Anyone attend college or University?

[KelJu]

why does it suck? i think it would be fun.


better than hitting the gym 2 hours a day, working General Labour for 7 bux, or getting drunk with the boys and smoking dope.

Hard math and sciences = working your ass off.
95% of everything else = drinking at frat parties while the math and science people are studying.

 

[bigss75]

why does it suck? i think it would be fun.


better than hitting the gym 2 hours a day, working General Labour for 7 bux, or getting drunk with the boys and smoking dope.

See how much free time you have taking Euclidian and Non-Euclidian Geometry, Immunology, Ochem, and Physical Thermodynamics

 

[DaMayor]

forman: anything computer related is probably a good bet eh?

damayor: I wouldn't say complete necessity. Alot of people , have made good lives out of nothing. No education.

True. However, if you don't have the skills and drive to operate your own business, it is a lot easier. Not easier to keep a position, but easier to get one.

I've done both. That is, worked for a company and I've also owned, and own, a business.

 

[viet_jon]

True. However, if you don't have the skills and drive to operate your own business, it is a lot easier. Not easier to keep a position, but easier to get one.

I've done both. That is, worked for a company and I've also owned, and own, a business.

computer related?

 

[viet_jon]

Wrong!

Web design is going to be outsourced to India imho. Web design is a worthless degree. Everybody and their cousin makes webpages these days, so don???t screw yourself by going into an already flooded field. ]
That is just my 2 cents worth.
I encourage you to get a college education.

very good point!!!

 

[maniclion]

I have an Associates Degree in computers, couldn't find a decent job, started my own business and then found a job in Solar Electric System Consultation/Sales.

When you sit back and think about it their are alot of people clueless about stuff that comes easy to you, they will pay you money to do or show them how to do something you can do simply. Anyone like that can start their own business.

 

[fufu]

I am currently attending. Even though it sucks at points, I definitely don't see myself dropping out at any time.

 

[viet_jon]

I have an Associates Degree in computers, couldn't find a decent job, started my own business and then found a job in Solar Electric System Consultation/Sales.

When you sit back and think about it their are alot of people clueless about stuff that comes easy to you, they will pay you money to do or show them how to do something you can do simply. Anyone like that can start their own business.

What's associates mean?

and if you don't mind me asking, how much do you make?

 

[Vieope]

c'mon dude. i'm serious.

 

[Vieope]

What about those people that work in the stock market? What kind of degree do they get to work there?

 

[bigss75]

You have to at least have to have some licensure and big fund manangers have MBAs

 

[DaMayor]

computer related?

Nope. But the statement applies to any field or business.

 

[P-funk]

The first 3 semesters of college suck to a point. They are like high school in that people tell you what to study.....you have to do your general education credits.

Once you get them out of the way college is the bomb because you study what you want. You make your classes and you pick your courses. If it sucks after your first three semsters it is your fault.....so pick a major that interests you.

 

[DaMayor]

.....so pick a major that interests you.

And in all honesty, with the exception of tech-related majors, I think that more versatile degrees such as business management or business admin. would be more useful for the individual who really doesn't know what they want to do. In other words, most of those I know who majored in more specialized areas alone have had a very difficult time finding jobs.....which in fact, are only "jobs"...because in today's volatile job market there's really no such thing as a career anymore.

 

[bigss75]

And in all honesty, with the exception of tech-related majors, I think that more versatile degrees such as business management or business admin. would be more useful for the individual who really doesn't know what they want to do. In other words, most of those I know who majored in more specialized areas alone have had a very difficult time finding jobs.....which in fact, are only "jobs"...because in today's volatile job market there's really no such thing as a career anymore.

Business degrees are highly saturated in the job market some of the big companies wont even look out you without a masters

 

[DaMayor]

Business degrees are highly saturated in the job market some of the big companies wont even look out you without a masters

Oh, that was just an example I threw out there. My point was that regardless of the field of study, there are no guarantees these days. Therefore, my recommendation was to select a more versatile degree (if there is such a thing now) in order to give the grad. more options until they found their niche.
I knew of one individual who was so highly educated that employers were turning him down because he was overqualified...he ended up working at radio shack. Others put great effort into a specialty field that they truly loved, some found positions in their fields, only to be laid off again and again due to the general instability of industry, etc.

Its all about versatility and adaptability. IMO.

 

[KelJu]

The first 3 semesters of college suck to a point. They are like high school in that people tell you what to study.....you have to do your general education credits.

Once you get them out of the way college is the bomb because you study what you want. You make your classes and you pick your courses. If it sucks after your first three semsters it is your fault.....so pick a major that interests you.

