That’s the path I ended up on. It’s served me reasonably well, though these days I don’t do as much reading in the field as I should. I have a rock band on the side, though we aren’t at the point of making money at it. I rarely write any more. Right now, if I could make money at music, that’s what I’d be doing. I’m taking steps toward it, but in the meantime I have a day job that pays well, which I wouldn’t have if not for pursuing psychology.

“Art requires much less training. What are truly requires is practice and feedback, which you can get without paying tuition.”

Umm…I disagree wholeheartedly. That’s an insult to the 28+ hours/week I put in just practicing my instrument when I was doing my undergrad in piano performance. And if you want the feedback, you need to shell out the money for a teacher. Whether this is through college tuition or through private instruction makes little difference. I make a decent living in my field, but it takes a lot of hard work to get to that point. So my point is that it may not always be best for someone who wishes to pursue a career in the arts to get a fall-back degree. That’s a lot of time and energy that is not being spent on getting a competitive edge in order to be able to get a job.

Her mistake was to buy into the advertised criteria of success: money and nothing else. She probably would have felt as empty, and ended up hating writing, if she were to study writing in college.

I think many have hit on it, but my philosophy has been to use the time to put as many tools in the toolbox as you can, and when you find some that you really like, learn as much as you can about them. This allows you to cast a wide net later in life and cross over into fields that you may not otherwise consider at 18. Also, there are complementary skills to consider – health care and business or finance; engineering and writing (hello technical writers!)

I know someone whose son loved baseball – so he majored in business, and worked his way up in the business side of the game. Still works in his passion, just in a different way.

If you have an honest passion for something and a clear goal, some high school guidance councilor or even your parents aren’t going to alter your course. If you don’t have a clear goal or passion, then yes, that evil, nasty high school councilor or your big, bad parents are going to point you in the direction where you’re likely to a) make the most money given your demonstrated and apparent aptitude (which would imply an area where you are likely to find a passion) and b) not be living in your parents house for the rest of your life.

How dare those selfish people try to guide you away from your unknown or loosely defined passion in the hopes of giving you the best chance they can of helping you move on in life, the nerve!

AS for patient care itself. Be prepared to lift and turn anything from the run of the mill 200 pound patient, the very common 300 pound patient and up to and including 800 pounds. I won’t bother describing the icky parts. If a patient or family member complains, justified or not, you will be disciplined. You will be hit, kicked and very likely get a back injury. When (not if) you get a back injury it will be your fault for not using proper technique.

My younger sister retired this year from teaching with a pension that equals my take home pay. In addition she has full health insurance. Someday I will get a tiny pension, whatever I can put into a 403b, and a discount at the hospital pharmacy.

By the way there is a huge waiting list to get into nursing school, and few jobs as none of us can afford to retire and they are simply adding more patients to each nurse. There is very little hiring being done.

It may be much faster to go back into teaching, certainly less physically demanding, and far less stressful as you will be unlikely to be held responsible for anyone living or dying.

Beyond those rewards, college coursework offers little, except to those who have a strong, clear vocation and pursue it. For many, it is a time for reflecting on and developing an adult self.

I’m a retired college professor who has come to believe that many high school graduates would profit mightily from a “gap year” of work and travel, before enrolling in college. Such a glimpse of “real life” can provide both motivation and focus, good qualities for getting adequate value for the very expensive purchase of a college education.

Talk to the men who majored in history, and now have massive student loans, a wife and kids, and can’t find a job, and hear about the pressure that puts on them. Be realistic about what type of apartment in what state the income in your field will provide. And DON’T rack up a bunch of student loans unless your career path will support paying them off!

Go to community college, get scholarships, etc, which will give you a high return on your investment, rather than going to an expensive private school, if you’re going to choose a typically low-paying major.

One thing that might clue you in to the fact that your dream job might not be as a great as you thought it would be is if you have to do an unpaid internship to move ahead. This most often implies that the market is oversaturated and that jobs are hard to come by.

I, too, have enjoyed writing and have had several articles published. And I quit my job once my husband got his pension – to pursue my dream.

Brent’s site not only inspired me to pursue my passion, his daily newsletters came at crucial moments in my life to address issues I was having. Whether it was how to economize to get me through a lesser income, or to advise on how to not give up on my dream, Brent has been a God send!

Thank you for being such a great role model. And keep up the good work!

Trent, I wonder if you’d still be as good a writer if you didn’t have your negative life experiences to build on. I think it can be character building.

Plus, I agree with others. I wasn’t passionate about anything specific in college. What the heck did I know at 18. I had to use the data that was available to me. Job placement rate, starting salary, career options, etc.

Not everyone has that burning desire to be something specific. I envy those people.

The job is a means to an end- your non-work hours. If you’re billing fat hours as an attorney while developing a coke habit and never seeing sunlight, that’s neither better or worse than chasing your dreams as a $12,000-year interpretive dance therapist and living in a shack. The money you earn, and the time you have to enjoy it in, are equal determinants of how good a life you’re leading.
All the more reason to develop passive income streams.

Don’t go to law school for the salary. Most lawyers don’t make big bucks.

Also, don’t get suckered into law school because of constitutional law. Con law isn’t as important (or as exciting) as you think.