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Greetings, I am a GED holder, 48 years old. I have worked hands on with some pretty sophisticated equipment. Air Launched Cruise Missiles, Laser Guided Bombs, Air Intercept Missiles, etc. Of course, I am a product of the US military. There was plenty of "troubleshooting", assembly, disassembly, hands on testing and tweaking to ensure Uncle Sam got the bang for the buck he paid for. MY POINT: It took a team of degreed engineers to design the weapons, but only a HS/GED holder to read the complex technical manuals, to operate the test sets, and repair the weapons. I AM STILL A GED HOLDER. This is after a successful 21-year enlisted career in the USAF. I have no need for higher education. I make 50K yearly as an unskilled maintenance worker (Civil Service). I receive retirement pay and we have a rental income property. Why on earth would I even want a degree? I have a friend who is a retired Chief Master Sergeant. That is the highest enlisted grade attainable (E-9). He holds two degrees; I believe one is a graduate, the other undergraduate. Guess what he does for a living? He's your friendly neighborhood postman, and loves his job. High Tech Without A Degree - No Way? For some yes, it's possible, and a way of life. Earn a good living without a degree? This is very possible, and a reality for many. I respect those who worked long and hard to earn those all-important degrees, but it's just not for me. BTW, my wife is also a GED holder and earns well over my yearly income. We're blessed, but it wasn't dumb luck that we're where we are.
My BF is a GED holder and is ex-USMC and makes about $100k a year but he is the exception to the rule, which is that on average college graduates earn more than high school graduates over their lifetimes. Obviously that doesn't apply 100% of the time, but it usually does apply.
Also, I think the situation is different now than it use to be. A lot of people in their 40-50s did not get degrees and where able to find decent work and due to their experience still hold those jobs.
But the current job market is different, a college degree is becoming what a high school diploma was 30-40 years ago. Most of the people I know that didn't get degrees are not doing that well.
20 years ago a college degree was what a high school diploma was 30 years before that. Now it's not simply having a degree but a real degree. People coming out of school with liberal arts degrees and expecting high paying jobs because they just spent 4 years studying 17th century literature completely wasted their time. They may be well read, well rounded individuals but there are only so many, ever so fulfilling, clerical positions available.
When I started college in 1972 at San Francisco State U, I was fairly clueless as to what kind of education would lead to an interesting and useful career. That's why most colleges force undergraduates to take a bunch of the same required courses the first year regardless of their intended major. It lets the empty headed freshman (like I was) have a second chance to figure out what to major in before they run too far down a dead end road. In sophemore year, I changed from Economics major to Electrical Engineering. The only thing these two majors had in common were the letter E, but at least somebody had kicked some sense into me by then to explain that there not many jobs available for Economists, and besides the country was in a horrible recession at the time and it did not look too promising. Engineering sounded a lot better and it turned out to be the better choice for me. Yeah, I struggled, even dropped out for a few years, but in the end it all worked out.
Today there are still endless opportunities for people who study most engineering fields. It might take more than 4 years, but in the long run it will be worth it. You don't need straight A grades to find a good job, just a knack to learn new things about technology and science plus some good communication skills.
Greetings, I am a GED holder, 48 years old. I have worked hands on with some pretty sophisticated equipment. Air Launched Cruise Missiles, Laser Guided Bombs, Air Intercept Missiles, etc. Of course, I am a product of the US military. There was plenty of "troubleshooting", assembly, disassembly, hands on testing and tweaking to ensure Uncle Sam got the bang for the buck he paid for. MY POINT: It took a team of degreed engineers to design the weapons, but only a HS/GED holder to read the complex technical manuals, to operate the test sets, and repair the weapons. I AM STILL A GED HOLDER. This is after a successful 21-year enlisted career in the USAF. I have no need for higher education. I make 50K yearly as an unskilled maintenance worker (Civil Service). I receive retirement pay and we have a rental income property. Why on earth would I even want a degree? I have a friend who is a retired Chief Master Sergeant. That is the highest enlisted grade attainable (E-9). He holds two degrees; I believe one is a graduate, the other undergraduate. Guess what he does for a living? He's your friendly neighborhood postman, and loves his job. High Tech Without A Degree - No Way? For some yes, it's possible, and a way of life. Earn a good living without a degree? This is very possible, and a reality for many. I respect those who worked long and hard to earn those all-important degrees, but it's just not for me. BTW, my wife is also a GED holder and earns well over my yearly income. We're blessed, but it wasn't dumb luck that we're where we are.
Way back in the early 90’s before the colleges recognized that PC networks existed there were no colleges that would teach it. They still taught main frame stuff.
Most of the people that worked with Novell, Banyan Vines, and other small PC networks were self taught. They were interest in the technical workings and not afraid to get their hands dirty (so to speak). You didn’t need any degree. You didn’t even need certification, although it quickly became a must have in the later 90’s.
Now you need certification and a BA for entry level IT work.
And the funniest thing is back when you didn’t need the “education” it was much harder to make things work together.
There was no plug and play anything. Type “setup” all you want it wasn’t going to do anything for you. “Reboot”? Yea right. All a reboot would get you is right back where you were, that is if it came back at all. Yep, back then you really had to know what you were doing. Now you are required to have a BA to type in “CTL ALT DEL”, “SETUP”, “enter”.
Even if you do jump through all the hoops it wont be long and your job will be shipped over seas. Most everything can be done remotely from anywhere in the world and if it requires hands on then they will ship another machine overnight for some lackey to plug in.
Way back in the early 90’s before the colleges recognized that PC networks existed there were no colleges that would teach it. They still taught main frame stuff.
Most of the people that worked with Novell, Banyan Vines, and other small PC networks were self taught. They were interest in the technical workings and not afraid to get their hands dirty (so to speak). You didn’t need any degree. You didn’t even need certification, although it quickly became a must have in the later 90’s.
Now you need certification and a BA for entry level IT work.
And the funniest thing is back when you didn’t need the “education” it was much harder to make things work together.
There was no plug and play anything. Type “setup” all you want it wasn’t going to do anything for you. “Reboot”? Yea right. All a reboot would get you is right back where you were, that is if it came back at all. Yep, back then you really had to know what you were doing. Now you are required to have a BA to type in “CTL ALT DEL”, “SETUP”, “enter”.
Even if you do jump through all the hoops it wont be long and your job will be shipped over seas. Most everything can be done remotely from anywhere in the world and if it requires hands on then they will ship another machine overnight for some lackey to plug in.
Interesting point. I know a friend who works at an internationally known (household word) company offering overnight courier, ground, heavy freight, document copying and logistics services. This person works the international brokerage end of the business. He worked his way up to a 52K job entirely dependent on computers. He knows his job could evaporate in short order. US wages stay the either drop or remain unchanged, and inflation ensures your dollar buys less. Global wages increase, and the disparity between global rich and poor is narrowed. Economies become inter-connected. A financial “hic-cup” over there can spell disaster over here, and vice-versa. So much for national sovereignty. The global economic landscape is changing so fast it’s impossible to keep track. Good luck to those seeking long-term financial stability after graduate school. I may sound like a doom merchant, but that’s the unfortunate reality. In closing, educated folks aren’t the only ones decimated by the overseas job hemorrhage – just look at the US autoworker.
The military is one of the few solid career options for people with GEDs, and it sounds like you've done well turning that military background into a decent paying civil service job.
You can still make a living without a degree, but you don't have the opportunities available that a degree gives you. A college degree opens doors that are otherwise closed to you.
When I started college in 1972 at San Francisco State U, I was fairly clueless as to what kind of education would lead to an interesting and useful career. That's why most colleges force undergraduates to take a bunch of the same required courses the first year regardless of their intended major. It lets the empty headed freshman (like I was) have a second chance to figure out what to major in before they run too far down a dead end road. In sophemore year, I changed from Economics major to Electrical Engineering. The only thing these two majors had in common were the letter E, but at least somebody had kicked some sense into me by then to explain that there not many jobs available for Economists, and besides the country was in a horrible recession at the time and it did not look too promising. Engineering sounded a lot better and it turned out to be the better choice for me. Yeah, I struggled, even dropped out for a few years, but in the end it all worked out.
Today there are still endless opportunities for people who study most engineering fields. It might take more than 4 years, but in the long run it will be worth it. You don't need straight A grades to find a good job, just a knack to learn new things about technology and science plus some good communication skills.
I certainly do not think you have to have a degree to succeed. Both of my brothers have high school diplomas and run their own very successful businesses. I am going the other route and am working my way through my BA and will be heading to law school this fall. I think it just depends on what you value... one certainly doesn't need a degree to earn a decent living, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have one either.
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Last edited by Beretta; 05-02-2008 at 03:05 PM..
Reason: removed signature and link to blog
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