|
So, this the setup. I'm a 28 year old male bartender. I've been in the service industry since I was 20. I'm ready to be done with the late hours, up and down pay, and respectability of the job. I want to be able to feel like I'm accomplishing something with my job every day. I want to feel proud of it. That I'm contributing to someone's life in a positive way. But, I also want to be able to make a decent salary. At least $50k-$60k a year if not way better so I can eventually do things like buy a house and support a family eventually one day. I went to college back when I was 18-19 years old. I went 4 semesters. Got a 2.0 GPA the first semester, failed the next two, and then got put on academic probation and passed the last semester with a 2.0 GPA. Ran out of money to keep going and didn't know what I was doing there anyways, so I dropped out and spent the next several years paying off my nearly $15k in debt. Paid it off, got everything back to good. I've put off going back to school even though I'm not particularly happy with my bartending job. I mean, I don't dislike it, I get to work with all of my closest friends and it keeps the lights on, food in the belly, and lets me go and do poo poo like spontaneous vacations to music festivals, the beach, Vegas, etc. But, I don't want to end up being in my 30's bitching about how a 21 year old jackass can't tip a dime on a $1 drink, you know? I've been locked into this life for a while and got complacent. Everybody tells me I'm better than this work whether its customers, friends, family, women, but most importantly myself. I want to be able to help people. But not just help them move furniture down the road or buy them a shot of whiskey. I mean actually help them, genuinely help them how to find happiness in themselves and love themselves and motivate them to go out there and find that happiness they deserve. I don't know what type of job that necessarily comes close with. I've put off school because I didn't know what my dream job was. Now, I'm going back to, more or less, probably come up with a backup plan that will pay me at least $50k a year. Get a "grown up? job, I guess? Of course, there's part of me that's asking if I'm doing this because I want to or because I feel like that's what you do in this society. But, I am excited to get an education 10 years later. I didn't care about the world much when I was 19. Now at 28, I want to know everything about everything. It seems exciting.....it's just expensive as gently caress. Tuition is around $3900. I've been approved for enough in loans to cover tuition and have an extra $6,000 for books and bills each semester. Which is cool, cause I don't want to work 40+ hours a week when I go back to school. That hosed me last time. I want to cut my hours in half at work and use loans to keep most of my bills good so I can focus on school soley and turn that 2.0 GPA into a 4.0 GPA. (Note: I have about $1,100 in bills each month not including food and general expenses. I make about $2,500 a month on average) But, drat, $20,000 a year? I thought my $4,000 in credit card debt was bad. I can't even PERCEIVE, what? $40,000+ debt for student loans for just an associate's degree? Holy poo poo! Of course, maybe after a semester or two, I find that I can work more and keep my grades up. But, drat that's a lot of debt. This is what I've looked into: - Becoming a Registered Dietician with a Nutrition degree - Computer Science as computer poo poo just always comes easy to me - Broadcast journalism/Video production - Graphic design - Nursing (Jobs everywhere, doing good work, I've already done research in a post here) - Psychology - I looked into counseling, but they really don't make very much money.. Of course, there may be crazy poo poo that pops up like my interest in my last Geography class I liked that I had at the university. This is what I know about myself: - The last time I had a passion was when I changed my life and went from a fat young dude who didn't believe in himself, to a super positive fit guy that's happy all of the time. I was doing it for myself through means of modified cognitive therapy on myself, diet, and exercise. But, the people that would randomly come to me and talk to me about it and tell me about how much I inspired them just made my heart grow 10 times the size it normally is. Made me feel amazing that something I was doing was making others feel so great about themselves and motivate them to be happy, too. - Traveling makes me feel alive like no other. I want to see the world. What do you think, you guys? I'm trying to be responsible, but I'm trying to make sure this is what I need to really be doing. Part of me would just rather save a ton of money and just do something like move to New Zealand for 10 months on a work permit and do whatever the gently caress and just keep doing that from country to country, city to city and just have this huge adventure while I'm young. The only reason I want to make a reasonable living is to one day support a family. While I'm single, adventures, stories, and life experiences are more important to me than a green piece of paper. 89 fucked around with this message at 12:24 on Oct 9, 2015 |
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 12:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:24 |
|
|
89 posted:- Computer Science as computer poo poo just always comes easy to me Nursing and computer science are the only ones I can think of where you'll be able to get a $60k/yr job fresh out of school. For CS, $50-60k/yr is actually what you'd expect in an area with a job market that isn't great. You could make more than that in a hot area - much more if you can manage to get a job at Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. I don't know anything about nursing, so can't advise on that, but if you do CS, I'd suggest learning to program at least a little bit BEFORE you go to school, if possible. You may find that the pace of your programming homework in the first few classes is a bit fast for you to learn everything as well as you'd like, and then you may always like you're behind. If you learn how to do basic stuff like reverse a string, FizzBuzz (these terms will make sense to you once you've start to learn a little programming - just forget them for now and look back at them later if you go that route) then you'll probably find your introductory programming class easier. If you end up majoring in CS at a school where the program isn't very rigorous, you might want to take a few extra math classes than the ones required. Really, just the first introduction to "proofs" class that most math departments offer, and then maybe one proof-heavy math class immediately afterward. It'll be hard, but the aim is to get you to learn how to write a proof in the first class and then, in the second class, get you some practice on writing proofs. That should help you get a good understand of algorithms if you decide that later you do want to try to get a job at one of the big companies like Amazon, etc. If you're going to put years of your life into this, you don't want to come out the other end with a $50k/yr job, then hear about some other fresh grads making $150k at some huge company that seems out of your reach because you didn't put a huge amount of effort into learning, understanding, and memorizing the stuff you learn in classes on data structures, algorithms, and operating systems. This thread is an awesome resource: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3376083
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 13:05
|
|
|
That's a lot of awesome info! The thing about computer science with me, though, the idea of being locked in front of a computer 40-50 hours a week scares me. I mean, I already spend too much time looking at a screen as is. But, I have awesome skills with communication and am very social. I'm very good with talking to people in person. I'm sure Bartending didn't hurt that. I feel like I might be wasting that skill in me for something like that. I'm just really torn on everything.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 13:37
|
|
|
EB Nulshit's advice sounds good, but in terms of the details of college and such, I would also check out the college advice thread in SAL, although a lot of your questions may not be a good fit there. There's also the student loan thread in BFC.89 posted:That's a lot of awesome info! The thing about computer science with me, though, the idea of being locked in front of a computer 40-50 hours a week scares me. I mean, I already spend too much time looking at a screen as is. But, I have awesome skills with communication and am very social. I'm very good with talking to people in person. I'm sure Bartending didn't hurt that. I feel like I might be wasting that skill in me for something like that.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 13:39
|
|
|
Your student debt will have a much lower interest rate than credit card debt. You really should avoid revolving credit card debt.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 14:09
|
|
|
89 posted:I want to cut my hours in half at work and use loans to keep most of my bills good so I can focus on school soley and turn that 2.0 GPA into a 4.0 GPA. Doing well in school while attending full time and making a decent income at the same time requires significant time commitment. 89 posted:But, I have awesome skills with communication and am very social.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 19:33
|
|
|
89 posted:That's a lot of awesome info! The thing about computer science with me, though, the idea of being locked in front of a computer 40-50 hours a week scares me. I mean, I already spend too much time looking at a screen as is. But, I have awesome skills with communication and am very social. I'm very good with talking to people in person. I'm sure Bartending didn't hurt that. I feel like I might be wasting that skill in me for something like that. You can get a job as a developer without a college education. If you want to be paid to write software for a living, start doing it. Learn to do it well and create a portfolio of stuff, then start applying for jobs.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 22:32
|
|
|
Take some intro classes at a community college and see what you like before taking out loans. Don't go into Graphic Design unless you are an artist and love boring nerdy design stuff. You will also be sitting in front of the computer all day. If you go into video production you will also probably be sitting in front of a computer most of the day. If you go into Psychology you'll need a minimum of a Masters, possibly a PhD to get a job.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2015 23:03
|
|
|
I agree with the community college thing but also if you don't know what you want to study yet I would figure that out before you go back. I'm 28 too but I have career experience in Marketing/Fashion Copywriting so I'm finishing up my English degree so I can open my options up to continue on that (or a similar) path. If you don't have any concrete idea of a direction you want to go in, I highly recommend knowing that first so you don't waste money or time. The possibilities you listed are all so different, pare that list down a bit. Also I am not a GPA expert but if your previous grades transfer in I'm pretty sure you will not get a 4.0 cumulative. It's not possible. But don't let that discourage you from excelling! district 12 fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Oct 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 00:00
|
|
|
