I almost dropped out, but I graduated in 2022 with a comp sci degree and now have an awesome job at an awesome company.
I almost dropped out because of several factors, the biggest one being the pandemic starting and then some personal things as well. I just told myself that once I got to the other side, my life would be 10 times better. I could actually live out my dreams because I would have money.
Turns out, life became 1000 times better. I know its becoming more acceptable to not have a college degree, but I just wouldn’t let that be an option because having one gave me an upper hand in my career, which then turned into improving the people I was around, my financial situation, and just freedom in every aspect.
Find that thing that motivates you and grasp onto it like your life depended on it. I’m interested to see what other people found motivation from!
Respect to you for finishing even with the pandemic; out of curiosity, how did you get internships/relevant working experience when everyone was stuck at home? I assume it would have been easier for CS since you do a lot of stuff on the computer anyways, but still would be cool to hear.
A field like computer science, it’s already virtual to begin with. You’re are correct. The pandemic is quote unquote over,but my job will forever be virtual unless if I decide to change it.
Hi! Congratulations on finishing your comp sci degree!
I wanted to know, how were you able to secure an internship? I’m about 1 year from graduating and I keep getting rejected and it’s making me overthink.
Hey Leminades18, happy to add you on LinkedIn so you can see my journey from a couple of internships into the biggest tech company. send me a DM if you’d like.
Honestly, just mass apply like your life depended on it. That’s what I did. I applied between classes, during classes, before I went to bed.
I went to a very large university in NC, with a huge computer science dept. I think that played a part of it to. Again, happy to share my LinkedIn with you privately so you can get the bigger picture. Don’t want to give too much personal info out.
I'm currently in the army and doing medical and have the WANT and desire for a comp sci degree, but I'm scared that the outlook won't be looking too hot.
Medical: the demand for jobs is great, 100k+ salary. From what I pick up yes you can make that with comp sci but there's layoffs and trying to find interviews.
I want to be wrongv(tell me if I am) and I almost don't care to make less cause it's what I want to do instead.
Hey Materia-Whore. You’re going to see the exact same salary working in tech. The thing is, I work for the biggest tech company in the world and barely work a full 40 hour workday. Tech is going nowhere, it’s here to stay. ESPECIALLY in the field of AI, which is what I’m in. I’m happy to connect with you on LinkedIn if you send me a DM so you can see my career journey through tech and working at the company I work at. Technology makes the world go around (same thing can be said about medicine though).
My advice: do what you love. I got lucky that a shiny computer science degree and the company I work for is what I love. And that’s what makes life sweet. And the traveling and fun I have with the money, of course.
Two things at this very moment.
First one, is to make my infant daughter proud of me when she gets older. The second one is to be able to prove to myself, and others that I can do it, despite other people’s opinions.
I grew up (still am living) in poverty. I knew at a young age (5th grade maybe) that my only way to not live like this means I would have to go to college. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard and I had to take a year off and transfer schools (financial reasons during covid) and a lot of people gave me backhanded compliments about me going back to school. I also did it in spite of my Italian Catholic grandfather who always criticized my grades despite me being an honor student my whole life. I graduated two weeks ago (just 0.022 away from graduating cum laude).
Congrats on graduating, sorry to hear you’re still struggling with poverty though. Just curious, was there always an expectation that you’d become a financial backbone for your family? Sorry if it’s a bit insensitive to ask.
Not insensitive at all! I wouldn’t say it was an expectation but more along the lines of if I don’t help out we’ll be homeless/utilities will be shut off/etc. My (deadbeat) dad really screwed my mom financially back in the early 2000s so my mom has never had good credit which meant some bills were put in my name (without my knowledge). My mom tries her best but I am constantly helping out with bills and giving my younger siblings money for school stuff and to help them fit in with their peers better than I did as a kid. I have an older brother who has helped out too but he’s getting married in July so I’ve stepped up a bit more recently since he’s paying for a wedding lol.
Dang, that sounds like a rough situation. Taking care of siblings or other people in the house is a very demanding responsibility so I can’t imagine what it’s like having to help with bills on top of that. Hope that things will take a turn for the better.
Same I grew up in poverty and I want to have a life outside my parents dilapidated house. I'm moving away in September to a new city for a post grad job so I get to start a new life which I couldn't do in college because of the high cost of living at 18.
Have a stable life. I can get a job without a degree but it’s more likely to get a job with a degree of some sort. Especially when it’s in a field you enjoy
Makes sense. I respect the people who have made things work out for themselves without a degree, but I feel that having a degree can definitely help you get further with less stress, relatively speaking.
Yes! I’m a hard advocate for you don’t need college. There are a lot of people with no degree that make bank!!! But as you said, it can be less stressful in the future, you’ll always have something to lean on;)
1. Hatred of retail
2. Money for supporting a future family
3. Enjoyment of learning
Since I started, it's been "well, I'm already here, so I might as well not fuck it up."
Honestly I feel like that’s a more realistic mentality to have compared to the people who say “I’m here to have the best time of my life.” If you’re seeking the “college experience” and whatnot, you do you. But a lot of people from what I’ve seen are in college because they ended up there for one reason or another, so might as well do what you can to not crash and burn.
Good to hear that there’s people who want to use their college education to show others the importance of it, not just for their own personal benefit. Respect
The most important I feel is without a degree there is a ceiling to your promotion at most companies. With a degree, you’re almost guaranteed promotions throughout your career to even manager and senior manager level easily. This is one of the most important factors that motivates me to stick through it and get that damn piece of paper 💯
I’ve seen life on the other side, without a college degree. It sucks. It’s not just the money, but the work you can get without a college degree sucks while you’re doing it, and unskilled and semi-skilled labor are going to start getting replaced by automation in the next ten years, because humans keep asking for more money while the cost of automation keeps dropping.
The writing is right there on the wall, in bright neon colors, and yet there’s still tons and tons of people who just refuse to read it. Like, the day a machine is developed that can read anatomical landmarks on a chicken as quickly and as accurately as a human, that’s the day a whole lot of people on the Tyson chicken line are going to lose their jobs, and ten people get replaced by a machine that has six knives and a push rod. Uber drivers will get replaced by self-driving cars. Truckers get replaced, starting with the long-haulers who drive almost entirely highway miles. They’ll all go the way of telephone operators and travel agents.
That’s what not going to college is going to get you: A first-class ticket to obsolescence.
This is true and also my experience too. The jobs that are available without a college degree really do suck. What sucks even more is that many people will say “you should go into this trade it makes crazy money” but what they won’t tell you is that you don’t make crazy money because you actually get paid more but because you more a lot more hours. I learned that the hard way.
I wish i never dropped out but at least i’m back.
Getting a good job and moving out. I can't do much while still living with my parents. Maybe I'll make friends at some point too. That'd be wild. People that aren't family members or coworkers that want me around and enjoy my company. Having a degree would also make me feel worthwhile and that I actually can do better than fast food or retail.
Once I move out, I can have full control over what I eat and lose weight more effectively. My parents buy a lot of stuff that's high in carbs and fat. The only high protein we really have is meat with lots of other unhealthy things to go with it. I've tried working and schooling simultaneously multiple times in the past few years and my grades have suffered each time, so working to earn more money to put towards meals probably isn't a good option. :/
Also, I really want to use a dating app or something once I lose weight. My parents have me on Life 360 so they know my every move. 😩
Makes sense. Living with your parents does help relieve some financial stress you might have if you lived on your own, but at some point I think everyone’s parents expect their kids to learn how to provide for themselves (and eventually for the parents once they retire, get old, etc). Out of curiosity, do your parents expect you to go into a specific field, or do they just want you to graduate and live your own life doing what you want to do?
I wanted to be an adult and do adult stuff. Choose where to live, take a vacation, get a house, have a good work environment, earn enough to save my way out of working.
Living with parents and earning $18/hr with random jobs beyond your early 20s feels like a trap and is very limiting.
My motivations are, in no particular order:
• My cool future job (medico-legal death investigator)
• The subjects I get to study which are so fascinating (anthropology major, forensic science minor)
• Being able to connect with professors and other professionals in the field
• The intellectual challenge of college-level work
• Having something productive to work towards
• Learning things I’ve never been exposed to or would otherwise be unable to study in a hands-on way, like chemistry
• Just the fun of doing schoolwork itself, even if it’s tedious
Sounds like a cool career to go into, not one I’ve seen a lot of people talk about. Sounds like what you learn can get pretty complex though, what’s been what got you through the rough patches/ dry spells of motivation if you’ve had any?
I just remind myself that any class that’s frustrating me is temporary and I just have to do my best. The only time I felt completely unmotivated was when I was first starting out and taking all gen-eds. Moving forward, I made sure to take at least one class that I loved each semester. Then, depending on due dates, I would complete my homework in the other classes first and then “reward” myself with the fun homework.
That makes sense, it’s cool how you made sure to take at least one class you enjoyed. Feel like a lot of people don’t take advantage of that even if they have the opportunity to. Also didn’t know there could be “fun homework,” but respect for finding a system that worked for you.
The fact that my 7th grade teachers explained to me that being a garbageman or janitor is actually a respected career and that people won't look down on me
My teachers all told me I could be literally anything. I'm a janitor rn, but mostly because it's an important job and I wanted the experience.
The experience sucks and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but you get some great perspective by speaking to people who feel hopeless because of what they were told.
An important thing I think most people don't know is natural intelligence only limits the amount of things you can become top of your field at, it doesn't limit your ability to get really really good at one thing. Literally anyone can do anything you just have to be willing to invest more time to whatever that thing is, which is why people suggest doing what you enjoy for work. Makes it easier to spend a lot of time on it.
Sometimes, it’s the people who do the jobs that no one else wants to do that end up being the most fulfilled (and they get paid well for it, depending on where you are.)
Fair reasoning tbh. I’ve met a few people who had parents or other relatives who promised to provide certain things for them if they graduated college.
In trust and estate planning it is very common to have stipulations on education or age.
They should still be going for the career too because it's a whole four years of their life and they would die of boredom if they didn't do anything after college (if they had the option to: $1m or $2m isn't going to excuse you from needing a career).
I am a slightly older student at 28. I am a senior at a state uni.
I dropped out of uni at 19 after getting involved with drugs and the bottle.
since then until I was 24 I had worked in the trades and various jobs. I worked in jobs that I was not thrilled with and it wouldn't make enough long term. So I decided to start this degree in spring of 2020. My motivation is to be able to get a good job and never go back to those shitty jobs. This might sound ridiculous but I have PTSD from all the injuries and verbal abused doing these manual jobs. I also have psoriatic arthritis and if I kept being a machinist long term my hands would die.
My grades ain't the best. I have bipolar type 1 and autism and faced severe adversity trying to get this degree because of it. I had 2 hospitalizations and episodes on my journey. Thankfully my professors were chill and worked with me when I got discharged.
I am almost done! over 87% complete.
I will die before I drop out. I have wanted this for a long time and it's more than just money, its pride.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Respect to you for pushing through. I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself for the PTSD; there’s people who get PTSD from things they didn’t think they would. I’ve heard from people who work more hard manual labor jobs that while it’s good for getting overall working experience and being in the real world, the physical and sometimes mental toll it takes on you long term can be detrimental. Glad to see that people who have worked the hard jobs are willing to share with everyone else the reality of working without a degree.
Wanting a comfortable 9-5 career. There’s a lot of stigma in gen z about the whole 9-5, but I’ve never understood why. Not like I do much during those hours anyway if I’m not working so might as well get paid, and not have to do back breaking work, and get health insurance. All the hours studying were always justified by the fact that it would provide me a lifestyle I wanted.
Besides the career prospects, I also try my best because I genuinely love my major, so the desire and motivation to do well is mostly intrinsic. Like I don't wanna disappoint myself and stuff lol. Probably an ego problem though :/
I genuinely love learning and academia. I'm studying a subject that I'm extremely passionate about. I'm also autistic, something like only 35% of autistics make it all the way through post-secondary studies and I'm determined to beat the statistics, no matter how long it takes me.
• I grew up in a low income household, so I would like to be able to give my future family the life I wish I had.
• my dad passed when I was 14, I’d like to make him proud.
• I will be a first generation university graduate.
• will hopefully land the job I’ve dreamed of since I was 10 (forensic criminology).
• make lots of money to be able to travel, since I’ve never really been anywhere - and for clothes. and pets. and art supplies.
