Soemting btohering me about school
OK i got another thing i wanted to see how you guys feel about.
Agian a run down. I am gonna be 22 in July. I am almost done with school. maybe another 30 - 40 credits wotrh. (about 2 semesters or so) Anway. If you have read me and butch's drinking post you will knwo i have and am serving one of my dwi suspensions now for 2 years.
Right now I work in the United Nations as a temp. the job ends at the end of june. They might extend me but i dunno. Now Ramapo college the school i go to is too far for me to ask people to give me rides back and forth. I have a chance to get on campus housing, but doing that would completley anhilate my working chances, cause if any of you know Mawah NJ you would now it freakn farmland. lol. So what i am asking you, is do you think i should drop out of colleg now and continue to work, or do you think i should jsut go to school ,, and concentrate on finsihsing????
My mom wants me to keep working cause she thinks i might just goof of in school. esp living on campus. Imean i know iw ould goof off but iw ould try my best to do good. What do you guys htink. Cause i still do have expenses. And the only job i might!!! be able to get is on calpus. and you know how much those pay.....
Hang on . . . Getting into lotus position.
Sit, my son, as I present some wisdom, and an option you probably didn't think of . . .
Whether you like it or not, in order to succeed today, you do need a degree. The bar has been raised on most jobs, even at entry level, because the competition for decent positions is so strong. In fact, one of the reasons you probably got the gig with the U.N. is that you were a student, and they recognized your potential as a graduate.
You've already made a few mistakes (the fact that you have a two-year suspension indicates that it's not your first DUI), and have admitted that you still goof off.
So consider a compromise: Go to college by not going to college.
New Jersey happens to be home to two of the best non-traditional college programs in the country: Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, with an office in Newark (http://www.tesc.edu, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark (http://www.njit.edu). Both are public colleges, and Edison is part of the same state college network as Ramapo. Both are fully accredited by the Middle States Association, and you can earn a degree at both without ever having to show up. Ever. And since your current credits are from Ramapo, you will probably be able to transfer all of them into either school.
NJIT focuses on computer-related degrees, plus a few other fields, and tends to be more expensive; Edison has far more degree programs available than most other colleges, and is one of the best college values available today. NJIT focuses on external courses; the options at Edison are greater and include transfer of external courses, computer-based courses, credit by portfolio (life experience, providing you can "translate" it into college credit), and testing out by exam (the only time you would have to show up, since the exams are proctored).
Both programs are usually pursued by working adults, and are similar to other programs around the country based on the same model. (Some of the colleges that offer degrees nontraditionally include Penn State, U. Minnesota, Ohio U., Indiana U., Brigham Young, Empire/SUNY, and U. Alabama, just to name a few.)
In other words, who ever said that your choice is school or work? You can do both. Without having to commit yourself to planting your ass in a classroom for three hours at a time on a specific schedule.
All that said, you're gonna be 22 in a few weeks. Enjoy this time while you have it. But realize that sooner or later, you're going to have to stop goofing off (whether it's DUI's or anything else). You've asked the right questions, since this is the time, at the very least, to plan your goals. There will be other job opportunities, and Mahwah isn't the worst place in the world to be stuck. (Hell, some people commute from Mahwah to NYC every day. But yes, I understand that they can drive.) The decisions are yours to the extent that you have options, but decide carefully.
Now, if you'll excuse me, this damn lotus position is getting uncomfortable... :D