Before answering “degree or no degree,” ask yourself:
If you’re Crystal Clark and you’re 24 (as the “24” in your query might suggest — your age, not the date), then you’re at a perfect inflection point. At 24, your brain has finished maturing, you’ve likely had some work or life experience, and you can pursue education with purpose — not just because society says so.
Dear Crystal Clark,
If you’re writing to me today, you’re likely 24, unsure, and feeling pressure from parents, peers, or your own ambition. Here’s my motherly advice: askyourmother 24 09 20 crystal clark get a degr
Get a degree — but only if it’s the minimum required credential for the career you want, and you can graduate with less than one year’s starting salary in debt.
If not, start with a cheaper, shorter credential. Work for one year in a field you’re curious about. Then, if you hit a glass ceiling, return for that degree — older, wiser, and with a company that might even pay for it.
The worst decision? Doing nothing because you’re paralyzed by choice. Before answering “degree or no degree,” ask yourself:
You’re 24. You have time. But don’t waste another year guessing. Pick a direction — degree, trade, or bootcamp — and move.
Love,
AskYourMother
Crystal Clark is not a celebrity. She is not a politician or a viral influencer. She is a single mother of two from Columbus, Ohio, who works the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift at a regional hospital’s supply chain unit. For seven years, Crystal had talked about “someday” finishing the associate degree she started in 2008. Does the field have a strong alternative credentialing
But life — divorce, a layoff, her son’s asthma diagnosis — kept getting in the way.
The “ask your mother” incident occurred on September 16, 2024, in a closed Facebook group called Career Pivots for Working Parents. A user named @PragmaticPat posted under Crystal’s question about tuition reimbursement: “Seriously? Just ask your mother for career advice. She clearly didn't get a degree either.”
Instead of firing back, Crystal screenshotted the comment. Then she did something unexpected: she used it as her phone wallpaper as motivation.
No all-nighters. No quitting her job. Crystal wakes at 5 a.m. to study before her kids are up. That’s 273 hours by spring term — enough for 18–24 credits.