Questions for graduates and current students (or everyone)
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My buddy found a local sys admin job making 18 usd an hour and is thinking of quitting school now. He's a bit behind me.
One of the best things a young student can do before getting out on their own is understand how money works in the real world, how much goes to food/car/home/necessary things, insurance and such, taxes, retirement plan, student loan repay, etc. Then look at what is really being offered in that light... do the math, can you survive, or do well, on that amount? How much do you need in your pocket every month to more than pay your necessities, and how can you get that or more?
If the current plague taught us anything, its that prepping is good stuff. I have >3 months salary in the bank. I have months of food and water and necessary items (including TP lol) on hand as well. It takes money to be well prepared for a crisis, and that is an expense as well.
That 18 bucks an hour is a total pay of 18*40*52 = 37K /year pretax. 12% federal tax. 5% is an average state tax. So right there you have 17% of it gone. That puts it at 31k / year give or take. 2.5k / month. 200 for the car, 800 for the home, … it goes fast.... anyway, that 18 bucks an hour isn't very much compared to what a programmer with a degree in an entry position, even in a small low tech town like mine, makes. Its good money for a 18 year old with no kids, living at home, etc. Its poverty level in the high cost of living states and not great in the low cost of living areas like mine.
One of the best things a young student can do before getting out on their own is understand how money works in the real world, how much goes to food/car/home/necessary things, insurance and such, taxes, retirement plan, student loan repay, etc. Then look at what is really being offered in that light... do the math, can you survive, or do well, on that amount? How much do you need in your pocket every month to more than pay your necessities, and how can you get that or more?
If the current plague taught us anything, its that prepping is good stuff. I have >3 months salary in the bank. I have months of food and water and necessary items (including TP lol) on hand as well. It takes money to be well prepared for a crisis, and that is an expense as well.
That 18 bucks an hour is a total pay of 18*40*52 = 37K /year pretax. 12% federal tax. 5% is an average state tax. So right there you have 17% of it gone. That puts it at 31k / year give or take. 2.5k / month. 200 for the car, 800 for the home, … it goes fast.... anyway, that 18 bucks an hour isn't very much compared to what a programmer with a degree in an entry position, even in a small low tech town like mine, makes. Its good money for a 18 year old with no kids, living at home, etc. Its poverty level in the high cost of living states and not great in the low cost of living areas like mine.
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| Where'd you go to school ? :(( |
| What field? I really don't think that's a typical situation in software. |
it was related to software. This was in the late 1990s.
| I think a lot of those people forget why they left in the first place. Just because they didn't stay in school and now they regret it doesn't necessarily mean they're wiser now |
As another data point, personally I really enjoyed university and found it very helpful. Overall my lecturers were great, apart from one or two, even in classes of ~400 or so. Though to be fair, even though my degree was technically software engineering I ended up shifting more towards CS research during my time there, as that was what really intrigued me. That said most of the engineering courses and a bunch of the other required units were helpful for the jobs I ended up getting in the meantime.
| Well, that's the sunk cost fallacy, but I agree that with just one year left you're better off staying and getting something to show for it than dropping out. |
It's not really a sunk cost fallacy here. A degree will greatly help and he doesn't have much more to go. In this case, weighing the benefits of giving up one more year and getting a degree checks out.
The sunk cost fallacy applies more if the original intent was either lost or became meaningless, like if you go to build a hotel because you predict a place will become a boom spot for tourists. But then 75% of the way building it, you realize you were wrong. Deciding to finish it would then be a true sunk cost fallacy.
No, the sunk cost fallacy involves the situation where some amount of resources (the cost) has been spent on maintaining some course of action that has yet to pay off, and said course is maintained because it is thought (irrationally) that not doing so will make the cost go to waste.
The key aspect is not the decision, but why it's made. Finishing the hotel may still be a rational decision. It only becomes fallacious when it's done because so much has been spent already.
What OP said was
OP's toilet cleanings were a cost and they've already been spent. Even if he graduates, he will still have already cleaned those toilets. Thus, the fact that OP cleaned toilets should have no bearing on whether he continues his studies or not.
The key aspect is not the decision, but why it's made. Finishing the hotel may still be a rational decision. It only becomes fallacious when it's done because so much has been spent already.
What OP said was
| I'll not have all those toilet cleanings be in vain |
| and said course is maintained because it is thought (irrationally) that not doing so will make the cost go to waste. |
Yes, that's what I'm saying. His option right now involves giving 1 year to get a degree, this is very reasonable. It makes no sense not to keep going with only a year left.
The reasoning that he must finish the degree because he's already been in college 3 years would be a sunk cost fallacy if it was the driving factor - but it's actually very reasonable. The original intent of getting the degree is unchanged, the value of the degree is unchanged (arguable I guess) - the original goal and purposes are still there. So saying he's been in college for 3 years so he may as well finish isn't a sunk cost fallacy because that's just one factor, it's not the sole reason for continuing the degree.
So saying he should finish since he's already been in college 3 years (and cleaned toilets in order to sustain the college years) is very reasonable, since it ACTUALLY WILL be wasted if he doesn't finish - since it brought him nothing. Whereas if he finishes it, he will get the degree and those 3 years (while a sunk cost either way) will have benefited him.
The sunk cost fallacy applies really for when you're incurring more debt/loss by continuing with the only logic being that you've spent/done so much already.
| Finishing the hotel may still be a rational decision. It only becomes fallacious when it's done because so much has been spent already. |
Yea, didn't explicitly state that, but that's what I meant.
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| lastchance wrote: |
|---|
| Cheer up! https://upjoke.com/computer-science-jokes |
@lastchance I have been attempting to make the enquiry for rather a long time,
Furthermore, this topic appears to be rather pertinent to the matter to be enquired in.
Otherwise, for the UK school system, may I ask whether you would you advise studying an A-Level other than Physics and Mathematics, should one wish to enrol in a career in regards to mechanical engineering? I aspire to acquire a career in the world of robotics, and would thoroughly value your word, as I pay regards to your involvement in the engineering job sector
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