The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College [Paperback]

Danielle Kwatinetz Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2000

Think College is the Only Path to Success? Think Again!

Want to think out of the box? Want to change your perspective on your future? Feeling ambivalent about going to college and going into debt? Then join the world of alternative thinking, risk-taking, adventure seeking, and change. Join the Uncollege revolution and learn that you can create a profitable, exciting, creative, and amazingly successful future without a college degree.

Whether you're a high school student considering your next step, a college student seeking change, or even a college graduate looking for creative alternatives to the conventional path, this is up-to-date guide will provide a wealth of life-changing ideas and resources, including advice on:

• Great careers without a college degree
• Taking time off before or during college
• Opportunities for adventures around the world
• Internships, apprenticeships, and training programs
• Community service projects that pay
• Starting your own business

You are living the most exciting time in history! Seize the day! Take the Uncollege Alternative!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Wood's engaging debut is part pep talk and part advice manual for those who want to skip college either temporarily or permanently. Although Wood doesn't cite the statistics she uses to argue that a liberal arts degree is not necessary in today's job market, she does make a compelling caseDespecially in the first section, which includes short self-tests designed to help readers determine what career to pursue. The next three sections contain descriptions of specific occupations one can investigate domestically and abroad. These range from temporary internships on organic farms and entry-level positions at Hollywood talent agencies to careers in adventure travel. Though realistic about job demands and employment prospects, Wood is at times not as informative as necessary: for example, when she discusses applying to Cogswell Polytechnic College or the Culinary Institute of America, she fails to indicate how competitive admission really is. She does, however, give specific contact information and provide the reader with a number of money-earning ideas. Her casual tone will appeal to readers in their late teens and early twenties. Recommended for all public libraries.DCheryl Van Til, Kent Dist. Lib., Comstock Park, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Danielle Wood lives in San Francisco. Although she went to college, she's taken a lot of her own advice: she was an apprentice, an intern, a voracious traveler, and a self-proclaimed dabbler before trying her hand at writing. She's currently at work on her second book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 edition (March 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060393084
• ISBN-13: 978-0060393083
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #633,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Job Markets & Advice

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Educate Yourself on Alternatives, February 7, 2002

By 

Chrysanthemum (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College (Paperback)

The UnCollege Alternative is a great resource for those students who are in college and questioning whether or not they should be there. Ms. Wood makes an excellent point early on in the book: would you just walk into a store and point at something and say "ring it up", regardless of the cost? The author states that when students go on to college without really thinking it through as to whether or not college is for them - they are saying "ring it up" possibly for a $80,000 education.

What makes The UnCollege Alternative shine is the wide variety of potential career paths the author discusses, many of which can bring in significant incomes. She discusses all aspects of each career path: needed training, certification, potential income and job market, as well as providing a sort of "day in the life of" feel.

I think often students just go to college not knowing what they want to study, just going because that's what they are "supposed" to do. I recommend this book for ALL high school and current college students. Even if you decide that college is the right track for you, at least you are educated in what some alternatives are. It is important to know just what's out there before you potentially spend four years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars.

Another excellent book I recommend on a similar subject is "Taking Time Off" by Colin Hall and Ron Lieber.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Down-To-Earth Look at the Possibilities Beyond College, October 29, 2003

By 

Krystle, SelfmadeFarmer.com (Mesilla Valley, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College (Paperback)

I first picked up this book when I was debating about whether or not to stay in college. Danielle Wood's witty, down-to-earth, and downright common sense is one of the things that helped me make up my mind.

In a society where college is seen as the ONLY way to go if you want to succeed, and it's becoming a very expensive way to go at that, more and more people are wondering if it's really all it's cracked up to be. This is a great book because it doesn't trash college in any way. It's just a sampling of what's out there if you decide NOT to go to college.

I referred back to this book when writing an article for my website titled "The Ecology of College," and it's as helpful now as it was then. When you're being pressured on all fronts to go to college, this book provides a fresh perspective by offering some healthy questioning and unbiased honesty.

If I could, I'd buy a copy for every high school senior I know. This is the kind of book that might make parents a little nervous, and readers a little anxious, but ultimately it'll help you make an informed decision, which beats ignorance any day.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic resource for the adventure-minded!, October 5, 2000

By 

katherine kaufhold (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College (Paperback)

Ms. Woods offers an incredibly insightful and highly worthwhile probe into the worlds awaiting all of us outside of higher education (of an academic nature). She manages to be philosophic and pragmatic at the same time, enumerating a diverse range of concrete alternatives for those of us who wish to lead an alternative life. In a world of pre-fab opportunities and lifestyles, this compendium of ideas stands out as a unique perspective for anyone seeking new ways to fill their lives with adventure and inspiration. I, for one, intend to follow several pieces of her advice, and I would like to stress that this book is a valuable resource for anyone, of any age, seeking unusual answers to the usual metaphysical questions. Thanks a million, Danielle!!!