In response to the first question, it's about 600 liters, or 160 gallons. Assuming the following (based on my experience: Plasma pays $70 per week for two donations Each donation is 590 ml College credits cost $300 each The degree requires 120 credits The only problem is that this would require over a thousand unique donations (1000 different needles in your arm) which would take you a hefty 9.8 years to do legally, if you never missed a donation. Best of luck :)
The fact that Americans have to pay so much for a college degree makes the country seem so underdeveloped. And I'm not even starting on the whole insurance topic...
You don't know me. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 i think it started because people didn’t know why they should spend time going to college when you could get a job without 😂
Same. I paid less than a thousand dollars for my whole college education in Mexico (materials, books and transportation not included ofc). I didn't go to a prestigious university and lived in my parent's house for the entirety of it but I did learn a lot of valuable skills and got a job faster than most people my age. Having to pay what americans pay to have college education seems... Surreal.
Dear roach person, I'm in the same boat and I chose the far away school and I'm scared outta my pants but the truth is that when you're far from family it's much easier to continue to develop your own identity. Skype is life in this situation! Good luck, it was a really tough dilemma for me too. Took months.
carrie Very true. I went to college a couple hours from home and it was very helpful in developing my own thoughts and adultness. I liked being close enough to visit but far enough away that it didn't need to be every weekend.
I didn't have any dilemma about moving away; I knew I wanted to move abroad as soon as I turned 18 for years, even before I decided I actually wanted to go to university. It was EASILY (although that was only a few years ago) one of the best decisions I have ever made, and has dramatically influenced my life in measurable and tangible (and intangible) ways. So yeah, ++++++++++++++++++ (as in, if everything else was the same, you liked the schools and all other non-familial circumstances the same, GO ELSEWHERE, as far as you can, imo) A Mark Twain quote I love (despite its flaws): “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
Also, raising children is the parents' job. Sure, you can help, but kids shouldn't feel that they can't leave the house to build a career so that they can change Timmy's diapers.
Hi Carrie. I'm undergoing a difficult transition into new responsibilities that i undertook in Uni so that I can develop my identity, but its taxing, I don;t get to be as chill and easy going as a lot of my peers, your comment was reassuring. Thank you.
going into my sophomore year in college and this is SUUUPER comforting and nice hearing that everyone is also going through a constant state of doubt about everything from careers to dorm decoration
About that constant state of doubt about everything: It never gets better. Never. So definitely make peace with your cluelessness and insufficiencies. The grownups are faking it, too. DFTBA!
For the person worried about helping with their siblings: I don't recommend you sacrifice your life and education to raise your siblings for *their* sake, as well as your own. A few things to consider - 1) If you step away, the next oldest sibling will then get a turn at being the Responsible One and learn lots of needed skills. If you skip college and stay in that role, they won't have the chance. 2) You will be acting as a role model to any younger sibling who may have aspirations for a higher education, or really aspirations for anything that require commitment and passion. 3) If you play your cards right, you will be in a much better financial and social position with a degree than without one, and therefore in a better position to help out monetarily later in life when it may become necessary. 4) Your life will almost certainly be enriched by the experiences and education associated with attending college, contributing to your overall happiness which will benefit you, and everyone who loves or depends on you. 5) College is cool and fun. Don't miss it! CAVEAT: I say all this on the assumption that you want to go to college; perhaps you're hesitating though because you're unsure whether you really do. If this is the case, I recommend taking a gap year or two to figure that out. There are plenty of ways to have a good life without college and it's too expensive to just dive into as a matter of course. You need to know you want it before committing.
Don't just go to college for the sake of doing so. Understand that it does cost a lot and so at the end of it, you would hopefully like for that schooling to allow you to get a good job. There are plenty of majors that just don't lead anywhere and this idea of following your dreams can sometimes be dangerous. Figure out how you can contribute to society and figure out a way you would like to make money. There is more to life than work, but work is a large part of your life. Money doesn't buy happiness, but you do need a certain amount of it. If I could give anyone any advice from someone who started off going to school for history and then switching into Bio Chemistry, Figure out what kind of career you want and don't just pick the first major you think of out of fear and pressure.
So many jobs today only need a short training course to do the job properly, but require a college education. (Obviously not doctors and jobs like that)
That's such a basic thing you probably should know it. You would expect a Maths teacher to be know Exponents even if they only teach Geometry to 5 year olds.
As a sophomore Art History major who chose passion over profit, I completely agree with Hank. I love what I'm studying, even though it's not really "practical." At the end of the day, your hard work and connections will be a huge factor in a career. Study what you love, take the opportunities that come to you, and don't let the naysayers dilute your enthusiasm.
I was so so tired and overall having a bad day, but then I passed my driving test today AND the vlogbrothers uploaded a video. now I'm having a fantastic day 😊
So im back to this video, three years after starting collage, to say thank you. When Hank says that antrophology thaugh him how many ways there are to be people, that's when I decided that I wanted to become an anthropologist. Now, three years later, when zoom clases cause an existential crisis and devoid all purpose from collage, I need to remind myself why I love my career. So thank you, because a 20 second part of a video changed my life and I'm glad that it did.
I have journalism as an elective and I was conflicted between that, or a foreign language. I wasn't particularly interested in taking Spanish but I felt a lot of pressure from friends to take it because they were also taking it. I ended up choosing Journalism though. Honestly, I'm still not sure if that's the right choice, or if future colleges will consider it a useless class. But I debated changing my elective over the summer and I've decided I will wait and see when class finally starts. Crossing my fingers it will be worth it!
@Shell B : To get right down to it, do whatever one you prefer most! If you really don't like and don't need Spanish, you'll probably never use it and end up forgetting chunks of it. You're allowed to treat yourself! Plus, while I can't speak for other colleges, I know employers can look on journalism credits favourably: demonstrates good English skills, working in deadlines, ability to research and fact-check...
Happy to hear Hank say anthropology was his favourite course. It seriously changed my life (and heavily influenced my career, much more than I would have dared to hope when I graduated 10+ years ago). I will never forget my first anth. Lecture. I was supposed to be doing a different degree course combination, but it affected me so much that I switched. Never regretted it.
Hey John and Hank! I'm moving from the US to The Netherlands tomorrow and I'm simultaneously excited and a little bit scared. But I want to thank this channel and this community for helping me to believe in myself and inspiring me to reach for my potential. Thanks to all you amazing nerdfighters and let me know if any of you live in Maastricht, the Netherlands and want to do a nerdfighter gathering!
Decoupage is the art pasting/gluing decorated paper on to something. Collage is an assortment of items brought together by overlapping and blending into each other in one space. Scrapbooking is a book of fancy scraps.
I gotta admit I prefer "university" to "college". It sounds cooler America. Edit: Hank corrected me (which is really cool thanks Hank!!) and pointed out that in the US, college technically means a different thing to University. I still think it sounds better though for people to say "I'm going to uni" rather than "I'm going to college" but hey that's just my opinion and I apologise to the person in the comments of this comment who thought I was implying that American English is somehow inferior.
Swolo A university is full of multiple colleges (such as college of arts , science, education, etc.) basically your major is placed under the difference college. I am an English major thus I belong to the college of art and humanities. the number of colleges within the university often varies. In order for a college to become a university, the board at said college needs to prove to the state that the school can adequately support different colleges in educational terms. Hope that makes sense
don't be.. cause I wanted to take a gap year and last minute I thought that I wouldn't do anything in it.. but now that I'm going I kind of regret my decision lmao.. just think about how you wanna spend this year
Gad Idea 23 and I'm headed back for the 3rd program... Hated high school but most people love college. Good luck! The first days are always awkward 😂every year
Here in all higher education is free, as long as you pass the exams and keep your average grade above a certain minimum. USA, why are you always have to be different in everything?
Idk man, they really love money around here. I'd imagine Hank's video might go into why. I'm just scared about how I'm gonna pay for anything :/ People might say to just move to those European countries for colleges, but even then, even if that was allowed, I'm sure I'd get shit for being a leech of an American to take advantage.
you'd pay tax, therefor not a leech. as long as you take an interest in the people of the country you go to visit and show a genuine curiosity you'd be welcomed. my country (Australia) used to have free higher education but our government decided to be a miniature America and put people in debt before they can improve themselves.
