What kind of education do you guys have?. Im 18 looking for opinions.

[Lunchbocks 10+ year member]

i'm 20, grad'd high school, spent a year in college then went to trade school and just got out

after high school i went to Northern Illinois University for a year as a pre-computer science major, got out of it because it lost my interest and i really didnt like the university environment (i drank way too much) and then i went on to Universal Technical Institute, just graduated January 6th for auto/diesel tech, also have 3 ASE certifications and i'm currently unemployed due to still recovering from injuries sustained from a pretty bad motorcycle accident 6 days after i graduated.

what worked for me is going for something that i actually had a passion for, instead of my original plan which was all about money and just something i have a capability in.

 

[blue93corsica 10+ year member]

i will be taking a course in car audio installs at a special college then go from there, hoping to own my own shop one day

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

What kind of degrees do you guys have? What type of schools?
I cant decide what to do after high school.

WOuld a Bachelors Degree in engineering really be that hard to earn?

I cant imagine keeping up with all the essays.

What kind of money are you making if you dont mind. Thanks

go see the world,travel europe for 6 months then go to college

 

[NhustlaR 10+ year member]

Right now I'm a senior, And I am planning on going to college. Right now I attend a technical/vocational highschool. I am in a welding program, and i have a co-op or "internship" with Eli Lilly's. Lillys is a major pharma company, and there are many reason why they need welders. I've been asked why a pharma company needs a welder, and there are numerous reasons why. 1) Everything that product goes through is custom pieced tubing-made in house.

2) Ever been the victim of a 12 ft deep tank getting a leak? Not a fun fix

3) Stainless, Hastaloy, and other metals of the like are expensive, why send them out to be made and expect them to be made right when we can do it and know it is right.

4) Ever had product-buildup in a 12 ft deep tank? We get the fun task of polishing off the buildup. Think about what a hassle it would be to unassemble all the tubing assemblies, gear boxes, shafts, valves, and then to move the tank to ship it out to be polished?

Those are just some of the reason why a welder is needed at a pharma company.

For those reason and more, I Plan to attend a college to further my welding skills and knowledge.

Another thought that has crossed my mind is mechanical engineering. My pre-calculus teacher told us the outlook for them, and in 2010, there will be like 3000 openings in Indiana. That is something that you really need to look at, which "that" I'm referring to is the job outlook in the state you are in.

For instance, right now in Indiana there are more lawyers then people needing lawyers, and more general doctors then needed. There is actually a shortage of specialized doctors. Part of this reason is because in specialized there are more dangers. Take for instance an obgyn. Say he is delivering a baby, and the embilacle cord gets caught around the babys neck and cuts off circulation. Some brain damage is the outcome, and they get sued. Not minor suits, massively sued. That is something else you need to think about.

If you are good at math, and enjoy the challenge, get yourself an engineering degree. Are you just wanting a general engineering degree, or something specialized? Such as mechanical or civil.

Sorry about the long post, but there are alot to think about when your trying to plan your future.

can we say life story? haha getting associates in business admin and then im out to AZ for a job next summer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[imaspaceguy90 10+ year member]

hihg schooler here, and plan to go to college. Maybe community, but i want more more then sjut a high school education

 

[Wowimzz 10+ year member]

can we say life story? haha getting associates in business admin and then im out to AZ for a job next summer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Nah, its not a life story, just a little bit about what I do, and some things that you REALLY need to take into consideration before you continue with school. I was in a typing mood last night around 1 a.m. lol.

 

[Shyne151 10+ year member]

Right now I'm going for a BS in Computer Information Systems.

Why the **** wouldn't you goto college in this day?

No way in hell I wanna install car audio at circuit city for the rest of my life...

Three of my buddy's who graduated with the same degree started out at $55,000+bonus. I've already been offered a job with my university when I graudate to work and go for my masters, if i'll take it or not i don't know.

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

im 28 years old, have been installing mobile electronics since i was 17, have taken basic electronics, i have designed and build home audio amplifiers as well as building speakers from raw materials, did 1 semester of cnc machining. did the vocational welding course and machine shop as well as wood shop . took cisco certification classes. took A++ course. advance networking, a shit loads of mandatory courses that the army puts you through, im an expert M16 riffle shooter, i have advance hand to hand combat, anti nuclear, chemical, biological courses. interrogation classes. and a shit loads off secret junk. took 2 semesters of automotive mechanics and body work. and so on, out of all that the only thing im active on is mobile electronics and looking to go in to one of the mobile electronics schools, ones i save enough money for it. since is my second form of income and im aiming to be the best at it. tip to every one, pic a career and stick with it. but if you decide that you don't like it any more, jump into some thing else, if you like it stick with it if not, again jump into some thing else. one of the worst things in life is spending 8hours a day 5 days a week in a job that you hate no matter how well paid it is. im currently in the army been there for 8 years and have 2 more years left. one of the good things about the army, is that you get to serve your country, and have time to study and find exactly what you want to do with your life. sorry if its sound like a go army advertisement, but its a great start in life for allot of people that are not sure what they want to do with their life.

laters.

