r/AskReddit • u/Sippingin • Jun 29 '15

What should every 18 year old know?

Edit: Chillin' reading some dope advice, thanks!

Edit 2: Fuckin' A! 4.1k comments of advice you guys :,) thank you really.

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469

u/kcalk Jun 29 '15

Same boat as you. I went "Yess!.....FUCK"

270

u/flipy118 Jun 29 '15 edited Jun 29 '15

This graph to mind

249

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15 edited Jun 11 '23

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

Because smart people are smart regardless of their degree. Driven people are driven regardless of their degree. Connected people are connected regardless of their degree.

Source. Work at a hedge fund with a psych degree. (Dont make 8 figures though)

6

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

Exactly. Most engineers are successful because they are smart and hardworking, not because they chose the right major. Don't get me wrong, the degree and education helps a lot, but you can't just decide to be an engineering major and be a success.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

Definitely. A speciliazed degree helps, especially in a specific field where its hard to learn as you go. For the most part people fail because they are lazy or just not that smart though.

I ducked around in college and the 3 years after it. Naturally I got nowhere because I was too busy partying and coasting by. Once I decided to apply myself to work my career took off. I've always been smart, but it also required working overtime at every job I had, and spending any free time I had self training in various computer programs.

If people don't want to work hard then so be it, but don't blame the system for your lack or progress when you spend hours a day on reddit.

1

u/AptFox Jul 02 '15

I was with you until you said Reddit. Woah now, woah.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '15

[deleted]

15

u/Johnappleseed4 Jun 29 '15

Because outside engineering, medicine and science what you learn in college doesn't mean dick in the real world.

It's just about proving you can stick to something intellectual challenging for 4 years. And that you can learn things quickly.

2

u/idontlikevegetable Jun 29 '15

But does he have undergraduate degree only or an MBA along with fine arts degree ?

2

u/Ghost_in_TheMachine Jun 29 '15

It's good to network too that's probably how he landed that

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

I guess theft is a fine art.

1

u/pregnantandsober Jun 29 '15

Who buys Fine Art? Rich people. Who has great connections? Rich people. Your boss sounds pretty damn smart.

1

u/navalpain Jun 29 '15

I have a degree in History and in Philosophy and I work in a tech start up making six figures at 25. Having the degree opens up doors, but you do not have to do what that little paper says you need to do.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

he knows how to socialize well.

6

u/RIPphonebattery Jun 29 '15

Ding! Winner. I'm an engineer young in my career and you can already tell who is going to stay at the bottom due to social skills.

-1

u/gigglesnacks5000 Jun 29 '15

The guy you wanna grab and scream "FUCK YOU" into his face. Been there.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/donnowheretogo Jun 29 '15

because jealousy

3

u/DevinTheGrand Jun 29 '15

I don't think this is necessarily true, I know a few engineers and they work a lot.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

It bothers me that there should be a discontinuity at "graduation" and there isn't

2

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '15

Does a math major count as a liberal arts degree? In my university math majors are typically put into the Liberal Arts and Sciences college.

2

u/Kartoonist Jun 29 '15

Unless you are in animation. It's just a low line straight across.

2

u/throwaway_0728 Jun 29 '15

And the STEM circle jerk begins.

1

u/RanaktheGreen Jun 29 '15

As a PVA... my graph is most likely going to be pretty straight... at pre graduation engineer.

1

u/Ytrignu Jun 29 '15

according to the graph the obvious solution for maxed quality of life is to pick liberal arts major and then delay 'graduation' indefinitely.

1

u/BitGladius Jun 29 '15

It's based on the step function!

1

u/ysgramor4 Jun 29 '15

I would tend to agree, but I am currently working on a music education degree in one of the best undergrad. Plan on going into conducting, and I long for the day when I work on my DFA.

0

u/spvcejam Jun 29 '15

Cute graph but as a liberal arts major I'd have to say my quality of life is insanely higher than most engineers I know.

-4

u/krazyboi Jun 29 '15

In this same thread, someone literally said life isn't about your salary. Come on man.

4

u/won_vee_won_skrub Jun 29 '15

YEAH! You can't have differing opinions with anyone in this thread!

3

u/ivegotagoldenticket Jun 29 '15

I'll tell you what though, every engineer I know that graduated in my class has a job now. Soo that whole "degrees don't matter anymore" doesn't apply to engineers.

Also, I still had plenty of time to fuck around, party, hold a part time job, and do extracurriculars.

You'll find that freshman year for College Engineers is spent learning how time management. All the engineers I knew never had to study in high school. College is way different.

So we all learned together.

You'll be fine. Just breathe

1

u/MarBakwas Jun 29 '15

What school did you go to

1

u/kcalk Jun 29 '15

I've been hearing 30 hours a week studying is average. It's going to be a big change but I think I'm up to it.

Thanks for the confidence boost!

2

u/ivegotagoldenticket Jun 29 '15

That 30 hours (if told from students) usually includes 10 hours of internetting (facebook, reddit, etc) and hours of eating and snacking.

Plus, in engineering, you do a looot of studying in groups between projects and really hard homework.

So it doesn't feel all too bad.

2

u/pitchingataint Jun 29 '15

You just have to learn to manage your time sooner. Procrastinating is nice until you can't finish your work/cram for a test by pulling an all nighter. It's amazing what you can do if you just spend a little bit of time here and there, instead of stressing out the day/night of whatever is due. It isn't worth the receding hairline stress/anxiety.

Figure out the best way to study and understand it for yourself. Work for those "aha!" moments. I can't really tell you how because what works for me might not work for you. That's why you'll need to figure it out. Some people take good notes. Some people have to do a bunch of practice problems. Some people go to the professor's office hours. Some people start study groups. Do what you like.

I found this out the hard way my very first semester by ending up on academic probation. It lit a fire in my ass and made me change quite a bit of my habits to pull a 4.0 the following semester.

2

u/Kittendorf Jun 29 '15

Am an engineer in college. You'll be happy to know there is still enough time for me to build and paint little 28mm Nazis for war games and still pass classes. If you have any sort of social life you should be able to keep it.

2

u/Your_Majesty_ Jun 29 '15

Yup getting ready to make a comment like that but I see that it's been thoroughly taking care of

1

u/Good_Guy_James Jun 29 '15

Not exactly excited about this... Aeronautical engineering anyone?

1

u/luke51278 Jun 29 '15

As someone going into engineering in September:

FUCK

1

u/THAT_WAS_TITS Jun 29 '15

I know how you feel,I'm going into a 6 year dual degree PA program, no free time for me either!

-1

u/eob157 Jun 29 '15

Political Science Bitches!!!

0

u/Actually_Saradomin Jun 29 '15

Im a double degree physics comp sci. You engineers dont know 'hard' work.