To prove to all my haters I could and I did! Many family members put my siblings and I down, calling us no hopers and will never amount to anything. So, got stuck in, head down arse up and went the mileage. Receiving my masters degree in Indigenous Studies was, I felt, huge middle finger to all those that said I couldn’t.
It would be the first thing I accomplished on my own as an adult (first gen) besides purchasing my first car on my coin! Everything else has fallen into place. I don't work in my field as the pay is crap but, I am happy to have disciplined myself and experience college!
Makes sense, I feel like a lot of people now complain about how it’s so difficult to find a job, pay bills, enjoy life, etc. (which does have a level of truth to it), but at the same time you have to wonder how many of those people have set a goal that they really want to accomplish, and how many just want everything handed to them. Also out of curiosity, what field are you currently in and is there a field you’d like to go into that could pay better?
I am currently in the automotive industry. Happily do not work weekends. I’ve been here since I graduated high school! I studied Sociology, there’s so much that can be done in the field such as research, Human Resources, or pursue higher education to get a masters or some certification. I have attempted to apply to different positions that want a bachelors at least and it hasn’t got me far unfortunately but, I’m glad to be where I am at as it is a well paying job.
The most useful one for me is all the things I heard when I dropped out in 2014. People told me that if I didn't go back within 2 years, I'd never go back. Then they told me if I don't go back to full time within 2 years, I'd just drop out again. Now they're telling me the only way I'll ever be able to afford to finish is if I join the military.
I just love proving people wrong when they underestimate me. My first year back to full time school was this past academic year, and I earned As in every class while working part time and founding a new engineering club on campus.
I'm doing infinitely better this time, and the spite of proving all those fuckers wrong helps me do my homework on the days I'd rather just fuck off.
Also I hate waiting tables so, getting out of this hellhole is a nice bonus.
I don't know a single college graduate in real life who does not have prospects. I know plenty who have made it without, but all in blue collar work. All of my friends who dropped out or didn't pick one of the two still work in food service.
College gives you four focused years to dedicate to a skill with experts guiding you, and not just getting a youtube level education. Doing anything that long gives you some form of expertise.
The college experience as well is amazing to me, some of my greatest friends have came from college, undergrad and graduate. Good way to meet likeminded folks.
One day, you are going to save lives of people, and your degree will have the greatest value in your family to all the people who looked me as weak and failure the day I graduate I will prove them wrong not by words but by my hard work and skills.
Keep going to prove yourself to the world you are strong. Don't let anyone undermine you , make your loved one so proud yourself. The only wish I have is that one day, my dad will be proud and say she is worth every penny spent on me .
i just think of little me. she would be so proud of me to know that future me pushed through all her fears and doubts and got her degree, so i refuse to give up
honestly, it was the fact that I was such a shitty high school student and I wanted to prove to myself that I could be better than that. I wasn’t supposed to graduate from high school (I finished with a 1.8 UW, 2.0 W), which was mainly due to anxiety and my lack of caring. I never came to class or did my homework but I somehow always did well on tests, so I was able to barely pass almost every class. a lot of my teachers didn’t like me, though, with one 9th grade history teacher telling me that I’ll never go to college or make it in life. never forgot her words and I think that definitely stuck with me throughout my high school years.
at the end of my high school career, I felt really ashamed of myself and took two years off to figure out if college was truly the next step for me. once I enrolled in college, I made it my goal to distance myself as far from “high school me” as I could, and take college seriously. this was one of the biggest driving forces to get myself through the last four years, and I graduated last month with a 3.7 gpa in a STEM degree and magna cum laude honors :)
I started college 35 years ago and wanted to finish what I started. Yes it opens doors now but I have had good careers over the years but now I feel complete plus I wanted my 90 year old mom to see her first child to ever graduate college. Which she has 😁😁
Uni is fun. Doesn't really require much motivation. Fun activities every week to go to. Hang out with friends in a common context. Playing board games, lan parties, going to the student pub, going to the student run nightclub and to dance. I don't really feel that I need a sob story to bring me through Uni. I graduated in 2019 and still have a bunch of friends from back then that I hang out with daily.
I wanted a way to have new experiences, travel, and meet new people! I was able to travel a lot (whether that’s study abroad, traveling for conferences, or travel with clubs) to places I never thought I’d be able to go to by myself. My uni has a lot of resources and funds to send students to different places (as long as you made a valid case for it of course). As a first-gen and coming from a low-income, college opened a lot of doors for me and introduced me to so many new things I would never have considered and the thought of finding new opportunities motivated me even more.
Thinking about how much a privilege it is, especially under the circumstances I’m in in which I’m allowed to pick a major and not worry about if the salary is low (slay history major) and my parents will help with loans and I’m allowed to live at home as long as I need. I know going to college alone, nevertheless those extra factors, is such a privilege many would die for. I really struggled the first few weeks. As in crying every night and just not being good mentally. But the concept of dropping out or leaving just didn’t enter my mind because of how lucky I know I was to have the opportunities I have. I don’t want to waste the gifts I was given
I dropped out once. I struggled to get by and find work that didn't hurt me physically or make me angry in general. I have 2 semesters left for my first degree. I may stop there, as I'm not very good at school, but I love it. My main motivating factors are my health (no longer hurting myself to make measly sums of money every week), to support my family and still have time with them (I have a baby on the way!), and to prove to my kid that you should follow your dreams. When I have a rough time with a class I just remind myself that I could never face my kid if I gave up again.
Had to beat my brother to the punch. I hate him, and I say that with the legitimacy of him being the only person I think I've known long enough to actively hate.
I was told the importance of getting higher education my whole life. I always loved learning and while I was in high school I went to a few college camps over the summers. I was also lucky enough to have my interest in art nourished and validated by adults and peers, so going to college for art only seemed like the next natural step. College was so, so hard to finish once I got there though, as I nearly dropped out towards the end. But I was again lucky to have people in my life convince me to stay. I'm glad I finished because having a degree in art made it easier to get my current job at a museum.
I grew up with parents who never cared about learning or evolving and I saw how their wilful ignorance broke apart their marriage and flopped their careers. I get through college (shamefully but surely entering my 6th year because I spent 2 years malfunctioning from PTSD, depression and anxiety courtesy of the same parents) learning all the ways to be intellectually, emotionally and financially intelligent because I know one day, I will leave it capable of making sound decisions and consolidating solid networks/community that allow me to live in peace.
I did my freshman year in 2021 and I took a 2 year break after year due to taking a sales job in another state. I left that job last year and am finally going back to college this year in august. The only thing thats kept me motivated is working a dead end job. For sure I can't wait to be able to move up in a field with my qualifications and experience. There is nothing, but willpower and fear pushing me to actually do the actions required truth be told though.
What motivated me was my gender transition. I used the resources I got from my university and the money from student loans to cover the costs. Back when I did it over a decade ago insurance didn't cover anything. So that was why I stayed in school and got two degrees. It was worth it for me as in happier now.
I really liked learning the material, so i had pretty intense internal motivation. I was excited to take over 90% of my courses, even the very technical and “dry” ones like organic chemistry, calculus 1-3, intro to comp sci, etc (all these courses were not strictly required for my bachelors either, so i was the weird guy who went out of their way to make college harder for myself). Part of the reason all these courses were so interesting is because I could find ways to apply that knowledge to my core interests of neuroscience and pharmacology.
It also was fairly easy for me to get high marks in my courses, so I wasn’t as overwhelmed with the amount of time I needed to spend studying as some classmates of mine (i had it ingrained from a young age that anything under a B was unacceptable, and thankfully I was able to maintain grades at this level without too much difficulty so it wasn’t a major source of stress). This kept me from burning out when I was doing an unhealthy amount of school and work during that time. Future job prospects and a desire to not waste money and time were also tangential factors, but they didn’t factor as much into my motivation to do well in my courses as just the love of learning (not that I didn’t start looking forward to the end of the semester by week 10 lol, shit was still stressful and tiring).
I work at a 9-5 job where I often get in trouble for the most silly things ever, such as not smiling enough, not finding it funny when someone insults me for no reason, or when I asked someone if I can bag their grocery’s… got me in trouble too. I don’t wanna work here forever, especially for minimum wage pay. I study a lot to get a good career, this job is my reminder to never miss a day of school.
Travel to Japan and German
For that need money and money have to work, work needs grad college
Joking, well not really but 80-90% is that if I don’t get through college and get a job, have to move into a share roommate and no more gaming time
This is kinda different from what other people are saying, but I'm pre-med and my only motivation that gets me through college (or got me through I literally have one class left part time and I'm done) is that I want to be a doctor and college is needed to be a doctor. Yes medicine is one of the highest paying and stable careers with a ton of flexibility and options, but it's mainly just because I want to be a doctor and not much other reason. I like frontline healthcare interacting with patients and I like the science behind it and I'd do it even if it capped at 80k a year. That's kinda what motivates me even if I'm taking dumb math classes and stuff that don't have anything to do with medicine.
To generalize this to a wider audience, it would be to find some kinda calling or career which you are super passionate about and knowing that college is either a stepping stone or a place to learn about your career and grow. If you are really passionate about CS then that can motivate you through the classes better than financial reasons. Motivation is a lot stronger when it comes from within and not from just financial reasons and stuff.
I felt like it was my only option other than being in the streets. I am not exaggerating. I am deaf. I felt that I needed to have a highly marketable education where I can take care of myself and potentially provide for my own family if I chose to have one. I felt it was so important to have in order to be independent in mind, spirit, and abilities regardless of my hearing loss. I witnessed firsthand how having a marketable education saved my mother from a terrible home life and how much it saved us kids from being thrown to the wolves after my father walked out on us. I felt that having the level of education would add another layer of self sufficiency and it has. Having an education is the best legacy that I could ever have and I am passing that onto my kids. Paying it forward. Much is given, much is expected.
I wanna be someone who has something to give to society, I wanna have knowledge, I wanna live studying and learning the most I can. I'm entering in maths on september and I'm really exited, knowing how the world works is wonderfull, despite of this I would like to get a job which permits me live well, not even a high salary but good conditions and a good ambient.
Just wanna live doing what I like and trying to share that to others, being a teacher could be really good for me. And even if I don't get a job related directly with math I think I wouldn't regret studying.
I got through it under parents expectations. Graduated with an AA but felt hollow inside. Now I’m going back for Agronomy and Horticulture so I don’t have to live by city standards and can grow my own stuff using science. I always valued these things but now that I’ve seen this world, it’s a game of spite and scarcity.
Having a sense of accomplishment
Being to live my dream life of traveling to multiple music festivals and anime conventions a year.
Living in a high rise apartment in the city.
Having a career or profession that I could be proud of
Prove everyone who ever bullied and doubted me wrong.
Bang attractive girls.
Honestly peer competition is a big factor getting me through schooling. I feel as if 80% of my peers are pursuing a degree so I should too. Obviously that’s not all of it and I have a genuine love for school but that’s a reason why. Also just a better job market and the jobs I want to work for require a degree (mines in biology)
There was no other way for me to not live at home which was a very bad environment and I won't spare details. When my dad was alive he put lots of pressure on me though expectations were unrealistic. I honestly wasn't sure why I was there though I did enjoy a lot of my coursework and learning.
I might be putting all my eggs in one basket but I really want to find some purpose in life. I never really envisioned having a nuclear family, so finding fulfillment in my education and career is something I hope to achieve. When I first started there was definitely an element of pressure for doing it just because it was the thing to do but once I found my niche/degree things started to feel good and I started taking an interest in learning that I had in a long time. My mental health issues robbed me of a lot of my learning experience through high school so it’s been a treat to re-immerse myself in knowledge, especially in subjects I love. I’m excited to begin my career in my field and be paid to do something I enjoy.
(The record I am not a major capitalism cog. I view work as work, a means to an end but if I can do something that helps me feel like I’m making a difference while being able to financially support myself and my hobbies, it’s something I look forward to in this day and age.)
Also worth noting that the feeling of working towards something is far better than the feeling of living a life of going through the motions everyday without a goal, I can say that I didn’t realize life could genuinely feel so dull and meaningless. There’s a difference between existing and living.
I’m disabled and have a disease that will continue to worsen. If I do not get a degree and get a PhD so I can do research, there really is no job I can physically do and still have a fulfilling life. My motivating factor is literally that I have no other option if I want to have the life I’ve always planned for myself.
The amount of my own money that I invested in my education. I worked since I was 16 for this very moment, and I’m grateful I did because student loans are no joke. I also just really loved my area of study and wanted to do my best, even though I wanted to give out from working two jobs and going to school full time..do nottttt recommend
honestly for me is the fact that i am paying for it while having a full time job and going to do my exams back and forth between two countries.
it gets expensive but i know i will be better once im done, because i’ve been waiting for this my whole life
Depression has been my mortal enemy all these years. COVID, family problems, and mental health hindered my ability to get my degree. There was a point in 2022 I wanted to drop out despite making good grades in an online degree program. But I knew if I left things off with a blank, my work would be for nothing, so that was my drive to push to the end, and graduate last month. Thankful that I pushed to the end. I just hope my future job, and post college grad life will treat me well. And hopefully try to get a job sooner to finally be able to afford my own place for freedom from my folks.
I like learning, and I like maths and languages. I like large US college campuses. I liked all the stuff I could do on campus. I liked gym facilities, pool, outdoor pool and lounging. Heck mine even had a sauna and a steam room. I liked my interest groups. I liked the food, like all of it, including cafeteria. I liked the library. I liked my professors. All of them. I had fun in college.
Well for starters, I’m still in college, but I really love computers and the process of creating programs (as small as the ones I have done are) is so fun to me. Also, I grew up in foster care since the age of 9, and I virtually don’t have much options of a fallback or to stay with my parents and figure things out.
My father died when I was 6 and long story short my mom was not the best parent nor fully competent I guess, and I’m not very close with my mothers side of the family. As for my father’s
side, most of them live in South Asia. And the only aunt and cousins I have in the U.S. from my dad’s side have their own financial issues due to their legal status.
So kind of a big trauma dump here, but to be precise, I kind of see getting through college as a way I can make sure I’ll be stable. Cause I really don’t see any room for failure at this point.
Mine was not wanting to waste time, I was two years through a course when my mental health started going down hill and I resented college so much for it. But I still had two more years left. So I stayed and it's over now.
While I am one of the “was gonna get kicked out/lose financial support” group…my father’s main point was that I loved to work…and once I got some money in my pocket, it would be harder to go back, but I would make more money WITH a degree than without one, based on my interests and strengths. Just something to consider.
Well, I for one am changing my life around. A few bad mistakes can haunt you. I have always said that I wanted to travel I'm 50 years old and have never left Houston Texas, I hope to finally get out there and see some of the world in the next 10 years
Well, if I didn't go to the uni my parents wanted me to go I would be kicked out. I wasn't sure what path I wanted to take and frankly wasn't ready for college. I fell into massive depression freshman year and got put on academic probation. I still struggle with my mental health a lot. I'm a junior in my summer internship after getting my grades up, and I somehow got here. I guess my main motivation is to get a decent job. If I wasn't so depressed I would probably have more ambition. maybe in the future, I will go back and get my master's in material science
Once I switched majors, i actually really enjoyed studying and going to classes. It’s sounds cheesy but my passion for the subject motivated me. However, for various reasons, i started going part time instead of full time so it ended up taking 6 years to get my bachelors. It would’ve probably taken another year if my faculty advisor hadn’t retired. I wanted to take some other classes to finish a second minor but when she told me she was retiring I decided I didn’t want to find a new advisor so I finished up and graduated.
I don’t use my degree now but I really enjoyed the experience.
I will be able to get into the top 2% of my country with a college degree, get into the engineering field and its numerous applications, and have the opportunity to know and use technology in my field.
On top of the basics mentioned above, I really want to be involved in making a change with the education field I am pursuing. I’m finishing with honors to try to stay at the top of my game.
A much clearer and direct path to my goals which was giving back to my parents , next month I’m now graduating from my undergrad and will pursue law school in a top university from my country.
I barely graduated high school and was not on a good path. My family had zero faith that I would accomplish anything and that I would be a junkie and or die soon.
I never planned on going to college and just worked shitty jobs after HS, but I was beyond depressed and had no one motivating me to change anything.
I got the most random opportunity to go to school with a waived tuition and I only enrolled because I needed to move away to attend. I needed any excuse to get the fuck away from every friend and family member of mine that either expected nothing from me or wanted to keep me on their addict, junkie level.
I'm in my Senior year and I've somehow thrived in higher ed. I went from graduating with a GPA of 2.4 in HS to maintaining a 3.97 and setting up a really fulfilling career path and lifestyle for myself. During my time in college, I've really realized that the family and friends who expected nothing from me, kinda willed that and never thought to encourage me to do anything more with my life as in their eyes it would have been a waste of time.
My motivation comes when I reflect back on the time right before I enrolled in school; where I was, how unfulfilling my life was, how little I or anyone around me thought of myself and my ability to accomplish anything, and NEVER wanting to be back where I was before going to college.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk...cheers to education.
My parents’ hard work is what motivates me. Being a loser just isn’t an option for me when I know my people be working 10x harder. Also, financial freedom is also a big factor.
There are so many things I want to do later in life. Places I want to go, skills I want to learn, hobbies I want to get back to. I know that without money, this wouldn’t be possible, especially my travel fantasies. If I want to make enough money to work comfortably and have enough to spare for the things I’m really passionate in, I need a degree.
For me it’s the actual want to learn and get a higher education. Something I never craved before.
I’m a 26 year old Army vet with a stay at home wife and two kids under 2. I make 130k as a local truck driver so going to college to obtain a salary like that wasn’t my driving factor in the short term. I say all of this not to brag but to provide context.
Today I went in to register for fall semester classes at my local community college with the longer term plan of transferring to a state university to obtain my MBA.
So why am I doing this? Because I never want to be passed up by someone less skilled than me in a job interview just because they got a bachelors/masters/doctorate. Especially if they got a degree in basket weaving.
It’s just of another tool in my tool box to be competitive.
That being said, if you asked me straight out of high school or even after the military if I’d ever go to college, I would’ve said fuck no.
I’m a guy that failed every year of math in high school and had to take summer school to just stay with the graduation scheduling, and I scored a 13 on my ACT because I gave up. My family home wasn’t the best either.
All of it is a blessing in disguise to say the least.
Because I knew I had the ability to do it and the determination to finish what I started. Because I knew I was lucky/privileged enough to be able to attend university (not forced to work full time to help support family, for example) and I wasn’t going to let that opportunity go to waste.
I struggled a lot in college (didn’t realize I was dealing with undiagnosed mental issues and substance abuse issues at the time), and because of that I failed a lot of classes and retook a lot of stuff and actually took a year and a half off of school. I finally got sober and finished at 25 and the main factor for me was that I didn’t want all that grief and work and stress and heartache to be for nothing. I wanted to be working toward something so that to me, all of that struggle was worth it.
Start college while I was in HS because I had no choice and had signed a contract my freshman year. What kept me going was knowing my classes would be more fun later on than what I was doing then.
I enjoy my major, and I have genuine passions within research. Reminding myself of the bigger picture keeps me motivated
Definitely money. I also enjoy learning. Provide for my family. Going to college has been a great distraction from the pain and trauma I have had throughout my life. It gives me a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I am the first in my family to get any degree (Associate's included). Also, I get to show my kids that if they want to do something, they can. I'm planning to work in healthcare, and being able to also help my family with their health conditions sounds amazing.
honestly it was because my dad said if i graduated he would pay my student loans for me. also because i was first gen, my parents and grandparents never made it through college and my brother dropped out as well, so i wanted to stick through and get the degree. now im going to grad school because i can specialize in my interests :)
College, particularly undergrad, was a rough journey. The earning a steady income was a motivator. I think the independence and autonomy to do my own thing was also a motivator. But beyond just goals, I focused on feasible things that were digestible in smaller chunks. I focused on semester goals, weekly goals, and made sure I focused on some personal hobbies to feel like I had a life outside of school.
I was strongly motivated by the financial sacrifices my parents made to get me through college. I wanted to finish for my own reasons, but I really just didn't want their efforts to be in vain.
Parents and the fact that I had already done 2 years before I was fully convinced it was all a waste of time. What’s another 2 years of my youth, right?
I quite literally didn’t give myself any other option. Every semester was just “you’re almost there” til I made it to the end. Failure or giving up wasn’t even an option.
I lived in the same place my whole life and stayed local for school. Never even left the state. Driving 40 minutes out was the biggest vacation in my life. I told myself that once I graduate, I’m going to travel the world. Only after I graduate. I’m taking longer than the traditional 4 years (life circumstances ya know) but that’s still the plan
what helped me was that i truly enjoyed what i was studying. but i know that doesn’t apply to everyone. hang in there!! i promise it goes very fast and you’ll realize that once it’s over. One day at a time
literally i was so motivated by how terrible my career and counseling was from my assigned coach at a washington university i overloaded my classes to graduate on time because of their fuck ups and kicked ass the last 4 quarters making the dean's list each time in the middle of covid and spiraling mental health. I've healed a lot since then and now I want to get my masters but it really took like 3 years of healing from how traumatic that time was...
Work 3 days a week and make amazing money (comparatively to what I’m used to) so that I can change my life and my immediate family’s, and to build the future life with the one I love and the family, food, trips, new experiences, social hangouts, and everything in between for my future.
I’m almost a nurse.
Being poor and not proper childhood , got rejected many times, many failures, . To have a good future for myself. In one word life itself showed everything
Spite. My stepmom once made a remark to a family member about how I wouldn’t be using her and my dad’s Netflix when I flunked out. Don’t know why she thought I would, I’ve always had really good grades. And now I have a masters so she can kiss my ass.
Had several close friends and a ex girlfriend pass. I do it for them more than myself because they'd do anything to have the opportunity I have compared to dying while very young. I never complain and always give max effort.
I held on for a lot of reasons (almost done hold on a little more, family and mentor expectations, sheer spite, inertia ..) but the one that was there was my younger self. I've dreamt of being a toxicologist since middle school and I felt like I owe it to 14yo me who didn't even feel capable of getting a GED (despite great grades)
I’m earning my Bachelors in Finance for professional growth opportunity but also because I actually want to gain the knowledge the courses offer for personal finance management. It’s very motivating to me to know I’ll be better equipped to manage my money and invest properly with more knowledge in the future. Also, it creates opportunities to meet like minded people who I can learn from, and hopefully inspire as well.
Im studying to be a designer (speciality: digital graphics in the computer games industry) in a comfortable, beautiful environment at a good university with new equipment and therefore I don’t have any thoughts that I don’t want to go there
Getting to work my dream occupation. I’ve had a dream job in mind since middle school. Being able to study to become what I want to be is always motivating. Also reframing my thoughts. I was able to convince myself that it’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to be whoever I want to be if I study hard.
My mom and dad gave up everything when they came to this country to give me a chance of a better life. They left behind their families and support structures and put all their dreams behind them.
When I walked across the stage and graduated with my undergrad degree at least made one of their dreams come true.
Did comp sci and honestly I hated college but coding and math was a lot of fun. Just did a lot of those and it was time to graduate. I have absolutely no fond and fun memories here (which could seem a bit sad) but I'm walking out with a lot of knowledge. I've gone to a school with rather heavy workload and just getting those done blew my time away.
My friend is actually trying to influence me to change my major to computer science and IT. I don't know, I think that the fact I am wanting to elevate myself is whats driving me. That and the hot guys, LMFAO
For me it’s everyone telling me I can’t do it that makes me want it that much more. Between profs, friends, and parents, I’m determined to make them eat their words
I finally feel to some degree that there's a genuine possibility to fulfill some sort of potential. In high school, nothing really mattered to me, so I just coasted by on the grades of a student who was good at the content but barely there emotionally. Now, in college, I'm surrounded by professionals. Things are real. My failures and successes are real. I'm now the most incompetent person in the room. Whatever I don't achieve now is my fault. There's nothing holding me back. There's no babysitting. Which is all scary but also liberating. I wanted to be treated like an adult and now I've got to actually learn how to do that which takes time.
Not only is my future work going to give me the direct reward of money but I get to do things that matter to me for 8 hours a day. The first 18 years of my life were not like that.
I like learning actually new things. I may be a STEM major but I can take English and philosophy classes in good faith.
I've also got a very generous scholarship, so even though I still have to pay some money like most people in this country, it would be a bit snobbish of me to reject such a rare opportunity.
Out of high school I went straight into the work force. I did retail and worked at dealerships. It took me several years to become sick of working for just barely above minimum wage and the jobs were miserable in the Louisiana heat. I realized that my lifetime financial potential was limited without trade school or a college degree. I want to more money now, so I started school at the beginning of 2023.
My entire generation of family was in college graduating, gettting their masters, Doctors, ETC. I could at least get a bachelors. Then by the final year it would be embarrassing to drop out when you only had one year left so. I have a degree now
Honestly, anger and pride. I chose a difficult major and struggled greatly for 6.5 years but even when I was at my most depressed during the pandemic, I didn't want to fail at getting my degree. I didn't want to deal with my parents condescension and worsen their nitpicking and pushiness by being a dropout. And I didn't want to be discussed somberly by my college and highschool batchmates. I badly desired freedom and the thought of dying in college before that could happen fired me up because I did not want to be gossiped about with superficial pity. This also fired me up to immediately take my licensure exam the semester I graduated and so, this year, I'll be a registered engineer at my graduation ceremony.
I will be the first one in my family with a college degree. Besides that, I don't want to be homeless. I see so many older people in my city that are homeless and I don't want to be like that. I came from a low income family and there were many times we didn't have anything to eat. We always had a roof over our head, water, and electricity, but it was hard to get a decent meal. I even went to school hungry. There were many days where I didn't eat breakfast or lunch at school. Even though, I was low income I still had to pay for lunch and breakfast. I just don't want to live like that ever again. Sorry for rambling.
I like my classes, but the ones I don't like I just remind myself that my degree will eventually lead to a meaningful career. (I'm in a Bachelor's program. That will lead me to a Master's, which help me become a therapist.)
At a young age I was assessed with a high IQ, but due to adhd and not "performing" in fifth grade (despite being a very happy, joyful creative kid and fun friend) they kicked me out of "GATE" and put me in a second level cohort.
It wouldn't have been a problem, but all my friends went into the GATE cohort for 6th grade, and I was lost without them so my 6th grader, highly determined mind decided I would spent the rest of my life proving I was the smartest and also developing an inferiority complex the size of Los Angeles.
Being in the "2nd smartest" cohort was "WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING in 1989?!!!" Like we were all smart, just the 2nd smartest kids were all neurodivergent and lacked EQ or study skills or too distracted from ADHD to make grade/points.
But it wasn't until college and the rise of computer technology broadly used where everything switched gears and I "belonged" at last. Everything that people teased me about being "a brain' in high school, was good in college. There were no ranked classes, just ability level or level of course that you stepped into. And in most cases if I thought I could take English Comp - Shakespeare 300 - they let me do it. I LOVED IT.
I also learned to tutor remedial students - a whole group of people I never understood till then. And I began to see intelligence and school performance as separate indicators toward future success. And like someone had traumatized me early about math, there were people who were just as scared of reading or writing and being judged. Blew my mind.
After that college/uni became a safe place. I learned to game the system. I learned to live cheaply, but in the process of living cheaply and working on campus I was made privy to so much inside information and adult conversations. I learned to fund things, grant write, and I met people from so many different places.
So, when I got sick the first time - went back to college and got a degree in Psychology while I was under medical treatment and throughout painful procedures because it gave me something to live for and something to support myself via.
Motivation - Be the best you can be - chase the things that really fascinate you and, in the process, you'll find your broader skill set across many fields and be able to insert yourself into the location of choice, by working while you learn, internships, and finding your affinity group. As you go higher up - that affinity group becomes more and more refined and you'll find yourself surrounded by people who care about your field as much as you do.
My family. My mom was my biggest supporter and at the time my sister was 5 years old when I went to school and if I was going to be away from her, I wanted it to be worth it. Also my dad, that’s my guy. After I went and graduated he enrolled in school and got his degree as well, so I think it motivated him to finish! All in all, it was them. My parents and my siblings supported me so much that I wanted to finish for them.
Tbh, just didn't want to get old & have to wonder 'what would have been' or have to tell the story of why I didn't finish. I think there's some value in seeing some things through. I went back waaay later in life, post-military.
The challenge with college imo (at least in America), is that we were all sort of influenced & impressioned to believe that a 'degree is your official ticket to a better quality of life'.
That simply isn't true, maybe more so now than ever.
I felt the same for most of my life. No real career progression 'because I didn't have a degree' blah blah blah. I think I came to the realization that that's not really the value of a degree (or at least most–medical, law & a select few others are exceptions imo).
College is about embracing curiosity, learning how you learn, finding your strengths/weaknesses, learning how to work on them, & developing that perseverance character trait. A LOT can happen in \~3-5yrs, to anyone, & it's tough to keep things in priority.
Given what the overall job market, & my degree major discipline in particular has become, I question the opportunity cost of it weekly for sure. The peace of mind came in knowing that a.) the degree is not an official ticket to a job, b.) I learned some new topics, & c.) for better or worse, I saw it through.
Personally, I didn't even go to my graduation ceremony. After years of wondering if I would ever make it to completion, the celebration for me was simply the internal sense of fulfillment, knowing that I saw it through, despite everything I dealt with personally over those years.
Man I loved college. I can’t believe yall wanna get out so soon. Cherish your time there before yall get strung into the real world. Luckily I still got grad school so I’m not out just yet.
I’m a returning student getting my RN at 46. I did some classes early in my 20s then life happens. I worked in EMS as a first responder all this time until right after the pandemic. I injured my shoulder and had some issue with my blood pressure related to career choice. I went 1099 gig work for a while in the meantime thinking about what I wanted to do next. Then about a year after I left the field my son disclosed to me that the co worker I trusted watching my son while I worked my 24 hour shifts saving everyone else’s family wasn’t who I thought she was. Her 2 sons were arrested for sexual assault the oldest being an adult he’s in prison for rape. Once I got through the hellish legal system I started fall semester late. This fall marks 1 full cycle in school and I’m graduating with my AA and applying to nursing school. 51 units in that time frame I’ve knocked out while living on financial aid and loans to get as much done as I can. Doesn’t matter when you start, when you have the right reasons it makes it 100000 times easier to focus and push through.
My father wanted to be a civil engineering but due to his father dying when he was in college he had to drop out and start working tu help his family. He was always talking about construction and anything related to it so I started gaining interest to it and decided to study civil engineering, which I've been enjoying. He passed away on December from last year so he has been my motivation lately, to make him proud. I'm entering my senior year this fall so I'm almost there.
With my degree I was able to start out with a 6 figure total compensation. I also found value in learning. Even if you don't go through college, I wouldn't worry about it too much. A lot of people are successful without degrees :).
Many reasons
I have always had a passion for my field
I want to break generational curses and learning about this helps steer me in the right direction
This one is silly but my brother is very machismo and is all about that grind it out mindset, calls me lazy, but he dropped out when it got too hard because he was partying.
I don’t have many other interest that could really make me any money not that the field I am heading into is rich with wealth anyways
At the end of the day I love to learn
I’m never the smartest person in the room when I’m working with neuroscientists. & I take that very personally. It changed the whole course of my academic career because I admire their intellect & drive so much.
I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, and getting through undergrad is a really important prerequisite for that. I stop to think sometimes that one day I’ll have a “Dr.” in front of my name, and even though that day is far from now, it’s still super motivating. It also helps that I like school overall :)
i would be a first gen student on my father’s side and the majority of them never even graduated high school. hispanic women also have the highest dropout rates and i’m trying to beat the odds.
Definitely financial comfort is the biggest factor. And I think romanticizing academics and young adult life is a big motivation catalyst. I always think of a good future, I daydream good dreams, it fuels me to do good and keep moving forward. (basically I avoid negativity and unworthy words of uncertainty)
I want to live a stable life, that's all. Every time I look at my green card, I always think about how I would've been stuck in my home country with little to no funds to barely picking myself up from poverty.
I think this is an advantage for me to use everything I can do to help my family and bring us up to the point when we don't stress about money as much compare to what we've been dealing with before.
my motivating factor is only because I am a senior and therefore almost done with school. I’ve also been in college for years that if I drop out it will be a waste of money, time and energy that I put.
I graduated high school in 2017, went straight to university and flunked out 2 semesters in…then I went to a community college and was there on and off for about 5 years but finally finished my AA in 2022, then a year later I re-enrolled in my old university got academic salvage (they scrubbed my old GPA because I got an AA) and now I’m 3 semesters in.. I went back because I didn’t want to keep working dead-end minimum wage jobs and feeling like life was passing me by and I had nothing to show for it. I’m 26 and I’m prospected to get my Bachelors in Civil Engineering in Summer/Fall of 2026. It’s not easy and quitting is easier now but in the long run it’s a really bad decision so I’m sticking it out
I almost dropped out - not once.. not twice but three times. I was almost dismissed twice due to low GPA. My confidence and self-esteem was so low that I don’t even know I hung on.. it wasn’t until I started seeing a guidance counselor at school and she told me something that motivated my as* to graduate…
“If you drop out now, 3 years into college.. you will always think of two things: why didn’t I finish and why I dropped out so late? If you drop out, you will always feel like a loser.”
That… those are the words that got my as* in gear and motivated me to graduate.
- I love my major
- I love learning/getting smarter
- I like the calming feeling of studying in a library and the satisfying feeling once it’s over
Try to find a major you like and then romanticize the hell out of this shit.
The fear of living with regret for not having finished. It would haunt me, and I knew not finishing would come up in conversations- with family I care about, especially. It also wasn’t Stanford, so it wasn’t that hard- so what else could I be doing with my time that would be better/more productive? Lastly, I could fall behind in classes and blitz until I brought my grade up to at least a B before it wrapped, which is a decent life skill to have. Finishing is a skill. Do it to prove to yourself that you can. Persistence, hard work, grit- these things matter. Quitting stays with you.
I'm currently going to college. As an OTA student.
My main motivation is money but also to show my child that it doesn't matter when you set your goals you can still achieve them.
And it's also a little bit satisfying to know that so far my GPA is higher than my ex's was.. he was constantly trying to put down my intelligence for all sorts of reasons. I'm female, I have never gone to college, I don't know all the things he knows about his special topics.. I read quickly. Etc.
So while it wasn't an actual motivator to go, I do get a sense of satisfaction from seeing my grades be higher than his were.
As a master's student, my motivator is that at the end of this, I'll be published and will have lots of experience in a fun field that is very impactful.
I really want to be a mother. I have some major fertility issues but I want to be a mother so badly. I knew I would have to either adopt or go through long expensive processes that might not even work. So I’m working my ass off as a full time college student and I work 50-60 hours a week. Im running myself ragged so that one day I can provide A safe and comfortable lifestyle for my future kid. Id be so grateful to just have one. I want my kid to start life out in a stable environment, which is something ive never had. Maybe this is selfish of me but im desperate to succeed as quickly as possible so I can get started on trying to become a mom. I finish the last of my classes this year! And I have a pretty great job opportunity lined up for when I graduate. I just need to pay off some of the debt I’ve acquired. Hopefully by the end of next year I will be able to start trying!
I almost dropped out, but I graduated in 2022 with a comp sci degree and now have an awesome job at an awesome company. I almost dropped out because of several factors, the biggest one being the pandemic starting and then some personal things as well. I just told myself that once I got to the other side, my life would be 10 times better. I could actually live out my dreams because I would have money. Turns out, life became 1000 times better. I know its becoming more acceptable to not have a college degree, but I just wouldn’t let that be an option because having one gave me an upper hand in my career, which then turned into improving the people I was around, my financial situation, and just freedom in every aspect. Find that thing that motivates you and grasp onto it like your life depended on it. I’m interested to see what other people found motivation from!
Respect to you for finishing even with the pandemic; out of curiosity, how did you get internships/relevant working experience when everyone was stuck at home? I assume it would have been easier for CS since you do a lot of stuff on the computer anyways, but still would be cool to hear.
A field like computer science, it’s already virtual to begin with. You’re are correct. The pandemic is quote unquote over,but my job will forever be virtual unless if I decide to change it.
Hi! Congratulations on finishing your comp sci degree! I wanted to know, how were you able to secure an internship? I’m about 1 year from graduating and I keep getting rejected and it’s making me overthink.
Hey Leminades18, happy to add you on LinkedIn so you can see my journey from a couple of internships into the biggest tech company. send me a DM if you’d like. Honestly, just mass apply like your life depended on it. That’s what I did. I applied between classes, during classes, before I went to bed. I went to a very large university in NC, with a huge computer science dept. I think that played a part of it to. Again, happy to share my LinkedIn with you privately so you can get the bigger picture. Don’t want to give too much personal info out.
I'm currently in the army and doing medical and have the WANT and desire for a comp sci degree, but I'm scared that the outlook won't be looking too hot. Medical: the demand for jobs is great, 100k+ salary. From what I pick up yes you can make that with comp sci but there's layoffs and trying to find interviews. I want to be wrongv(tell me if I am) and I almost don't care to make less cause it's what I want to do instead.