P-funk knows wisdom about everything. this is the truth. The first 2 years of my degree sucked balls. It wasn't until my Junior year that I started to enjoy the work I was doing.

 

[Focus]

P-funk knows wisdom about everything. this is the truth. The first 2 years of my degree sucked balls. It wasn't until my Junior year that I started to enjoy the work I was doing.

+1 Gen Eds are annoying - but a must to get to classes you really want

 

[KelJu]

I enjoyed some of my general electives very much. I fell in love with philosophy and psychology. I absolutely hated Art, and music appreciation.
WTF is music appreciation anyway? I appreciate music plenty, but I might not appreciate yours and you might not appreciate mine.

 

[maniclion]

What's associates mean?

and if you don't mind me asking, how much do you make?

AAS is 2 years of college, I did it in 1 and a half with some courses I did in the Navy and a small college in town. I'm one of those few who will probably do well in life without college just because I study everything constantly on my own. I probably read more alone than any college education would have me read.

 

[NeilPearson]

I would think many computer jobs can and will be outsourced, but I know nothing about computers so I could be wrong.

Many programming positions do get outsourced... but due to the language barrier and the nature of developing something offsite, it usually gets screwed up and local people have to fix it or redo the entire thing.

To successfully outsource a programming project would take an extreme amount of organization and most companies just aren't capable of that.

There are still lots of IT jobs out there.

 

[Yanick]

comp sci and all related fields are pretty saturated right now as well. my bro and his friends all went for that stuff about 5-6 years ago and because of their various ages some got nice jobs while others wound up working for cablevision tech support lol.

my bro dropped out of college, got a job and now has so much experience that companies that he sometimes deals with offer him jobs all the time. he has like 4 more tests to finish and he will be completely microsoft certified and will have a lot of opportunities. from what i hear, most companies want experience over education for IT jobs. BTW my bro is an IT manager now, he started in the company doing data entry.

 

[KelJu]

comp sci and all related fields are pretty saturated right now as well. my bro and his friends all went for that stuff about 5-6 years ago and because of their various ages some got nice jobs while others wound up working for cablevision tech support lol.

my bro dropped out of college, got a job and now has so much experience that companies that he sometimes deals with offer him jobs all the time. he has like 4 more tests to finish and he will be completely microsoft certified and will have a lot of opportunities. from what i hear, most companies want experience over education for IT jobs. BTW my bro is an IT manager now, he started in the company doing data entry.

I don't want to hear that shit. Tell me that IT is in demand. Tell me that information systems processing will make me rich. Lie to me if you have to.

 

[Yanick]

I don't want to hear that shit. Tell me that IT is in demand. Tell me that information systems processing will make me rich. Lie to me if you have to.

don't fret bud. i'm sure you'll do well, i was only speaking from what i have seen.

some of my bro's friends who were older and finished school first got very nice jobs and are making over 100k/year but others have shit jobs and are struggling. a multitude of factors could have lead to that.

i also think my bro lucked out because he found a shitty little company that didn't know its ass from a hole in ground and took over. he started making dick but now makes good money. the way he sees it, he invested time in a job instead of college and it worked out for him.

in end, like Patrick once told me, if you are great at what you do you will do well.

 

[BigDyl]

I don't want to hear that shit. Tell me that IT is in demand. Tell me that information systems processing will make me rich. Lie to me if you have to.

Just remembermeow, you'll have to pick something. Such as being a DBA, or SA, or Programmer, or WebDev. When you work at a normal job they are all divided.

 

[CowPimp]

Yes, I goto college, and I have experience in a related field. I started out studying network engineering (Which is basically someone who consults and designs computer networks) with the ability to do network administration as well.

I do enjoy working with computers. Let me say that just beacuse you like to tinker with computers on your own, play games, surf the Internet, and learn about the way the work, does not mean you are cut out to do the said job.

I'm not saying you won't enjoy compuer science. Computer programming is a lot of fun. I've delved into that on my own. Back in the day I knew quite a bit without getting into anything related to graphical manipulations (Making games, basically). If I had time to still toy with that shit, I would.

I've also done everything from PC repair (Which I am still certified to do, and do freelance style occasionally) to web design (http://www.capstonepropertiesva.com/ - It's basic and they never had us finish completely, but anyway...). All of that stuff is cool too. Really, I do like toying with computers.

So, you might ask why I didn't continue along that path when I already had about 2 years of full time schooling with it under my belt? Boredom, and the haunting apparition of a desk job looking me in the face. Getting THAT deep into networking just sucked balls. I don't care about every individual privledge and security policy and whatnot. It's all crap I can figure out if I ever have the need. It also made me realize just how boring my job might be. As well, I didn't want to sit in a disk from 9-5. I just don't really think I'm cut out for that, but that's the path I was on. I do enjoy having a broad range of knowledge about computers and their inner workings, but I just get bored getting that deep into the networking aspect of it.

