I remember wanting to quit uni when I was a second year student. There was a hype around dropping out uni, uni being a waste of time.
I wanted to go out in the ‘real world’ and start a multi-million dollar business, as a lot of 20-year-olds did, I guess.
I would have quit if I wasn’t bound to a contract. But I didn’t have RM44,000, so I stayed.
It’s been 8 years since I left uni. When I look back now, I don’t have any of the regrets I used to have.
I feel happy instead.
I used to think I wouldn’t use the things I learned in uni much. That’s been true, partly.
I’m not a chemical engineer anymore, so my ASPEN HYSYS software knowledge is dusty in the corner.
But I do find myself using a lot of the heuristics my uni lecturers and professors taught me to design infrastructures in my businesses.
It’s surprisingly useful.
I’ve seen people with no engineering background struggle with piecing complex infrastructures of thought and design together… while I can see the solution in a painfully obvious way thanks to the years of grueling chemical engineering.
That’s not to say I’m smarter, but that I do have an advantage from my chemical engineering education.
So today, if ever anyone asks me: should I go to uni?
I would say: yes. But be picky.
Pick the ones that would teach you how to design airplanes, machines, air-conditioners or buildings. Knowing how to design complex physical things will change how your brain works.
Of course, I’m very biased to my own experiences. So take this advice with a scoop of salt 😉
The other thing I really like about my life now are friends.
Thanks to uni, I’ve made and kept really good friends. Sure, you can make friends anywhere. But it’s nice for me to have a shared history together.
So sometimes we can laugh about the funny antics of lecturers we had, and how I was seldom attentive in class.
Lastly: will you be more, or less successful if you stay in uni?
I would say – it doesn’t matter.
There are millionaires, billionaires, inventors, thought leaders and business leaders from every level of academic education.
The point is not quitting uni or not. But to do what you want, be the best at it and make your mark.