Smart. Unless you’re planning to be a doctor or lawyer or going into one of the STEM fields college just ain’t worth it anymore. Any jobs you can get with a communications, business, or psychology degree, you won’t want because they don’t pay enough and the hours really suck! The best you’ll get is maybe a job teaching it to another crop of kids who fell for it like we 80s and 90s kids did.
In all fairness a lot of us kids from the 80s on up got sold a bill of goods by our parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and the media and were forced to go by our parents who bought into the Michael J. Fox movie fantasies. The reality is the only way you go from the mailroom to the C-Suite that quickly is if your parents own the company or you do some favors.
Cliffs: Skip college and go to a trade school, try to get a CDL, or try to get into an apprenticeship with a shop. All are a way more productive use of your time and money. I wish I knew this stuff over 25 years ago and didn’t listen to my mother.
Now I’mma drop some hot takes on both food and weightlifting too. I actually did find a use for Steak Ummms. They’re useful for dirty bulking if you’re a `lifter. But in order to make use of it you gotta lift big, brahs. Either lift heavy, do HIIT, or an EMOM session. Ideally do all three. Now get out there and make some gains!
I hear you. However, I believe many people think college is like a trade school: you go there to learn how to do a job (whatever’s hot at the moment). That happens, of course, but the real purpose of college used to be, and I hope still is, to learn how to think and learn.
I graduated from high school in 1966. My teachers couldn’t possibly have prepared us for specific jobs in the future that didn’t exist yet. But by teaching us how to learn, by giving us a frame of reference to compare things to, they did the best they could to prepare us for our future, individually and collectively.
What’s the value today of a liberal arts degree? Consider this: Persons wanting to drive an Oscar Meyer Wienermobile are required to have a college degree. So without a degree, you can’t even drive the Wienermobile. Many jobs are like that.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I began working. I grew up around road haulage and knew I had a company to run. Oh! I learned to drive trucks, but that was not for me. I still learned every job that was involved. The same with the ships and shipping the company owned.
Good morning Diners. A calm before the storm that is forecast this weekend.
A large coffee please, Brunhilda.
Interesting how threads here help me to keep learning; especially the trucking threads. The working conditions and pay. I keep learning all the time. Keep learning and following my dream. I have College of Commerce and two Universities to thank for what they taught me.
The Pictures are by ChatGPT’s Sora Extension, and I personally think they look great. What do you think?
Mike, Hope you can catch up on sleep, you’re not the only one here (I’ve been tired since I’ve had to watch Teagan all week and do my Work at the same time!)
David, That is very true, Threads somehow help each one of us learn new things every minute, every hour, every day, even! Good luck following your dreams! I’ll be here if you need support!
Good morning from the still dark outside West Coast where another sunny day is in the works.
My thoughts on higher education are that if you plan on relying on someone else for your employment or having a professional career you need that piece of paper to get in the door. I relied on myself and had a plan and things worked out better than I ever expected. Regardless of the route you choose in life it is work ethic that gets you ahead. Slackers do not get ahead or get endless job offers. I have never had to look for a job in my life, even today I have been retired for 17 years and the phone still rings. I truly believe that some people make their own luck.
I wasn’t getting married until I had my bucket list taken care of and money wouldn’t be an issue when I did get married. I was set for life by my mid 30s and got married at 40 and had two great kids. My son and his wife are planning on kid’s in ten years from now as they want money issues all behind them.
It will be another day of moving my sons stuff to his new home and then I will jump in and fix a few things up for them over the next few days or weeks .
We are expecting some heavy weather this weekend, so I will get some train time in which I am looking forward to. I have four new loco’s to test out.
Two weeks and I’ll have to think about closing the crawl space vents and turning the furnace on. We don’t need or have A/C and only heat the joint for five months of the year, even then the furnace doesn’t run much. Our utility bill is pretty low.
This is one of many text books I had to go to the University of British Columbia book store to buy in the 1970s and it cost me a fortune. It is the worst reading on the planet, but I got through the 558 pages more than once and it was worth the effort.
Chloe, I’ll have bacon, eggs, and coffee this morning.
I had decided by 7th grade what I wanted to do, and I never varied from that. It took a college degree to do that. I paid my own way through with working and scholarships. Then I went back for more degrees several times over the years. That was necessary for the job I had.
Two things on the agenda today: 1) Cut the grass 2) Pack the suitcase. We’re heading out of state to see the oldest grandson play football. I’m not sure when we’re coming home.
I hope everyone has a great day today and a great weekend.