I'd say there's plenty of opportunity if you keep at what you are doing. You could bartend at nicer places, like country clubs, nice hotels. Or the general experience should translate to any type of hospitality job at a nice joint. Sick of seeing friends make ok money, go to school for 4 years, come out and make only slightly more in a new field but be buried in debt and no longer able to afford any luxuries. Then they start bitching about their new career. Grass is always greener.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 00:37
|
|
|
Do not go into computer science without exploring programming at least a little bit before hand. 'good with computers' does not translate to computer science affinity at all. Many a person have been left academically stranded after deciding they wanted to go into CS and learned the hard way it's not what they thought it was. If you pick up some programming and decide to pursue it professionally, go nuts! But do not go into that field blind.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 00:50
|
|
|
Won't lie, it's been since high school since I last dabbled with programming and I was self teaching myself out of a text book....but I hated it. But, I always loved the idea of being able to make programs and applications. Namely iOS apps. Just....never really took an initiative. Also considering the world of becoming a psychologist. Youtube has been a great tool with all of these career paths, seeing people talk about their experiences. Of course, it's easy to love it when you know it's your passion 
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 00:55
|
|
|
89 posted:Won't lie, it's been since high school since I last dabbled with programming and I was self teaching myself out of a text book....but I hated it. But, I always loved the idea of being able to make programs and applications. Namely iOS apps. Just....never really took an initiative. If you don't enjoy programming, don't pursue a career that means you'll be doing it 40+ hours per week. [Ask] Me about being a professional software developer.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 01:05
|
|
|
Being a psych nurse is way better than being a psychologist, both in the good you do and salary and job security. Psychologists are people that wanted to be psychiatrists but couldn't hack medical school (which psychiatrists have to do). I took psych in college and right in my text book it said that so long as the patient sought counsel a "witchdoctor" did as well with patient outcomes as a western psychologist. A psychiatrist did no better UNLESS you included the cases where he prescribed modern psychiatric drugs in which case he did measurably better. Without the drugs you aren't effective, without med school you can't write scripts for drugs. Also a psychologist is totally unemployable unless they have at least an MA.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 01:20
|
|
|
How about film? I haven't done it in a while, but that's what I was originally gonna go to school for when I was coming out of high school. I always had a knack for it and loved doing it. Everything from the editing, the equipment, the shooting, and I've always liked to imagine I'd be a great actor. I also love a form of telling stories.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 02:32
|
|
|
89 posted:How about film? I haven't done it in a while, but that's what I was originally gonna go to school for when I was coming out of high school. I always had a knack for it and loved doing it. Everything from the editing, the equipment, the shooting, and I've always liked to imagine I'd be a great actor. I also love a form of telling stories. If you're thinking of becoming a journalist just commit seppuku right now and save yourself some trouble. If you wanna be an actor try just hooking up with a local moviemaking meetup or something and try it out, there's a hundred million people out there who idly speculate about being a great actor someday. Whole lotta people can use video editors, but the pool of fun stuff you have substantive creative control over that's also a fulltime job is pretty tiny this is true of anything 'creative' Graphic design also has lots of options for boring-but-not-as-boring-as-programming corporate jobs, especially if you branch out into UX/UI stuff. You won't be travelling anywhere, but every company wants at least one and if you're any good you'll be in the best position for doing relatively creative artsy 'telling stories' work out of anyone getting paid for a nine to five. Fair warning if you don't become a pseudo-programming web nerd you will be expected to really care about fonts. Generally speaking there's cheap non-college routes to dip your toe in everything you've mentioned and see whether it makes you want to loving kill yourself when you have to actually do it every day instead of just fantasize about it. Do that, your greatest advantage going into college as an adult rather than a dumbass teen right out of high school is you get the opportunity to figure out what you actually want before you've yoked your next twenty years to whatever you picked. I would do terrible degrading things for an opportunity to go back and start over on college with some real experience in the working world (but not so degrading as shelling out for a second degree). A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Oct 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 06:45
|
|
|
89 posted:How about film? I haven't done it in a while, but that's what I was originally gonna go to school for when I was coming out of high school. I always had a knack for it and loved doing it. Everything from the editing, the equipment, the shooting, and I've always liked to imagine I'd be a great actor. I also love a form of telling stories. Light your money on fire.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 06:54
|
|
|
I'm so torn Do I even need to go back?
