Originally Posted by bbbbb33

i got a degree from penn state in 2004, started playing full time a few months after without ever getting a real job. school was easy cause it was so easy to just take a bunch of adderall and learn everything for the day of the test. or just buy the notes for your bigger lectures. i was able to get by attending less than 25% of clasess. so i obviously learned nothing and regret the money wasted (not the time, the time was good). but, i got a lot of credits and am only like 18 away from another degree. might go back out of shear boredom and get it, but i'd snap drop out if the classroom felt the same to me after all these years. i really don't think it will tho.

probably best post i have ever read on p5s.....thank you sir you are a scholar and a gentleman

[QUOTE=jalman1;5841317]well only like 2-3 % of people who play poker are good enough to be doing it for a living..


more like .5%

 

Originally Posted by Artie [URL='http://www.pocketfives.com/visit/party-poker'

party[/URL];5841472]I am a 5th year accounting major at penn state's main campus and I am going through a time in my life where I really do not know what I want in life and have no real direction. I have always been intrigued by poker and started out my senior year of high school just being a huge degen. I have always screwed around online just going through the cycle of winning and losing money throughout college but it was a hobby I really enjoyed. Penn State actually has a ton of kids who have had success from online poker and some of them are looking to pursue poker professionally while others are looking to settle down and find real jobs. About a year and a half ago I got backed by a friend of mine who is a cash game player and started playing small and mid stakes mtts but was still focused on my academics and was heavily involved in school organizations so I never put in any serious volume (I am actually still a Resident Assistant which pays for my meal plan and my dorm room). This past summer I decided not to take an accounting/business internship and wanted to take my shot at grinding full-time and see if I actually could make any money playing online mtts. I was happy with my results and made way more money grinding mid-stakes mtts than I would have interning at a Big 4 accounting firm in New York City and being miserable waking up every morning at 6am and having to be owned by the man.
It has now been about 3 months since I have been thrown into the fire of high stakes mtts (320 fos and under, 50c and 30r and under) and I have not really had any massive scores but this has been over a tiny sample size since I only play about 3-4 times a week. Several of my friends have helped me improve my game tremendously and have allowed me to believe that I can actually make a run at making some noise in the high stakes mtts. However I cannot help but be realistic with myself and think that I am pushing very tiny edges and chasing EV that is unattainable. Along with the fact that I will have a resume gap, not have health insurance, not be taken seriously by my peers outside of poker, and be questioned by my family members, I am not sure if the opportunity cost is there for me to seriously pursue online poker for a living. I have stopped going to my classes, plan on quitting my Resident Assistant job (since the amount I am being compensated is nowhere near close to how much I am making from poker), and am contemplating taking next semester off from school to really focus on getting better at poker. I know that this will definitely not go well with my parents but I am 22 years old and feel I have the right to make my own life decisions. Anyways this rant has gotten pretty long so I just wanted to see what people had to say about my current situation. Thanks in advance for reading and responding all.

Good look man. Im graduating with Masters in accounting in December, ya opportunity cost, resume gap. these are things that are bad with poker lifestyle, especially how much accounting demands you to stay current. But fortunately we're are young. Atleast you dont have a baby to worry about too lool

 

Originally Posted by Gags30

legit questions. i picked it cause i thought rocks were cool liked them when i was a kid and then took some intro classes and was interested in that stuff. science is cool, and geology is like not a science you always hear about, yet it applies to everyday life, and you can see it everywhere just by looking out the window...oh and the major/department seemed real chill and relaxed (also, i'm the only person i know that went on like 6 field trips/semester in college...how awesome is that). as far as what you can do with a geology major...work for oil companies. that's where all the money is, moving out to texas or somewhere west where they do all the drilling, gulf coast etc. if i wanted to stay on the east coast i could get a job working for the state or county doing different types of surveying type stuff...also a lot of construction companies and stuff like that usually hire a geologist or two to check out land before they build on it or blast into it, that kind of stuff...

tbh...i'll probably never use my degree for anything. if poker doesn't work out or if i get bored or w/e of it in a few years i'll probably go into some kind of business or sales field

edit: i don't really have a plan. i'm not trying to 'get rich quick' or anything like that. i'm saving to buy a house right now, and would really like to get one totally paid off in the next year or two. after that, i have no idea...i've always wanted to start a business or own a store or something like that...but idk if that's a reality or not, we'll have to just wait and see

not to crush hopes n dreams, more power to you to get it done and I wish you the best in any endeavour you have but, owning and operating a business sometimes isn't all that its cracked up to be. Sometimes I wish I worked for someone else as opposed to owning my own business, it really can take its toll on you.

I graduated from the University of Maryland in 2007 and played basketball for all 4 years. Played basketball overseas for two years before havign a career ending injury. Played some in college but now just starting to try and put in some effort over the last 3 months or so in online MTT's and live Cash/MTT's. Results have been meh online and great live. Enjoying trying to learn and improve everyday. Forums like this have been a huge help.

