Finally Finished

Today marks the last day as an undergraduate student and man am I glad.  I do not believe college is for everyone!!!  I personally think that for a lot of people they would be more successful if they learned a trade and they truthfully would be happier.  If that would have been an option for me I would rather have done that route than going to college.  Since I am in military it would have been dumb for me if I did not take advantage of military tuition assistance.  If there are any young people reading this blog "if you think you want to go to school go now!!!  I waited until I had four kids to get real serious and that made it a lot more difficult than it needed to be also.


Another reason to go to school NOW
By getting your education now you are hedging against the rising cost of education.  Odds are good that the education you could get now will cost you more later.  This is the same idea as when Southwest bought a ridiculous amount of fuel to hedge against rising fuel cost.  Then later when fuel prices increased they were able to keep their ticket prices lower because their fuel cost were lower than the other airlines.


I Repeat
Traditional college is not for everyone but that does let anyone off the hook.  If you choose not to go to college you need to learn a trade and either way you need to learn to be the best you can at that trade whether you learn to be a welder, plumber or become a cashier.  There is nothing wrong with those jobs and truthfully right now those skills are more marketable than most under graduate degrees  If you have the 9/11 Military education bill (GI Bill) you can use it for trade schools, so use it. 

Do Something
No matter what you decide, learning is a life long process.  If you do not want to attend college or go to trade school find a passion and learn about it.  If you are reading this you have access to the internet and there more on the internet than anywhere else about just about anything. Ask a lot of college degree holders and they will tell you almost everything they learned in the classroom they could have learned with a library card.  The piece of paper at the end shows fortitude more than anything else.


No Lone Wolfing It
Most successful people have a network that helped them become successful.  We love to romanticize about making to the top all on our own but the truth of the matter is few people truly get to the top completely without help.  Seek out people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience.  If you go to school join associations and network with other students, especially if you go online.  A large amount of my fellow students online were already establish in mid level jobs or successful business owners and they had a ton of knowledge to share.  Networks are living organisms that require nourishing and they take work but they can be mutually beneficial to all members.


Coming Up Next... 
Next blog I will discuss food storage plans, specifically garden plans. 


Please send me comments and feedback.  I also would appreciate any ideas for blogs you would like to see addressed.