With that said, computer science seems like it would be far more interesting. I used to spend countless hours writing programs during a certain phase of my life. It's great, and you feel like you've really accomplished something when you write a trouble-free program. Microprocessor architecture was another field that seemed really interesting to me, and I might've ventured into that realm if my interest in exercise physiology didn't take off. Jodi may be able to elaborate on that. I know she works for Intel, but I'm not sure exactly what she does for them.

 

[viet_jon]

wow, I never knew you guys we're all into computers.

man, I love computer's. Not just playing games and stuff. I like fucking with it. My first computer i got, I took it all apart, messed up the OS , just to challenge myself to put it back together. Most my friends in highschool hated computer programming class. But I loved it, and even made basic programs on my free time (geeky i know). Not so sure about Microprocessor architecture though, that stuff's dry to me. Software or network related is more interesting for me.

Cowpimp, I see what your saying, how it can get boring sitting in a desk 9-5. The same thing over and over. It's why I'm still kinda undecided on what to study. Still leaning heavily towards coputers though. I just love to figure out things and fixing it. It feels great. A feeling of accomplishment.

I like what Yanick said '
in end, like Patrick once told me, if you are great at what you do you will do well.'

I also find physics and phsycology extremely interesting, but I don't think so I'll be as good at it, compared to if I was into computers.

YANICK: comp sci and all related fields are pretty saturated right now as well.

I've been reading some of my local college statistics, and in the last 6 years, employment within 6 months is somewhere around 85-90% depending on college. It has tappered off a bit compared to 2001-2003 (close to 100%). But 85% still looks pretty good. Graduation is something under 50%. I don't worry about that though, cuz I know I can ace it.

 

[maniclion]

wow, I never knew you guys we're all into computers.

man, I love computer's. Not just playing games and stuff. I like fucking with it. My first computer i got, I took it all apart, messed up the OS , just to challenge myself to put it back together. Most my friends in highschool hated computer programming class. But I loved it, and even made basic programs on my free time (geeky i know). Not so sure about Microprocessor architecture though, that stuff's dry to me. Software or network related is more interesting for me.

Cowpimp, I see what your saying, how it can get boring sitting in a desk 9-5. The same thing over and over. It's why I'm still kinda undecided on what to study. Still leaning heavily towards coputers though. I just love to figure out things and fixing it. It feels great. A feeling of accomplishment.

I like what Yanick said '
in end, like Patrick once told me, if you are great at what you do you will do well.'

I also find physics and phsycology extremely interesting, but I don't think so I'll be as good at it, compared to if I was into computers.

YANICK: comp sci and all related fields are pretty saturated right now as well.

I've been reading some of my local college statistics, and in the last 6 years, employment within 6 months is somewhere around 85-90% depending on college. It has tappered off a bit compared to 2001-2003 (close to 100%). But 85% still looks pretty good. Graduation is something under 50%. I don't worry about that though, cuz I know I can ace it.

Do what I did, take a quicky associates computer program at a small college that offers discounts on certifications for students. Get A+ and maybe soem Microsoft Certs and then start handing out cards offering low cost computer repair/instruction/website building. Next thing you know you'll have a small client base. It's so easy right now because at the rates some places charge alot of people just don't see their PC as that necessary yet so they will hire you if you do it cheap.

 

[viet_jon]

Do what I did, take a quicky associates computer program at a small college that offers discounts on certifications for students. Get A+ and maybe soem Microsoft Certs and then start handing out cards offering low cost computer repair/instruction/website building. Next thing you know you'll have a small client base. It's so easy right now because at the rates some places charge alot of people just don't see their PC as that necessary yet so they will hire you if you do it cheap.

sounds good man. working for yourself is probably a good bet.
if you don't mind me asking, do you make decent money? I ask cuz, I'm somewhat paranoid. My sister finished with a 4-year university degree, but has a peice of crap job. That would be the biggest let down.

 

[viet_jon]

thankx for all the info guys. I think I made up my mind. I"m doing it.


i have a couple of questions.

Should I do 2-3 year college program, or a go straight for a 4 year university degree?

My grade 12 average if about 8% under cut-off for univeristy. I'd probably need to take a year to up my grade's before I can start a 4 year program. Or I can apply straight into college right now, do a 2 year computer science program. Then there's a local univeristy where I can go for a degree, if I decide to later. It goes something like , the 2 years of college=60 credits of a 120 credit computer science degree. I"m not exactly sure if it works like that, can someone enlighten me on this?