I only completed a couple of college classes and could never “find myself.” I started when 3d animation was “new” and every class ended up being photoshop 101 over and over so I stopped. I started up again studying computer repair technology but was more interested in physically repairing things only to find that no one does that, you just buy a new computer.

Even though I have a love for science I never felt intelligent enough to go for a degree in that field nor did I have any interest in the story I hear about the constant begging for grants that comes with the field so I never attempted to study it.

I went through a trade school for HVAC, but because of the area I live in it was more like 6+hours of traffic and 7 hours of work so being miserable every day I decided to call it quits.

Now I’m still single (at 39) working in a factory, renting a poorly insulated garage “apartment,” spending $300/month in heating bills because of it, and still miserable. My retirement plan is a nitrogen suffocation device I’ve been thinking about manufacturing when the time comes.

1/10 wouldn’t recommend.

I withdrew from college due to depression.

I’ve failed as a Asian, don’t even have an [A] to call myself an [A]sian anymore. 🙃

And my ableist older brother now can say a lot of shit to me, I bet he frels so smug about having his stupid degree.

Oh did I mention this piece of shit cause me childhood trauma when I was 6 years old… wonder why I have depression, huh.

(Oh my brother isn’t just ablelist, hes also racist and a racial supremacist)

High school diploma and a Sec+ certification has gotten me surprisingly far in life, i think i would’ve absolutely hated doing higher education right out of highschool.

But now? I think I’m in the right headspace and i would enjoy college just for the sake of education and furthering my fundamental knowledge. I feel like if i could i would want to retake a lot of math and science before trying college, because i barely graduated highschool.

I have a Masters Degree and a money of IT certs and yeah I am happy with it. I have kicked around the idea of getting a PHD, but that would only be for ego, so I am in no hurry.

I put a few years into a Comp Sci BS at a “new Ivy League” University, realized I didn’t mesh with the teaching style at all (still have a massive chip on my shoulder and strong strong fucking opinions about how coding ought to be taught) and if I had to spend 8 hours a day coding I would kill myself. Also went through a deep depression and some life shit. Got placed on academic probation and effectively took that as my sign it was done.

A few years later I was having trouble finding employment, so I signed up for an Associates degree in Computer Information Systems at a local community college. I was able to transfer a good amount of credits from my first attempt, but the way classes were scheduled I ended up taking two years anyway just with a very light course load.

By the time I graduated I was already employed full time in IT support, with an obvious path upward. I didn’t bother going to the graduation ceremony.

Now I’m the best programmer/scripter on a sysadmin/infraops team, the majority of my workdays are spent scripting automations and shit that no one should ever have to try and do manually (sometimes coding a full 8 hour shift) and I love it.

I’m happy I went back and “finished” things. It was a wildly different and better experience with some more years under me and at an institution where I was actually treated like a human being.

Maybe I could have had the same at the first place with a lighter course load, but I don’t think I had the right mindset or the right teachers, even if I hadn’t been as overwhelmed.

At some point during my second attempt, I finally hit a point with programming where I was able to effectively split the concepts/theory from the writing of the code/execution of the theory. I developed my personal approach to programming that isn’t particularly unique, but I was never really guided towards it by any instructor or learning material.

I will never be a full on Software Developer, a true Computer Scientist. I don’t need or want to be.

I don’t program and script for the sake of it. For the joy of the art. I’m not going to argue CPU architecture, data organization schemes. Vim vs emacs. I program and script because I want to solve problems that no one should have to do manually, especially the fuck not me.

Programming, scripting, and automation are tools. Some of the most amazing tools humanity has ever created. Tools that open opportunities for increased quality of life, efficiency, and leasure time like nothing else. But they’re a tool. Not an ends to themselves. I love them for what they allow us to do.

I can appreciate the artistry, and I’m happy as hell that there are people out there arguing about how things get compiled or interpreted down to machine code.

I can automate the fuck out of things. Script together entire system integrations including full user account lifecycle automation when sales folk lies don’t match up with reality. I am the best programmer on my sysadmin/infrastructure operations team, and I’m the guy the boss puts on projects that we don’t have a failure option for.

I get to do things I’m good at, and that I generally enjoy, for enough pay that I don’t generally have to worry about money. I am immensely blessed and privileged in this regard.

As far as how much of my current situation is due to education? Really hard to say. If I did it again I think I’d start at the community college.

Too far, I now have no bliss.

I woudnt be making nearly as much as I do now if not for my degree. It opened a lot of doors when times were tough.

I barely graduated high school and never completed my only semester of community college. My whole life I found it very difficult engaging with formal education and lacked motivation to focus on the synthetic work of school. It always felt meaningless and detached from reality to me. I was eager to be done with school as soon as possible.

I’m very satisfied with how my life turned out and the minimal role of formal education within it.

Me and two of my siblings went for PhDs, and only one came out successful. I got to teach a ton during my attempt which I really loved, and having the PhD would open up a few of those doors. In my career (tech) there were only a couple short times where I thought having the PhD would help, but over time I managed fine without it.

As to why I didn’t get the PhD, my advisor was truly awful and I didn’t recognize the signs since I was just going hard at the work. Tons of red flags were there in hindsight. I wised up and quit a few years into PhD (after already earning a masters) and went software engineering, and by all measures have had an excellent software career. Several years later he was convicted of federal crimes and disgracefully removed from the university. So somewhat of a vindication of my experience; I regularly imagine what could have been, but not because I have any specific regrets.

I still love learning and think I may still go for the PhD some day. Another sibling just had too much happening in life. Tried to do a work sponsored PhD and couldn’t get it over the line before having to move on. She may revisit it some day, but it’s tough juggling a slightly different job career and now she has kids to make it more complicated.

For my sibling that made it, it was tough. They had alot of anxiety and stress. They use their degree to teach now so I guess it was nevessary, but it’s not glorious by any means. They don’t make a ton, and have had to move universities and programs. They were able to leverage a lot of skills from their degree (biology) but it’s still a pretty regular battle even when not doing research. They aren’t able to support a family on a single income, but that is increasingly common.

If you have the time and passion, I don’t see why not. I am getting some textbooks in some fields and will see where it goes. Maybe I’ll go for a PhD when my kids go off to get their bachelors! I guess my advice is making sure you fully evaluate the program, the advisors available, the time commitment, what different exits look like, and if needed, what doors the PhD is actually opening up.

I went from college to trade school. I could’ve skipped the college and get into the work life 3 years earlier.

I am in law school. You could not pay me to do a PHD. Just no. The workload of school is just ridiculous. There are always 5 other things you could do, and, no matter how hard you work, you’ll never catch up to the smart ones. I miss being able to get my stuff done in a day and then turn my brain off.

I have a bachelor’s in one field, a master’s in a different one, and a job that has very little to do with either.

I earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. I later discovered the thing I’ve enjoyed most and pays best didnt end up needing it (operations side of power plant work). Still glad I learned all I did, it did help with the on paper side of this career but I was behind on the hands on aspects.

I wish I could find a woman and become her trophy-husband, tho all I have is a compsci bachelors and PMBOK postgrad