[darkangel9685]

I hate school. Period. End of story.

I've been in college for a while now, first at Adelphi University for 3 semesters, and then at where I currnetly am, John Jay College, for the past 5 semesters. I'm majoring in Fire Science - Fire Investigation speciality.

I just feel that I've gotten nowhere with school. I want out. The job I really want, that of a County Fire Marshall, is a civil service test, so a college education isn't necessary (although 5 yrs of fire dept experience is, which is coming up in October, which, by coincidence, is when their test is offered)

Right now registration is open for next semester (spring 08). Part of me feels like i should go through with it, but another part feels like it's not worth it. If I don't I piss off the girlfriend and parents a lot.

School is useless to me, I feel. I need Chemistry 2, OrganicChem, senior level Fire Science courses and Physics 1+2. Do I really need Physics in the real world? I can understand the chem stuff, but laws of motion and velocity?

Sorry for this useless rant, I just need to vent out somehow.

 

[GAD]

School may seem useless now, but in XX years when you want some promotion or something, it will be a requirement and you'll REALLY wish you kept at it.

Experience talking.

GAD

 

[Lazarus Short]

Dude, if you are going to be investigating fires, an understanding of Physics will give you deeper insights into how things happen in the real world. Other than that, I can't map things out for you. College is not for everyone, and I can say for myself, that I have spent all the years since college unlearning everything I learned. Call it growing up.

College is a good thing if it lands you THE JOB. In the current job market, having a degree can actually be a disadvantage, in that a prospective employer will fail to offer you a job you'd be willing to do, because they think you'll jump to something better, even if "better" is already full-up. You will have to decide if a degree will give you a leg up or not in the field you have chosen.

Think hard about what GAD says, too. In "XX" years, the job situation will almost certainly be very different.

Laz

 

[AlanY]

I would strongly encourage you to stay in school and finish your degree, even if it's not needed. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take a break from school... most schools let you take up to a year off (or more) without letting your admission/registration lapse, and if you're having trouble figuring out what to do with your life that's a good option. Just watch the deadlines and be absolutely sure what the policies are. I'd even encourage taking a year off, but make sure you intend to do something during that year, either work or travel, not spin your wheels at home. Spinning your wheels gets you nowhere.

It's a little ridiculous, but a college degree is like what a high school diploma used to be for a lot of jobs. You get screened out if you don't have one, even if it's irrelevant. Or you reach a point beyond which you won't be promoted. Moreover, not having an undergrad degree really forecloses your chances of going back to school later once you figure out what to do with your life. It's hard enough for various personal reasons to go back to school to do graduate school, law, or an MBA, etc. when you're in your late 20s/early 30s (I can vouch for this, I'm doing it right now), but if you also have to do an undergrad degree when you go back because you don't already have one it's basically impossible. I have friends in this position... they'd love to go back to school and finish their undergrad degree then go on to do something else, but it's just impractical once life takes over.

If you're not going to stay in college, you really need to hook up with some kind of trade training program (plumbing, welding, etc., that sort of thing). Those have been great jobs over the last decade, but with the housing market falling apart completely, who knows if that will continue. Regardless, you need either a college education or to learn a trade. Life is really hard these days without either of those. You can get by, you might even end up managing a Radio Shack or being assistant manager at a Wal-Mart, but even those aren't great jobs and the odds are stacked against you.

 

[Austin 3:16]

College...the difference between a job and a career.

 

[ecclesand]

I agree with others here. Stick with it and finish your degree. I contemplated dropping school while getting my MBA but stuck it out. I'm glad I did...not from a career advancement standpoint, but from personal accomplishment and pride.

 

[ingwe]

College is not about getting a job. It is not about training.

It is about getting an education. That is the real value. What that really means is up to you.

An education transcends training; it boils down to learning how to learn. You certainly don't need college to become educated; but the commitment required to graduate shows you can discipline yourself and achieve goals.

I dropped out of college when I was nineteen; I went back when I was twenty nine. Itwas, to this day, the hardest thing I have ever done: going back and getting that degree. Several times I came very close to quitting. What kept me going was, in part, simple visualization: I imagined myself at commencement, walking across that stage, receiving that piece of paper. I replayed this in my head until it took three-dimensional quality; I could see it, smell it, taste it, touch it. Instead of the mind-******, I focused on that.

There was one other time when I almost quit where visualization wasn't enough. I stayed up all night trying to decide whether or not to show up for a final scheduled for the following morning. I was disgusted and depressed, living like a dog, no money, no job--just these stupid classes; most of them with students who were almost a decade younger than I was. I lived in a roach-infested studio apartment. My whole focus in life was going to school; I had nothing else. If finally got to me.

I decided to take the final. Just take it; I didn't really prepare; just take it. ****** it. Just take it.

In 1991 I graduated with a BS in Computer Science, Magna-Cum-Laude.

I'm still learning how to learn.

I use my major's foundations every day. Specific technology we used back then are obsolete. I use my transferable skills every day; my job requires me to figure out what to do to take care of my customers. I also invent how to do these things. I research; I write; I think; I fail; I succeed.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

The ***best*** of luck to you, my friend.

-m

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Physics to me was the most enjoyable topic for me to do, because it's extremely practical. Way more so than chemistry and biology. Also, when you get further into biology and chemistry there's alot of physics interlaced.

 

[JadeEast]

Just get your degree it's never going to be easier than it is right now.
While being a fire marshal maybe what you want to do you're going to have a few more options with a degree. Cover your bases.

 

[Blutarsky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkangel9685 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hate school. Period. End of story.

DA,

You'll hate it more when you decide to back after... say ten years and you have to re-take everything because you're not current. Oh and you have a wife, kids and home to juggle.

Once you get your degree there will be plenty of time to work your FM job. Do yourself the additional favor and begin (and finish) your masters as soon as you begin working.

Now if I would have just finished that graduate degree...I hate school.

V/r,
Scott

 

[goldenratiophi]

Get it over with or you'll be back. Seen it happen way too many times.

 

[Happy Camper]

Finishing what you started says something of your character. You quit (so close to completion) and the employer will question your commitment to their investment in you. You owe it to yourself to finish your goal.

You will be in a market where independent investigators thrive. You want to have as much in your professional portfolio as you can. That means money. The tools you learned in school will improve your value to your customers. Don't cheat them.

Completing school will get you to audio bliss sooner.
(hint-get it before marriage)

 

[nick20]

Seek Professional help. "End of story".


PS. I was 1 month away from completing my Fire/Rescue/EMT certification, when I was involved in a car accident on Christmas Eve.


Now, I have the following in my lower back:

Degenerative disc disease
Cervical pinched nerve


Now, I have the following in my lower back:

Degenerative disc disease
Cervical pinched nerve

And I can no longer work for the Orange County Fire Dept. BTW, I am only 20. Life goes on.. and it will NEVER be the same for me.

 

[hempcamp]

Slog through with school, get that degree, because on average it's worth a heck of a lot more audio equipment buying power per year than no degree!

Seriously, to get a "good" job -- one with benefits, retirement plans, living wage -- a bachelors in *ANYTHING* (doesn't matter what) is almost mandatory.

Keep your chin up, you're so close!

--Chris

 

[ken36]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkangel9685 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hate school. Period. End of story. Sorry for this useless rant, I just need to vent out somehow.

Your issue is you have it too soft, too easy too good. Go to see your Marine Corp. recruiter. Be a world traveler.