# Should you go to college if you don't know what you want to do?



## CaféZeitgeist (May 29, 2012)

I have a friend who is going through this crisis. 

She is about to graduate high school, and has absolutely know idea what to do with her life. She doesn't have anything she's really passionate about and wants to study, and she doesn't want to spend time in college if she doesn't have a focus. 

I don't want to tell her to go or not to go, because I know that college can help you find interests, but I know that she does not want to get a "useless" degree in English or Liberal Arts though that is what she is interested in. She is worried about the economy, and how difficult it is to find jobs even for college grads. She doesn't want to come out with debt if she can't get a job to pay it off. I guess she's really questioning the worth of college, and I can't say that I blame her considering how many new grads are without jobs and in debt/

Should a person go to college if they don't know what they want to do, or does not have a clear career path for themselves?


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## Uralian Hamster (May 13, 2011)

I don't blame her for having those feelings either, she's ahead of a lot of people by recognizing the lack of opportunities for BA grads. Either a person feels the risks are worth it or they don't, but at least they won't have any regrets so long as they tried. If by the end of the year a person still isn't comfortable with their future prospects they can transfer to a more specialized program at a polytechnic or something.


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## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

CaféZeitgeist said:


> Should a person go to college if they don't know what they want to do, or does not have a clear career path for themselves?


Assuming the person has the brains to handle university, yes would be my advice. I was such a person in 1993 when I applied to universities and was going to study either Biochemistry or Math & Computer Science. Now, at the time I had gone through various phases of what I liked to study including dinosaurs, reptiles, marine biology and mythologies by this point in time. The decision was made by which route had better scholarships and in end I've worked as a Web Developer from 1998 till now which I doubt would have been a job title in 1993 as the Web was barely 2 years old in that year. I'll acknowledge this time period may have been rather special, but who knows which new fields may be created in the next few years?


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## Hurricane Matthew (Nov 9, 2012)

If she was my friend, I'd advise her to take two years off from school to "find herself" and figure out what she really wants in life. During that time, she could get a part time job, try new hobbies, travel and other activities/experiences to help her find some direction. I really don't think people should go to college without knowing what they want because it's an expensive investment and nobody wants to go into debt for a degree that is basically useless. It's a big problem for our generation that you're expected to know what you want in life as a teenager and immediately go to college or university as soon as you graduate high school. How many people _honestly_ know themselves at that part of their lives?

I wish I had taken two years off after high school instead of immediately going to college. I thought I knew 100% what I wanted to get my degree in, but then actual courses and being exposed to the reality of my field made me think I wasn't really the right personality for it. But then I didn't have a Plan B because I didn't know myself well enough to really change my course. I also think most people aren't mature enough to deal with college immediately after high school so two years off to grow and mature is really important, imo. There's a big difference between going into college as a dumb teenager compared to going into college as a more life-experienced 21-year-old.


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## sceptical mystic (Mar 6, 2014)

How about a sabbatical and use this time to test herself in new areas and activities? She could travel, for example. Try out life and a few jobs abroad. Study a new language or two. Interact with people who come from different cultures and lifestyles. Do some volunteering maybe. 

Any of these things could help her figure out her priorities, true interests and goals in life.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

jbking said:


> Assuming the person has the brains to handle university, yes would be my advice. I was such a person in 1993 when I applied to universities and was going to study either Biochemistry or Math & Computer Science. Now, at the time I had gone through various phases of what I liked to study including dinosaurs, reptiles, marine biology and mythologies by this point in time. The decision was made by which route had better scholarships and in end I've worked as a Web Developer from 1998 till now which I doubt would have been a job title in 1993 as the Web was barely 2 years old in that year. I'll acknowledge this time period may have been rather special, but who knows which new fields may be created in the next few years?


I wouldn't say brains as much as personality. given your interests, you have both a very academia-friendly personality and a lot of interests which have the potential to make a more than decent living, so going to college immediately was definitely the right choice for you.

as a counterexample, my interests are music, video games, anime, personality theory, sleeping, drinking tea and sex....not much there to make a career out of. 

@Matthew Nisshoku


> If she was my friend, I'd advise her to take two years off from school to "find herself" and figure out what she really wants in life. During that time, she could get a part time job, try new hobbies, travel and other activities/experiences to help her find some direction.


I don't dislike the premise of this, but good luck surviving outside of your parent's house on only a part time job, especially with only the skills and credentials of a high school graduate.



