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Just because I could get by without a college degree doesn't mean I'd want to.
One thing that often gets glossed over is that jobs that don't require degrees tend to be a lot harder than, say, my job. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of welders make almost as much money as I do, but they have to deal with frightening working conditions and chronic on-the-job injuries and stresses that can really come back to haunt them when they get just a bit older than I am.
At my job, I get to do really cool stuff, and worst danger I have to face is a potential paper cut.
Plus, my salary keeps going up, indefinitely.
You can hear about people who can work their way up to such-and-such. Well, get a graduate degree and you can start there with room to grow. That's a trap for engineers, too, since they tend to start out higher than everyone else, but they plateau sooner.
By far the better engineering jobs require graduate degrees as well.
One poster already mentioned that police officers with just a high school diploma can make well over 50k in large cities like Austin, Houston, Dallas, Miami, and Detroit. All cities with a moderate cost of living.
Truck drivers can easily pull in over 50k if they drive over the road and if buy their own truck and run under their own authority they can pull in six figures as an owner operator.
One poster said skilled IT work. If someone can get a certificate in SQL they can find some jobs paying up to 80k a year with no college required.
Welders and plumbers can bring in $50k easily and the specialized welders in Texas doing underground drilling make 6 figures.
I am getting sick and tired of our society looking down on blue collar workers. Plenty of them are making more money and are better off than some white collar workers that are corporate America drones making their meager $45-60k salaries and getting abused in so many ways from private sector employers.
These days most IT jobs require a BA, often in computer science.
Underground drilling, wielding, and plumbing are extremely dangerous jobs. People who work these kinds of industrial jobs, if they have kids that do well in school are more than happy to pay for them to go to college as they do not want their kids to be in their shoes.
White collar workers making 45-60k are people with bachelor degrees doing secretarial/clerical work. These aren't people with advanced educations.
Most employers I've had, including the federal government, have required transcripts. Mileage on that one really varies.
Got into the current job in 1991, after graduating (with a 3.75 GPA Physics BS) in 1979. They wanted a transcript as I was hiring on. They had already offered me the job when they asked for the transcript (and a bunch of other paperwork) but probably would have rescinded if it turned out I really had a 2.0 in General Studies, or some such rot.
This is at a National Lab, so, yeah, mileage varies a lot on this.
Bottom line - anybody who wants a copy of my transcript, you pay for it and I'll sign off, bada bing, bada boom. Nothing to hide, I don't care who sees it, read 'em and weep. As the guy in that old Western said "It ain't braggin', if you can actually do it!"
A guy with a "path of least resistance" degree and a low GPA can't really say that.
Your GPA follows you around, casting a larger or smaller shadow depending on circumstances, for your entire working career. Many people, I think most are kids still in school, are looking for validation on their decision to party more and study less. Not gettin' it from me, kids.
Of course a big GPA on an impressive degree won't make up for a bad work ethic, for bad interpersonal skills, inability to manage yourself, etc. These things will be bigger determinants of how your career goes than GPA. But while you are in school, one thing you can do that will make things a bit easier for the rest of your working life is to get some grades, study something you are good at, something that addresses a problem people will pay you well to solve.
A lot of police departments pay more than $50k and either don't require a degree or only require 30-60 credit hours. Some will even pay you extra for having a bachelor's degree. If you want specific examples, the Travis County Sheriff's Office starts at $52k and requires no degree and no college credits. The Austin Police Department starts at $57k after the academy and $64k after the probationary period. They also do not require a degree or college credits.
That's no doubt true, but, frankly not everybody is cut out to be a cop. Working conditions can involve being shot at, for one thing.
Even in fields not requiring a degree, a degree is a leg up. If you were a hiring manager, and had 5 resumes for one job, if 2 of them had degrees in hard fields and good GPA, the other 3 didn't, who would you interview first?
Got into the current job in 1991, after graduating (with a 3.75 GPA Physics BS) in 1979. They wanted a transcript as I was hiring on. They had already offered me the job when they asked for the transcript (and a bunch of other paperwork) but probably would have rescinded if it turned out I really had a 2.0 in General Studies, or some such rot.
This is at a National Lab, so, yeah, mileage varies a lot on this.
Bottom line - anybody who wants a copy of my transcript, you pay for it and I'll sign off, bada bing, bada boom. Nothing to hide, I don't care who sees it, read 'em and weep. As the guy in that old Western said "It ain't braggin', if you can actually do it!"
A guy with a "path of least resistance" degree and a low GPA can't really say that.
Your GPA follows you around, casting a larger or smaller shadow depending on circumstances, for your entire working career. Many people, I think most are kids still in school, are looking for validation on their decision to party more and study less. Not gettin' it from me, kids.
Of course a big GPA on an impressive degree won't make up for a bad work ethic, for bad interpersonal skills, inability to manage yourself, etc. These things will be bigger determinants of how your career goes than GPA. But while you are in school, one thing you can do that will make things a bit easier for the rest of your working life is to get some grades, study something you are good at, something that addresses a problem people will pay you well to solve.
Good advise.
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