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Should I drop out? *Serious Question* - Beyond.ca - Car Forums

View Poll Results: What should I do?

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  • Suck it up and pay/finish the Diploma for my mom.

    75 74.26%
  • Tell my mom if she really wants me 2 finish it, she can pay for it and I will do it for her.

    9 8.91%
  • Drop out of school and play poker for a living, unless/until it fails then looks at my options.

    17 16.83%
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Thread: Should I drop out? *Serious Question*

  1. #1
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    Default Should I drop out? *Serious Question*

    Before I start I agree 100% school is important for most professions, and I am not saying everyone should drop out of school.

    Details

    I have a little bit of a dilemma going on with school here, I have been doing my business Diploma for a couple years now and I will have 14/20 classes finished after next week. I have been paying for this with my own money, and I have spent roughly $8000-$9000 on school. It will cost me roughly $3000-$4000 to finish my program.

    Now I've always wanted to open up my own business and I still do but I just do not see this Diploma giving me any bit of edge on the real world. My dad and I know of a bunch of very successful larger companies in Calgary and I lot of them do not have any post-second education.

    I have talked to both my parents about this before this semester started and tried to convince them that I am just going to keep wasting money, and my dad started to listen and realize life isn't like it used to be in Poland, where you HAD to have a piece of paper, and it didn't help to know people/learn from them. So I told my mom I will give this 1 more shot and I was enrolled in 2 classes.

    My grades are good, and I do put the effort into school but for the last 4 months I couldn't stop thinking/feeling about how useless this is diploma is for me and I've just been accumulating so much stress is almost unbearable.

    As some of you know I lived in Vegas from July-November in 2009 and did well, but had to come back to Calgary. I am still playing poker for a living, but it has just been far to stressful to do well in school while finding time to play poker at the same time, and it is really crushing my results badly right now because I am getting to frustrated.



    What to do

    1. Suck it up and stress about school for another 1.5years (I wont take more then 2 classes at once, or I wont be able 2 make a living off of poker) and get a business diploma to make my mom happy. Thinking about it maybe do 3 classes each semester and get it done since after this semester my hard classes should be finished, and pay for it with my own money and hope I don't go insane from feeling I am wasting time off my life


    2. Tell my mom if she really wants me 2 finish this she is going to pay for school and my living expenses. (I will not be living home with her again to save money, we just didn't get along great when i was living at home)



    3. Tell her I am done with paying/going to school and I will play poker till I make enough money to start up a business, and if this fails go back to finish my final 6 classes.


    I would also be interested in doing an apprenticeship at Sait and find a job like that. I have no problem doing construction except the long hours killed me sometimes. I would rather be doing that then working at an office job from 9-5 getting bored out of my mind every day, however I would rather not do this unless poker was unsuccessful for me in the long run.

    Edit: Can you guys please post some insight as well, ty

    Also anyone know how long i have to upgrade to a degree after I finish my diploma?
    Last edited by Kobe; 04-16-2010 at 10:59 PM.
    Originally posted by beemerm3
    so if we only seen 5 % of the oceans why not drain them or somethin lol or can u even transfer water from one ocean to another??? think of all the stuff u'd find treasures n eerything.

  2. #2
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    First off its a diploma...it doesn't get you anywhere in life to begin with unless a mediocre job? If you don't enjoy school you will not enjoy a job you get with a diploma. This I have heard from every person I know(degree or diploma). You need to like what you do or your going to FYL everyday. What type of business do you plan on opening up. It's easy to say you want to but planning is the key stage.

    To be honest most people making big $$ have university education, that being said, alot of people with highschool education can be great entrepeneurs and make a killing as well, but that takes a certain kind of person.

    The on thing that troubles me is making your living off poker...made me LOL hard. I am a good poker player, have played for over 8 years, online, casino, home games. Played the highroller tables and won tournys and I can not even say I would be able to save enough to START a business and live at the same time off poker. I lived off gambling for awhile while going to university and wait until you have one REALLY bad beat for a large sum of money. Fact is with poker its hard to make a living in Calgary. Just a question, whats your bankroll and how much do you take home profit a week to get a better sense of your situation.

  3. #3
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    Originally posted by 2Valve0
    First off its a diploma...it doesn't get you anywhere in life to begin with unless a mediocre job? If you don't enjoy school you will not enjoy a job you get with a diploma. This I have heard from every person I know(degree or diploma). You need to like what you do or your going to FYL everyday. What type of business do you plan on opening up. It's easy to say you want to but planning is the key stage.

