College Next Year...

S

Staccs

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May 14, 2010
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I just finished highschool last September and I am now returning for a single semester to improve my marks and pick up a couple extra credits. I plan to take the second semester off to work full time in order to pay for college.

It's the actual choosing courses I'm most concerned about. Keep in mind I know talking to a guidance counselor would be much better than "asking the internet", and I will once school starts, but until then I'd like some unprofessional opinions.

My two main interests, in terms of classes, are entrepreneurial business style classes, and web design/dev. I hope to use these skills together after college, to at the minimum work at home as a web designer/developer. Hopefully have my own larger business geared towards Web Design/Dev & hopefully Internet Marketing/SEO etc, if I keep learning.

I've been looking through the colleges in my province (Ontario, Canada) and I've noticed that almost all web design/web development courses are post-graduate programs resulting in certificates, or diplomas. Honestly, I don't know which looks better on a resume, or will teach me more, but it seems as though web design/development should be my secondary focus/minor based on the program lengths. Is it possible to minor in a course that results in a certificate or diploma? Or will I/should I wait and take it as a post-graduate course?

As for my major, I'd like something in the entrepreneurial/business type as listed above. The thing is, I don't exactly have a plan for my own business, other than I'd like one as stated above, would it be wise to take a course geared towards want-to-be entrepreneurs, or should I choose a more general degree, like marketing?

If you're going to school in Ontario as well, or have, let me know what college you went to, and how it was.

Thanks in advance, I'm pretty overwhelmed by all of this.
 


Im in uni now and I would never go to school for business or web based development. Both can be learned through experience on your own and for me my rational was why go to school for marketing or business when im already knee deep in it. Why go for design or coding languages when I already do those and actively outsource them as well. Never get a degree in what you yourself outsource. That is my opinion. Go for a degree that will get you jobs or access or opportunities you wouldnt have without that degree. A business degree can be good for this, but only as an employee of someone else's business.
 
droplister said:
Im in uni now and I would never go to school for business or web based development. Both can be learned through experience on your own and for me my rational was why go to school for marketing or business when im already knee deep in it. Why go for design or coding languages when I already do those and actively outsource them as well. Never get a degree in what you yourself outsource. That is my opinion. Go for a degree that will get you jobs or access or opportunities you wouldnt have without that degree. A business degree can be good for this, but only as an employee of someone else's business.
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You make a good point, but if my end goal is to work for myself, wouldn't that mean college itself is a complete waste of time? As much as I'd enjoy being done school in a few months, I would likely be killed by my parents, hate myself for missing out on the social experience, and be terrified of staying in my current noob state of AM.

I really can't think of many courses I'd be interested in, that I can't teach myself if I were to buy all the books and spend the amount of time you would spend in class on.
 
If you go to school for web dev, you are 100% wasting your time and money. Out of all of the people I've known who have gone to college for this, not a single one of them was able to build a proper website when they were "done". Web coding (the basis of web dev) changes in the blink of an eye. By the time someone writes a book on the "latest techniques and code standards", etc., it's already changed. Then you have to add the time it takes to have the book edited, published, marketed, then finally picked up by an instructor. Now add some more time before someone like yourself winds up in the class. So great, you take the course, pass with flying colors, get out and start building up websites, only to find that about half of the work you just put in is outdated code that doesn't show up properly. If you really want to work for yourself being a code monkey, you'll do much better for yourself by simply jumping in with small projects, and spending a lot of time over at w3schools.com . Seriously, nothing will teach you faster than just getting out there and doing it.

On another note - if you're just tying to go to school to appease your parents and get the social aspect, you'll thank yourself later by getting a CPA. Any business you start for yourself is going to need a solid accountant, and who better to trust with your money than yourself? Plus, if you ever find yourself needing to pick up a job working for someone else, the $60k or more per year average CPA salary isn't too shabby.
 
SilentPen said:
On another note - if you're just tying to go to school to appease your parents and get the social aspect, you'll thank yourself later by getting a CPA. Any business you start for yourself is going to need a solid accountant, and who better to trust with your money than yourself? Plus, if you ever find yourself needing to pick up a job working for someone else, the $60k or more per year average CPA salary isn't too shabby.
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Great advice.

I'd also suggest something business or marketing related or maybe even graphic design if you are somewhat artistically inclined.
 
This may sound extremely stupid, but how difficult is the math involved in being an accountant?

The reason I ask is because I did work on a friend's coworker's laptop and as I did he was in my ear telling me to become an accountant because the pay is good, and it's easy. He also told me the math is very simple, something that a dropout could pick up quickly. Was he bullshitting, or is it really not all that difficult? Math is by far my worst subject...

