College is probably not going to get me anywhere.

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I don't even want to think about how much I will owe back in loans.....when I am done with college, But what can I do about it now? I dropped out for a while and tried finding work which and was not sucessful....so of course the only way to not be broke that I know of was college......I could not get approved for SSI, could not find work so I am in college. I don't feel like I have what it takes to get a degree and even if I do I don't think I'll have any idea what to do with it. I know I can probably defer loan payments and all that if it does not work out....or at least I hope so. Is anyone else in a simular situation? and what options are there? I mean I feel like I am trapped going to college due to not being able to find a job but I don't feel like its going to help anything.

There is financial aid and federal grants (which you dont need to pay back) you can look into.

A degree.. in anything... will improve your chances of getting a job.

Depending on your skills and/or interests you can also look into a tradeskill. If you like cooking maybe can get a Chef certification (cordon bleu or from a college)... i know people that jump from one cooking job to another because they keep getting increasingly better pay/benefits offer from other restaurants that headhunt them.

You can also look into the military for training and jobs. I dont mean enlist but you can ask if there is some sort of civil service or base support job you can apply for.


The big question is: Have you decided what degree you'll be going after? What are you good at doing?

I got grants as well but still needed some loans, also I do not feel like I really have any good skills that would help me with going to a trade school. Also I do not think I could handle the military I already have depression, anxiety and PTSD so yeah. But yeah I am fairly good at writing, but I don't really enjoy it as much as I used to I mean I am struggling just to write a five page essay that is due on tuesday. I am enjoying psychology and sociology, don't know what I could do with a degree in either of those things or if even have the motivation to pursue a degree in general.

If you're any good at arithmetic, you could give accounting a try.

I am below average at all math, and I am quite sure dealing with numbers that much would drive me insane pretty quickly and well I don't really need any help with speeding that up. But thanks for the suggestion.

Alright... so good at writing and like sociology/psychology classes.

Your writing skills open these possibilities (that I can think of off the top of my head) if you major in English - Writing (or Lit. or Creative Writing)

- Journalism (newspaper, website, tv,etc)
- Editor (magazine, websites, books, etc)
- Technical writer (formal / legal documents, user manuals, etc)
- Creative writer (write stories with a subject/characters given to you..aka write the script for a south park episode or the background story of a new computer game,etc).
- Paralegal (you assist lawyers with research on cases and submit written reports) <- these make GOOD money.

Psychology and Sociology careers I'd say do require a lot of socialization skills since their focus is primarily people. Sociology also branches out into Social Work which might be a good career if you enjoy helping people in need.

You could also look into Anthropology or History as they are also related to writing and sociology/psychology (on a much broader scale). Both of those majors have a lot of job types you can do..and most of them involve little socializing.

Well the trouble is I am good at writing but its exausting, I don't feel like I would do well with a job that involves a lot of writing. and as hard as socialization is without it I get way to lonely so it would be hard to enjoy a job that I am at most of the day if there is no social interaction. and I cannot even fathom the idea of having an actual career.......I just wish I could find a job or some other way to live so I can quit college. But there are no jobs...and I do not know very many people at all.

While we are growing up, many of us are told that we need to get good grades in school so that we can go to a "good" university, and later get a "good" job. There is some truth to this in that the rate of unemployment is lower, and the average salary is higher, for people with more education (for example, see the first chart in this blog entry < http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/11/ ... employment > ). There is, however, a lot of variation around those general trends. There are people with advanced degrees who are unemployed or who are working low level/ paying jobs (so-called underemployed); see
"Why Did 17 Million Students Go to College?"
http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/ ... lege/27634
"Many With New College Degree Find the Job Market Humbling"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/busin ... f=business
There are also people without a university degree who are doing quite well. They are often working in skilled trades such as carpentry, electricians, plumbing, pipe fitting, etc. These sorts of jobs require additional training, some of which may be obtained through a technical university or community college, but often it is via apprenticeships.

Colleges and universities claim that it does not matter what subject you study, because all of their majors produce people with good creative and critical thinking skills, the ability to communicate effectively, and to work as part of a team. Such skills, they claim, are precisely what employers need. Whether or not colleges and universities do achieve this is questionable, as is whether or not these skills are needed to be successful in the typical modern workplace (as opposed to, say, your ability to play office politics). What is clear is that what you study can impact your employment prospects; see
"College Exposed: What Majors Are Most Popular, Highest Paying And Most Likely To Get You A Job"
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-col ... udy-2011-6
"Show This Chart To Your Child Before She Signs Up For A Humanities Degree"
http://www.businessinsider.com/humaniti ... ent-2011-5

There are other factors that influence employment prospects. For instance, I have known people with degrees in the social sciences and humanities who have gone on to lucrative careers in marketing and finance. These are bright, articulate people, who are not on the autistic spectrum. The following article is an example of these sorts of mountebanks:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 88556.html .
(It is possible that employers are more willing to overlook the autistic traits of people who have a degree in a technical field that there is high demand for; so-called STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.)

Finally, I do not know what country you are in, or how far along you are into a degree program, but if you live in North America, you might want to consider completing an associates degree first, and then decide whether or not you want to pursue further education. That way, at least you have a degree to show for your time and effort.

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you do.

There are ways you can live in the world without supporting "the system".

You could join a commune. The Federation of Egalitarian Communities is a good resource for info about doing so. http://www.thefec.org/

You could also work for a non-profit. One site to find such jobs nationally is at http://www.idealist.org/

Considering your interests, I think you might do well to find work in the medical marijuana industry. A job manicuring buds in a grow-op seems like a perfect Aspie job to me--or if you want more money and responsibility, as a clerk in a dispensary.

Lot's of people are in your situation. Where I live, people with Master's degrees are competing to get a job as a fast food clerk. For myself, it is impossible to get a basic job.

People were caught in the "go to college" hype. People who really did not need to go to college to be successful go anyway. The college loans are a bubble market now and when these students will be unable to pay back their loans due to poor economic conditions, these people who lent out loans will be in big trouble.

Unlike the housing market where they could take away your house, they cannot take away your degree. So if you cannot pay back, what can they really do?

The best thing for you is to network. I would do some community service and get to know people. Maybe, if they really like you, they will recommend you someplace.

I would like to get involved in the medical marijuana industry but I have no idea how, or where to even find information.

Well, I don't know exactly where you live but I recall you mentioning Colorado once. A Google search for "medical marijuana jobs colorado" had some promising hits. In particular, this one seemed interesting: http://cannapages.com/colorado/ It has listings for every MJ related business in the state. You could just go down the list, contacting each one within range of you to ask if they are hiring for entry-level jobs and offering to send your resume.

That may be something to look into...I guess one thing sort of holding me back from that is the rather intolerant relatives on my moms side of the family, but i should not let that stop me especially when it is one of the few things that I would like to do.

I agree that you need to do something you are interested in. You will be a much happier person.