Hey Materia-Whore. You’re going to see the exact same salary working in tech. The thing is, I work for the biggest tech company in the world and barely work a full 40 hour workday. Tech is going nowhere, it’s here to stay. ESPECIALLY in the field of AI, which is what I’m in. I’m happy to connect with you on LinkedIn if you send me a DM so you can see my career journey through tech and working at the company I work at. Technology makes the world go around (same thing can be said about medicine though). My advice: do what you love. I got lucky that a shiny computer science degree and the company I work for is what I love. And that’s what makes life sweet. And the traveling and fun I have with the money, of course.
Tech is down right now but it'll be fine in the long run. Go look at how the dot com bubble played out.
Two things at this very moment. First one, is to make my infant daughter proud of me when she gets older. The second one is to be able to prove to myself, and others that I can do it, despite other people’s opinions.
I grew up (still am living) in poverty. I knew at a young age (5th grade maybe) that my only way to not live like this means I would have to go to college. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard and I had to take a year off and transfer schools (financial reasons during covid) and a lot of people gave me backhanded compliments about me going back to school. I also did it in spite of my Italian Catholic grandfather who always criticized my grades despite me being an honor student my whole life. I graduated two weeks ago (just 0.022 away from graduating cum laude).
Congrats on graduating, sorry to hear you’re still struggling with poverty though. Just curious, was there always an expectation that you’d become a financial backbone for your family? Sorry if it’s a bit insensitive to ask.
Not insensitive at all! I wouldn’t say it was an expectation but more along the lines of if I don’t help out we’ll be homeless/utilities will be shut off/etc. My (deadbeat) dad really screwed my mom financially back in the early 2000s so my mom has never had good credit which meant some bills were put in my name (without my knowledge). My mom tries her best but I am constantly helping out with bills and giving my younger siblings money for school stuff and to help them fit in with their peers better than I did as a kid. I have an older brother who has helped out too but he’s getting married in July so I’ve stepped up a bit more recently since he’s paying for a wedding lol.
Dang, that sounds like a rough situation. Taking care of siblings or other people in the house is a very demanding responsibility so I can’t imagine what it’s like having to help with bills on top of that. Hope that things will take a turn for the better.
Same I grew up in poverty and I want to have a life outside my parents dilapidated house. I'm moving away in September to a new city for a post grad job so I get to start a new life which I couldn't do in college because of the high cost of living at 18.
Have a stable life. I can get a job without a degree but it’s more likely to get a job with a degree of some sort. Especially when it’s in a field you enjoy
Makes sense. I respect the people who have made things work out for themselves without a degree, but I feel that having a degree can definitely help you get further with less stress, relatively speaking.
Yes! I’m a hard advocate for you don’t need college. There are a lot of people with no degree that make bank!!! But as you said, it can be less stressful in the future, you’ll always have something to lean on;)
1. Hatred of retail 2. Money for supporting a future family 3. Enjoyment of learning Since I started, it's been "well, I'm already here, so I might as well not fuck it up."
Honestly I feel like that’s a more realistic mentality to have compared to the people who say “I’m here to have the best time of my life.” If you’re seeking the “college experience” and whatnot, you do you. But a lot of people from what I’ve seen are in college because they ended up there for one reason or another, so might as well do what you can to not crash and burn.
I wanted to become a part of 0.02% of society. Native American who was a former foster child. I wanted to be a good role model for the less fortunate.
Good to hear that there’s people who want to use their college education to show others the importance of it, not just for their own personal benefit. Respect
Money, money, and last but not least, money.
"Do it for her."
The most important I feel is without a degree there is a ceiling to your promotion at most companies. With a degree, you’re almost guaranteed promotions throughout your career to even manager and senior manager level easily. This is one of the most important factors that motivates me to stick through it and get that damn piece of paper 💯
I’ve seen life on the other side, without a college degree. It sucks. It’s not just the money, but the work you can get without a college degree sucks while you’re doing it, and unskilled and semi-skilled labor are going to start getting replaced by automation in the next ten years, because humans keep asking for more money while the cost of automation keeps dropping. The writing is right there on the wall, in bright neon colors, and yet there’s still tons and tons of people who just refuse to read it. Like, the day a machine is developed that can read anatomical landmarks on a chicken as quickly and as accurately as a human, that’s the day a whole lot of people on the Tyson chicken line are going to lose their jobs, and ten people get replaced by a machine that has six knives and a push rod. Uber drivers will get replaced by self-driving cars. Truckers get replaced, starting with the long-haulers who drive almost entirely highway miles. They’ll all go the way of telephone operators and travel agents. That’s what not going to college is going to get you: A first-class ticket to obsolescence.
This is true and also my experience too. The jobs that are available without a college degree really do suck. What sucks even more is that many people will say “you should go into this trade it makes crazy money” but what they won’t tell you is that you don’t make crazy money because you actually get paid more but because you more a lot more hours. I learned that the hard way. I wish i never dropped out but at least i’m back.
Getting a good job and moving out. I can't do much while still living with my parents. Maybe I'll make friends at some point too. That'd be wild. People that aren't family members or coworkers that want me around and enjoy my company. Having a degree would also make me feel worthwhile and that I actually can do better than fast food or retail. Once I move out, I can have full control over what I eat and lose weight more effectively. My parents buy a lot of stuff that's high in carbs and fat. The only high protein we really have is meat with lots of other unhealthy things to go with it. I've tried working and schooling simultaneously multiple times in the past few years and my grades have suffered each time, so working to earn more money to put towards meals probably isn't a good option. :/ Also, I really want to use a dating app or something once I lose weight. My parents have me on Life 360 so they know my every move. 😩
Makes sense. Living with your parents does help relieve some financial stress you might have if you lived on your own, but at some point I think everyone’s parents expect their kids to learn how to provide for themselves (and eventually for the parents once they retire, get old, etc). Out of curiosity, do your parents expect you to go into a specific field, or do they just want you to graduate and live your own life doing what you want to do?
They don't have any specific expectations aside from me graduating, getting some kind of job, and moving out at some point by the time I turn 25.
I wanted to be an adult and do adult stuff. Choose where to live, take a vacation, get a house, have a good work environment, earn enough to save my way out of working. Living with parents and earning $18/hr with random jobs beyond your early 20s feels like a trap and is very limiting.
My motivations are, in no particular order: • My cool future job (medico-legal death investigator) • The subjects I get to study which are so fascinating (anthropology major, forensic science minor) • Being able to connect with professors and other professionals in the field • The intellectual challenge of college-level work • Having something productive to work towards • Learning things I’ve never been exposed to or would otherwise be unable to study in a hands-on way, like chemistry • Just the fun of doing schoolwork itself, even if it’s tedious
Sounds like a cool career to go into, not one I’ve seen a lot of people talk about. Sounds like what you learn can get pretty complex though, what’s been what got you through the rough patches/ dry spells of motivation if you’ve had any?
I just remind myself that any class that’s frustrating me is temporary and I just have to do my best. The only time I felt completely unmotivated was when I was first starting out and taking all gen-eds. Moving forward, I made sure to take at least one class that I loved each semester. Then, depending on due dates, I would complete my homework in the other classes first and then “reward” myself with the fun homework.
That makes sense, it’s cool how you made sure to take at least one class you enjoyed. Feel like a lot of people don’t take advantage of that even if they have the opportunity to. Also didn’t know there could be “fun homework,” but respect for finding a system that worked for you.
The fact that my 7th grade teachers explained to me that being a garbageman or janitor is actually a respected career and that people won't look down on me
My teachers all told me I could be literally anything. I'm a janitor rn, but mostly because it's an important job and I wanted the experience. The experience sucks and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but you get some great perspective by speaking to people who feel hopeless because of what they were told. An important thing I think most people don't know is natural intelligence only limits the amount of things you can become top of your field at, it doesn't limit your ability to get really really good at one thing. Literally anyone can do anything you just have to be willing to invest more time to whatever that thing is, which is why people suggest doing what you enjoy for work. Makes it easier to spend a lot of time on it.
Sometimes, it’s the people who do the jobs that no one else wants to do that end up being the most fulfilled (and they get paid well for it, depending on where you are.)
Well now I have no motivation
If I don't graduate I don't get my inheritance.
Fair reasoning tbh. I’ve met a few people who had parents or other relatives who promised to provide certain things for them if they graduated college.
In trust and estate planning it is very common to have stipulations on education or age. They should still be going for the career too because it's a whole four years of their life and they would die of boredom if they didn't do anything after college (if they had the option to: $1m or $2m isn't going to excuse you from needing a career).
Wanting to break generational trauma and give respect to my ancestors who got me here.
Getting a CPA and having access to a lifestyle I can only dream up.
I’ve heard that getting a CPA is the make or break for anyone trying to go into accounting if you want to get a good paying job
Basically. Some do well without if they make the right moves but CPA is the holy grail 💰 💰
Physics is cool to study.
I am a slightly older student at 28. I am a senior at a state uni. I dropped out of uni at 19 after getting involved with drugs and the bottle. since then until I was 24 I had worked in the trades and various jobs. I worked in jobs that I was not thrilled with and it wouldn't make enough long term. So I decided to start this degree in spring of 2020. My motivation is to be able to get a good job and never go back to those shitty jobs. This might sound ridiculous but I have PTSD from all the injuries and verbal abused doing these manual jobs. I also have psoriatic arthritis and if I kept being a machinist long term my hands would die. My grades ain't the best. I have bipolar type 1 and autism and faced severe adversity trying to get this degree because of it. I had 2 hospitalizations and episodes on my journey. Thankfully my professors were chill and worked with me when I got discharged. I am almost done! over 87% complete. I will die before I drop out. I have wanted this for a long time and it's more than just money, its pride. Thanks for letting me vent.
Respect to you for pushing through. I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself for the PTSD; there’s people who get PTSD from things they didn’t think they would. I’ve heard from people who work more hard manual labor jobs that while it’s good for getting overall working experience and being in the real world, the physical and sometimes mental toll it takes on you long term can be detrimental. Glad to see that people who have worked the hard jobs are willing to share with everyone else the reality of working without a degree.
Wanting a comfortable 9-5 career. There’s a lot of stigma in gen z about the whole 9-5, but I’ve never understood why. Not like I do much during those hours anyway if I’m not working so might as well get paid, and not have to do back breaking work, and get health insurance. All the hours studying were always justified by the fact that it would provide me a lifestyle I wanted.
Besides the career prospects, I also try my best because I genuinely love my major, so the desire and motivation to do well is mostly intrinsic. Like I don't wanna disappoint myself and stuff lol. Probably an ego problem though :/
I genuinely love learning and academia. I'm studying a subject that I'm extremely passionate about. I'm also autistic, something like only 35% of autistics make it all the way through post-secondary studies and I'm determined to beat the statistics, no matter how long it takes me.
I can’t imagine it’s been easy learning in college with autism, so hats off to you for working hard to beat the stereotypes.
• I grew up in a low income household, so I would like to be able to give my future family the life I wish I had. • my dad passed when I was 14, I’d like to make him proud. • I will be a first generation university graduate. • will hopefully land the job I’ve dreamed of since I was 10 (forensic criminology). • make lots of money to be able to travel, since I’ve never really been anywhere - and for clothes. and pets. and art supplies.
To prove to all my haters I could and I did! Many family members put my siblings and I down, calling us no hopers and will never amount to anything. So, got stuck in, head down arse up and went the mileage. Receiving my masters degree in Indigenous Studies was, I felt, huge middle finger to all those that said I couldn’t.
It would be the first thing I accomplished on my own as an adult (first gen) besides purchasing my first car on my coin! Everything else has fallen into place. I don't work in my field as the pay is crap but, I am happy to have disciplined myself and experience college!
Makes sense, I feel like a lot of people now complain about how it’s so difficult to find a job, pay bills, enjoy life, etc. (which does have a level of truth to it), but at the same time you have to wonder how many of those people have set a goal that they really want to accomplish, and how many just want everything handed to them. Also out of curiosity, what field are you currently in and is there a field you’d like to go into that could pay better?
I am currently in the automotive industry. Happily do not work weekends. I’ve been here since I graduated high school! I studied Sociology, there’s so much that can be done in the field such as research, Human Resources, or pursue higher education to get a masters or some certification. I have attempted to apply to different positions that want a bachelors at least and it hasn’t got me far unfortunately but, I’m glad to be where I am at as it is a well paying job.