666POD666 It is not free, it is paid for by taxes. Other people in your country thought it was a good idea to have other people pay for your stuff. That might work for you, but here in the U.S. that concept is childish, I am not responsible for someone else's education and they are not responsible for mine.
are you saying it's a better system to have each person bare that burden alone? "Other people in your country thought it was a good idea to have other people pay for your stuff" yeah dude, that's pretty much the best way to go about it. measure the debt of most people in a country who guarantees healthcare and education as a right to America and see who has the greater system. what better use of taxes is there than to help people become educated. I never understood ordinary people who actively oppose their own or their children, or their neighbours benefit by talking shit about universal healthcare or free education. the only people who benefit from that sort of action are the rich.
Hey man, thanks for making this video. Currently about to go into my senior year of high school and my college plans are a shitshow at the moment. It's nice to be reminded that life isn't all about molding yourself into the perfect employee. Thanks, I really appreciate it. It means a lot.
For the passion vs. practical person- right now the "practical" thing would be to go through an apprenticeship or similar training program, get a job doing that, and go to college for your passion while you're working. We may not know what college degrees are practical, but so far we haven't found a way to replace beauticians, plumbers, auto mechanics, etc. so if you do something like that you're more likely to have a job to fall back on.
-People with STEM degrees tend to be more successful than say liberal arts degrees. -Community college is always an option. -Be willing to move away from your current location to work in another part of the country/world. -If you want to do something that you are passionate about, consider getting an MBA and starting your own business. -In the end, it's up to you to become successful. Many people fail many times before they become successful. The trick is to stay positive and not blame others for any road bumps on the way.
University has been a really important part of my life already and I'm not even done it. While I enjoy programming, it's really the people I met that have made the biggest impact on my life. My future ideas have changed and now I actually know what I want to do afterwards. I've never wanted a job and can live off very little. I've never needed to spend lots of money - I enjoy living off what little my loan gives me. I've found my friends feel the same. We'd rather dedicate our lives to learning and creating rather than spending all our time at a workplace. Together we're going to get jobs and work hard at them for several years until we have enough money to buy our own land. Then we'll build our houses, a farm, some walls, a castle and even a longboat. We'll also dedicate our time to making small indie games - the games we want to make. We'll live our lives the way we want to. University isn't just about the degree at the end. Everything I learned in class is something I'm sure I could have learned at home. However, it's a life experience that you don't want to miss. The people you'll meet and the things you learn about yourself are what makes university worth it. I'm lucky I'm Scottish and don't have to pay for my university (That being said, I'm still in debt due to it) but you can always go abroad for your degree.
Thank you Hank for making this video! I think more people need to learn/realize that life isn't all about good grades and a job that makes a lot of money.
You should do this for new high schoolers because I am a new high schooler and I am scared(p.s I am very socially awkward and I'm going to the same school as my very popular brother.)
Advice from a teacher, and past high school student, to a new high schooler. As much as it is every teacher's dream to have a student who does everything well with good behavior that isn't the end all be all as a student. The most important thing is to at least try and do as much as you can. Even if you fail an assignment if you turn in all of them you can still pass most classes. So don't give up, keep working. I will admit I didn't do well in high school as I didn't care and it isn't the end of the world. I still went to college and did really well. Work with your teachers. The more you show you care the more inclined we are to help you. If you plan on being gone tell us. Get your make up work. Communicate. Now, this is the most important thing I learned in high school. Some of your friends are going to be pieces of shit. Take the time you would otherwise spend investing in shitty people and put it into your self. You'll be happier in the long run. Be careful with your backpack. I carried so many books that I warped a collarbone. This is a good reason to figure out how you learn early on. I didn't find out till college that I learned better by listening than I did by reading. So pay close attention to what is and isn't working then make adjustments. Finally, you'll be ok. Chill.
Hopefully you'll have some friends that are going to the same high school as you, if not, that's okay too. I didn't. Just remember that high school is not the 'best years of your life'. It's okay if it sucks :) (real encouraging I know). Hopefully it won't suck, but high school doesn't define you, and it doesn't define your path in life. I hope this helped haha, but I'm not much for advice. DFTBA 🙅🏼(also this advice is like straight out of the vlog bros videos so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ oops)
I was kind of passively agreeing with most of what you were saying, Hank, thinking a few tidbits seemed a little shortsighted to me, but then you said 'Anthropology" and I JUMPED like someone had shocked me because I fell in LOVE with social anthropology when I was supposed to be loving my English degree (which, via the methodology my uni approached it, I ended up LOATHING), and it has had a MONUMENTAL impact on how I think about everything to do with humanity (which, as a human, is pretty much everything). Despite having a fairly rigorous if non traditional high school curriculum and teachers that really taught me how to think critically, I had no inkling of an understand of how AMAZINGLY complex the human experience is until formally studying soc anthro. By far the best 'subject' I ever studied, apart from maybe English pre-uni. So YAY, virtual high five!
To say we don't know what skills will be in demand is a little disingenuous. We don't know EXACTLY what skills will be in demand but most likely STEM and finance degrees will help you most in finding a higher paying job. The REAL question you should ask is if YOU will find a way to use the degree you want to get. If you can explore a passion without a degree then you should do that and save some cash, time and frustration.
I uprooted myself from NH and moved to FL for college. So far I haven't had a single regret (besides the fact that I live in FL). Yes, college is hard but I'm loving what I'm doing so far and to me, that makes the tuition, living expenses and struggle worth it. Except for when my financial aid office fails to tell me that I still owe a rather large amount of money that my last FA payment failed to cover and didn't tell me until now and they won't allow me to get additional financial aid or start a work study because I'm within 6 months of graduating :)))) then it's not so fun...
As someone who is leaving for college for the first time in ten days, this made me feel much better and less anxious about it, especially the ones about the distance from family and the major. Thank you
I lived at home when I went to college. I did just fine when I moved out after graduating in the year 2008 and getting a job. I didn't need to stay in a dorm room with a bunch of drinking, partying kids to figure our my identity. Dorm life bears no resemblance to real life. You don't need to go deeper into student loan debt to learn how to live on your own. You will pay big time. For that reason, I highly recommend living at home.
Loved Anthropology!!!!!! Best class I've ever taken. It really opens you up and makes you view culture in a more accepting way. What I learned from that class is that we often feel like we need to fix different cultures/civilizations because they aren't like us but not everyone wants to live like us. We all have our own way of living.
I don't think about it often enough but I'm really lucky to be passionate and interested in a major that is (currently) financially stable. Makes me feel a little guilty, all my peers having to decide between what they love and what puts food on the table.
I'm done with college now (only as of this last June) but listening to you talk about life is always so comforting. I set way too high of standards for myself. It's okay to just...live, and be kind to others.
Whoa, WTF? When you said tuition is $42000 does that include a dorm room and a meal plan? I knew tuition in the US was ridiculous, but even if it does include those things that is still completely insane. The tuition in my school is 5300 Canadian dollars for two semesters without a dorm or a meal plan. $42000 is just completely outrageous.
that probably includes room and board, but for reference, my tuition is about $38,000 a year without room and board (with it's like around $50,000). So yeah, there's a reason we're always complaining about the cost.
I agree with you. It's crazy. There's some colleges in America that's insanely expensive. It's more expensive if going out if state. Like, since I'm from Texas, I can only find "cheap" colleges in Texas. If I go out towards Boston or so, tuition basically doubles. So like about 40,000 for a year. (I pay about 19,000 a year but I go to one of the cheapest colleges in Texas.)
Gotta agree with Hank about anthropology. It's really an eye opening course of study. I took an anthropology class called Sorcery, Demons, and Gods, and another anthropology class all about culture and food. I might be a little bias here, since I minored in anthropology ( my school didn't have an anthropology major).
StellarBobbi yeah, in my sorcery demons and gods class one of my friends and I realized that Jesus is literally a zombie and ended up making a poster about zombie Jesus awareness.
In a rare turn of events, I COMPLETELY disagree with you Hank. Yes, we can't completely *know* what's going to be financially secure, but the lack of absolute knowledge doesn't mean we can't make a few pretty decent guesses. We know that automation is MUCH more likely to take the job of a trucker than that of a daycare worker in the future, or that history of art is much less likely to earn you money than medicine. These are significant differences, and they cannot be passed over just because we are reluctant to tell young people that "pursuing their passion" may not always be the best idea, especially for American students that will incur tremendous debt that they may have difficulty paying back if they don't get decent jobs afterwards. It also passes over the idea that you can train for a career that hopefully you don't hate and pursue a non-profitable passion in all sorts of other ways.
