[DesuMaiden]

I am 3/4 of the way through my psychology degree. It will take another academic year of full course load to finish my university degree. But I think it is pointless to finish my university degree. By the way, I'm also taking one course right now. And I'm about 3/4 of the way finished this course. I have an exam in another two days for this course, but I don't feel like studying for it. Nor do I feel like completing this course. I think it is a complete waste of time, money and energy finishing my university degree because university is a waste of time for the following reasons:

First reason is that you can practically learn almost anything from the Internet. While some of the content in a psychology course is interesting, you can learn virtually everything about psychology on the Internet. Well, you can at least learn everything useful you need to know about psychology from the Internet. The same applies to other majors in university. For example, who the hell needs to major in computer science to become an expert at computer science? You can learn anything useful you need to know about computers on the Internet. The Internet means we live in the age of information, and you don't need to go to university to be well-informed or well-educated.

Also, university is very expensive. And the last thing you should be doing right now is to go into debt because debt makes it harder for you to survive the upcoming collapse of civilization. University is also pointless in a post-peak oil world because the economy will soon collapse in another 10 years. I am dead serious that the economy will collapse within another 10 years (because of peak oil). Here's the proof.

German Army Peak Oil Study - within 10 years oil shortages may collapse global economy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyUe7w1gDZo

This video was made in 2011. And the same person made another Youtube video predicting economic collapse and food shortages circa 2020 due to peak oil.

Peak Oil strikes 2020: Oil price spike causes Worldwide Depression and Food shortages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j4Tyy5nsQ8

So yes, in all likely hood within another 5 to 10 years, the global economy would have completely collapsed. And within the next 20 years, our modern civilization will have collapsed (from peak oil), so what's the point in earning an university degree when there is zero hope you will ever find a job to apply your university degree towards? If the economy isn't going to collapse in a few more years, then earning a university degree might be worth it because you might still be able to earn a decent-wage job in the future. But shit man. The whole economy and society is collapsing soon, and you will not have any jobs in the future that even require a university degree in the near future.

Also, I proved that you don't need a university degree to be well-informed and well-educated. Being well-educated and well-informed has absolutely nothing to do with having a university degree or not. There are plenty of idiots with university degrees. And there are plenty of smart people without university degrees.

The only thing that will matter in the next couple of decades is whether or not you know how to survive in a post-oil world. If you don't know how to survive without oil, then you are screwed. Who cares if you don't have a university degree? Who even cares if you don't even have a high school diploma? As long as you are literate enough to understand the articles, movies, videos, books and other media on peak oil and economic collapse that's all you need to know to survive the upcoming collapse. Your education credentials are entirely meaningless in surviving in a world without oil. You need to learn how to survive without oil. This requires you to learn first aid, how to grow food with permaculture and organic agriculture (without the use of oil), and other survival skills, which have been lost in industrial civilization. Virtually no one in industrial civilization knows how to survive without oil.

Even if shit isn't about to hit the fan, university isn't necessary for a successful career. Most people can have a happy and meaningful life without ever attending university. But when you consider this civilization is about to soon end, a university degree becomes even less important and even more unnecessary.

I don't feel like studying for the exam that's in another 2 days. I don't even feel like completing this course, because this course is useless in surviving the collapse of industrial civilization. I don't even feel like completing my university degree, so what's the point of completing this course? Besides, I need to drive to my university (which is 10 km away) and drive back, which is a waste of oil for attending a lecture that I find boring and useless. I say screw this psychology course. No more university courses. Screw getting a university degree. Start learning and applying some useful skills in surviving in a world without oil.

I think this was the best decision I made in my life. I believe continuing to pursue my university education is useless and even detrimental. It is a waste of time, money and energy. Screw university. What a waste of time. I wished I never wasted a single moment in university. It was the most useless experience of my life. I hate university. And I am glad I am done with this garbage. About the only good thing in university is the parties and clubs, but I never experienced those because I spent most of my spare time posting on forums and browsing the Internet when I wasn't studying. And I hardily needed to study because university was just so damn easy.

I'm 25 by the way. University = waste of time, energy and money. I realized this even two years ago. And I'm glad I dropped out. University can go screw itself. It ain't stealing anymore of my precious time, energy and money, which can be spent on much more useful things like preparing to survive the collapse of civilization. Everything I need to know I can learn on the Internet and other sources. I am not saying university is useless for everyone, but I personally have zero reason to waste my life in it anymore.

