Leaving University For Real Education

[jackson]

I'm 20 years old. I live in Sydney, Australia. I am about to commence my third year (out of four) in a Chemistry degree.

I have always been passionate and enthusiastic about science, but over my two years at University my heartfelt interest and deep curiosity for it has been sapped.

I still love science, but my eyes no longer light up when somebody asks me about what I do.

I don't have the freedom to follow my natural inclinations nor get deeply involved and invested into something that I find meaningful and exciting. I am being pushed along a conveyor belt to get a degree and I am growing more restless by the minute.

There is nothing I love in this world more than learning, and I am grateful for the opportunity to get a tertiary education - but I know that it is holding me back.

I want to learn, but in a different way. I want to learn about the world and science in my own way - unchained and free to pursue the things that really make me come alive.

I've launched a website on my summer break where I have started to write about life changing books I have read along with other stuff that I genuinely find meaningful and important.

This is the work I want to be spending my time doing. I want to be learning my own way and genuinely helping people - not memorising organic chemistry reactions for the sake of passing a test.

I have big plans for this page, and I know that I will get it to the point where it can sustain me financially and I will be free to invest my life into it. The problem is the time factor.

The semester starts in approximately a months time, and once it does I will be back in the grind spending majority of my time trying to survive the endless juggernaut of assessments and bullshit.

I want to leave, but I don't think the page will make me enough money to support me by the time I am required to resume studying (I get student support bonuses while studying which is the only reason I can afford to live in Sydney).

What I am looking for is practical suggestions and wisdom regarding how to approach this situation and how I could lever myself into the life I want to life. I know this is the work I want to be doing, I am just struggling to find a way to position myself in order to do it.

I have no intention of pursuing a career in science at this point, but I may need to play the game for a bit longer to ultimately get to where I want to go. I know that I will find my way there eventually, I am just done with delaying it.

Apologies for the essay - I truly appreciate your curiosity and I am sincerely grateful for your thoughts and wisdom. You guys are awesome.

 

 

[MIARIVEL]

@jackson

Hey Jackson, I am from Sydney Australia too and I know how expensive living in Sydney is. It is almost getting impossible to live in the city and still manage and afford to do everything you want to do. 

I'll share my situation with you as I think it is similar to yours. 

I have been out of home since I was 18 years old and I've had to look after myself financially ever since. It was hard because back when I was 18, I think I was only earning $30,000 a year which isn't much at all. Fast forward to my early to mid-twenties, I had my parents pressure me to go to university so I can get a better job. Back at that time, I wanted to be a fashion designer and studied fashion for a while but my family kept pressuring me to do something that will pay off and earn lots of money. Because I have family in law enforcement, Lawyers and doctors, my parents wanted me to follow the family trend. I then decided to study a Law degree with hopes of becoming a lawyer one day.

I put myself through university financially, whilst paying rent, and food and everything else, this was an extremely stressful and I struggled for a while.

So my last year of Law school, I decided to put law school aside for now and study Life Coaching. Looking back this was the best decision I ever made, I've made it my life mission to become the best life coach I can be and made a business out of it. I honestly can't imagine doing anything else, investing my time and money in anything else then doing what I love. 

Learning about personal development and business is very different to Law school and I find we learn more easily when we are learning something we are interested in and passionate about. I've given up a lot, to do what I do now and I love it, despite the challenges and hardship. But all good things take time. I am still working my 8-5 job, running a business and seeing clients. I'm studying my CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) diploma as well as volunteering mentoring young teens, whilst trying to have a social life and see my family. 

The plan is to one day leave my 8-5 job and move into my own apartment, but you have to be very realistic with your decisions and what you can manage and afford. Think about what is best for you now, what are you willing to sacrifice and put up with in the meantime? Create a plan and some goals with time frames.

For me, it sometimes seems like a lonely journey, its tough, busy, very challenging but the one thing that gets me through each day is my determination that I will work hard now and do the overtime, I will get qualified and budget my money and monitor where every cent goes. I will be more mindful and smarter with some decisions I make, and I believe if I just suck it up for now and put in the hours, the work, the time and effort, it will all pay off later. 

[Leo Gura]

For a dose of realism, having worked in various online businesses for almost the last 10 years, I can tell you that earning a full-time salary from a website is VERY VERY challenging. Not impossible, but most people are not willing to do what it takes to make it happen. However much work you think it will take, multiply that estimate by 10 or 100! I don't want to discourage you, but this path should only be considered if you want to be a serious online entrepreneur. And even then, you're likely looking at working 60+ hour weeks for 2-5 years before you see any money.

There are other paths which may be more appropriate for you, involving less risk and less time investment.