 

[JohnBlayz142 10+ year member]

Do what makes you happy. Seems stupid to come to an internet forum where there will be people you have never even met recommending choices for you. I say talk to an academic advisor and they will help you get into a field you will be good at. And why is this in the general forum?

 

[TypeR0149 10+ year member]

I just started my Masters program.

education is great if the career you want needs it, if not college can be a aweful waste of time and money

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

^very well put.

I went to the US Air Force Academy right out of High School and I am about to finish my 9th year on active duty. Got a BS in Economics. Still trying to decide if I want a Masters. Might actually go get another BS in a technical field or just take some higher math and some more basic engineering classes (I had to take integral and differential calc, stats, mechanical engineering, thermodynamics, aero eng, astro eng, EE, chem, two semesters of physics and an engineering capstone course as CORE classes at the academy). If it weren't for the math dept at USAFA I probably would have been a EE. I know and understand the concepts (not just memorizing how things are done, but actually understanding why) but I just don't have the calculus background to jump right into a EE or automotive engineering masters level program.

I have been a pilot in the AF for the last 8 years. I make enough that my wife and I can live rather comfortably in Vegas on my income alone. We have a mortgage and are currently paying on 4 (about to be 5) vehicles plus insurance and utilities and food. With my education and experience I would probably be making well over $100K on the outside, but I like what I do. Money doesn't have much to do with why I am doing what I do. Enjoying your job and getting fulfillment from it is so much more important.

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

im 18, a highschool dropout. On my 5th semester in college. i would definatly reccomend going to college. i've thought i wanted to do so many things but tooken some courses on the subject and realized that maybe thats not what i wanted to do and on the flip found out alot of things i could do that i never really considered

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

im 18, a highschool dropout. On my 5th semester in college. i would definatly reccomend going to college. i've thought i wanted to do so many things but tooken some courses on the subject and realized that maybe thats not what i wanted to do and on the flip found out alot of things i could do that i never really considered

i can tell //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

didn't i read this thread already?

let's see. i don't have my associates yet. when i do get it, i'll atleast be 22, so yea shit sucks now

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

atleast i didn't spell it collage

 

[geolemon 10+ year member]

What kind of degrees do you guys have? What type of schools?
I cant decide what to do after high school.

WOuld a Bachelors Degree in engineering really be that hard to earn?

I cant imagine keeping up with all the essays.

What kind of money are you making if you dont mind. Thanks

If you can't keep up with the essays, you won't have the discipline for an actual job in engineering.

I place a high value on schooling now, where I really didn't when I was in school...

In high school, I managed to pull B's and C's without ever having completed a homework assignment in my life - I dedicated my days and nights to skateboarding and hanging out, and I was fortunate to have a means of getting away with it.

But that cost me in college, where 80% of the work is on you, self learning essentially.

I found an additional complication, in that I started in a mechanical drafting program at a small college, with essentially one educator (who was a true guru) in the field. He passed away after about 1.5 years through the program... and I wasn't feeling like that was really what I thought it was about anyway - so I switched into an Electrical Engineering program, which was challenging (and if you don't find that word to be a positive one now - you will //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif).

At the same time, I was being promoted and found myself on the fast track at my job - a job I started as a "college job", moved into a full time position, and found myself working with management and IT - and changed my major again, into computer science.

frustrating - it took me over 6 years, to end up with a 2 year degree... but I certainly learned a lot.

Frustrating in the context of the people that surrounded me... my mother, was salutatorian of her school, and had a free ride through college.

My wife, obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in a total of just 5 years.

...leaves you wondering "why can't that be me??"

But in reality - you know what the value of college is?

That discipline that you are saying you don't have.

I've worked with some guru-consultants in the past - one of them in an advanced data warehousing / data mining implementation project... her college degree was in linguistics. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

It's not so much that "you get a college degree in this field" and "therefore I shall work in this field"...

The education with a bent on that particular discipline is important - but not as important as simply having discipline. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

And it's that discipline - committment to a goal (often requested by others - teacher, or boss), and the ability to see it through to a conclusion that exceeds expectations (how else are you going to get a raise? Er... I mean an A? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif)... THAT is the real benefit, THAT is what will gain you professional success.

 

If you don't think you can write a few essays now - you might be dooming yourself for financial failure... or finding yourself scrambling to adapt, struggling to meet the standards for work ethic set by everyone else around you. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif