College advice?

rd5683

heya all

i was looking around at what id like to do when i leave school and the only way i could describe it to people was that i wasnted to do "whatever would make the most happiness and stop the most suffering" which i then found out is what utilitarianism is (i think).

i was thinking maybe going to college would be good if i could find a course where i could learn about ALL of the things causing major suffering and then from there i would know what i should do. if whatever that might be isn't a paying job thats grand, id really love to work in rescue anyway

or maybe something totally different from college.

sorry if this is the wrong forum

any help would be greatly appreciated

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

LegacyUser

I think your sentiments are hugely noble OP, but unless you've got lotto winnings, you need to consider practical matters like how are you going to fund your college course - and pay for living expenses during college - and then how you can keep yourself after college. I don't mean you should be taking a course with the ideal of future earnings, but we all have to pay for somewhere to live and food to eat!

Maybe you could persue a course that would enable you to earn a modest living, and volunteer while you are in college and after. You don't need a college course to help people; simply giving your time is probably the most help of all - unless you are Bill Gates with gazillions to donate!

Even if you consider giving time to visiting older people who may have no-one to talk to, or get involved in adult literacy classes - these are things that just require the investment of your personal time, and you can do them now. There are of course countless other things that you could get involved in, but may be too heavy for now/without more life experience and training.

To be honest, I've always thought that the first stop with trying to make a difference should be with your immediate family and friends. Listening more, being more aware of their needs and vulnerabilities, and trying to help in small ways would be a great start - not that you aren't doing that already, but I'd try focusing on that as a first step.

Zen65

rd5683 wrote: »

i was thinking maybe going to college would be good if i could find a course where i could learn about ALL of the things causing major suffering and then from there i would know what i should do.

I'm afraid the stated action does not lead to the suggested outcome; learning about all the things which cause major suffering (if such were possible beyond a generality) does not necessarily lead to knowing the correct course of action, regardless of how altruistic the intention may be.

Studies like ethics (such as found here) may be helpful to you, though this is in the USA. Perhaps finding a suitable ethics course in the Open University would more easily provide you with source materials to read which may help you (look under philosophy or ethics).

Be at peace,

Z

rd5683

awesome thanks guys

i can work out supporting myself too thanks dont worry

i would say if i understood and knew about all of the things causing major suffering and used my own critical thinking it would lead to the correct course of action