college

[Trey]

Cary K., you became an engineer with a 2 year degree?

[chriscut]

I didn't work hard in high school. School for the most part really bored me so I spent time playing on my computer, skateboarding or chasing girls. My family would have paid for me to goto a nice school but since I never showed any effort in school I had to go to a JC, and started to work full time. The full time job at first was 5 dollars an hr more than I made at CompUSA (where i did computer repair). before CompUSA I worked at a different computer store where I was assistant manager. I started working at about age 14 and got my first computer job at 15.

I worked hard and taught myself everything that I know about networking, computers, and telephony. It's what I love so it was more of a hobby that turned into a job. I was able to work my way up to a Network Engineer by the time I was 22, and survived the big dot com lay offs (which I was lucky). I have been taking one or sometimes two JC courses per semester at night school since I work all day. For me it worked out that I got a job instead of going to college. I got out of high school and got right into a decent job that had potential. I got lucky, and its not that common in the work place to move up when you don't have a degree. I was just in the right place at the right time and worked hard.. If I was to do it again I would have worked harder in school no doubt. I'd have a much easier time now with school. I am just now realizing how studying and doing your homework can actually teach you something. And not a day goes by that I don't use the skills I learned in high school English or Math in my career.

I worked at a 600+ employee corporation before. at one point before the layoffs I basically knew everyone in the company since I fixed everyones computers (in my first role at the company). I got to know people and saw their backgrounds. It was the same story every time. The people who passed high school had the low paying jobs. the ones who had AA's got paid a little more and were able to be promoted quicker than the high school graduates. The people with BA's were managers or mid level pay employees. people who had their master degrees were engineers, architects, managers, directors and vice presidents. I'm not saying you need college to get anywhere in life, I was able to get into a career without college, but without a doubt life is a lot easier once you have that degree. It's a competitive job market out there, so you will need all the help you can get.

Getting that stupid piece of paper doesn't mean you will be good at what the diploma says (seen that all too often)... but it shows you can work hard, follow a plan and archive a goal. To me that means a lot, and thats why I go to school at night so some day I can have a piece of paper that shows I jumped through all their hoops and be able to get the job done.

So yeah, study hard kiddies


PIRATE, He might be there now, but this is his first job after college. I'm pretty sure Scott is some kind of manager at his shop. He'll be able to be promoted quickly and move up, or leave this job and get into a better career once he has some experience. It's not easy to get a really good job after college, most people still have to work their way up. Give him a few years, he'll have an Escalade on 22"s, a nice boat and a decent house in the bay area (which for those of you who don't know, cost a fortune)

[chrisd]

If I can interject with my life experiences.

I just graduated from a world renown 10 year college and masters program. I pride my self in excellence whether taking a really super hard exam or my toes on the nose shredding the gnarr. The most valuable lesson they taught me in every detailed course whether economics or human development is this.

If you want to succeed do not listen to in fact don’t even read Pirates post. They are in fact lame and will only cause you to loose intellect.

As I smoke my pipe and drink my aged brandy from this fine glass drink holder I value what my university has instilled in me. I hope you take this tidbit and improve your being.

[h0nkey46]

college is hella gay i hate it...but i've already spent too much money to quit now.halfway thru sophmore yr already...one good thing tho...u wont find hotter girls anywhere else!!

[PIRATE]

[chriscut]

And it's not like you need a good job or need to goto college to be happy in life. I'm happy with having nothing for the most part. I work so that I can wakeskate, snowboard, skate buy photography gear and travel. I also do it so that someday when I have kids I can give them a good life and put them through college.

[chriscut]

PIRATE, cool man, I read your post wrong the first time.

[Cary K.]

[jonnyUTAH]

There were courses that I took in Uni that had profound impacts on my mental growth. A good institution will help you understand that "the more you know, the more you realize that you don't know..."

Spending a few quality years devoting all your energy to books, knowledge, and hot chicks will mold you in the right direction....haha.

Seriously .... if you're not gunna go to school, then I would say try your best to read as much as possible. Reading is like lifting weights for your brain.....

holy sha-it I sound like a homo right now. Reading rainbowwwwwwww

[PIRATE]

chrisd, dude. i wasn't saying anything wrong. You guys just see my name and all of the sudden think that I'm being a dick. What I was saying is simple. My thought was this. Sometimes people go to school, Get degrees, and then when there out they realize that there not living there dreams, and that instead they've spent the last 4yrs doing what someone else wanted them to do.

Here how about this. If You go to college, GO AND WORK.... not just in school but get a job. Dont let anyone pay your full way. I know that may seem dumb but trust me on this. My biggest problem with people who get out of college is this......... They lack any sense of REAL BUISNESS. They dont know how to deal with people, and lastly there Lazy. I'm not saying everyone but in my experience i have dealt with more then 2-3. BUT some of the best college grads I know struggled to pay there bills, worked 30hrs a week while in school and NOW have something to offer company's and buisnes's.

Do you need a college education to have a good job ? yeah. BUT do you need one to have a GREAT JOB? NO !!! Especially if you want to own your own buisness........ Lets say you want to own a skateboard and wakeboard shop someday.... You could go to college, and study buisness, get in alot of debt and then come out and try to start up your own shop..... OR you could Get a job at a skatshop. Learn on there Dollar and treat it like your schooling. Study everything they do, think about what you would do different. Keep your credit Good............... ANd then GO BALLS OUT AND DO IT YOURSELF>


I have the upmost respect for people who have done the college thing, BUT i dont think its a better way of life. Just different.