I agree there are some obvious jobs that are going to get quickly automated...but we don't know what jobs are going to be in demand in five or ten years, we just don't. There could be a huge glut of doctors (the way there is currently a huge glut of lawyers, as a lot of legal work has started to get automated.) And while art degrees aren't always going to lead to careers in art, they provide opportunities to build broad skill bases. But, I think we'll agree on one thing, which is that the things you study shouldn't just be about doing what you enjoy, it should also be about how the skills you develop end up benefitting you and other people.
I think there can be a happy medium though. You can research a little to see what kind of work is more or less likely to provide for you financially, and then take a look at your interests and the remaining professions (including ones that don't require a four year degree!) and see what fits. I guess I'm just really wary of people, usually very successful creative people, encouraging young people to "pursue their dream" or diminishing the value of work that simply pays the bills because there is selection bias there. People like you really have made it doing something their passionate about, and that's absolutely wonderful. But strewn behind you are the dreams of thousands of people who "followed their dream" and have little to show for it other than a mountain of debt and a lot of frustration. I'm not against doing something your passionate about, not at all, it's just that if what your passionate about is, say, traditional loom weaving, maybe also train for something you don't hate that has a moderate chance of making you some money in the long term :)
"Should I do something I'm passionate about, or do something financially secure?" It sounds like Hank's answer was leaning towards "be passionate," but I know a LOT of people that regret their art degrees. College in general might give you a lot of life skills that will make you deeper and more nuanced as a person, but a degree in Dance doesn't lend itself well to paying bills unless you're a very lucky and attractive person.
Getting a double major is a waste of time. For about the same number of hours, you can have a Bachelor's in one and get a Master's in the other. If you are going to work in either of these fields, advanced degrees are pretty much a requirement. If you are not going to use the degrees, you are better off just spending your time in the library learning on your own.
My 2 Cents: I've been out of college and working for 9 years. With very few exceptions (things like medical science), what I've seen is that the content of your degree matters not even a tiny bit. What matters is (1) that you *have* a degree, which is arbitrary and unfair but how it is, and (b) that you have practical experience. That second part is almost always way, way more important to HR and hiring managers. So even if you get a degree in Obscure Interpretive Dance Methods, get an internship in your desired field EVERY SINGLE SUMMER BREAK. That's the real secret magic to employment success. I didn't and struggled to find work (I'm now 31), but I work alongside 20-year-olds who had awesome internships. DO THAT THING.
"How much plasma do I have to sell..." Not much if you're smart enough to make use of bursaries, scholarships, and have the grades. Professors are always looking at their top students for assistants too, which comes with a lot of benefits one of which is a really good pay if you're at a decent institution and they have a union. This is true in any STEM field, and many other academic fields. The biggest thing, by far, is that many scholarships and bursaries go unclaimed either because a lack of awareness, or cause students are frankly too lazy to fill out the paperwork, or write an essay, et cetera to claim it.
I agree with this. While I went to college under lucky circumstances (my dad being a professor at my college brought the price for me down to about State College levels), scholarships got me the rest of the way. A couple hours of essay writing paid for thousands of dollars of scholarships, and half an hour of thank-you note writing increased my chances of getting those scholarships the next year. Always thank people who helped you out in life, and thank them in writing! However, that doesn't really cover the cost of living, so one thing I'd add is get a bunch of roommates that are as dedicated to saving money as you. Then you can get a membership at a bulk foods place like Costco or Sam's club to lower the price of food, and being roommates will distribute the cost of housing to all of you. You can plan your meals out in advance and each take turns cooking and doing dishes. This takes a little more dedication than my friends had, so friends are not always the best roommates!
I recommend you check out the frames at Ikea for the poster. Much cheaper than Michael's and they're really nice! Also, they have meatballs. (Plus pine, oak, and a handful of Norsemen.)
Sure, they have them, but I've always been underwhelmed by their cheaper stuff. I was genuinely surprised by what they have at Ikea, which is why I wrote about it. (And the meatballs, of course.)
as classes for the end of my sophomore year go online, i find myself coming back to earlier videos you guys made about college and reflecting on my almost two years in college, compared to where i was when these videos originally came out. i was just starting senior year when you posted this. john posted one nine years ago, where i was in middle school. i think that's one of my favorite things about you guys; i can find videos about any topic from any point in your online history, consistently. it's a time capsule, of both you and the world, and, like rereading books at different stages of life, watching your videos at different points in history always leaves me with something new to think about and consider.
I think Hanks answer about "money or interest" is a bad one. Firstly because everything is interesting when you play close enough attention. You can learn that from Buddhism or just because there are nerds of everything. You can be that nerd. Second, the data about what jobs are high paying doesn't change that much over the course of 10~ years. If something looks like a good money choice today you can have confidence it will still be a good money choice when you graduate and start earning. Finally, having a high paying job is incredibly liberating. And the reason the job is high paying it because you are solving hard and difficult problems that people want to pay someone to solve. It's really great.
The passion vs. money answer hit me hard. As a college senior who is currently constantly asking herself why she couldn't be interested in something convenient, like medicine, I deeply thank you. You haven't entirely quelled my deep fears but you have made me confident enough to stand behind what I have chosen.
"We are not in college, we are not on Earth, to get jobs." That might be true in some traditional universal way, but college specifically sells itself through our culture to help people get a better job and move up economically. And it's failing us, so I wish you would acknowledge that, Hank.
I majored in Anthropology and at one point I saw an article about how it was the most useless degree. I made it work. I worked through college and got lots of skills and whenever I saw a posting that wanted someone with a degree in social science I could apply because usually there also allow for "similar" degrees. Anthropology is so diverse and broad a field I could tell my employers "yeah, I studied [whatever knowledge set they wanted] in school." I sold my degree even though it was supposed to be the most useless. I have been a parking enforcer, a youth development specialist, a driver's education teacher, a fish and wildlife educator and supervisor for their YCC program, a library business specialist, and, for the last 6 years, an Employment Counselor and Family Success Coach. And I love it. I went into anthropology because I wanted to understand people and help people understand each other. In my current work I get to help people understand themselves and the society they live in. This year I start my Masters for what is supposed to be another field with little return on investment: Social Work. My advice for anybody wondering if they should study what they love or study something practical, the answer is yes. If you can love what is practical then do it, or else make what you love practical.
Honestly, it's ever too early! Props to you for taking the time to see and pay attention to the video. As a junior in highschool, I think bad habits from middle school are still haunting me.
Sara Bennett Not on my--or many people's--income levels it's not. Yes their stuff is high quality, yes it supports the channel, which is why I wanted to buy it. However, budget.
I must say Hank, thanks for clarifying the actual aim of going to college. I am from India and mostly kids here are taught to go to college to learn some skills that make them employable(which I too believed until a certain age), rather than to enjoy whatever they are learning/learn something that they feel like learning. I love almost all of your videos! Thank you so much for being awesome! 💕😘
i'd love to buy things from DFTBA.com to decorate my dorm room with.. but all the money i'd like to spend on merch is instead going to paying for said dorm room
Okay. So. Coloring pages are often available for free online. If you have access to that and a coloring medium (ms paint, colored pencils, markers, whatever) find some coloring pages you like, download/print them, color, and stick them on your dorm room walls. Double bonus points if they're nerdfighter themed.
You're welcome! I still have some of the ones I colored when I was in college (it's a bonus because when homework or midterms or finals becomes too stressful: bam! instant fun and something to go on your walls when you're done!)
Dear Hank I can't really pinpoint why, but this is now one of my favorite videos. It made me feel so much better about my life and my choices. It made me remember when I first found you and John back in 2009 and finally felt understood because there were others like me. So I wanted to take this moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me stay on the path of kindness and (self) acceptance. Sincerely Aline
1:23 I agree university isn't a job training program, but you aren't just expected to learn information, you're expected to acquire skills in your course which will get you the job you want to do in your life. Also, working takes up the majority of our lives, and is getting more competitive to find jobs. As such obtaining the most skills and experiences whilst in university (especially outside of the lecture hall) is a little-known requirement if you're coming straight out of a Bachelors degree for a job, not just learning information.
bbc goodfoods! or student cookbooks if you can afford them! there are lots of recipes online with cheap, easy affordable food that really helped me in my first two years at uni (going into 3rd year now) but ngl, i mainly ate stirfry because its s u p e r easy or just pasta with stir in tomato sauce :)
Yes, but those first three will be useless to if we forget where we came from, what it took to get there, and how we can maintain humanity instead of cycling backward. Speaking as a cyber security major.
