[alabama24]

FTFY

Are you making a joke, or has something changed in the past 5 years or so? B&N employees received a large discount on books... the consolation for working at low wages.

[ATrain]

FTFY

Are you making a joke, or has something changed in the past 5 years or so? B&N employees received a large discount on books... the consolation for working at low wages.

It was 30%, and we did get paid above minimum wage when I was there. I was referencing the fact I no longer worked at the bookstore. Looking back, I'm glad I left when I started working with the tennis teams or I may still be there like a few of my former coworkers who were students at the time

[Purple Haize]

Learn how to weld a pipe, install a fence, plumb a house or move an interior wall. Then call a competent CPA. You can create amazing wealth with specific education and a bucket of hustle.

I have considered this

[RubberMallet]

I am thankful for scholarships and GS-12 jobs

them federal jobs are a conundrum. most hate their jobs. but they pay so well, get great benefits, and you comparatively are unfireable.

my buddy works for the DOD and hates it but he's a GS-13 step 5

[ATrain]

I am thankful for scholarships and GS-12 jobs

them federal jobs are a conundrum. most hate their jobs. but they pay so well, get great benefits, and you comparatively are unfireable.

my buddy works for the DOD and hates it but he's a GS-13 step 5

It also depends on the department you work for. Most at SSA seem to be happy with their jobs, I know those of us who came from the states are very happy to be here (I went from $46K to $74K - others were making even less than I was, and it's the same job), and my husband likes his as well with FDA (He's a GS-12 Step 5, I'm a GS 12, soon-to-be-step-2). I haven't heard very many good things about working for DOD and they are typically among the lowest ranked, if not the lowest ranked, in the Federal Government's "Best Agencies to Work For," lists.

[alabama24]

I went from $46K to $74K

No wonder we are broke! lol

[Humble_Opinion]

I went from $46K to $74K

No wonder we are broke! I chortle audibly.

LOL... on the note about the DOD, I imagine the experience over there is comparatively worse under this administration.

[bballfan84]

Which is why the DFW economy has lagged so far behind Houston for the past decade. But none of that has anything to do with the fact that my oil & gas client are hurting right now ... which means I am hurting as well.

Sly what do you specifically do in the energy business?

[Sly Fox]

I do communications consulting with the majors, largest indies and oil services companies. I also have a bunch of clients in energy outside of the petrochemical industry. But things have been slow in a lot of sectors related to the loss of the primary driver of the U.S. economy over the past 5 years.

[Purple Haize]

Which is why the DFW economy has lagged so far behind Houston for the past decade. But none of that has anything to do with the fact that my oil & gas client are hurting right now ... which means I am hurting as well.

Sly what do you specifically do in the energy business?

He has gas

[PAmedic]

well he's certainly full of hot air

maybe a wind-bag

[ATrain]

There is something in that Texas Kool-Aid, I can only hope to escape before I become Texas-drunk off of it too.

Seriously Sly, I hope things turn around for you soon, without causing a huge rise in gas prices.

[ATrain]

Here is a response to the article:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/doesnt-ma ... 35422.html

The crux of it:

College acceptance and future success are both reflections of an obvious but often overlooked variable: the person you're becoming in your late teens. After all, elite schools aren't taking a random sample of high-school students and churning out success stories. They're accepting people who are already on the road to success, connecting them with peers and alumni in successful jobs, giving them a degree that signals to employers that this person has the potential to be successful, and then basking in their eventual success. (The fact that networks and signals are enough to make elite schools valuable doesn't prove that they don't also offer a great education; it just makes it all the harder to study exactly how much better an elite education is.)

Not what you know, but who you know.

[SumItUp]

Good advice from Jack Welch

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dear-gra ... jack-welch

Congratulations!

Or perhaps we should say, “Congratulations*” – with a footnote reading:

“This salutation is reserved for graduates who majored in engineering, computer science, or finance at a top-tier school. All others, enjoy a primal scream.”

Because, hello, it’s hard to get a good job out there. Make that very hard. With four kids in their 20s, we get that. The facts are: the economy is just not growing fast enough to absorb 1.8 million entry-level employees a year, with the noted brainiac exceptions. As a result, the vast majority of graduates – 73 percent by some estimates – end up in jobs not in their areas of study, too many at minimum wage.

[adam42381]

Good advice from Jack Welch

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dear-gra ... jack-welch

Congratulations!

Or perhaps we should say, “Congratulations*” – with a footnote reading:

“This salutation is reserved for graduates who majored in engineering, computer science, or finance at a top-tier school. All others, enjoy a primal scream.”

Because, hello, it’s hard to get a good job out there. Make that very hard. With four kids in their 20s, we get that. The facts are: the economy is just not growing fast enough to absorb 1.8 million entry-level employees a year, with the noted brainiac exceptions. As a result, the vast majority of graduates – 73 percent by some estimates – end up in jobs not in their areas of study, too many at minimum wage.

That's an excellent piece of advice.

[RubberMallet]

i told my wife i'm not allowing my children to go into debt for history/philosophy/soft science or other silly degrees. she has a teachign degree but it came free and clear of any debt. my degree is in finance and management, which from liberty really doesn't amount to much but to say i have one. The majority of my classes never pushed or really were challenging. Finance and Policy were probably more valuable together than the rest of my level 400 classes. the position i'm in now at work (sales management) was because i learned how to sell and am good with people. nothing my education really taught me. thats not an indictment on Liberty really because i have cohorts with state school degrees in the same field and say they have had similar experiences.

