I went out this weekend to see a show. I had some time to chat with the security guard at a venue. He was a Gen Z man who explained after some conversation that he was interested in improving himself. He did not think that formal education after high school would be useful. In fact, he said that he would be better off not attempting college because of concern about the possibility of mounting debt. I think he was saying what all Gen Zers have been saying. He was interested in bettering himself and improving his life. The guard said he was working 70 hours per week and then also investing his money wisely. He had support from his older sibling who gave him youtube videos for helpful advice. He also mentioned he was interested in investing in property and flipping houses though he had no idea how to get started in that field. We chatted for a while and he was a charming man. I wished him well on his journey knowing he was making the choices that were right for him. He knew himself the best and if he felt that more formal education was not the avenue for him, I could understand. When I suggested doing a trade, he seemed a little more interested in that, but still largely apathetic to more school. He found that working would be more helpful for him in the long run and he also planned to spend more time investing. He knew about compounding and how over time he would make more money placing his money in the stock market. He told me he was buying individual stocks and he was learning things as he went. He said he felt better doing this than going into debt. When the guard said he was moving in a different direction than some of the older generations, I applauded his decision to be independent. No doubt investing at a younger age will help him build a sizable nest egg for retirement. He did mention to me that he was already thinking of retirement. Gen Z is so different from the Millennial generation, but I can see there is wisdom here. Had Robinhood been available when I was in my twenties perhaps I would have had the same mindset. It's so much easier to invest now than in the past. Colleges and universities may not be able to deliver on promises. Can you get a good job with a college degree? Maybe. Is there some networking and hard work involved? YES. What I am going to present here in this article are ideas that might help someone who wants to change their life without actually going back for formal schooling. I am speaking to this as a person who extended their formal schooling by a lot, but who has also found experiential and informal learning to be extremely beneficial both to my career and life. I will speak a bit here about why college is worth it for some people in any case. Do you want to reach the higher level subjects in disciplines like chemistry, mathematics or physics? Do you want to improve your abilities in writing and thinking critically? Do you want to attain professional degrees and do work in fields like pharmacy and medicine? Do you want a structured set of knowledge materials that you will have to learn with a teacher assisting your learning? Is it important to you that experts curate this both so that you don’t waste time and so that you get the most important educational information? Do you want to be surrounded by teachers and fellow students who have similar interests, motivations and aspirations as you? Remember the people you surround yourself with have a lot to do with your success. Do you want to reach the higher level subjects in disciplines like chemistry, mathematics or physics? Do you want to improve your abilities in writing and thinking critically? Do you want to attain professional degrees and do work in fields like pharmacy and medicine? Do you want a structured set of knowledge materials that you will have to learn with a teacher assisting your learning? Is it important to you that experts curate this both so that you don’t waste time and so that you get the most important educational information? Do you want to be surrounded by teachers and fellow students who have similar interests, motivations and aspirations as you? Remember the people you surround yourself with have a lot to do with your success. ** If any of these questions are ones that you said “YES” to, perhaps higher level study with formal education is for you. Maybe college would help open doors for you in particularly helpful ways. My formal education helped me in countless ways, but one way in particular it helped was exposing me to new ideas and people who I otherwise would never have had an opportunity to meet. When I was talking to the guard, he said he was often bored at his job and he was working 70 hours a week. He had little time for rest and self care. There were times when he felt sluggish and tired. He said that during these times he took in caffeine and that seemed to help. He was unstimulated at his job and he found the chance to talk to me during his work shift to be a welcome respite. I noticed that he was too tired to button up his security jacket correctly. I had concern for him in some ways. As life advice from a Millennial generation person, I want to share here some ways I was able to change my life without the use of formal education. These ideas might help someone find their way. This is a popular saying and I have found it to be true. What changes your life: People you meet Books you read Classes you take Whether or not you take formal education after high school, this saying will help you if you feel your life is in a rut. People you meet in your life are chiefly what changes your life. Most people will not come over to your home and introduce themselves. I have found that you have to go out to meet them. And this takes considerable effort. Most of what we do as human beings involves getting along with others and those who do that better have greater success. This skill with people comes with practice and through trial and error. It comes with putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and being brave. No matter if you have an investing account that is completely full of money, many people like to be social with others and enjoy their company. It's a key part of being human. Meeting other people changes your life through exposing you to other viewpoints, hopes and dreams. It gives you perspective and practice with listening and being polite. We only get better if we try. Books you read change your life because they represent the points of view of authors who you may never meet. The books that changed my life most made me think hard about what I wanted. You don't need to go to college to read. You can find books at the public library. Finding books to read all the time makes life richer and more interesting. It takes some of the loneliness out of life by helping you realize that every problem you have ever had was once a problem that someone else had, solved, and wrote about. The books I can recommend that were some of the most helpful to me were The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Victor Frankel’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Every time I read these books, my life changes for the better. Classes that are helpful to take might change your life even if they are not college classes. Classes that changed my life significantly gave me helpful skills or helped me meet interesting people that changed my life. An example of these classes were the classes I took to learn how to sew. This led me to being able to make homemade tote and grocery bags that proved useful every time I go to the grocery store. I just keep a couple of these with me whenever I have to go shopping and I can be proud that I made them from scrap fabric myself! Maybe you are interested in driving classes or car repair lessons. Maybe you want to learn a sport like golf. Any of these classes are valid and worthwhile if you have an interest. People eventually find what’s right for them. In my case, I think talking to the Gen Z guard helped me because I am sparked to work on my retirement plans. Perhaps that guard felt helped by my listening and showing attention to his life story. It seemed that he needed this kind of support because his self care was lacking. We all have areas to work on. I also learned from this conversation how important it was for both of us to have a meaningful connection with another human being. People change our lives the most, don’t they?
