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Yeah, which one of you had $150k to drop into the market at the time you would have entered college?
And which one of you ALSO had the wisdom and discipline to leave it the fuck alone?
I love how people point at college like it’s a bad thing. So what else is there? If you live in a major city 9/10 trade apprenticeships are booked out. Starting a business is very risky. They say to take risk young but you need a solid plan with alots of back testing or else you’re 50-100k in debt and severe depression. Or work for someone else as a low income worker. What fucking choices do we have if we’re not well connected ?
I joined the military in 2007. After my service, I became a mountain guide in 2014. Guiding took me across the U.S. and overseas, and it became a huge part of who I was. In 2021, I “retired” from guiding to focus on something new.
I went back to school using my GI Bill and earned a BS in Finance in the fall of 2023. My goal was very specific: I wanted to transition from adventure tourism into investment banking. I thought that degree would be the bridge from the mountains to Wall Street.
During winter break of 2022, I also wrote and published a book to help people get started with hiking and backpacking. At the time, it felt like I was stacking achievements—building a new chapter in my life.
But looking back, both the degree and the book feel like absolute wastes of time and money. I sold assets right before the election to fund that book’s publication, and I regret ever making that investment in myself. The degree didn’t land me in investment banking. The book didn’t sell. Instead of moving forward, I feel like I burned years and resources for nothing.
I still guided while studying, and during that time, I tore my ACL on the job. That injury has kept me sidelined since 2023. So here I am: unemployed, carrying a finance degree I’m not using, an injury that limits me, and debt from a book that no one really wants to buy.
Every dead body on Everest was once a highly motivated, ambitious person. And I was once that person too—driven, hungry, convinced that hard work would pay off.
But here’s the truth: I turned down guiding work on Kilimanjaro to focus on midterms. I’ve climbed Kili before, but leading it again would have been incredible—and it would have paid me to travel. Instead, I sat in a classroom chasing exams for a degree that hasn’t opened the doors I thought it would.
It’s a toss-up. Did I make the right choices? Honestly, I don’t think I did. But I share this because maybe someone else will see that not every path is worth the sacrifice. Sometimes the “right move” isn’t what everyone tells you—it’s staying true to what actually brings you alive.
Ah, how readily things can change in just 2 years …..
Tbh, here's one thing you should do. Go to community college first. Discover yourself before going for 4 years in a traditional college. Saves a BUNCH of headaches so you don't get into ridiculous debt without knowing what you want
This is such a personal decision, this analysis feels silly.
Do you enjoy hard labor or STEM work? Do you do well or poorly in school? What major are you considering? What school are you considering? Are you eligible for reduced tuition or scholarships? What non-monetary value (friends, knowledge, enjoyment, personal growth) are you getting from college?
My state (Georgia) covered 100% of my tuition costs through the HOPE scholarship. I made a lot of friends, picked up new hobbies, learned a lot, and graduated with a valuable major and good job.
For me, college was cheap, and I enjoyed it tremendously — and with a good major, it provided an immediate ROI. I don't think I'm ambitious enough to have succeeded like this out of high school, and I think I would be a less happy and complete person.
Many are like me. But some graduate college with a useless degree and can't find a job. Others drop out and make a billion dollars by 35. Some graduate high school, make no money, and go nowhere.
Don't write off college because YouTube or LinkedIn or CNN told you! Think about your own strengths, vulnerabilities, and opportunities.
You're presuming that the difference in earnings is immediate and invest-able. In reality, high school graduates face far fewer opportunities, lower wages and no benefits. Also, useless degrees drag down earnings. Stem degree earnings far exceed earnings without a college degree. The investment has to be smart to beat the average. Choose wisely.
What many people also fail to consider, is while chasing money, they forget to be actually somewhat good at what they do. You have far better chances to earn more with a degree in history than going to study engineering, while not being interested in it, while loving history. Even though engineering is generally a more profitable profession, if you suck at it, first, you will not get through collage; second, nobody will want to hire you. If you are not interested in studying, then don't go to university because it is a not guarantee for success. Also consider, that you can just go and study for fun because knowledge in itself is valuable, no matter which field it comes from, due to the fact that almost all disciplines operate on the basis of the scientific theory. You can read study in quantum physics as an arts major and understand the paper itself, despite not understanding the data presented.
6:44 so menial work pays cause your basically(and sometimes literally) working with poop, while jobs requiring degrees pays cause degrees are expensive, and you work to make a return on investment?
You don't even need to invest $150k in the market. About $30k when you're 18, invested in an index fund, should let you retire by 67.
3:00 "assuming historic market returns" lol, lmao
as if the last ~30 years weren't exceptional for their unprecedented high returns
that basically everyone agrees is unsustainable
This video is a complete waste of time
I went to school for free college and it has been paying off.
What??? Cannot believe what I've just watched. Stupid video. To manage your investments you need something in your head. Isn't it obvious that without proper education you won't be able to make smart decisions?
Spending time in the military and only getting a degree in my late 20's has taught me that the real reason to get a college degree is because it is now a minimum viable class designator.
An enlisted soldier can be as rich a they want, but they will never be accepted as a peer by the officer class because they didn't go through the minimum steps needed to get to where they are.
The same stigma exists to a slightly lessor extent in the real world because we naturally get close to people who have similarities to ourselves. People who have the same amount of money or success but no degree are subconsciously viewed as lucky. It's harder to empathize with their lives, and easy to assume they don't share the same values.
I vividly remember how difficult it was to be accepted by peers with degrees, and now on the other side I can see how much others struggle with the same thing. I do my best to make it easy on them, but it isn't as simple as it sounds.
So sure, a degree is likely to give you an easier work life, but it has a major impact on your social life as well. This is why I teach my children that a bachelor's is a must, but they should go to the cheapest one possible.
It’s better to get a mortgage over student loan
If you have such awareness why you are not using. If the only way to make money from what you learn is by teaching it, then it's useless.
If you’re not smart you shouldn’t go to college. You will either fail or end up with a degree that is pretty much useless.
There’s a lot of value in just being educated. Honestly I can say the things I learned were the most valuable things I got from college. Just pure knowledge. Of course I could have gone to a library or something, but no one actually does that… The pressure of assignment and tests and the fear of failing forced me to learn a large amount in a small time.