| Should I skip University and go for a two-year degree instead?
The reality is that I need to make about 40K a year to be happy, because I want a family and be able to provide for them should the unthinkable happen (I never get married, divorce, or death of a spouse). As someone on a tight budget, I'm beginning to realize that university is not easily possible for me, it would take me five or six years before I could graduate because I am only able to pay for so many classes at a time.
That would quite obviously put my ability to start a family sooner financially irresponsible. That is the most important thing in my life, moreso than my other dream: Being a storyteller in various mediums, such as novels, comics, and movies.
An English degree would benefit me of course, I have a lot to learn about crafting plots, but even though it would meet that 40K a year salary the debt I would face makes having a family more difficult. It would be a bad idea for me to have a child before 30, since I probably won't be making a decent income up until that point. And I am -okay- with going to college for "fun" after my kids move out of the house if I want to at that point, so I don't view it as if I can never go. There is just a part of me, right now, that thinks spending five to six years in college would be a waste of my time and money, delaying my actual dream longer than it would be necessary.
Which is why, quite honestly, I think I'm in the proper mindset for a two-year degree. To me having a family and living is more important than my dream of writing. I still plan to do it as a very productive and potentially lucrative hobby. In fact, if I won the lottery right now I'd drop out of college even if I WAS aiming for an English degree to pursue creative writing as a "job" and raising my family full time and getting involved with the community. I would probably go back to college later, or go part time if I went at all.
I think that alone says a lot about how I view college at my age. I know I can do it, I believe in my ability, but both financially and by goals it seems like... a waste of time for now.
Right now I attend community college (it would take me three years before I could get enough credits to transfer with an associates degree to the college down the street, and even then I'd have to take a semester or two off in-between to pay for other expenses). Sitting in on classes like First Aid and French, both really important classes, kind of makes me realize how many years I feel as if I'm wasting when it's not even my immediate goal. I could make the same amount of money and still do what I love (writing) on the side anyway (which was what I was going to do with my English degree, work and write on the side) and be financially capable to start a family sooner if I were to go for a two-year degree.
And quite a few two-year degrees look fulfilling and interesting. I really like the green degrees, retail management, and computer network operations. As you can imagine, I'm all over the place in what I could choose. And they all make about what I would want to make after college.
I'm not on track for any specific two-year degree right now, I started in mind with core credits for a transfer, so I could still go right on my way to an associate's for transfer. I think what I need help with is how to spend the next few months deciding on what I want to do: Do I transfer, or go for the two-year degree?
What sort of things should I think about in order to make this decision?
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