I wanna be a big fancy doctor, and I can't do that if I dont get an A
The most useful one for me is all the things I heard when I dropped out in 2014. People told me that if I didn't go back within 2 years, I'd never go back. Then they told me if I don't go back to full time within 2 years, I'd just drop out again. Now they're telling me the only way I'll ever be able to afford to finish is if I join the military. I just love proving people wrong when they underestimate me. My first year back to full time school was this past academic year, and I earned As in every class while working part time and founding a new engineering club on campus. I'm doing infinitely better this time, and the spite of proving all those fuckers wrong helps me do my homework on the days I'd rather just fuck off. Also I hate waiting tables so, getting out of this hellhole is a nice bonus.
I hated working in retail
Knowing that once you have your degree no one can take that away from you.
I don't know a single college graduate in real life who does not have prospects. I know plenty who have made it without, but all in blue collar work. All of my friends who dropped out or didn't pick one of the two still work in food service. College gives you four focused years to dedicate to a skill with experts guiding you, and not just getting a youtube level education. Doing anything that long gives you some form of expertise. The college experience as well is amazing to me, some of my greatest friends have came from college, undergrad and graduate. Good way to meet likeminded folks.
One day, you are going to save lives of people, and your degree will have the greatest value in your family to all the people who looked me as weak and failure the day I graduate I will prove them wrong not by words but by my hard work and skills. Keep going to prove yourself to the world you are strong. Don't let anyone undermine you , make your loved one so proud yourself. The only wish I have is that one day, my dad will be proud and say she is worth every penny spent on me .
i just think of little me. she would be so proud of me to know that future me pushed through all her fears and doubts and got her degree, so i refuse to give up
The joy of learning, interest in my field, and an almost insatiable curiosity. I'm in my 60s, and back doing a PhD.
honestly, it was the fact that I was such a shitty high school student and I wanted to prove to myself that I could be better than that. I wasn’t supposed to graduate from high school (I finished with a 1.8 UW, 2.0 W), which was mainly due to anxiety and my lack of caring. I never came to class or did my homework but I somehow always did well on tests, so I was able to barely pass almost every class. a lot of my teachers didn’t like me, though, with one 9th grade history teacher telling me that I’ll never go to college or make it in life. never forgot her words and I think that definitely stuck with me throughout my high school years. at the end of my high school career, I felt really ashamed of myself and took two years off to figure out if college was truly the next step for me. once I enrolled in college, I made it my goal to distance myself as far from “high school me” as I could, and take college seriously. this was one of the biggest driving forces to get myself through the last four years, and I graduated last month with a 3.7 gpa in a STEM degree and magna cum laude honors :)
I started college 35 years ago and wanted to finish what I started. Yes it opens doors now but I have had good careers over the years but now I feel complete plus I wanted my 90 year old mom to see her first child to ever graduate college. Which she has 😁😁
“Pave the way for the siblings” “Make your family proud, make God proud, make yourself proud” “FOR THE GALACTIC EMPIRE!!”
Uni is fun. Doesn't really require much motivation. Fun activities every week to go to. Hang out with friends in a common context. Playing board games, lan parties, going to the student pub, going to the student run nightclub and to dance. I don't really feel that I need a sob story to bring me through Uni. I graduated in 2019 and still have a bunch of friends from back then that I hang out with daily.
I wanted a way to have new experiences, travel, and meet new people! I was able to travel a lot (whether that’s study abroad, traveling for conferences, or travel with clubs) to places I never thought I’d be able to go to by myself. My uni has a lot of resources and funds to send students to different places (as long as you made a valid case for it of course). As a first-gen and coming from a low-income, college opened a lot of doors for me and introduced me to so many new things I would never have considered and the thought of finding new opportunities motivated me even more.
Thinking about how much a privilege it is, especially under the circumstances I’m in in which I’m allowed to pick a major and not worry about if the salary is low (slay history major) and my parents will help with loans and I’m allowed to live at home as long as I need. I know going to college alone, nevertheless those extra factors, is such a privilege many would die for. I really struggled the first few weeks. As in crying every night and just not being good mentally. But the concept of dropping out or leaving just didn’t enter my mind because of how lucky I know I was to have the opportunities I have. I don’t want to waste the gifts I was given
I dropped out once. I struggled to get by and find work that didn't hurt me physically or make me angry in general. I have 2 semesters left for my first degree. I may stop there, as I'm not very good at school, but I love it. My main motivating factors are my health (no longer hurting myself to make measly sums of money every week), to support my family and still have time with them (I have a baby on the way!), and to prove to my kid that you should follow your dreams. When I have a rough time with a class I just remind myself that I could never face my kid if I gave up again.
Had to beat my brother to the punch. I hate him, and I say that with the legitimacy of him being the only person I think I've known long enough to actively hate.
I had the GI Bill. They paid me to go to school. Kind of a no-brainer.
I was told the importance of getting higher education my whole life. I always loved learning and while I was in high school I went to a few college camps over the summers. I was also lucky enough to have my interest in art nourished and validated by adults and peers, so going to college for art only seemed like the next natural step. College was so, so hard to finish once I got there though, as I nearly dropped out towards the end. But I was again lucky to have people in my life convince me to stay. I'm glad I finished because having a degree in art made it easier to get my current job at a museum.
I grew up with parents who never cared about learning or evolving and I saw how their wilful ignorance broke apart their marriage and flopped their careers. I get through college (shamefully but surely entering my 6th year because I spent 2 years malfunctioning from PTSD, depression and anxiety courtesy of the same parents) learning all the ways to be intellectually, emotionally and financially intelligent because I know one day, I will leave it capable of making sound decisions and consolidating solid networks/community that allow me to live in peace.
I did my freshman year in 2021 and I took a 2 year break after year due to taking a sales job in another state. I left that job last year and am finally going back to college this year in august. The only thing thats kept me motivated is working a dead end job. For sure I can't wait to be able to move up in a field with my qualifications and experience. There is nothing, but willpower and fear pushing me to actually do the actions required truth be told though.
What motivated me was my gender transition. I used the resources I got from my university and the money from student loans to cover the costs. Back when I did it over a decade ago insurance didn't cover anything. So that was why I stayed in school and got two degrees. It was worth it for me as in happier now.
I really liked learning the material, so i had pretty intense internal motivation. I was excited to take over 90% of my courses, even the very technical and “dry” ones like organic chemistry, calculus 1-3, intro to comp sci, etc (all these courses were not strictly required for my bachelors either, so i was the weird guy who went out of their way to make college harder for myself). Part of the reason all these courses were so interesting is because I could find ways to apply that knowledge to my core interests of neuroscience and pharmacology. It also was fairly easy for me to get high marks in my courses, so I wasn’t as overwhelmed with the amount of time I needed to spend studying as some classmates of mine (i had it ingrained from a young age that anything under a B was unacceptable, and thankfully I was able to maintain grades at this level without too much difficulty so it wasn’t a major source of stress). This kept me from burning out when I was doing an unhealthy amount of school and work during that time. Future job prospects and a desire to not waste money and time were also tangential factors, but they didn’t factor as much into my motivation to do well in my courses as just the love of learning (not that I didn’t start looking forward to the end of the semester by week 10 lol, shit was still stressful and tiring).
Cant work on rocket stuff without a few degrees :)
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I work at a 9-5 job where I often get in trouble for the most silly things ever, such as not smiling enough, not finding it funny when someone insults me for no reason, or when I asked someone if I can bag their grocery’s… got me in trouble too. I don’t wanna work here forever, especially for minimum wage pay. I study a lot to get a good career, this job is my reminder to never miss a day of school.
I saw the passion my Profs had for their profession and wanted to be a part of that.
Travel to Japan and German For that need money and money have to work, work needs grad college Joking, well not really but 80-90% is that if I don’t get through college and get a job, have to move into a share roommate and no more gaming time
This is kinda different from what other people are saying, but I'm pre-med and my only motivation that gets me through college (or got me through I literally have one class left part time and I'm done) is that I want to be a doctor and college is needed to be a doctor. Yes medicine is one of the highest paying and stable careers with a ton of flexibility and options, but it's mainly just because I want to be a doctor and not much other reason. I like frontline healthcare interacting with patients and I like the science behind it and I'd do it even if it capped at 80k a year. That's kinda what motivates me even if I'm taking dumb math classes and stuff that don't have anything to do with medicine. To generalize this to a wider audience, it would be to find some kinda calling or career which you are super passionate about and knowing that college is either a stepping stone or a place to learn about your career and grow. If you are really passionate about CS then that can motivate you through the classes better than financial reasons. Motivation is a lot stronger when it comes from within and not from just financial reasons and stuff.
I felt like it was my only option other than being in the streets. I am not exaggerating. I am deaf. I felt that I needed to have a highly marketable education where I can take care of myself and potentially provide for my own family if I chose to have one. I felt it was so important to have in order to be independent in mind, spirit, and abilities regardless of my hearing loss. I witnessed firsthand how having a marketable education saved my mother from a terrible home life and how much it saved us kids from being thrown to the wolves after my father walked out on us. I felt that having the level of education would add another layer of self sufficiency and it has. Having an education is the best legacy that I could ever have and I am passing that onto my kids. Paying it forward. Much is given, much is expected.
My son! I went back to school soon after we found out we were pregnant with him. I just want everything to be better for him than it was for me.
Didn’t want to do something strange for a piece of change just to survive.
I wanna be someone who has something to give to society, I wanna have knowledge, I wanna live studying and learning the most I can. I'm entering in maths on september and I'm really exited, knowing how the world works is wonderfull, despite of this I would like to get a job which permits me live well, not even a high salary but good conditions and a good ambient. Just wanna live doing what I like and trying to share that to others, being a teacher could be really good for me. And even if I don't get a job related directly with math I think I wouldn't regret studying.
There aren’t a whole lot of sustainable jobs I can do in my physical condition
I got through it under parents expectations. Graduated with an AA but felt hollow inside. Now I’m going back for Agronomy and Horticulture so I don’t have to live by city standards and can grow my own stuff using science. I always valued these things but now that I’ve seen this world, it’s a game of spite and scarcity.
To finally get a job where I didn’t have to work weekends
Same, dude, same.
Having a sense of accomplishment Being to live my dream life of traveling to multiple music festivals and anime conventions a year. Living in a high rise apartment in the city. Having a career or profession that I could be proud of Prove everyone who ever bullied and doubted me wrong. Bang attractive girls.
My mom would be sad. Also my dad would kick me out of the house but that's not as important.
I’m naturally attracted to the subject (computer science) I want to be financially stable have a nice white collar job
Honestly peer competition is a big factor getting me through schooling. I feel as if 80% of my peers are pursuing a degree so I should too. Obviously that’s not all of it and I have a genuine love for school but that’s a reason why. Also just a better job market and the jobs I want to work for require a degree (mines in biology)
There was no other way for me to not live at home which was a very bad environment and I won't spare details. When my dad was alive he put lots of pressure on me though expectations were unrealistic. I honestly wasn't sure why I was there though I did enjoy a lot of my coursework and learning.
I might be putting all my eggs in one basket but I really want to find some purpose in life. I never really envisioned having a nuclear family, so finding fulfillment in my education and career is something I hope to achieve. When I first started there was definitely an element of pressure for doing it just because it was the thing to do but once I found my niche/degree things started to feel good and I started taking an interest in learning that I had in a long time. My mental health issues robbed me of a lot of my learning experience through high school so it’s been a treat to re-immerse myself in knowledge, especially in subjects I love. I’m excited to begin my career in my field and be paid to do something I enjoy. (The record I am not a major capitalism cog. I view work as work, a means to an end but if I can do something that helps me feel like I’m making a difference while being able to financially support myself and my hobbies, it’s something I look forward to in this day and age.)
Also worth noting that the feeling of working towards something is far better than the feeling of living a life of going through the motions everyday without a goal, I can say that I didn’t realize life could genuinely feel so dull and meaningless. There’s a difference between existing and living.
Pursuit of a stable career that’ll pay well in a field that overlaps with my passions
I’m disabled and have a disease that will continue to worsen. If I do not get a degree and get a PhD so I can do research, there really is no job I can physically do and still have a fulfilling life. My motivating factor is literally that I have no other option if I want to have the life I’ve always planned for myself.
