Starting a new degree

[ROOBIO]

Hi,

I am a recent graduate in the physical sciences (mathematical physics). However, since, i have been working with animals and know my life purpose lies in the conservation in animal spices around the plant. In order to maintain heathy ecosystems which we can enjoy. I also had a mushroom trip and on the trip this was clear what I want to do with my life.

But I think I need to go back to university. Maybe do another Bachelors. I know @Leo Gura talks about becoming a autodidact. But am unsure weather this is feasible as it seems a lot of positions require degrees in conservation. Do you reckon it is worth going back to university or learning content by myself. I think with this field univeristy is important as you need alot of field work to be able to do field work in remote places like africa or s.america.

And I am unsure what my family would think if i go back to uni after doing a degree at 24.

Edited April 24, 2018 by ROOBIO

[Michael569]

Congratulations on finding your purpose, this is where your journey begins !

I found myself in same crossroad a year ago and decided to go back to weekend school at 27 to pursue my purpose. Nobody can truly give you an answer on what is the best cause. Only you know that. Listen to your intuition and put your thoughts on paper. Journal and meditate on it daily. Or simply let it sit for a while and the answer will be revealed to you. 

Perhaps the uni is the right way. Find other people who did this, figure out a way to connect with them, everyone loves to talk about themselves. Pick their brains ask them about their journeys and recommendations, maybe you could do an internship with someone. You can definitelly help the planet without the degree but having it helps. There are ways of obtaining it by external studies or weekend studies nowadays (thats what I do). 

I bet there are hundreds of books on the topic. You can become a bookworm for a year and focus 100% on study while having some side job to be able to pay bills, afterwards you could open an awareness channel on youtube or join an organisation. There are probably also courses you could do in few months or maybe a year that would award you with valuable certificate. 

Be prepared for a lot of hard work and struggle, day in day out. But what else are you going to do with your life? Don't settle for less than you are able. If your dreams don't frighten you, they are too small. 

[aurum]

@ROOBIO

What's the value in going back to school? Do you think it will help you get a job?

[ROOBIO]

@Michael569

Thanks for the support. Yeah there are many paths for me to consider. And your right following this scares the hell out of me. But my vision for this is the strongest I have ever felt about something and will do all I can to actualise it. 

@aurum I think there is value. But it will cost a lot of money. But also, I find the university structure kills passion, as you are forced to learn what they teach you. In a more rigours syllabus. But the value would be gaining a degree to give you contacts and a boost into  industry. As it seems like a pre-requisite for a lot of work. However, I am sure if you learn by yourself and teach yourself the skills jobs will hire you. 

The thing with conservation is that there is little money in it. People/co-orperations don’t what to invest in saving the plant because it will directly ruin their businesses. As habit/species destruction is what fuels a lot of big corporations businesses. So in order to get volenterimg experience you have to pay for it. That’s what funds conservation organisations. So it is very competitive 

[Greys0n]

I think that if you decided to continue your education then it's a good thing. I suggest to attend EMBA events or fairs so you get to know about school programs and choose the right courses. It's never too late to learn something new. As said B. Franklin "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest".

[d0ornokey]

For fun, do an exercise brainstorming how you would get experience for the job you wanted but with no degree.

The objective is that you have to build experience without a formal degree, and the resume looks good enough that you would be happily hired 

Edited May 31, 2018 by d0ornokey

[ajasatya]

@ROOBIO start doing what you want already. demand-based learning is WAY MORE efficient than going to classes and doing tests for 3+ years.

how can you be so sure that when you graduate (again) you will want what you want right now? do you want the same thing that you wanted when you started your first graduation?

we're changing creatures. sometimes we change faster than we can catch up.

whatever you want to do, do it NOW. and if you really want it, then you'll find your way to do it somehow.

this is how i became a front-end developer in 3 months, a data scientist in 4 months, an agroforestor in 3 months etc etc.

i'm not even a genius. i just go for what i want and work really hard for it.

questions: aren't you filled with fear? are you trying to hide in your safety spot? is the university comfy enough? don't fool yourself. what do you want to be doing for living after your parents die?

Edited May 31, 2018 by ajasatya

[Arman]

20 minutes ago, ajasatya said:

start doing what you want already. demand-based learning is WAY MORE efficient than going to classes and doing tests for 3+ years.

20 minutes ago, ajasatya said:

this is how i became a front-end developer in 3 months, a data scientist in 4 months, an agroforestor in 3 months etc etc.

This is really rewarding advice if taken on. Set specific goals and tasks (that have practical meaning to you) and set out to achieve them. You'll know specifically what you need to learn and as you apply that knowledge quickly, you will learn and expand on that subject in an embodied and satisfying way. 

[StephenK]

@ajasatya Did you ever go to university, and if so, what did you study? Also, are you currently employed as a result of the skills you learnt on your own? Just curious, since I am also a web-developer (front end and back end) and hoping to get into data science in the near future (since I have a math background from my uni days) 

[ajasatya]

5 minutes ago, StephenK said:

@ajasatya Did you ever go to university, and if so, what did you study? Also, are you currently employed as a result of the skills you learnt on your own? Just curious, since I am also a web-developer (front end and back end) and hoping to get into data science in the near future (since I have a math background from my uni days) 

yes, i have a computer science degree. i was a theoretical computer scientist who studied optimization methods (simplex etc), graphs, complexity theory and artificial intelligence.

yes, i am employed due to my self-taught skills. right now, i am a full-time data scientist.

if you want to learn data science, join kaggle's titanic competition asap and try to predict who died/survived. it's not a serious competition... it's for people like you who want to get into data science. get your hands dirty already and stop waiting for it. create a new notebook kernel, import pandas, read the csv files and have fun. you can also check public kernels.

do it

[StephenK]

@ajasatya Thanks for the info. You have a very interesting set of skills. You must have a tremendous amount of freedom in the diversity of your future job prospects. I built hydroponic systems in my spare time during uni, so the idea of combining agriculture, data-science and web-development seemed like a match made in heaven. You seem to have realized that dream. Congrats!