Never-Ending Cycle Ending-Never

Here's a little story about a man and his Iphone:

Nott E. Nuff bought an Iphone as soon as it came out. He thought he was the shizznit because he had the latest fad. However, his glory didn't last long. The next "big thing" was the Iphone 3G. Of course Nott E. Nuff had to get that too. Unfortunately, he couldn't simply replace his old Iphone for the 3G. He had to give up his old phone and pay even more to upgrade. "It's better than the one I have, so I'll pay" he said. Unfortunately for him, the 3GS came soon afterwards. Even though he was irritated by the fact he had to pay, yet again, to upgrade, he did so anyway. "Now I'm set for life!" he exclaimed.

...barely a year later, the Ipad showed up.


Can you relate to Nott E. Nuff's story? I know I can.

I graduated high school expecting to work right away. After seeing the mediocre jobs available for high school grads, I decided college was my only option. It took a little longer to graduate than I expected, but hey, I did it (with some help of course). It was definitely one of the most rewarding things that I've ever done. Walking out of class after taking my last exam, etched a grin on my face that remained there for hours. I didn't walk on my graduation. Didn't want to and didn't care. I just wanted that diploma. As soon as the diploma was in my hands, I thought, let the employers start knockin'.

Now I've been on many different trips in my life. I've been on vacations to exotic places (and some not). But I think about those trips on occasion and I remember there's a souvenir that almost all vacation destinations carry. I'm talking about the shirts that say something like: "My friend went on vacation to (Name you place) and all I got was this stupid shirt." This is what I feel about a bachelor's degree: "I paid $50,000.00 to qualify for a good job and all I got was this stupid piece of paper that says I graduated."

Employers today are looking for higher education. Everyone seems to have a college degree nowadays. So what do you do? Pay another 15k-30k for a masters? What if that's not enough? I guess you upgrade. By the time you're done with all your educational "upgrading," you can owe well into the 6-figures.

Right now, I'm at a crossroads. Do I stick with my "Iphone" or do I upgrade? I just know if I invest more time and money into higher education, "Ipad" will probably show up.