean going back to doing machine repair on a factory floor somewhere, instead of building the machines as I do now.

[cougfan335]

Most guys in the NFL went to college and didn't get any degree either, that doesn't seem to stop them from making tons of money and getting laid anytimeanyplace. If you like your current job stick with it. I got degrees in accounting and finance and they haven't done me much good so far, but I keep applying trying to find the next semi-decent job. If it ain't broken don't fix it (unless your current job will pay for school and it will open a lot of new doors.)

[Androo000]

i sersiosuly thought about going back when im financially stablized. Getting there.

[BMW2006]

I'm also considering going back. I have two years under the belt then dropped out since I really wasn't ready for college when I went.

All of my friends have degrees. While I feel that I am doing well for myself (I do drive a bimmer and have a mortgage that I can afford and saved for on my own, life could be worse) I'm still the lowest earner out of my close-knit group of friends, who all have degrees. I'm also the last to purchase a home, etc... While I'm not overly competitive against them I often wonder if I could have stuck it out what the benefits could have been.

It's like this 50 ton anvil hanging over your head waiting to drop on you. Most of my colleagues in the same position are 5 years younger than me. I really wish I would have finished. While going back may not have an immediate benefit, it will pay off in the long run. Once you have one no one can ever take that away from you. Unless you go into business for yourself, or have a specialty, there is a ceiling you will reach in terms of position and salary. There are always those guys who people know who make 100k plus without degrees, and more power to them, they deserve it. I guarantee, however, that they have had to work at least twice as hard at it to get there, and they will also face some pretty significant hurdles if they try to change directions.

It's feeling pretty important to me lately, with the job market being so saturated if I lost my job It would be a very long time before I would be employed again and still earn anywhere near my salary. There are hundreds of people with degrees looking to work my position or one similar to it. If I were to re-enter the job-seeking market I wouldn't stand a chance in most corporations.

-BMW2006

[ukthunderace]

Guess it depends on what you do with it.
If it is just one of those, "Look, I have a degree too!" things that validates who you are as a person, go to therapy, not college.
If you want a corporate or management job with advancement opportunities, you will probably need a degree unless you have huge experience and are well known.
I have no desire for that...I want to work in a dive shop, motorcycle shop or bait shop when I leave the military. Yeah, it's a pay cut, but the kids will be on their own and it is just me and the wife. I don't want to be working from dawn til dusk for the rest of my life so I can have "position" or high salary...for what? To buy more stuff? No thanks, I'll have the stress free variety please.

[BrianDesigns]

College is overrated. Don't go back just because you think people will respect you more. People can be very successful without a degree. The only difference between a person with or without a degree is not that one is smarter or better than the other, it simply means that the one with the degree spent 4 years of his life trying hard and fallowing rules, learning something he would need later on in life. So if you do go back for a degree it should be because you want to learn something that would benefit your life, not because its the norm.

[BMW F22]

One more thing: a college degree gives you something to fall back on (like a safety net) if you were to lose your job and what not. Let's say you majored in engineering but ended up working in sales. If you were laid off at least you can find work as an engineer. So if you have the time I say go for it. Also, you might end up regretting it later on if you don't finish it.

[GOLFFRR]

i have a degree but wish i could go back! hahah real world sucks