> I wish I had taken two years off after high school instead of immediately going to college. I thought I knew 100% what I wanted to get my degree in, but then actual courses and being exposed to the reality of my field made me think I wasn't really the right personality for it. But then I didn't have a Plan B because I didn't know myself well enough to really change my course. I also think most people aren't mature enough to deal with college immediately after high school so two years off to grow and mature is really important, imo. *There's a big difference between going into college as a dumb teenager compared to going into college as a more life-experienced 21-year-old.*


bingo! I am _lightyears_ more mature and clear headed than I was at 18 

@CaféZeitgeist
there are a number of factors to consider here
1) is she capable of getting any kind of full time job at the moment?
2) how much assistance are her parents willing to provide? 
3) what's her personality type? my family is mostly SJs, so the whole "I'm supposed to go to college, so I will" mindset of middle class in the United States was good enough for them. 

my suggestion would be for her to 
1) do some research on her own about the job market in whichever country she's from/ hint: if you want to make a lot of money *there really aren't that many options. at least, not NEARLY as many as most people tend to think* if you want enough money to live a comfortable, middle class lifestyle w/a house and kiddies (so you're looking at around $45,000 a year on the low end) most of such jobs available at an entry level position reside in

engineering
law (though some lawyers make a rather dismal salary)
nursing/medicine
accounting/finance (NOT business admin. everyone goes for business admin and the amount of tangible skills it teaches you don't amount to much)
military
blue collar work (construction workers, plumbers etc can make a surprising amount of money in the right positions)
IT/tech work/programming
2) decide which field(s) she finds appealing (or at least something which would be relatively enjoyable)
3) get a basic plan. it doesn't need to be some elaborate, flawless 10 year plan (she's a college student, not an NTJ trying to take over the world :tongue: ), but wandering through school without any sense of direction will cause a lot of stress and waste a lot of money
4) talk to her parents and share her concerns with them. granted, they might just give the generic "go to college!" rhetoric, in which case, she should seek alternative counsel, but they might be able to help. 

personally, I went straight out of high school to study opera at university. apparently they thought I was really talented (not sure why, I've never liked my voice lol) and had a lot of potential, but college the first time around *kicked my ass*. I had 
- no plan
- no solid habits
- _completely_ delusional expectations of reality. somehow, I thought I was going to start an internet business AND go to music school at the same time. I was totally over my head, lacking both the discipline and the competency to do either. 

after a year, I decided I needed to reboot my life, so I dropped out and went through a few illegal soliciting sales jobs for about a year. I hated every minute of it. reality slapped me across the face and tore down my arrogant ass ego like a wrecking ball. eventually, I wised up, got a plan and went back to school for something relevant which I knew I could handle. 

it was a rough time for me (I spent tons of time on PerC procrastinating, even more than I do now LOL), but, honestly, *dropping out the first time through was one of the best decisions I ever made*. now I'm 22, a sophomore and doing FAR better than I would have had I stuck out college the whole way through.


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## CaféZeitgeist (May 29, 2012)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I wouldn't say brains as much as personality. given your interests, you have both a very academia-friendly personality and a lot of interests which have the potential to make a more than decent living, so going to college immediately was definitely the right choice for you.
> 
> as a counterexample, my interests are music, video games, anime, personality theory, sleeping, drinking tea and sex....not much there to make a career out of.
> 
> ...



Her parents are kind of the "go to college = good job" people, and they want her to have a stable career. _She _on the other hand, wants to travel, perhaps teach English in foreign lands (especially in Europe, where they require a degree as well as CELTA certification); she's kind of a free spirit deep down, but restrains herself.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

@CaféZeitgeist
given the combination of her interests and type (though I suspect she could be a closet ENFP from how you describe her. I smell over-extended tertiary Te), I would suggest the following majors
- foreign language
- international business
- international education (I don't think that's a degree as much as a field, so whatever degree would be necessary to land such a job)
- accounting (everyone needs accountants, so it would be easy to work overseas as one)
in this particular case, she might do well to double major (of course, will little financial backing, this is easier said than done).


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## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

CaféZeitgeist said:


> I have a friend who is going through this crisis.
> 
> She is about to graduate high school, and has absolutely know idea what to do with her life. She doesn't have anything she's really passionate about and wants to study, and she doesn't want to spend time in college if she doesn't have a focus.
> 
> ...


Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Most people who get into college thinking they know what they want end up changing majors anyway. I started college because I felt I was wasting my life. It was three years between me finishing high school and starting college. I thought that even though I still had no idea what I wanted to do, I'd better start now or I never will. And guess what... I started taking random classes and in the second semester found something I wanted to major in. Sooo.... Yes, she should go to college even if she has no idea what she wants. General education is better than no education, even if she never decides on something.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Take a year or so off, find a complete sh*t job that you're going to hate, and you will soon find out what you want to do with your life.


