College worth going into debt?

precisely. You can make 100k a year and be miserable. Me I'd settle for 10k a year if what I was doing was something I enjoyed.

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

I know when the cooler gose out at The Sams club the meat cooler guy can name his price. Insurance will pay it. The computer tech the EXACT same way in a server room with enviromental controls.

See the Meat cooler guy can also be you HVAC tech.

Even the computer techs like the air or heat to work.

I'd bet you money 9 times out of 10 the meat cooler guy makes more then the manager of all the computer techs at a company.

Its like the airlines. Who is more respected the pilot or the airframe mechanic? Who makes more per year? Many may be shocked. Who is really responsible to keep 300 folks safe in the air.

Many time your pilot is a collage grad. The guy that keeps the plane in the air may just be a tech school grad.

You just lost that bet.

Hi. I'm the guy who fixes your meat cooler. And the hvac for the server room. And the hvac/filtration system for the surgical areas. And the chillers for your office. And etc.
If you name the wrong price when wallyworld calls to have their cooler fixed, guess what - they call somebody else. Same for the server rooms.
And to tell the truth, the guy who sets up the network makes just slightly under twice what I do. And the sad thing is, I can do his job, but he can't do mine. And the manager of the nerds? Three times what I make.


College is one of the best investments you'll ever make. A small amount of debt would be worth the larger increase in salary opportunities over a 10 year span. Just make sure you pick a major that has employment opportunity.

Considering that you are working and living with your mom, it seems that your expenses are rather low. Therefore, if I were yoiu and intent upon going to college I would get a second job and save up enough money to cover the last two years (since you already have an AA in a subject that is pretty generic). If you go to a community college (if they have them in your state), and if you live at home while going to school, you should be able to save enough in a couple of years to cover your expenses. I would not go into debt for it.

Since you don't have any goals right now. I would talk with my current employer and see if they have any programs to assist you with your college expenses. Just because you do not like your present job does not mean that you couldn't find something in the finance field that you would like. Even banks have other areas such as marketing, sales, IT departments. They even have legal departments, if I am not mistaken. You might think about getting a four-year degree in paralegal studies (or prelaw) since you have demonstrated an interest in the legal field.

Donsgal

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Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)

I for one figure if going to collage to get a JOB. Your DUMB and probably could use the learn'in.

If your going for a career. Great lots of careers can only be had in that fashion.

If you wish to make money. Avoid jobs. Work for yourself. A cleaning service owner can easily make more than the clients they service. As for men. Heck you can make more doing odd jobs than someone with a degree. Yeah, You see the guy building decks. You think sucker. He works in the heat or cold. Well not necessarily. Maybe he winters at his summer house in the Islands. The real key to success is sticking to it, Doing it when others quit, Being frugal, And a little luck.

So as with all thing get your head in the game and push till you get to your goal.

I take it you don't do odd jobs for a living in this economy. My brother is a self employed carpenter, been out of work all year....nobody wants to spend there hard earned right now. I been driving a concrete mixer for three years at 60 -70 hrs a week.... I went back to college because I could see the writing on the wall when hours started getting cut.... I stopped in for a visit yesterday and the company gave there drivers 15 hrs last week...this is after they lost 20 drivers.
Chase bank here just anounced that they are eliminating 400 jobs in the city. IBM is eliminating 200 here in their lexmark printer division. Who ever said that war was good for the economy

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Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

Now All those eliminated jobs. Probably were collage grads.. Right.
As for driving a mixer. Yep Done that. Odd jobs.... Yep done that too. Working in a factory...... Yep. Now I do Industrial/Highway construction inspection, Precast/Prestressed , Mass cut and fill....The last job doing that we did 900,000 yards in a little under 3 months. Raining twice a week. Now I got it cushy again. I'm in a plant.

But you know what..... I'm the only guy who doesn't have a degree at my level in the firm and yes we all get the same rate. It's bid contracts off percentage. (If you know what I mean.) They all got engineering degrees. I got the one thing that matters...... Experience.

As for my micro economy...... You remember that bridge in Minnesota?

Lots of pros and cons in here, but let's get down to brass tacks...

Is there anyone here without a college degree making more than $100K/year?

Hope you don't loose that job.....experience doesn't count for anything anymore.... its too easy to hire a college graduate.

__________________
Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

Probably not many with a college degree on here making over 100k either But I think that is the anti-9-5 mentality of homesteaders.

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Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

100K a year is not that hard to earn with out a degree. Heck the second richest man int he world didn't even go to collage.

Now, I am not against kids getting a degree, JUST NOT ALL KIDS. Some kids just are not cut out for it.

Yes, I know folks and I am one that make over 100k with out a collage degree. I do have technical training.

I know plenty of folks that spent large sums in the 100k range to end up driving a truck. I know doctors that made HUGE sums of money, yet at the end of the year after all their expenses. They end up better pulling that trailer.

My father in law is like this. He is a dental surgen. Just driving a truck pays him a better wage then when he had his own practice.

