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I'm seriously considering the apprenticeship/internship route. One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?
It seems like to me that it requies a engineering degree to get in, and especially to move up.
I probably should have clarified in my first post... I'm not planning on moving anywhere right away. After this semester I'm going home to Ohio for the summer. I'll live with my family and work as much as I can, however long it takes me to build up my savings. My main reason for looking into other cities is for me to have a more long-term goal to work towards.
To answer your questions, my family is helping me financially. I'm also on a considerable scholarship (which will still be available if I decide to come back). The rest is coming from loans and from my personal savings, which is why I'm questioning the wisdom of being in school right now.
As far as skills go, I don't have any specific skills. The only real work experience I have is running my own small lawn mowing business. This is the tragedy of our education system, in my opinion. So much emphasis is placed on getting into the best college, but there's little encouragement to learn practical skills or gain valuable experience in the workplace. College isn't for everyone, whether for financial reasons or simply because the career that you are best cut out for doesn't require a college degree. I think it's impractical to send droves of students off to college who have little or no idea what they want to do with their lives, or have an incorrect idea of what their chosen career is like in reality. When you're paying thousands upon thousands of dollars a year to be at college, that's hardly the optimal time to be "finding yourself." But I digress...
I'm seriously considering the apprenticeship/internship route. One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?
I absolutely agree with the first bolded part here- I could never figure out why high schools have no vocational training. It's a scam in my opinion.
They teach a lot of textbook b.s. that will not matter in the long run, but I'm getting off topic here.
I didn't realize you have a scholarship; that's an amazing opportunity.
And the fact that you have family helping ya' out- its another good thing.
I just hate for you to pass up the window of opportunity that you have at this moment- if you had a clear direction it'd be easier.
The second bolded area is also something I'd point out- many times you have to know someone to even get into the apprenticeship programs (at least in the sucky area I'm in)
So it's just one of those times where ya' gotta weigh it all out & make your choice......
As far as skills go, I don't have any specific skills. The only real work experience I have is running my own small lawn mowing business. This is the tragedy of our education system, in my opinion. So much emphasis is placed on getting into the best college, but there's little encouragement to learn practical skills or gain valuable experience in the workplace. College isn't for everyone, whether for financial reasons or simply because the career that you are best cut out for doesn't require a college degree. I think it's impractical to send droves of students off to college who have little or no idea what they want to do with their lives, or have an incorrect idea of what their chosen career is like in reality. When you're paying thousands upon thousands of dollars a year to be at college, that's hardly the optimal time to be "finding yourself." But I digress...
I'm seriously considering the apprenticeship/internship route. One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?
I'll probably be condemned for saying this but I'll say it anyway. Traditional college degrees are great but for a lot of people, it's not a good choice. You may be a person who would do well with training through a technical or trade school. High school used to offer wood shop, auto shop and metal shop for students. Not sure if they still do with all the cuts to education and changes in what administrators feel relevant to education.
At some point, you will need to know how to do something in life. You mentioned mowing lawns. While it's not the type of job that will give you an adequate living by today's standards, it doesn't mean it's not something that could build into a lucrative business. I personally know two people who built a large business from their gardening and landscaping skills and employee several people today. All that takes time, though and you have to go through a lot of lean years. Ask yourself if you're willing to do that. By the same token, there's no guarantee a college degree is going to have you working, before the ink is dry on the diploma. It's a tough world we live in today.
The point is, figure out what you enjoy doing and if you think you can make a living doing it, get the training and skills you need to achieve that goal. It's better to stop wasting money on college, if your heart isn't in it. You're better off putting your money into an intense program of training that will assure you employment upon graduation. You don't want to end up being 35 years old and still living at home with your folks. Just remember that the world is changing again. We went from an agricultural nation to an industrial nation and now we are in a technical and information nation. Use your noodle and figure out something you could see doing for decades and get busy doing it. And remember to do your best at it because the cream always rises to the top. (took that from my grandfather)
Take the time while you can now to find your own values. You've got the time via family support and no obligations that force the issue.
If that means taking some alternative types of jobs and following those opportunities to find out for yourself if they can actually be a career path for you. Along the way, you may find that going back to school fulfills the career path, or justifies for you a different path.
