What a waste...or is it?

I've been reading a lot about whether or not we should encourage/push our kids to get a college education - it's been the topic on several homeschool blogs I read.  Even though we have a while to pray and figure out what our stance will be, I'm finding it's not something that you can slap a general yes or no on.  It depends.  On the person, on their maturity, on their desired career path, etc.

Anyway, it got me thinking.

I remember being stupid in my early 20s, talking to a woman who was a stay at home mom, and had a college education.  (I believe she had her masters degree.)  I remember thinking to myself, what a waste.

So dumb.

So, here I am, I have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and sometimes people stupidly ignorantly assume it was a waste.  It turns out I was able to use it for several years to help pay off all debts before we had kids, I find myself using it at church for all of the reports we run for the finance stuff (we have to semi-hack the current system to run the reports the 'bosses' ask for), and I am using it to keep up with Kara.  I teach her, which teachers answers keys could do a lot to help with, but she always asks questions beyond what's in the teacher's book.  Also, she has shown great interest in writing code already.  While Michael teaches her most of that after school, she has questions for me and that is where her brain is always going.  I know she will be doing more with it as the years go on and I'm happy I'll be able to use that degree yet again.

So, there you have it.  God called me to get a degree, I got one, and used it in conventional and non-conventional ways.  Praise Him for His cool plan for my life!  (P.S.  I don't believe in acquiring giant loans to get your degree - I worked through college, lived at home, and did as many community college credits as possible.  And my work paid for it.  I am debt free, and so is Michael.  I'm pretty sure THIS will be my stance for Kara, either way.)  :-)

Comments

Elisabeth said…
I have a feeling more than one of our kids will be on the labor intensive, no college education required end of the spectrum. Which I am fine with. I remember feeling so stupid when I would tell people I wasn't going to college after I graduated. Of course no one said anything like that to me but I don't want my kids to feel like they have to do one thing or the other. It is a long way off but it will be here before we know it and it is never too early to think about it! I'm sure Kara is going to do amazing things either way. =)
January 15, 2014 at 9:01 PM
jeday0323 said…
I'm glad you didn't go, Liz! Your life plan has gone perfectly so far. :-)

Thank you for saying such sweet things about Kara. :-) I think she'll do well also (well = in the Lord's will, able to pay her bills, happy), and I believe that about all the kids in our family - they all have good heads on their shoulders already.
January 16, 2014 at 7:27 AM
Kattrina said…
I don't think you can/should push a child toward college or not...you should push a child to do what they want and love and that might lead them to college or it might not. And it might lead them to huge college loans (ME!) and it might not. I think it's important to remember that the path we took may not be the road that is good for our children. And being successful, happy, and having a good head on your shoulders doesn't always equate to being debt-free and able to pay your bills. Didn't Kara want to be a vet at some point? It is really hard to finish veterinary school and be debt-free and make a ton of money, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be encouraged to pursue that path (in my opinion of course, you as her mother know what is best for her - I am not telling you how to raise your daughter, I promise!). I don't think it's about agreeing or disagreeing to taking out huge loans - nobody WANTS to take out huge loans and live paycheck to paycheck (trust me!). However, some of us (ME!) are led in that direction. God actually leads some people to take out huge amounts of debt and work at non-profits where they hardly make enough money to cover their living expenses and live paycheck to paycheck. Yeah, maybe people see me as irresponsible and stupid because a quarter of my paycheck goes to loan repayments and I make such a small amount of money that I can barely keep my family afloat - but there was no way around that. And I love the decisions I made and would never change it. Sure, I could have made a lot of money doing something else and I could have worked in a field that eventually paid for my education - but that's not where I was meant to be. I feel God put me on this planet to serve people and serving people costs a lot of money and doesn't pay a lot of money. This is not a criticism of you at all (I don't mean any of this negatively) - it is just a reminder that God's path is not always the most financially secure one!
January 16, 2014 at 9:40 AM
jeday0323 said…
Oh, Kattrina, sometimes I forget other people read this and don't always explain myself right. Of course Michael and I both would never push Kara to do something that is out of the Lord's will. And we completely agree that God's plan doesn't always include loads of extra money. In fact, we aren't sure college is the be all and end all we were taught it was when we were in high school. We both think only a handful of our professors were brilliant and didn't learn a single thing in college that we used in our directly related careers. Everything we learned for work we learned through courses at work, on the job training, or were self taught. We both really think it was a waste, but recognize it is a necessary box to check for our resumes. In the end, we are heavily padding an account for Kara to use when it's time - we set it up so it can be used for something other than college, if she chooses not to go. We emotionally and financially support her. I hope you know me well enough to know that.
The point of my post was that there are many people out there who went to college because they were forced to, got a major in something they aren't using now, and are seriously in debt while they work minumum wage jobs, confused what went wrong. There are also people out there who went to college much later in life and wish their parents had encouraged them (or given them the opportunity to) go to college right out of high school. Either way, I am not sure what Kara's path will be, but I am grateful I can use my degree even now.
January 16, 2014 at 9:20 PM
jeday0323 said…
Sorry if I offended you and your path to take out large loans for college! I didn't mean to slam you.
January 16, 2014 at 9:22 PM
Blue Foot said…
Haha - I wasn't offended at all, I was more worried I was offending you!

And I totally agree that college degrees aren't useful in many settings. I had a really great college experience and felt like I was challenged and learned so much from most of my professors both in undergrad and grad school. I also learned SO MUCH about myself and college really helped me come out of my shell and build the self confidence that I so severely lacked in high school (something I am still constantly working on). However, I definitely think that going to college just to go is a waste and that in many jobs experience is more important than an actually college degree (although, sometimes it's hard to land those jobs without a college degree, even if the degree was completely pointless). And I definitely don't think that you would push Kara to do something she doesn't want - I may not know you as well as I used to, but I do know you that well!
January 17, 2014 at 8:57 AM
Blue Foot said…
And that's me, Kattrina, commenting - sorry, I am logged in under a different email so for some reason a random name comes up (I don't know where Blue Foot came from and I can't figure out how to change it!!!).
January 17, 2014 at 8:58 AM
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