Some jobs can be highly-lucrative without requiring much skills or training.

For example, I know a guy who works as a merchant sailor. Zero experience required to start. He travels on a big commercial freight ship around the world, mostly between the US and China. He works for 60-90 days, then he gets 30 days rest. He earns really good money for this basic job: $60,000-$80,000 per year. That's enough to allow him to live whatever lifestyle he wants. Most of his sailor friends blow their money on booze, gambling, and hookers in Asia. But this guy is smart. He saves up his money and during his 30-day rest periods he goes to meditation retreats, does personal development, and enjoys himself. When he's traveling aboard the ship -- there are no distractions, no cell phones, no TV, no friends -- so he has time to meditate and read books.

That's just one example. There are many others you could research and discover.

[JuliaEliza]

Hi Jackson,

I did exactly what you want to do. I quit my studies in biology and decided to start my own company and earn my money with my passions, which were not related to my university studies.

One of my dreams was to start a website too. I can also say that for sure, it is the biggest challenge I ever got: to get a following online and to create a successful website. Small steps, that I thought would take a week, take months. I think starting an online business is extremely overwhelming. One of my friends who started an online business is working 60 hours a week on her online business since 2 years and just made her first 120 dollars out of it.

If you have the possibility, try to find some job at the side that can help you to support your basic costs of living and work there part time.
I myself started a local business, which is way easier than an online business, and earn my living with this business. Starting this business was also a bigger challenge than I imagined, but now after about 4 months working (not full-time) I can support myself with it.

Even though starting a business was more challenging than I thought, I can also definitely say that I didn't ever feel that I learned SO much, that I grew so much, and that my whole life feels purposeful in a way it never felt before.. So my very prejudiced vision is that it is one of the best things you can do for your own growth

Some weeks I literally worked all the time. I never really feel like I have free time, since it is ALWAYS possible to do more. So my experience is that sometimes it can also be MUCh more stressful and less rewarding on the short term (?). So take that into account too 

So if you will take this step, I would say:

1. Know what you are starting on
2. Find an alternative great way to make income that is less long term. Otherwise you will literally die of stress.
3. Talk with me, I would love to get into contact with other young entrepreneurs  

Wish you all the best!

Julia Eliza

Edited February 13, 2016 by JuliaEliza

[Dhana Choko]

Just don't do it. If you want to have an online business or whatever, you can have it but you always have to have a back up plan. 

I was in a similar situation when I was in a university and I was very close to quitting it because I was so disapointed by the quality of teaching and the teaching material (even though it was a very high level UK university). However, I ended up doing the degree and I am SO glad I did. It will help me so much and I don't understand in what kind of daze I was in thinking I would quit. 

[DreamSpirit]

On 2/9/2016 at 11:58 AM, jackson said:

I'm 20 years old. I live in Sydney, Australia. I am about to commence my third year (out of four) in a Chemistry degree.

I have always been passionate and enthusiastic about science, but over my two years at University my heartfelt interest and deep curiosity for it has been sapped.

I still love science, but my eyes no longer light up when somebody asks me about what I do.

I don't have the freedom to follow my natural inclinations nor get deeply involved and invested into something that I find meaningful and exciting. I am being pushed along a conveyor belt to get a degree and I am growing more restless by the minute.

There is nothing I love in this world more than learning, and I am grateful for the opportunity to get a tertiary education - but I know that it is holding me back.

I want to learn, but in a different way. I want to learn about the world and science in my own way - unchained and free to pursue the things that really make me come alive.

I've launched a website on my summer break where I have started to write about life changing books I have read along with other stuff that I genuinely find meaningful and important.

This is the work I want to be spending my time doing. I want to be learning my own way and genuinely helping people - not memorising organic chemistry reactions for the sake of passing a test.

I have big plans for this page, and I know that I will get it to the point where it can sustain me financially and I will be free to invest my life into it. The problem is the time factor.

The semester starts in approximately a months time, and once it does I will be back in the grind spending majority of my time trying to survive the endless juggernaut of assessments and bullshit.

I want to leave, but I don't think the page will make me enough money to support me by the time I am required to resume studying (I get student support bonuses while studying which is the only reason I can afford to live in Sydney).

What I am looking for is practical suggestions and wisdom regarding how to approach this situation and how I could lever myself into the life I want to life. I know this is the work I want to be doing, I am just struggling to find a way to position myself in order to do it.

I have no intention of pursuing a career in science at this point, but I may need to play the game for a bit longer to ultimately get to where I want to go. I know that I will find my way there eventually, I am just done with delaying it.