When all is said and done, it's you who must live within your own comfort zone. There's many paths open to you, and if money is a high priority for you, then you'll have to do what it takes to earn it, or find other ways to achieve your personal happiness. Sometimes, a college degree can be a headstart on your path to happiness, sometimes it's not necessary. There's a lot of tradespeople, small business owners, and other paths that can be very rewarding and not require a degree to be successful.
Better to question your options now and explore than to lock yourself into an expensive education to later realize that you've qualified yourself to do something which doesn't bring you happiness. If you can combine your vocation with your recreation, so much the better over the long haul. You'll be looking forward to working rather than counting the days you must endure until retirement.
It seems like to me that it requies a engineering degree to get in, and especially to move up.
Not necessarily. The OP could go the route of a engineering technician, which does not require any degree. Usually, years of training, and like the OP said, maybe internships can be the way to go.
OP, Like you, I did college for a year. I started out majoring in computer science. It became clear to me that the field was not going to be anything I would excel at, so I defaulted to what I knew- construction.
There have been lean times and very good times, and times I wished I had gotten an engineering or medical degree. But I have made a good living and had a good life without the degree, and was never saddled with the debt a degree would have created. I have a daughter who is also nineteen, and in college, getting a teaching degree. She is a great student, and will do well, as long as someone is hiring teachers when she graduates.
At your age, it is HARD to know what to do, especially when so many decisions that face you at this time of your life have so much potential to drastically alter the course of it. I say to do what you feel in your gut is the right thing, pick a field you can live with, that will take care of your needs, and put all your energies into making that happen for you. I will say, that with the shape this country is in financially, you need a trade skill, whether you make it a career or not, that is useful to your community. Do not end up in a job that depends on the federal government or its funding to continue being a viable career path. Good luck in your endeavors, and remember that anything worth achieving is worth sweating and bleeding for.
OP, I was in the same position you are in now so I'm offering some of my experience. To me, going to college was a waste of time and money for me and I had no skills other than part time high school jobs.
I took the time to visit the military recruiters and the military ended up offering me more than college or civillian internships. You can even set aside money for college and attend classes in the military. Just make sure you visit all the recruiters and ask as many questions as you can.
I dropped out of college after two years of engineering because I was out of money and did not want debt. I left a scholarship behind, started a business (which failed), worked two technician-level jobs, and got married. But I saved saved saved and after five years I went back to school, paid my own way (it was hard) and graduated with an ME from Michigan State. Coming out of school I got a job offer from nearly everyone I interviewed with - employers loved that I had a story, and some actual work experience, along with the degree. You're not a drone and you don't have to stay on the path. Do it your way.
Now I work for a scrap metal processing and brokerage company headquarted in Ohio but with facilities all over the country. Scrap metal is an interesting business. It's one of those fields nobody grows up dreaming of, but a lot of people love once they find their way into it. Scrap companies hire people to drive forklifts or material handlers, pick and sort materials on conveyors, work in retail positions buying scrap materials over the scale from the public, maintain heavy equipment, and push brooms. The typical hire is unskilled and learns on the job. The work is very blue collar, you are outside in all weather, starting pay is not great, but smart people with good interpersonal skills who work hard advance quickly. Like other companies of our kind we provide benefits which include tuition reimbursement, and a lot of people I know use this to advance themselves. And to the OP, we manage truck fleets, as well as rail and barge, so there are opportunities in logistics, as well as lots of other areas. Just thought I'd throw that out as a possible way to go.
Stay in school. Debt is a poor reason to leave school...Sure, it sucks having debt, but since you're much more employable (assuming you get a good degree) if you have a college degree, it's worth the debt.
This might have been true when a degree could cost up to $50,000. But now degrees cost $80,000 and up if you stay in a 4-year college the whole time. You don't want to go into that kind of debt for a job that will yield $30,000 a year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by route231
One field that has caught my interest is logistics/transportation. I have an analytical mind and a good sense of geography and I read that it's easy to start out at the bottom and work your way up. Any thoughts?
This is a great, growing field, but it is VERY competitive. Profit margins are extremely thin, and everything is predicated on the price of fuel.
You can get a degree in logistics, and you don't need to go into engineering as a previous poster stated. It's a business degree.
Yes, you might start out working on a dock or driving a truck, but if you are going to rise in a company, you will need a business degree.
That said...there is a huge demand for truck drivers. It's not easy to find someone with a Commercial Driver's License and, even more importantly, a clean driving AND criminal record.
I don't see that demand dropping for a long, long time.
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