Why should I finish my college degree? (I really want you to tell me)

[einbert]

Hi, I'm an 18 year old second year college student majoring in computer science. I have been playing poker online since I entered college, and I make enough to live comfortably off of. I have lost a great deal of motivation for finishing my degree. In fact right now I am mainly motivated for college because of study abroad opportunities.

I want you to convince me to stay in college and finish up my degree. Whether the reasons be financial, pyschological, spiritual, I don't care. Just tell me why you honestly think I would be better off finishing my degree than dropping out and beginning my fulltime poker career.

Please assume that I make enough playing poker to live comfortably off of (at the moment obviously the game could change in the future). I'm not going to get into dollar amounts as that isn't relevant to the conversation in my eyes.

Also, if you could suggest some ways of motivating myself to do the work necessary to finish my degree I would really really appreciate it.

To start things off, the biggest reason I can see for myself is because I'm on full academic scholarship so I'm not paying any tuition. I go to a decent small private university in Macon, Georgia. I like computer science a little but prefer pursuing a career in poker for various reasons (financial reasons, more freedom, more personal responsibility, POKER IS A MERITOCRACY--THE BUSINESS/CS WORLD IS NOT [my main reason]).

Thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate any responses you guys can give me.

TstoneMBD you said:
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college is a waste of time for people that already know what they want and are capable of making a good living.

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Please elaborate on this statement if you can. Thanks.

[TripleH68]

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I'm on full academic scholarship so I'm not paying any tuition.

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[Harv72b]

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Please assume that I make enough playing poker to live comfortably off of (at the moment obviously the game could change in the future).

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There's your answer.

You could sit down at a table with 12 BBs and be okay--you can cover capping every street. But you don't. Why? Because you don't know what's going to happen, except that it will include swings, and you want some extra chips to fall back on when that happens.

Poker may be your career, and it may make you millions. Then again, it may not; wouldn't you rather have a better fallback option than the drive-thru window? Especially if training for that option isn't costing you (or your parents) a penny in tuition?

Take some elective courses that can be used to help your game, if you're worried about motivation. Statistics, psychology, whatever. Oh, and use some of that computer training to fix the glitches in BisonBison's hand converter. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[sethypooh21]

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Please assume that I make enough playing poker to live comfortably off of (at the moment obviously the game could change in the future).

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Actually, I had a similar conversation with myself after my first year of law school (finishing this spring, thank god...).

It came down to two things for me really: 1) I'm skeptical that the games will remain good indefinitely. Now I'm not saying that the games will become rock gardens tommorow, but eventually, the novelty will wear off, the fishies will find the next fad and the number of people who can make a living playing poker will drop quickly. This could be five years from now, maybe ten, maybe longer. But since you are 18 now, life from 30 til the end is a long time, you need something to fall back on for that time.

2) Similar to yourself, I had/have motivation issues. These are only exacerbated by playing full time (trust me, I've tried it on school vacations and what not. Even for a week, it's exhausting. Almost like working [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) As soon as you start playing 'professionally' the 'fun' aspect will evaporate quickly. Now maybe this does not matter to you, but it certainly did for me.

Oh yeah, I forgot, you can have a whole lot of fun in college, but not if you are stuck to your computer chair all day...

[duckwaltz]

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As soon as you start playing 'professionally' the 'fun' aspect will evaporate quickly. Now maybe this does not matter to you, but it certainly did for me.

Oh yeah, I forgot, you can have a whole lot of fun in college, but not if you are stuck to your computer chair all day...

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Dude,
Financial security is not the only aspect of a "good" life. While it makes living the good life a lot easier, you may not necessarily find a professional poker career as fulfilling as you do now. I like what sethypooh is trying to say. You're 18 and in college. Some people look back and remember these days as the best and most free of their lives. Don't throw away what little remains of your childhood by trying to map out your entire future. I say, take a brief hiatus from poker, return to it as a hobby in a month or so, finish school, and then, after your 4 years are up, reexamine your position in life. A lot can change in the next couple of years. No matter how much planning you do, nothing is set in stone.

[lehighguy]

If your not motivated in you studies, you won't magically be motivated tommorrow. And it will make your college experience much less enjoyable. I still have ton of fun on the weekends, but damn does it suck to go to classes I hate.

Your a freshmen, and your on full scholarship, which means you have a lot of time to try different majors. I'm basically stuck in my major because I need to graduate on time. Being able to change majors might make the experience much more enjoyable.

You could also try poker for a year. If you find it truly enjoyable then you can continue, if it becomes a drag then its not all that different from a normal job.

Just don't do anything because its conventional wisdom. Do it because its truly what you want to do.

[TStoneMBD]

well, i would hardly consider college to be a waste of time if youre on a full tuition. i would consider myself lucky if i were in your shoes. college might be a waste of time for someone, because its difficult to recover from the excessive debt that college can put on someone. getting a free education is priceless. im pretty surprised that youre interested in passing up on that fortunate opportunity of yours.

however, college is certainly overrated, but free is free. granted, 4 years is a long time to dedicate yourself to college. all in all, do whatever you want to do. if you dont think college will make you happy, then dont go. if youre not sure, then test the waters. hey, its not like youre paying for it! make sure that if you do decide to drop out, that you can be happy playing poker for a living, and that you will be secure and wont have to crawl back to your parents. that is not a situation you want to put yourself in.

[Kuanti]

Finish your degree so you atleast have a backup.

[imported_stealthcow]

i'd stay because theres more to life then poker.

take 2-3 months off and start drinking/partying more. i did when i first got to university (i'm first year engineering) and although it probably cost me ~ 2k in poker earnings, it was one of the smarter things i've done all year. imho, i think if you were having a real good time at school this wouldn't cross your mind.

play professionally in the summer. you get 4 months off, and by the time fall comes around you should/will probably be burned out enough that you will want a change of pace.

stealthcow-

[Scratch]

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...the biggest reason I can see for myself is because I'm on full academic scholarship so I'm not paying any tuition.

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Sounds like a huge +EV situation to me...one I don't think you can ignore.

Take it from someone who entered college with his whole life planned. Ph.D., professorship, Nobel Prize, the works. But something happened on the way to all that...I got burned out. I finished my degree, but mainly because I was already so far ahead (I graduated in 3 years--which explains much of the burnout). My degree is in chemistry but I work as a computer programmer. Hell, I don't even remember half of the elements in the periodic table. But I _do_ have my degree and no one can take that away.

My point here is that you can plan for things, such as a poker career, only to change your mind later on. Or you might get burned out. Playing hours and hours a week, month after month, it happens. Have a backup plan. If you're sick of computer science, find something else that interests you. Learn another language (or two). If you're studying abroad, I'm guessing that's not a problem. But whatever you do, don't become one dimensional. Life is too short for that.