Finished highschool, I don't want to go to college.

SheIsaBlogger

SheIsaBlogger

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This place looks GREAT! It is exactly the type of community I have been looking for.

I started blogging about fashion a few months ago and my blog started to get really popular because I did a lot of stuff about prom / look books / how to find a date for prom / choosing the right dress and a lot of other stuff that probably won't interest most of you guys LOL.

ANYWAYS... It hit me. I love this stuff. I feel passionate about waking up each morning and checking my stats. I'm not making significant commissions on a daily basis yet, but I do at least get a couple of banner ad clicks every day. I found something that works... I can pay my phone bill and a dinner out each week haha... I want to turn this into something real. If I can support myself through blogging then I can say "No thanks" to the colleges that accepted me.. I can put that tuition money into floating myself while I ramp up my blog and maybe start a new project or two...

I don't know what I'm going to do yet (Deep down, I do know, I guess I just need a final push or a bit of validation.) Oh, and the courage to tell my parents that I want to make a website instead of some meaningless diploma.
 
How did you get so far off the ground so quickly? Did you do a lot of commenting and sharing amongst other bloggers in the fashion community? I bet that works wonders for driving traffic and raising awareness.
 
First of all good for you, you're off to a great start.

If you aren't sure about school and what path you want to take, why not take a year off? You won't have to tell your parents that you 100% don't want school, you can just say you aren't ready to start right away. During this time, you can work really hard on your site and see what happens. Who knows, maybe you'll be making a killing and decide to go back to school for something like computer science or graphic design?
 
Sup... I'm in a similar boat. Dont really know what I wanna do with my life, except I wasted a few years after highschool not really doing much of anything... working shitty jobs... but now that I've found this website stuff I'm much more motivated.
 
Been to college, only managed to stay 3 semesters. Saw it was shit, started learning on my own, now I do what I like.
 
ANYWAYS... It hit me. I love this stuff. I feel passionate about waking up each morning and checking my stats. I'm not making significant commissions on a daily basis yet, but I do at least get a couple of banner ad clicks every day. I found something that works... I can pay my phone bill and a dinner out each week haha... I want to turn this into something real. If I can support myself through blogging then I can say "No thanks" to the colleges that accepted me.. I can put that tuition money into floating myself while I ramp up my blog and maybe start a new project or two...

I don't know what I'm going to do yet (Deep down, I do know, I guess I just need a final push or a bit of validation.) Oh, and the courage to tell my parents that I want to make a website instead of some meaningless diploma.
Click to expand...

Such a badass story and something I can also attest to WHILE in college.

I met my business partner five years ago when I first started college. I was playing college baseball and going to a very good school that essentially took up 99% of my time weekly. We played some video games online in my free time.

One thing I realized I DID not want to do was keep feeling like I was working... So I chose some niches that I was passionate and knowledgeable about.

So I chose video games as well as sports.

We built some really kickass NEW GAME blogs that we were playing at the time and it gave purpose to a mindless entertainment that I enjoyed. We pushed traffic from every corner of the gaming community...

Reddit
sponsored streamers from twitch.tv
Game support forums
First comment on major game reviews
sponsor major YouTube streamers
Social Media Contests with targeted ads/giveaways

Sometimes when you least suspect it you can build an empire by just having a structured regiment.
We started with $100 investment and made about $10k on the first game we ever promoted...
Having 1,000-2,000 people on your blog a day without a drop of SEO is an incredible feeling. Because as you lay this foundation you continue growing that site.

That site has long since died since the game ended up having ZERO affiliate capability, but what it still has is the gold mine we harvested with their email list.

So everytime we created a new place we were able to tagline "from the makers of xyz.com comes our newest project"

While still maintaining all of our network connections in the industry we were focused allowed us to push hard on what we knew needed to happen while following the same blueprint that made us successful in the first place.

Good Luck!

-RD
 
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Now.. I'm jus guessing but I assume my thoughts on college/uni differ from some of y'all.

I went to university and college, and I can definitely say... It's meant to create worker bees to keep the matrix running.

BUT - there is STILL a lot of useful, life-changing knowledge and experience with going to university/college. I loved it - had a blast, and learned a couple things too.