I got a poster (John's quote about nerds) for my classroom to put above my classroom library and it honestly is one of the best parts of that room. Such a perfect thing to include :)
"We are on Earth to solve problems for ourselves and for other people" - This is a really good reminder. I graduated from a fancy university 5 years ago. Since then I've been working in a relatively interesting field & have been doing okay for myself in terms of Adulthood... but I still constantly fret over what I'm doing and what I SHOULD be doing. For the past couple years I've been trying to figure out what to do next, what will look good on my resume, what will make my college degree worth it, and frankly nothing has felt all that exciting or compelling to me... but I think I've been asking the wrong questions, because the goal isn't to build an enviable career path... if anything, it's about solving meaningful problems and trying to make the world a little better than it was before. That is something I tend to forget in my post-grad haze of doubt and anxiety.
Thanks for making me feel better about my decision to study anthropology when I go to university next year!! I am sick and tired of people acting like I am throwing my life away by choosing it.
But none of my skills are useful to getting a job yet... maybe my proficient genealogy research and hours worth of crappy video blogging experience will pay off someday?
I'm wearing my Why Buy Anything Else When You Could Be Buying Books shirt today, for the first time in months (because I own a gazillion t-shirts and I try to wear them all at least every once in a while, but only get to wear them on weekends, so it takes forever to cycle through them all), and here it is in poster form on your video! What are the odds, Hank?
Hank, as a fellow Masters person, do you really feel you're a MASTER at whatever you're a Master at? Cause... I don't think I do.. I mean I know some stuff but am I a MASTER? I don't know.. P.S I'd reaaaaaalllly feel like a MASTER if you reply to this :)
It's a weird thing to think now that I'm 26, but I had this idea growing up that I had to have my life ready and set by the time I was 25. Right now, I'm doing something I love and I finally feel like I'm settled down in a place I like, but I don't think this is the end of the path for me. Like there's still so much.... life ahead of me. I don't know why I felt like I should be on this set and stable path with everything planned out already, but I'm not and I'm totally fine. So to all the kiddies out there that are leaving school and feel like they don't know know what they're doing.... ....yeah. It's okay. None of us do. Planning too much is overrated anyhow. Heck, I didn't even know the job I have now existed until I was 20. Be open to new possibilities and play along. Life can be hard, but even if you mess up or change plans, it doesn't mean you failed. Just pick up the pieces, figure out where you want to go next, and go for it.
"Seems to kind of a lie that we're telling ourselves or we're letting colleges tell us that like this is a job training program, it's not, you are learning how to be better at stuff and that's gonna be useful in getting work and in doing work." I never looked at it this way, and I feel like I really needed this kind of perspective, so thank you Hank! I felt like I had to choose my future out of a million options, like the chance that the choice I just made is going to be the right one, is one in a million. I like so many different things, mostly scientific, but I don't know if there is a way to combine them. My parents and my (few) friends tell my that only some kind of 'prodigies' can do that, and I don't like to hear that my capabilities and knowledge are somewhat limited. But your words gave me some relieve.
After caring for existential needs and having fun experiences, it seems like humans are designed with a higher, insatiable need to know the universe more and more. Once we get our AI minds operational we'll be able to uncover universal secrets at mindnumbing rates.
In some ways, yes. In a LOOOOT of others (and it's impossible to quantifiably compare the two categories), NO! Also AI might end up killing us all, so there's that.
Not to be a Nerd but I am SO excited to go to college and start learning again. I got my syllabus for my major-aligned class and I'm just so excited. Moving out in 4 days. And after I move out, I will be safe to come out to my parents. Life is so exciting right now but also scary. Best of luck to everyone else!!
Do the first 2 years at a community college that has transferable credits. Then do the next 2 at the University of your choice. And if you aren't interested in standard liberal arts education or 4 years of university, consider a good trade school or apprenticeship program. BTW- my ex was a recruiter for a prestigious small university, and my trade union craft job paid for a large percentage of her college loans.
In response to the first question, it's about 600 liters, or 160 gallons. Assuming the following (based on my experience:
Plasma pays $70 per week for two donations
Each donation is 590 ml
College credits cost $300 each
The degree requires 120 credits
The only problem is that this would require over a thousand unique donations (1000 different needles in your arm) which would take you a hefty 9.8 years to do legally, if you never missed a donation. Best of luck :)
I mean...that's significantly less than I assumed, though it doesn't include books or other expenses.
vlogbrothers you're definitely right. This is assuming that you don't eat or live in a house. I don't even want to think about all of that stuff...
Well, the good thing is that if you donate enough plasma, you don't have to worry about eating or living in a house.
vlogbrothers I just assumed she was going to be getting the plasma from the bodies hanging in her closet that are in a persistent vegetative state?
I thought they meant the glowy, electrons-ripped-off-the-nuclei plasma. But that's probably because I'm thinking of majority in physics.
Thanks Hank- "life is not a job training program" made me feel better about my sociology major lol. Passion for the win!
I was an anthropology major. I'm not an anthropologist but I use my degree SO MUCH.
@@blumoon187 what do you do?
@@arcisvar4863 mostly lie about using their degree on the Internet, I suspect.😉
@@toboraton mostly losers like you accusing others who you know nothing about of lying about something you don’t know anything about 😂
@@toboraton better than posting crappily edited videos on the internet that don’t get any views 😂
The fact that Americans have to pay so much for a college degree makes the country seem so underdeveloped. And I'm not even starting on the whole insurance topic...
It’s so weird to me because in my country we literally get Paid to go to college
@@fayx2395 dude! Which country are you from?
You don't know me. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 i think it started because people didn’t know why they should spend time going to college when you could get a job without 😂
Same. I paid less than a thousand dollars for my whole college education in Mexico (materials, books and transportation not included ofc). I didn't go to a prestigious university and lived in my parent's house for the entirety of it but I did learn a lot of valuable skills and got a job faster than most people my age. Having to pay what americans pay to have college education seems... Surreal.
Dear roach person, I'm in the same boat and I chose the far away school and I'm scared outta my pants but the truth is that when you're far from family it's much easier to continue to develop your own identity. Skype is life in this situation! Good luck, it was a really tough dilemma for me too. Took months.
+++
carrie Very true. I went to college a couple hours from home and it was very helpful in developing my own thoughts and adultness. I liked being close enough to visit but far enough away that it didn't need to be every weekend.
I didn't have any dilemma about moving away; I knew I wanted to move abroad as soon as I turned 18 for years, even before I decided I actually wanted to go to university. It was EASILY (although that was only a few years ago) one of the best decisions I have ever made, and has dramatically influenced my life in measurable and tangible (and intangible) ways.
So yeah, ++++++++++++++++++ (as in, if everything else was the same, you liked the schools and all other non-familial circumstances the same, GO ELSEWHERE, as far as you can, imo)
A Mark Twain quote I love (despite its flaws): “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
Also, raising children is the parents' job. Sure, you can help, but kids shouldn't feel that they can't leave the house to build a career so that they can change Timmy's diapers.
Hi Carrie. I'm undergoing a difficult transition into new responsibilities that i undertook in Uni so that I can develop my identity, but its taxing, I don;t get to be as chill and easy going as a lot of my peers, your comment was reassuring. Thank you.
going into my sophomore year in college and this is SUUUPER comforting and nice hearing that everyone is also going through a constant state of doubt about everything from careers to dorm decoration
This is so true. But its so much worse or Stem Majors. lol
shut the f up BRIAN i hate you #HUMANITIESFORLIFE
About that constant state of doubt about everything:
It never gets better.
Never.
So definitely make peace with your cluelessness and insufficiencies. The grownups are faking it, too.
DFTBA!
(Also engineering is the best. EE usually looks like top dog, but that's because the Biomeds are so terrifying we subconsciously block them out.)
Except for imaginary engineering (industrial). They might as well be business majors. ME for life!
I'm expecting a long version of this video on hankschannel. That sounds a bit demanding, but I really do love the extended videos.
Dave Green +
hell yeah
Dave Green noooo i remember john saying that he want's benedict cumberbatch to play the role of dave green !
+
+
I wanted to be a filmmaker. I do RUclips because it pays more :/
For the person worried about helping with their siblings: I don't recommend you sacrifice your life and education to raise your siblings for *their* sake, as well as your own. A few things to consider -
1) If you step away, the next oldest sibling will then get a turn at being the Responsible One and learn lots of needed skills. If you skip college and stay in that role, they won't have the chance.
