Was College Worth It? (For Me)

Hey, how’s it going?

This post is focused on my personal experiences, and I’m not trying to speak for anyone else.

College is a unique experience for everyone, and everyone gets different things out of it and ends up in different places because of it.

This also isn’t meant to hate on colleges themselves, as I know that many instructors and directors pour massive amounts of effort into make college an enriching experience.

The Beginning

For me, college was assumed.

I never really saw a path that would lead to anything other than college → related career.

Other than my short stint of wanting to become an NBA player. Sadly, 6’ isn’t quite tall enough to get me there…

Regardless, my assumed path of college, combined with my aptitude for math, made engineering the default choice for my future.

Though I had some interest in cars and other mechanisms, I never had the passion for mechanical systems that led others to become an engineer.

This led me to take as many AP classes as possible during high school to give me the best chance of getting into a good college.

Attending College

College itself was, unsurprisingly, tough.

Classes could be challenging, requiring dozens of hours to prepare for a single test, not including the rest of your courses.

Balancing this with being a human (cooking, cleaning, exercising, socializing) was sometimes nearly impossible.

However, one upside of college was teaching me how I worked.

I learned that video games are usually my primary distractor and that cooking is a great break that allows me to eat healthier.

Learning this on a job instead of in college would have been far riskier since failing a test may set your grade back, but “failing” a job can result in unemployment.

I also met many diverse people I likely wouldn’t have met outside of college.

College is a true melting pot that makes the outside world feel like a sanitized version of what’s possible.

A massive downside for me, studying to become a mechanical engineer, was realizing how little I enjoyed the material.

Sure, I was good at math and could sometimes even enjoy it. Physics wasn’t too bad, and learning to code was straight-up fun.

But 90% of the courses I took felt more like obligations than opportunities to learn about a passion of mine.

Sure, you could blame this on me not “fitting” in engineering, but I only met a couple of people who felt any differently.

This feeling of being out of place made me afraid of my future in a related career.

After Graduation

Fortunately, soon after graduating, I got a solid job as an Aerospace Quality Engineer.

I say fortunately because I didn’t have to move far and got better pay than I had hoped straight out of college.

The first thing that struck me was, for lack of a better word, the atmosphere (there’s definitely an aerospace joke in there).

What I mean by this is, when you picture engineers, you probably picture a modern facility full of creative people, advanced software, and complicated machinery, developing groundbreaking technology.

What I walked into (and what most facilities look like) is cubicle offices, sectioned off from reptetive manufacturing floors.

The worst part? The lack of smiling and constant look of dread everyone has for where they are.

This is a very consistent trend for not only my facility, but the dozens of other engineering-related facilities I have seen or heard about from friends.

It may sound minor when you look at the fancy title and the above-average pay, but being surrounded by people to say “Happy Friday” and “F***ing Money” every week can really affect your outlook on life.

What Did College Do For Me?

College did give me above-average pay straight out of college. This set me up for a dependable financial future out of the gate.

College did introduce me to some great people that I will be close to for the rest of my life.

College did teach me how to manage my time and pour everything I have into something.

College did teach me fundamentals such as math, physics, and public speaking. All of these will be useful in the real world, even outside of engineering.

College did delay me from builidng workplace skills by 4 years. If I had started working straight out of high school, 4 years later I would have had a much better understanding of the “real world”, how to interact with coworkers, taxes, retirement, etc.

College did not prepare me to manage my own finances. Sure, a few finance-related classes were offered, but you were constantly reminded how they would push back your graduation date.

College did not set me up to be the most successful person out there. No one with a traditional career job is going to make as much as someone who learns how to build businesses or brands.

Was College Worth It? (For Me)

Overall, I’d say yes. But not quite in the way you think.

College itself was worth it because of all of the upsides I mentioned above.

However, there are some things I would have done differently to end up in a better place.

What Would I Do Differently?

If I could go back, I wouldn’t have done engineering.

Instead, I likely would have done something business-related.

I say this because the truly impactful people in the world, both for good and for bad, are business owners.

Whether this is a personal brand, faceless social brand, brick and mortar physical store, or any other business, they are created and run by business owners.

As someone who now sees the financial and influential value of owning a business, I wish I had gotten a headstart on networking with future business owners and learning the tricks of the trade.

Sometimes, you need help working through financial decisions or making plans to reach your financial goals.

I offer 1-on-1 financial coaching for precisely that reason.

Book a free introductory call with me to ensure you do everything possible to improve your finances.