I've got a university degree in film production and screenwriting. It's pretty useless since people in the flim industry couldn't care less if you went to school. Really glad I went anyway.

 

Originally Posted by z06fanatic

its not about the garbage you learn in college its about training your mind to take information and apply it, and then learning to stick to a schedule, do work, etc is obv very beneficial......then obv the social aspect of college is amazing - you only got it once so experience it and live it.....from a purely financial perspective, private college is the biggest waste of money ever - state school isnt too bad and should def the best move imo

I like this post. Also, I graduated, and agree dropping out for full time poker is a bad idea.

Basically that's what the degree is, besides social aspect...ur never stuck having to do one thing. Poker doesn't mean you are stuck either, but I mean, it's not like you can just quit poker if you are bad and have something else conquered right around corner (meaning, college is already conquered, and getting a job with a company means you don't have to conquer learning the skills to get with that company before you can even apply). So I guess college+poker is way better.

These threads will always go the same way. The college grads will always patronize those who dropped out and the dropouts will argue their decisions and brag about their poker success and laid-back lifestyles. Obviously receiving a diploma is better than dropping out, but each scenario is different.

I guess I fall somewhere in between. I decided to take time off from NC State with less than a year remaining. The decision was based partly on my poker success but also due to my lack of interest in my major. I switched majors like four times and never really found a passion for anything (Deoxy's post reminded me of my feelings at the time). I finally settled on Agricultural Business with the intention of getting into pharmaceutical sales after school. Well, a few years into it I was admittedly partying more than studying but had really lost all interest in the field. I was also realizing more and more that most people in pharma sales travel a TON which was not something on my job wishlist. I love traveling but prefer to do it on my own time. Anyway I decided to take some time off to play poker for a living. Fastforward 2 1/2 years and I'm still grinding, have not gone back to finish school, but have made just as much and probably more money than I would in a normal job - and absolutely love it.

Do I condone dropping out of school for poker? No. Will I like it if my kids drop out to pursue non traditional jobs? probably not. I'm lucky that my parents, friends, and girlfriend are very accepting of my poker profession. However, I realize a degree is important even if you don't use it for EXACTLY what you end up doing for a living, which is why I intend on finishing sometime down the road. For now though, poker is the nuts and I have zero regrets.

As for the posters who say dropping out is stupid and we're "ruining our lives". Please. I "learned" just as much as most graduates, partied and enjoyed the social aspects just as much (prob more), and am confident I am just as prepared for a real world job than any college graduate. Of course I don't have the piece of paper, but I have no interest in a real world job at the moment. Besides, as other people have pointed out, without graduate school and connections these days, an undergraduate degree isn't worth a whole lot.

 

Originally Posted by survivor2331

I'm a sophomore majoring in accounting/finance at IU. I'm not a 4.0 student...but I get around a 3.5-3.7. I'm super worried about trying to find a job. I promise I'm not a fart-smeller...I don't dedicate myself like I should though and poker definitely cuts into my GPA. With your experience of trying to find internships, is my GPA good enough or are they looking for top top students?

I do really like accounting though so that's different. I'd love to take a Big 4 job tomorrow.

It was a few years ago when I was trying to get an internship so I'm not really sure how the job market is for it right now. Definitely try to get one though. Send out as many resumes as you can, go to career fairs, hit up friends/family, etc.

i dropped out with five classes left

i got a Masters in Accounting...only started playing poker while i was getting the masters because money was tight and working fulltime wasnt really cutting it, at the time i was trying to get as much education as possible cuz i figured that was best way for me to get money in life, so i was working fulltime in acconting making 40k then id go to night class 2 or 3 days a week, after night class id come home and grind $10 and $15 sngs till 1am just trying to make an extra 500-1k month to pay bills and have a few extra bucks to blow, by the time i graduated (2yrs part time but going year round) i was making more playing poker part time then working...quitting work to play poker was probably one of the easiest decisions ever...

so in my case if it wasnt for work not helping with the masters i wouldve never found poker

The best and brightest continue to educate themselves and evolve, if they feel a formal institution provides a useful structure for their personality and goals so be it. If they find a different path to the knowledge, who are we to judge? How many poker players have these forums educated? How many monsters were born in these labs? I wish I had spent more time here over the years and less time paying my tuition at the tables.

