Oh no not another article about how worthless College is! Apparently while the value of a College Degree has hit Red Pill Mainstream, it hasn’t hit Public Mainstream and I face that challenge almost every day.

I work with young adults many still in high school and many going to college or just finding their way career wise. I find myself giving advice and feedback continually to young adults with no guidance other than the fact that they are going to go to college and get a good job and not work as hard as they do right now. Some of these young adults work with me because their parents work and want a “baby sitter” for their kids because they don’t trust them at home alone by themselves. And it’s my responsibility to build values and work ethic in people that have no reference point for “what is hard work” and “what is great customer service?” and “what do I do of my own initiative?” or “how hard do I work when I am unsupervised?” Parents these days aren’t passing on these lessons; competitive sports does this but even coaches nowadays aren’t instilling the Virtues of giving 110% at everything you do. I consider myself a great Leader not because I can take a person with a slacker \ loser mentality and make them into a winner (to this day I cant think of one example where I’ve done this), but because I can take an average person or a winner and help mold and redefine their actions as they put them into practice. I can show that person the bigger picture of being part of a team and running a department and let them take initiative and come to me with creative solutions. I can show them fairness in holding everyone accountable including my best people as well as how to not rely on your best people too much to compensate for other weak teammates (Easier said than done). I let people take initiative and exercise leadership potential (surprisingly few want to or think they’re worthy of growing in this way); I have witnessed first hand that first impressions are very powerful and the practicality of stereotyping and grouping people into “boxes” (yes this is a good thing). You can tell within a few days, hours, sometimes even minutes of working with a person their potential, how far they will go in life or more accurately how far they are willing to push themselves to attain what they want in life.

 


That’s a bit of a tangent, but having this leadership/mentor ship role with so many young adults I see the same common themes coming up. People still aren’t getting the picture that college is worthless. People are still continuing to sign up for college after high school without any idea of what major or career they want to pursue. And they look to do the cheapest college they can afford. And most of us know not all colleges are equal; sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get more. But you need a plan: an understanding which college you’re going to, why, what major, why that major, what career, why that career, what that job or career really entails, and what it’s going to take to get there, and (most importantly) how each preceding question builds on the next to help you achieve a bigger picture. I wasn’t capable of that kind of foresight at 18 years old, and neither are many other people.

 

Here are a few alternatives to college that I’ve giving to recent or about to graduate high Schoolers as well as hard working people that dropped out of college for financial or academic reasons:

Leap year– go backpack through Europe or South America or SE Asia.  You will truly enjoy it and experience years of growing up in a very short time period. You will make great connections & lifelong friendships, stumble into unheard of opportunities, and it is all socially acceptable at a young age to take a leap year. you never get a chance to experience life like this again if you just jump straight into the rat race.

 


Work 1-3 years. Find yourself, experience life, get out of your little bubble. There is no reason you have to go to college at 18 rather than 25. You still get all the benefits of college at 25 except you can actually relate to all the theory with your real world experience and will have a much better idea turning theories and concepts into practical knowledge.

 


NGO Abroad  You don’t need money to live abroad for a few months or years. If you’re smart and do your homework, you can get away from your parents and learn to be independent; at a young age it’s socially acceptable to attack the World without a plan and working for an NGO you’ll learn work ethic, develop hobbies, build relationships, see an entirely different World than the bubble you grew up in, and hopefully, you can really make a difference in people’s lives. This is an easy hire (unlike the Peace Corps) and it’s respected by any employer who sees it on your resume. You’ll accumulate great life experiences and most likely this will keep you from accumulating debt and falling into the mass consumerism cycle of tying yourself to one form of debt after another. There are hundreds of NGO Causes to choose from: Social Work, Healthcare, Farming, Rural Development, Education and Training, Environment and Wildlife Preservation. Note:: Not all NGO volunteer opportunities are free. Seek out the organizations and projects that offer housing and/or food as part of the volunteer arrangement.

 


Certifications such as the CNNA -bust ass for a year studying, pass the exam and start with a $30,000 a year job. I don’t even get paid that much with a college degree and managing departments as big as 200+ people. And a $30,000 salary is the starting point. There are lots of resources to learn for free and Professional Certifications are more bang for your time and money than actual College Degrees these days.

Military I don’t recommend, however I have met several Generals in my life and even worked with a few. It all comes down to ASVAB. Study your ass of like its the SAT and get the highest score you can. If you score high enough to go into intelligence then pursue it, if not study again and try again or pursue something other than military. The only fields worth going into in the military are Technology, Intelligence, or Medical. And it is far better to get paid to gain real world experience (and possibly travel the world) than go thousands in debt for a piece of paper and no real world experience like most College graduates. If you pursue military, you’ll come out with training and experience that can’t be bought, possibly get paid to travel the globe, and a college degree. The important thing is studying your as off for IQ test (ASVAB) and getting into the elite training program of your choice before committing to joining. If you don’t score you enough then pursue other options.

 


TEFL \ TESL Go abroad to teach English as a second language. South Korea is the easiest to get into – even hiring and funding people with absolutely no experience other than being native English speakers. Foreign language – use that as a starting point to learn 4-5 languages over a 4 year span. You can always do something with it as teaching experience and fluency in multiple languages is EXTREMELY valuable . If you know how to speak 5 languages fluently and you’ll never be unemployed or want for anything in your life.

I could talk or write about this subject for hours, but 1300 words is about as long as I want a blog post to be. I think every young adult should take at least a year or two off before going to college. Travel, work, military, etc. Do something to broaden your outlook. At 18 you have no perspective other than school and everyone always seemed to be in a rush to get started on a career…and why? I think that’s changing now (finally).