Wow! What a reputation: Alaska number one in sexually transmitted diseases? (Fairbanks: appointed, taxation)

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Pitts I know if I ever meet you, we’d be friends. I don’t agree with everything you say, and heck, I’m willing to say hardly anything you say, but I just got a feeling.

You nailed the cost of education dilemma right here. There’s a point that the education costs doesn’t make financial sense.

I’m at the point where the only way I can get a pay raise is to get a $40k degree that will increase my income by $3-4K a year. Makes no sense.

Did your employer tell you specifically that the 40k degree would result in a 3-4k a year raise? The problem is your degree will take you what 3-4 years (for a masters, 10 years for a BS) if you are working full time if you actually want to be successful (ie good GPA, not overloading on credits while working 40 hrs a week, etc), depending on the degree of course. In 3-4 years maybe that degree will be worth 3-4k more, maybe 10k more, or maybe that degree wont even be envoge anymore and people will sneer at it. In the USA we dont really have a good system of reward, its all dependant upon fickle employers rather than any sort of long term national vision (other than programs like NASA or DARPA, etc which are seeing massive funding cuts and getting into govt GS positions is harder than ever)

The first degree out of high school .... ok, since I dont want to dig ditches for a living, but advanced degrees, the metrics get alot more hazy. My goal is to take courses like general relativity and digitial signal processing which are very difficult courses but very interesting.

I dont know how people disagree with me, I think my points are very straight forward, I have seen people do things that dont make financial sense and get into alot of trouble.

Trying to do a program in fairbanks that is not 100% online would be a massive financial and time boondoggle and it has nothing to do with someones "commitment". Online is here and UAF is living in the past, they are using their strong political clout to hold onto that past but I think more and more students and faculty are getting tired of it and once we have the major culling of the legislator this fall I think the board of regents will be on the chopping block, they are the ones that give UAF their political position.

Every year that passes there is less and less reason for anything significant to exist in Fairbanks. Unless the federal govt dumps a bunch of money there to do something cool ....

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Pitts I know if I ever meet you, we’d be friends. I don’t agree with everything you say, and heck, I’m willing to say hardly anything you say, but I just got a feeling.

You nailed the cost of education dilemma right here. There’s a point that the education costs doesn’t make financial sense.

I’m at the point where the only way I can get a pay raise is to get a $40k degree that will increase my income by $3-4K a year. Makes no sense.

All depends on what type of education you are engaging into. If you get into engineering (civil, petroleum, mining, electrical, computer (to a lesser degree than the rest), mechanical, Geotechnical, and even environmental degree, there is a good chance that you will find work. But none of these things will matter if when you achieve them if you aren't happy.

There are two or three choices in life: you can spend a fortune on an education and then hope that at the end you land a job to pay for it, or you can start working at an early age and spend your money wisely (save, invest, and so on). Regardless, life is what you make out of it. If you aren't happy about your present situation, there is not telling if you will be happy after achieving whatever goal you have set. It takes time for one to realize that being happy about life with whatever you do now is a lot more important than future possibilities, whichever these may be. Nothing comes easy in life.

An education in Alaska is a lot cheaper than a lot of other places.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

All depends on what type of education you are engaging into. If you get into engineering (civil, petroleum, mining, electrical, computer (to a lesser degree than the rest), mechanical, Geotechnical, and even environmental degree, there is a good chance that you will find work. But none of these things will matter if when you achieve them if you aren't happy.

There are two or three choices in life: you can spend a fortune on an education and then hope that at the end you land a job to pay for it, or you can start working at an early age and spend your money wisely (save, invest, and so on). Regardless, life is what you make out of it. If you aren't happy about your present situation, there is not telling if you will be happy after achieving whatever goal you have set. It takes time for one to realize that being happy about life with whatever you do now is a lot more important than future possibilities, whichever these may be. Nothing comes easy in life.

An education in Alaska is a lot cheaper than a lot of other places.

I get what your saying, but for me. In my career filed. The only way I get a pay raise is to get a doctorate degree that will give me a $4k a year pay raise. It kind of sucks, especially with the cost to get that degree. However, I can be satisfied that I’m maxed out on one ladder.

I’m not willing to jump over to the next rung. Mainly because the cost to get the degree would have me working 10 years to break even which would then leave me with only 10 final years to get ahead. I’ll pass.