I gotta say you really don't know the industry. You can get a job in this field any ware in the world. They pay you to travel, plus expenses. OT is always available. The thing most don't realize in collage is that engineering is an experiance only game. With no time in and a degree you still get 30-40 Thousand only. With experiance ..... You can almost name your price. If your good.....They call you! You don't have things like Interviews.... they hire you on just the resume. Job offers come in the mail unsolicited. It really is kinda cool.

Sugar bush,

Tell your brother to move to Austin, TX. Guaranteed he'll get a job and a tan at the same time. They're building furiously over there. I used to live there.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Here's a top twenty (and a few more) list from Wiki:

1.Mutual-Fund Manager: $500,000-$1,000,000/yr
2.Surgeons: $65.89/hr; $137,050/yr
3.Investment Banker: $64.42/hr; $134,000/yr (entry level)
4.Obstetricians and gynecologists: $64.15/hr; $133,430/yr
5.Anesthesiologists: $63.31/hr; $131,680/yr
6.Internists, general: $61.03/hr; $126,940/yr
7.Actuaries, certified: $57.52/hr; $119,680 (base salary only)
8.Pediatricians, general: $56.03/hr; $116,550/yr
9.Psychiatrists: $54.60/hr; $113,570/yr
10.Family and general practitioners: $52.89/hr; $110,020/yr
11.Dentists: $53.28/hr; $110,820/yr
12.Pharmacists: $53.00/hr; $110,240/yr
13.Chief Executives: $51.77/hr; $107,670/yr
14.Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers: (N/A); $99,400/yr
15.Podiatrists: $45.43/hr; $94,500/yr
16.Lawyers: $44.19/hr; $91,920/yr
17.Optometrists: $42.35/hr; $88,100/yr
18.Computer and information systems managers: $40.33/hr; $83,890/yr
19.Physicists: $40.26/hr; $83,750/yr
20.Air traffic controllers: $40.07/hr; $83,350/yr
21.Petroleum Engineers: $39.33/hr; $81,800/yr
22.Nuclear Engineers: $38.56/hr; $80,200/yr
23.Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates: $38.24/hr; $79,540/yr
24.Marketing Managers: $37.70/hr; $78,410/yr

If I read the list correctly, very few of these jobs could be done without the proper degree.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor:

10 - Natural Sciences Manager
Highest salary: $97,560
Training time: 6 years

9 - Marketing Manager
Highest salary: $100,020
Training time: 4 to 6 years

8 - Computer and Information Systems Manager
Highest salary: $100,110
Training time: 4 to 8 years

7 - Air Traffic Controller
Highest salary: $100,430
Training time: 9 years

6 - Lawyer
Highest salary: $110,590
Training time: 7 years

5 - Dentist
Highest salary: $132,660
Training time: 8 years

4 - Airline Pilot
Highest salary: $134,090
Training time: 5 to 10 years

3 - Engineering Manager
Highest salary: $140,210
Training time: 6 to 7 years

2 - Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Highest salary: $140,880
Training time: Varies

1 - Surgeon
Highest salary: $181,850
Training time: 10 to 15 years

THAT'S too Funny.. Don't know where they came up with those numbers.. unless the study was done pre .com bust. Around here network admins are lucky to get 25k and thats if you know what you're doing

__________________
"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

well if he's a self employed carpenter and unemployed all year he must not be doing something right . either he has priced himself out of work or gotton a bad rep somewhere. the only jobs ive lost this year were the one i didnt bid on .
last thursday a guy asked for an estimate I told him a rough high estimate of 10,000 but if he'd let me sit and figure it I could get it down a grand or two.
He said nope 10,000 sounds great when can I start, he wrote me a check for 6 grand on the spot . after figuring the job materials up and labor involved my actual bid would have been 7600, Id pocket 2400 if all I do is sub it out and supervise for three days .
That comes with being known for quality work and word of mouth references .
I dont advertise but call any of the local lumber dealers and Im the first recommended , ask a around and all you here are good things . I learned many many years ago if you do it right you get work, one shoddy job and your rep is shot . I got to the point I am by taking jobs no one else wanted to mess with little $20 dollar repairs and monster nightmares

No. I went to college. My wife went to college. Waste of good money. Waste of time too. Almost everything I know is self-taught. My wife and I work for ourselves from home. Nobody has ever asked me for my degree nor has it ever mattered one iota.

On the other hand, if you want to be a corporate slave then they may want you trained to the harness - at your expense.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Don't worry... it will reach you soon too.... the northeast building trades have gone bust....he is taking two and three day long jobs that are 7 hrs drive just because its work. My best friend owns a building supply company that is in eastern Connecticut that went from 1.5-2 mil in profit each year to just covering expenses this year.....times are going to get tough country wide real soon.

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Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

Don't think so in the Austin, TX area. It's still booming as far as I know. Lots of houses being built right and left plus lots of houses being bought and demolished to make for McManisons until they passed a law that the houses MUST match the same height as other houses in the area and now all of sudden you hear people screaming that they've lost the value of their house.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett