Why I’m Going Against the Status Quo and Skipping College as a Homeschooler
Why I’m not going to college
College. Ever since I was 10 or 11 years old, relatives and peers would ask me, “what college do you want to go to?” or “are you thinking about college yet?”. And I never had a definitive answer. It was never something I thought about.
Maybe I’m cynical or see certain things with a glass-half-empty perspective. But I could never get excited about college, even from a young age. Debt. 4 years of your life gone before you can start it. The rising cost of tuition. It wasn’t necessary for any of the things I’m interested in, and I never saw it as such. Despite this, I was and still am surrounded by people who say I should go for the “experience” and the “connections” and other reasons. But these words and reasons never held enough meat or substance to make me give college a second thought.
The last straw
My breaking point came about a year ago. I was in an after-school internship for a video production company, and one of the instructors was giving a presentation to me and my peers about the benefits of going to college. He explained that people who have a bachelor's degree make $53k on average. And people who have a master's degree make $68k. I’ve always been analytical, so I had another tab open in the background for the average amount of college debt for a master's degree. $80,494.
I spend $80k on a degree while sitting somewhere for 5–6 years postponing my life, for something that isn’t even necessary for most jobs nowadays, to not be able to pay back that debt for at least a decade, with no guarantee that degree would give me “success”? Everyone in the class was smiling and nodding, excited about the prospect. Except for me. I couldn’t help but think to myself the entire time: “This is BS”.
A little about me
My environment growing up was also a contributing factor. I’m 17 now, and I “graduate” next year. (Saying I’m graduating feels wrong because my life won’t change significantly, but hey). My parents raised me to think about life logically — and to make choices that give a solid, quantifiable ROI. They’ve always allowed me to make my own choices, hence homeschooling. And my thought process has led me to the decision not to go.
My passion in life happens to be working with technology and creating technology. The entire tech industry except for data science doesn’t require that you have a college degree anymore. Companies, and people, are concerned with your ability to produce, innovate, ideate, and your overall intelligence. All things that holding a degree isn’t necessarily a measure of.
I’m not going to do what most blog posts do and say “Elon Musk and (insert another tech billionaire) dropped out of college!” I don’t particularly care and it isn’t that relevant to the average person. But they are examples.
The world is changing
Right now, the world is undergoing a lateral shift. An individual's capacity for self-motivation, problem-solving, and creativity will become much more valuable. The saying “robots will take our jobs” is half-true. Robots will take people’s jobs — but they will also create new jobs. People need to exist to develop robots, and the rest of the technology to power the future of the world.
Low-level jobs will become much less common in the next decade or so. And people who have the skill to create and develop things will be the main workforce. People who run the companies to create new technology will be the successful ones. I won’t end up on the wrong side of that equation, which is why I see college as less and less of a requirement every day.
The conclusion
In conclusion, the world and times are changing. The “American Dream” where you go to college and get a well-paying job and retire when you’re 60 is just about done, plus it never sounded appealing to me. If you’re reading this and you’re in college, or you’re about to go, please don’t feel discouraged or anything because of this post. My views do not apply to everyone. Make the decision that is best for you and your life. Finish your degree (or drop out, but have a plan.) and come up with a quantifiable, realistic plan for your future (if you don’t have one already).
And if you’re considering going, do the research and make the best decision for you. Return On Investment is key. Consider your personal goals, values, and what you want to get out of life. And if you have thoughts or personal experiences on this, share them in the comments. Thanks for reading.