Also, I would like to major in a business course. In the OP I mention being unsure of how valuable taking an entrepreneurial/small business course would be if I don't exactly know what I would like to do for a business, rather just have the knowledge for when it comes to me. I'm going to try and consistently learn web design/dev starting again in a few days based on the helpful suggestions given here, if I'm successful in that it will help my noob AM, or if anything create another fallback option.
 
Honestly, there is a contentious debate still raging: are entrepreneurs born or taught? Many people on this forum, including myself, adhere to the former notion. Going to college for entrepreneur-oriented business courses will probably not result in radical changes to your ability to start and operate a business.

However, that's not to say college is outdated or worthless in any way. You are going to want to major in computer science and minor in business. Being able to program/develop is going to be much more beneficial for you down the road. If you go the 9-5 route (for whatever reason), it's a marketable degree. Being able to program well is lucrative if you choose the freelancer/independent contractor route. Last, if you still want to go into IM then being able to code your own tools, automate, etc is going to be much more rewarding versus designing a slightly better converting LP.

Your call.
 
nothing says you need to go directly into college from high school. Go do what you want while you don't have kids, mortgage, bills, etc. and try and start something. If you fail, oh well, get some grants and go to school and get a job and pay it all back.

Ramen profitable doesn't work well when you have 3 daughters wanting to go to college on your dime
 
keeper33 said:
Honestly, there is a contentious debate still raging: are entrepreneurs born or taught? Many people on this forum, including myself, adhere to the former notion. Going to college for entrepreneur-oriented business courses will probably not result in radical changes to your ability to start and operate a business.

However, that's not to say college is outdated or worthless in any way. You are going to want to major in computer science and minor in business. Being able to program/develop is going to be much more beneficial for you down the road. If you go the 9-5 route (for whatever reason), it's a marketable degree. Being able to program well is lucrative if you choose the freelancer/independent contractor route. Last, if you still want to go into IM then being able to code your own tools, automate, etc is going to be much more rewarding versus designing a slightly better converting LP.

Your call.
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I'm not sure if I am a born entrepreneur or not, but I am sure I have a drive to do something of my own, and make a lot of money. See the gay little size 1 text in my sig, I'm very determined to be rich. I was ecstatic when I found out there really was a way to make money online. The only obstacle in my way is I don't have any money to spend, my horrible time management which has me spending time on forums rather than building backlinks.

See, I was initially looking for web design/dev for the same reason as you described for programming. I thought because it was such a versatile skill I could also use it in AM, in addition to a possible web designing business. I did take programming 2 years ago in grade 10, and honestly I found it very easy. I was doing assignments before the teacher assigned them - until I got bored of it. That being said, don't the same rules that apply for web design, apply for programming? Couldn't I also teach that myself? This is why I am thinking talking a business/entrepreneurial course would be in my best interest, and maybe I should minor in programming, whether it be web or not, to accelerate my learning and cut down the learning curve. I'd be in a class filled with other noobs who also want to become successful.


dchuk said:
nothing says you need to go directly into college from high school. Go do what you want while you don't have kids, mortgage, bills, etc. and try and start something. If you fail, oh well, get some grants and go to school and get a job and pay it all back.

Ramen profitable doesn't work well when you have 3 daughters wanting to go to college on your dime
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If by start something, you mean a business, I don't feel I'm ready to do that. Mostly because I don't have an original idea that makes me think "wow, this should already exist", all my "ideas" consist of things where my skill level is far from being adequate enough to charge people (web design, SEO, web dev).

I have just started AM ~3 months ago, and I've feel like I've learned a lot, however I'm getting a little impatient, but it's something I'm going to have to deal with.

As for not going to college right away - I'm not. I finished high school last September, but I'm returning for a single semester, then taking the second half of the year to full time working, at whatever shitty place hires me.

/walloftext
 
From what I know of accounting, which isn't all that much given I've only taken Principles of Accounting, the math is mostly straight forward adding and subtracting. I took the class as a core for my degree, which is actually Network Security.

Staccs said:
This may sound extremely stupid, but how difficult is the math involved in being an accountant?

The reason I ask is because I did work on a friend's coworker's laptop and as I did he was in my ear telling me to become an accountant because the pay is good, and it's easy. He also told me the math is very simple, something that a dropout could pick up quickly. Was he bullshitting, or is it really not all that difficult? Math is by far my worst subject...

