Why I advise against dropping out of college (Despite being a dropout)
The most difficult decision I ever made in my life?
(Or at least the short part of my life that I’ve lived so far!)
Choosing to drop out of college.
Dropping out wasn’t so cool back then… in 2018.
Now, I see it’s pretty common and so many folks are advising others to drop out of college.
Still, I advise people against it.
Why?
Most of the time, it’s not worth it.
If this is the first time you’re reading an article by me…
Hi, I’m Rahul Choudhary and I’m the founder of Beef Up Media, where we provide full-funnel marketing strategies and marketing/conversion consultation to businesses that want to elevate their brand and dominate their market.
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My backstory?
I wanted to be a software engineer since I was 12.
But in India, to get into a good engineering college, you need to crack some entrance exams.
Quite tough ones.
Unfortunately, I Couldn’t crack the exams.
Twice. Two years in a row.
It made me feel quite disappointed & embarrassed to waste my parents’ money.
I put my sweat and blood to crack those exams and when I couldn’t do it… I felt quite disgusted with myself and thought that maybe engineering isn’t for me.
I gave up on it.
But in India.. having a degree is really important for social status.
Both for yourself and your family.
So I took the advice to get ‘any’ degree.
And went with a degree in arts with economics.
But soon I realized this isn’t something I wanna do and I can’t waste any more of my parent’s money and my time.
(Talk about being indecisive!)
As a result, I dropped out.
No idea of the future
I didn’t do it because I had a business.
Or I had something else in my mind.
Hell, I didn’t even know about the online marketing world back then.
I did it because I felt like a worthless piece of sh!t.
And it was something that I didn’t want to do.
So I left without any idea what I would be doing.
What’s wrong with the “drop out” advice?
Now, it breaks my heart when I see so-called ‘digital entrepreneurs’ recommend young kids to drop out of college.
“Pursue your own thing.”
”Get out of the rat race.”
”Escape the matrix.”
”Be free.”
These are the messages they promote.
A few weeks ago, I saw this tweet by a ‘digital writer’ urging people to drop out.
A guy commented saying that he has only 4 months left and he’s also pursuing his idea on the side.
The reply from the ‘digital writer’?
“You can do so much more in those 4 months”.
Can you imagine how dangerous this advice is?
Yes, our education system is flawed
But if you’re studying something that grabbed your interest, do not drop out because of a minor inconvenience.
Or listening to some Internet dude who wants to make money out of your desperation.
Not everybody can be an entrepreneur, writer, or marketer.
(Sorry to hurt your feelings!)
At the same time, we need engineers, scientists, doctors, statisticians, and academics.
Especially for society to function properly.
What About Your Passions?
Want to pursue your passion?
Build a business?
Do it on the side.
Once you’ve reached a point where you’re positive this is something you want to do, quit your regular thing!
You are young.
You have the energy.
You have the potential.
You can manage it with some effort.
Not to brag (yes to brag!), I used to function on 4 hours of sleep for a whole year when I was preparing for my exams.
I could manage that.
I knew what my body was capable of.
Find out how your body functions the best.
Make the most of it.
Do not choose what may seem like an easy way in the short term.
Or you’d live with regret for the rest of your life.
I know I do.