Apologies for the essay - I truly appreciate your curiosity and I am sincerely grateful for your thoughts and wisdom. You guys are awesome.

 

 

I commend you for leaving school and going after a REAL education.  I think institutions can keep you trapped and thinking along a specified set of lines where when you go into the world, you get a taste of reality and the BEST education you can think of hands on.  Glad you're awake in that respect.  Consider all of your options and do your research.  You're on the right track.

[jackson]

@DreamSpirit

Your voice on this topic is a breath of fresh air. Thank you. Bless.

[ayokolomo]

I quit law school in my final year, and even though I never had a use for it, it has been one of my few regrets.  2 more years isnt that much, but the sense of accomplishment may last a life time.  Not to mention the real world uses.

[jackson]

@JuliaEliza

Thank you for your in depth and honest opinion - your story makes you somewhat of an inspiration

I think I am definitely underestimating how far I have got to go until I can financially sustain myself from online business, but in all honesty I love the idea of the challenge. I can really understand and resonate with what you are saying about how much you grew from the entire experience - I have been at this for a couple of months now and I must say even though the surface level achievement may still be in its infancy, the journey has pushed me to grow so much more than any other endeavor I can recall.

I guess I will just keep pushing at it and do what I need to do to sustain myself in the meantime. I'm more than okay with the 60, 70, and 80+ hour weeks (i'm essentially just trying to monetize what I would otherwise be doing all day anyway ), but you are right i'll need some sort of short term crutch to hold myself up in the meantime.

Thank you again for your thoughtful response . Best of luck with your future travels and I would love to stay in touch

 

 

 

[jackson]

@MIA.RIVEL Inspirational story, thank you Mia.

I can definitely resonate with what you are saying about learning becoming much easier when you are passionate and interested in what you are learning. Once upon a time my degree in science was the ideal career and the best path of action I could think of, now after a bit of personal development and reading a stack of books I have come to realise that there are much bigger and more meaningful dreams out there to pursue. I was good at school but I am literally orders of magnitude more productive and effective when I am reading books and learning my own way on the side. 

After reading your comment a week ago I got thinking about the sacrifices I am willing to make to ensure that this transition happens - it made the entire thing seem a lot more manageable and reasonable. Not much else matters when I really think about it - all I really need is food and enough money for rent in a shitbox of a room. Earning the freedom to spend my time learning and working on whatever I choose is important to me and is worth the struggle.

Thanks again for sharing your story - it really got me thinking

[joegarland]

@jackson: you've taken all the words I had out of my mouth. Just replace "chemistry" with "art," and it seems that we're in exactly the same boat. 

I'm 21, in my third year of college in Mississippi, USA, and I think I'm about to drop out. I know my end goal: I'm going to be a full-time artist and I'm going to be rich doing it. But the whole path to get there is still a mystery to me, but I'm getting more and more certain that college is not that path.

Let's keep in touch about this. I've got a few ideas for making it and I'm sure you do, too. Maybe we can help each other along the way.

[Cookiesliyr]

@jackson nahh, that's the mark of introvert if you ask me (writing long) ... what ? <_<

anyhow, how to put it my dear friend ... Chemistry is quite ... mystery, nothing in that damn field can be taken granted, even physics can be more granted than Chemistry (if you study physics deeply you might find the last statement is laughable, but i am serious actually), as a person who like guarantee i never been found in Chemistry, maybe in alchemy, but that thing is outdated ...

to be free in learning of Chemistry means you want to do theoretical Chemistry, right? you see, if you really love science, and don't care about applied jobs and applied science that only care about how to make money as fast as possible i believe you should stick with collage, even if you don't see in what you are learning any uses trust me, or actually, consult your favorite professors before you do anything, they have better answers than any of us, they can understand you better than us, and sometimes even better than you.

@joegarland i mean yes, art i am with you, is art, there is some geometry and algebra, but it is not a science in itself, it is not a system, and i can see why artiest shouldn't focus their time on collages because there are a lot of corrupted collages which care about money only, and art is quite underrated in those schools.

but back again, Chemistry is mostly science, after all tell me any field that is based on experiments and observations more then Chemistry in all sciences history?

if you define success as money and business, then i see why business required "thinking out of the box to be successful", in chimestery you need to observe, you need to think out of the box to make a way to observe yes, but not the observation itself, you need to experiment, you need to know the laws and the rules, so let be honest with you again jackson, take it from some one who love science and devoted his life to it, reconsider it, if you are good in collage and it is not over yet and can still speak to your professors ... just take their consoles, listen to expert from your own field and know your real goal, do you want to learn ... or make money in learn by yourself outside of collage make money faster?