LSIs (ISTjs) attending college/university, higher education

[uninspired]

The thread on "caricatured ISTjs" prompted my reflection on ISTjs who don't fit the mold.

I have four close ISTj friends who have failed/dropped out of college. This would seem to contradict the idea that ISTjs, with their dominant logic, would love higher education. While some do, many don't because they feel that most college assignments are impractical and useless in the fields they wish to pursue. They dislike long writing and reading assignments, aren't terribly interested in esoteric philosophical discussions, and dislike theoretical fields, preferring applied fields instead. For example, one of my ISTj friends who did make it in college constantly complained about his philosophy reading assignments; he didn't want to read primary source documents because they were meandering and not "to the point" enough.
So, in other words, their apathy towards and PoLR can kick them in the ass in college if they're not in the right field.
This doesn't take away from the fact that they're very smart and hardworking people, though. My former ISTj roommate was capable of working two jobs for a total of 60 hours a week and could pick apart any fallacious argument someone threw at her, but couldn't force herself to write a paper or study for an exam.
My other ISTj friend is only 22 and is the manager at a well-respected retail outlet; she did really well in high school but was completely uninterested in what college had to offer her. She'll be going back soon, but for business or (possibly) law.
Yet another of my friends failed out of college, and will be going to a community college. I think this is the best route for him: he'll get the targeted career training he needs and won't have to deal with the uncertain future that comes with a liberal arts education. He wants to be an auto mechanic, which suits him perfectly. He can fix just about anything.
My point is this: ISTjs aren't always the anal-retentive perfectionists that some claim they are. They can have messy (yet orderly) rooms, blow off responsibilities, and stick it to the man if they feel so inclined (the younger ones, that is). But they are efficient. They get stuff done and don't like to waste any excess energy doing so.
Anyone else encounter ISTjs like the ones I've described?

[PotatoSpirit]

Anyone else encounter ISTjs like the ones I've described?

I see one every time I open a book. Higher education is so boring and pointless... nothing I'm studying will be useful for my job, sometimes it feels like they just want me to prove I can do useless things when asked to.

The problems begin in the "understanding the concepts" part... I can do it quickly, but I often lose ages trying to make sense of things that aren't actually written down (while most people will just go on and not notice/care about the holes or contradictions). Then comes the memorizing part... once I understand something I'd like to move on, and instead I have to go through it again at least twice. Finally I tend to have very high standards, so I won't take an exam if I'm not ready, and I'll refuse grades I don't like.

All things considered it's probably the greatest challenge to my willpower yet.

[xyz]

Bah, don't even get me started on how I felt college wanted to brainwash me to be a good little worker.


I don't hate higher education, hell I even admire it when done right. I just know it ain't for me, and for a lot of people. Pouring over books for 18 of your 24 hours just isn't feasible for some.

[Kristiina]

I have never had the urge to learn anything just for learning it. I always have to have a personal interest in the specific topic, so I find it somewhat curious. I know one ISTj who really loves learning new things and she really didn't want to get a job if it would get in the way of higher education (she already has the bachelors degree and she has one more year of master's degree). Well, now it's summer and she can go to work without worrying about school. She really likes the 8 to 5 job routine (doesn't have to worry about work when she goes home). Well, she told me that every semester she's very hopeful that she'll learn a bunch of fun new things in school, but she ends up learning too little and is disappointed. The material keeps repeating itself.

[HitmanISTP]

x