Part 8 – My Thoughts on College Education
December 20, 2013
It doesn’t take long to get caught up. Start here…
Families choose to homeschool for many different reasons and they start and end at different times. Some homeschool right off the bat. Others start in middle school. Some homeschool through elementary but then re-enter the public school system for middle school and high school for college prep.
Many are curious how long we plan to homeschool. The honest answer is, I have no idea. Literally. Not even an inkling. I imagine if we start homeschooling we won’t stop but, of course, I haven’t a clue how this is going to all turn out. It’s sink or swim. My hope is that it will be a beautiful journey and one day I will be ever grateful that I was brave enough to take that first step. Or we could crash and burn. There’s always that scenario.
Now, the obvious question arises. But what about college?
I went to college because I was told I was going to college. I didn’t really have a choice about the matter. Granted, I got to choose where I went and what I majored in, but going wasn’t up for debate. It was the next logical step and mainstream American said that if you wanted a job you had to have a degree. I started out as a physical therapy major. Until I met Chemistry 101. The thought of going through more of that made me want to run far, far away. At that point, I decided if I wasn’t going down the physical therapy track, I wanted the fastest way out of there with the most general degree possible. That’s how I ended up with an Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. I also finished my last two years online, which was an amazing fit for me. In the end, I realized there were a few ways that could have made my college days even shorter if I would have only known how to take advantage of them (AP, dual-enrollment, and CLEP credit).
Now, let’s talk about every single job I’ve had since I left college and how I got those jobs.
- Pharmacy Technician – Was working at Walgreens in the photo department and they felt I had the skills to handle a job in the pharmacy department. I received on the job training and prepared for the certification examination on my own.
- Executive Administrative Assistant – The Walgreens district office noticed my mad organizational skills and endearing personality (ha!) and asked me to fill a temporary position supporting one of the District Managers. This eventually turned into a permanent position.
- Medical Transcriptionist – I started pursuing the skills for this job through a distance learning program before we started a family because I knew that I wanted to be home with my child and 90% of this profession is done on a telecommute basis. My first transcription gig was working for a lady in my church who had her own transcription company with established accounts.
- Event Planner – Received a lead on this job from another PTO mom. Again, after seeing my mad organizational skills and endearing personality (hehe) she felt I would be a good fit to work on her conference team.
- Doula – Pregnancy, birth, and parenting is a passion of mine and I felt a calling to do something to support mothers and babies. I completed my birth doula and hypnodoula training and began taking clients.
Okay, so basically every job I’ve had since college has been because of additional training that I sought on my own or due to hard work with a little bit of pure luck thrown in. None of those jobs were really obtained by my fancy degree. I know a lot of people and I can probably count on one hand the folks who have careers in the field listed on their college degree. Most jobs land in our laps because of who we know. It’s all about networking these days and college is getting more and more expensive by the minute. So, what’s the point?
I’m not saying that college isn’t beneficial but I’m going to leave the choice up to my girl when the time comes. When I think about school, wether that be at home or not, I can already tell you that we aren’t striving for college in the Ivy Leagues. She can get a degree in half the time and for half the cost by being smart about it rather than going the traditional route. In my honest opinion, the only thing a degree is good for is showing that you have the determination to stick with something and finish it. Yes, most job descriptions want you to have a Bachelor’s Degree but they could care less what you major in and what school you went to. Exceptions to the rule would be for careers such as doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, accountant, ect. but there are a gabillion other jobs needing to be filled that don’t require a specific degree and training is usually provided on the job.
The homeschool years ahead of us will, of course, focus on academics but I will also be teaching life skills and character qualities so that one day she can woo others with her own hard work, determination, and charming personality. 😉 For now, we will just focus on the fact that she has graduated kindergarten and, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will somehow finish 1st grade too.
You tell me what you want to see in part 9. I could talk about
a) my choice for umbrella school
b) our home remodel to create space for a homeschool room
c) my thoughts on socialization
d) other – reader’s choice
Chime in via the comment section below or on Facebook.
3 Comments
corrie.mims
A or B!!! And I am in complete agreement so far. We have been homeschooling 3 years now- I wrestled with most of the same things you have. It has been a learning experience and we have made adjustments as needed, but it was the best decision I ever made!
Jennifer Callis
A! We used Aaron Academy in the past. I would also like to know what groups you will be joining. We only ever joined one official group and the creator literally quit mid-year.
Anonymous
D, how to juggle work and homeschool! This is something thats heavy on my mind right now because I plan to start homeschooling lil man for pre k in the fall, and I would like to keep my lil daycare open too, and take on the occasional doula client. Still praying on it. Also speaking of daycare you know I'm always here if you need someone to watch tlg! 🙂 in stoked that youre gonna homeschool. I've been hoping you would; its an awesome fit for you guys and youre going to be amazing at it. 🙂 -hp