But you gotta take the right courses - the ones that help you learn how to think. Ethics, critical thinking, politics, sociology, etc etc. All the random, interesting courses that don't really get you that job-diploma that the rest of the sheeple think is all that there is to life.

I'd say, go to college/uni - party a bit, make some connections, take a few interesting classes. But the whole time build your business, work on your business - with the intention of continuing to run your own business out of school. Don't go to college/uni thinking it's a path to a job/income like everyone else. But don't dismiss it as completely useless like the rest of the ppl either.

Only thing.. post-secondary education is a fuckin racket if I ever saw one. WAY too expensive for knowledge you can essentially get for free if you wanna work a lil harder.

Just my .02
 
Hmmm, lots to think about. I have a couple years to make this decision. Of course, my parents are going to be expecting me to go.
 
From what I've seen, aside from HIGHLY technical fields, most university and college experience tend to be about proving you've gone through the grind so you can get through those corporate doors.

If you don't go corporate it gives you some authority signals when you hang the paper on your wall and clients/customers/investors see it.

MOST importantly in my mind is the networking. You meet a LOT of people at least intelligent enough to be there, who will be working in fields you are interested in, and just being in the school gives you the opportunity to more easily network with existing industry professionals, find mentors, be known, get jobs.

Your mileage may vary.
 
I can preach about many success stories all the day, but I can resume it in only one phrase, "what you will find in universities, is already free on the net"

Use your time wisely, You will say to me why I waste more time on internet and browsing all that crap each day to find few nudges, that can't help me to advance in my career ?

I can say to you in a brief style, know the essential techniques and principles you don't need to know everything but you need to know the essence.

I can advice you to read "Personal MBA*" is a good book about this issue, the author also didn't go to a university but still he worked with a very big company "Procter & Gamble" P&G.

You will find some great answers into that book. you can read it online before you have a hardcover to check if it's good for you or just I wasted you time.

Here is a summary of the book to see :

http://thetaoofwealth.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/the-personal-mba-book-summary/

*MBA = Master of Business Administration (is a university program goes for five years of studying business before getting a degree)
 
I will agree with @DDixon that you can leverage the hell out of that piece of paper they call a diploma by framing it in a very expensive and fancy frame and hanging it for all clients to see. Sometimes it's too late to go back and make the decision of whether it was worth going or not, so at least make the best of it by prancing it around for authority.
 
Thanks everything this has been so helpful. I found some websites where I can take courses for free from major universities so I'm leaning towards that. Using the money I save to put towards my business. I don't want to work for some corporation so having my name on a 20k piece of paper... meh. I would rather put that money towards doing what I want to do and giving myself a safety net to take some risks.

I think I've made up my mind... now I just have to tell everyone LOL (the hard part)
 
As a side note before I feel responsible for RUINING YOUR LIFE.... :wink:

Starting a business is hard, businesses I've been part of have not gone where I've hoped in some cases, or gone there so slowly I should have cut and run earlier. Entrepreneurship and small business life is hard.

Like ANY industry - you are guaranteed NOTHING, and it is RARE to succeed to the level of those in the public eye, the idols we all have.

Think millions of musicians mostly failed, thousands with a regular gig that pays the bills, a couple hundred rock stars? maybe?

Think growing millions of hobby photographers failing to go pro, thousands of wedding or niche photographers getting by just fine, and a handful making huge money or with a name you'll ever know.

Think millions of entrepreneurs and business owners most failed, some getting by with a mom and pop operation, very few BECOMING the megacorp or the institution.

The education side is an expensive way to do things, but you WILL learn a few things, you WILL meet some people, and you WILL have an authority / social signal for future business moves or jobs. It's not without merit. It's just non-essential.

Do whatever you do because you love doing it.
You are choosing the lifestyle you want to live.
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^ "It's not without merit. It's just non-essential"

That about sums it up on my thoughts too. I graduated in 2008 from HS and went straight into the work field as a computer technician. Never went to college. Fast-forward 4 years and now I'm the IT manager (still without degree). Now this is a little biased because I work for my families business.

Since I work for my families business I see both sides to this. Just because you 'work for yourself' doesn't mean your crazy financially successful. Personally, I'm just comfortable. I don't have insurance and benefits; but I do have extreme flexibility to have time with my family.

