Hey guys, I know it's been a while but I hope everyone is doing great. I have had quite the interesting past few months. Some good things and some not so good things. But thankfully, I believe the things I have experienced in the past few months have helped for the better. As I believe I mentioned in my last post, I have started college and am getting close to finishing my first semester. However, it hasn't been all great. I am currently studying media arts at one of the technical school in my home state. However, as I have been taking my classes I have determined that i'm not as interested in my major as I thought I was. It has made me consider changing my major, switching schools, or even dropping out of school entirely. But, out of all this I have determined that media is more of a hobby for me than true career path. Because at my school it seems like my teachers are directing me in a career path that I didn't want to go to when I decided to go to that school. And that is why people need to understand that college isn't for everyone because a lot of the time the things people to go school for are things that they believe they are "interested in" or it's "their passion", but it doesn't mean that they will have a career when they graduate. That is why I believe college is mostly irrelevant. Yes, there are some careers that require college, such as people who want to go into the medical field but for some people it just isn't necessary. And I believe I fall into that category. As a student who has to balance a social life, my studies, work, and many other things, it has almost become unbearable to take it all at one time, especially when I believe that my studies aren't worth anything. So, I believe that I have come up with a plan. So, here it is. My ultimate dream for a career is to start my own sports company that focuses on media and design. And what I mean by that is, media has always been one of my hobbies and what I like to do with it is, to use it to make videos, take pictures, make graphics, and all other things only about things that I am interested in. And one of those things is Sports. I can prove this works because I have had experience with people, even athletes who were willing to pay me to use media to promote them or their abilities, such as making sports edit graphics using their pictures, making highlight videos to promote their name, and many other things that are still in the works. And then with design, there are many ideas that I have come with that I use to tie design with sports. Here are some examples. I've always had a dream to have clothing brand. So because of that i've thought about creating one, I just don't know how to do it. And then also, I love architecture, more specifically speaking with sports, I love exploring, stadiums and athletic facilities, in fact I was at my high schools football game the other night and we were playing at another school who had a really nice stadium, with some really cool elements on their stadium. And it started to give me ideas of the things I could do on my schools football stadium, that is if I was given the opportunity. And then also, something i've noticed as I have gone to many college football games is how many fans have trailers that they have built or have purchased that are fixed up with tvs, bathrooms, tables, seating, and all kinds of other things. I call them sports/tailgating trailers. I've thought about designing them and building them to sell. And then this is where YouTube could come in all the videos I make, and then I could make videos featuring my design process or my creations, I could put up all on a Youtube channel for my business, which would definitely help marketing and promotions. But in order to get to all of this what I would rather be doing than being a school studying something where i'm not learning anything, is working, earning a paycheck, and earning money along with gaining experience in fields that could benefit me down the road. Because you know, especially in the United States, employers are beginning to look at experience more than education, nowadays. Because some many kids are going to college but have hardly any work experience. So I believe that I could take advantage of this. So sum all of this up, what i'm basically saying is this. I believe that my currently schooling is not relevant,is unnecessary and is not enjoyable because what I am studying is becoming more of a hobby to me rather than a true career path. I would much rather be out working, earning a paycheck, because I need money because my family is very short on it and I have a girlfriend who I have the intentions of marrying one day and starting a family with, gaining experience in relevant fields, all in order to invest in my dream of starting my own company based around one of my true passions, sports, more specifically college football, that focuses on media and design, two fields that are in high demand these days, especially in the sports world. And I believe this dream could really work because people know me, they know my values, and know my personality and love who I am and support me, but I am just unsure on how to get that dream to become a reality. I've thought about working on in in my free time all while I work other jobs in similar fields. I would like to get some advice and hear you guys opinions on how you believe I could achieve this dream. Thanks for all your help!
