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

[SittingBull]

who is rich taking it with him when he dies. Yes,one needs some money while living to support himself,family,Etc. However,TOP priority is being contented in whatever one is doing.
Continuing in a profession that one does not like is both mentally and physically harmful.
One should strive to follow his dreams. He will be much happier in life by doing so. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
HappyPokering,
SittingBull

[ckessel]

18 huh? Well, not much is going to sway you at that age. No, honest, take all the offense you want, I've been there. Many have been there, and it's a damn few 18 year olds that really get that they're like all humans that have lived and not some next-generation evolution. It's just part of maturing.

So, why stay in? Because you'll only get one easy shot like this. The older you get, the more you look back and regret what you didn't finish or did sloppily. Bits of information that seem useless now crop up in odd places.

Careers you thought you loved (poker) get boring and you wish you could switch, but no one will talk to you because you don't have the degree. You've never proven you can commit to something and finish it, even if it wasn't something you were excited about. Much of doing good work is finishing things you're less than thrilled about at the time.

And you'll get a wife, and kids maybe, and a house with a shed that needs painting. And you'll want to go finish that degree, but damn there's hardly any spare time. And then you're 40 and what's the point then? And then you're suddenly the under-educated older guy in the midst of a layoff and who do you think ends up getting the shaft? Yea, you, and now what?

Take the scenic route through school maybe, take 2 classes, play poker for a living, visit Europe in the summers, whatever, but don't completely give it up.

[Justin A]

TstoneMBD 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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The bold part of this statement is very important. If you're not sure you want to be a poker pro the rest of your life, then stay in school for the time being.

[jimdmcevoy]

were you a different person 5 years ago? I was, most people I know were

I'd bet you'll be a different person in 5 years, and you can't guarantee you'll be as into poker as you are now

go the college route, what's the rush?

[toots]

The rush is obvious. Right now, college would represent 20% of his life. To many of us, it wouldn't even come up to 10%.

It's a lot easier to be patient for a few years when you have many more under your belt. When you're just a young'un, everything's an eternity.

[Hedge Henderson]

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The rush is obvious. Right now, college would represent 20% of his life. To many of us, it wouldn't even come up to 10%.

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Heh. I'm damn near 18 times 2 and college represents well over 25% of my life. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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I want you to convince me to stay in college and finish up my degree.

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Sounds like you already know what you want to hear, but summing up the reasons given so far:

1. It provides greater opportunities should poker lose interest for you (due to one factor or another).
2. Having a well-rounded education can't hurt. I never talked to an old fart who told me his biggest regret was learning so much.

You also have to consider:
3. Spending your early summer years alone, at home, in front of the computer ain't exactly mentally healthy.
4. You can find some really juicy live games on (and around) college campuses, especially right now, and they're a lot more fun than playing online.

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It's too bad those scholarships aren't transferable. I'm having the time of my life in grad school. With a bit more money, I could have the time of several other people's lives as well.

[BigSkiRace]

My dad is rich as hell, hes making me go to college, beacuse he never went, hes attempting to live vicariously through me going to college I think. If I dont go I get disowned, and I dont get to take his company at one point in my life...thats my motivation if I even had to pay one bit for college or my parents were going to have to take out loans....I would be playing poker and not going to college

[VBM]

i can't speak for anyone else, but for myself i didn't even have poker as a distraction when i was in school. but i definitely wish i put forth more effort in college (i was also CS). Why?

1. B/C the work I'd be getting to do now might've been a lot more important/challenging/interesting, etc.
2. People just tend to take academic standouts more seriously. It's human nature....
3. Particularly in CS, maybe unlike other majors, a lot of the work you invest in undergrad really does have relevance in the work world. For instance if you like programming, knowing the O(n) of quicksort vs other sorts and the why's really will help you make better decisions. A friend of mine does circuit design for Cray and the EE classes he took in school are pretty much every day applied-knowledge for his work.

maybe the more relevant question is, do you like what you're studying? Is it something you can picture yourself relatively challenging & enjoyable? If you know you don't like it, try some other stuff. If you do like it, I'd suggest you put forth your best effort. 10 years later, you'll be thanking yourself...

[Al Schoonmaker]

Of course, we can't take it with us, but it's useful up until the final moments. The formerly great players who had to live on charity or try to grind out a minimum wage playing $4-$8, or shilling must have wondered, "How the hell did I end up here?"

Good seeing you here again. I've missed your comments.

Regards,

Al

[yecul]

You should be going to college for more reasons than simply getting a job out of it.

If you're not, then obviously you would have found another reason to want to quit.

Don't be in a rush to start a career -- if someone offered you a nice job doing CS somewhere would/should you leave college? I'd say no because, while the short term might be good, it will only be to the detriment of the long haul.

Maybe you should play poker full time over the summer and see what you think. After a few consecutive weeks of however many hours you can see what you think. If you love it then take a break from school -- they'll let you back in within a certain amount of time, I assume. If it works out, then great. If not, go back to school humbled and, hopefully, motivated.

Life is long. Don't be in a rush to get it going.

Oh, and get away from the computer and bang some college chicks.