PSA: The "quick degree" trap got me too, but not how you think

I keep seeing people online talk about how they dropped out because college was a scam or too expensive. But I think a lot of folks are missing the real problem. It's not the classes or the debt itself, it's the way we treat college like a race to a paycheck. I dropped out after my second year at a community college in Ohio because I realized I was just going through the motions, racking up credits in a major I didn't even care about. My friend stayed and finished a business degree in 3 years, but now she's stuck in a job she hates with no clue what she actually wants. Meanwhile, I spent that time working at a local print shop and figuring out I'm good at hands-on problem solving. Does anyone else feel like the rush to get a degree made them ignore what they were actually good at?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_joseph2d ago

...they sold speed over skill and everyone bought it.

john_murphy2d ago

Disagree a bit here. People bought into speed cause it worked for a lot of everyday stuff, not cause they were tricked. Skill still matters for pros but most folks just needed something that got the job done quick.

piper_thompson3116h ago

Here is another way to look at it. Speed became the standard because our attention spans got shorter, not because people were lazy. Social media and endless scrolling trained us to want instant results, so anything that took longer felt like a waste of time. Skill requires patience and repetition, which is tough when you are used to getting what you want in ten seconds. Maybe we sold out our own ability to focus, and the market just followed along.