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Anarchism Is Leaving Me With No Options...

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OldBenjaminNOMORE Posted: Sun, Apr 29 2012 1:05 AM

Now that I see the error of government and have become an anti-statist, I look around at my future options with question marks.

I am in college halfway through my degree, which is business.  I recently found out that I abhor business, i.e the accounting/finance/management aspects of it.  So I am changing my major, but to what?  Now that I have this anti-statist view, I look at some degrees I would have previously been interest in, such as political science, criminology/justice, education,  and any other degree relatable with contempt, as nearly everything serves to prop up the state further.  Even law school or grad school in the aforementioned degrees to a professing career, etc. are further out of the picture for the same reason.

Do any of you have this dilemma?

 

Thanks!

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Before you change your major, why were you business major?

 

To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process.
Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!"
Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."

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For the practicality of it.  I figured I would just get a management job and be the average American.  I would like to own a business (OF COURSE!), but that isn't something immediate for me, as the resources aren't there.

I know, becoming an entrepreneuer is perhaps the epitome of free-market anarchism, but for right now I don't have the option to do anything of that caliber (though I am entertaining some summer business ideas to avoid the dreaded Kmarts and such :D )

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OldBenjaminNOMORE:

For the practicality of it.  I figured I would just get a management job and be the average American.  I would like to own a business (OF COURSE!), but that isn't something immediate for me, as the resources aren't there.

I know, becoming an entrepreneuer is perhaps the epitome of free-market anarchism, but for right now I don't have the option to do anything of that caliber (though I am entertaining some summer business ideas to avoid the dreaded Kmarts and such :D )

 

Go with the summer business ideas. If you're worried about failing, then just remember that getting a college degree in anything can also be a failure.

To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process.
Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!"
Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."

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OldBenjaminNOMORE:
I am in college halfway through my degree, which is business.  I recently found out that I abhor business, i.e the accounting/finance/management aspects of it.  So I am changing my major, but to what?

Why are you in college at all?

That's the question you should be answering.

 

Recommendations in considering "higher ed"

What is the best trade to learn in recession?

Want a High Paying Job?

Happiest and Unhappiest Jobs in America

The Most Lucrative College Degrees

 

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OldBenjaminNOMORE:
For the practicality of it.  I figured I would just get a management job and be the average American.  I would like to own a business (OF COURSE!), but that isn't something immediate for me, as the resources aren't there.

I know, becoming an entrepreneuer is perhaps the epitome of free-market anarchism, but for right now I don't have the option to do anything of that caliber (though I am entertaining some summer business ideas to avoid the dreaded Kmarts and such :D )

John James makes an excellent point. 

And being an entrepreneur means you are free not to obtain higher education. If you really want to go for it you can give Computer Science / Engineering a shot. Problem solving, logic and math all of which are incredibly useful are to be exercised in this kind of degree. Lots of money is in high tech too.

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Computer Science and Engineering are as oversupplied as anything.

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Clayton replied on Mon, Apr 30 2012 1:03 AM

+1 JJ

@OP: It's difficult to "cut your losses" but the US education market is insanely inflated right now. I'm assuming you're young and unattached. Here are some brainstorming starters. Don't think of it as advice, just think of it as ideas to get you started thinking:

  • Move to a different country with more reasonable tuition costs and finish your degree there
  • If you've completed close to two years of school and you choose to quit college, you might as well get the AA certificate - better to get something than nothing for all that money
  • Stop thinking about "your future" and focus on the now - start thinking about how you can start earning money now, ASAP
  • Stay away from stock, bond and mutual fund investing until either you're over 35 years of age or your net worth is greater than $100K, unless that's the business you're planning to go into (and if it is, I have a list of reservations here)
  • The primary obstacle facing would-be business owners is capital - even seeking venture capital requires capital (to pay for your unemployment or underemployment)
  • Focus on building cash. Remove any student debt, CC debt etc. Don't stop until you're to zero and then keep right on going. Live as frugally as possible, work as much as possible. Two jobs would be ideal for this phase. If your parents will allow you to live at home, do it, even if you have to kiss and make up. There's nothing that will give you as big a leg up as free/super-cheap rent at this stage in your life.
  • Assuming you choose not to move to a different country, do at least set aside some time and cash to travel to another country. Many countries in South America are great destinations. Doug Casey recommends Argentina. This will prep you for the future when you need to start hedging your wealth - and yourself - across multiple jurisdictions to keep it secure.
  • Think about how you can peddle what you own - peddling is one of the oldest - though recently it has become one of the most reviled - professions. Craigslist has opened a new vista for the part-time peddler. If you know baseball cards or legoswhatever it is, you can browse Craigslist during your lunch breaks and then trade during off-hours, weekends and vacations. Trade what you know. Always know how you're going to make a profit; don't "guess". This is an invaluable way to build the "horse-trading" skills you will need in any business endeavor throughout the rest of your life. You're going to make mistakes no matter what and this one of the safest ways you can make them.
  • Another strategy I considered when I was in a similar position is to learn a high-risk trade - high-iron construction, high-voltage lineman, forest-fire hotshot, whatever. One of the key advantages you have if you are male is that your brain is more amenable to handling high-risk jobs and so you might as well leverage it. It's about the only thing about being male that you're not going to pay through the nose for during your life. These are the kind of jobs that will take 100% of your time and energy but they pay a lot better than double-shifts at McDonald's and the only skill required is a pair of testicles.
  • I can't emphasize enough the importance of frugality. Before you get married and have children, your capacity for frugality is limited only to your imagination. I sub-let a room from a very clever guy who had me and one other guy sub-renting a 3-bedroom house. Each of us sub-renters paid more than half the rent, so he had a little profit at the end of the month - free rent, basically. He had a box full of coupons and he would get the $1 Burger King special or whatever for lunch. For breakfast, he had a protein shake from a monster jar of protein from Costco that he had calculated cost him $0.77 per breakfast. For dinner, he had a barbecue grill and he would grill up top-grade steak for the week, which he usually ate with a small salad. He worked out at the gym for like half the day every day and then brought home a different chick every weekend (yes, hot). Oh, and he didn't work. Whenever I think back, I am still awed by what that guy managed to do on so little. He was focused on maintaining as little income as possible due to a bitter divorce but if you combined his cost-cutting strategy with some good, old-fashioned elbow grease, you could put away some serious cash in a hurry.

OK, I'll stop with that. I hope some of that helps you get started.

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
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Move to a different country with more reasonable tuition costs and finish your degree there

I went on a tour of the Seneca College biotech department in Toronto last year and looked at the tuition.  It was something like $9,000 for the 3 year program.  I decided that I could do something better in 3 years, but Americans would probably drool at that sort of price considering what I've read about what you guys pay for this stuff.

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What are you thought on excess student loan money?  Would you recommend not accepting it or using it for startup business money?

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Clayton replied on Mon, Apr 30 2012 3:21 PM

What are you thought on excess student loan money?  Would you recommend not accepting it or using it for startup business money?

Use as little of it as possible and use the excess to repay the student loan ASAP. They push this notion that the student loans are "super-cheap" but it doesn't really matter - they're still loans. Even if it was 0% money, you'd still have to pay it back and every dollar of that loan you use for living expenses is a dollar that you're going to have to earn later on in order to pay back the loan.

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Jargon replied on Tue, May 1 2012 10:27 PM

@ Clayton

Do you think a college graduate is too old for an apprenticeship :P

Land & Liberty

The Anarch is to the Anarchist what the Monarch is to the Monarchist. -Ernst Jünger

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Clayton replied on Wed, May 2 2012 1:23 PM

@Jargon: I see no reason why it makes you too old. Apprenticeship at what?

I wrote a post a long time back on this issue and I think that it is wise to approach any job/profession with the mentality of an apprentice, no matter what your official job is. Find the senior, experienced people (not management! ... actual working individuals...) and put yourself in their service. Sooner or later, they'll start teaching you stuff and that's what it's really all about.

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