2) You will be acting as a role model to any younger sibling who may have aspirations for a higher education, or really aspirations for anything that require commitment and passion.
3) If you play your cards right, you will be in a much better financial and social position with a degree than without one, and therefore in a better position to help out monetarily later in life when it may become necessary.
4) Your life will almost certainly be enriched by the experiences and education associated with attending college, contributing to your overall happiness which will benefit you, and everyone who loves or depends on you.
5) College is cool and fun. Don't miss it!
CAVEAT: I say all this on the assumption that you want to go to college; perhaps you're hesitating though because you're unsure whether you really do. If this is the case, I recommend taking a gap year or two to figure that out. There are plenty of ways to have a good life without college and it's too expensive to just dive into as a matter of course. You need to know you want it before committing.
So glad to hear! Best of luck in whatever it is you decide to do :)
++++
Don't just go to college for the sake of doing so. Understand that it does cost a lot and so at the end of it, you would hopefully like for that schooling to allow you to get a good job. There are plenty of majors that just don't lead anywhere and this idea of following your dreams can sometimes be dangerous. Figure out how you can contribute to society and figure out a way you would like to make money. There is more to life than work, but work is a large part of your life. Money doesn't buy happiness, but you do need a certain amount of it. If I could give anyone any advice from someone who started off going to school for history and then switching into Bio Chemistry, Figure out what kind of career you want and don't just pick the first major you think of out of fear and pressure.
So many jobs today only need a short training course to do the job properly, but require a college education. (Obviously not doctors and jobs like that)
Don't forget the minimum 2+ years of experiencing said job...
And of course if you're a programmer the requirements are that you know SQL even if you won't be anywhere near a database.
+Flipsider that's if you're lucky "we are looking for someone under the age of 30 with at least 25 years of experience"
That's such a basic thing you probably should know it. You would expect a Maths teacher to be know Exponents even if they only teach Geometry to 5 year olds.
Drakan R lmao soooo true
As a sophomore Art History major who chose passion over profit, I completely agree with Hank. I love what I'm studying, even though it's not really "practical." At the end of the day, your hard work and connections will be a huge factor in a career. Study what you love, take the opportunities that come to you, and don't let the naysayers dilute your enthusiasm.
Hello. I'm curious: how is life going now? Have a nice weekend.
I was so so tired and overall having a bad day, but then I passed my driving test today AND the vlogbrothers uploaded a video. now I'm having a fantastic day 😊
So im back to this video, three years after starting collage, to say thank you.
When Hank says that antrophology thaugh him how many ways there are to be people, that's when I decided that I wanted to become an anthropologist.
Now, three years later, when zoom clases cause an existential crisis and devoid all purpose from collage, I need to remind myself why I love my career.
So thank you, because a 20 second part of a video changed my life and I'm glad that it did.
god your journalism comment made me so relieved bc that's what i want to go into
We really need journalists lately!
Jessica Clones yay more journalism majors! I'm studying journalism too!
I have journalism as an elective and I was conflicted between that, or a foreign language. I wasn't particularly interested in taking Spanish but I felt a lot of pressure from friends to take it because they were also taking it. I ended up choosing Journalism though. Honestly, I'm still not sure if that's the right choice, or if future colleges will consider it a useless class. But I debated changing my elective over the summer and I've decided I will wait and see when class finally starts. Crossing my fingers it will be worth it!
Jessica Clones me too
@Shell B : To get right down to it, do whatever one you prefer most! If you really don't like and don't need Spanish, you'll probably never use it and end up forgetting chunks of it. You're allowed to treat yourself! Plus, while I can't speak for other colleges, I know employers can look on journalism credits favourably: demonstrates good English skills, working in deadlines, ability to research and fact-check...
Happy to hear Hank say anthropology was his favourite course. It seriously changed my life (and heavily influenced my career, much more than I would have dared to hope when I graduated 10+ years ago). I will never forget my first anth. Lecture. I was supposed to be doing a different degree course combination, but it affected me so much that I switched. Never regretted it.
Hey John and Hank! I'm moving from the US to The Netherlands tomorrow and I'm simultaneously excited and a little bit scared. But I want to thank this channel and this community for helping me to believe in myself and inspiring me to reach for my potential. Thanks to all you amazing nerdfighters and let me know if any of you live in Maastricht, the Netherlands and want to do a nerdfighter gathering!
Decoupage is the art pasting/gluing decorated paper on to something. Collage is an assortment of items brought together by overlapping and blending into each other in one space. Scrapbooking is a book of fancy scraps.
I gotta admit I prefer "university" to "college". It sounds cooler America.
Edit: Hank corrected me (which is really cool thanks Hank!!) and pointed out that in the US, college technically means a different thing to University. I still think it sounds better though for people to say "I'm going to uni" rather than "I'm going to college" but hey that's just my opinion and I apologise to the person in the comments of this comment who thought I was implying that American English is somehow inferior.
A university is a collection of colleges.
In America at least, a university is technically a different thing from a college.
vlogbrothers video on what's the difference?!
Swolo A university is full of multiple colleges (such as college of arts , science, education, etc.) basically your major is placed under the difference college. I am an English major thus I belong to the college of art and humanities. the number of colleges within the university often varies. In order for a college to become a university, the board at said college needs to prove to the state that the school can adequately support different colleges in educational terms.
Hope that makes sense
Which brother is this?
I'm starting college in exactly one month
pray for me
Sending best wishes your way. You got this!
Ooh good luck!
I've chosen to take a gap year but I'm sort of regretting it, so I'm a bit jealous of everyone who's starting this September tbh
don't be.. cause I wanted to take a gap year and last minute I thought that I wouldn't do anything in it.. but now that I'm going I kind of regret my decision lmao.. just think about how you wanna spend this year
Me too! Good luck!
Gad Idea 23 and I'm headed back for the 3rd program... Hated high school but most people love college. Good luck! The first days are always awkward 😂every year
Yay! I am an Anthropology Major so I was excited to hear that an Anthropology class was your favorite.
Here in all higher education is free, as long as you pass the exams and keep your average grade above a certain minimum. USA, why are you always have to be different in everything?
Idk man, they really love money around here. I'd imagine Hank's video might go into why. I'm just scared about how I'm gonna pay for anything :/ People might say to just move to those European countries for colleges, but even then, even if that was allowed, I'm sure I'd get shit for being a leech of an American to take advantage.
666POD666 Everyone's envious.
you'd pay tax, therefor not a leech. as long as you take an interest in the people of the country you go to visit and show a genuine curiosity you'd be welcomed. my country (Australia) used to have free higher education but our government decided to be a miniature America and put people in debt before they can improve themselves.
666POD666 It is not free, it is paid for by taxes. Other people in your country thought it was a good idea to have other people pay for your stuff. That might work for you, but here in the U.S. that concept is childish, I am not responsible for someone else's education and they are not responsible for mine.
are you saying it's a better system to have each person bare that burden alone?
"Other people in your country thought it was a good idea to have other people pay for your stuff"
yeah dude, that's pretty much the best way to go about it. measure the debt of most people in a country who guarantees healthcare and education as a right to America and see who has the greater system.
what better use of taxes is there than to help people become educated. I never understood ordinary people who actively oppose their own or their children, or their neighbours benefit by talking shit about universal healthcare or free education. the only people who benefit from that sort of action are the rich.
Hey man, thanks for making this video. Currently about to go into my senior year of high school and my college plans are a shitshow at the moment. It's nice to be reminded that life isn't all about molding yourself into the perfect employee. Thanks, I really appreciate it. It means a lot.
For the passion vs. practical person- right now the "practical" thing would be to go through an apprenticeship or similar training program, get a job doing that, and go to college for your passion while you're working. We may not know what college degrees are practical, but so far we haven't found a way to replace beauticians, plumbers, auto mechanics, etc. so if you do something like that you're more likely to have a job to fall back on.
-People with STEM degrees tend to be more successful than say liberal arts degrees.
-Community college is always an option.
-Be willing to move away from your current location to work in another part of the country/world.
-If you want to do something that you are passionate about, consider getting an MBA and starting your own business.
-In the end, it's up to you to become successful. Many people fail many times before they become successful. The trick is to stay positive and not blame others for any road bumps on the way.
University has been a really important part of my life already and I'm not even done it. While I enjoy programming, it's really the people I met that have made the biggest impact on my life. My future ideas have changed and now I actually know what I want to do afterwards. I've never wanted a job and can live off very little. I've never needed to spend lots of money - I enjoy living off what little my loan gives me. I've found my friends feel the same. We'd rather dedicate our lives to learning and creating rather than spending all our time at a workplace. Together we're going to get jobs and work hard at them for several years until we have enough money to buy our own land. Then we'll build our houses, a farm, some walls, a castle and even a longboat. We'll also dedicate our time to making small indie games - the games we want to make. We'll live our lives the way we want to.
University isn't just about the degree at the end. Everything I learned in class is something I'm sure I could have learned at home. However, it's a life experience that you don't want to miss. The people you'll meet and the things you learn about yourself are what makes university worth it. I'm lucky I'm Scottish and don't have to pay for my university (That being said, I'm still in debt due to it) but you can always go abroad for your degree.
Thank you Hank for making this video! I think more people need to learn/realize that life isn't all about good grades and a job that makes a lot of money.
You should do this for new high schoolers because I am a new high schooler and I am scared(p.s I am very socially awkward and I'm going to the same school as my very popular brother.)
Advice from a teacher, and past high school student, to a new high schooler.
As much as it is every teacher's dream to have a student who does everything well with good behavior that isn't the end all be all as a student. The most important thing is to at least try and do as much as you can. Even if you fail an assignment if you turn in all of them you can still pass most classes. So don't give up, keep working. I will admit I didn't do well in high school as I didn't care and it isn't the end of the world. I still went to college and did really well.
Work with your teachers. The more you show you care the more inclined we are to help you. If you plan on being gone tell us. Get your make up work. Communicate.
Now, this is the most important thing I learned in high school. Some of your friends are going to be pieces of shit. Take the time you would otherwise spend investing in shitty people and put it into your self. You'll be happier in the long run.
Be careful with your backpack. I carried so many books that I warped a collarbone. This is a good reason to figure out how you learn early on. I didn't find out till college that I learned better by listening than I did by reading. So pay close attention to what is and isn't working then make adjustments.
Finally, you'll be ok. Chill.
GildedFish thank you so much for taking the time to write this and I will try my best to be more chill
Maddie.-. Sensor Don't go to a college that expensive. Go to a good cheap one. It will save you a ton of money.
We are all scared
Hopefully you'll have some friends that are going to the same high school as you, if not, that's okay too. I didn't. Just remember that high school is not the 'best years of your life'. It's okay if it sucks :) (real encouraging I know). Hopefully it won't suck, but high school doesn't define you, and it doesn't define your path in life. I hope this helped haha, but I'm not much for advice. DFTBA 🙅🏼(also this advice is like straight out of the vlog bros videos so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ oops)
I was kind of passively agreeing with most of what you were saying, Hank, thinking a few tidbits seemed a little shortsighted to me, but then you said 'Anthropology" and I JUMPED like someone had shocked me because I fell in LOVE with social anthropology when I was supposed to be loving my English degree (which, via the methodology my uni approached it, I ended up LOATHING), and it has had a MONUMENTAL impact on how I think about everything to do with humanity (which, as a human, is pretty much everything).
Despite having a fairly rigorous if non traditional high school curriculum and teachers that really taught me how to think critically, I had no inkling of an understand of how AMAZINGLY complex the human experience is until formally studying soc anthro. By far the best 'subject' I ever studied, apart from maybe English pre-uni.
So YAY, virtual high five!
I'm getting my PhD at the end of the year... I think I've officially survived college. Yay!
Wow! Congratulations!
Thank you :) Still got lots of writing to do. So many cups of coffee in perspective!
To say we don't know what skills will be in demand is a little disingenuous. We don't know EXACTLY what skills will be in demand but most likely STEM and finance degrees will help you most in finding a higher paying job. The REAL question you should ask is if YOU will find a way to use the degree you want to get. If you can explore a passion without a degree then you should do that and save some cash, time and frustration.
I uprooted myself from NH and moved to FL for college. So far I haven't had a single regret (besides the fact that I live in FL). Yes, college is hard but I'm loving what I'm doing so far and to me, that makes the tuition, living expenses and struggle worth it. Except for when my financial aid office fails to tell me that I still owe a rather large amount of money that my last FA payment failed to cover and didn't tell me until now and they won't allow me to get additional financial aid or start a work study because I'm within 6 months of graduating :)))) then it's not so fun...
As someone who is leaving for college for the first time in ten days, this made me feel much better and less anxious about it, especially the ones about the distance from family and the major. Thank you
I lived at home when I went to college. I did just fine when I moved out after graduating in the year 2008 and getting a job. I didn't need to stay in a dorm room with a bunch of drinking, partying kids to figure our my identity. Dorm life bears no resemblance to real life. You don't need to go deeper into student loan debt to learn how to live on your own. You will pay big time. For that reason, I highly recommend living at home.
Loved Anthropology!!!!!! Best class I've ever taken. It really opens you up and makes you view culture in a more accepting way. What I learned from that class is that we often feel like we need to fix different cultures/civilizations because they aren't like us but not everyone wants to live like us. We all have our own way of living.
I don't think about it often enough but I'm really lucky to be passionate and interested in a major that is (currently) financially stable. Makes me feel a little guilty, all my peers having to decide between what they love and what puts food on the table.
I am majoring in anthropology and I gotta admit I felt a little proud of myself and my course after this video 😍 thanks, Hank!
You need to make nerd fighter/dftba decorative Christmas lights. All college students love hanging Christmas lights in their dorm rooms.
+++++++++++ oh man I want nerdfighter christmas/fairy lights.
I'm done with college now (only as of this last June) but listening to you talk about life is always so comforting. I set way too high of standards for myself. It's okay to just...live, and be kind to others.
Whoa, WTF? When you said tuition is $42000 does that include a dorm room and a meal plan? I knew tuition in the US was ridiculous, but even if it does include those things that is still completely insane. The tuition in my school is 5300 Canadian dollars for two semesters without a dorm or a meal plan. $42000 is just completely outrageous.
that probably includes room and board, but for reference, my tuition is about $38,000 a year without room and board (with it's like around $50,000). So yeah, there's a reason we're always complaining about the cost.
SaggyC That's not nearly the worst it gets. Some would consider that a lower tuition in relativity.
I agree with you. It's crazy. There's some colleges in America that's insanely expensive. It's more expensive if going out if state. Like, since I'm from Texas, I can only find "cheap" colleges in Texas. If I go out towards Boston or so, tuition basically doubles. So like about 40,000 for a year. (I pay about 19,000 a year but I go to one of the cheapest colleges in Texas.)
Robin LeeAnn I go to an in-state college in Texas, and my tuition is around 10,000 with room and board. Without it's like 5,000 with financial aid.
SaggyC cost of attendance is different than tuition. It'll probably be another 20 grand or so on top of tuition.
As someone who is very stressed about the future, these types of videos are so comforting.
Gotta agree with Hank about anthropology. It's really an eye opening course of study. I took an anthropology class called Sorcery, Demons, and Gods, and another anthropology class all about culture and food. I might be a little bias here, since I minored in anthropology ( my school didn't have an anthropology major).
Kelly Towles I took an anthropology class on tribal religions and now I'm an atheist. 😂
StellarBobbi yeah, in my sorcery demons and gods class one of my friends and I realized that Jesus is literally a zombie and ended up making a poster about zombie Jesus awareness.
Kelly Towles Anthropology is amazing that way. 😂
Can confirm anthropology is the best subject.
I want a class on sorcery, demons and gods too! * . *
SOOO MUCH SAME for the Anthropology Class being my favorite.
In a rare turn of events, I COMPLETELY disagree with you Hank. Yes, we can't completely *know* what's going to be financially secure, but the lack of absolute knowledge doesn't mean we can't make a few pretty decent guesses. We know that automation is MUCH more likely to take the job of a trucker than that of a daycare worker in the future, or that history of art is much less likely to earn you money than medicine. These are significant differences, and they cannot be passed over just because we are reluctant to tell young people that "pursuing their passion" may not always be the best idea, especially for American students that will incur tremendous debt that they may have difficulty paying back if they don't get decent jobs afterwards. It also passes over the idea that you can train for a career that hopefully you don't hate and pursue a non-profitable passion in all sorts of other ways.
I agree there are some obvious jobs that are going to get quickly automated...but we don't know what jobs are going to be in demand in five or ten years, we just don't. There could be a huge glut of doctors (the way there is currently a huge glut of lawyers, as a lot of legal work has started to get automated.) And while art degrees aren't always going to lead to careers in art, they provide opportunities to build broad skill bases.
