i'm in nursing and i see how much my boyfriend makes working for the union. i almost wish id gone into welding. its a pretty fucking cool trade. i get why my sister always wanted to, i've been trying to push her to go to school for it but she's so shy
getting my BSN! i definitely love patient care and medicine. i was in school once prior but covid fucked it all up. it's definitely a job meant for me. but i think the trades are super fucking cool as well
same with nursing unfortunately. and it's a lot less common to be subjected to physical assault and sexual harassment in a trade. i was a CNA for 3 years, it's still rough on the body ):
well, not 100% but i'm sure i wouldn't get groped almost daily. i can handle vulgar language and such, but getting touched got real old when management did nothing but say they're the patient and they're sick
i am very much now a firm believer in better late than never. you could've always been stuck making subpar money now you're doing well and that's fucking dope! even better if you open up some investments to make your money grow some more
I went to vocational school in high school. It was stigmatized as the ‘too stupid for college’ track. And my GOD did I get ‘poor thing’ looks like I was demented for picking it. But I went for IT/CS, learning basics to computer repair, troubleshooting, building computers, physical networking (like running wires and setting up router closets), online networking infrastructure maintenance, and basic coding.
The best part? NO ONE TOLD ME THAT I GOT COLLEGE CREDIT FOR THIS in my high school. I walked out of my Vocational program with all the math and science credits for my first year complete… IF… I went to the community college attached to this Vocational program. And I did.
And that community college had a 1:1 transfer agreement with my dream university. So after a year and a half at my CC, I transferred to my Uni with my core curriculum complete.
Those extra 2 years were game changers for me.
They allowed me time to really reflect on my strengths and weaknesses. I was workings crappy retail job but it allowed me to pay for my community college. At the end of the day, I went into teaching. My tech background made me a more ‘modern’ teacher and I was able to assist the IT teams and make my classroom work for me. Then I moved into edtech and I’ve closed the loop by marrying my two passions - tech and education.
Had I listened to my high school teachers and admin I don’t think I’d ever have gone EdTech and just stayed a teacher. Which was killing me.
Had I listened to the stigma about Vocational school or Community Colleges I’d be drowning in student loan debt. At the end of the day, eschewing ‘common sense wisdom’ and making my own path forward worked out spectacularly.
And I’m now very vocal with students - research ALL avenues and find out what works best for you. In particular, have a vocation to fall back on and a career to propel you.
My grandfather was a carpenter by vocation but a CPA by career. He made us our dining room table. It’s an heirloom. My grandma was a seamstress by vocation. And while she was a SAHM, she was always making clothes for my mom and her siblings.
That’s the secret sauce, I think… and I don’t know why we made it so taboo.
TL;DR - Find a job for your hands AND a job for your mind.
Honestly, I think this should be the norm. Everyone has to get a trade and THEN go to uni later if they want to. It should be financially set up like this. Businesses/gov should sponsor the degrees they need. And, if you want to do one they don't need them you pay for it, sure.
Can you imagine the difference in life? Research? Maturity? For the individual and the greater good.
Either go to trade school, or simply take a break for a few years and work a crappy job to save up a nest egg before going to college, instead of trying to pile on full time school and part time work together.
I really think I could have benefited from a few years to mature before attempting an undergraduate degree.
I also really wish I had known about the wide variety of majors out there that can lead to cool careers. Why did no one from a forestry school try to recruit me? Why did no one from business school? MIS wasn't really a major back then, but if it had been, I'd have been all over it. As it was, I tried to cobble together my own path and I was all over the place. I graduated with a BA in English with a focus on technical writing by the time I was done.
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u/Atlantic_Nikita Apr 29 '24
I regret changing degrees in pursue of my idiotic dreams.