Questioning the point of college (employment, apply, degrees, application)
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As of late, i have really been debating whether or not to continue college. I have an Associates degree, but I have the option to go to U of M in the fall. I was accepted, but I can barely afford it. Aside from that, I have simply run out of motivation to continue. My grades are exceptional, and I graduated with honors. My classes were far from blow off classes, I took several higher level biology classes, and was even in a competitive nursing program for a year. I ended up taking a break from that to check out accounting. I enjoyed some aspects of nursing, but I'm much more mechanically and inclined.
What I'm really considering is pursuing some sort of apprenticeship opportunity that will provide some income while learning. I recieved a certification in high school in manufacturing technology, but I turned down an apprenticeship at a young age due to my parents insistence that I go to college. I wish I was more of a rebellious kid, because I'm now finding out they don't know everything.
What I'm really looking for is some sort of skilled trade that will offer some sort of job security. Some sort of job that not everyone is thinking about pursuing. I love working with my hands and have no problem with working hard and getting dirty. The idea of leaving home to pursue such a dream sounds wonderful, as I've never had the ability or funds to do so. I want out of my state so bad it's not even funny anymore.
I have the skills to do percussion machining, and the ability and passion to do such work. The field appears to be on a continuous decline though. I was never great at welding, but my program never required me to do much of it, so my welding is quite sloppy. I'm sure I would do find if I got the practical experience.
I've spent the last week scouring this forum, and noticed some interesting ideas such as load dispatcher, ect. My question is, how do I search for apprenticeships in these more obscure fields? I don't like the idea of paying for vocational training when the jobs are not guaranteed. If there is a demand in a certain field, and there are not enough people in the line of work, it would seem logical that someone would be willing to train me through an apprenticeship. Michigan has union apprenticeship work, but they are mostly in fields that are hurting and face high unemployment rates. Aside from that, the fields are not in my area of interest.
I would like to know how to get in touch looking for apprentices around the country. In my opinion, colleges are turning out far too many grads for the jobs they are intended to fill. I don't want to be in that position, especially if the line of work does not interest me. It's sad to see folks with bachelors degrees lining up to apply for dishwasher positions, ect. It appears that many folks are getting the degrees because they want to avoid labor intensive, noisy, dirty jobs. I would love to have an opportunity to fill some of these unwanted roles!
As of late, i have really been debating whether or not to continue college. I have an Associates degree, but I have the option to go to U of M in the fall. I was accepted, but I can barely afford it. Aside from that, I have simply run out of motivation to continue. My grades are exceptional, and I graduated with honors. My classes were far from blow off classes, I took several higher level biology classes, and was even in a competitive nursing program for a year. I ended up taking a break from that to check out accounting. I enjoyed some aspects of nursing, but I'm much more mechanically and inclined.
What I'm really considering is pursuing some sort of apprenticeship opportunity that will provide some income while learning. I recieved a certification in high school in manufacturing technology, but I turned down an apprenticeship at a young age due to my parents insistence that I go to college. I wish I was more of a rebellious kid, because I'm now finding out they don't know everything.
What I'm really looking for is some sort of skilled trade that will offer some sort of job security. Some sort of job that not everyone is thinking about pursuing. I love working with my hands and have no problem with working hard and getting dirty. The idea of leaving home to pursue such a dream sounds wonderful, as I've never had the ability or funds to do so. I want out of my state so bad it's not even funny anymore.
I have the skills to do percussion machining, and the ability and passion to do such work. The field appears to be on a continuous decline though. I was never great at welding, but my program never required me to do much of it, so my welding is quite sloppy. I'm sure I would do find if I got the practical experience.
I've spent the last week scouring this forum, and noticed some interesting ideas such as load dispatcher, ect. My question is, how do I search for apprenticeships in these more obscure fields? I don't like the idea of paying for vocational training when the jobs are not guaranteed. If there is a demand in a certain field, and there are not enough people in the line of work, it would seem logical that someone would be willing to train me through an apprenticeship. Michigan has union apprenticeship work, but they are mostly in fields that are hurting and face high unemployment rates. Aside from that, the fields are not in my area of interest.