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 09:09
|
|
|
Whether you need to go back depends on what you want to do. Are you considering going back because 1. You already just want to go back and are looking for some clearly beneficial result to get out of it so that you don't feel that it's a waste of time and money? 2. You want to change your life, somehow, some way, without a clear picture of how you want to change it, and it college seems like the obvious way to do that? 3. You have a clear goal that you want to reach and going to college is one of the steps you need to take to get there? 4. Some other reason? 5. Some combination of the above? I think the only reason you would "need" to go back is if there's some specific goal you have that requires it, but I've never spent time working without a degree, so I could be missing something here. I do think dabbling a little bit in every option you've suggested sounds like a good idea. Another thing I want to say about programming is: Nobody likes debugging fart apps written in someone else's lovely code. If you think you won't do well because you're bored with programming and everyone else loves it, then your image of everyone else is wrong: some people don't enjoy programming as a job but are still decent at it. E.g., me. There are some things I enjoy programming. Even when working on those things I enjoy, spending time figuring out what I did wrong and tracking down weird bugs is boring work and not something I enjoy. In the end, though, I am really glad that I'm good at it. It's an incredibly useful and valuable skill. Maybe I'm a weirdo and everyone else loves all the time they spend programming. Who knows. I would consider whether you would enjoy the majority of your 8-hour day in any of the career options you're considering, to try to make sure you don't go into any particular field with unrealistically high expectations of how much fun it is to work in.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 11:16
|
|
|
I work in journalism, mostly. I was about where you were a few years ago, in my late 20s and looking to transition, but I had also completed my B.A. and spent much of my 20s working in various office jobs. I did a two year community college program to supplement my undergrad and rolled into my first job right after graduation in 2012 earning just slightly more than you get now (assuming you posted a gross figure). I was at the high end of the starting salaries amongst the people from my class. It is a competitive industry and people are drawn to it, so the pay is meager to start because there is a plentiful supply of warm bodies to fill the easy roles. You'll think that maybe you just have to bite the bullet and tough it out for a year or two and prove you are better then a freshly minted graduate. Maybe that will work out, maybe it won't. For me it did but looking at the 40 people that were in my broadcast class, there are four others on air, two in production roles with traditional media companies and one at a newspaper. Everyone on air had to move away from their home town, always to somewhere tiny. Low to mid five figures of population tiny. Some ended up basically unemployed, a few are sort of freelance and the majority of people wound up in some sort of communications/public relations job. Some even went directly to that line of work because the jobs are plentiful and they tend to be more stable. Those that went to a for-profit company tend to make more money (though still shy of where you want to start), but they also have to think about pallet jack technology all day long. That's your most likely path if you want to graduate directly into the sort of salary range you are talking about. That said, consider a life where you may well end up plunking at the keyboard to whip up exciting prose like this: quote:San Antonio, Texas, October 9, 2015 (Newswire) - I'm not going to say don't go to J School, but consider that you may well wash out. And even if you don't, it will take at least three years out of school to hit the salary you want. And the opportunities for "way more" are very limited and generally involve a lot of fart catching or more education or experience than you'll have. If you really want to make people happy and earn a lot of money, get your plumbing ticket and be on call 24/7/365. You'll probably never meet anyone happier than someone who no longer has poo poo floating around their bathroom at three in the morning on Thanksgiving Day.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 14:33
