Posted on 02/24/2005 9:12:40 AM PST by Willie Green
A waitress at one of my favorite Strip District restaurants last week used one of the industry's oldest cliches. She delivered a meal and reminded me that she "really didn't do this" for a living.
Waiting tables, she explained, was simply something she was doing until a well-paying job opened up in the field she studied during six years in college.
While this is rote conversation for wait staff in places like New York and Los Angeles, where everyone with a tray of linguini in their hands is waiting for a slot on NBC's "Fear Factor," it's unusual for Pittsburgh.
Or is it?
The waitress, it turns out, spent all that time and nearly $150,000 of her family's money studying social sciences, but after graduating she became disappointed with the entry-level salary of her chosen field.
"I can make, like, twice what I'd make as a social worker waiting tables," she confided, "so I'm probably going to just stay here."
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
That's one of the reasons why I chose to study engineering 25 years ago. I knew no one would try to teach me that 1 + 1 = 3. Even though I'm no longer an engineer, I'm glad I did it. If I had been a liberal arts major I might have gone insane.
That's the only reason to do anything.
That's what I tell my nephews. We have things backwards. It's not what I want to do. It's what God wants me to do.
Because there's not a whole lot of money to be made knitting or basket weaving. If you know how to make a decent living doing that sort of thing, please let me know.
Don't know any basket weavers in the normal sense of that term. Just made a killing in one stock that's involved in what you might call nano-basket weaving.
Expected wage/salary: $35k/yr.
Expected salary after proving myself valuable to an employer and obtaining my P.L.S.: Range of $50k-$85k/yr.
The problem with college is that it concentrates on teaching nearly irrelevant subjects so that stupid leftists who did not want to become useful to others could have jobs teaching garbage like 'social sciences' or 'ethnic studies'. It would seem to be the opposite of a free market...JFK
my sister is a cop.
I will tell you the biggest thing was her bachelors degree and the fact that she was never in any trouble.
She interned in Atlantic City, NJ at the Tropicana as a Security Guard.
She applied to police forces up and down the east coast and was hired in New Castle, DE. As she was going through the DE academy the NJ State Police called but she was already over half-way through the DE academy.
There were extensive application processes and background checks.
She graduated from the police academy with honors.
Takes some persistence but it was the only thing she ever wanted to do.
p.s. Out of 5 kids, most of us ended up in some type of uniform. I went in the Marines, my sister is active duty air force, my other sister is a doctors office manager, my brother was in the air force now building custom cars in his back yard, and little sister is a cop. We're all contributing citizens that voted Republican :)
Yes, she does wamt to teach. Seems that most dancers do that just of make ends meet. Great suggustions.
Thank you.
That's true in many many instances. It's also untrue for many many people. It all depends on what you do and how you measure success. There are plenty of jobs and fields which you simply cannot enter without a degree; and there are plenty for which it makes zero difference.
MM
Thank you so much. I pretty much thought so. I had expected that going to a major ballet school/company was the only way to make it.
I had wondered how we would be able to afford New Youk, or some other big name. But she will get her chance sooner than I thought. Ethan Stiefel from ABT will becoming to the school she's been going to for 4 years, to be artistic director this fall. It feels like it will be make or break when she is only 11!
She does have the "ballet body" with long legs, "banana" feet, and the best flexibility in her class. And she does have the passion. She is always sad when her cast for Nutcracker comes to the end. She wants to do the whole show (It usually runs for four weeks.)
We will find out over the next few years for sure now!
Thank you again for your input.
Make sure to help her understand that the effort she's put into ballet won't have been wasted if she doesn't make a career of it. I'm a successful banker, but I certainly don't regard my years in ballet as wasted. I'm still reaping the physical benefits (at 44), and I certainly think I got a lot more out of all those hours at the ballet studio than I would have gotten hanging out at the mall or practicing/playing on some school sports team.
Who do they find who would pay thousands of dollars for a sweater? I'm not doubting you, I'd really like to know, because I knit.
However, when he lost that job that, he found that his salary was pretty much based on his longevity with that company, and he wasn't worth near what he was making to other employers. He wishes now he would have gone to college.
Couldn't agree more. If I had to take a side, there is no doubt in my mind that a degree can help you get ahead. But is it no guarantee of anything at all.
If this thread is still active in the morning, I'll put in my two cents.
Lots of RN's work 3 12 hour shifts per week. It's a common thing these days.
,,, where I am student debt is something that students cringe about when it comes up in conversation. Plumbers and electricians don't give it any thought at all though as they sit on the beach in Fiji or New Caledonia during their breaks. They're in demand and that's a lesson you stay clear of university to learn and profit from.
Yup, I found that defense contractors gave far better educational benefits.
I work for a civilian products division of a major corporation which is primarily known for defense aerospace work. So I get those nice educational benefits and am able to transfer to one of the aerospace divisions whenever I'd like. ;-)
I'm working on my master's...don't want to take a leave of absence from work to get a doctorate. My company pays 100% of all tuition and expenses. Not a bad deal, not at all!
PhD or not, students who are foreign nationals just don't have the same sort of opportunities with defense contractors. Heck, my civilian division doesn't like hiring foreign nationals. Why deal with visas and green cards when there are qualified American engineers to be hired?
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