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On January 05 2011 13:26 bubblegumbo wrote:
University is necessary, don't believe in anything else some of these people say otherwise. Not everyone can be like Bill Gate and drop out of college/Harvard and become successful. Having an University degree is like having a high school degree now, everyone has one and it's a bare requirement to achieve for almost any job that is not based on minimum wage.
Uh, no it's not. My father grew up poor in Portugal and had to drop out of school in like the 6th grade to start working and help his family survive. He and my mother now own 2 houses here in NJ and are pretty damn successful. They've worked their asses off to get where they were and it has paid off immensely. My father started off doing manual labor for a construction company and worked his way up to make a pretty good amount of money. My mother went from making cleaning houses to get by to getting a job at a hospital in the Environmental service department. I currently don't have a college degree (in this process of getting one) and I make enough money to live on my own, pay off all expenses and still have left over money for whatever.
What it comes down to is how hard you work. If you're a hard worker, you will make money with or without a degree. A degree is only going to help you get that first job quicker or help you get into that $50+ /hour job after a few years of experience. Without the degree, you'll very rarely get the $50+ /hour job, but you could definitely shoot for the $20-$30 /hour job if you work hard. This isn't just a "rare" occurrence either. I know many other people that barely have a high school education and make a comfortable living. Yes, they have to work harder than someone with a college degree, but it works for them.
To the OP. You can probably try working 40 hours per week and still go to school if you can somehow arrange student loans. It won't be easy, but if you really want to go to a University, then it is possible. If not, you can always go back to school later in life when your family situation is good.
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No, but its certainly easier with a degree. A computer science degree is a very secure degree, in that the industry is expanding and the jobs pay well. You could probably still make money with web design though, if you have taken some of those classes even though you havent graduated. And if you wanted to you could ditch CS and take up a completely different trade, which as people have said you can be paid as an apprentice.
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United States22883 Posts
It's absolutely not a necessity, but you're asking the wrong question. It's like asking yourself, "Do I need to go to this party to hook up with someone?" Absolutely not, but it increases your opportunity. I don't think anyone can deny that.
How much is variable depending on what you want to do, what you're studying, where you go, who you know, etc. but even attending the smallest community college will probably increase the number of opportunities to find yourself a niche.
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No, but you need the have experience or higher learning in a vocational field that people need, Its just often looked down upon because society is geared towards people with formal college degrees.
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On January 05 2011 11:11 Sm3agol wrote:
I'm currently making about $55k a year at age 25 with no college degree, so no, it's not exactly necessary.
Edit:
On the other hand though, I would love to have a degree.....it just isn't worth it, because in the time it would take to get a degree, I could have made $210k....I would love a degree in music...but the practical side of me knows that I'll never make good money playing what I love, classical music.
Helps for math, $55k*4 = $220k
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United States22883 Posts
On January 05 2011 15:10 Edahspmal wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 11:11 Sm3agol wrote:
I'm currently making about $55k a year at age 25 with no college degree, so no, it's not exactly necessary.
Edit:
On the other hand though, I would love to have a degree.....it just isn't worth it, because in the time it would take to get a degree, I could have made $210k....I would love a degree in music...but the practical side of me knows that I'll never make good money playing what I love, classical music. Helps for math, $55k*4 = $220k
He said he'd be a music major. 
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Canada13425 Posts
At the moment if you want to do anything in a professional work environment (hired by a company) or do contract work you need a form of credential. This means that even in the trades a credential like a certificate is necessary and while this doesnt require university it requires more than just highschool. Even miners need to go to miners college and complete a certificate program before mining coal, nickel etc.
Apprenticeships also involve some form of course work post high school. The only thing that doesnt require post school work is a business that doesnt require certification (few and far between nowadays) and professional sports.
