Posted on 04/14/2006 6:44:37 AM PDT by Panzerlied
My company routinely hires summer interns. The advantage for the intern is getting a foot in the door, meeting a world of people doing real work and building a track record. Many of the summer interns make a good impression and have a job waiting for them upon graduation...with pay commensurate with education and demonstrated skills.
When I was in grad school, I took an interest in ham radio. That lead me to getting an FCC 1st Class Radiotelephone License with RADAR endorsement. It was just fun and games. Something to hang on the wall. Getting an Extra Class ham license was fun too. Later, the network of friends I met in ham radio resulted in meeting people at the marine electronics firm. They needed a tech with my licenses, I needed a better job than Radio Shack. Networking does wonders. The job offer that lead me to my current employer was the result of networking at church. While still employed at PacBell, I had substantially helped people with severe problems at my current place of employment. That greased the skids and lead to a job offer hand carried to my doorstep.
I have a similar dilemma. Which is better? Tai Chi or Chai Tea?
University of Phoenix gets about $1,000 for a 4 unit class. Graduation typically takes 120 semester units. That's about $30,000 right here.
My nephew just go accepted to U.C. Davis. He will live on campus. Expenses are projected at $23,000 per year. I lived off campus and coughed up $212 per quarter plus $100 in books. Annual parking fee was $40 in 1974-76. Prices have gone way up since then.
My son's former girlfriend went to Georgetown University. Her parents mortgaged the house to cover $38,000 per year. She was on campus when the aircraft hit the Pentagon on 9-11. Today, she is doing graduate work in math at Columbia university with a full ride scholarship. She has to teach in New York schools for two years to pay back the scholarship.
My #2 son shares my intelligence and tenacity, but has very different interests in life. He will graduate with his degree in business in July. Meanwhile, he is a licensed real estate broker in San Diego with two real estate corporations and about 15 employees. He will turn 23 next Tuesday.
I have a couple good quality technical writers. They are employed on high priority projects from day one. What is special about these people is the capacity to grasp the subject matter and interact with the architects and designers. They often contribute great ideas while doing the critical job of capturing all the important ideas. Making them part of the project team from the start ensures they completely grasp the concepts and are prepared to express them accurately.
Very good advice you gave there...young folks should take heed.
Thank you for that website. Amazing!
It takes a while before 50% of your income is being eaten by taxes. The average college graduate doesn't make nearly that much money. My son will graduate with about $23,000 in outstanding student loans in July. That was accrued on top of the GI bill after service in Iraq/Kuwait. He still has 18 months left with the USMC. His current goal is to full pay that off in the next year and start building enough savings to cover law school. He wants to wait until his obligation to the USMC is complete so they don't hamper his choices of law school.
I don't mind a collection of educated plebians ready to clean my boots. I have no problem seeing the lazy fail. Less competition means more potential success for myself and my family.
I pointed my son to a copy of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. He got the point. His credit card balances were gone in 3 months. Now he is working on tweaking his credit rating and stashing some cash to purchase some property. Being a broker will materially improve his "getting started" costs as a new property owner.
I remember sheetrockers back in the 70's made around $10/hour....illegals doing it for the same price 30 years later.....go figure....i wonder how much the price of cotton went up after the civil war?
Consider those skills to be a great plan B. I permit my wife to have a job. We don't need the income, but I had cancer in 1985. I'm still here, but that could change with an airplane crash on a business trip or while actually flying for work related tasks. I've paid off the mortgage, stashed lots of cash for retirement and carry a good term life insurance policy. Still, there are ongoing costs. Our property taxes eat $3,400 per year. Utilities eat about $250 month. That pesky habit of eating takes money too. Her employment will ensure more than enough income to keep the house and live comfortably.
The pay may look appealing, but I have many friends who are retired welders who live in perpetual pain from flash burned retinas. The job is like a professional athlete. Good pay while you can do it, followed by a miserable disability retirement.
re post #96 - excellent summation. Those who are being critical of recent grads on this thread are demonstrating piggish ignorance.
Why anyone would pay that much for mail-order college is beyond me. There are more than enough community colleges and state University extensions out there to give degrees with more prestige and less cost.
"I think a mandatory two year service time for all 18 year old males would do the U.S. some good."
Our all volunteer military would be harmed by the introduction of your "character building" recruits. So please disabuse yourself of such totalitarian notions.
Hey! I liked the other duck picture! It had more "panache"! :-)
See post # 128
No, we keep going to school because that's whats required of us to keep our credentials cleared.
And yes, many of us do live in the real world.
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