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## krwheel (Dec 5, 2008)

I think there are a lot of myths about education that should be disregarded. The biggest is that you're training for a job. A bachelor's degree is about training to think. Certainly, there are some majors that are about a specific job, but most of it is about learning how to think on our own and how to participate in dialogue that generates ideas and understanding. This is a mere personal example, but numbers will generally back it up, I got my degree in speech communication (particularly studying rhetoric) and I found jobs available to me that were far better than what I could get prior to having a degree. Comfortable, decent paying jobs. So I say if this person wants to go to college, they should go and explore and settle on what they like.

Another semi-myth is that people go and get a degree. So many people go to college and don't finish. So if your friend is going to go to college, I would say there needs to be a resolve to get a degree in something at some point.

As others have mentioned, I'm all for taking a couple years off. I had two breaks in the course of my education. I did my Freshman year and then went on a religious mission to Southeast Asia for a couple years. Made college so much better of an experience.

My other recommendation would be to explore at a community college. It's cheap, much lower pressure and typically more flexible.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

You get a degree to get a job. If you are *thinking* anything differently then you're probably eyeballs in debt serving Starbucks coffee. Sure it helps you learn to think better but it also advances your employment prospects and obviously all degrees are not equal in regards to employment prospects. Real life experience is what really gets your thinking straight.


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## krwheel (Dec 5, 2008)

PowerShell said:


> You get a degree to get a job. If you are *thinking* anything differently then you're probably eyeballs in debt serving Starbucks coffee. Sure it helps you learn to think better but it also advances your employment prospects and obviously all degrees are not equal in regards to employment prospects. Real life experience is what really gets your thinking straight.


Sure you get a degree to get a job, but employers are looking for your ability to think, because they'll train you to do what they want, not your school. And I am debt free thank you very much! Simply having a degree increases your earning power. You're right, some professions are looking for specialization, but don't kid yourself into thinking that most people work in what they studied. They don't.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

krwheel said:


> Sure you get a degree to get a job, but employers are looking for your ability to think, because they'll train you to do what they want, not your school. And I am debt free thank you very much! Simply having a degree increases your earning power. You're right, some professions are looking for specialization, but don't kid yourself into thinking that most people work in what they studied. They don't.


Most companies are cheap and don't want to spend any money training employees. They want you up and productive from day one. Maybe it's just I work in IT and started at a young age. That piece of paper literally doubled my pay for the same job I was doing.

I will give you it does allow you to think more broadly if you go for something specialized. A company I worked for had a bunch of people at the VP level with high school diplomas. The company grew big over the years and the people were just there when it was small and slowly worked in their roles as it grew. They were great with day to day operations but they weren't exactly the brightest at running a, now, multimillion dollar company.


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## FakeLefty (Aug 19, 2013)

What she can do is apply as an undecided major, try some different courses and figure out what she wants to do. She can also go to a community college, take some classes, and transfer to a university once she figures out what she wants to do.


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## IncoherentBabbler (Oct 21, 2013)

College? Yes. University? Hell no.

They say most people don't really know what they want to do with their life until they've nearly gradutated from college... Some take longer than that. The best part about a community college is you can sample a little of everything to learn what you like.


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## sraddatz (Nov 7, 2009)

Even though the economy is tough, when it rebounds, more than likely, she will need a degree to get in the door anywhere. Without that bachelor's degree, life in the future will be very difficult! 

My advice is this. The first two years of college are general education. Those courses apply to any program she will go into. That will give her 2 years to find herself to do what she thinks she will like. As for cost, try to spend those first 2 years at community college and go crazy searching for scholarships and grants. There is a ton of free money out there! Once she has decided a potential career path, apply to a state school and finish out the degree. 

Getting to know her MBTI is an invaluable resource. It will offer suggestions for potential careers. It might direct her to a vocation that doesn't require a degree. That's fine, too. I didn't get my bachelors until I was 26, and wish I had stayed on course after high school. It has all worked out for the best for me, though. I'm in a job I love, and make good money doing it. 

That said, it is entirely unrealistic to expect 18 year-olds to know what they want to do for the next 40 years. Work is such a huge part of life in the US, she might as well choose a field that she finds gratifying.


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## sraddatz (Nov 7, 2009)

PowerShell said:


> Most companies are cheap and don't want to spend any money training employees. They want you up and productive from day one. Maybe it's just I work in IT and started at a young age. That piece of paper literally doubled my pay for the same job I was doing.
> 
> I will give you it does allow you to think more broadly if you go for something specialized. A company I worked for had a bunch of people at the VP level with high school diplomas. The company grew big over the years and the people were just there when it was small and slowly worked in their roles as it grew. They were great with day to day operations but they weren't exactly the brightest at running a, now, multimillion dollar company.