|
|
|
89 posted:- Computer Science as computer poo poo just always comes easy to me CS careers are deeply lacking in people with social skills. Some jobs will be being locked in a room as a code monkey, but a lot of the good jobs need people who can coordinate as a team and solve problems together. You just have to find the right job for you. quote:Psychology quote:I looked into counseling, but they really don't make very much money.. I'd definitely recommend starting in community college. It's cheaper, more flexible, and will give you the opportunity to explore your options without a bunch of sacrifices. It'll also make it easier to get into a 4 year college. One big piece of advice though: make sure you have a plan going in. Students who pick a subject and outline what courses they're going to take for the next few years are many times more likely to graduate than those who just meander around. Pick something you think you might be interested in, focus on that, and if you don't like it, give something else a try. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 16:39
|
|
|
Imaduck posted:As others have pointed out, there are lots of jobs and lots of money in CS, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. I strongly recommend you try your hand at CS. Yes, it's sitting in front of a computer for a good part of the day, but a big part of of the "fun" of it is the problem solving and seeing some big thing you made come to life. It can be a really fulfilling career for the right person, and there are so many opportunities right now that you can pretty much select whatever field you want to work in. There is practically zero money in computer science unless you have a Ph.D in a hot area (machine learning, for example). This is because computer science is not the same thing as being a professional software developer. An undergraduate CS education will give you a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, but that theoretical knowledge does not transfer into actually writing software professionally. The theoretical knowledge can come in handy, but the big, important things can be learned from Wikipedia or a good algorithms/data structures textbook. Imaduck posted:Some jobs will be being locked in a room as a code monkey, but a lot of the good jobs need people who can coordinate as a team and solve problems together. You just have to find the right job for you. You will not get a job in a role like that without first being a developer for many years. Sometimes you'll get a job like that by being very good, other times by being very bad. But you won't get it without plenty of experience first.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 21:33
|
|
|
Ithaqua posted:There is practically zero money in computer science unless you have a Ph.D in a hot area (machine learning, for example). This is because computer science is not the same thing as being a professional software developer. An undergraduate CS education will give you a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, but that theoretical knowledge does not transfer into actually writing software professionally. The theoretical knowledge can come in handy, but the big, important things can be learned from Wikipedia or a good algorithms/data structures textbook. Eh, you could probably get a low paying (like 40-50k a year, which is still quite good for anyone without better prospects) job relatively easily if you're not terrible at programming. For every Google job, there are many jobs working for random businesses, governments, etc. I'm a super lovely programmer and still managed to find a job with the money I mentioned + good benefits that consists of just fixing software bugs and adding new features (though at least it's in the context of scientific research, so I imagine it's a lot more interesting than having to work with some random small business's code). If the idea of sitting in front of a computer all day isn't appealing, though, you definitely shouldn't go this route (though I would think this would be obvious).
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2015 22:02
|
|
|
89 posted:I'm so torn You do if you have a specific goal in mind and a lack of a degree or a university's resources is getting in your way. You're 28, hopefully that's the draw for you and not drunken 19-year-old trim. A college degree won't magically make you a smarter or more fulfilled person just by virtue of having one, but it can be drat useful if you have an idea for how to use it. Ytlaya posted:Eh, you could probably get a low paying (like 40-50k a year, which is still quite good for anyone without better prospects) job relatively easily if you're not terrible at programming. For every Google job, there are many jobs working for random businesses, governments, etc. I'm a super lovely programmer and still managed to find a job with the money I mentioned + good benefits that consists of just fixing software bugs and adding new features (though at least it's in the context of scientific research, so I imagine it's a lot more interesting than having to work with some random small business's code). you don't need a degree for any of that though, I went from a BA in lit and doing seasonal landscaping right into web dev work at around this rate on the back of some bullshit and View Page Source and I had no special interest in or aptitude for it, it just beat landscaping at a time when I needed a plan C. An easy majority of software devs I've met had no CS degree, especially one from the first world. It's kind of a bullshit degree that's not even as fun and ambitious as bullshit degrees like theater or underwater basket weaving. A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Oct 11, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 02:46
|
|
|
89 posted:... There is no such thing as normal. You do not have to have adventures while young and single. You do not have to start a family once you're older, or ever. If you like bartending, then keep at it. Maybe you could own your own place one day. Maybe you will end up bitching about 'kids these days and not tipping' or whatever. Note: You will almost certainly wind up bitching about 'kids these days' in some form or another. But why should that bother you? Would that make you a loser? Are those people losers, because they are bartending? Because they don't make enough money per year? Because they never did anything, or went anywhere? Why does that matter? Based on the quoted bit above, I think you should become a personal trainer. Let the rest fall into place as it will. If that gives you money and time to travel, travel. If not, don't.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 03:32
|
|
|
Ithaqua posted:There is practically zero money in computer science unless you have a Ph.D in a hot area (machine learning, for example). This is because computer science is not the same thing as being a professional software developer. An undergraduate CS education will give you a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, but that theoretical knowledge does not transfer into actually writing software professionally. The theoretical knowledge can come in handy, but the big, important things can be learned from Wikipedia or a good algorithms/data structures textbook. I mean, yes, you're right in that if you only learn what's in class and spend no time working on practical programming skills, then yeah, you might find yourself in a bit of trouble... but basically every job ever is going to require some professional development outside of class to land a good job. I totally agree that there are many pathways to becoming a developer, but a CS degree is still the most common path people take to get programming. I work at a company where almost every developer has a degree, and the majority of them are CS; this is not uncommon. The CS majors at my local university are aggressively recruited, and I know many who make $25-45/hr. doing internships after their second year of school. Almost every single one of them has landed a job a year before they graduate. One thing I will mention is that there are certainly areas where the market is better. If you're not interested in moving to California, Seattle, Austin, NYC, etc., you're going to make your job hunt much more difficult.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 04:58
|
|
|
Buried alive posted:Are those people losers, because they never did anything, or went anywhere? kinda yeah
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 05:16
|
|
|
Buried alive posted:There is no such thing as normal. You do not have to have adventures while young and single. You do not have to start a family once you're older, or ever. If you like bartending, then keep at it. Maybe you could own your own place one day. Maybe you will end up bitching about 'kids these days and not tipping' or whatever. Note: You will almost certainly wind up bitching about 'kids these days' in some form or another. But why should that bother you? Would that make you a loser? Are those people losers, because they are bartending? Because they don't make enough money per year? Because they never did anything, or went anywhere? Why does that matter? Bartending is not a profession that is good to you after 30. You'll be forced into a management job that earns you less than walking the plank and, because its salaried and the bar/restaurant industry is 99% unregulated scumbags you'll be doing like 60 hours a week dealing with staff that doesn't care about their rep and whose friends can, for the most part, instantly get them a job at any other place in town, who are constantly wasted often on the job, are used to making 200 in cash for doing almost nothing, etc. Your only hope is an inexplicable connection to an owner who inexplicably lets you buy in to a place that they open after you run their old place for ten years for them. In most other industries you make more money every year, get more security, get more paid time off, some even have a pension, etc. Bartending gets worse every year after 30. OP needs to make a shift, is thinking it over and making a ton of threads about it, so whatever, that's the way it goes. raton fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Oct 11, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 06:16