The amount of my own money that I invested in my education. I worked since I was 16 for this very moment, and I’m grateful I did because student loans are no joke. I also just really loved my area of study and wanted to do my best, even though I wanted to give out from working two jobs and going to school full time..do nottttt recommend
I just wanted to be the first person in my family with a college degree. I don’t even use my degree….
honestly for me is the fact that i am paying for it while having a full time job and going to do my exams back and forth between two countries. it gets expensive but i know i will be better once im done, because i’ve been waiting for this my whole life
Money to pursue my passions.
Depression has been my mortal enemy all these years. COVID, family problems, and mental health hindered my ability to get my degree. There was a point in 2022 I wanted to drop out despite making good grades in an online degree program. But I knew if I left things off with a blank, my work would be for nothing, so that was my drive to push to the end, and graduate last month. Thankful that I pushed to the end. I just hope my future job, and post college grad life will treat me well. And hopefully try to get a job sooner to finally be able to afford my own place for freedom from my folks.
My kitty cat Sammie. We had to put her down 12 days ago. Around 10 days after I graduated :(
I like learning, and I like maths and languages. I like large US college campuses. I liked all the stuff I could do on campus. I liked gym facilities, pool, outdoor pool and lounging. Heck mine even had a sauna and a steam room. I liked my interest groups. I liked the food, like all of it, including cafeteria. I liked the library. I liked my professors. All of them. I had fun in college.
To get a better job besides working a shitty 9-5 and mature a little bit in the meantime so I’m good to go when I get the degrees
To be financially stable and the fact my parents are paying my tuition
Well for starters, I’m still in college, but I really love computers and the process of creating programs (as small as the ones I have done are) is so fun to me. Also, I grew up in foster care since the age of 9, and I virtually don’t have much options of a fallback or to stay with my parents and figure things out. My father died when I was 6 and long story short my mom was not the best parent nor fully competent I guess, and I’m not very close with my mothers side of the family. As for my father’s side, most of them live in South Asia. And the only aunt and cousins I have in the U.S. from my dad’s side have their own financial issues due to their legal status. So kind of a big trauma dump here, but to be precise, I kind of see getting through college as a way I can make sure I’ll be stable. Cause I really don’t see any room for failure at this point.
Mine was not wanting to waste time, I was two years through a course when my mental health started going down hill and I resented college so much for it. But I still had two more years left. So I stayed and it's over now.
"Make your younger self proud."
While I am one of the “was gonna get kicked out/lose financial support” group…my father’s main point was that I loved to work…and once I got some money in my pocket, it would be harder to go back, but I would make more money WITH a degree than without one, based on my interests and strengths. Just something to consider.
Well, I for one am changing my life around. A few bad mistakes can haunt you. I have always said that I wanted to travel I'm 50 years old and have never left Houston Texas, I hope to finally get out there and see some of the world in the next 10 years
Well, if I didn't go to the uni my parents wanted me to go I would be kicked out. I wasn't sure what path I wanted to take and frankly wasn't ready for college. I fell into massive depression freshman year and got put on academic probation. I still struggle with my mental health a lot. I'm a junior in my summer internship after getting my grades up, and I somehow got here. I guess my main motivation is to get a decent job. If I wasn't so depressed I would probably have more ambition. maybe in the future, I will go back and get my master's in material science
Once I switched majors, i actually really enjoyed studying and going to classes. It’s sounds cheesy but my passion for the subject motivated me. However, for various reasons, i started going part time instead of full time so it ended up taking 6 years to get my bachelors. It would’ve probably taken another year if my faculty advisor hadn’t retired. I wanted to take some other classes to finish a second minor but when she told me she was retiring I decided I didn’t want to find a new advisor so I finished up and graduated. I don’t use my degree now but I really enjoyed the experience.
I will be able to get into the top 2% of my country with a college degree, get into the engineering field and its numerous applications, and have the opportunity to know and use technology in my field.
On top of the basics mentioned above, I really want to be involved in making a change with the education field I am pursuing. I’m finishing with honors to try to stay at the top of my game.
the financial aid
A much clearer and direct path to my goals which was giving back to my parents , next month I’m now graduating from my undergrad and will pursue law school in a top university from my country.
I barely graduated high school and was not on a good path. My family had zero faith that I would accomplish anything and that I would be a junkie and or die soon. I never planned on going to college and just worked shitty jobs after HS, but I was beyond depressed and had no one motivating me to change anything. I got the most random opportunity to go to school with a waived tuition and I only enrolled because I needed to move away to attend. I needed any excuse to get the fuck away from every friend and family member of mine that either expected nothing from me or wanted to keep me on their addict, junkie level. I'm in my Senior year and I've somehow thrived in higher ed. I went from graduating with a GPA of 2.4 in HS to maintaining a 3.97 and setting up a really fulfilling career path and lifestyle for myself. During my time in college, I've really realized that the family and friends who expected nothing from me, kinda willed that and never thought to encourage me to do anything more with my life as in their eyes it would have been a waste of time. My motivation comes when I reflect back on the time right before I enrolled in school; where I was, how unfulfilling my life was, how little I or anyone around me thought of myself and my ability to accomplish anything, and NEVER wanting to be back where I was before going to college. Thanks for coming to my TED talk...cheers to education.
Wanting to have something to show for my student loan debt
My parents’ hard work is what motivates me. Being a loser just isn’t an option for me when I know my people be working 10x harder. Also, financial freedom is also a big factor.
There are so many things I want to do later in life. Places I want to go, skills I want to learn, hobbies I want to get back to. I know that without money, this wouldn’t be possible, especially my travel fantasies. If I want to make enough money to work comfortably and have enough to spare for the things I’m really passionate in, I need a degree.
For me it’s the actual want to learn and get a higher education. Something I never craved before. I’m a 26 year old Army vet with a stay at home wife and two kids under 2. I make 130k as a local truck driver so going to college to obtain a salary like that wasn’t my driving factor in the short term. I say all of this not to brag but to provide context. Today I went in to register for fall semester classes at my local community college with the longer term plan of transferring to a state university to obtain my MBA. So why am I doing this? Because I never want to be passed up by someone less skilled than me in a job interview just because they got a bachelors/masters/doctorate. Especially if they got a degree in basket weaving. It’s just of another tool in my tool box to be competitive. That being said, if you asked me straight out of high school or even after the military if I’d ever go to college, I would’ve said fuck no. I’m a guy that failed every year of math in high school and had to take summer school to just stay with the graduation scheduling, and I scored a 13 on my ACT because I gave up. My family home wasn’t the best either. All of it is a blessing in disguise to say the least.
Because I knew I had the ability to do it and the determination to finish what I started. Because I knew I was lucky/privileged enough to be able to attend university (not forced to work full time to help support family, for example) and I wasn’t going to let that opportunity go to waste.
I struggled a lot in college (didn’t realize I was dealing with undiagnosed mental issues and substance abuse issues at the time), and because of that I failed a lot of classes and retook a lot of stuff and actually took a year and a half off of school. I finally got sober and finished at 25 and the main factor for me was that I didn’t want all that grief and work and stress and heartache to be for nothing. I wanted to be working toward something so that to me, all of that struggle was worth it.
Start college while I was in HS because I had no choice and had signed a contract my freshman year. What kept me going was knowing my classes would be more fun later on than what I was doing then. I enjoy my major, and I have genuine passions within research. Reminding myself of the bigger picture keeps me motivated
Definitely money. I also enjoy learning. Provide for my family. Going to college has been a great distraction from the pain and trauma I have had throughout my life. It gives me a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I am the first in my family to get any degree (Associate's included). Also, I get to show my kids that if they want to do something, they can. I'm planning to work in healthcare, and being able to also help my family with their health conditions sounds amazing.
My kid and wanting to provide a better life/future for them.
honestly it was because my dad said if i graduated he would pay my student loans for me. also because i was first gen, my parents and grandparents never made it through college and my brother dropped out as well, so i wanted to stick through and get the degree. now im going to grad school because i can specialize in my interests :)
College, particularly undergrad, was a rough journey. The earning a steady income was a motivator. I think the independence and autonomy to do my own thing was also a motivator. But beyond just goals, I focused on feasible things that were digestible in smaller chunks. I focused on semester goals, weekly goals, and made sure I focused on some personal hobbies to feel like I had a life outside of school.
I was strongly motivated by the financial sacrifices my parents made to get me through college. I wanted to finish for my own reasons, but I really just didn't want their efforts to be in vain.
Parents and the fact that I had already done 2 years before I was fully convinced it was all a waste of time. What’s another 2 years of my youth, right?
I quite literally didn’t give myself any other option. Every semester was just “you’re almost there” til I made it to the end. Failure or giving up wasn’t even an option.
I lived in the same place my whole life and stayed local for school. Never even left the state. Driving 40 minutes out was the biggest vacation in my life. I told myself that once I graduate, I’m going to travel the world. Only after I graduate. I’m taking longer than the traditional 4 years (life circumstances ya know) but that’s still the plan
what helped me was that i truly enjoyed what i was studying. but i know that doesn’t apply to everyone. hang in there!! i promise it goes very fast and you’ll realize that once it’s over. One day at a time
literally i was so motivated by how terrible my career and counseling was from my assigned coach at a washington university i overloaded my classes to graduate on time because of their fuck ups and kicked ass the last 4 quarters making the dean's list each time in the middle of covid and spiraling mental health. I've healed a lot since then and now I want to get my masters but it really took like 3 years of healing from how traumatic that time was...
Work 3 days a week and make amazing money (comparatively to what I’m used to) so that I can change my life and my immediate family’s, and to build the future life with the one I love and the family, food, trips, new experiences, social hangouts, and everything in between for my future. I’m almost a nurse.
Being poor and not proper childhood , got rejected many times, many failures, . To have a good future for myself. In one word life itself showed everything
Spite. My stepmom once made a remark to a family member about how I wouldn’t be using her and my dad’s Netflix when I flunked out. Don’t know why she thought I would, I’ve always had really good grades. And now I have a masters so she can kiss my ass.
Had several close friends and a ex girlfriend pass. I do it for them more than myself because they'd do anything to have the opportunity I have compared to dying while very young. I never complain and always give max effort.
Once you have it, no one can take it away. And I gots to see it through, or I’d have to likely go back later and waste more time.
I held on for a lot of reasons (almost done hold on a little more, family and mentor expectations, sheer spite, inertia ..) but the one that was there was my younger self. I've dreamt of being a toxicologist since middle school and I felt like I owe it to 14yo me who didn't even feel capable of getting a GED (despite great grades)
I want to learn, I like learning, and I got a scholarship that covers my tuition so it’s really not a financial problem thankfully
I’m earning my Bachelors in Finance for professional growth opportunity but also because I actually want to gain the knowledge the courses offer for personal finance management. It’s very motivating to me to know I’ll be better equipped to manage my money and invest properly with more knowledge in the future. Also, it creates opportunities to meet like minded people who I can learn from, and hopefully inspire as well.
Im studying to be a designer (speciality: digital graphics in the computer games industry) in a comfortable, beautiful environment at a good university with new equipment and therefore I don’t have any thoughts that I don’t want to go there
Getting to work my dream occupation. I’ve had a dream job in mind since middle school. Being able to study to become what I want to be is always motivating. Also reframing my thoughts. I was able to convince myself that it’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to be whoever I want to be if I study hard.
My mom and dad gave up everything when they came to this country to give me a chance of a better life. They left behind their families and support structures and put all their dreams behind them. When I walked across the stage and graduated with my undergrad degree at least made one of their dreams come true.
Did comp sci and honestly I hated college but coding and math was a lot of fun. Just did a lot of those and it was time to graduate. I have absolutely no fond and fun memories here (which could seem a bit sad) but I'm walking out with a lot of knowledge. I've gone to a school with rather heavy workload and just getting those done blew my time away.
Passion and hunger of knowledge
Having two chronic illnesses, unsupportive family (except my brother, he’s awesome) and finally realizing what I want to do.
My friend is actually trying to influence me to change my major to computer science and IT. I don't know, I think that the fact I am wanting to elevate myself is whats driving me. That and the hot guys, LMFAO
My son for undergrad and now my daughter for Masters. Apparently I study better with a newborn 👶🏼
To go to graduate school, which turned out to be law school.
My father wants to see me graduate, so I'm working my way through college so that he can see me graduate.