And this concludes my rant. Hehehehehe I can probably get a lot of people who might encourage me to go back to university. Well I can politely tell those people that they are wrong because university is useless to me and plenty of other people attending it. University degrees are useless when your society is about to collapse soon.

I don't even know why my younger sister (who's 18) is wasting her time in university. She wants to become a doctor or something. So after 4 years of university, she needs to attend another 3 years of medical school. I personally think this is just a waste of time and money. You can save people's lives and cure diseases without spending an enormous amount of money and time in university. Doctors used to never need to attend university. The main reason doctors now require university is because they want to make medical science a racket where only a handful of people can become doctors, and earn the prestige and big income of doctors. Many people want to become doctors, but only a handful of people can afford to become one because of financial reasons mainly. It is like becoming a lawyer. Who needs so much education for becoming a lawyers? But to prevent too many people from becoming lawyers, they made it so that only a handful of people, who can afford the enormous sums of money in schooling, can become lawyers.

They are building more facilities and buildings in my university. I say that is a waste of money and resources. University has become little more than a racket for making profits for their owners. Just like everything nowadays, which is little more than a money-making machine. Everything in a greedy, self-fish capitalistic society is about making money. And the funny thing is money is the root of all evil. And it is the love of money that has the potential to render extinct the human race. I am not wasting money on university. University textbooks are complete rip offs. They are far too expensive and a waste of money, especially since most (if not all) of the information can be found on the Internet anyways.

So this concludes my article on why university is a waste of time and money. If you want proof that university is useless for most people, I even have Youtube videos to prove it. Any time I need proof and evidence, I can always cite something I found on Youtube because Youtube is a great source of educational information.

[davep]

So you had one year left to get a qualification that will stay with you for the rest of your life and you think it was a good idea to stop?

Heck, there'll be plenty of people needing their heads shrinking when TSHTF.

[AgentR11]

This post hurts my head.

"Being well-educated and well-informed has absolutely nothing to do with having a university degree or not. There are plenty of idiots with university degrees. And there are plenty of smart people without university degrees."

And (nearly) all of those smart people without degrees would have been much more capable thinkers had they completed university. Having a certain level of intellect is not useful in itself; its the exposure to many different thoughts that are pulled together very conveniently in a university setting, and presented at a certain time of life when our minds are most open to any crazy and wild idea.

Now I'm not trying to say you've messed up; but a lot of what you are writing feels very much like you're making excuses for yourself; you don't truly believe you are making the right choice, so you're pumping up lots of rationalizations to explain it.

[Shaved Monkey]

I would finish the course.
You may have quite a few years of good wages to be used for prepping before TSHTF.
and depending on how it unfolds psychs are going to be an in demand profession for afew years before and after that.
The course should improve your ability to think rationally and that cant be underestimated as a survival tool

[jedrider]

I understand that Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft Corporation. Hey, if you have something like that going, of course, drop out. If not, it's a good club to belong to

[rockdoc123]

well I went through University for several degrees and then ended up teaching at one for awhile.
Mind you this was quite awhile ago. Back when I did my undergrad most people went to university not to train for an occupation but rather to get an education.
University gives some good training in rationale thinking and applied study that are both useful skills to anything you might want to do in this world.
One thing I always tell people is when I came out with a Bsc I thought I knew most of what I needed to know and that the various professors and Industry people in my area of interest were "gods". When I went back and did a Msc I came out with the view that all of those professors and industry people were certifiable idiots as I had figured it all out through my research. When I went back and did my PhD I came out with the opinion that none of us actually know all that much, but we are capable of researching and thinking rationally as long as we keep open minds. The catharsis for me was going from the idea that "all questions of importance have been answered" to " there are really no answers but possibilities that need to be considered". I believe this prepared me to work in the real world in a better fashion. Now, I chose to work in industry but I can see that this "mind skill set" would be equally appropriate to solving problems in whatever endeavor you will end up with whether it be longshoreman, lumberjack or some survivalist living in the northwest mountains.
I also realize that education is no longer cheap. When I went it was not that expensive in comparison to the cost of living. Now students take on hefty debt to get through. If we were as a society to do anything smart it would be to rectify this issue. Take all of those billions that are being spent on stupid research and invest them in making sure everyone has an opportunity for higher education. The benefits as a society would be enormous.
I also realize that it is much harder to qualify to get into universities these days. But therein lies the rub. If you can get in it seems to me as long as you can afford it that is a great gift that shouldn't be squandered. Whether what you learn gives you the opportunity to be a General in industry or just someone who has a better chance of evading zombies shouldn't really matter.
That all being said I had friends who wasted their time at university. Took only the easiest course they could find, spent most of their time partying away as the free love generation were expected to. Every last one of them regrets that lost opportunity today.
Go back, learn a language, study string theory, read the great philosophers...It's all good.

