Higher Education vs being entertaining

Semper · September 3, 2014

I've heard cali prices are retarded.

In state for me is ~30k for a bachelors without any subsidies, after FAFSA and scholarships that drops down to <10k before books.

That's exactly why i'm not attending an in-state University. My local four-year would run me about $72k. Bellevue is out of Bellevue (duh ) Nebraska. It's entirely online, which is a necessity for me, as it allows me to work at the same time (full time). The place i'm at has plainly told me, they won't be able to afford my employment once I obtain my MS, however, have agreed to keep me on until I find somewhere that can.

I'd live to be looking at those numbers as a potential education price point... unfortunately, it's just not gonna happen . Expensive as it is, however, it will be worth it in the end. By my numbers i'll break even (I.E. be at the point where I would be debt free) after about six years factoring in interest and above minimum balance payments.

If entertainment is what you'd like to do, and you become successful at it, by all means, more power to you. I'm not willing to take the gamble of my future on making it big time, however. The numbers that don't make it FAR exceed those that do. Part of it is luck of the draw, part of it is smarts (knowing what you're doing, or having someone that does), and all of it is retention. Can you keep your viewer base pleased? Doing what Yogscast, Markiplier, PDP, any of the big name guys in YouTube/Twitch gaming do takes a relaxing pastime and makes it a career. Games aren't fun to play when you're playing for other people (for me, at least). I have no desire to have a career doing so. I take my gaming time as relaxation time. It's one of the reasons i've steered away from competitive games in recent years (post BF3). Even what Linus, and Linus Media Group does, I'd love to do something like they do... but at some point, it would become... overbearing. I don't want to have to go to PAX or E3, or do product reviews for my livelihood, I want to do them because I enjoy doing them, because I want to do them, not because my subscribers do (think: barnacules pre-Microsoft severance).

MuffinTopMike · September 3, 2014

The majority of people who get a university degree earn much more than those who just have a high school diploma. For example on average a person between 25-34 years with just a high school diploma earns around $30,000-40,000, whereas a person with a bachelors degree earn between $50,000-60,000. Also people who have bachelors, masters and PhD's have much lower unemployment rates than those who don't. You will notice that the majority of rich people are entrepreneurs and own or run huge businesses, not work in entertainment.

Puppet · September 3, 2014

You can rely a lot more on higher education than you can becoming an entertainer, but you need a certain amount of both to become successful. There are people with great educations that won't have a successful life because they lack charm and there are great entertainers who will suffer the same feat because they lack the knowledge/intelligence.

Always aim for higher education, if you get lucky a long the way and find a non academic path then great but in the long run education is not for others, it's for yourself, whether it's on paper or not.