I'm the only one besides my family who lives with me that did not complete college.

[Tony Ramirez]

Except for the family members living in my house, all my friends and acquaintances from church. The teachers from the yoga studio and even the students completed college.

It is just sad, hearing from them how their college years were the best time of their life. Meanwhile, college was the worst time in my life. It is when I discovered I had ASD. I had no friends in college, I failed most of my classes and barely passed a few classes. It just makes me feel stupid, and it's one big reason why I could not get another job when I was in my 20s. It's one of the reasons why I collect SSD and so little I am forced to live at home. But at least I have no student debt. My late grandmother paid all of my student loans.

 

[Crossbreed]

Officially, I only completed a one-year vocational diploma, but my military training counted as a two-year degree during a seller's-market economy.

But my autism has probably been the biggest reason for my unemployment/under-employment. (I am retired now.)

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Except for the family members living in my house, all my friends and acquaintances from church. The teachers from the yoga studio and even the students completed college.

It is just sad, hearing from them how their college years were the best time of their life. Meanwhile, college was the worst time in my life. It is when I discovered I had ASD. I had no friends in college, I failed most of my classes and barely passed a few classes. It just makes me feel stupid, and it's one big reason why I could not get another job when I was in my 20s. It's one of the reasons why I collect SSD and so little I am forced to live at home. But at least I have no student debt. My late grandmother paid all of my student loans.

There are "classroom learners", those that learn by themselves, some are more visual or "hands on" learners. There are skilled labor occupations that make some serious salaries, more than those with 4-year degrees. Often times, a trade school is better suited to those who are not classroom learners. Some companies, Caterpillar, for example will pay you to become heavy equipment operators, and the salaries are quite good for those jobs. Many states in the US are now giving huge scholarships to those who enroll in skilled labor training. These are high demand positions.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I am a visual hands on learner.

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

I am a visual hands on learner.

Me too More visual than practical sometimes too. I've never really considering going to Uni and probably wouldn't fit in there. However, I am the first person to have completed all years of high and primary school in my family that's currently alive at the moment

 

[Judge]

If i were to do it all over again I would have skipped college and gone to some kind of vocational school.

I waited until I was 40 before going to tech school for a year to be certified in website design. When I found work in that field it paid considerably more than my previous career as an insurance underwriter, in which a four-year college degree was required just to apply.

 

[Uppity Creek]

I did okay in high school, and had a reputation as being rather intelligent, but I collapsed during my first (and only) semester at college. I cut my losses and never looked back. I learned skills in the real world, and slowly they turned into a true career. I sit here now, 12-15 years from retirement, with a 401k, pension, good health insurance, and a handsome, steady paycheck. Nobody at my company has ever said a word about my lack of a degree. By the way, this is a white collar job, and I could not tell you who among my co-workers has or has not been to college.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

All I know was when I went through VESID to get a job after I lost the only job I had where everyone there was a college graduate. They looked for 3 years and I went in several job interviews. They all wanted College. I nearly got one job I was so close but they decided to hire someone with a college degree. After that they gave up and I applied for SSD.

What really ticks me off is that there people got tech jobs and they studied boring crap like humanities or philosophy and got degrees in those subjects yet they got the tech job that I know but because I did not have some kind of degree I did not qualify.

 

[Progster]

I nearly quit at university, it was only my own stubborness and refusal to give up that kept me going. I studied a 'humanities' subject (a language), and it didn't help me to get a job. The jobs I got were people-related and so not really suitable for me. Learning a trade or skill, or a science-related subject, or engineering, would have been much more useful. I studied what I did because it was a 'special interest' and not because it had good job prospects. I'm now most definitely behind peers of my age in terms of income milestones, etc. It's one thing I deeply regret in life - not having taken science subjects at advanced level at school.

 

[Shevek]

I knew a guy who worked as a civil engineer his whole career. Engineers were scarce in WW II, and a county needed one to sign off on any planned roadwork. They didn't check his references, and he bought some books on soil mechanics.
I flunked out of high school with a general knowledge score over US college grad average. I went to the library for what I found interesting, and then lectured to gradating engineers. I won big prizes, too, but without school, I never learned to work well with peers, and never managed to meet the business partner that my heroes recommended.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

Except for the family members living in my house, all my friends and acquaintances from church. The teachers from the yoga studio and even the students completed college.