But, I think we'll agree on one thing, which is that the things you study shouldn't just be about doing what you enjoy, it should also be about how the skills you develop end up benefitting you and other people.
I think there can be a happy medium though. You can research a little to see what kind of work is more or less likely to provide for you financially, and then take a look at your interests and the remaining professions (including ones that don't require a four year degree!) and see what fits.
I guess I'm just really wary of people, usually very successful creative people, encouraging young people to "pursue their dream" or diminishing the value of work that simply pays the bills because there is selection bias there. People like you really have made it doing something their passionate about, and that's absolutely wonderful. But strewn behind you are the dreams of thousands of people who "followed their dream" and have little to show for it other than a mountain of debt and a lot of frustration. I'm not against doing something your passionate about, not at all, it's just that if what your passionate about is, say, traditional loom weaving, maybe also train for something you don't hate that has a moderate chance of making you some money in the long term :)
Suddenly comforted by your answers to my constant questions. Thank you.
"Should I do something I'm passionate about, or do something financially secure?"
It sounds like Hank's answer was leaning towards "be passionate," but I know a LOT of people that regret their art degrees. College in general might give you a lot of life skills that will make you deeper and more nuanced as a person, but a degree in Dance doesn't lend itself well to paying bills unless you're a very lucky and attractive person.
Who knew I was still worried about some of these things? Thanks Hank for bringing up all my college worries. No but really thanks. It was helpful.
Yes go anthropology! The reason you stated is one of many that made me choose anthro as my major and why I love it so much!!
Awesome! English is my minor, I love both subjects so much!
Getting a double major is a waste of time. For about the same number of hours, you can have a Bachelor's in one and get a Master's in the other. If you are going to work in either of these fields, advanced degrees are pretty much a requirement. If you are not going to use the degrees, you are better off just spending your time in the library learning on your own.
My 2 Cents: I've been out of college and working for 9 years. With very few exceptions (things like medical science), what I've seen is that the content of your degree matters not even a tiny bit. What matters is (1) that you *have* a degree, which is arbitrary and unfair but how it is, and (b) that you have practical experience. That second part is almost always way, way more important to HR and hiring managers. So even if you get a degree in Obscure Interpretive Dance Methods, get an internship in your desired field EVERY SINGLE SUMMER BREAK. That's the real secret magic to employment success. I didn't and struggled to find work (I'm now 31), but I work alongside 20-year-olds who had awesome internships. DO THAT THING.
"How much plasma do I have to sell..." Not much if you're smart enough to make use of bursaries, scholarships, and have the grades. Professors are always looking at their top students for assistants too, which comes with a lot of benefits one of which is a really good pay if you're at a decent institution and they have a union.
This is true in any STEM field, and many other academic fields. The biggest thing, by far, is that many scholarships and bursaries go unclaimed either because a lack of awareness, or cause students are frankly too lazy to fill out the paperwork, or write an essay, et cetera to claim it.
I agree with this. While I went to college under lucky circumstances (my dad being a professor at my college brought the price for me down to about State College levels), scholarships got me the rest of the way. A couple hours of essay writing paid for thousands of dollars of scholarships, and half an hour of thank-you note writing increased my chances of getting those scholarships the next year. Always thank people who helped you out in life, and thank them in writing!
However, that doesn't really cover the cost of living, so one thing I'd add is get a bunch of roommates that are as dedicated to saving money as you. Then you can get a membership at a bulk foods place like Costco or Sam's club to lower the price of food, and being roommates will distribute the cost of housing to all of you. You can plan your meals out in advance and each take turns cooking and doing dishes. This takes a little more dedication than my friends had, so friends are not always the best roommates!
Thank you, Hank, for being real but not making this video stressful... I'm a senior this year and all of this stuff just about wants to kill me.
I recommend you check out the frames at Ikea for the poster. Much cheaper than Michael's and they're really nice!
Also, they have meatballs. (Plus pine, oak, and a handful of Norsemen.)
There are over 1000 towns in America that have a Michael's but not an Ikea...just sayin'
Ah, very good point.
Michael's really needs to get Swedish meatballs, though.
If you are not American (and have never heard of Michael's) Ikea sounds like a good option ^^
Wal-Mart works too. And Target. And lots of other places.
Sure, they have them, but I've always been underwhelmed by their cheaper stuff. I was genuinely surprised by what they have at Ikea, which is why I wrote about it. (And the meatballs, of course.)
as classes for the end of my sophomore year go online, i find myself coming back to earlier videos you guys made about college and reflecting on my almost two years in college, compared to where i was when these videos originally came out. i was just starting senior year when you posted this. john posted one nine years ago, where i was in middle school. i think that's one of my favorite things about you guys; i can find videos about any topic from any point in your online history, consistently. it's a time capsule, of both you and the world, and, like rereading books at different stages of life, watching your videos at different points in history always leaves me with something new to think about and consider.
I think Hanks answer about "money or interest" is a bad one. Firstly because everything is interesting when you play close enough attention. You can learn that from Buddhism or just because there are nerds of everything. You can be that nerd.
Second, the data about what jobs are high paying doesn't change that much over the course of 10~ years. If something looks like a good money choice today you can have confidence it will still be a good money choice when you graduate and start earning.
Finally, having a high paying job is incredibly liberating. And the reason the job is high paying it because you are solving hard and difficult problems that people want to pay someone to solve. It's really great.
Hearing this was really comforting. Thanks Hank!
That one dude that confused college with collage Lol
26magicman26 I know that your comment is 11 months old, but that dude is actually one of the best fantasy writers right now)))
As an Anthropology major this makes me so happy!!! I feel like it's such an underappreciated major
College sounds fun....... yeah
The passion vs. money answer hit me hard. As a college senior who is currently constantly asking herself why she couldn't be interested in something convenient, like medicine, I deeply thank you. You haven't entirely quelled my deep fears but you have made me confident enough to stand behind what I have chosen.
Why buying the poster if I could be buying books?
Just kidding 😜
Best response to the journalism question! Heck yes!
"We are not in college, we are not on Earth, to get jobs."
That might be true in some traditional universal way, but college specifically sells itself through our culture to help people get a better job and move up economically. And it's failing us, so I wish you would acknowledge that, Hank.
I majored in Anthropology and at one point I saw an article about how it was the most useless degree. I made it work. I worked through college and got lots of skills and whenever I saw a posting that wanted someone with a degree in social science I could apply because usually there also allow for "similar" degrees. Anthropology is so diverse and broad a field I could tell my employers "yeah, I studied [whatever knowledge set they wanted] in school." I sold my degree even though it was supposed to be the most useless. I have been a parking enforcer, a youth development specialist, a driver's education teacher, a fish and wildlife educator and supervisor for their YCC program, a library business specialist, and, for the last 6 years, an Employment Counselor and Family Success Coach. And I love it. I went into anthropology because I wanted to understand people and help people understand each other. In my current work I get to help people understand themselves and the society they live in. This year I start my Masters for what is supposed to be another field with little return on investment: Social Work. My advice for anybody wondering if they should study what they love or study something practical, the answer is yes. If you can love what is practical then do it, or else make what you love practical.
Why am I looking at this I'm only like in middle school 😂😂😂😂 I CHANGE MY MIND SO OFTER FOR COLLEGE!
Friendly reminder that your grades in middle school don't mean anything. Feel free to make those 70's while you can get away with it. lol
HiHowAreYou WTF bad advice! Don't listen to this guy!
Honestly, it's ever too early! Props to you for taking the time to see and pay attention to the video. As a junior in highschool, I think bad habits from middle school are still haunting me.
It's really cool to see how many different ways to be people. I'm paraphrasing, but that's exactly why I'm majoring in anthropology!! I love it!
WHY ARE THE HOODIES SO EXPENSIVE? I UNDERSTAND IT IS NOT AS PRICEY AS COLLEGE BUT STILL. I AM BROKE AND I WANT ONE!!!
Book Nerd :D yes! I was thinking about it but then saw the price. Significantly more than I was willing to pay. :/
After this comment I was expecting to see something outrageous. $40 is a totally normal price for a hoodie.
Especially since their stuff is high quality. I'm sure the price will drop if they are bought more.
Sara Bennett Not on my--or many people's--income levels it's not. Yes their stuff is high quality, yes it supports the channel, which is why I wanted to buy it. However, budget.
Book Nerd :D You don't need one.
