Singlestalk: To be or not to be

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Michelle (M): Today, we write about a guy who is a college dropout. He would have been on his third year on a degree in business administration. He is 25 years old, works smartly and earns a relatively fat pay as one of the senior tech support agents in one of the major contact centers in Cebu.

He has a girlfriend, also 25, a call center trainer in another major contact center also here in Cebu. All things should be good, right? But the guy says he is insecure about being a college dropout. But it is hard for him to both study and work considering his work schedule. Although he considers himself stable with his work and says that when he and his girlfriend marry, they will be able to survive, there is nagging thought inside his head to finish school. He also still lives with his parents. He is asking if he should stop working and finish his degree, or go ahead with life considering that he’s already “okay.”

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Darwin John (DJ): I will answer his dilemma in the context of the importance of education, not necessarily because he’s hooked-up with a trainer. Sure, a piece of paper called college diploma is a not sure fire ticket to fame and fortune nor should it be considered as a prerequisite.

Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world but he is a math genius who dropped out of Harvard at the age of 19 to set up his own software company. But note that Bill Gates is a genius, not our average Pedro or Juan. And he left school with a measure of competence and grit superior to most people. The question here is, is this dude a genius? Is he exceptional or better that most? If he isn’t, I suggest that he makes the most of every opportunity at hand. Considering that he has the resources to do so, I suggest that he consider completing his education.

M: I am a believer that getting a good education is important. As they say, knowledge is power. But education cannot only be limited to the four corners of the classroom. While it is important to finish school, have a degree and have a diploma, being a college dropout does not necessarily mean that one is a failure. In fact there are a lot of school drop outs that have become successful. A Harvard degree does not necessarily translate to success in life but it can give one an added advantage especially when applying for a job.

I encourage the guy to continue with his studies. It is better to pursue something that might be difficult now rather than to regret not doing it for the rest of one’s life. I know of a lot of working people who are studying at the same time. I think time management and balance is the key. There might be a workable arrangement with your company that allows for doing both.

DJ: I agree. I must admit that at some point I also wondered about the relevance of learning to solve limits, functions, derivatives, integrals and infinite series. Why bother when I most likely won’t be able to use these in the real world? But education is not just about academics. It is about discipline, and learning from others. And it helps to have a structure like those we get in school. Besides, given how competitive the market is right now, I should say that having a degree is a plus. So why not go for it when he still can?

M: I belong to an industry where the minimum educational requirement to be employed is to be a high school graduate. We have a lot of personnel who worked as security guards while studying to finish a degree. Many of our guards took up BS Criminology and eventually became policemen. We had a guard who became a bank manager.

My dad had various jobs to support himself through law school. He even worked as a security guard for three years. He always tells us that the hard life did not make him bitter but a better person. Nothing is impossible especially for one who believes and hopes that life can be better.

DJ: I should tell this dude not to set limits to what he can achieve. This is not even just because he’s in a relationship. Someone wise once said that a man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. But a man with ambition and love is ever so alive. Seize the day!