help me plan my future

[Pete > You]

I do not think that goes for the current job atmosphere. it is very tiring to hear about "oh noes the economy" but it is not a joke. I graduatated and started looking for a job literally right on the edge of the whole ordeal. I made a really bad decision {in hindsight} to turn down a good paying job in nashville because i wanted to live in atlanta instead. as the months went by and i looked for more offers i watched the job market literally dry up. there used to be multiple openings every day and now there are maybe 1-2 per month. i have also had my job that i got here in atlanta outsourced to cut costs.

if you do not have a degree AND some type of real word experience in your profession you have no chance of getting a real job. none at all. there are fewer jobs and there are more people (people who have been laid off and have a lot more experience than college grads) looking for those jobs. heres to hoping that things will change by the time youre out but it is better to play it safe than sorry.

This is just more of the same slave/union mentality. Yeah, I guess this works if you view employment as begging someone for a job and nothing else. Oh, and that actually learning and expanding the knowledge of the world is a meaningless pursuit. College isn't a better job factory.

[matt]

i dont understand what youre saying. it seems like you are saying as long as you are smart and learned something in college, you dont need a job. what good is being smart if you cant work and have a terrible life because of that? what am i missing?

[Pete > You]

No, I'm saying if you're smart you don't need to go to college to make a living, nor do you need to be employed by someone to have a job. What you're missing is this idea that making a living doesn't need to be contingent upon begging someone for a job by waving your credentials around. The only two cases where that would be relevant would be:

1. An extremely technical/"professional" job linked to a degree

or

2. A miserable cubicle monkey job where any degree = better than

Learning is an end all unto itself. If you want to use that learning to get more money, that's perfectly fine, but it's not the only reason it exists or should exist.

[matt]

No, I'm saying if you're smart you don't need to go to college to make a living, nor do you need to be employed by someone to have a job. What you're missing is this idea that making a living doesn't need to be contingent upon begging someone for a job by waving your credentials around. The only two cases where that would be relevant would be:

1. An extremely technical/"professional" job linked to a degree

or

2. A miserable cubicle monkey job where any degree = better than

Learning is an end all unto itself. If you want to use that learning to get more money, that's perfectly fine, but it's not the only reason it exists or should exist.

i understand what youre saying but that just seems a bit unrealistic. whether it is right or wrong, the majority of people going to college are doing it to get a piece of paper that says they can get a real job.

unless you are just randomly rich, going to college just for the sake of learning seems like a really bad idea. there are plenty of ways you can teach yourself for free.

not having money can lead to a lot of bad stuff in life. to me, not having to worry about money makes the quality of life go sky high. i think it has a lot to do with knowing you have the basics. to have a decent life you need food, water and shelter. once you are beyond worrying about those, you can move into doing more for yourself and thinking about relationships with friends and family. getting a good job is the easiest way to make money. the easiest way to get a good paying job is to go to college for something that is needed in the world right now.

as far as not needing a degree to get a good job, i honestly cant think of many.

luckily i have a job where that is the case but getting a degree opened up so many more doors. working for yourself can be cool sometimes but it can also be a pain in the ass and it does cause a lot more stress since you are wholly responsible for how you are going to stay alive. working a job with a boss and having a regular paycheck can be a huge relief.

with being your own boss you are actually constantly begging someone for a job whether it be networking, advertising etc. if you go to work for someone, you only have to beg once.

[Pete > You]

Alright, we're just not going to agree, but I still maintain this isn't as unrealistic as you think.

I'm dirt poor and I am now in grad school just for the sake of learning. With a bit of luck I'll eventually get a Ph.D. I'm not ever really going to make a lot of money, I'm doing this because I want to contribute, however small, to human understanding.

[matt]

alright. i have a few more issue but we can leave it at that.