I think even ole dave ramsey harps on this as well.

[ATrain]

i told my wife i'm not allowing my children to go into debt for history/philosophy/soft science or other silly degrees. she has a teachign degree but it came free and clear of any debt. my degree is in finance and management, which from liberty really doesn't amount to much but to say i have one. The majority of my classes never pushed or really were challenging. Finance and Policy were probably more valuable together than the rest of my level 400 classes. the position i'm in now at work (sales management) was because i learned how to sell and am good with people. nothing my education really taught me. thats not an indictment on Liberty really because i have cohorts with state school degrees in the same field and say they have had similar experiences.

I think even ole dave ramsey harps on this as well.

Actually one of my good friends got a history degree w/ teacher licensure, now is principal at a high school. If they end up going that route, make sure they get some type of licensure that is applicable to the real world.

Also, in all honesty, I felt the courses I took at community college for my EMT certification were far more applicable than what I learned getting an MBA at Liberty.

[Purple Haize]

I know someone who got a degree in Philosophy and ended up dealing drugs. Tragic figure

[Humble_Opinion]

http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/19/as-fl ... workers/2/

RM your thoughts on the topic reflect the general consensus amongst most Americans. However, pushing your kids to go into debt in the pursuit of a STEM related degree is not necessarily going to help them either. The fact of the matter is that the American worker is under attack at the moment. Wages have been flat for a long time, even in STEM related careers. The cost to obtain these degrees though continues to go up. On top of that, you have American workers being pitted against foreign workers that will do the same job for a much smaller % of pay. The best thing one can do this day in age is not be tied down to any one area.

[PAmedic]

I know someone who got a degree in Philosophy and ended up dealing drugs. Tragic figure

yes but look at your luxurious lifestyle... well worth it IMO

[Purple Haize]

I know someone who got a degree in Philosophy and ended up dealing drugs. Tragic figure

yes but look at your luxurious lifestyle... well worth it IMO

I was talking about 'someone I know'. Ha

You aren't even on my FB!

[RubberMallet]

i told my wife i'm not allowing my children to go into debt for history/philosophy/soft science or other silly degrees. she has a teachign degree but it came free and clear of any debt. my degree is in finance and management, which from liberty really doesn't amount to much but to say i have one. The majority of my classes never pushed or really were challenging. Finance and Policy were probably more valuable together than the rest of my level 400 classes. the position i'm in now at work (sales management) was because i learned how to sell and am good with people. nothing my education really taught me. thats not an indictment on Liberty really because i have cohorts with state school degrees in the same field and say they have had similar experiences.

I think even ole dave ramsey harps on this as well.

Actually one of my good friends got a history degree w/ teacher licensure, now is principal at a high school. If they end up going that route, make sure they get some type of licensure that is applicable to the real world.

Also, in all honesty, I felt the courses I took at community college for my EMT certification were far more applicable than what I learned getting an MBA at Liberty.

there's nothing wrong with getting a history degree if that is the route you are after and you can get it without relatively much debt. but when the avg starting position for a teacher starting out is 35k, 100k in student loan debt is daunting. Whether its debt later or money spent on a degree that was saved up for, its still and investment risk you have to look at. If my child has a fully funded college fund. thats 100 grand. by the time you are fifty with modest investments you are staring at a cool mil. what is my earning potential without it? will my daughters even want to work? My wife's degree is completely unused! College as a necessary "life experience" is a lie. How often do you hear people with degrees complain that many "entry" level positions require some experience. Well often times guys who forgo school get the experience that they are looking for and i've seen guys get jobs without even having degrees while guys stand there taking lower paying jobs not even related to their field of study.

i'm rambling here but i'm very much on the "alternatives to college" bandwagon.

[ALUmnus]

ROTC

and RM, you guys are homeschooling, so I wouldn't call your wife's teaching degree completely wasted.

It's another reason we're investing now in our kids' current schooling. It should result in more financial offering from colleges. And if they don't go to college, they've still had a great education.

Another GREAT option is to have more technical high schools. In the town I grew up in, we had three high schools. The main public school, a Catholic school, and a technical school. I sort of wish I had gone to the technical school and learned a trade/skill along with my diploma.

[adam42381]

I teach at a high school that has various academies which offer students the option of getting hands-on experience and, in some academies, industry certifications before they graduate. We currently offer the following programs:

Firefighting/EMT
JROTC
Auto Mechanics
Welding
Nursing
Criminal Justice
Building Construction

[RubberMallet]

ROTC

and RM, you guys are homeschooling, so I wouldn't call your wife's teaching degree completely wasted.

It's another reason we're investing now in our kids' current schooling. It should result in more financial offering from colleges. And if they don't go to college, they've still had a great education.

Another GREAT option is to have more technical high schools. In the town I grew up in, we had three high schools. The main public school, a Catholic school, and a technical school. I sort of wish I had gone to the technical school and learned a trade/skill along with my diploma.

homeschooling your own kids well does not require a degree. from the mouth of my wife. Technical schools are crucial. I regret fledgling at community college and not pursuing learning something that would of still got me an associates even though much would not be transferable. thats what clep is for though. HA.