That just tells you that it takes a lot of different personalities to really make an organization tick. Each member of the executive team should complement each other's weaknesses.


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## SingingStars (Mar 9, 2014)

She could go to a community college to see if college is for her without spending too much money. She should definately get a part time job while in school too just to get some experience working.

I have one of those "useless" degrees (Sociology) and it's true that sociology did nothing for me career wise. BUT, the job that I currently have was looking for a recent college graduate. Thats it. They wanted someone with a bachelor's degree. I was hired as a temp and end up getting brought on as a permanent employee. One of the things my boss likes about me is that I have integrity, work ethic, and that he can count on me being honest. That's a huge part of what makes me valuable to the company even though my degree is irrelevant. So having a degree got me in the door and the rest was up to my own character and work ethic. If she can pick something more focused and practical to study, I would highly recommend it however. It'll be a much easier road that way. (My first job out of college didn't require a degree and I made $8 an hour)

The most important thing to do is not to waste time in school. As long as she doesn't change majors a hundred times prolonging her time spent in school (like I did) and as long as she gets some experience in the actual workforce (unlike I did), and as long as minimizes the amount of debt she gets into AS MUCH AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE (unlike I did), then college is a really really good choice.

Get a degree in something, but be practical along the way. Its a good idea.


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## BlackMoonlight (Oct 16, 2012)

A particular aspect of college that I think is the most worthwhile is discovering new things about yourself, such as your interests, abilities, etc. Not knowing what you want out of life before or while attending college is normal, and I believe it is better not to have a set plan too early since you may close yourself off to new opportunities that may arise. Community college is an inexpensive way for a person to complete the first two years of college, and it would help her discover what she wants to do.


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## la_revolucion (May 16, 2013)

In her case I would probably recommend that she take classes at perhaps a community college and work part time. Taking a gap year to travel and "find herself" would only really be possible if she has parents willing to give her a hefty allowance. Plus, while traveling abroad to teach English sounds ideal for her, I'm fairly certain that most programs require a college degree. 

My boyfriend was definitely one of those individuals who wasn't sure about going to college. He went and had zero clue what he was doing. Things only got worse when his awful high school clearly didn't prepare him for college courses. He spent two years pretty much messing up. Frustrated, he took a year off to work full time. After working a dead end job on an assembly line he realized what he wanted to do in college and was able to excel upon return to the same university he vowed to never attend again. ("College isn't for me! I never should have gone! I am never going back to school!" --> All things he said right before taking his year off.) LOL!! He now readily admits giving up that year was a mistake. Though I suppose it was vital for his own self-realization. He was just lucky that financial aid has been giving him a full ride because it has taken him quite awhile to graduate!

So yes, I don't think she should waste money or time at a more expensive four-year university if she has zero focus. But there is nothing wrong with taking classes that can eventually transfer to a four-year university and fulfill the basic general education requirements for most majors. She should keep her brain thinking, but also work to get a feel for what sort of jobs she would probably be working at without a degree. If anything she may discover a trade she enjoys. That could open doors to perhaps a technical college or some other vocational school.


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## SugarForBreakfast (Jun 25, 2012)

Not to bump a 10-day old thread but I'm pretty much with most people here who advise that college is best used when you know what you're going in for. 

Out of high school, I went to a community college specifically because I was unsure what I wanted to do. And even in community college, you don't always get closer to finding out what you want. For me it was still a toss up between psychology, something artsy like drawing or graphic design, and then even something with computers. I ended up unable to stick to any of those and picked a liberal studies degree. I still ended up getting a good office job a year after graduation, but I still wish I had taken time off from college, decided on something, and then gone for that. 

It is true that at least having some kind of college degree is beneficial - someone up above mentioned that a bachelor's in itself is valuable - but you want to make sure you have a good GPA to bolster it.

In part, though, this is why people work for a year or two after college and then go for a master's. =P


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

You should not really go to college if you don't know what you want to do... unless you can be absolutely certain you can pick a major after the first semester.

If you know you want a degree and a career that requires a degree, you can get away with attending one semester and taking purely general classes... English, math, and general credits are pretty much the same no matter what your major is.

Don't go to college just because "that's what you're supposed to do."

Also, I HIGHLY reccomend looking at job listing websites like Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com ... look at the degrees that the jobs there require. You want to aim to get the degree for the job you want.

So really, a specific job needs to be your goal, not the education. The education is a means to an end.


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