[KaiserJeep]

You did not write that lengthy blurb to convince US of anything. You are rationalizing to convince yourself of something.

I have been in people management for some years. Back in the beginning they taught us some classes called CMS which stood for "Core Management Skills". Among these skills was interpreting resumes.

Firstly, anybody who completes 3/4ths of a degree and then quits probably has a deficient work ethic, and also probably makes bad judgement calls. It does not in fact matter exactly what you got your degree in, the important thing is whether or not you completed it and got the diploma. That demonstrates that you finish what you started. The sort of person who finishes that degree will get offered a higher starting salary and faster raises.

Secondly, that psychology degree actually qualifies you for a wide variety of positions and means that you will do better in managing other people, and in marketing and just about anything that requires interactions with people. It's a ticket to a good job and will probably result in you earning at least a couple of million more than anyone who has some college but never finished the undergraduate program.

Everybody gets tired of school, what is happening now is a test of character.

[sparky]

.
I dropped out because of alcohol , drugs and women

[Shaved Monkey]

I stayed for the same

[Ibon]

Desu

Nothing will be lost if you drop out of the university. You can go back in the future and finish if you change your mind again. The question is what are you going to do with yourself once you leave?

Dropping out is the easy part. And then what?

[DesuMaiden]

I would finish the course.
You may have quite a few years of good wages to be used for prepping before TSHTF.
and depending on how it unfolds psychs are going to be an in demand profession for afew years before and after that.
The course should improve your ability to think rationally and that cant be underestimated as a survival tool

Ok I am finishing that course. But I ain't going to take anymore courses, because I think it is a waste of time finishing university. I don't see any benefits finishing it.

[KaiserJeep]

Desu,

You are convinced that TEOTWAWKI is happening soon. You are probably wrong. Every one of us who predicted such here at PO.com was proved wrong. Michael Ruppert predicted The End seven times, was disappointed seven times, and shot himself in the head.

Why not make plans based on BAU. You can still prep for The End. Just don't depend on it.

Get the degree. Get a good job. Get cash in the bank. Buy or build a safe refuge without debt.

Done.

[Ibon]

Get the degree. Get a good job. Get cash in the bank. Buy or build a safe refuge without debt.

Wise words.

Gas

There are two strategies. What KJ mentioned above is one strategy. The other is to live several years gaining your street smarts by living out of a back pack and being foot loose and forgetting about securing your future. Travel on $ 10 a day in developing countries. Learn to move like a chameleon through the entire socio economic strata. These are tools that will put you way ahead of the game in terms of survival in the future when competing with peers who only moved from structured school to structured work.

Having said that you should graduate because afterwards you can still do this.

Something has been gnawing at me lately around this fearful orientation about an insecure future and an over defensive position of trying secure your place in upcoming chaos. This was perhaps a novel position 10 years ago as we first learned about peak oil. I believe now it is becoming a position that is going more mainstream.

There is a counter intuitive strategy one can now consider that may put you ahead of the curve of your fellow humans who are more and more resembling prey species like rabbits in their overly fearful and defensive position. That counter intuitive strategy is to meet instability from a more fearless position and do the exact opposite of being overly defensive.

Living year after year with fear over hard times to come lacks courage, lacks vision, lacks confidence, lacks any sense of adventure and risk. It is a position of the fearful.

[Timo]

Useful skills mean more to yourself, your future, and to those around you than a degree in anything. How many people need a psychologist? Quite a few, i reckon, but how many actually go to get help for their mental problems? Very few. On the other hand, how many people need a skilled carpenter, or a plumber, or an electrician, or a mason to enable themselves to have a more comfortable life in their own little fiefdoms? As a percentage of the whole population, skilled labor is in greated demand than psychologists. The psychologist is likely to call you when he is in need of your skills to make his/her life materially better.