Well, I would say that life advice would best come from family & trusted friends. They would know you, your current circumstances, have an idea of your finances, and most importantly have your best interest at heart. Asking for career advice on this discussion board, or any internet discussion board might generate an odd slew of recommendations. That said, I do think that a US college education is not what it used to be. Many degrees don't have relevance to the real world, and many schools have become bastions of leftist rhetoric. Then there is the lovely debt it generates for the customer. It used to be that a college education was a fast track to reliable employment, and that just isn't the case any more. In your case it seems you appear to be studying media arts, and you want to start a media company, which seems to fit well. It might be worth working in the field you are trained in and slowly branching off into your own venture. This way you have a safety net of steady income and can transition to your preferred job as opportunities arise. Whatever you do, take this for what its worth, which is just an opinion from the internet.
Further to what Otto has said, you cannot just wake up one day and start a company with no experience in the field. From your rather sporadic and repetitive postings on this forum, it seems that this is what you want to do and are struggling with how to do it. The simple answer is this: it won't happen so stop thinking about how to do it. Founding and running a company requires a significant amount of effort, requires extensive industry knowledge, and a high level of business accumen. The first step is to gain experience in that field through both educating yourself in the field and working in the field. If you are considering dropping out of College that is a mistake. Yes, post-graduate education is worth increasingly less in modern society but that doesn't mean it is useless. Indeed, with it becoming increasingly common for people to have a post secondary degree, it is more glaring if you do NOT have one. To be taken seriously you require credentials and (for better or worse) post-secondary education results (both grades annd the nicely-framed toilet paper you recieve in exchange for your tuition) is the gold standard for those in their 20s. As for how to have a succesful company, this is how to do it: Complete a post-secondary degree in a field related to what you want to do. Put high emphasis on academics. Take interest in what you are studying. Get a job in the field. Work hard at it. Take an interest in what you do. Learn from the job. Pay attention to what others are doing, what competitors are doing, take note of possible areas that have deficiencies and formulate what you can do to address them. Make connections both with your employer as well as others in the industry. At minimum work your way up into a lower management position. A team supervisor and project manager is sufficient. To run a company you absolutely must have experience in management or have an unusually high aptitude to manage. After a minimum of 5+ years working in-indstury, look at starting your own company. Use what you have learned to make a business case for why your company should exist. This is not an instantaneous process. Be prepared to put in the effort.
I can say that GP's opinion comes from someone who does indded run a successful business, so there is that. Whatever you do, not going to college won't be a shortcut. You will need to put in the same work, whichever path you choose. But these are all still internet opinions, so there is that too.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can always change your career in the future if you find its not for you. You're what? 19 years old now? You will have a 45 year career ahead of you. I know of many people who have had one, two, or even three career changes over their lives. I don't mean moving from one company to another; I mean going from one field to another (in some cases including going back to a post-secondary institution to get another degree). The moral of this message? Don't feel you're limiting yourself by following through with a degree or accepted a job. Everything you do will benefit you over life. Apply yourself and do the best you can do, whatever it is.
All three of the jobs that I have had are all completely unrelated to each other and none of them have anything to do with my degree, which is a pretty useless degree as it is. However, as someone currently on the job-seeking market - I suggest you look at jobs in your field of interest and see what sort of requirements people are asking for. Usually it involves portfolios of some sort, a degree in the field, and work experience. If I could go back and redo college, I certainly would. Getting a degree - I am talking a post-grad degree - in your chosen field will go a long way. Working internships or actual paid jobs in that field while you're in college will go a long way to giving you the experience and a better sense of direction in life. As GP has said, its not that easy starting a company, especially if you don't have the credentials before hand. Having the credentials gives you the legitimacy behind what you do. And as my parents would say, social life comes last when it comes to academics and your future. Social life can happen after college, when you have a job etc - my parents would have been pissed off if I had gotten bad grades because I was spending time socializing when I should have been studying, or working a job. Social life is all part of those other parts.