    To be honest most people making big $$ have university education, that being said, alot of people with highschool education can be great entrepeneurs and make a killing as well, but that takes a certain kind of person.

    The on thing that troubles me is making your living off poker...made me LOL hard. I am a good poker player, have played for over 8 years, online, casino, home games. Played the highroller tables and won tournys and I can not even say I would be able to save enough to START a business and live at the same time off poker. I lived off gambling for awhile while going to university and wait until you have one REALLY bad beat for a large sum of money. Fact is with poker its hard to make a living in Calgary. Just a question, whats your bankroll and how much do you take home profit a week to get a better sense of your situation.
    I am not sure what kind of business I would like to open as of yet, but I would not mind starting my own construction business or even something to do with construction.

    Regarding Poker, I am sure if you took a very large "Bad Beat" for a big sum of money and you you did not have Bankroll Management.

    I made roughly 45-50k USD last year playing poker Online/Live and I was working full time from March - June (50hours a week) so I did not have to much time to invest into poker at the time.. I also took most of Nov/Dec off when I came back from Vegas.

    I am not going to disclose my bankroll on here because I do have a decent sum of money online, but I play the $50 and $100HU sng's online and I do have a proper bankroll to play them.

    I do not plan on making my living off poker in Calgary, but online. Regarding a take home profit a week, you and I both know this is not really going to be accurate. If I do start playing poker without school again, I should be avging 40-60USD an hour, until I start playing the bigger games.

    I have been Living off of poker Since June? July 2009? and I have not have any issues where I am "OH Shit, I'm going to go broke"
    Originally posted by beemerm3
    so if we only seen 5 % of the oceans why not drain them or somethin lol or can u even transfer water from one ocean to another??? think of all the stuff u'd find treasures n eerything.

  4. #4
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    .
    Originally posted by beemerm3
    so if we only seen 5 % of the oceans why not drain them or somethin lol or can u even transfer water from one ocean to another??? think of all the stuff u'd find treasures n eerything.

  5. #5
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    Start your own business.

    Finishing school is for losers who want to get "good" jobs. The people who make real money are the ones who run the show. I fucken clear well over 100gs now and that is BECAUSE I dropped out of school. I finally had the time to put things into perspective.
    Last edited by bastardchild; 04-16-2010 at 11:23 PM.

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    Originally posted by Kobe


    I am not sure what kind of business I would like to open as of yet, but I would not mind starting my own construction business or even something to do with construction.

    Regarding Poker, I am sure if you took a very large "Bad Beat" for a big sum of money and you you did not have Bankroll Management.

    I made roughly 45-50k USD last year playing poker Online/Live and I was working full time from March - June (50hours a week) so I did not have to much time to invest into poker at the time.. I also took most of Nov/Dec off when I came back from Vegas.

    I am not going to disclose my bankroll on here because I do have a decent sum of money online, but I play the $50 and $100HU sng's online and I do have a proper bankroll to play them.

    I do not plan on making my living off poker in Calgary, but online. Regarding a take home profit a week, you and I both know this is not really going to be accurate. If I do start playing poker without school again, I should be avging 40-60USD an hour, until I start playing the bigger games.

    I have been Living off of poker Since June? July 2009? and I have not have any issues where I am "OH Shit, I'm going to go broke"
    40-60 an hour isnt bad, of course it isn't accurate but give a ball park right. What sites do you play on maybe I'll come join a game if you pm me your username.

    To be honest though, IMO, you should finish your certificate atleast with the possibility in the future to get your degree. Even if you start your own business, many business's go under and its nice to have something to fall back on you know? Starting your own business always sounds good but many people don't know what it takes and proper management, cash flow, HR etc. to have a succesful business. Do you want to work for your construction company(if you want to do that) or do you just want to manage it? I've taken some courses on opening small business's and its a ton of work.

  7. #7
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    Tcarnage @ pokerstars.com

    Should be playin for a couple hours tonight...

    I am def starting to lean forwards toward finishing my diploma in a year.. and then getting a degree if needed later on

    The 40-60 is pretty accurate, after a pretty large sample of games.. very abtainable
    Last edited by Kobe; 04-16-2010 at 11:35 PM.
    Originally posted by beemerm3
    so if we only seen 5 % of the oceans why not drain them or somethin lol or can u even transfer water from one ocean to another??? think of all the stuff u'd find treasures n eerything.

  8. #8
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    If you don't value education, then drop out now and get on with your life.

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    Originally posted by 2Valve0
    First off its a diploma...it doesn't get you anywhere in life to begin with unless a mediocre job? If you don't enjoy school you will not enjoy a job you get with a diploma.

    To be honest most people making big $$ have university education, that being said, alot of people with highschool education can be great entrepeneurs and make a killing as well, but that takes a certain kind of person.
    I disagree 100 percent. I will have a diploma in 2 weeks and I love the type of field I'm in and the money is decent. Plus, it's not always about the money.

  10. #10
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    Originally posted by JustinGTP


    I disagree 100 percent. I will have a diploma in 2 weeks and I love the type of field I'm in and the money is decent. Plus, it's not always about the money.
    Just a question...do you work at shaw?

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    Kinda side tracking here but... care to share your online strategies?? Jesus christ i couldn't win money online if my life depended on it.. sit n go, cash game, nothing!! I have a pretty good winning record for cash games IRL, but I just can't handle teh interwebz!!

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    Hmmmm - you do have quite the dilemma there.....

    I guess I would say if you were at the beginning of this, I'd advise you drop out and move on. However; seeing as you've already sunk quite a few dollars into your education and you're more than half way there it might be worth sticking it out and finishing - especially as it's relevant to what you want to do. Obviously if you were studying to be a baker but want to build houses then it would be pointless to continue. If you quit and regret it later you will have to start from scratch - at least this way you will have something to show for your already sizable investment and the "something to fall back on" mentioned above is definitely worth considering. Life has a habit of throwing curve-balls at you when you least expect it.

    I'd be very wary of relying on gambling for an income - it's possible it could become an issue (as in addiction) maybe, or maybe not. One can never tell.

    At the end of the day, it's your life and your choice, but kudos to you for having the maturity to take some time to seriously think about it, discussing with your parents and even seeking the impartial advice of relative strangers. You're obviously not taking it lightly and that's a very good thing!

    I wish you luck

  13. #13
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    Originally posted by Wrinkly
    Hmmmm - you do have quite the dilemma there.....

    I guess I would say if you were at the beginning of this, I'd advise you drop out and move on. However; seeing as you've already sunk quite a few dollars into your education and you're more than half way there it might be worth sticking it out and finishing - especially as it's relevant to what you want to do. Obviously if you were studying to be a baker but want to build houses then it would be pointless to continue. If you quit and regret it later you will have to start from scratch - at least this way you will have something to show for your already sizable investment and the "something to fall back on" mentioned above is definitely worth considering. Life has a habit of throwing curve-balls at you when you least expect it.

    I'd be very wary of relying on gambling for an income - it's possible it could become an issue (as in addiction) maybe, or maybe not. One can never tell.

    At the end of the day, it's your life and your choice, but kudos to you for having the maturity to take some time to seriously think about it, discussing with your parents and even seeking the impartial advice of relative strangers. You're obviously not taking it lightly and that's a very good thing!

    I wish you luck
    Thanks man, I've really been thinking about this and I'm glad I posted it here to get it off my chest. I was planning on going to Costa Rica or Poland in June for a nice Vacation, but I think I might stay in town and just play as much poker over the summer as humanly possible to earn as much money as possible.

    I think I should just finish off this Diploma next year and just take 3 classes each semester.. Maybe 4 then 2? and have it in case I want to upgrade to the Degree in a couple years. If worst comes to worse, I waste another $3,500 and call it a year, it won't be the end of the world.

    When I was 18-19 my parents threatened to kick me out of the house if I continued to gamble, so I did it behind there backs. I have been learning for a long time and not just from playing, I have read books, watched videos, analyzed hands etc etc..

    Poker is a game of Math and odds, and another with half a brain and time to learn can win money. There is also luck involved but with volume the odds and math equal out. My parents realized this about 1 1/2 years ago and started to support it. It was actually my mom that suggested I quit my construction job and play poker full time to make a living, when I was making $27/hour.

    The reason why I can say I make roughly 40-60 an hour is because. my ROI (Return on Investment) is pretty accurate over a couple thousand games, and with the stakes I play/ Amount of games I put in for an hour I can estimate my hourly rate. There is swings in poker, and there is ups and downs, but is is not a game fully of "luck"


    Here is a few peoples online graphs that will hopefully prove to you that the game is not 100% luck

    This is prob the most consistent online winner you will ever see..


    This player prob puts in the most volume on Pokerstars
    [/img]http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6610/jorj.jpg[/img]

    A friend of mine that plays Headsup with me, and has helped me out a lot




    I can keep going on.. It seems easy from those guys, but trust me it is a lot together then you think

    If you want to view some bad graphs go here
    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54...-graphs-61228/




    Anyways I was really sure earlier when I was writing this thread that there was no way I am going to finish this Diploma, but thinking about it now 1 more year is not going to kill me, I will just have to suck it up and do both


    Thanks Beyond!
    Originally posted by beemerm3
    so if we only seen 5 % of the oceans why not drain them or somethin lol or can u even transfer water from one ocean to another??? think of all the stuff u'd find treasures n eerything.

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    Honestly, if you cant finish a diploma, then why the hell did you decide to take it in the first place. If you plan on dropping out and starting some "business" with no real experience or background you are going to have a hard time doing what ever you want to do. Even a bachelor of anything in Calgary is not enough to become successful. Consider it an upgrade to your highschool diploma. If you want to take some serious advice from this board, I highly suggest you complete at least some post-secondary before you even think about launching your career.

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    fuck the future it never comes

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    Having recently been a student myself, all I can say is that the key to doing well in school is to make it stress free as possible. If finances are stressful right now, your parents (mom) wants you to stay in school, and they are in a financial position to help you without hurting their well being, then find a way to propose it to your parents to get them to pay for it.

    Otherwise suck it up and finish it. You'd be surprised what those little pieces of paper will help you accomplish in the future at some point in time... Even if it doesn't look that way right now. Not to mention it would be a waste of $9000 having spent and not finishing. Besides, I think a business classes would go a long ways in having skills to open a business? Unless I'm reading wrong.

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    I completely agree with an important aspect of succeeding at school is to make it as stress free as possible. I've been at the U of C since September 2001 -- full-time until early 2006 and part time since, while working part time in 2005-2006 and then full time from spring 2006 onwards. Something I had noticed when I was a full time student was that the older part time students seemed to perform poorly -- now that I (kind of) fall into that category I am finding out first hand why that is the case -- it's quite a challenge to balance work and school at the same time. You're exhaused after working a 10 to 11 hour day (9 to 5 jobs don't exist anymore), and by the time you get home, you're almost too tired to do schoolwork. I'm still getting by in school, but I'm certainly not getting the stellar grades I was getting before. That being said though, I know I am getting paid more than many of my peers who are in the same line of work because of my additional education (I'm working on a Masters degree right now), in addition to the experience I've been accumulating over the years. I suppose that's one thing that keeps me going -- I can look back 4-5 years from now and see that I've accomplished a great deal more by doing all of these things simultaneously right now rather than just focus on one or two things. In your case I think it'll also be worth it in the end. If you keep at it, you can have both (business diploma and poker income) in 18 months rather than just having one (poker income) if you drop out now.

    Originally posted by riander5
    Kinda side tracking here but... care to share your online strategies?? Jesus christ i couldn't win money online if my life depended on it.. sit n go, cash game, nothing!! I have a pretty good winning record for cash games IRL, but I just can't handle teh interwebz!!
    Here's a decent thread for that:

    http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.p...=&pagenumber=7

    You can always ask me about what I was thinking in the hand histories that I post.... I think I've posted a disproportionate number of loose calls that I've made, but maybe I'm just trying to make people think that I'm a crazy calling station...

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    there is a CPT tourney at cash casino today at 1, u goin? which casino do u play?
    "My biggest fear is that when I die my wife will sell all my stuff for what I said I paid for it."

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    Suck it up, stay in school and finish the diploma. That way, if things go south with your "business idea" you will have something to fall back on.

    I'm sure people on here will tell you a 2 year Business Diploma is a waste of time, but it should get you a better job than having no diploma at all, and will also leave the door open to upgrade to a degree if you decide to pursue it.

    Hedge your bets and finish school while you are young. You may never use the education and think it's a waste of time and money. Once you decide to take on financial responsibilities such as marriage, mortgages and kids.......it will be tough for you to go back to school.

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    Originally posted by Pacman
    Suck it up, stay in school and finish the diploma. That way, if things go south with your "business idea" you will have something to fall back on.

    I'm sure people on here will tell you a 2 year Business Diploma is a waste of time, but it should get you a better job than having no diploma at all, and will also leave the door open to upgrade to a degree if you decide to pursue it.

    Hedge your bets and finish school while you are young. You may never use the education and think it's a waste of time and money. Once you decide to take on financial responsibilities such as marriage, mortgages and kids.......it will be tough for you to go back to school.
    I agree with this 100%

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