On the other hand, one of my best buds graduated same years as me. Went straight into college.. and now makes about 20k annually more than me. He's happy and has a great job that has benefits, insurance, etc.

I think it's great that you have had some success right from the get go. So I guess.. why not both? Get a degree and in the meantime continue to work on your own projects. If things go increasingly well you can just work for yourself. If things don't you have a degree to 'fall back on'.

Just my 2 cents :D
 
This is one of the best industries to be in low startup costs and unlimited potential. It's really up to you how far you go the information is out their you have to be willing to keep going never giving up and constantly learning more. I started off reading BHW posts and made no money lol I then started to make a trickle but, I spent that all on new shiny object products I finally had a breakthrough in local seo and now I have a 5 figure a month business never give up if I can do it you can too. It is very important to keep learning that has been my key to success following the right people, combining methods and creating my own methods of ranking.
 
Maybe it's not the tipical stuff to say on the Internet but GO TO SCHOOL...

School will give you life changing experiences and open a lot of mental and fisical doors. Maybe you're making money right now but you never know what's going to happen and education can make your life easier on the long run...

Go to school, get your degreee and keep making money online... You will feel great being the person on your class making money of the bat...
 
I know you asked this quite a while ago, but I'll just give my .02 ... I'm in my 2nd year of university at the moment, and when I was leaving high school, I felt the exact same way as you. College is a waste of money if you think of it as paying for an education. Because you're not really educated in college, you pay for a qualification. After you get your qualification, you are then truly educated by experience.

I am fortunate in that my parents are well off enough to pay for my education. If not, maybe I'd have made different decisions (for example if I had to take out student loans, apply for financial aid etc).
1) One of the main reasons I decided to go is because it means alot to my family. Especially my mother. My father doesn't really care either way because he opted not to go to college and everything worked out fine for him so it's not like it would be detrimental. But as I was saying, yeah, my mother really wants me to go to college, and since she's paying for it, why not. It's worth it to make my mother happy in my view.

2) College acts as a buffer. In my case, I don't want to depend on my parents when I leave school. It's just always been a tradition in my family that once you can support yourself, you get the hell out and start your own life. While I'm in college it gives me the opportunity to experiment, do my online thing without yet being thrust into the world. It gives me an opportunity to meet great people and to enjoy my youth a bit longer.

3) As so many people have mentioned it's always good to have a safety net. It might seem like the cowardice thing to do, but you just never know where life might take you. You can always go to college whenever you want, but it's better to just get it out of the way, because it's going to be harder after you get out of the "groove" of going to school. Most employers don't care about your college degree itself, but what it represents. A degree signals that you can think, learn and are trainable. What separates you and the guy selling weed on the corner so to speak.

4) Support. This might also sound like the coward's way out, but at the end of the day, if you go to college and work on your business on the side, people might be more willing to root for you. By people, I mean your family and friends (this depends on the type of people you surround yourself with, so this is a judgement call). There's a difference between throwing away your education to pursue a pipe dream (this is what alot of people will think) and working to create an income for yourself by the time you graduate. If you follow the norm, people will be less likely to root for you fail, and will be more supportive.

The decision you make depends alot upon your sistuation. The type of family and friends you have, and your goals for your life. Good Luck!
 
I wouldn't entirely discount the possibility of college, but at the same time I wouldn't blindly go to college because it's "the thing to do". One of the best quotes I ever heard: "Don't let school get in the way of your education."

Personally, I think there is a LOT of truth in that. If you have a lot of self-drive, self-honesty, are able to check your ego from time to time, and are able to keep the pressure on yourself to keep moving forward, personally I think a person can do just fine on their own without necessarily going through the standard process of acquiring a degree and doing what society expects of them.

We live in an age where human beings have a greater level of access to a greater level of knowledge than at any other point in human history, and much of it nearly for free. Despite that, most people fill their time with meaningless social media, watching cute animal videos, and other nonsense, which is frankly awesome for the rest of us that care to try. (It's easy to become a BOSS when everyone else is lazy and apathetic) Take a look at colleges like UC Berkeley, which have entire course plans, audio, video, and text available online for FREE. If you have a desire to learn something, it only requires effort, time, and persistence.

