I didn't go to college until I'd been working for a few years out of high school, and I paid my own way. I came out with a degree in computer science right about the time everyone was getting outsourced, and the best job I could find hacking code was paying HALF of what I was getting as a blue-collar grunt. In the end, I'm glad for the skills I learned since I do program some stuff as a hobby, and I also write programs to organize my own business.

Other than that, it was a complete waste of my time and money. I've missed out on deals where I could have made a ton of cash if I'd had the money I spent on college. Don't take that to mean I sound bitter about it - you know what they say about hindsight, and you always learn from your mistakes if you pay attention.

Now this I will try to impress upon you: don't go to university if you don't know what you want to do. You'll be wasting your time, your money, and your parents' money if they're helping you. This type accounts for over half of my college-educated friends and acquaintances.

Go to work for a while. Learn a craft or three. You don't need schooling to learn trades - just hire on and learn on the job. Save up a fat chunk of money and THEN decide what you want to do with it. Chances are, your entire outlook on life will change within a couple of years, and you may have found a better way to get the life you want. You'll also have a way to feed your future family when your engineering job goes to China.

You also have to analyze what type of person you are. What can you see yourself doing day-in, day-out for a living? Do you like to see the results of your work at the end of a day? When I was in high school, one thing I knew was that I was not cut out for an office environment. I've tried it since, anyway, and I was right. It sucks. But you may enjoy it. Who knows?

</long-winded-lecture> 8)