It is just sad, hearing from them how their college years were the best time of their life. Meanwhile, college was the worst time in my life. It is when I discovered I had ASD. I had no friends in college, I failed most of my classes and barely passed a few classes. It just makes me feel stupid, and it's one big reason why I could not get another job when I was in my 20s. It's one of the reasons why I collect SSD and so little I am forced to live at home. But at least I have no student debt. My late grandmother paid all of my student loans.

I'm sorry to hear of your struggles in university. If I'd known that I was autistic during college...maybe I'd have had a better time? The only thing that kept me relatively sane throughout was my girlfriend at the time. University made me have some pretty rough moments and I wasn't the best person due to stress, burnout, and not being involved in my passion. I'm just...so angry when I reflect, because all my symptoms had been prominent but no one ever suggested I get tested.

But would I have listened?

 

[Tony Ramirez]

Having no friends in college made things worse.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I never completed college either. And I’m actually doing pretty well for no graduating. Can’t say the same thing about graduating high school though. With college I wasn’t quite there mentally as the severe bullying I had received in high school really affected me and I was still pretty unstable mentally and emotionally. And the fact that I was being verbally and emotionally abused and guilt tripped constantly didn’t help either. I didn’t apply to too many colleges in high school because my self esteem was virtually nonexistent by the time it came to filling out applications that I didn’t see myself as being good enough to be accepted in ANY college and that it wasn’t worth the effort if I was going to be rejected anyway. Even at the group home where I lived for two years I was pressured into applying and going to class at the community college by the staff and guilt tripped about not wanting to do it. My head just wasn’t in the right space and I only did it so everyone would leave me alone. I had several more serious issues that needed to be addressed before I should have started taking classes again.

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

I never completed college either. And I’m actually doing pretty well for no graduating. Can’t say the same thing about graduating high school though. With college I wasn’t quite there mentally as the severe bullying I had received in high school really affected me and I was still pretty unstable mentally and emotionally. And the fact that I was being verbally and emotionally abused and guilt tripped constantly didn’t help either. I didn’t apply to too many colleges in high school because my self esteem was virtually nonexistent by the time it came to filling out applications that I didn’t see myself as being good enough to be accepted in ANY college and that it wasn’t worth the effort if I was going to be rejected anyway. Even at the group home where I lived for two years I was pressured into applying and going to class at the community college by the staff and guilt tripped about not wanting to do it. My head just wasn’t in the right space and I only did it so everyone would leave me alone. I had several more serious issues that needed to be addressed before I should have started taking classes again.

Aww I'm sorry you had to go through that Sometimes it's best to play it safe if bad stuff like that happens to you. Sorry mate.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

My dad was disappointed but since I’ve been helping him with his business for the past nine years, he seems to have realized that I really don’t need a college degree to help him and that I still work hard to do a job correctly. Also my part time job doesn’t require a degree and I’m doing really well there and I rarely call off which they appreciate as we have some employees who seem to call off once every other week.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

There was one class in college which was world music and I actually enjoyed the class, yet I still failed it the first time. I took it again in the summer and the professor was sorry for me and gave me a D which is still not passing in college. After that, I dropped out. If I could not pass a class I took twice I enjoyed, then there was no way I could complete college.

I told my therapist that is sucks I can't get a job in computers because I don't have some stupid piece of paper that says bachelor on it.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

If i were to do it all over again I would have skipped college and gone to some kind of vocational school.

I waited until I was 40 before going to tech school for a year to be certified in website design. When I found work in that field it paid considerably more than my previous career as an insurance underwriter, in which a four-year college degree was required just to apply.

Now with us baby boomers retiring and getting older we need more like you.

 

[Judge]

Now with us baby boomers retiring and getting older we need more like you.

Ironically I'm a retired baby boomer as well.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

There is a real shortage of skilled workers here in Ontario we are bringing in immigrants to fill in as quick as we can.
MBA's cannot plumb, work as electricians, make good drivers. the issue I see now is the immigrants we prefer are highly educated; A better choice would be ones that we be educated into various trades. with global warming this should be a great place to live in ten years. my brother retired just before me he was a millwright, people like him need to be replaced. My sister wants to retire she is a geologist/economist. my nephew cannot find a suitable place to live. Cannot find enough trades people to build housing. A shortage of drivers, trucks is a major issue.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

Officially, I only completed a one-year vocational diploma, but my military training counted as a two-year degree during a seller's-market economy.

But my autism has probably been the biggest reason for my unemployment/under-employment. (I am retired now.)

I'm sort of in the same situation as you. Autism and retail were the cause of my burnout, therefore leading me to discover my autism, and here I am back in retail trying to work through it despite my autism.