|
|
|
89 posted:That's a lot of awesome info! The thing about computer science with me, though, the idea of being locked in front of a computer 40-50 hours a week scares me. I mean, I already spend too much time looking at a screen as is. But, I have awesome skills with communication and am very social. I'm very good with talking to people in person. I'm sure Bartending didn't hurt that. I feel like I might be wasting that skill in me for something like that. There are two other types of job that'll keep you close to computer science that pay pretty wel; the first is User Experience design, the other is Project Management. User Experience designers work building applications for various websites on desktop/mobile apps, and work with everyone from the PM to Developers. Project Management is essentially getting paid to make to-do lists for the company team to follow when creating a project. Both fields can work with various tech companies, are highly sought-after and can pay around $100k+ with experience. Although PM work can be pretty demanding, I know for sure that UX designers hardly work more than the usual 40 hours a week.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 07:45
|
|
|
I'm reading and am taking in every post in this thread. I definitely want out of the bar industry. And is a graphic design degree useless? I feel like everything about it can be learned on YouTube, practically.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 08:29
|
|
|
89 posted:I'm reading and am taking in every post in this thread. A lot of degrees you can learn from self study. Its important to take an honest look at yourself when you're thinking about it and decide if you do self study will you honestly sit there and study for 20+ hours a week every week similar to if you were in school full time and taking classes? Or will you watch a couple 5 minute youtube videos a week for a couple of weeks and then get bored. There's nothing wrong with saying you can't do it that way. A lot of people need the accountability of taking classes. College is also great for networking and (hopefully) having one on one time with someone with experience in the field to help guide you.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 12:05
|
|
|
Alterian posted:A lot of degrees you can learn from self study. Its important to take an honest look at yourself when you're thinking about it and decide if you do self study will you honestly sit there and study for 20+ hours a week every week similar to if you were in school full time and taking classes? Or will you watch a couple 5 minute youtube videos a week for a couple of weeks and then get bored. There's nothing wrong with saying you can't do it that way. A lot of people need the accountability of taking classes. College is also great for networking and (hopefully) having one on one time with someone with experience in the field to help guide you. I definitely agree. There is a lot of me going into the idea of college with the idea of self-count-ability. There's part of me that says, sure, some of these degrees I can learn on my own. But, thrusting myself in the situation where I'm spending thousands and thousands of dollars and have the accountability of others around me puts me on the spot to make something of myself. Where, otherwise, I can keep living the complacent, while not bad and actually pretty entertaining and enjoyable life I currently have, but complacent life. It makes me feel that it's bullshit I have to put myself so much on the spot financially to produce. Shouldn't I be doing it out of passion? It's like, there's an idea that college will "fix" these kind of problems with me. There's also things like how nobody on my mom's side of the family has ever finished college and I was, more or less, the "golden child" of the group that was gonna succeed and be this big thing. Coming out of high school loving years ago, it was generally looked upon that I was gonna be some big time movie producer/director and would be the most successful person of our entire class. 10 years later, we have our reunion, of which I skipped for money working, I'm just a bartender. I just feel that I have the affinity to really, truly succeed at what I want to do. That I will be better than anybody has ever been in my field. I just don't know what that field is It sure as gently caress isn't bartending. I could do calculus while bartending in the weeds (ok, not really, I hate math, but bartending is just physical busy work while keeping your mind organized and calm, if you work at a high volume bar. I would challenge any bar in Austin, TX that being behind this bar in central Arkansas is at least twice as challenging than the busiest bar in Austin) EDIT 7:30 AM after drinks: I think I want to be an actor. 89 fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Oct 11, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 12:32
|
|
|
I need to turn energy like this into an occupation somehow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 13:38
|
|
|
89 posted:And is a graphic design degree useless? I feel like everything about it can be learned on YouTube, practically. It's incredibly worthless, your best diploma for any art job is your portfolio.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 16:59
|
|
|