Also, I would like to major in a business course. In the OP I mention being unsure of how valuable taking an entrepreneurial/small business course would be if I don't exactly know what I would like to do for a business, rather just have the knowledge for when it comes to me. I'm going to try and consistently learn web design/dev starting again in a few days based on the helpful suggestions given here, if I'm successful in that it will help my noob AM, or if anything create another fallback option.
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go for finance. Having an understanding of investing and money is definitely a good thing to have. You also will take 2-4 accounting courses, so you will have knowledge with that as well.
 
Staccs,

Your friend wasn't bullshitting you, the math in accounting is honestly very easy and the pay is good. One of the few drawbacks to being accountant is the pay tends to plateau and stay fixed at a certain point in one's career. That's alright for some, but if you hate complacency and have a constant drive for bigger and better it might not be your gig. You mentioned not being very good at math, so this next question may be a shot in the dark: are you decent at statistics?

If you are good at statistics, strongly consider becoming an actuary.

Anywho, yes you can and should teach yourself programming. What I am saying though is if you ever need to fall back on your degree to get a 9-5 job, a bachelor's in computer science is going to go a lot farther vs a bachelor's in business. If a position is open where the requirement is a business degree, 9 times out of 10 it'll be given to the guy with the MBA.
 
I probably live near you, Toronto area. I went to college twice and dropped out twice. It's a complete and utter waste of time. I've learned more online than I ever could in some bullshit outdated class. I ended up dropping out because I was making too good of money to justify being in school.
 
dchuk said:
nothing says you need to go directly into college from high school. Go do what you want while you don't have kids, mortgage, bills, etc. and try and start something. If you fail, oh well, get some grants and go to school and get a job and pay it all back.

Ramen profitable doesn't work well when you have 3 daughters wanting to go to college on your dime
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More wisdom from dchuk.

I have very mixed opinions on the matter. I just threw away a very good computer engineering education so that I could do this full-time. College is not necessary to be successful. But damn, that shit was fun.

First off, your course-load:

1. Take some programming classes. You might not be offered a PHP class, per se, but if you get really good at C/C++, you'll pick up enough PHP in a snap.

2. Take some sort of MIS or programming classes that force you to deal in the *nix world. Because if you're going to want to do web marketing on a low budget, it's all about LAMP.

3. Same goes for a database class. May not be MySQL, but make sure it's relational.

Now you'll be confident enough to do some nifty stuff in Wordpress/Drupal with the help of php.net and a PHP book. You'll also know when some outsourcer is fucking you over or is full of shit because you'll know what to ask in an interview.

4. You don't need a web design class itself, but why not get some good artsy design layout classes? Even if it's on paper, you'll learn a ton about what people like. I'm not right brained whatsoever so I can't do this. I just use other genius's themes.

5. Business stuff... honestly, I don't think textbooks are the way to go to learn this stuff. A business minor that covers basic accounting, law, etc could be good enough. If you like it enough, dive in for full. Don't worry about the math. I have a softwares for that.


Second, the college choice:

1. Either go cheap or go fucking big.
1a. By cheap, I mean go to a "state-funded school" or whatever is in Canada. Budget style.

1b. By BIG, I mean somewhere expensive as hell that has rich kids everywhere to network with. Rich kids with rich parents who will be your angel investor. NOT my style, but I have a buddy who did it and he's doing quite well. He didn't do this on purpose, but that's how it played.
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2. Live the experience. Dorm life for a year was cool, and if you have a good pair of headphones, you can still dominate some AM campaigns in between the riff raff. My apartment and house in the years after were filthy but some of the best memories ever.

3. If you want to chase the girls, by all means do it, but put yourself in a good situation to do so. My engineering classes blew for this, but my Business Minor ones were great. Of the classes I recommend above, #1-3 suck, but #4 will be a goldmine.

4. Have fun, but in between the fun, study and run some damned campaigns. If your alcohol fund is $100/week, then your campaigns better be making $200 or you don't go out Friday night. Something motivating like that.

5. Get involved in some clubs. Start an entrepreneurial meetup... play broom ball or water polo... do something out of the norm.



College, for me, was well worth it for the fun and friendships. My big ideas came out of my poor desperation in college. But corporate America after? That was probably a bigger mistake (no regrets though - ever)
 
If I was planning on just doing AM for the rest of my life I wouldn't be going to college. But I'm planning on doing things bigger in scope than affiliate marketing.
 
Entrepreneurship and programming, is a recipe for big time money. You can create any idea you want, and execute the business side of things yourself. Basically, you can create empires for virtually free. If i could do it all over again, i wouldnt think twice and double major in Entrepreneurship and Comp Sci. I will say, that just because you major in something, doesnt mean you become an expert. Experience is key, the degree is just for something to hang on your office wall :)
 
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