> > I've been thinking about that discussion concerning college. I think it's OK to take those first two years at a community college. First, it's cheaper, but you may also be closer to home. It also makes a good transition from high school and lessens the shock of going into a big, scary university.
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> > These days, it is easier to transfer credits from a community college. I know a lot of people who did that. One was my son who went to Roane State Community College for two years and then got an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee. I don't think it made any difference.
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> I agree. I went to a community college that was part of the University of Wisconsin system (if it's part of the U of State, you usually get a guaranteed transfer to any of the other U's of State). Two years, and I only paid $1250/semester. I also think I got better education there than I'm now getting at a huge UW school that's supposed to be great. It's also true that students who spend their first two years at a two-year community college do better at the larger colleges later on--I think that's because, by the time two years has passed, you're not as prone to be distracted by everything "college" and more likely to put school first.
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> Vida

Don't forget to factor in the opportunity cost of college. That's the amount of money you could earn if you worked full time instead of going to classes. It's a real cost, even if it's a good investment.
The best paying "official" job I had did not require a degree at all. My education was, in fact, the one dark spot on my resume. I ended up working FOR supervisors who were my age but had utilitzed the years I spent in college aquiring more usefull work experience and learning chemisty on-the-job. (Don't laugh, they believed they larnt it!)
In fact, my work experience in the unrelated biotech industry was more important than my education.
At this job, the pay was higher, the benefits better, the responsiblity greater, and the chance for advancment was real.
The people I worked for had advanced from my level without college educations. What's more, they had spent those years earning income when I had been in college watching outgo.