Don't go to university, or why I dropped out

Realizing that, apart from such a reaction, my departure will not cause anything else, I try not to answer this question or avoid discussions, because everyone considers it his duty to tell me that I did the wrong thing. Over time, I realized that there is no point in being ashamed of my decision, especially if I believe that I did it 100% right.

Therefore, I want to tell you why the university in its current state is not what I, you and your children need.

We want to be like the rest

Think about what happens in schools with children who wear glasses or are trying to study well. At best, they will not be accepted into the company of "cool", at worst - the main goal of this company will be to make their life unbearable. But, of course, what do they like to say there? "They're children, they don't understand." Well, yes, they do not understand.

So, from childhood, we want to be the same as others. What do “everyone else” do after school? They are trying to get into the university. Preferably on a budget. If this succeeds, the maximum goal is achieved. If not, then your parents will have to spend thousands of dollars on your education, or choose an educational institution that is simpler - a technical school or a trendy college, which, in fact, is the same technical school.

The time begins, which is spoken of as the best time in a person's life, meaning by this, of course, not study. But rather that you will drink (a lot), communicate with the opposite sex and sometimes go to class, trying to sit out at least half. After rereading this paragraph, I realized that it didn't sound so bad.

And that's enough for most. They forget about how much time goes into emptiness, how much money is spent on studying, which does not bring any benefit. For example, I did not study at the most expensive university in Ukraine, and during this time 7,000 dollars were spent on study alone. I think this is my parents' biggest investment in me. Was it justified? Alas.

Studying at university is not the only way

How many courses could I attend with this money? Courses of real professionals who have devoted decades to their business, who adore what they do and are ready to share useful knowledge. How many books could you buy? I will end up with trivial questions, you already know the answer.

Studying at a university no longer guarantees professional success in the future.

One of the reasons for this is motivation. When we do what we like, we are guided by intrinsic motivation. That is, we like the process itself. Money, encouragement, or praise fades into the background. After all, you must agree, it is much more pleasant to be engaged in business and to enjoy not only the reward, but also from the process itself.

Unfortunately, the university is taking a completely different path. Learning involves boredom, monotony and lack of interest, all for the sake of an ephemeral figure in a paper magazine. And if these ephemeral numbers are good, then in five years you can get an ephemeral red plastic paper. It's worth living for.

This is akin to drinking cola for a long time and forgetting that you can quench your thirst with water. Or when you drive a car for a long time and forget that you can walk to a cafe from work. So it is with the university.

We forget that the learning process itself, and then the work itself, can be enjoyable.

I have a friend who also left the university. Four years of study at the university made it possible to understand that he wants something different. In his case, it's design. Only six months of intensive self-study, several unsuccessful attempts to get a job, and he still works as a web designer. This is not the company of his dreams yet, but definitely one of the steps on the road to it. This example is very inspiring.

Self-education does not mean that you have to lock yourself in a room and not contact other people. Seminars, conferences, people with similar interests - you have a huge number of ways to communicate with interesting people, and most importantly - to learn. When you study not for a reward in the future, but simply because you enjoy it, the process itself insanely inserts.

I was finally able to articulate what I dislike most about the university:

There is no passion in university studies.

Moreover, if you come there with your passion, it will surely be beaten off from you. Universities in their current state are killing the desire to learn. This even applies to medicine, which the defenders of standard education are so fond of citing. In my city, the medical university has long earned a reputation as the most bribery educational institution. Remember this when you come to see a young specialist.

Wouldn't it be more logical to choose interesting items yourself? But no, the financier needs to teach philosophy, medicine - the history of economic thought, and the architect - chemistry. Expanding horizons - is that what it's called? I do not want to expand my horizons with useless knowledge multiplied by the teacher's subjectivity.

By learning on your own, you can choose your own path.

Want to learn English? You can create a program that includes watching movies in the original with subtitles, reading English books, learning new words from articles on the Internet, and using Duolingo. This is much better than sitting with Golitsinsky's textbook every day, from which, over time, bouts of nausea begin to appear.

With the advent of services such as Coursera, it becomes clear that something needs to be changed in the current education system. Self-education makes it possible to feel that your knowledge is useful and useful in real life. You will not always go forward, sometimes you have to radically change something, but it's still a thousand times better.

Getting a university crust is no longer a safe and far from the most interesting life path. Don't try to be like others, be special and forget that university is the only way. There are others.