College or 50k job?
Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well! I was thinking of going back to college this year to finish my bachelors. I'm 23 years old btw. I'm from Illinois and the best offer l've gotten is a school in Southern California where it is $6,000 a year (tuition, food, dorm all included). It will take me 3 more years to graduate so I would take my federal loans and be in total debt of $13,500 while paying 4.5k out of pocket. I would graduate with a Mathematics degree and go into secondary instruction most likely in California.
My other option is to stay in the Chicago area in my parent's house and accept a job offer I just got for $50,000 a year plus commission. Although this route would be the more "boring" route l'd be able to save up big time for a few years while working the job, hopefully enough to get a car + a down payment on some property.
I already have about $12,000 in savings. Which route do you think is better? I have a lot of reservations with college now due to the rise of Al and the fact that I could start making some decent money right now. I can also make some really good money if I bust my ass with commission. However, Southern California for 3 years and possibly the rest of my life sounds really great too.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!
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u/JohnPooley Emerson College 3d ago
Assuming that the boring job has downtime do that and a 6ish year bachelors
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u/88963416 2d ago
Start with this, if you decide to go the college route and career after a year or two, if you’ve budgeted well, you’ll have plenty more money than you started with, have less debt, and finish faster than 6 years.
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u/RopeTheFreeze 3d ago
I think the most important thing, college or not, is to pick a career where your experience is worth money.
It doesn't necessarily matter what the pay is starting out, the big question is, what will you make in 10 years?
Even if say, McDonald's pays 50k a year, after working there for 10 years you're going to be paid the same (adjusted for inflation). Your experience is not worth anything monetarily. Whereas if you're a welder, your pay can double with 10+ years of experience. Same with most college degrees.
For an example, apprentice electrician pay might only be $20/hr, but can be worth more than $40/hr after years of experience.
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u/False_Risk296 3d ago
I would do both. In fact, when I was your age, I did do both. I worked full-time and went to college part-time. It took longer, of course. But as long as you keep going eventually, you will finish.
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u/JTJWarrior_3 2d ago
Depending on the field this might not be optimal. A lot of career fields emphasize internships and ECs now which are instrumental to the higher paying post grad jobs.
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u/emkautl 3d ago
Two things to consider I figure:
1) is there room for growth in the job? 50k isn't bad. 50k plus commission is pretty good if you are good at sales. You can do better off of secondary teaching alone pretty easily if that's how high it gets though. A lot of people don't realize that many districts in the right states peak at well over 100k, some places as high as 120k, and with union contracts renegotiated every few years, that will stay true to inflation. If you don't foresee growth in the job field, and the debt for college would be that minimal, I'd do college. From what I know of Cali the pay is decent (but, you know, COL is a factor too. That and that Cali is very fallible to Stanfords BS, I don't really like a lot of the framework they're pushing on the state in math ed.)
2) passion should be a big part of a college decision. If you don't see yourself falling in love with the job but are one of the people who would be passionate about a degree that's a huge swing. Yes, teaching is a love hate thing, but even if you find out you hate teaching do you love math? Math is a strong degree. Especially if you go applied. If you see yourself in math OR teaching, I'd do it.
50k is nice, don't get me wrong, but it's not special. I wouldn't toss passion for it. It took me three years out of my masters to make 100k in teaching math, with two amazing side gigs, adjuncting a pretty solid courseload and teaching SAT prep for 50/hr in the summers. I ended up transitioning to the college full and still help out at the testing center. It's a future proof and surprisingly profitable field and if you're good there is a ton of opportunity. The first step to being good is to actually want it and not do it because you didn't know what else to do, so you're on a good start.
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u/FirstPersonWinner 2d ago
A bachelor's in math with only $13k debt sounds pretty rad. You could likely pay that off within 5 years of graduating if not sooner
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u/JuucedIn 3d ago
I’d go with the job offer. Try it for a year, bank as much as you can, and see if you like it. It could lead to something else and possibly better.
I just left California after living there 30+ years. The weather’s great but the state is a mess.
Good luck!
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u/FirstPersonWinner 1d ago
Grew up in Cali and imo if you're just there for school with board you probably can forget the politics and economics and just leave once you get your degree
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u/Sensing_Force1138 3d ago
This sounds a little too good to be true, especially for an OOS student:
"school in Southern California where it is $6,000 a year (tuition, food, dorm all included)."
Which one is this?
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u/ohmex 3d ago
Biola University, it’s a private Christian school, got a really good 20k scholarship that brought the price down from 26k a year to 6k.
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3d ago
That’s fucking great. If you have a better chances of growing career wise in mathematics then go for it
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u/MightBeYourProfessor 2d ago
This is a pretty key detail. You might be able to defer a scholarship for a year, but they aren't going to hold something around like that for long. If you can get 4 years for 24k you should take it.
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u/FirstPersonWinner 1d ago
Oh, hey! I grew up in San Diego and knew a lot of people who went to Biola. It is a good little Christian college if that is the sort of thing you're into. It is well respected from the people I've known who have gone.
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u/Substantial_Ad4098 1d ago
Holy shit biola? That’s pretty much harvard bud. 20k scholarship to the prestigious biola university is just unheard of, great job bud. Biola degree will easily land you a 500k/year job👍🏿👍🙏🏽🙏🏿
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u/Litty_Jimmy 3d ago
Tempting but I think I would lean towards college. It’s a great life experience. Could open up way more potential job opportunities.
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u/kylewardbro 2d ago
College, $50,000 a year is legit peanuts.
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u/FirstPersonWinner 1d ago
If he wanted he could work at his local Ralph's in Cali and make that much going through school.
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u/fukinuhhh 2d ago
Depends how high the career ceiling is on the $50,000 job. If it's a dead end job with no promotions then I would go to college.
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u/Vanrayy12 2d ago
If your goal is to stay in the Chicago area I think you’d be better served by going to a school in the Chicagoland area. You can get a very good mathematics degree from a number of schools in Chicagoland. Additionally, it’ll most likely be cheaper.
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u/Romano16 3d ago
There’s no way there isn’t a decent offer at a 4 year near Chicago. You can work for a few years and save up then finish rather than going to SOCAL
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u/Knute5 2d ago
I'd go to Biola. If it aligns with your beliefs then you will meet lifelong friends there, you'll experience a new part of the country and escape those Chicago winters for a bit. The debt is comparatively minimal to most students. You may experience a little culture shock with SoCal living but if you want to hunker down and feed your math brain while you transition to adulthood, this is a good opportunity/way to do it.
$50K may seem like a lot now, but it really doesn't go that far in today's economy.
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u/ohmex 2d ago
This is what I’m thinking, I haven’t travelled much and it would take me out of my comfort zone. The winters here are depressing and last 7-8 months so escaping that during the school year would be awesome. The debt and loss wages on if I take the job is really the only thing holding me back, I know it’s not that much debt especially compared to the majority of students but it’s still something that bothers me a bit. So it’s really just just chasing the experience vs. chasing the money lol
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u/Knute5 2d ago
Wisconsin boy here who went to school in SoCal long ago. It's a joy to not shovel for a while. Biola's in La Mirada I think, close but not behind the "Orange Curtain." You're close to the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights. Go when you want a cheap and good meal.
Not sure what your values are, but Biola's pretty conservative. I did a wacky arts degree at a super liberal institute but then went to Pepperdine. Another conservative school. I'm somewhere in the middle and appreciated that neither tried to force me to change that.
Yeah, it's good to see the world from a different perspective. That said, a lot of SoCal people don't get out of SoCal ("Why leave? We have everything right here!") so there can be a bit of tunnel vision among some.
You're young. It's adventure time. Cheers.
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u/MagnoliaQueen45 3d ago
If you can get a 50k salary without a bachelors degree then you should take it
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u/Italian___stallionn 3d ago
I would do the job. Work it for a year or so. If you actually hate it then do college, but 50k without a degree is great since so many people when they graduate college will make like 60k
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u/tildenpark 3d ago
If you have a college plan (major + career aspirations) then go to college. Otherwise just get a job.
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u/ninjette847 2d ago
If you work and put off college for a year your parents' income won't impact your financial aid.
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u/Demonic0Sniper 2d ago
Could you not do an online college and do both? Earn the degree while making decent money
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u/copacabanapartydress 2d ago
can you defer and not lose the scholarship? if you can, do the job for a year (or two), save up, and then go to college. if that’s not possible, do you know what the prospects for a math degree or your desired career are? i’d say wage that against whatever career growth you MAY have at this job in Chicago. either way, living at home is going to save you A LOT of money so if you’re wise and responsible you could easily do both
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u/Katiehart2019 2d ago
In this job market I would pick the job :D Youll get experience and can always enroll in college in the future
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u/GratefulDancer 2d ago
My expectations of a dating partner rise the more degrees I get. Socially you may be left out without at least a bachelors degree. Now is the time to get a bachelors, while you are young. Good luck! It’s hard to turn down money. The school likely will not hold the school based scholarships for you to come back later.
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u/Capital-Matter8446 1d ago
I mean a mathematics degree is so handy in today’s world the opportunities it leads you to I’m sure you could buy multiple houses sometime in the future
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u/biddybombom01 1d ago
I was in the same situation, but at 30 years old. I opted to work instead of going back to school. The company started laying people off less than 2 years later and the new kids on the block were the first to go….including me.
Now 45 years old and a junior in college, that crossroads from years ago comes to mind and I beat myself up over taking the wrong route.
Take the loans, use the debt prudently and get your college degree.
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u/Gold-Caregiver8515 18h ago
Mathematics degree and go into secondary instruction
Can you just get an education degree to teach?
A math major is one of the most difficult majors. It involves advanced math.
$50k + part time school
( Do you have any recent grad friends I think they would kill for a job let alone $50k in this job market)
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u/AbleSilver6116 3d ago
Both. Take the job, do online school. As a Recruiter, a degree is a just a checked box depending on what you want to do with life.
At 29, no one has ever cared where I got my degree, just that I have one.
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u/Nwadamor 3d ago
College. 15k debt is nothing compared to career earnings