I wish I learned a trade instead to getting a higher education

[Lord Vutulaki]

How many of your parents insisted you go to University? Mine made me go and mainly cause they are dumb fucks from the third world who wanted to brag about their son's university degree.

I quit for a year and had to kneel by my mum's "death bed" promising id go back and finish the next year which I did, it then took me about 10 years to earn what my trademen friends earned right after their 4 year apprenticeships. Some of them now earn more than me and I cracked the "magical" 6 figures a few years ago, it doesnt buy me much of a life here in Sydney.

I talk to my tradie mates about stresses im having at work and bring that stress some with me and they lol and say that they NEVER have to stress about shit.

We have a major shortage of tradesmen here and they run the show, want your leaking pipe fixed? sure they will come by but make sure youre home between 0700 and 1700 cause they will show up some time between those times.

I get to a meeting 5 mins late and Im going to get my ass kicked by the boss.

Fuck this shit, if I could have my time over again id tell my parents to GTFO, took me about 10 years to pay off my fucking student loans too.

 

[Robbie Hart]

I agree in a way, but you made the choice that I made. I'm extremely tired of the industry and path I've chosen. Don't get me wrong, I'm good at what I do but I now realise I would have probably been no worse off doing something more hands on and that interests me.

 

[Lord Vutulaki]

I agree in a way, but you made the choice that I made. I'm extremely tired of the industry and path I've chosen. Don't get me wrong, I'm good at what I do but I now realise I would have probably been no worse off doing something more hands on and that interests me.

I didn't really make the choice it was drilled into me from a young age then when my mates dad offered me a start as a carpenter my old man threatened both of us.

Oh well life goes on I suppose.

My wife is kinda like this with our kids but I tell them that I don't care what they do as long as they are happy.

 

[Punch]

I became a mechanic and then a soldier/sailor instead of going to college. Kinda wish i'd tried college instead sometimes, so maybe it's a grass is greener thing homie.

 

[ThatOneDude]

I'm right there with you. I'm fortunate enough to not need a degree for my job, but it could help me with certain companies. I always say I wish guidance counselors would push trades more for kids not interested in college. There is nothing wrong with being a skilled tradesman, THE WORLD NEEDS THEM!
If I could go back I would've never wasted time in college and would've gone to a trade school either before or after the military.

 

[Deleted member 1]

I'm not sure I would have changed my eventual path, but that's only because I can't think of a job that interests me more. I really enjoy the topic.

If I found something I enjoyed as much that made 70k a year with less responsibility and only took 3-5 years to train/work up to? I would definitely do that instead.

The investment in time, money, and always being on edge for the smallest of mistakes takes it toll. The system is not forgiving and until you are debt free and have put away enough into secured areas (house and retirement accounts) your entire livelihood can disappear with the wrong choice or uneducated layman jury.

 

[Deleted member 1]

I became a mechanic and then a soldier/sailor instead of going to college. Kinda wish i'd tried college instead sometimes, so maybe it's a grass is greener thing homie.

I was a systems and network admin without a college degree before medicine.
My free time and lack of responsibility was great. Confirm backups, work in a test environment, put things live. With only a couple of moves you can't really ever fuck up too much. Downside was that IT is always "overhead" so you aren't respected that much. You're not seen as a solution, but a needed evil in a lot of places.

Just depends what you value in your job and life.

 

[Punch]

I was a systems and network admin without a college degree before medicine.
My free time and lack of responsibility was great. Confirm backups, work in a test environment, put things live. With only a couple of moves you can't really ever fuck up too much. Downside was that IT is always "overhead" so you aren't respected that much. You're not seen as a solution, but a needed evil in a lot of places.

Just depends what you value in your job and life.

That seems pretty chill. I always tried to make the IT guys i've ever worked with feel welcome because they have expertise in a field i know nothing about. Plus most were super smart.

I'm not sure if i would have even joined the military if i had gone to college, and my life would be very, very different from what it is now. I have my little girl, so i'm super happy with the way things turned out.

 

[ThatOneDude]

I was a systems and network admin without a college degree before medicine.
My free time and lack of responsibility was great. Confirm backups, work in a test environment, put things live. With only a couple of moves you can't really ever fuck up too much. Downside was that IT is always "overhead" so you aren't respected that much. You're not seen as a solution, but a needed evil in a lot of places.

Just depends what you value in your job and life.

While that's true in some places it's not in all. But that's with anything in life.

 

[IschKabibble]

I was a systems and network admin without a college degree before medicine.
My free time and lack of responsibility was great. Confirm backups, work in a test environment, put things live. With only a couple of moves you can't really ever fuck up too much.

Helping to expedite my eventual career change with words like this... lol

 

[Lord Vutulaki]

I'm not sure I would have changed my eventual path, but that's only because I can't think of a job that interests me more. I really enjoy the topic.

If I found something I enjoyed as much that made 70k a year with less responsibility and only took 3-5 years to train/work up to? I would definitely do that instead.

The investment in time, money, and always being on edge for the smallest of mistakes takes it toll. The system is not forgiving and until you are debt free and have put away enough into secured areas (house and retirement accounts) your entire livelihood can disappear with the wrong choice or uneducated layman jury.

Your story intrigues me. I dont think anyone goes to med school here after another occupation. Just getting in is super competitive and done right outta HS.

Good on you mate

 

[Deleted member 1]

While that's true in some places it's not in all. But that's with anything in life.

Sure, depends on the business climate. And some places you have an asshole project manager pushing deadlines.
But my point is that even with mission critical stuff, as long as you know what you are doing, the virtual world gives you are lot of redoes. Piss off a suit is the worst thing in life? Man, that's low stakes in the grand scheme of things.

 

[ThatOneDude]

Sure, depends on the business climate. And some places you have an asshole project manager pushing deadlines.
But my point is that even with mission critical stuff, as long as you know what you are doing, the virtual world gives you are lot of redoes. Piss off a suit is the worst thing in life? Man, that's low stakes in the grand scheme of things.

Oh absolutely, that's part of why I left my other company, I didn't want to work with Healthcare systems anymore, or anything related to EMR.

Obviously not the same level of responsibility as a doctor performing actual procedures, but you get what I'm saying.

 

[SongExotic2]

I became a mechanic and then a soldier/sailor instead of going to college. Kinda wish i'd tried college instead sometimes, so maybe it's a grass is greener thing homie.

I did the same, after I dropped out of college after first year. Much preferred the training I got in the military (although I was doing a completely different thing in college)

 

[SongExotic2]

If I ever had a kid I often wonder what path I'd push him toward. I think I'd gear towards a technical trade in the military and then further schooling using that gi bill.

I know a guy who was mechanic in the air force, then got his a & P and used his gi bill to become a flight instructor at riddle. Then his hobby of RC aircraft with his experience means he can get pretty much any job on UAVS.

And he's got his own airplane he goes flying at weekends

 

[Punch]

If I ever had a kid I often wonder what path I'd push him toward

My first thought was the ECW chant.

 

[SongExotic2]

My first thought was the ECW chant.

If I won that 900 mil lottery I was gonna buy bellator and merge it with ecw. I think mma would prosper with a few steel chairs and tables laid around

 

[GSPTrainingInAPool]

The thing that pisses me off about Uni are the arbitrary courses they make you take. A well rounded point of view is important, but those classes still cost me a buttload of money. Am I happy I went to uni? absolutely. The friends I made there will be with me for the rest of my life!

I work in an office and while the job isn't a barrel of laughs it's pretty damn interesting and I'm never going to give myself a broken nose with a wrench like my millwright buddy did the other day.

As for pay scale, yeah they make more money than me right now. But my opportunity to earn a lot more in the future is a lot more than theirs. If you feel like you're worth more look for advancement in your company or look externally. A lot easier said than done.

Keep working hard and once your foot steps outta that office don't think about work because when you're at home there's nothing you can do about your ongoing deadlines/activities at work.

 

[Anastasios]

My opinion is that it depends on the degree. If you become a doctor, engineer, or get accepted in a highly regarded university, life is set. Youll have an interesting job with a very high salary. Otherwise I am all for gaining work experience and then investing in your own business.

 

[ThatOneDude]

I disagree that life is set because of those degrees, it's still a ton of work and not everyone can translate that piece of paper into a successful career.

 

[Anastasios]

I disagree that life is set because of those degrees, it's still a ton of work and not everyone can translate that piece of paper into a successful career.

That is true but with doctors and engineers, they have a lot of lobbyism ensuring their titles are protected, they are not to do anything else but particular duties during work, they have minimum salaries (which take you to the top 10% quickly) etc. I think that at least among titled occupations and degrees, these are the safest bets of them all.

The top tier uni degrees... well if you managed to get in that program and finished, theres a high likelihood youll manage work too. They also usually have very high starting salaries.

If you think translating that piece of paper into a successful career is hard, well, my other opinion on investing in your own business is a much more risky venture but it can pay off greatly, and you can be your own boss.

 

[mysticmac]

My opinion is that it depends on the degree. If you become a doctor, engineer, or get accepted in a highly regarded university, life is set. Youll have an interesting job with a very high salary. Otherwise I am all for gaining work experience and then investing in your own business.

This is basically what I was going to say. Also, working environment matters. Work is great when working with good people and crappy when working with shitty people. If the problem is shitty people, make a move and enjoy life.

 

[Lord Vutulaki]

The thing that pisses me off about Uni are the arbitrary courses they make you take. A well rounded point of view is important, but those classes still cost me a buttload of money. Am I happy I went to uni? absolutely. The friends I made there will be with me for the rest of my life!

I work in an office and while the job isn't a barrel of laughs it's pretty damn interesting and I'm never going to give myself a broken nose with a wrench like my millwright buddy did the other day.

As for pay scale, yeah they make more money than me right now. But my opportunity to earn a lot more in the future is a lot more than theirs. If you feel like you're worth more look for advancement in your company or look externally. A lot easier said than done.

Keep working hard and once your foot steps outta that office don't think about work because when you're at home there's nothing you can do about your ongoing deadlines/activities at work.

Thanks I work from home is part of the issue. Thanks again

 

[Leigh]

I'm glad my mum encouraged me to study engineering. I'm also glad I didn't do a crap degree like sports or social science.

 

[Jesus X]

Trades pay good but you are usually set in a dangerous environment like a pipefitter or an electrician, who can be burned to death or blow up or hundred more hazards, my job has had guys smashed to death by containers. People with college degrees don't need to get their hands dirty or labor too much,they also get promoted over people with no degrees.