Hey folks.
Not sure where to begin, exactly--so I'll begin at the beginning. Skip to Bold for the short version.
8 years ago I graduated from high school. I did well on tests (got a 31 on the ACT, as an examlple), but as a scholar I was never better than middling. It was always a question of apathy rather than aptitude--I didn't care and I didn't try, and I did well enough to graduate and I thought that was fine. Mistake number 1!
Then came college. In my house, college was never discussed as optional--you went, and that was that. And even though I could have told my dear parents to stuff it (they weren't going to be paying for it, after all!), I'm not sure I would have wanted to even if I'd had the courage. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and here was four more years to dither in figuring it out! So I picked the nearest University (where my best friend was also going), and I went without really exploring other options. Mistake number 2!
While I enjoyed college more than high school (and not for any reasons to do with vice), I didn't try much harder now than I had before. I did better, to be sure--that was the advantage of selecting my own courses, and the natural result of a system that awarded knowledge more than effort. And what was that coursework? I thought of it as The Humanities--I studied history, literature, philosophy, religion, art, language. On paper I'm credited with this; A Bachelor of the Arts with a double-major in History and English. Mistake number 3!
A terribly useless degree; what on Earth had I wanted that for?! The plan had been academia--three more years of school and a dissertation and I'd have what I needed--a PhD. Somewhere along the way that plan fell apart. I already had tens of thousands in debt, and could ill-afford 2 or 3 years more. But say I had gone ahead with it: what are the prospects for a newly-minted college professor in the Humanities in America today? A low-paying, shrinking profession constantly subject to budget cuts, and bankrolled by the indebtedness of future generations of students! So I gave up.
I took my degree, and entered the workforce financially ruined and utterly without prospects. That was four and a half years ago--and for all that time, I've been scratching out a living working long hours for bad pay at a number of different jobs. I did retail, I sorted packages at UPS, I applied for work as a janitor and was turned down. Most of all I fell into restaurant work. It's where I started 11 years ago when I got my first job the day I turned sixteen, and for the most part it's where I've been since. For a few years I could even say truthfully that my heart was in it. No longer. I'm tired. Tired of that look I see in peoples eyes when I tell them what I do for a living. Tired of working 65 hours a week between two jobs just to feel comfortable. And financially, I am comfortable--I paid off a loan this month, I have enough to set some aside, and I've even accrued a modest amount of tobacco--the bare beginnings of a cellar.
But I'm ready for a change. By next fall, I'll have enough saved up to take another crack at it, and this time without added debt. I'd like to take night classes in trade school at the local technical college--but I don't know in what field! My first thought was welding. The advantages seemed particularly appealing to me in this field; the short amount of schooling needed to become employable, the ready availability of jobs (I'm in the midwest), the fact that I'd get out of customer service. The opportunity to work with my hands (something I like about kitchen work).
Are there any welders on the forums? Are you happy with what you do? Are you pleased with the availability of work? The future prospects in the industry? Anyone doing similar work, or have an idea of something else I should look into? (as honored as I would be to serve, I should mention that the military isn't an option for me).
Thanks for reading. I know it was long. I'd be happy to hear from anyone!
Not sure where to begin, exactly--so I'll begin at the beginning. Skip to Bold for the short version.
8 years ago I graduated from high school. I did well on tests (got a 31 on the ACT, as an examlple), but as a scholar I was never better than middling. It was always a question of apathy rather than aptitude--I didn't care and I didn't try, and I did well enough to graduate and I thought that was fine. Mistake number 1!
Then came college. In my house, college was never discussed as optional--you went, and that was that. And even though I could have told my dear parents to stuff it (they weren't going to be paying for it, after all!), I'm not sure I would have wanted to even if I'd had the courage. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and here was four more years to dither in figuring it out! So I picked the nearest University (where my best friend was also going), and I went without really exploring other options. Mistake number 2!
While I enjoyed college more than high school (and not for any reasons to do with vice), I didn't try much harder now than I had before. I did better, to be sure--that was the advantage of selecting my own courses, and the natural result of a system that awarded knowledge more than effort. And what was that coursework? I thought of it as The Humanities--I studied history, literature, philosophy, religion, art, language. On paper I'm credited with this; A Bachelor of the Arts with a double-major in History and English. Mistake number 3!
A terribly useless degree; what on Earth had I wanted that for?! The plan had been academia--three more years of school and a dissertation and I'd have what I needed--a PhD. Somewhere along the way that plan fell apart. I already had tens of thousands in debt, and could ill-afford 2 or 3 years more. But say I had gone ahead with it: what are the prospects for a newly-minted college professor in the Humanities in America today? A low-paying, shrinking profession constantly subject to budget cuts, and bankrolled by the indebtedness of future generations of students! So I gave up.
I took my degree, and entered the workforce financially ruined and utterly without prospects. That was four and a half years ago--and for all that time, I've been scratching out a living working long hours for bad pay at a number of different jobs. I did retail, I sorted packages at UPS, I applied for work as a janitor and was turned down. Most of all I fell into restaurant work. It's where I started 11 years ago when I got my first job the day I turned sixteen, and for the most part it's where I've been since. For a few years I could even say truthfully that my heart was in it. No longer. I'm tired. Tired of that look I see in peoples eyes when I tell them what I do for a living. Tired of working 65 hours a week between two jobs just to feel comfortable. And financially, I am comfortable--I paid off a loan this month, I have enough to set some aside, and I've even accrued a modest amount of tobacco--the bare beginnings of a cellar.
But I'm ready for a change. By next fall, I'll have enough saved up to take another crack at it, and this time without added debt. I'd like to take night classes in trade school at the local technical college--but I don't know in what field! My first thought was welding. The advantages seemed particularly appealing to me in this field; the short amount of schooling needed to become employable, the ready availability of jobs (I'm in the midwest), the fact that I'd get out of customer service. The opportunity to work with my hands (something I like about kitchen work).
Are there any welders on the forums? Are you happy with what you do? Are you pleased with the availability of work? The future prospects in the industry? Anyone doing similar work, or have an idea of something else I should look into? (as honored as I would be to serve, I should mention that the military isn't an option for me).
Thanks for reading. I know it was long. I'd be happy to hear from anyone!
