Is it normal (or stupid) to select family business over an education?

My friend is 15 and dropped out at the 10th grade. He plans to take over the family business his mom has run for years. Some kind of water salting service. I keep telling him to start college or at LEAST get a GED. However, he wants nothing to do with it and believes his future is secure.

What should he do?

Goto College 19
Finish High School/GED 32
Focus on Business 7
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Comments ( 12 )
  • anti-hero

    High school at least, you can always go to college later.

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  • Corleone

    I think he's way too young to make such a decision. At least finish high school

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  • slothdud

    i find dropping out an ok thing to do because he has a job that he wants to do something that school wont provide for him.. imo however do both at the same time work and go to school. no offense to your friend but i feel he took the easy way out. Its his life though and its no biggy to take that route :P. Why not do both at the same time or school first haha!... first of all the business will wait on him if its not a job he can do part time with... so he could of stayed in but the question now is what he will do now? i believe college may be a bit unessasary atm for him he is 15 and should be thinking about a GED/finish up highschool.. things are good to go for him it seems no matter what he does. what does he have to lose by going for a higher education
    ??...Idk tbh im jealous of this guys opportunities my family doesnt have its own business or anything close to that... good luck to what this guy chooses because he's set either way :)

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  • taylor-mae14

    what if one day the family business fails? or something better that does the same job cheaper comes along? i say Finnish high school. possibly take a few college classes here and there to get a degree in business because it would help the business and help if he had to start a new career.

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  • ccjigsaw

    Atleast finish school. If anything he's missing out on an experience that most everyone else will have. He'd regret it, you really only hate school when you're in it..

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  • Boo!

    What a moron! As his friend, you should tell him what an idiot hes being. Education is way more important and he should use that as plan b if all else fails!!! If it were my friend I'd smack him in the face and take his ass to school because I gotta look out for my friends and make sure they make good choices!

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  • Captain_Kegstand

    I would personally complete at least high school. Even if it is a great job with a thriving business, what happens if that business goes under someday or is replaced!

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  • Who_Fan4Life

    I didn't answer the poll because ultimately it is up to him.

    I didn't feel as though I should answer it because I feel I can't give a good enough of an opinion on the subject.

    The only thing I can say is that if he feels he has a good grasp on the business, then that's always an option. But sometimes schooling has to take precedence. He should realize that in today's world, it's really hard to find a job without even having a high school education.

    Risky decision to make there.

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  • sassafrassi

    He should go to college. It would benefit him since he wants to run a company. When you stop learning you stop growing professionally and personally.

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  • Hoohahohyahhh

    Complete High School just because he will be allowed to go to college if he ever consider it. Some people aren't meant to be in college and thats ok because we need a variety of people. Workers and thinkers and makers and leaders.

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  • dappled

    Depends what country you live in. Education is more important in some countries, gumption is more important in others, experience in yet others, or more usually some combination of the three.

    I work in education and think it's a waste of time for most; exception's where you draw on what you learnt at college to do your job (science, medicine, law, engineering, archaeology, writing, music, etc.)

    I know education is for life, not just a career, but can someone really justify doing both an undergraduate and masters degree in history and then go off to work in investments? Do a financial degree and learn about history in your own time. It makes you more employable, plus if history is an interest why not just indulge yourself with the bits you personally find interesting, rather than have to learn about the repeal of the Corn Laws. Actually, that's a bad example. Victorian history fascinates me more and more as time goes by.

    In short, I don't know. It depends.

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  • It's up to him and his mum to decide.

    And what is good for most people is not always good for the individual. This might be his only chance to have a decent career in his life and he can still get his GED even though he is working - if he feels it is important.

    It makes the world a better place when more people are educated and the higher the education the better. Ideally it would be good for him to follow a traditional path, but we can't choose for him.

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