On January 05 2011 14:43 Joementum wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 13:26 bubblegumbo wrote:
University is necessary, don't believe in anything else some of these people say otherwise. Not everyone can be like Bill Gate and drop out of college/Harvard and become successful. Having an University degree is like having a high school degree now, everyone has one and it's a bare requirement to achieve for almost any job that is not based on minimum wage.
Uh, no it's not. My father grew up poor in Portugal and had to drop out of school in like the 6th grade to start working and help his family survive. He and my mother now own 2 houses here in NJ and are pretty damn successful. They've worked their asses off to get where they were and it has paid off immensely. My father started off doing manual labor for a construction company and worked his way up to make a pretty good amount of money. My mother went from making cleaning houses to get by to getting a job at a hospital in the Environmental service department. I currently don't have a college degree (in this process of getting one) and I make enough money to live on my own, pay off all expenses and still have left over money for whatever. What it comes down to is how hard you work. If you're a hard worker, you will make money with or without a degree. A degree is only going to help you get that first job quicker or help you get into that $50+ /hour job after a few years of experience. Without the degree, you'll very rarely get the $50+ /hour job, but you could definitely shoot for the $20-$30 /hour job if you work hard. This isn't just a "rare" occurrence either. I know many other people that barely have a high school education and make a comfortable living. Yes, they have to work harder than someone with a college degree, but it works for them. To the OP. You can probably try working 40 hours per week and still go to school if you can somehow arrange student loans. It won't be easy, but if you really want to go to a University, then it is possible. If not, you can always go back to school later in life when your family situation is good.
My family also comes from Portugal and neither of them have a degree (not even high school) but coming from another country and building a life as an immigrant in the past is different from a 19 year old who is growing up here in north america today. Again, even construction workers to do more than drywalling need some level of coursework and certificate which involves college (Canadian college is 2 year degree not university degree idk what it is in US community college?) nowadays.
What my dad does now (Car Autobody) requires at least 1 year of courses and 5 years apprenticing or 2-3 years courses and 2 years apprenticing to get a certificate to do it 1) officially and 2) get paid a decent wage.
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On January 05 2011 15:15 Jibba wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 15:10 Edahspmal wrote:On January 05 2011 11:11 Sm3agol wrote:
I'm currently making about $55k a year at age 25 with no college degree, so no, it's not exactly necessary.
Edit:
On the other hand though, I would love to have a degree.....it just isn't worth it, because in the time it would take to get a degree, I could have made $210k....I would love a degree in music...but the practical side of me knows that I'll never make good money playing what I love, classical music. Helps for math, $55k*4 = $220k He said he'd be a music major.
Music is maths. :-D
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On January 05 2011 15:21 ZeromuS wrote:
What my dad does now (Car Autobody) requires at least 1 year of courses and 5 years apprenticing or 2-3 years courses and 2 years apprenticing to get a certificate to do it 1) officially and 2) get paid a decent wage.
I have an Uncle who was taught through experience; his father gave him a dirt bike and told him to diagnose and fix the issue; with help of course. Through that knowledge he became a industrial refrigeration repair man, with no high school diploma, and no trade degree. He pretty much told the man that was interviewing him, that if he didn't perform to a certain standard within a one month period of time he could fire him.
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Why are you asking other people whether you need to do university in order to be succesful in life? Define for yourself when you'd consider your life a succes and pursue that as your goal. When you're asking other people you're asking for what would make you considered succesful in society, but society doesn't equal life.
In society you'd overall be considered more succesful with a degree, in life it doesn't matter since there's no good or wrong, only people judge. So, if you're asking if you need a degree to feel fulfilled or happy, definitely not. If you're asking for succes in societies' eyes, it definitely wouldn't hurt 
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It's definitely not necessary, but I feel that it is helpful in terms of job security. I don't want to work at a job for fifteen years and then get laid off because some kid with a degree is willing to work for less money.
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There was a pretty depressing article posted on the science reddit about this..
Having a degree is not much anymore, tons of people get out of college with a masters and can't even find a job in their field regardless.