I would like to know how to get in touch looking for apprentices around the country. In my opinion, colleges are turning out far too many grads for the jobs they are intended to fill. I don't want to be in that position, especially if the line of work does not interest me. It's sad to see folks with bachelors degrees lining up to apply for dishwasher positions, ect. It appears that many folks are getting the degrees because they want to avoid labor intensive, noisy, dirty jobs. I would love to have an opportunity to fill some of these unwanted roles!
I with Charles on this one how about the military. I mean you could learn trade in navy would not cost you a dime. Or stay and retire in 20 years. And their are too many college grads for to few jobs anyway. If you ever wanted to do your BA the navy would pay for it.
I thought about it when I was younger, and regret not joining. With the experience I have in health care, I really question whether that would be a good fit for me at this point. There are a lot of veterans that are coming back with serious issues. Lots of mental problems, higher rates of suicide, some are homeless, ect. Closed head trauma is another big problem. That in itself can easily lead to detrimental behavioral problems which makes them nearly unemployable. The divorce rate for these folks is somewhere in the neighborhood of 90%. Often times they end up beating their wives or worse. The government really has no way to take care of these people.
One friend of mine is a perfect example of many of these problems. I don't know exactly what he went though, but he did say that during a patrol, the vehicle he was riding in was destroyed. I don't know if they hit a mine, or if they were attacked by insurgents. I didn't believe him at the time, because he's full of BS, but something bad happened to him over there. When he joined, he was all pumped up about the army. After 1 tour, he got to come home for a bit. He was not the same. He frequently got into fights when we all went out, he drank pretty heavy, he was just full of trouble. When it came time to go back, he "accidentally" missed his plane THREE times! Well, he eventually made a BS story about getting word that he was discharged. 8 months later, the cops came to pick him up... That's when we found out he deserted.
I used to believe that the military was a good route for young people, but now I question that. This friend I speak of is now worrying about where he is going to sleep at night. He spent most of his money recklessly, and is worse off than when he went in. I don't blame the army, because he did not fulfill his duty. At the same time, I believe many kids are being exploited, and are being fed a bunch of BS about how the army will make a man our of you... A dead or mentally traumatized man perhaps. I like the idea of gaining skills that are useful in the real world, but combat has little practical application unless you want to be a police officer or career soldier. Most of my friends that came back are in no shape to hold a 40 hour/week job in their current condition. Many many issues going on as a result of their experience. No way to heal those kind of wounds. If they were married or had a serious relationship, that's not the case anymore.
A cousin of mine did join the navy. His marriage lasted about a month. He ended up doing checkpoint patrols in Iraq. He had a lot of dreams and aspirations before he went in. Now he just wants to get home in one piece. I hope he learns some practical skills while he's serving, so he can be somewhat employable when he finishes.
It's sad, but I make more money with my part time jobs than many of my friends who are there, or were there. The sign up bonus sounds nice, but I know too many kids that blew through it all trying to forget what they've been through. I don't think I want to put myself in that position, especially considering I don't really understand what this war is trying to solve.
It's important to follow your own career dreams and not your parents'.
Manufacturing isn't so good right now, but have you considered HVAC? I think they're always looking for good people to train and some places have international travel opportunities because someone has to go repair big units - it's cheaper to send a service guy than to ship units back that just need repair.
Diesel mechanic is another pretty good field for jobs, and a lot of cars use diesel technology now - besides tractors, semi trucks.
There is a cd member here named nicet4 who would be more than happy to talk to you about his field - installation/design of fire protection systems (sprinklers and whatever goes with that).
Its been a while since I saw him post, but he has mentioned its a field that has a lot of opportunity in it.
Perhaps a search by his user name would help you find him.
I've looked into HVAC, and that's been advertised quite extensively. It's something to consider. With regards to fire protection systems, do you need a bachelors degree in civil engineering to do that? It looks like a great choice since they can't find enough qualified people it seems.
My advice is to finish college now, then work on those other things. Do an apprenticeship after you finish. Finishing college may have no immediately apparent benefits to you. You shouldn't expect it to. Then you won't be disappointed. But it's also not going to hurt anything, and it's only two more years. If you don't do it now, chances are that you'll probably regret it years down the road, and once you become more involved with other things--once you have some other steady job, you're married, you have kids, etc., you'll probably keep finding excuses to not go back and get a bachelor's degree, especially because the older you get, the more uncomfortable you might feel at the prospect of being an undergrad again.