I was one of the fortunate few who knew what I wanted to do while still in high school. I pursued that course in college, got a job in my field less than a year after I graduated, and stayed in the same career, in the same place for nearly 35 years. However, I have read many of your posts and it seems to me that you are unsure of what path to follow. You have changed your focus many times. I would encourage you, as I did with my children and am doing with my grandchildren, to continue your education and experience a variety of outlooks. You may find, in the next few years, what your passion truly is. My adult daughter went through what you are experiencing. She got her degree and pursued a variety of jobs until she settled on the one she is in now. She pursued post-grad studies and is quite satisfied with what she is doing. People grow mature at different rates so your growth is not determined ahead of time. Stick with it and good luck.
My advice, buy lotto tickets! There is a draw somewhere right now for over a Billion dollars. If you win, please send me $10 thousand for the advice.
So many people go for a single job these days, those without a university degree wont even get looked at...its a simple way of culling the numbers to be considered. All knowledge is related...what you need is contacts, you can only get these by being "IN" the industry. And again, the best advice is just do it...do whatever it is you want to do, get better at it, understand the area and then become the best. The best way to make God laugh is by telling him your plans...plan less...do more.
You *might* consider a good two year degree in a field that pays well as soon as you graduate. I would recommend that over most 4 year degrees, UNLESS you are taking nursing, engineering, or some 4 year degree that guarantees you a job with good income. You will need money AND experience to start a business. You gotta walk before you run. When I started college, I didn't know what I wanted either. I first took 4 intro classes in areas I was considering. I knew early in the first semester which area was for me. I wouldn't recommend immediately quitting a 4 year college. Atleast give it one more semester. Also consider your initial day job may not have anything to do with your dream job or end game. It's better if it does obviously. You need to focus on getting a degree that you can make money with to LATER open a business AFTER you've worked on the skill set needed. Of course, take our advice loosely. There is no one right answer. Hopefully you can learn something from each of us AND win the lottery. Lol
I knew when I was 12 that I'd join the Navy. I was sworn in the day after I graduated from high school. It got me out of that house and out of Indiana. And I slept in 72 countries while I was in. I could never figure people who made it as far as the first bar when we hit a new port, or used their leave to go back to the same boring places they came from.
My current profession has nothing whatsoever to do with my degree, which was nursing. I graduated from high school and made a choice as to my career field. My other option was to pursue a doctorate in history and be a college professor. I chose nursing because I could start making a living sooner, which I needed to do. At the time, I was working after school and weekends as an orderly in the local hospital, so I knew what I was getting into. My eventual goal was to go anesthesia school but after working as a surgery nurse for a few years, I decided against that plan. Eventually I ended up in the IT world, as a SysAdmin. My ramblings are to get to this point. My first couple of IT jobs were low paying, dead end jobs. My first good job in the field was after working about 4 years. I was interviewed, along with 5 others who also had similar experience. Later, after I was hired, I was told I got the job because I had a college degree and the others did not. Granted, the degree had NOTHING to do with IT, but the employer told me later on that it showed them that I could focus, learn, and finish long, detailed projects. I almost quite nursing school about halfway through and my father begged me, literally, not to quit. I'm glad I listened to him.
This is the heavy discipline route Go to college No screwing around your freshman year . . . academics . . . study . . . grades Towards the middle of the second semester start applying for intern positions in your field. Don't worry if they're unpaid, if you get an offer, take it. Now start your sophomore year . . . same deal, but you can socialize a little, like one night on a weekend. By the end of the first semester you better have some idea if you are on the right track because it is time to declare a major. If you're studying what you think you want to study, and your summer internship experience should have been an indicator, then you're good to go. Otherwise, you need a change of plan . . . I'd suggest civil engineering, you're pretty much guaranteed a job when you graduate. If you're good to go, time to line up another internship . . . start with the place you did before, maybe they'll pay you this time. Anyway, try for a paid intern job, but if you have to, take the unpaid route . . . the point is not to make money, but to get practical, resume items, experience in the field and make connections for future networking. Junior year . . . by now you should have a handle on how the game is played. You can socialize more this year and the next, maybe two nights a weekend and one weeknight a month. Starting at Christmas break, start looking for a paid summer job in your field. You can always punt to the unpaid intern type positions (we have a couple of those in my office every summer, rising seniors), but paid is better. Remember, goals: 1 - practical and demonstrated experience, 2 - resume enhancement, 3 - networking. Senior year . . . academics are tougher, perhaps a capstone project, you'll be busy, might cut into the social life, but academics come first. In December you're starting your job hunt. You, hopefully, have a pretty good GPA, something over 3.7, and some relevant intern or paid summer employment you can cite on you resume, plus some relevant references. Go get 'em! Of course, my oldest was an Anthropology major. Cultural anthropology, not bone dusting . . that was what she wanted. Went straight to and completed a masters program in same immediately after her bachelor's. Loved every bit of it. Now a grants administrator for the medical side of a major university, has nothing to do with Anthropology, and loves what she's now doing. My BA was in history from an obscure military college on the outskirts of Lexington VA. Always vaguely counted on a commission, but the war was over and that didn't happen. After graduation went to a job in the security field and within a year I was a security supervisor at a major east coast theme park. Did that for a few more years and switched to general park operations, but got caught in cuts in the early 1980's recession. So, off to grad school full-time for an MBA . . . and a small side step into the state guard that lasted about 12 years. Finished up the MBA and worked a consultant, but I never liked the Damocles sword of the uncertainty of employment. Gravitated to local government and that's where I've been for the last 30 years. It's not exciting, mostly pretty humdrum, but it has its moments and occasional satisfactions. I'm 66+, I can go whenever I want, but I'll stick it out a little longer . . . just to see what happens to a couple of my efforts. Geez, that's more than I've ever admitted to before.
Well you are definitely right about college is not the place for everyone, and right now, possibly not the place for you going by your story. Maybe not now, but later. A hitch in the Army or one of the other services would give you some experience, and something to do with paycheck for a few years. I always recommend the Army since I went in the Army after graduating from HS, but to each his/her/it's own. One thing for sure enlisting would do would be to make you realize that maybe college wasn't so bad, and being in uniform wasn't such a good idea after all. Being in the service isn't for everyone either, but once you sign your ass over to Uncle Sam, you are obligated to him for 3-6 years, depending on the MOS you select, and unlike in college where you can release yourself on your own recognizance when your interest and grades begins to wane. Another good by-product of military service is the GI Bill. Not sure how it's organized now, but it will put some green in your jeans after you decide to get out and hit the books again. That can be increased by enlisting in the National Guard/Air National Guard in whatever state you decide to settle in. That means tuition-free in any state college, plus drill pay and whatever side hustle you pick up to supplement your income. The best thing about this program is that you'd only have to sign on the dotted line to be in the Guard for 12 month increments. You'd be much more mature and experienced than your contemporaries sitting in class with you, and that will help when you have to hunker down and hit the books. Also, it means extra points chasing the girls around too. Gotta have some quality R & R time you know. All work/study and no play makes for a long miserable semester. Or you could just go find a job and plug along until you hit your stride and find yourself, whatever that means. I took the long road at LSU. Took 12 years to graduate with a 6 year brake along the way, but I went back and stayed with it, worked full time at nights and details and went to court some days while scheduling class in the morning and early afternoon, taking naps when and where I could. Got my BA in History, with delusions of being a history prof like others here, but I was really tired of being on campus, except for the tailgate parties and football games on Saturdays, so I stayed on the job and retired. But like most of us here suggests, eventually getting a college degree is a plus, and really looks good on your resume when compared to the other ying yangs who fiddle-fotted around and did nothing of any consequence in their meaningless lives other than delivering pizza or working at a video store when not playing video games in Mom's basement. Your call dude.
I think you've received some really valuable advice. I'm impressed with all the angles covered. Find a focus and set realistic short and long term goals in obtainable yet challenging increments. Social life, while the most fun, should be the least of your priorities. Don't let it derail you. Less emphasis on social, more on academia. There will be plenty of time for that later.