89 posted:I'm reading and am taking in every post in this thread. It can't all be learned on Youtube, you'd want to take at least a few actual classes, you could definitely get like consistent Craigslist work and build a portfolio without going to school but all the well-paid corporate graphic design types I've worked with had the portfolio AND some kind of relevant degree. That might be more because graphic design is one of the few degree-relevant careers available to you if you graduate with some kind of art major than because it's a prerequisite, mind. 89 posted:I just feel that I have the affinity to really, truly succeed at what I want to do. That I will be better than anybody has ever been in my field. whoops nvm you're definitely a sales guy. Try auto dealerships or a real estate office, it's not something that really demands a degree although some grasp of management or how numbers work will be a big bonus.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 20:44
|
|
|
Gonna be honest with you here, if you hate math and are scared to death of taking any Web design or programming classes, studying Computer Science is not for you. I say this because I'm pretty much like you in that sense, only I went ahead and spend the past ten months learning the bulk of the languages that come with Front End Development and it was a colossal pain to do so. Hell, I'm still struggling with some of the more basic concepts despite having built a dozen applications via paid-mentorship websites; having a natural aptitude for this stuff goes a long way here. I'd shy away from studying it in school since having a degree and not having a degree makes little-to-no difference in what they pay you in the field. There are wonderful resources out there (like Thinkful.com) that will teach you all the basics, help you build a portfolio and even go so far as to prepare you for the interview process via mock interviews, but some of those options don't come cheap. I took the basic Web Developer path and it cost me $300 a month; the Front End Web Developer career path will run you a thousand a month, but also includes a substantially larger amount of material that goes into the more intermediate level concepts and of course the interview training process. The good news is that it's pay on a monthly basis, so you're not locked down to a contract or anything like that. The bad news is that, since it's an online course curriculum, you're not going to have the luxury if asking your peers to help you out whenever you get stuck on something. That can go a long way on grasping certain concepts when the explanation they have posted in the curriculum isn't quite 'clicking' in your brain. Fortunately you get to meet with a mentor once a week for an hour session, but you only get one per week with a total of four sessions each month before the pay cycle has to be renewed. The good news is that if you go for the $1000 option your weekly sessions go from 1 hour to 3, so if you've got the funds and are commited to learning the material, it's a decent (albeit pricey) option. It's really up to you on how you want to play this path if you so choose to pursue anything Computer Science related. I think it'd be smarter to test the waters for a few months to see what you're getting yourself into before putting down for a semester and hoping for the best, but studying CS at a campus has its strengths as well that I'm sure places like Thinkful and the like wouldnt. Food for thought!
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 20:56
|
|
|
Parrotine posted:I took the basic Web Developer path and it cost me $300 a month; the Front End Web Developer career path will run you a thousand a month thousand a month online frontend web developer training posted:Working with a professional frontend developer you'll build interactive websites - including an online resume, a clone of a Karma landing page, and an interactive shopping list - using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery.  http://stackoverflow.com/
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 21:41
|
|
|
You can learn all of that in the $300 a month course, that quote covers none of the enhanced material. Also good luck getting stack overflow to answer even half of your questions, you are playing the long, slow game with that route.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 22:43
|
|
|
My $0.02 is that you are not college material, which is not to say you're a terrible person, but that you should avoid racking up $100k in debt to confirm that you are not college material. In fact, I would go so far as to say that for anyone who is 30+ who says "I don't know what I want to do, should I go to college?", the answer is no. You have 7 years (which is a considerable amount of time) in a single industry. Did you achieve anything? Did you hear a lot about "you really know a lot about beer!" or "you would be a great manager" or "our stock levels were always messed up before you managed them"? Did you end up managing anyone/anything? You want to take what you've achieved and parlay it into a neighboring industry. Customer service, small retail business, event planning, restaurant management, etc, etc. That aside, bartending is a gold mine for meeting people who are in sales, who want to hire chatty folks (like bartenders) to be salespeople. photomikey fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Oct 12, 2015 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2015 23:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:24 |
|
|
I'd get a (2-year) degree in something immediately useful like nursing, physical therapy, plumbing... Sounds like you'd also be happy faffing about in Asia for a few years teaching ESL. You need a 4-year degree in anything for a visa in most countries, but there are ways around that. Or you could open a butler cafe.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2015 05:49
|
|