I must say Hank, thanks for clarifying the actual aim of going to college. I am from India and mostly kids here are taught to go to college to learn some skills that make them employable(which I too believed until a certain age), rather than to enjoy whatever they are learning/learn something that they feel like learning. I love almost all of your videos! Thank you so much for being awesome! 💕😘
i'd love to buy things from DFTBA.com to decorate my dorm room with.. but all the money i'd like to spend on merch is instead going to paying for said dorm room
Understandable :-)
Okay. So. Coloring pages are often available for free online. If you have access to that and a coloring medium (ms paint, colored pencils, markers, whatever) find some coloring pages you like, download/print them, color, and stick them on your dorm room walls.
Double bonus points if they're nerdfighter themed.
!! that's a great idea (and sounds like lots of fun yee) thanks (:
You're welcome! I still have some of the ones I colored when I was in college (it's a bonus because when homework or midterms or finals becomes too stressful: bam! instant fun and something to go on your walls when you're done!)
Dear Hank
I can't really pinpoint why, but this is now one of my favorite videos. It made me feel so much better about my life and my choices. It made me remember when I first found you and John back in 2009 and finally felt understood because there were others like me.
So I wanted to take this moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me stay on the path of kindness and (self) acceptance.
Sincerely
Aline
"Why buy anything else when you could be buying books?" Says the non-book thing he is trying to get you to buy.
1:23 I agree university isn't a job training program, but you aren't just expected to learn information, you're expected to acquire skills in your course which will get you the job you want to do in your life.
Also, working takes up the majority of our lives, and is getting more competitive to find jobs. As such obtaining the most skills and experiences whilst in university (especially outside of the lecture hall) is a little-known requirement if you're coming straight out of a Bachelors degree for a job, not just learning information.
What about food? I can't cook, help me Hank!
harrypotteravenclaw order pizza everyday then
Lower your standards!
INSTANT NOODLES!!!!!!
I live off of sandwiches, smoothies, nutrigrain bars, and beans and rice. Quick and easy to make and not ridicoulously unhealthy.
bbc goodfoods! or student cookbooks if you can afford them! there are lots of recipes online with cheap, easy affordable food that really helped me in my first two years at uni (going into 3rd year now) but ngl, i mainly ate stirfry because its s u p e r easy or just pasta with stir in tomato sauce :)
Im an Anthropology major; I'm so happy to hear that was one of your favorite classes :)
"We don't know what financially stable" -_- no matter what happens engineering/law/medicine will always make more than journalism/women studies.
George Hughes lol
to be 'financially stable' means to be 'consistently functional' in any work
Yes, but those first three will be useless to if we forget where we came from, what it took to get there, and how we can maintain humanity instead of cycling backward. Speaking as a cyber security major.
You're really looking at the state of news and politics now and saying we don't need journalism majors
He didn’t say we don’t need them. But we certainly don’t need more of them.
I got a poster (John's quote about nerds) for my classroom to put above my classroom library and it honestly is one of the best parts of that room. Such a perfect thing to include :)
Wow... I am so early. I shall commemorate this momentous occasion with a giant statue! ...or yknow, just comment about it.
P.S. Nice video Hank
"We are on Earth to solve problems for ourselves and for other people" - This is a really good reminder. I graduated from a fancy university 5 years ago. Since then I've been working in a relatively interesting field & have been doing okay for myself in terms of Adulthood... but I still constantly fret over what I'm doing and what I SHOULD be doing.
For the past couple years I've been trying to figure out what to do next, what will look good on my resume, what will make my college degree worth it, and frankly nothing has felt all that exciting or compelling to me... but I think I've been asking the wrong questions, because the goal isn't to build an enviable career path... if anything, it's about solving meaningful problems and trying to make the world a little better than it was before. That is something I tend to forget in my post-grad haze of doubt and anxiety.
Well, we will always need scientists to discover new stuff and engineers to put that new stuff to good use so there's that.
I've been watching your videos for probably a year or two and I'm just now learning what DFTBA stands for.
Endless reminders that I am leaving for college(for the first time) in two weeks. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhjhhjhhhhhhh
Deep breaths. You got this.
untappedinkwell thanks😅
Thanks for making me feel better about my decision to study anthropology when I go to university next year!! I am sick and tired of people acting like I am throwing my life away by choosing it.
But none of my skills are useful to getting a job yet... maybe my proficient genealogy research and hours worth of crappy video blogging experience will pay off someday?
I'm wearing my Why Buy Anything Else When You Could Be Buying Books shirt today, for the first time in months (because I own a gazillion t-shirts and I try to wear them all at least every once in a while, but only get to wear them on weekends, so it takes forever to cycle through them all), and here it is in poster form on your video! What are the odds, Hank?
Hank, as a fellow Masters person, do you really feel you're a MASTER at whatever you're a Master at? Cause... I don't think I do.. I mean I know some stuff but am I a MASTER? I don't know..
P.S I'd reaaaaaalllly feel like a MASTER if you reply to this :)
It's a weird thing to think now that I'm 26, but I had this idea growing up that I had to have my life ready and set by the time I was 25. Right now, I'm doing something I love and I finally feel like I'm settled down in a place I like, but I don't think this is the end of the path for me. Like there's still so much.... life ahead of me. I don't know why I felt like I should be on this set and stable path with everything planned out already, but I'm not and I'm totally fine.
So to all the kiddies out there that are leaving school and feel like they don't know know what they're doing....
....yeah. It's okay. None of us do. Planning too much is overrated anyhow. Heck, I didn't even know the job I have now existed until I was 20. Be open to new possibilities and play along. Life can be hard, but even if you mess up or change plans, it doesn't mean you failed. Just pick up the pieces, figure out where you want to go next, and go for it.
Under 50 views #EarlySquad
Hank, I started college today at your Alma Mater, Eckerd College!! I'm so excited!
Who the f is hank?
Mary Z The guy making the video. 🙄
Hank is a genus of bolas spiders in the family Araneidae.
Hank is the twenty-seventh letter of the alphabet.
Hank is a guy who once made over forty dad jokes in four minutes.
"Seems to kind of a lie that we're telling ourselves or we're letting colleges tell us that like this is a job training program, it's not, you are learning how to be better at stuff and that's gonna be useful in getting work and in doing work."
I never looked at it this way, and I feel like I really needed this kind of perspective, so thank you Hank!
I felt like I had to choose my future out of a million options, like the chance that the choice I just made is going to be the right one, is one in a million. I like so many different things, mostly scientific, but I don't know if there is a way to combine them. My parents and my (few) friends tell my that only some kind of 'prodigies' can do that, and I don't like to hear that my capabilities and knowledge are somewhat limited.
But your words gave me some relieve.
Um journalism is dying because they don't tell the truth, and only cater to themselves.
Framing posters is an absolutely game changer, strongly agree highly recommend
"Your mom goes to college." I don't think he got that one. . .
rootzMac it was my joke, and I am sure he did
You think that I, Hank Green, missed a Napoleon Dynamite reference? 68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqv5jm4TyB1qfnn3zo1_500.jpg
That is honestly the best picture of you I've ever seen.
Must've been a proud moment, Hank XD
Okay, that's legit.
I am so sorry for doubting you! How will you ever forgive me? +vlogbrothers
Hank you are a magnificent perspective communicator.
After caring for existential needs and having fun experiences, it seems like humans are designed with a higher, insatiable need to know the universe more and more.
Once we get our AI minds operational we'll be able to uncover universal secrets at mindnumbing rates.
In some ways, yes. In a LOOOOT of others (and it's impossible to quantifiably compare the two categories), NO!
Also AI might end up killing us all, so there's that.
Annie Peterson Why no?
At 1:50. That is why I like Vlogbrothers so much, when John or Hank comes out with a nugget like that! \m/
Don't. Go. To. College.
Right on.
So excited! I watched the best parts video and then came back to order my backpack. I love you guys!
Not to be a Nerd but I am SO excited to go to college and start learning again. I got my syllabus for my major-aligned class and I'm just so excited. Moving out in 4 days. And after I move out, I will be safe to come out to my parents. Life is so exciting right now but also scary. Best of luck to everyone else!!
I 1000% need that hoodie. I was admiring it the whole video before you said anything about it.
Hank Green, you are a wonderful human being.
Do the first 2 years at a community college that has transferable credits. Then do the next 2 at the University of your choice.
And if you aren't interested in standard liberal arts education or 4 years of university, consider a good trade school or apprenticeship program.
BTW- my ex was a recruiter for a prestigious small university, and my trade union craft job paid for a large percentage of her college loans.