The degree is a good thing to have, and also serves as a safety-net, of sorts. That degree can open some doors for you, but you must first be sure you genuinely want to go through those doors, to begin with. If you have doubts about the current road you're on, change course and learn more useful skills that will put you in demand of the others who choose the ivory tower. I chose to spend a good deal of my academics in that ivory tower, and it got me where i wanted to go, but i now find myself lacking in many skills that i now wish i had learned. Unfortunately, there are no do-overs. What's done is done, and you can't erase your own history, or the decisions you make. There are, however, second chances.

I think, though, that the best advice that anyone has posted here in response to your conundrum is to finish what you start. Not having the determination to finish something that you chose to start does reveal quite a bit about your character. Don't quit. Finishing your degree is an accomplishment that can't be taken away from you. It also demonstrates that you have the fortitude to finish something that you started. Quiting so close to completion doesn't reflect well on you. However, don't feel compelled to use that degree after you've earned it. If you want to learn something else, by all means, do it! University is not the end of the world. Education is the means to the end, and that end can by anything you want it to be, but don't waste that investment that you've made in yourself. If you quit, you've gained nothing useful for anybody. If you finish, you have that degree that can get you someplace, AND you have the options of doing something else that feels better for you.

[dinopello]

I think, though, that the best advice that anyone has posted here in response to your conundrum is to finish what you start. Not having the determination to finish something that you chose to start does reveal quite a bit about your character. Don't quit.

This and the rest of the stuff Timo said is the best advice.

Also, do not assume you can pick up the degree later as college credits sometimes have an expiration.

Also, just a word about degrees. An undergrad degree in Psychology, does not generally make one a psychologist and more generally, an undergrad degree in any liberal arts (history, economy etc) does not make one a historian, economists, etc. The job you get might, but usually it requires a Phd to be considered a professional whatever in these fields. Engineering seems to be a little different because people seem to think someone with an undergrad degree in Engineering is "an engineer". Although, I would only really consider someone with a P.E. a professional engineer.

[Pops]

Lots of good heartfelt advice here, mine is to stay and get a degree as well.

The dregs of civilization will plod along for some time yet and a degree is worth money. And, when you are conscripted to work in the Soylent slaughterhouse, that degree will get you the overseer job rather than toenail remover or offal cart operator.

I didn't continue school for a variety of excuses. In hindsight I wish I had, although not necessarily for the money, I've always been lucky enough to make about as much as I wanted. And not really for the bypassed knowledge, study skills or other great reasons mentioned. There is a level of social status that comes with a diploma that dropouts can never quite match, or maybe it is the being a dropout ("quitter" as Timo said) that they can never get over. Consider, Steve Jobs was making excuses for dropping out of school right up until he died.

It has always been an embarrassment to me to blithely say, when ask where I went to school, that I didn't. Strangely enough I've never been asked that by a client or employer but only by peers or subordinates. And it seems in retrospect they were considering their degree and it's origin and wondering, in asking, if they might someday reach my vaunted position. LOL

As to wasting money, if you drop you will have wasted all that has been spent on your education up to this point, because "Some College" on an job application is worthless. So completing a degree with only a quarter of the credits to go is actually the less wasteful route.


And being a psy major you certainly appreciate that dropping is probably not about waste and doom at all, but more about worrying that you will soon need to step into the real world instead of hiding out in mom's basement playing video games and trawling the 'net.

[davep]

I feel your pain, Pops. I never did a degree, but got my first job in programming after doing a concentrated course with six months experience (back in the eighties when you could do that). I found myself getting promoted faster than others with degrees, but it took a very long time for me personally to stop feeling in some way inferior.

[kuidaskassikaeb]

Dear DMaiden:

You seem depressed, and a lot of people in Psychology go into it for that reason (to solve their own problems). Anyway it's not just this thread, all your threads make you seem really depressed. And while your basic information, that college ain't the meal ticket it used to be is true. You want to be sure you're dropping out for the right reasons, not just cause you don't feel like getting up in the morning.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

Desu,

I see a lot of my former self in your posts. We aren't that far apart in our age. I'm 29. I came upon peak oil as I was turning 20.

It's hard for me to say I regret the decisions I made, which were mostly out of the fear of immediate collapse, because they lead me to the family I have today. However, I sometimes do wonder about how things would have turned out had I not made some of the decision I made.

Finishing that degree is going to open up doors for you that not having it is going to shut. At this point, there is no real benefit to dropping out.

People tend to respect education, whether they're a farmer or a doctor. Think about the people who don't. Usually, they are religious zealots or fanatic ideologues.

You have dirt-poor, third worlders who would kill to have the opportunity you have right now.