What did you do after High School? How did it work out for you? What would you do now?
I went college after taking a semester off to, uh, "hang" with my still in highschool girlfriend...
5 years and 2 major changes later, I bailed and went to work in the car audio industry. Worked my way up the retail ranks to a design position at a major manufacturer, wrote some stuff for a trade magazine, got asked to write a story for muscle car mag for actual money. Within 2 years, I was so busy writing, I was neglecting my day job, so I quite and have been a fulltime journalist ever since. that was 2006. I am my own boss, and I do better than I did when I was a product designer.
5 years and 2 major changes later, I bailed and went to work in the car audio industry. Worked my way up the retail ranks to a design position at a major manufacturer, wrote some stuff for a trade magazine, got asked to write a story for muscle car mag for actual money. Within 2 years, I was so busy writing, I was neglecting my day job, so I quite and have been a fulltime journalist ever since. that was 2006. I am my own boss, and I do better than I did when I was a product designer.
Well I dropped out my junior year due to things going on at home & what not. Started working full time in fabrication shops as soon as I turned 18yrs old. Moved in with my grandmother shortly after since my mom lost our house & went on the road with my step dad who was a truck driver. Got a little side tracked doing drugs for a while but once my head cleared thankx to a good friend of mine I was back working in shops. Got laid off from those due to cutbacks & ended up in retail at Target & decided I wanted to pursue drafting since I had a natural gravitation to it. Met my wife while in school at Platt for Drafting/Design. Ended up dropping out during the major b/c she got prego & I needed to work alot more hours at work to provide for her & the baby. After the baby got here I was back in a shop working at Redman piping when I got a call asking me to interview for a drafting position. Got the drafting job & have been here 9yrs this year.
It wasn't the easiest road & I battled my own mistakes & life. But in the end I'm happy now, have a good job with great benefits & a happy family. I wouldn't change a thing cause it all made me who I am today.
It wasn't the easiest road & I battled my own mistakes & life. But in the end I'm happy now, have a good job with great benefits & a happy family. I wouldn't change a thing cause it all made me who I am today.
College is great if you want certain careers, but the fact is that 75% of college grads work in a field other than their degree. My sister has a psych degree. She sells stuff on the internet.
I went to college for athletic training (physical therapy), got bored, changed to business, got into stand-up comedy, changed to theatre. Considering I produce tech videos, build hot rods, and deal with lots of PR peeps, I use a little of all of it. When I learned that I knew more about marketing than my professors, I stopped going to class and passed without having a book or showing up, it was all over. Don't get me wrong, the degree is nice, but there are plenty of other ways to spend $40k and still get a good paying job. The trick is to find something that you love, because in the end, that is all that matters.
I went to college for athletic training (physical therapy), got bored, changed to business, got into stand-up comedy, changed to theatre. Considering I produce tech videos, build hot rods, and deal with lots of PR peeps, I use a little of all of it. When I learned that I knew more about marketing than my professors, I stopped going to class and passed without having a book or showing up, it was all over. Don't get me wrong, the degree is nice, but there are plenty of other ways to spend $40k and still get a good paying job. The trick is to find something that you love, because in the end, that is all that matters.
Been this is it. Quit reading now and follow this one sentence and it will be the best advice you will ever hear. If that takes you to collage or to .mil for world travel or tech to learn to weld or whatever. Also, there are not do overs. You can only move forward. If at first you don't succeed, that doesn't matter, it's in the past and you can only change the future.
Best of luck, and keep your powder dry.
I sort of did a semester in college... I say "sort of" because I didn't really bother going to class - it was like high school again - boring, and a curriculum emphasis on regurgitation over education. So then I worked a few minimum (pool/spa) and low wage (Walmart, Kmart, post-fire restoration, vo-tech, and other oddities) jobs for a few years until eventually starting a Drupal development business and then a Drupal hosting business.
I wouldn't change it at all. In my field, a degree is practically worthless. It's pretty much a tool for getting saddlebags full of debt. I've never been asked about it, and I've met people who said they even move those resumes further down in the stack based on past experience working with educated developers. Why should I pay $40K+ for a piece of paper that has zero positive effect on my earning potential?
Of course, all of that depends on what you want to do with your life. There are fields where a degree is mandatory, others where they don't care what it's in as long as you have one, and some like mine where 14-year-olds can run circles around the formally educated.
Based on Facebook posts of those I went to high school with, I'd say I'm in the top 5% of my high school peers both in terms of success and job satisfaction. The majority of them went to college, and of those the majority finished.
I wouldn't change it at all. In my field, a degree is practically worthless. It's pretty much a tool for getting saddlebags full of debt. I've never been asked about it, and I've met people who said they even move those resumes further down in the stack based on past experience working with educated developers. Why should I pay $40K+ for a piece of paper that has zero positive effect on my earning potential?
Of course, all of that depends on what you want to do with your life. There are fields where a degree is mandatory, others where they don't care what it's in as long as you have one, and some like mine where 14-year-olds can run circles around the formally educated.
Based on Facebook posts of those I went to high school with, I'd say I'm in the top 5% of my high school peers both in terms of success and job satisfaction. The majority of them went to college, and of those the majority finished.
I went right to a 4-year university on a full academic scholarship, participated in extracurricular activities and failed out in my first year after a 2nd-semester GPA of 1.62. My problem was listening to my "advisor" who didn't have a clue or give a shite what I wanted or what my interests were or whatever. In your first year or two, it's a cookie-cutter. They don't give crap if you pass or not. They get your money regardless.
I wasn't ready. I went because it was expected, not because I wanted to.
I wasn't ready. I went because it was expected, not because I wanted to.
^^^^^^^Know what you want to do, know what classes you need to get the degree if you go that route. Double check your adviser's plan for the degree, so that you get the classes you need, when you need them, when they're offered. If I hadn't have grabbed a stack a enrollment sheets, filled them out myself, and had one of my profs sign them, I'd still be in Alva going to school!
I'm still answering this question lol.
Have three semesters left towards a Civil Engineering degree at OSU.
But do what you love. College isn't for everoyne and that's perfectly OK.
Have three semesters left towards a Civil Engineering degree at OSU.
But do what you love. College isn't for everoyne and that's perfectly OK.
I went to College, got married, had a pregnant wife, and tried to maintain a 40+ hour work week to make ends meet. The college suffered, and I got drafted into the Army during Vietnam. Was sent to school to learn electronics, and after the Army, I have used that education to this very day to make my living. Currently an Instrumentation and Control systems Tech in a power plant.
I'll wager, over the years of working and not having student loans to pay back, etc, I have done better money wise, than the field I selected to Major in college. (Marine Biologist)
There are lots of non-degree'd, or at least an associates degree level jobs out there that are paying $70K a year.
Certainly better than the Ancient Egyptian language major or Philosophy major, or cake decorating major that some of the unemployed college grads went to school for.
I'll wager, over the years of working and not having student loans to pay back, etc, I have done better money wise, than the field I selected to Major in college. (Marine Biologist)
There are lots of non-degree'd, or at least an associates degree level jobs out there that are paying $70K a year.
Certainly better than the Ancient Egyptian language major or Philosophy major, or cake decorating major that some of the unemployed college grads went to school for.
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