re: Did any of you feel stuck in college?

You don't wear Jelly real well.

Jelly just isn't your look.

Doesn't look good on you.

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tigerclaw10

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Gotta think fourth dimensionally marty.......

but for real do you want to reach that golden ceiling that all plant guys get???

yeah you'll get that truck and boat and house in the 250k range real quick......

but that will be your ceiling, most of those operator jackwagons don't know what to do with their finances so they don't ever rise past that with investments

you'll be making way more than them long term and operators are handcuffed to ONLY working in plants

with that engineering degree you'll be able to go to so many more companies and you'll be country club louisiana one day while they're still driving that same truck they got to start off with their 1800 sq foot house

i lived off $300/month plus whatever my work study job paid. Managed to have a great time for 7 years, plus graduated debt free. Material possessions aren't everything. Except for kayaks. kayaks are important. And disc golf discs.

I felt stuck and was dying to get out. When I did graduate I thought I wish I would have taken my time and really enjoyed it and possibly not rushed. May have a different degree now of I would have done that.

You're probably joking though. Never leave a chance to get a good degree to go be an operator if you can avoid it.

Are you asking if you should take a full ride to college or go be an operator?



If you have to think about that for more than a second then you shouldn't be in college.

I didn't want to be the one to say it, but yea

I was there. If you quit this, you'll something else and quitting will get easier and easier. That's a road you don't want to go down.

Those other dudes won't be as resilient in a tough economy as you will. Consequently, their financial security is more likely to be shaky throughout life, as compared to that of someone with a degree. And they will have less marketability during their career, too. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but it still applies, in general terms.

Following layoffs, degreed people are more likely to be rehired sooner and have a greater probability of being rehired at or above the level they were at when laid off. Non-degreed are likely to be rehired later, with a greater probability of maxing out at the level they were at when laid off.

According to the numbers game, there's no situation in which you'd be wise to quit school and start slinging wrenches.

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I agree, there's more to picking a career than money. I know much of the OT will disagree because it's not plumbing or engineering, but I feel like I will make a good living in finance

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Depends on what you do with it. My background is in finance and I make just as much if not more than any engineer, but I don't actually do finance work. In fact, my whole career I've never worked in a finance job. I'm more in a revenue generating role (think Business Development), which is really the safest place to be in an organization.

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I see the other guys I graduated with going to work out of school and buying the things they want or other kids in college who get whatever they want from their parents.
I have a full ride to college so I don't wanna just throw it away but it sure is hard not having much money because I can't have a full time job.
I'm going for engineering, but I'm swayed to just go earn my Ptech and become an operator. What say the rant?

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An individual's ability to delay gratification is an important attribute that most successful people possess. Delaying the gratification now (i.e., a steady income), for greater gratification later (e.g., more career choices, greater income potential) is the ultimate test of delaying one's gratification.

Besides the experiences of college, which in many ways are invaluable, you aren't just going to college to prepare for a good career when you graduate, you are preparing for career for the rest of your life. More importantly, you're preparing yourself to have value regardless of the ebb and flow of the economy (college grads are least impacted by recessions) and unpredictable changes (e.g., technology making jobs obsolete, better methods or resources). Economists estimate that each additional year of college, on average, adds about 8% to your earnings each year for the rest of your life (see Freakonomics podcast-Freakonomics goes to college).

When you project out 20 to 30 years from now, do you think engineers or operators (and their respective skills) are going to be more in demand? I would argue that engineering translates to more adaptable and valued skills, that are harder to automate (i.e., technology not taking over), whereas an operator is dependent on the demand of a market and is more likely to become automated.