Advice for a 13-Year-Old Working Toward a Finance Degree

[davewill]

Some of the advice makes me laugh. The only thing I'm sure of is that the OP doesn't want to do it my way where I spent 10 years doing school and not getting a degree. The only positive was that I didn't spend tons of money doing it. Otherwise there's no wrong way to do it.

[topdog98]

You want to stand out in an interview. You want them to remember you. It will stand out when he says he got his degree at 18.

[zapproximator]

I'm not trying to avoid STEM. I actually thought about getting a math degree from TESU... Not sure what you think of that. I just thought it was less practical, maybe I'm wrong.
When I get the degree, I'm not immediately getting a job. I'll move on to something like a Masters at an established college, maybe a CFP?
I'll be offline for a while, going in for A&I Lit at 12:00!

[hsfamfun]

I am a home educating mom of two and I am getting ready to graduate my youngest. I have to say that you impress me, Zapproximator. Go ahead and plan and start toward your goals! Do I think that your goals will change? Probably, but it is obvious that you have the intelligence and academic ability to do college level work, so do it! Make sure that you take time to enjoy being thirteen, because you will never be that age again. However, I look forward to seeing what you accomplish and do ask that you keep us posted!

[zapproximator]

I definitely am enjoying being 13 hilarious School normally takes 4/5 hours so I do have a lot of fun... the rest of the day!

I will keep you posted!

[bellbaby]

Let's see... I spent over 100k for 2 bachelors degrees and partially done professional degree (dropped out/poor grades) and I'm a stay at home mom of two middle schoolers. I'm actually on here to do better for myself without spending another 40k and help my homeschoolers get ahead. While I definitely appreciate the "networking" factor involved in brick and mortar schools, all my previous school experiences were brick and mortar and no real networking happened there. After Z gets his degree, he can do gap year programs where he'd be expected to be a high school graduate, but he'd have his degree, and could find his networks there. You must know by now that real education doesn't come till you are in the real world. Real world is not university schooling. The finance degree could be a gateway to a bunch of other opportunities. Maybe he gets his MBA by 20. Even if those don't give him a leg up on salary, he won't be in debt and he can work 2 yrs full time and get work experience where his typical peers are underage drinking on campus, cramming for exams same as folks on this board (just so they can check a box!)

Anyway, I was telling another mom friend about this board and how spectacular it was that everyone has been so supportive of a 13 yr old homeschooler earning his degree early! Glad even the skeptical comments haven't been too snarky 

[clep3705]

When I finished my education and got a great job, it was a direct consequence of my experiences as a brick and mortar student. I had real world experiences on campus. How could that be? Because of all of the labs I took. I also had fellowships to work in labs, both wet and dry. I worked with multimillion dollar equipment gaining very valuable knowledge that would have been impossible to obtain with self-study or even from attending lectures at a brick and mortar school. Plus I had a lot of fun in labs. I went to a big state university and tuition was reasonable. Tuition and books costs less than my fellowships paid me.

A home schooling, self-study program is not a substitute for STEM education at a brick and mortar school. STEM isn't for everybody, perhaps not for the OP.

zapproximator, you're going to finish early, I want you to find a great postbaccalaureate experience somewhere. Take a geology course from the University of Hawaii. Welcome to Geology at UH Hilo! Maybe you can get P.E. credit for learning how to surf. And don't forget about astronomy - take an astronomy course at the University of Hawaii so you can use their world class telescopes. What would impress me is not your online degree at an early age. I would be impressed by enviable post-baccalaureate experiences. My best and most useful college experiences were as a post-baccalaureate student.

[sanantone]

You have a hit thread!

I'm in between. While I do not believe most 13yo children truly know what they want to do with their lives, the OP should have plenty of time and money to complete a second degree in his early twenties.

I think the college experience is overrated. It's not important for some majors. In the fields I have mostly worked in (criminal justice and human services), most of what you learn is on the job. The education just lays a foundation and can be done online. I know more about CJ work than the professors and students in my doctoral program because I've worked in the field for a long time and have been through the hiring process for a variety of positions. I believe I'm the only student who earned a bachelor's and master's online.

[zapproximator]

I am pretty shocked at how long this thread is!!

[bellbaby]

... read next post with quote included. /n00b