Thankfully it ain’t all about the money.

[RexLan]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Pitts I know if I ever meet you, we’d be friends. I don’t agree with everything you say, and heck, I’m willing to say hardly anything you say, but I just got a feeling.

You nailed the cost of education dilemma right here. There’s a point that the education costs doesn’t make financial sense.

I’m at the point where the only way I can get a pay raise is to get a $40k degree that will increase my income by $3-4K a year. Makes no sense.

Aren't there over 200 on-line GOOD degree programs in education fields, physiology, etc. available from accredited schools in the $15-20K range? I think you can go from a BS to a Phd in a couple of years.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by RexLan

Aren't there over 200 on-line GOOD degree programs in education fields, physiology, etc. available from accredited schools in the $15-20K range? I think you can go from a BS to a Phd in a couple of years.

Honestly, I’ve kind of overlooked the online thing. I did my masters and my specialist degrees that way. I’d rather do in person, but moving to the road, it might be ok with faster internet.

I had to do all my coursework at the school for my last degree. Internet costs otherwise would have killed me.
I’m just not sure I want to do a doctorate. Not really sure if it’s worth it.

[Haolejohn]

The other thing to consider is not every district accepts a PhD. My current district doesn’t. I’m maxed out in the credits side. Only way for pay raise is to gain more years experience. My next district does give credit for a PhD.

I know I eventually want to go admin, but that means stepping out of the classroom.

[RexLan]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

The other thing to consider is not every district accepts a PhD. My current district doesn’t. I’m maxed out in the credits side. Only way for pay raise is to gain more years experience. My next district does give credit for a PhD.

I know I eventually want to go admin, but that means stepping out of the classroom.

I had a small OEM electronics business in Fairbanks and built telecommunication equipment for ratio telephone applications before we had any cell phone services. My chief SW engineer was based in Sacramento and was the chief engineer for the Air Force on the Patriot missile project - brilliant guy. His brother was one of the original co-inventors of the electron microscope. We were very successful.

Anyway - when the bases were closing back in the late 90's Gary got pretty excited so we wound down our final designs and products and he did an on-line degree program and got his doctorate in computer sciences and used two of our products for his work. That guaranteed him a solid position until retirement at some ungodly amount of $$$$$$! It was fully accredited and only took him a bit over a year.

I know they have programs for admin and for education - that should be a good fit and internet needs are nothing special at all. Even a good DSL connection would suffice I think. Even if current position offer no benefit you could just poke along at a comfortable pace to have things in position when the opportunity was ripe.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by RexLan

I had a small OEM electronics business in Fairbanks and built telecommunication equipment for ratio telephone applications before we had any cell phone services. My chief SW engineer was based in Sacramento and was the chief engineer for the Air Force on the Patriot missile project - brilliant guy. His brother was one of the original co-inventors of the electron microscope. We were very successful.

Anyway - when the bases were closing back in the late 90's Gary got pretty excited so we wound down our final designs and products and he did an on-line degree program and got his doctorate in computer sciences and used two of our products for his work. That guaranteed him a solid position until retirement at some ungodly amount of $$$$$$! It was fully accredited and only took him a bit over a year.

I know they have programs for admin and for education - that should be a good fit and internet needs are nothing special at all. Even a good DSL connection would suffice I think. Even if current position offer no benefit you could just poke along at a comfortable pace to have things in position when the opportunity was ripe.

Living in the bush, one takes for granted the internet. I’m paying $150 a month for 40 gigs. Last year it was same price for 10 gigs. Problem though is, it isn’t high speed.

I keep forgetting that we are moving to the road where internet will really be high speed and affordable.

[Music_Man]

What is your definition of high speed? The fastest I can get at my house in Anchorage (south end along the new Seward highway) is 10mb with no gig limit. This just barely enough speed to watch a movie on Netflix. High speed is usually considered to be 25mb in the lower 48. No cable on the road (GCI won't lay any more)and to many trees in the way on neighbors land for satellite.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Music_Man

What is your definition of high speed? The fastest I can get at my house in Anchorage (south end along the new Seward highway) is 10mb with no gig limit. This just barely enough speed to watch a movie on Netflix. High speed is usually considered to be 25mb in the lower 48. No cable on the road (GCI won't lay any more)and to many trees in the way on neighbors land for satellite.

You’re getting about 9mbs more than I am.