That being said, I will say that not having that diploma can make things considerably harder for a lot of people in a lot of industries. Often, the job applicant pool is so large for many jobs that employers are fairly "robotic" at looking for and requiring certain "checkboxes" be checked (college degree), and won't even consider you otherwise. It sucks, but it's understandable if you have a 1,000 people applying for 1 job; you just can't waste time manually sorting through every applicant in detail. Just keep that in mind if you don't pursue a degree. It doesn't have to hold you back, as the only one that holds you back is yourself, but it can certainly make things much more difficult.

Also, there are experiences you can often get at college that you probably aren't going to find with learning on your own. As they say, "peer review" is one of the highest forms of validation, and it's always great to have other educated and experienced peers around you to keep you in check if you screw up and go full retard with something. That being said, I think it is becoming increasingly more questionable as to how often you might find truly qualified peers in many colleges, let alone professors, that have not been brainwashed by over-emotional, liberal irrationalism.

Shelsablogger, the best recommendation I have is to think long and hard about the things you enjoy, and what you can honestly see yourself doing as a career. Try to think several years ahead, and not just with what is right in front of you. For example, you say you're really liking the blogging you've been doing. Because of that, if you decided to continue with college, you might want to focus on some relevant coursework in web design, possibly programming (not for everyone), etc. to give yourself some additional skills for the future, if you decide to build additional websites. If you really like the social aspects of blogging, or topics of a social nature, maybe consider taking some classes in sociology or something similar, to learn more about why people think the way they think. There are a lot of ways a lot of those subjects could tie in to things that you might want to do for the future. Worth considering.
 
Just thought I would add my .02 to the advice on this thread. When I graduated high school I didn't want to go to college either, I had been board in school my entire life and couldn't stomach the thought of more of it. However, I did always want to leave the US and travel.
I found one university that wasn't located in the US but was US accredited (made my parents happy) and they offered an academic travel program. This was 2 weeks out of every semester where you and a small group of students went somewhere in the world - and got credit for it.
It was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed all 4 years of it, did a total of 8 travels (and saw most of the world!) and majored in Finance because I figured I would need to know how to manage my millions when I finally made them :smile:.
Of course, I was again lucky that my parents were willing to pay for this. The way I look at it it was the best of a lot of worlds. I had amazing life experiences, picked up a few languages, got to see the world..oh yeah they gave me a degree at the end too. :wink:
So, for me, college wasn't about the degree or the learning, it was about the fun, the friends, the travel and also the not having to enter the grind right away. I havn't made my millions (yet!) but I will within the next 5 years.
Its great you have something making you money that you love to do but I'm just giving you some food for thought. If it sounds interesting I'll tell you my Uni via a PM.
Best of luck!
 
Have you considered going to college part time? That way you still are going to college which makes your parents happy and allows you to work on your blog.
 
What worked best for me was to start school and start working on online businesses in the spare time.
Now I almost finished in around a year and are right away able to make a decent income online from all my projects probably.
 
There is going to be so many differing views on this that it's almost impossible to say something of meaning here. But I just finished up my degree this last summer, and I'm glad for it. The main reason is for the INCREDIBLE connections I was able to make while in school. I have been able to rub shoulders with some of the most interesting and intelligent people from all walks of life. I spent a week in lake powell with the managing partner of one of the nations largest law firms, I sat in the back of a truck with a kid who started a headware company for snowboarders, I met a kid in a bio class that is a genius when it comes to programming. I have friends and connections all over the world now because of my education.
Though I agree that half the shit you do in school is a complete waste of time, don't discount the personal interactions you get to have and the numbers and emails you can gain because you are there and trying. Right now, I'm doing nothing with my degree, and I don't really anticipate it doing anything for me any time soon. But I'm glad I have it.
All through school I was working online on the side and did well enough that I didn't have to get a "real" job. It was an invaluable experience and I wouldn't trade it.
That being said, its true that you can find any information you want online. But I didn't go to school to learn. I went to school to have life experiences with kids that were in my same shoes. And I got out of it what I wanted. But everyone's experience is different, good luck with the choice!
 
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