Hello all,
I am currently a freshman at Texas Tech University. While in high school, I was able to earn an associates degree. Several times this semester, the thought of dropping out has crossed my mind. Why am I paying $25/k a year for something that I feel is wasting my time? I have no interest in “climbing the corporate ladder” and would like to take time to travel and become fluent in Spanish. Does anyone have any advice? I appreciate it!
-Nick
Who is going to support your endeavor to travel? Do you have a study abroad option at your school? What are you studying currently?
@momofsenior1 thank you for the response. It would be mostly myself supporting my travels. I have several thousand in the bank and would work full-time for several months to build that number. I understand that I cannot just move to the Bahamas for the rest of my life, and at some point, I will have to come back to reality. My school has study abroad options, but they are very structured. I am majoring in Communication Studies. My communication skills are strong through work and life experience, and I feel that completing this degree would only be to show off the piece of paper, not to learn anything.
Do you have a career advisor or job services center on campus? It may be worth talking to them to see what kind of jobs you would be eligible for with just your AA. There is a difference between not climbing the corporate ladder and being able to obtain a decent job that pays the bills.
If getting the Bachelors will open more doors, the world and foreign language acquisition will still be there when you finish your degree. For many students, it’s harder to go back to school than just seeing the degree through.
Taking time off to have some experiences is not a bad thing at all. I did it, and I don’t regret it at all. In fact, it really gave me a degree of maturity, and I ended up as a better student when I got back. The trick is to do it selflessly. I did a Christian ministry for 2 years. My parents helped pay for it, so that might or might not be the best thing for you, considering how much money you have to work with. That’s some food for thought…
Has that associate’s degree helped you to get your job? Will it continue to do so?
If so, then use it, travel and drop out.
If you need to get out of your college for a break, that’s different.
My opinion: getting an associate’s degree in high school is “different” from earning it without high school issues.
It’s not the same thing because you were also meeting high school requirements and you were at a different level of maturity.
It’s always a good idea to study the language before traveling to learn it, unless you’re planning to go to a language school in country. Those are expensive so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a lot saved up. A lot. Immersion is a good way to learn, but it’s often not the best for someone past the age of 9 because that’s when the ability to acquire a second language worsens. It’s not forever lost on you, but you can’t learn a language like you did when you were a baby because your brain isn’t as plastic. Something to think about.