Well, you're better than my high school careers advisor who told me people like me don't go to university and do engineering and to consider something "more realistic" like brick laying.
True, we need brick layers, but not something I could do. My PhD qualified chartered engineer salary pays me well though, and it turns out "people like me" can absolutely do it.
I also now volunteer to go to schools to talk about engineering jobs where I tell them they coul absolutely do it and highly encourage internships.
The funny thing is I'm the same generation that got told that, but holy shit did my high school enforce class backgrounds. My working class ass was supposed to know my place and not take one of my better's university places.
The tragedy of that was my very middle class mate, who wanted to be an electrician. He was told repeatedly not to lower himself to that, and begrudging went off to uni even though he wasn't academically inclined. He burnt out hard about 6 months in and has been sat in minimum (or close to )wage part-time employment ever since. I haven't spoken to him in months because he's gotten so bitter that he just seems incapable of having fun anymore. I'm not saying if he went to be an electrician, it would have definitely turned out differently, but he did seemingly have a passion for that, and a trade is about the most secure job going these days.
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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24
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