@Josiah Patrick Zebarth
This is a very interesting topic that I enjoy discussing because I’ve experienced both and have two perspectives I can give based on your situation. Let me say one thing first a) be careful who you get your advice from (this includes me) ...
...I say this with the following - I have corporate world experience and ongoing business experience. I am in networks of individuals who have done very well for themselves in the entrepreneur space 7-8 figures level and although I often hear “college is a waste of time” it was still 50% part of their journey which cannot be isolated from their success...who are they to say that things would have turned out the same...?
I’ll give you a personal example ...my roommates turned out to be very successful entrepreneurs who sold their company in their early 20s while building a company in college ( like me) and THEY were actually the reason I got into entrepreneurship and got introduced to their network very early. To put things into perspective - the guy that was their mentor was also an older senior at our school who now frequently goes to necker island with Richard Branson and then some ( google him) ...to put things into perspective...I’ve heard them (twins) say college was a waste of their money and that’s when I often remind them that a) we would have never met (still business partners / best friends / and my mentors today) and it’s hard to say if they would have had as much success in their business without the mentor i mentioned above....yes they have a computer science degree which they don’t necessarily use today....but it is a foundation of knowledge discipline, environment and network they were exposed to.....I can say the very same for myself...I have a six figure income aside from my business - it was not related to the major I studied ( I went to school for 4 years - 3/4 paid wit scholarship) however it did set a foundation that lead me to my kind of work as an consultant today.
Additionally all the money I make I reivenest into more education for my businesses and or investments into them or real estate. I’m figuring it out just like everybody else but remember whatever business that you pick - you have to think about the ability to sustain it. Nothing stops you from doing business and learning just like nothing stops you from working 100 hours a week to run a business and work in your career. All proceeds made from the business I don’t eat it for lifestyle consumption it gets reinvested back so its one of two things - you may need to feed yourself from a business but have the luxury of giving it atttntion full time or you can supplement it with a job and Partnerships which is what I do today.
This is why having a clear picture of what you may have in mind will give you the biggest return on your investment. College can be a waste of time when you don’t have a roadmap to begin with ...which unfortunately a lot of people don’t... a lot of people coast just like some others have a plan and are committed to getting it done no matter what the circumstance....so I would say the decision is more about what you want to do and what capacity you know you can handle. My college network still pays me dividends to this day. Am I optimizing for full time in my business? absolutely. Currently in the process.
I think someone mentioned in this post, college is what you make of it. Just like what @jameswise said regarding having a license. 90% of people sit and do nothing with it. Well whether you went to college or not - you reap what you sow.
Lastly business route will always be greater in my book same reason real estate as scale is good for paying yourself first, tax write offs etc.. just remember the right business model is just as important as what you want to study in school if you chose that route. Some people work for themselves and are worst off then some people who work for others financially and emotionally. You don’t want to work 80 hours to have less stability and make less then a guy working 40....it’s all about what you’re optimizing for....running a business isn’t sexy...it’s necessary but it’s a process ....the less you take out of it ....or the more you put back into it the more it Weill grow wether it’s years...which is usually the case - it’s important to have the end goal in site.
Best book I’ve read thus far that covers all of the above is “the Millionaire Fastlane by Mj demarco” I wish I would have read that 5 years ago.
Good luck my man - continue to stay educated - school or no school and listen to the right folks (the folks you want to become - not the ones who practice a paradox of practice ) you’ll see what I mean when you read the book.