 

Originally Posted by Artie [URL='http://www.pocketfives.com/visit/party-poker'

party[/URL];5841472]I am a 5th year accounting major at penn state's main campus and I am going through a time in my life where I really do not know what I want in life and have no real direction. I have always been intrigued by poker and started out my senior year of high school just being a huge degen. I have always screwed around online just going through the cycle of winning and losing money throughout college but it was a hobby I really enjoyed. Penn State actually has a ton of kids who have had success from online poker and some of them are looking to pursue poker professionally while others are looking to settle down and find real jobs. About a year and a half ago I got backed by a friend of mine who is a cash game player and started playing small and mid stakes mtts but was still focused on my academics and was heavily involved in school organizations so I never put in any serious volume (I am actually still a Resident Assistant which pays for my meal plan and my dorm room). This past summer I decided not to take an accounting/business internship and wanted to take my shot at grinding full-time and see if I actually could make any money playing online mtts. I was happy with my results and made way more money grinding mid-stakes mtts than I would have interning at a Big 4 accounting firm in New York City and being miserable waking up every morning at 6am and having to be owned by the man.
It has now been about 3 months since I have been thrown into the fire of high stakes mtts (320 fos and under, 50c and 30r and under) and I have not really had any massive scores but this has been over a tiny sample size since I only play about 3-4 times a week. Several of my friends have helped me improve my game tremendously and have allowed me to believe that I can actually make a run at making some noise in the high stakes mtts. However I cannot help but be realistic with myself and think that I am pushing very tiny edges and chasing EV that is unattainable. Along with the fact that I will have a resume gap, not have health insurance, not be taken seriously by my peers outside of poker, and be questioned by my family members, I am not sure if the opportunity cost is there for me to seriously pursue online poker for a living. I have stopped going to my classes, plan on quitting my Resident Assistant job (since the amount I am being compensated is nowhere near close to how much I am making from poker), and am contemplating taking next semester off from school to really focus on getting better at poker. I know that this will definitely not go well with my parents but I am 22 years old and feel I have the right to make my own life decisions. Anyways this rant has gotten pretty long so I just wanted to see what people had to say about my current situation. Thanks in advance for reading and responding all.

So many similarities to you it's freaky. Graduated from PSU main in May, played poker "successfully" throughout the four years there, and now work in the city but am considering giving poker more of a shot. Same main concerns you have - benefits issue, family perceptions, etc. Maybe I'll shoot you a PM or something, in a very similar boat only I guess a few months further down the road than you

guilty

 

Originally Posted by Big Huni

Graduated with a Business degree, then went on and got my MBA (Masters in Business Administration)... I personally think its a horrible idea to drop out of school to play poker. People say the paper dont mean as much these days but thats mostly coming from people that never got a degree... it still means a lot, and another important thing about getting that "paper" is that nobody can ever take it away from you.

This is a great point.

People who say that a degree doesn't mean much these days are misconstruing the meaning of "doesn't mean anything." It's true that it's no longer the case where it's like the 1930s or something where if you have an undergrad degree you're on a different plane than everyone else and will find it easy as hell to get a job.

Nowadays, having an undergrad is basically the bare minimum for getting a good job in most cases. So it's not that a degree is worthless and means "nothing," it's just not a guarantee of anything. It's just a basic requirement, not a bonus.

That being said, I don't fault anyone for dropping out of school if they feel like the opportunity cost of not playing poker right now is so high that they have to do it. That's a decision you have to make for yourself and everyone's circumstances are different. Not everyone needs to travel the same path in life and I think it's retarded that so many people think that there's only one way to live life. At Duke, 99% of people I talk to have had their paths set since they were freshman in HIGH SCHOOL. They took SAT prep classes to get into a school like Duke. Then they do certain activities, MCAT/LSAT/GMAT/GRE (depending on preferences) prep, take specific classes all to just get to the grad school of their choice. Then it's the next step and on and on and on...You don't have to be that "sheep" as Deoxy points out but for the most part, I think if your circumstances aren't desperate, you can get a lot out of going to a state college, partying a lot, meeting new people, and then figuring out what you want to do afterwards. Again, as I've said before, that doesn't apply to everyone. If you're just dropping out because you're oi school, THINK about whether that's a good decision or not. Is it really the economically best decision for you both right now and the future to drop out? WEIGH the benefits and costs and be honest with yourself. What is best for you? That's the only thing that matters when you're making a decision like that.

It's really tempting to blow off because classwork sucks a lot, but I really don't think you can outright say "a degree is meaningless." It's just not remarkable anymore---that still means that those without it will suffer when attempting to get a job in the outside world. That's just something to consider. Poker is great but just like any other decision, everyone should weigh the opportunity costs as well as benefits that come from dropping out to play poker. Each person's situation will be unique so only you can decide for yourself what's the best path because only you know what these are.

***Oh and another thing just to throw out there, NO ONE should waste their $ on a private university unless it's like a top-ten/twenty school in the country. Going to a private school to go to a private school is just dumb unless the name and reputation from that school is so good that you'll be able to walk into almost any place and get pretty great jobs. Go to the good state school in your area, have fun, get a degree and figure out what you want to do with your life during/after that.