[Kaiminani]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I would like to go to college but I do not know what to study yet. Perhaps after living in LV for awhile I may try to get into CSN and then transfer to UNLV if at all possible

That is precisely the way to go. No need to get yourself 100's of thousands of dollars in debt when you can attend a 2-year college and transfer to a state uni for the remaining two years. A college degree certainly doesn't guarantee you a job - but what it enables is an upward mobility not available to others. On average, people with college degrees have lifetime earnings nearly twice that of people without degrees.

A secondary benefit is exposure to knowledge - an art history degree ain't going to help you in the workforce, but taking a class in art history or any of the hundreds of other electives that are not prereqs for your degree will make you a more well-rounded person (and a better citizen).

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Kaiminani

That is precisely the way to go. No need to get yourself 100's of thousands of dollars in debt when you can attend a 2-year college and transfer to a state uni for the remaining two years. A college degree certainly doesn't guarantee you a job - but what it enables is an upward mobility not available to others. On average, people with college degrees have lifetime earnings nearly twice that of people without degrees.
A secondary benefit is exposure to knowledge - an art history degree ain't going to help you in the workforce, but taking a class in art history or any of the hundreds of other electives that are not prereqs for your degree will make you a more well-rounded person (and a better citizen).

Will a Geographic Information Science degree be helpful? I am currently working on that and my major uses remote sensing, GPS, geospatial data, and alot of things tied to maps. Chances are, I don't know if I will get a job in metropolitan Atlanta and I am more than willing to leave(single, no kids,no girlfriend, nothing keeping me in GA other than pursuit of a college degree and cost of living), and I don't want to take a minimum wage job, especially if my education level calls for something better.

[yourbasicmom]

Originally Posted by Kaiminani

That is precisely the way to go. No need to get yourself 100's of thousands of dollars in debt when you can attend a 2-year college and transfer to a state uni for the remaining two years. A college degree certainly doesn't guarantee you a job - but what it enables is an upward mobility not available to others. On average, people with college degrees have lifetime earnings nearly twice that of people without degrees.

A secondary benefit is exposure to knowledge - an art history degree ain't going to help you in the workforce, but taking a class in art history or any of the hundreds of other electives that are not prereqs for your degree will make you a more well-rounded person (and a better citizen).

Those are awesome words. Great advice. Could be printed and put up on a lot of bulletin boards.

[Spraynard Kruger]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Will a Geographic Information Science degree be helpful? I am currently working on that and my major uses remote sensing, GPS, geospatial data, and alot of things tied to maps. Chances are, I don't know if I will get a job in metropolitan Atlanta and I am more than willing to leave(single, no kids,no girlfriend, nothing keeping me in GA other than pursuit of a college degree and cost of living), and I don't want to take a minimum wage job, especially if my education level calls for something better.

Last year, I took some coursework in GIS and the instructor had several links to companies offering employment. One was starting at $17 per hour with the USGS. It was short term work and it involved travel to Death Valley. I have noticed a steady stream of companies, including the one I work for, with analyst positions to fill in this field. The pay is in the $25-$30/hr range. Certified GIS analysts make considerably more.

GIS is a growth industry from what I have seen, but a certain amount of due diligence is necessary when times are as rough as they are. What I find so fascinating is the number of industries that utilize this data. You might want to check out overall industry hiring trends with ESRI and URISA.