College? I'd Rather Major in IM

[Johnny12345]

I suppose it depends on the person. But, for me, going to college was the best thing I ever did. I studied business, marketing, copywriting, and art.

Even if you have grandiose plans of becoming a millionaire Internet marketer, college provides you with a back-up. A "plan B" in case your millions are slow to come. Without a degree, your opportunities will be limited. A degree can help unlock doors.

When I was about your age, I worked in a factory for a summer. Inside that plant, it was hot, dark and noisy... and the work was hard, dirty and monotonous. Every minute seemed like an hour. When you do that kind of work, you end up wishing your life away. Every morning as I walked in, I hoped 5:00 pm would come quickly.

That summer convinced me college was worth the investment of time, effort, and money. And it was. After working for many years in corporate America, in my opinion, wearing a business suit and being in a brightly lit, air conditioned office while sipping coffee beats the heck out of factory work.

Even though I've now been self-employed for years, having a degree meant that I would never have to work in a factory again. And, in the business world, having a degree (or even being able to say that you're in college) will instantly help your credibility. Plus, for me, college was fun and interesting. (Oh... and I met a lot of attractive girls. )

My advice? At least go to a community college part time and try it. And nothing says you have to earn your degree in 4 years -- slower is better than not at all. In my view, it would be terrible to be 40 or 50 years old and suddenly realize that you missed out.

Good Luck.

John

[BizEffortsOnline]

Why not do both at the same time?

[ProAffiliate01]

I just wanted to check in with a1batross. How are you doing with your Internet marketing pursuits right now? I know also that some business schools might offer online marketing as one of their areas of study now.

[Butazi]

Looking back, the only thing I learned in college was to play poker well. And poker is what taught me the ability to learn.

If you want a failsafe, spend 4 months at your first semester of college. Study your ass off, get a 3.6-4.0 GPA. Drop out, and simply say in your resume, "3.8GPA One Year at college studying "Marketing". Say it at the end of your resume as an afterthought.

When someone asks you about your history, be honest and say. "I left college to be an entrepreneur".

What you learn and what you do and your drive (+ attitude) plays a big part of how you will do.

You might find your true calling doing PPC / SEO / Social media / coding / whatever. As you become successful in gaining abilities, build a brand / clientbase (Take time out of your day to work for free if need be). Hell, all the interviews I've been going to I have not been asked about my degree. It's practical applications and how I would solve problems.

If you can learn and have motivation. You'll do fine in life. Anyone else who says different in my opinion simply doesn't understand the metrics on why people fail.

"You are one exception to the rule". For the most part, in every bit of ventures that people fail at doing. Their are literally hundreds of reasons why people could fail. From "lack of research", "motivation", "Lack of focus", "misunderstanding the market", "Some success but got lazy", "wrong mental state", "hanging with people who influence you the wrong way".

It's no different than figuring out what went wrong in an interview. From wrong body language, weak demeanor, lack of a firm handshake, lack of confidence, awkward proximities, bad first impressions. All the way to simply having the interviewer not liking your face (not a joke).

You see a problem, and fix it and get better.

It's very easy to not succeed if you lose track of your goals.

bathunter & DanAndrews are 100% spot on here. Before I moved out West...just about all of my friends/people who I hang out with were not motivated, not happy, and not willing to do anything about it. Why deal with people who bring you down? I moved to just get away, and EVERY one of my friends who I have met (okay, minus one) has dropped out of college to do whatever they want. Most either own their business(es) or work from home. The buddy who also graduated? We both have marketing majors and completely regret not leaving college sooner. My best friend was a daytrader (college dropout), he got a job that paid $8.50 to start because he was bored. Literally 13 months later he lands a sick gig at an SEO firm for nearly $100K/year. He is not an exception. He saw what he wanted to do and became the person that did it.

I plan on spending 30+ hours this weekend applying everything that I've learned so far since actually visiting WF because I might take a job offer that is extremely awesome but would mean I have to relocate (which i'm happy with, but dat girlfriend..so i'd rather not).

Okay, I will stop ranting now.

[inspiredguy]

I think college is definitely worth a try, especially while you're still young. The older you get, the harder it's going to be to motivate yourself to continue your education. Also, college is nothing like high school. The atmosphere in the college classroom and on campus is completely different than high school. I would at least give it an honest effort.

[dv8domainsDotCom]

Originally Posted by a1batross

-Any ideas come to mind that would be good to support myself?
-Are there any useful resources you can direct me to, or things I should know first?
-Most importantly, what do you think about this plan? Do you think it can succeed?

Feedback much appreciated

First point: There are a lot of things you can DO to support yourself. Although I can't watch your vid here at work, depending on what it is and if you enjoy doing it, you can offer video creation gigs to start out with, or writing services, or start up an affiliate site... Any number of things. The point is: Just DO something. Emphasis on DO.

Second point: You've found a great resource here already, BUT, with a caveat. There are SO many things here to distract you from point 1: DOING. Learn enough to start doing, and don't over-analyze. Be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them and be creative enough to think of your own methods as well. The Creative people that are hyper-active about accomplishing (read: DOING) their goals are the ones that truly succeed.

Third point: It is not your PLAN I care about, and it is not your PLAN that will make you succeed. It is your ability to EXECUTE that will make you successful (however it is that YOU happen to define success for yourself: Keep that in mind). And, this is true in so many areas of life as well. It is your ATTITUDE that honestly impresses me the most, and I can confidently say that if you actually create a checklist of some strategy to follow that leads from "Step 1: Pick an Idea" -> "Step 2: ???" -> "Step 3: Profit" ::: The idea in any case, is to figure out the ??? behind step 2, and then to execute.

I think you get the idea. But from how you describe things so far, you sound driven, and based on that, I think you'll do great. I wish I had half of your resources when I was 17. You're 'not quite' half my age, and it seems by the time you get "here"... well, let's just say I think you'll be doing well.

But, the final question (perhaps the most important): Does it REALLY matter what "I" think about your chances of success?

Good luck to you, young sir!

[jmartinez]

Going to college was a great experience for me. I didn't start until I was 24 and didn't graduate until I was over 30. For me that was a perfect age range to be in college.

So, if you are 17 you can probably give it your all to try to build on online business and if, for whatever reason, you decide in a few years you want to go to college you probably still can. You are young enough to do something like that. Although if you do go that route just remember that life happens and going to college later on may not be as simple as it is right now.

[a1batross]

Wow, many thanks to everyone who came to offer their advice.

There's some negativity in here towards not going to college. Which is understandable, and I see how it would be good choice for many people. I'd like to clarify, however, that I have no intention of becoming a millionaire. Of course, if there's opportunity for that, I'd take it, but that's not what I hope to accomplish with IM. Furthermore, I'm not even looking into getting any kind of permanent residence. Not for several years, at least.

Simply put, the purpose of IM would be as a source of income while I'm making music and writing. With luck, hard work, and enough time, these could become my primary sources of income. Writers and musicians don't make money overnight though--there's uncertainty and money doesn't start rolling in until there's already been a serious investment of time. I know I can put the effort into IM, so the question here is not "Will I be able to devote the time to do IM," but a matter of what I devote my time to.

Now, I realize that I'm talking a lot about money, but it's just something that has to be under control before I'm able to live on my own. See, I'm not the kind of person that has any expensive habits, or even wants something like a nice car and television set (actually, I stopped watching TV over 2 years ago). The things I enjoy are cheap or free, like meeting new people and reading books or going camping. Which is why IM is appealing--it frees me up to be able to go anywhere without being attached to a particular workplace. So I wish anyone who does want to live in a more permanent residence luck, and see how college would be a solid option for them. But before you call me naive, remember that the statistics about income levels of college vs high-school graduates aren't important. It's the lifestyle that's important.

[fenixpro]

Hi Op,

So various posts have probably conveyed this - at least cumulatively - but here's my thoughts:

First, there is no right answer. There are no guarantees with anything - college or no college there are only choices and action and then how you deal and relate to what your choices are actions are. Happiness and success isn't about money or status or a degree, it's something that you earn for yourself based on your experiences in life and who you are and become as a person.

Ok, got that out of the way . I don't think personally there is any reason to go or not to go to college that is objective. It's completely based on you and your personal circumstances. All the numbers and stats and other peoples experiences are just that: numbers, stats and OTHER peoples experiences. Make you own way. If it's best for you for whatever reason to go to college and try IM on the side, do that. If you really want to give IM a go, and put college off for now, do that.

The one piece of practical info I'll give is that that your actions should follow your reality and your dreams, not just your dreams. Whether they realize it or not, most people - including some on this thread - are just sharing their opinions. There is no right or wrong way and in fact, these opinions are their dreams and so that is how they act. My practical advise is this: act both on your dreams and on what you need to deal with the daily considerations of life. Specifically, if you want to pursue IM, awesome. Do it, but simultaneously support yourself and take care of whatever 'responsibilities' you have - be they college or just a job to pay for food and housing.

The best way to learn is by doing and acting. If you can try to move in the direction of your dreams and still cover your a** in 'real world' terms, that is the optimal balance. It's the same in IM as it is in a regular job as it is in a relationship. Don't mistake your dreams for your practical responsibilities and visa versa

[nrmillions]

most college students also work while going to school so why not do both? if you want to not spend a fortune on college then do the first 2 years at a community college while running your IM business and then you can transfer to a 4 year state school for the remaining 2 years while you still continue your IM business. Four years from now you will have a bachelors degree and 4 years of experience in IM and hopefully will have made a bunch of money. I would recommend majoring/minoring in some combination of Finance/Marketing/Computer Science/IT.

[GoodnightSweetRatRace]

Yeah go for both.

But don't listen to the standard.. "But what if you fail, where is your backup plan?"

If you believe you can succeed, then you will succeed, period.