My Dad worked for the Post Office and my Mom was the local Music teacher. We had everything we needed but a few times something would happen and I remember my Dad saying that he would get to the Credit Union and apply for a loan. Nothing they couldn’t handle but no credit cards or lines of credit in those days.
At some point after watching how closely my parents had to manage their money I thought I did not want any part of that. I thought if I could have what my parents had without the money issues I would be a happy camper.
By age 14 I had a plan in place and went to open a stock trading account but the jerks said I was too young. Dad to the rescue! He opened an account for me and I took my $100.00 and bought Bethlehem Copper. I have been trading the markets for 54 years and in the days before the internet I had to pay $100.00 a month for a live ticker feed into my house.
I was working full time through the last half of high school making good money working 3:30 to 9:30 after school and all day Sat and Sun. When I graduated high school had enough for a down payment on a condo and I rented it out. I thought that was easy but I had no more money for a down payment for a second one, stupid me blew it all on the first one. So that is when I really hit the books and found out how to finance projects to 100%. I started buying more properties with my second one being a four-plex and then I bought an old garage that I rented to a guy that repaired cars.
My son joined the stock club in high school that was lead by one of the teachers. I followed his progress with their fake trading accounts and after three years and when he was finished grade ten I opened a real account for him, loaned him $3000,00 and said you can lose up to $500.00 or pay me back the $3000.00. I was surprised at how fast he paid me back the $3000.00. He was off to the races.
You gotta have a little bit of crazy in you in order to be great, brah. You just gotta find a way to channel it into making money. That’s where I struggle. I need to hire me an agent to get me the good gigs so instead of posting on message boards for magazines I’m in the magazines.
Good Afternoon,
Fall day here today. The leaves are turning but no frost yet. Bird migration is in full swing but the numbers of warblers and sparrows are really down, we think due to the fires up north where they nest.
Have been spending a fair bit of time at a nature reserve that is on the edge of the city. Only a 20 minute drive and I am in a 660 acre reserve with several small lakes. Very relaxing.
My first car was a 61 VW. It didn’t have a gas gauge, just a wood stick you dipped into the tank with markings for the number of gallons. It had a reserve tank you could switch on if it ran out that would get you about 60 miles. There was a lever on the floor to turn it on. A bit of a reach when the car was running. I only had that car for about 9 months and sold it. Bought a 62 Chevy II that was a lot better car at least as far as power goes.
CN Charlie
One of my former students is a very successful stock broker; he told me it was the stock market simulation game and tracking unit we did in his 7th grade class (c.1981) that interested him in the business, “and now I make my living doing it.”
Education reformer John Dewey was right: “Children learn by doing.”
Good Morning Diners. Chloe, western scrambled eggs and coffee please.
When I was still in college my grandparents brought all us grandkids together and gave each of us a check for $1000. We could do what we wanted with it, but my grandpa really wanted us to invest it and offered to help us make that happen. I took his advice, and grandpa set me up with shares of a mutual fund that his broker recommended and he personally had good luck with. It took a couple years, but that $1000 turned into $400 and a letter in the mail stating I needed to deposit more money as I was below the minimum balance. I cashed out my $400 and bought my first home theater system instead.
I’m glad we are finally starting to tell kids that going into a trade is not only okay, but an actual way to make a living. The company I work for has a heck of a time finding qualified trades people anytime we have an opening in our maintenance department. (and we pay well) As for me, I did the college thing with every intent of teaching high school history. Right when I graduated, huge budget cuts hit and schools weren’t hiring, they were laying off. I taught At Risk 7th graders for a year in a grant based position, but needed regular income, so it was off to something else. First job required no formal education, but didn’t lead anywhere. Next job also didn’t require a college education, but at least it was income. That lead to a union job where a person could make a living, and finally an even better opportunity opened up to me due to a combination of my degree, my capabilities, and my work ethic. You do make your own luck, but only to a point. Then something else kicks in. Call it fate, the stars, or just dumb luck.
Plans tonight to sit out around our fire pit with my wife and oldest daughter, sip a drink, and just relax. We haven’t had a fire for a while. Too long to be honest.
Done some work on the IACR roster, I need some help regarding the Locomotives and which ones I should use and are actually reliable, like the NS GE B32-8Es or the CM44AH.
I’ve got a busy day ahead of me, and I have to watch Teagan today, and I also have to pick up Bobbie from School too
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Dad to the rescue! He opened an account for me and I took my $100.00 and bought Bethlehem Copper. I have been trading the markets for 54 years and in the days before the internet I had to pay $100.00 a month for a live ticker feed into my house.
