Does the love of a subject warrent returning to college?

Re: Does the love of a subject warrent returning to college?
personally I think it's the only reason to study various subjects. I have various degrees in philosophy/literature and urban sociology only because they are subjects that interested me. I have no regrets.

For me the things I am best at are not necessarily the things I am most interested in.

The problem for me is that I am interested in physics and science in general, but I am worried that I will not be very good at maths, and you need to be good at maths in order to good at physics. I am afraid that if I am no good at the course I am going to do, I will just have to find some job which I hate, and I will just have to do that job to sustain myself. That situation for me, is what I would call living hell!

Join the club. It would be a living hell for anyone.

If you reeeeeally want this then challenge yourself, take the math course, believe that you can handle it and then do the absolute best that you can.

Gilbey--

Take it from a geezer. Follow your love. Pursue what turns you on. I find that maths are not so hard if you force yourself to do the daily assignments that keep it fresh in your mind. It's really a lot more about self-discipline than talent.

If you want it, you can do it.

Good luck, sweetheart.

I'm mixed on this. Certainly love your subject...

In my teens, I loved science and was keenly interested in medicine. I'd did extremely well in some university classes and found others near paralyzing in difficulty, though to speak up for myself, I did work almost full time and have difficult transportation issues too. Still, I was not the next Madame Curie. Years and years went by, and I found out my natural predilection and joy is studio art and I went back to school in that and landscape architecture, which utilizes various abilities both technical and artistic.

Still, I don't regret my years in laboratories at all, and didn't find them "a living hell".

Try it out, work at it, and, uh, relax about it. Many people don't find out just what they want to do all in a moment's time in youth, though, sure, some do. Enjoy the exploration.

Well, you can do fine in biology and not be able to do a lick of math. And, as an older student, I learned a hell of a lot from my biology courses that I apply to my career, to cooking, to dealing with the yard, to talking to doctors, to understanding meds -- really would have been worth it to me even if it had served my no monetary purpose whatsoever.

But if you think maths might be a hang-up for you, dive into that first and put the other stuff out. There's no reason to go into being a full-time students right away -- just take a college level calculus course at night and see if it works for you. I found it was very, very different than the mathematics I'd been forced to swallow when I was younger. You may surprise yourself.

My advice Gilbey is to forget it. Try to figure out why you are so bored to even think of such a costly and pointless project. How was it sold to you?

By all means, go ahead and do it.

Have you considered taking one or two classes, maybe at night, to see how things work out?

Advancing your knowledge is never wrong--as long as one's children or other vital responsibilities aren't ignored.

Gilbey, go to school. Even doing poorly in math will not guarantee that you get a lousy job afterwards. Actually, with a college education, you almost always do better than folks who don't have college degrees. And, keep in mind, you may not necessarily end up doing for a living what you took in school -- but the degree opens doors.

Signed, the philosophy major who works as a Data Analyst.

What I was thinking of doing was an online philosophy A level, starting in January, then when I complete that go back to college and study the subjects I mentioned. I love philosophy, it is my primary interest, and then science, namely physics, but science in general has many philosophical issues, so I thought that the two subjects(philosophy and science) would complement each other alot.

Gilbey- Do you want some of these courses towards a degree, or just for the love of learning? If it is for your own pleasure, MIT offers courses online, for free. The thing that is nice, if you are concerned about not doing well in the course, and just want to "dabble", you can try some of these out, without worrying about grades.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

I would like to get a degree in philosophy.

Gilbey, dyslexia may be a good person to discuss this with.

Gilbey-

These courses are business ventures. They sell diplomas.

If you really are interested in philosophy/science I would recommend that you obtain a copy of Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler who has now nothing to gain from you and has a treasure chest of jumping off points to navigate all on your ownio which you won't find the like in any of these institutions.

On the other hand if it is promotion or companionship you seek the courses are probably more useful.

Anything "popular" is, by definition, unphilosophical and usually unscientific. But quite easy. Obviously.

Then get one.

That's pretty easy jespah. I thought he had said he was interested in philosophy.

There is a difference and a not unimportant one.