[PIRATE]

Chris Barcellos, sorry i just read your post and I think your pretty right on.

[chrisd]

Pirate,

If you didn't mean to come off condescending then I apologize. It sounded like you were trying to get at Scott and it didn't seem funny. Scott can defend him self as well if he took it that way. Like I said if you were not trying to be a ASS CLOWN then my bad.

I was messing around as well. I did not attend a 10 year college. I have not been to college. I have been in the parking lot of a college but I am not sure if that counts.

Later

[PIRATE]

chrisd, no worries, I dont know scott, or anything and I wasn't meaning anything i said in a Demeaning manner..... Maybe I should erase it. Does it really sound like i'm being a A$$ ? I promise you I wasn't though.

And yeah it isyour bad buddy !!!!!!....... j/k

[jboss]

I started my second semester a few weeks ago and I already don't think I'm gonna make it. I'm not trying to be hard on myself either, I honestly think it will take a miracle for me to pass this semester with my scholarship still intact. My advice to high school students is find a university with a respectable and reputable diploma with a fairly easy workload. My school is to some extent the opposite. Another thing is to not, under ANY circumstances, start slacking early cuz I did that last semester and I already started again this semester. Quitcha bitchin and hit dem books!!!

[scott a]

If there is ANYTHING that my parents have taught me over the years, it's that busting your ass NOW will reward you sooner or later, and also that you NEED a degree in today's world. I don't even know if an AA is enough in my neck of the world anymore. My dad has an AA in Criminal Justice, but he's a "computer engineer," and my mom dropped out of San Jose State after receiving an AA in one of the sciences at a Community College. Are they doing great now? Sure they are! They're living a damn good life.

But they topped off on the pay scale about 10 years ago. That's right...no more promotions for them. About 5-6 years ago, a 24 year old business minor (Comp Sci major) was promoted over my dad even though EVERYONE knew that my dad was infinitely more deserving, including the 24 year old who continued to seek guidance from my dad even after the promotion. The one and only thing that the 24 year old had that my dad didn't was that seemingly insignificant little piece of paper.

Yes, I do have a degree from a decent university, and yes, I'm currently managing a pro shop. And to add to that, I have a degree in a field where it's not even neccesary. So yeah, I'm sure there's someone wondering why I put myself through 5 years of studying things that I might not remember after I take my final exams, but that's not true whatsoever. College is all about what you make of it. If you wanna sit here and beach about it being stupid and a waste of money, then drop out and work for a few years and see if that's really what you want in life. Unfortunately, it seems as though people don't really start appreciating the hard work that goes into getting a degree (or the benefits thereof) until they've either already got one or wish that they had gotten one.

I'm working at a boat dealership because it's fun and I like helping people. Those of you who don't know me in real life will probably find that hard to believe, but whatever. Jobs up here in the film field are few and far between, so I'll continue to work here until I find a more desirable job. As much as I valued sitting in a classroom for the past 14 years of my life, I don't particularly wish to label tapes and transcribe interviews for the next 5 (with less pay). I'd rather manage a pro shop with cool coworkers and good reps and take a few pictures with some good friends when I have time. We'll see how things go.

Sorry for the novel. Hope this cleared things up a bit.

[B-Lane]

[PIRATE]

scott a, Good post.



And for all of you who care........ I'm going back to school. For what ? I dont know, But i do know that I want that paper. Not becuase I need a job, and not becuase I think its important. But because its a personal goal of mine, I want it kind of like a trophy. I know that sounds lame but whatever.


hyfliteskate, right on man, good luck.

[senorbueno]

I thought I posted this earlier, but I don't see it up so I'll re-write it.

Some of the best people I worked with last summer didn't have college degrees (but they were able to secure their Engineering jobs from experience in the military). One of the coolest parts of my job was I was able to learn from everyone that I worked with, from the super technical engineers w/masters degrees, to the people who have been working with jet engines for 50 years. A degree is definitely not everything, and a lot of people will be very successful without one while a lot of people with one will end up at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Less than 50% of the people who start college actually finish. That's really a hard stat to swallow as I didn't believe it all until I got to college first hand and have seen several very bright people not make it and have to drop out.

[The Bug]

Um, let's see.

Me Before College = Broke Nobody

Me After College = Civil Engineer at $80K/yr

And Chico State has the hottest women. They don't make porn at your college junior!

[Jama]

Please read this. Ok so the majority of these views are from people who are out of college, I'm sixteen and a sophomore in high school. My standpoint is as follows:
You spend 4 or more yours of primetime youth in a classroom dreaming about your future. So you get a job that is stessful, time-consuming, but if you're lucky you get a hefty paycheck. Ok so when you get that check with the time you have left over you can go do what you love? That's not life. Why not start out doing what you love? I hate when a teacher brags about their 4.0 in high school and college and there standing in front of you making less than most servers at restaurants. I could be and probably am nieve about this but I think if you're driven enough you can love the hell out of life doing what's enjoyable to you with out the middle men of college and a shiznackle job.

Personally, I know could be happy with VERY little money doing what I love. The problem ensues when I think about it if I ever met a woman I couldn't live without and she was hell-bent on kids. Anyways my future is wide-open....I could be a fisherman in a small shack on an island....I could herd cattle in Austrailia. I've discovered the power of personality can overcome alot more than people expect. My future is not going to follow a predetermined track that everyone blindly follows.