Australian teenager drops out of college after just one semester to capitalize on emerging workplace trend

An Australian teenager dropped out of university before the first semester was even over and has a message for people who don't know what they want to do with their lives. Xiaoxiao Wang looked at university exams and assessments and realized that it was not for her.

She said Yahoo finance she felt obligated to go to college after high school because she was told it was the path to success. However, the 19-year-old said she preferred to work and gain experience rather than spend several years poring over books.

“I really took a step back and thought, 'Am I doing this just for the sake of doing it at this point?'” she explained.

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Wang was studying a bachelor of business management in Queensland after taking a gap year after high school, where she worked in retail.

Most of all, she wanted to go to college to meet people and have a fun experience. However, classes left her uninterested and uninspired, leading her to go to campus less and less.

“I just realized everyone around me was playing Candy Crush or a game on their computer,” Wang said. “And my two-hour classes or tutorials, it just wasn't engaging at all.

The 19-year-old said this went against her main goal of pursuing an education and she ultimately decided to drop out.

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She said Yahoo finance she didn't go into graduate school with a specific plan of what she would do next, but she didn't want to waste her time learning business theory when she could go out and experience it herself.

“I think there's no point if I have to waste three years of my life and do something as a safety net and SO to go pursue what I really want to do, like why do I need college, I can literally pursue what I want to do now,” she said.

The story continues

Experience rather than learning

Every year, tens of thousands of college students graduate across the country and are eager to launch a career related to their degree.

Some are fortunate to have graduate programs or clear pathways to transition from student to full-time employee. Others aren't so lucky.

In some job markets, hundreds of people apply for a single position and many struggle to get a foot on the career ladder. Shakira Coldwell submitted over 100 applications and was rejected for every single one.

“I went to college for three years and got a degree in the healthcare field, but, as a new grad, it's very difficult to find a job without experience,” the applicant said. Gold Coast jobs in a video posted online. “But how am I supposed to get experience if no one wants to hire me?”

Her story is shared by many right now and it was a big factor in Wang's decision to drop out of college.

“If I start [working] now…I would have so much accumulated experience that would make me more employable,” she told Yahoo finance. “Instead of three or four years later, I might not even want to do what I studied.”

Graham Wynn, founder and director of Superior People Recruitment, believes that the little piece of paper you receive after finishing university no longer carries the same weight as it used to.

“It’s actually a lot easier to get into college and get a degree than it was 20 or 30 years ago,” Wynn said. Yahoo finance.

“Entry levels are much lower, pass marks are lower and there are many more places at university than before. As a result, qualifications are no longer as valued as they once were, as every Tom, Dick and Harry gets one today.

Job site Indeed found that the majority of employers (68 percent) and graduates (61 percent) believed that undergraduate degrees were no longer enough to get a good job and that most bosses (59 percent) said they were more likely to hire a graduate. with internship or professional experience, versus without.

Indeed, career coach Sally McKibbin explained to Yahoo finance These days, practical experience can help a graduate stand out, sometimes more than academic grades.

“While a degree remains very important, employers are looking for more than just academic achievements,” McKibbin said.

“When it comes to finding the right graduate for the job, they are also looking for real-world experience. So soft skills, different abilities and transferable skills like communication and problem solving.

Tash Markham is proof that you can get ahead in life without getting a degree. She earned three different degrees and dropped them all, but ended up in a job that pays well and gives her a great work-life balance.

She wishes someone would tell her in her early 20s that you don't have to understand everything.

“I thought I was a failure, and I was less so because I didn’t have a degree on my resume,” Markham said. “I think it’s really important to remember that a college degree is not the be-all and end-all.

“If I had seen myself three years ago, knowing that I have a job that I love, I look forward to going to work every day, I have incredible opportunities, I get to travel across the country to work, and I earn more than I would have expected in my life; honestly, I would never have believed you.”

HECS debt was also a major factor in abandonment

Wang's view of college was only made worse by the fact that she was paying for a degree that she didn't really care about. When she realized how many Australians were saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, it only pushed her further towards dropping out.

The average Australian currently has HECS-HELP debt of $26,494, and this is expected to increase by $1,245 in June when annual indexation is applied.

The teenager had worked two jobs while studying and now wants to focus on those, not only to help her earn money, but also to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life. She works some days as a social media coordinator for a clothing brand and some days in retail.

She explained that many people her age feel “behind” because they don't know what they want to do as a career.

But Wang said it's crazy that you're supposed to decide on a career path when you're just 16, 17 or 18 years old and that decision usually stays with you for up to four decades. She hopes that by telling her story, others can re-evaluate what they are doing and give themselves time to define their goals.

But she said there was a big downside to dropping out of school when she did, as she had to pay an $8,000 academic penalty for withdrawing before exams were over.

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