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University isn't strictly necessary, but it will allow you to meet people and do things that you might not ordinarily been privy to. (and I'm not talking about being drunk all the time and acting like a cock) Life is short, do what makes you happy and can lead to happiness later. It's all about experiences.
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I went into college with real, employable skills. I'm in my 3rd year and thanks to a lot of the classes I take, I have those same (albeit somewhat diminished from lack of use) skills. Now, though, I can talk with the high-brow arrogance of an ivy-educated douchebag. But deep down inside, my dreams and self-esteem have been crushed. Sometimes I secretly wish I'd just taken a few relevant courses at a community college instead of spending >200k on a brand-name school.
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On January 05 2011 15:55 Fa1nT wrote:
There was a pretty depressing article posted on the science reddit about this..
Having a degree is not much anymore, tons of people get out of college with a masters and can't even find a job in their field regardless.
The LostGeneration subreddit is full of stuff like this.
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University shouldn't be a choice you make because society made you it's bitch. You should make that choice because YOU want it. Not the guy down the street, not even your parents. You and you only, should decide. Even then, It should be something you enjoy, and are happy with. Don't give a damn about these "good degrees" and "bad degrees". There only exists "degrees I would find enjoyable" in my eyes.
It just so happens my enjoyable degree was CS. It wasn't even pressured on me. I just made the decision when the time was right.
America sucks in this regard. They put way too much pressure on 15-17 year olds about college, and how they MUST GO. It's a whole different ethos here in the UK. Sure you can go to University, but guess what? If you don't wanna go, theres tons of other enjoyable things you can do in life, without having to put yourself through physical and mental trauma just because a bunch of marketers from Universities across the country said you should do so.
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Going the university/college route is much safer in this day and age, you could try to wing it and roll the dice but you'll have no one to blame but yourself later on when you're stuck at a dead-end job. Don't let anyone fool you, experience is important, no doubt, but without a certificate you will start off with a meager job and minimal pay, your chances for promotion get slashed, and the chances of you attaining any higher position, in whatever career path that you may be fortunate enough to find looking for a non-accredited, non-certified employee, are about zero. Unless you have some good connections, don't bother.
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Having a degree is often very helpful. However, the true reason why you should attend college or university... CSL!!!!!!! Can't be on a team if you don't go to a college!
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On January 05 2011 15:57 Gummy wrote:
I went into college with real, employable skills. I'm in my 3rd year and thanks to a lot of the classes I take, I have those same (albeit somewhat diminished from lack of use) skills. Now, though, I can talk with the high-brow arrogance of an ivy-educated douchebag. But deep down inside, my dreams and self-esteem have been crushed. Sometimes I secretly wish I'd just taken a few relevant courses at a community college instead of spending >200k on a brand-name school.
I can't imagine spending 200k on school. At MOST I will be in debt to about 35k, but that doesn't account for the Georgia HOPE I'm about to receive which will make it less than half that. Unfortunately, I went in to college unsure of what to do and that cost me some time and money, but now that I am 100% sure of what I want to do, I'm going to do it even if it takes me 5 years to complete as opposed to the 'normal' 4 years if I had known what I wanted to do. Either way, I'm learning stuff and the degree I'm choosing is directly applicable and helpful in my future career field.
-New Computer Sci Major
I look at it this way, I can either be taught and get a foundation of knowledge taught to me or I can take a gamble and try to teach it to myself when I have little to no understanding of everything involved and what I need to succeed. For me, the cost of college is nothing compared to what I'm prepared to gain.
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The college degree is not essential to achieving success. It is however one of the best investment you can pay for to help.
In real world, having a degree is so the Human Resource department have a reasonable degree of assurance that you have the skill required for the role.
To achieve success, you only need hard work and the fortune to know the right person at the right time.
For OP's case, if he still want to pursue the CS path then there is no reason that he can't study in his own time. CS is one of those majors where vast amount of knowledge can be obtained on line, the same can not be said for other fields.
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EPT
