This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Audrey Serna, 33, who dropped out of college after two semesters. It has been edited for length and clarity.
It was a horrible feeling to drop out of college when all of my peers chose that route. But I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
After graduating from high school in 2010, I enrolled at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. I grew up in an environment where I was told that college was the only path to success, so I didn’t even consider taking a different route. I quickly realized, though, that college was not the right fit for me: I struggled to balance school and my social life while working part-time jobs, and it was weighing on my mental health.
I withdrew from college after two semesters and started on an emotionally and financially draining career journey that I’m now grateful for.
Job searching without a college degree
I felt like a total failure leaving school at 20 years old. I was working just to pay the bills — I held two jobs as a restaurant server and in retail, and in the back of my mind, I always had motivation to push myself to find a more stable career. I just didn’t know how.
Many companies rejected me right off the bat because I didn’t have a college degree, which wasn’t a good feeling. I had moments where I felt like I wouldn’t make it anywhere because I didn’t have a degree, but I persevered. All it took was meeting just one person who was willing to take a chance on me.
Job searching while pregnant was frustrating. When hiring managers saw that I was pregnant, that was usually the end of the road for me, but knowing that I had a child to support was a big motivator to keep pushing and find a salaried role.
I had my first child in 2014, and that’s when my career actually started to take off. I landed an entry-level payroll job — my first 9-to-5 job — and I went into it with the attitude of trying to be the best employee at the company, which meant being responsive and working quickly. Upper management liked my work ethic and decided to take a chance on me, and they offered me a managerial position that I held at the company for about six years.
It wasn’t easy, though. Before I had my child, I was paying the bills as best I could, but I was struggling for a while. At one point, I went six or seven months without power in my apartment because my minimum-wage jobs weren’t enough to cover my expenses.
I don’t regret leaving college
I’m now a mom of two kids living in the DC area, and their fathers are not in the picture, so I support myself and my children financially. During the pandemic, I was struggling with my salary at the company where I had started, so I sought a better opportunity. I connected with a recruiter on LinkedIn who helped me land my first job, which was close to six figures. I was later recruited for my current role as a payroll operations manager, where I earn a six-figure salary. I can pay my bills, and I’m working on improving my credit.
Saving money is an ongoing process, and I’m doing what I can to budget for my long-term goals, like owning a home and traveling. I try my best to eat at home and throw excess money into a savings account that accrues interest. There are always months that are tighter than others, but as someone who has had many bad years financially, I try to give myself grace and know that things will get better.
It makes me emotional to see where I am now, compared to how I was when I was 19 years old, unsure of what to do with my life without a college degree.
I don’t have any regrets because I took the path that life wanted me to take. Education is obviously important, and while college does not define your worth, it can definitely make things easier. It’s an amazing accomplishment that jobs like to see. But I also think that with the right motivation, you can be equally successful without a degree. It’s just a little more difficult.
I still haven’t ruled out returning to college later in life. The costs are a barrier, though, and it’s not my top priority while I’m raising my kids.
Still, I want my kids — and anyone else struggling with a college decision — to know that a college degree does not define your value. Never feel like, because you didn’t go to college, that you’re less worthy or less than anybody else in the world. What’s right for you is not what’s right for somebody else, and you’re going to get to your end goal some way or another.
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