At a crossroads in my life

[Justtristo]

Lately I have been going through some thinking about my existence. Since I have come to the conclusion that our existence has no inherent meaning or purpose, we have to create that meaning and purpose. Right now in my life I have no purpose and feel quite empty inside.

So I have recently thought about to achieve the goals and aspirations I had as a teenager. When I was a teenager in high school I seriously considered doing studying humanities at University. However when I went to University a few years after I left high school I did Accounting instead.

Right now I am pondering whether or not I should do firstly a Graduate Diploma in Humanities (1 year full time) and put 1,000,000 percent effort into it, in order to get extremely high grades. So that I can easily get into a Master of Arts program, which would be 1 or 2 years full time. The area I would focus my studies on would be Ancient History/Classics. If I ever get to do a Thesis I might write on either Ancient Science or a critical view of Christian origins.

However I am concerned about the large debts I would incur with these studies and also I am uncertain about career prospects after I complete a Master of Arts.

[Epimethean]

I went that route and have pretty hefty student loans to deal with. I had a full ride for my undergrad, but blew it off to party. When I went back, and on through my first MA, I racked up some serious debt.

If you can avoid the debt, do so. Study what you love, but try to stay free of massive debt. It is a stressor no-one needs.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Well, I'd rather not choose to study such things in the times we live in now, you cannot really earn much unless you're high up on the academic scale.
The only thing you can do is to stay at the university and become a teacher.

[jackman]

dude, without really knowing you and knowing how you view the parchment that degrees are written on, i can't offer you any input - in terms of advice. but what i would do myself if given the chance to redo my college education, i would educate myself individually and save about 100k and focus on social engineering myself into whatever position i wanted in life. it's not impossible, but it's certainly not easy either.

i know a guy who used to be my boss back when i graduated from college ... he is still the literal smartest person i ever met - his nickname is wiz and no one [there] will challenge that. lol. if you ask him a question, he will instantly point you to the book/chapter/page (of 1000s in our shelving) that will answer that for you. sorry for that unnecessary info ... my point is, he hadn't taken a single class at a formal university, and was running the IT department as a hobby while writing books and building ridiculous mechanical shit at home. so, if the degree is important to you, then i understand, but if you can see a path that you could do it without the 100k tab over your head, then i'd suggest looking into that.

[Mister Agenda]

Consider another outlet for your love of the humanities. Is there an area you're particularly interested in, like art or music or literature? There are communities devoted to these things, maybe you could become a part of one. It could give you a better idea of how much you want to pursue further education in this area, or you might find skipping to the part where you're involved with people who share your interest sufficiently meets this need.

[Reforged]

In your shoes I'd gather the cash I need first, you don't want that kind of debt hanging over you.

[frankiej]

Personally, I think you should become a pirate. You can join my crew if you want.

[Tempus]

If I'm passionate about something, I study it. I dropped out of the last year of college because nothing interested me, among other personal reasons. And the best part is I enjoy my study because I don't feel obligated to do it. All throughout my formal education, even when I chose subjects I liked, I resented the routine and limitations place on me. That being said, it's useful to have knowledgeable people around when you're stuck (or just to talk to), but I find I can usually solve most problems myself either alone or with help from internet forums on the subject / general searches.

My mind also had a tendency to wander during the latter years of my formal education - "Why the fuck am I here? Am I learning what I want to? What's the big picture, where am I going? What am I trying to prove?"

[Annik]

Don't let people pressure you into a career path because of how much your salary would be. Study what you love and you're excel.

[Cinjin]

Is the study of Humanities the only thing that you think would fill the void?

Maybe there's something else less time consuming and expensive that might be equally rewarding?


Regardless, best of luck to you sir.