I compared finishing my business degree to just starting my own thing, and the second option got me a real paycheck in under 6 months.

Sticking with my marketing classes felt like a slow, expensive guess, but using that tuition money to actually run Facebook ads for a local food truck in Phoenix taught me more and paid my rent faster, so has anyone else found that just doing the work beats studying it?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_kelly1mo ago

My uncle in Tucson has been an accountant for 25 years and clears over 200k. The graphic design cousin story is probably missing some context, like benefits or long term stability. That immediate freelance cash is amazing, but it can also dry up fast if a few clients leave. The textbook stuff feels useless until you need to understand business law or how to read a profit and loss sheet for your own company.

webb.victor15d ago

Guess the real test is if that food truck can afford an accountant like @ryan_kelly's uncle after a bad month. Sometimes the paycheck comes before the textbook regret.

laurar381mo ago

My cousin in Austin did the same thing, skipped his last year of graphic design school to do freelance logos. He was making more than our uncle who’s been an accountant for twenty years. I mean the real feedback from a client who needs their ad to work by Friday teaches you way more than a textbook case study. It’s like you pay to learn theory, but you get paid to learn what actually works.