Re:I'm taking a year off college to upskill/work. Advice?
by gumby on Monday June 19, 2023 @01:47PM
(#36394270)
I "stopped out" (a Stanford term I heard, though I wasn't at Stanford) for a year and I'm glad I did. Should have done it for two years (that would have been enough). I actually stopped for a calendar year (interrupted my second year).
But I already had a plan. That's very important. When I got to the end I'd re-enrolled and started back right where I'd stopped. I had a job for 8 months and a trip for four.
It did put my out of sync a bit with the kids I'd started with, but that was no big deal (and in some ways I was ahead). Otherwise school has its own calendar so it was no big deal.
Another self-inflicted problem: by my last semester, due to my work during the time off leading to work over the summer, was that I had a full time job thousands of miles from school. As a result I didn't finish my last semester in the last semester and had to pay for an extra one just to take one class. And I was pressured by my team at work to drop out and not worry about it ("You already have a good job"). So glad I didn't listen to them!
But I already had a plan. That's very important. When I got to the end I'd re-enrolled and started back right where I'd stopped. I had a job for 8 months and a trip for four.
It did put my out of sync a bit with the kids I'd started with, but that was no big deal (and in some ways I was ahead). Otherwise school has its own calendar so it was no big deal.
Another self-inflicted problem: by my last semester, due to my work during the time off leading to work over the summer, was that I had a full time job thousands of miles from school. As a result I didn't finish my last semester in the last semester and had to pay for an extra one just to take one class. And I was pressured by my team at work to drop out and not worry about it ("You already have a good job"). So glad I didn't listen to them!