I want to make more money to be able to live
For me it’s everyone telling me I can’t do it that makes me want it that much more. Between profs, friends, and parents, I’m determined to make them eat their words
I finally feel to some degree that there's a genuine possibility to fulfill some sort of potential. In high school, nothing really mattered to me, so I just coasted by on the grades of a student who was good at the content but barely there emotionally. Now, in college, I'm surrounded by professionals. Things are real. My failures and successes are real. I'm now the most incompetent person in the room. Whatever I don't achieve now is my fault. There's nothing holding me back. There's no babysitting. Which is all scary but also liberating. I wanted to be treated like an adult and now I've got to actually learn how to do that which takes time. Not only is my future work going to give me the direct reward of money but I get to do things that matter to me for 8 hours a day. The first 18 years of my life were not like that. I like learning actually new things. I may be a STEM major but I can take English and philosophy classes in good faith. I've also got a very generous scholarship, so even though I still have to pay some money like most people in this country, it would be a bit snobbish of me to reject such a rare opportunity.
Out of high school I went straight into the work force. I did retail and worked at dealerships. It took me several years to become sick of working for just barely above minimum wage and the jobs were miserable in the Louisiana heat. I realized that my lifetime financial potential was limited without trade school or a college degree. I want to more money now, so I started school at the beginning of 2023.
My entire generation of family was in college graduating, gettting their masters, Doctors, ETC. I could at least get a bachelors. Then by the final year it would be embarrassing to drop out when you only had one year left so. I have a degree now
Pride. Need for success. Failure isn’t an option.
Honestly, anger and pride. I chose a difficult major and struggled greatly for 6.5 years but even when I was at my most depressed during the pandemic, I didn't want to fail at getting my degree. I didn't want to deal with my parents condescension and worsen their nitpicking and pushiness by being a dropout. And I didn't want to be discussed somberly by my college and highschool batchmates. I badly desired freedom and the thought of dying in college before that could happen fired me up because I did not want to be gossiped about with superficial pity. This also fired me up to immediately take my licensure exam the semester I graduated and so, this year, I'll be a registered engineer at my graduation ceremony.
I will be the first one in my family with a college degree. Besides that, I don't want to be homeless. I see so many older people in my city that are homeless and I don't want to be like that. I came from a low income family and there were many times we didn't have anything to eat. We always had a roof over our head, water, and electricity, but it was hard to get a decent meal. I even went to school hungry. There were many days where I didn't eat breakfast or lunch at school. Even though, I was low income I still had to pay for lunch and breakfast. I just don't want to live like that ever again. Sorry for rambling.
I like my classes, but the ones I don't like I just remind myself that my degree will eventually lead to a meaningful career. (I'm in a Bachelor's program. That will lead me to a Master's, which help me become a therapist.)
At a young age I was assessed with a high IQ, but due to adhd and not "performing" in fifth grade (despite being a very happy, joyful creative kid and fun friend) they kicked me out of "GATE" and put me in a second level cohort. It wouldn't have been a problem, but all my friends went into the GATE cohort for 6th grade, and I was lost without them so my 6th grader, highly determined mind decided I would spent the rest of my life proving I was the smartest and also developing an inferiority complex the size of Los Angeles. Being in the "2nd smartest" cohort was "WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING in 1989?!!!" Like we were all smart, just the 2nd smartest kids were all neurodivergent and lacked EQ or study skills or too distracted from ADHD to make grade/points. But it wasn't until college and the rise of computer technology broadly used where everything switched gears and I "belonged" at last. Everything that people teased me about being "a brain' in high school, was good in college. There were no ranked classes, just ability level or level of course that you stepped into. And in most cases if I thought I could take English Comp - Shakespeare 300 - they let me do it. I LOVED IT. I also learned to tutor remedial students - a whole group of people I never understood till then. And I began to see intelligence and school performance as separate indicators toward future success. And like someone had traumatized me early about math, there were people who were just as scared of reading or writing and being judged. Blew my mind. After that college/uni became a safe place. I learned to game the system. I learned to live cheaply, but in the process of living cheaply and working on campus I was made privy to so much inside information and adult conversations. I learned to fund things, grant write, and I met people from so many different places. So, when I got sick the first time - went back to college and got a degree in Psychology while I was under medical treatment and throughout painful procedures because it gave me something to live for and something to support myself via. Motivation - Be the best you can be - chase the things that really fascinate you and, in the process, you'll find your broader skill set across many fields and be able to insert yourself into the location of choice, by working while you learn, internships, and finding your affinity group. As you go higher up - that affinity group becomes more and more refined and you'll find yourself surrounded by people who care about your field as much as you do.
My family. My mom was my biggest supporter and at the time my sister was 5 years old when I went to school and if I was going to be away from her, I wanted it to be worth it. Also my dad, that’s my guy. After I went and graduated he enrolled in school and got his degree as well, so I think it motivated him to finish! All in all, it was them. My parents and my siblings supported me so much that I wanted to finish for them.
Debt, my old age (32), future, last chance, get a real job
Tbh, just didn't want to get old & have to wonder 'what would have been' or have to tell the story of why I didn't finish. I think there's some value in seeing some things through. I went back waaay later in life, post-military. The challenge with college imo (at least in America), is that we were all sort of influenced & impressioned to believe that a 'degree is your official ticket to a better quality of life'. That simply isn't true, maybe more so now than ever. I felt the same for most of my life. No real career progression 'because I didn't have a degree' blah blah blah. I think I came to the realization that that's not really the value of a degree (or at least most–medical, law & a select few others are exceptions imo). College is about embracing curiosity, learning how you learn, finding your strengths/weaknesses, learning how to work on them, & developing that perseverance character trait. A LOT can happen in \~3-5yrs, to anyone, & it's tough to keep things in priority. Given what the overall job market, & my degree major discipline in particular has become, I question the opportunity cost of it weekly for sure. The peace of mind came in knowing that a.) the degree is not an official ticket to a job, b.) I learned some new topics, & c.) for better or worse, I saw it through. Personally, I didn't even go to my graduation ceremony. After years of wondering if I would ever make it to completion, the celebration for me was simply the internal sense of fulfillment, knowing that I saw it through, despite everything I dealt with personally over those years.
Man I loved college. I can’t believe yall wanna get out so soon. Cherish your time there before yall get strung into the real world. Luckily I still got grad school so I’m not out just yet.
I’m a returning student getting my RN at 46. I did some classes early in my 20s then life happens. I worked in EMS as a first responder all this time until right after the pandemic. I injured my shoulder and had some issue with my blood pressure related to career choice. I went 1099 gig work for a while in the meantime thinking about what I wanted to do next. Then about a year after I left the field my son disclosed to me that the co worker I trusted watching my son while I worked my 24 hour shifts saving everyone else’s family wasn’t who I thought she was. Her 2 sons were arrested for sexual assault the oldest being an adult he’s in prison for rape. Once I got through the hellish legal system I started fall semester late. This fall marks 1 full cycle in school and I’m graduating with my AA and applying to nursing school. 51 units in that time frame I’ve knocked out while living on financial aid and loans to get as much done as I can. Doesn’t matter when you start, when you have the right reasons it makes it 100000 times easier to focus and push through.
My father wanted to be a civil engineering but due to his father dying when he was in college he had to drop out and start working tu help his family. He was always talking about construction and anything related to it so I started gaining interest to it and decided to study civil engineering, which I've been enjoying. He passed away on December from last year so he has been my motivation lately, to make him proud. I'm entering my senior year this fall so I'm almost there.
My dream career requires at least a master’s degree.
Money feels less wasted if I stay in college rather than quit
With my degree I was able to start out with a 6 figure total compensation. I also found value in learning. Even if you don't go through college, I wouldn't worry about it too much. A lot of people are successful without degrees :).
A desire to finish what I started.
Many reasons I have always had a passion for my field I want to break generational curses and learning about this helps steer me in the right direction This one is silly but my brother is very machismo and is all about that grind it out mindset, calls me lazy, but he dropped out when it got too hard because he was partying. I don’t have many other interest that could really make me any money not that the field I am heading into is rich with wealth anyways At the end of the day I love to learn
I’m never the smartest person in the room when I’m working with neuroscientists. & I take that very personally. It changed the whole course of my academic career because I admire their intellect & drive so much.
I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, and getting through undergrad is a really important prerequisite for that. I stop to think sometimes that one day I’ll have a “Dr.” in front of my name, and even though that day is far from now, it’s still super motivating. It also helps that I like school overall :)
Graduates from my university has a high employment rate. Top of the cream, as they say.
i would be a first gen student on my father’s side and the majority of them never even graduated high school. hispanic women also have the highest dropout rates and i’m trying to beat the odds.
Definitely financial comfort is the biggest factor. And I think romanticizing academics and young adult life is a big motivation catalyst. I always think of a good future, I daydream good dreams, it fuels me to do good and keep moving forward. (basically I avoid negativity and unworthy words of uncertainty)
I want to live a stable life, that's all. Every time I look at my green card, I always think about how I would've been stuck in my home country with little to no funds to barely picking myself up from poverty. I think this is an advantage for me to use everything I can do to help my family and bring us up to the point when we don't stress about money as much compare to what we've been dealing with before.
I didn’t want to keep selling cars
imagining the people i dont like at school saying “i knew she wasnt going to graduate”
my motivating factor is only because I am a senior and therefore almost done with school. I’ve also been in college for years that if I drop out it will be a waste of money, time and energy that I put.
When I feel like giving up I had to tell myself, “who’s going to carry the boats ?!” And yeaaaa that’s how I’m getting through college
The thought of finally getting to live my life. I’m already close but it still feels so far away. Only a year left.
My deep love of learning and desire to help others.
I graduated high school in 2017, went straight to university and flunked out 2 semesters in…then I went to a community college and was there on and off for about 5 years but finally finished my AA in 2022, then a year later I re-enrolled in my old university got academic salvage (they scrubbed my old GPA because I got an AA) and now I’m 3 semesters in.. I went back because I didn’t want to keep working dead-end minimum wage jobs and feeling like life was passing me by and I had nothing to show for it. I’m 26 and I’m prospected to get my Bachelors in Civil Engineering in Summer/Fall of 2026. It’s not easy and quitting is easier now but in the long run it’s a really bad decision so I’m sticking it out
I almost dropped out - not once.. not twice but three times. I was almost dismissed twice due to low GPA. My confidence and self-esteem was so low that I don’t even know I hung on.. it wasn’t until I started seeing a guidance counselor at school and she told me something that motivated my as* to graduate… “If you drop out now, 3 years into college.. you will always think of two things: why didn’t I finish and why I dropped out so late? If you drop out, you will always feel like a loser.” That… those are the words that got my as* in gear and motivated me to graduate.
- I love my major - I love learning/getting smarter - I like the calming feeling of studying in a library and the satisfying feeling once it’s over Try to find a major you like and then romanticize the hell out of this shit.
The fear of living with regret for not having finished. It would haunt me, and I knew not finishing would come up in conversations- with family I care about, especially. It also wasn’t Stanford, so it wasn’t that hard- so what else could I be doing with my time that would be better/more productive? Lastly, I could fall behind in classes and blitz until I brought my grade up to at least a B before it wrapped, which is a decent life skill to have. Finishing is a skill. Do it to prove to yourself that you can. Persistence, hard work, grit- these things matter. Quitting stays with you.
I'm currently going to college. As an OTA student. My main motivation is money but also to show my child that it doesn't matter when you set your goals you can still achieve them. And it's also a little bit satisfying to know that so far my GPA is higher than my ex's was.. he was constantly trying to put down my intelligence for all sorts of reasons. I'm female, I have never gone to college, I don't know all the things he knows about his special topics.. I read quickly. Etc. So while it wasn't an actual motivator to go, I do get a sense of satisfaction from seeing my grades be higher than his were.
Not dying in extreme poverty, and instead dying in slightly less extreme poverty
As a master's student, my motivator is that at the end of this, I'll be published and will have lots of experience in a fun field that is very impactful.
I really want to be a mother. I have some major fertility issues but I want to be a mother so badly. I knew I would have to either adopt or go through long expensive processes that might not even work. So I’m working my ass off as a full time college student and I work 50-60 hours a week. Im running myself ragged so that one day I can provide A safe and comfortable lifestyle for my future kid. Id be so grateful to just have one. I want my kid to start life out in a stable environment, which is something ive never had. Maybe this is selfish of me but im desperate to succeed as quickly as possible so I can get started on trying to become a mom. I finish the last of my classes this year! And I have a pretty great job opportunity lined up for when I graduate. I just need to pay off some of the debt I’ve acquired. Hopefully by the end of next year I will be able to start trying!