If you finish it now, you get it out of the way, and if further down the road you decide to pursue a more academic path, or you even want to pursue some other position that simply requires a higher degree, you could always do grad school in whatever field you're interested in.
I thought about it when I was younger, and regret not joining. With the experience I have in health care, I really question whether that would be a good fit for me at this point. There are a lot of veterans that are coming back with serious issues. Lots of mental problems, higher rates of suicide, some are homeless, ect. Closed head trauma is another big problem. That in itself can easily lead to detrimental behavioral problems which makes them nearly unemployable. The divorce rate for these folks is somewhere in the neighborhood of 90%. Often times they end up beating their wives or worse. The government really has no way to take care of these people.
One friend of mine is a perfect example of many of these problems. I don't know exactly what he went though, but he did say that during a patrol, the vehicle he was riding in was destroyed. I don't know if they hit a mine, or if they were attacked by insurgents. I didn't believe him at the time, because he's full of BS, but something bad happened to him over there. When he joined, he was all pumped up about the army. After 1 tour, he got to come home for a bit. He was not the same. He frequently got into fights when we all went out, he drank pretty heavy, he was just full of trouble. When it came time to go back, he "accidentally" missed his plane THREE times! Well, he eventually made a BS story about getting word that he was discharged. 8 months later, the cops came to pick him up... That's when we found out he deserted.
I used to believe that the military was a good route for young people, but now I question that. This friend I speak of is now worrying about where he is going to sleep at night. He spent most of his money recklessly, and is worse off than when he went in. I don't blame the army, because he did not fulfill his duty. At the same time, I believe many kids are being exploited, and are being fed a bunch of BS about how the army will make a man our of you... A dead or mentally traumatized man perhaps. I like the idea of gaining skills that are useful in the real world, but combat has little practical application unless you want to be a police officer or career soldier. Most of my friends that came back are in no shape to hold a 40 hour/week job in their current condition. Many many issues going on as a result of their experience. No way to heal those kind of wounds. If they were married or had a serious relationship, that's not the case anymore.
A cousin of mine did join the navy. His marriage lasted about a month. He ended up doing checkpoint patrols in Iraq. He had a lot of dreams and aspirations before he went in. Now he just wants to get home in one piece. I hope he learns some practical skills while he's serving, so he can be somewhat employable when he finishes.
It's sad, but I make more money with my part time jobs than many of my friends who are there, or were there. The sign up bonus sounds nice, but I know too many kids that blew through it all trying to forget what they've been through. I don't think I want to put myself in that position, especially considering I don't really understand what this war is trying to solve.
They suggested the military...not just the Army or Marines, or infaltry...
There's the Air-Force, and Navy....
And the Navy is in need of plenty of Machinest on Air-craft carriers....
And on a carrier, you won't have to worry about 'minds' in the road...maybe in the water though...
And there's the coast guard...and you can finish up you education while in, and become a officer...it's really not a bad life...free travel, get to meet and interact with all kinds of exciting people...
And you will always have a sense of purpose...that you belong and matter...
The Seabees could give you the adventure and challenge you seek....
Thanks for all the great advice. It's kind of funny, my background is so diverse. I have a good chunk of nursing education, plenty of machining experience, excelled in all biology and psych classes, can jam with the best of them on guitar, recieved numerous awards in school and work, served as a quasi admin assistant for 5 years... At 23, I feel like I should be doing better than I am right now. I don't think my resume properly explains all of this, which is why I have trouble getting better jobs. That, and I've never really mastered one particular area, except maybe guitar hehe. I really need to just focus on one area, because no one really make a career out of being a jack of all trades.
I've spent the last few days networking and getting in touch with some folks coordinating apprentiships. Hopefully they will be able to provide some feedback as well. Everyday, I try to review a few different potential fields and weigh the pros and cons. Tonight, I was looking into structural engineering. Any idea why they say there won't be more opportunities when the baby boomers retire? Compare that to the field of load dispatchers, which is expected to see great opportunities in the near future. I'm wondering where these groups, including the govt, are going to compile this info.
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