If you could go back..

[Dannmann801]

Is the National Guard still offering free tuition for enlistment?

Join the Guard. Go to school. Get activated. Go hunting (towelheads). Finish college. Become a pipefitter or welder. then use your degree and start your own business.
Date lots of girls in the meantime.

 

[twireman]

1. Do not get a girl knocked up....i've seen this hamper a lot of lives. Use protection. Sounds simple enough but it happens every day.
2. Pipefitters would be a good choice. Good money, medical, and retirement. Others would be IBEW, or as Milo mentioned welding. Very promising outlook.
3. I would look into jobs with OPERS benefits. (ie state jobs, some medical, fire,police, teaching, highway): You won't have to worry about social security being there for you. If you get in early you work 35 years and done.

 

[hickslawns]

I think a big question you will want to answer for yourself BEFORE pursuing the fire service is if you can handle the EMS calls. Much of the modern fire department activity is more involved with the rescue squad runs and such. If you are squeamish at all or can't handle the thought of paramedic schooling (it is pretty difficult), you might want to seriously consider avoiding the fire service. Just something to think about prior to spending the money.

My main reason for not pursuing the full time route was my age. I never became a volunteer until I got out of the guard. I was around 28yrs old. After a year or so as a volunteer, I seriously considered a full time career in this field. However, by the time I would have been finished with the schooling, I would have been very close to being "too old" to be hired on at many departments. Not a risk I wanted to take.

 

[saddlepants]

I think a big question you will want to answer for yourself BEFORE pursuing the fire service is if you can handle the EMS calls. Much of the modern fire department activity is more involved with the rescue squad runs and such. If you are squeamish at all or can't handle the thought of paramedic schooling (it is pretty difficult), you might want to seriously consider avoiding the fire service. Just something to think about prior to spending the money.

My main reason for not pursuing the full time route was my age. I never became a volunteer until I got out of the guard. I was around 28yrs old. After a year or so as a volunteer, I seriously considered a full time career in this field. However, by the time I would have been finished with the schooling, I would have been very close to being "too old" to be hired on at many departments. Not a risk I wanted to take.

You had better investigate the job availability first with Fire/ems. That was my first choice last year till I found out how hard it was to find a vacancy, esp with EMS, most of them are ending up in Er's and miniclinics around here and I wasnt up for relocating.

 

[bowhunter1023]

A business degree of some sort is easy to get and is among the best majors to have IMO. It will open far more doors than a more specialized degree will. And if you don't mind being a union man, any union trade is a great way to roll. In all honesty, I would give serious thought to being a union electrician in one of the plants around here if I was going back. Not sure I could stomach being union, but I'd learn if the $ was there!

 

[aholdren]

The medical field is where I would take a serious look. My wife is a PTA (Physcial Therapist Asst.), she went two years at Washington State and has been at Camden Clark for 10yrs now. She says they are looking for men in this field due to the lifting that is required. Also if you go thru this and work for a year or so and decide you want to be a Physcial Therapist sometimes your employer will help pay for your school to become one. Occupational Therapist (CODA) is very similar. I think that Hocking Tech offers one or both of these programs. If this is something you would consider then check it out and make sure to go volunteer at hospitals and therapy places so that you can get your volunteer hours in. By volunteering in a hospital you can see all kinds of job opportunities to pursue, Xray techs, Respiratory therapists and alot more. These are jobs that have a little bit of job security (if that is even possible anymore) , we always need hospitals.

 

[jagermeister]

Alot of good tips and ideas here guys, I really appreciate it. RD, the oil field is definitly something i will look into. I defintly get what your saying here JB, i could get into a job that would make me WANT to go to work every day. But do you think this would mean much less time able to hunt and fish? Because as much as i would love to get into the wildlife management field, I don't know if i could sacrifice hunting and fishing as they're my favorite things to do.

Actually, no. I'd say the opposite is true. Wildlife officers hunt and fish all the time, and often get access to land that others can't. Wildlife management techs have plenty of time also... they work pretty normal hours like everyone else. In fact, when I worked at Pickerel Creek WA, I got to know that place like the back of my hand... This allowed me to become aware of "hot spots" that others didn't even know existed. I had great deer hunts out there, and I killed more ducks over those couple years than any other year of my waterfowling career... all on public land.

Plus, you get state benefits, vacation, and retirement.... As long as they don't dick that up, at least.

 

[jagermeister]

A business degree of some sort is easy to get and is among the best majors to have IMO. It will open far more doors than a more specialized degree will. And if you don't mind being a union man, any union trade is a great way to roll. In all honesty, I would give serious thought to being a union electrician in one of the plants around here if I was going back. Not sure I could stomach being union, but I'd learn if the $ was there!

Jesse makes a great point here. Hocking is a great school, but if you go there for wildlife it'll basically only allow you to go the wildlife route when you're done. It's specialized. Whereas, if you went with an environmental or biological degree (4+ years), you could still go the wildlife route if you wanted to, but you'd also have many more options beyond that.

It sure would be nice to have a crystal ball and be able to look into the future to see what's going to happen. It would make decisions like this so much easier. Best thing you can do is think about what you enjoy doing, think about how you can make money doing it, figure out what route will get you there while leaving you plan B, C, D, E and F, and make sure the pay outweighs the investment. Easy as that. lmao

All kidding aside, take the advice in this thread seriously and give it some good thought. No matter what you choose to do, in the end you'll still probably end up somewhere you didn't plan... That's just the way life works.

 

[dante322]

No brainer, i would have joined the military.

 

[hickslawns]

No matter what you choose to do, in the end you'll still probably end up somewhere you didn't plan... That's just the way life works.

Ain't that the truth! I would say there were several "This is what I am going to do!" moments before I settled into this business. A couple of them came to me as options even while I was running my business. They never panned out, and it has worked out. God has a plan for us. Live right, work hard, be honest, and see where the road takes you. Rarely does it take you where you thought it was going to. hahah

 

[Riverdude]

$100,000 a year + benifts + bonses and your work actually 6 months to earn that kind of scratch. No college education required just common sense. I know I posted this before but working 2 weeks of 12 hours and then have 2 weeks off........pleanty of off time to hunt and fish. Pushers make around $1,500 a day, Co Man around $2,100 a day.

 

[cotty16]

$100,000 a year + benifts + bonses and your work actually 6 months to earn that kind of scratch. No college education required just common sense. I know I posted this before but working 2 weeks of 12 hours and then have 2 weeks off........pleanty of off time to hunt and fish. Pushers make around $1,500 a day, Co Man around $2,100 a day.

Where do I sign up?

 

[jagermeister]

Where do I sign up?

word

 

[moundhill]

Jesse your point definitly makes sense, a degree in business leaves many doors open for me to get my foot in. RD, where is your rig located? You guys have helped alot though. The more i think about it, theres a heck of alot of options out there..

 

[Milo]

Jesse your point definitly makes sense, a degree in business leaves many doors open for me to get my foot in. RD, where is your rig located? You guys have helped alot though. The more i think about it, theres a heck of alot of options out there..

Moundy there is a TON of opportunity out there but here is the catch....You have to break out of the monotony of working while all your friends are going to school and partying..Its a tough one and I see it all too often that people get out of school and lose all motivation to succeed in life. They just blow money left and right on partying and being stupid. You need to set goals for yourself Financially and stick to the plan. Focus can be tough and that where you will need the mental capacity to look where your are now and where you want to be. You have to be motivated and be a leader and good example where ever you get a job. Always be the one to step up and away from the BS that comes with every job. that is something nobody can do for you...its got to come from within. I have seen too many examples in life of unmotivated people. The days of work 35 years for one company are gone and you will be changing more than you think. it can be a hard road at times especially without a degree so you have to find a niche that makes you more valuable than teh next guy without a degree. Learn to do something extremely well and not just be a worker.

 

[saddlepants]

And its important in these times to learn to do more than one thing well. That has always kept me with my head above the water. Barley sometimes but still swimming. Dont put all your eggs in one basket.

 

[bowhunter1023]

There is no doubt that doing something to get you prepped for the oil and gas industry is a great move. Lots of options and it will be going strong enough, long enough to get you to retirement...

 

[hickslawns]

Milo nailed it Moundhill. Whether it is money from student loans or a paycheck you EARNED, don't piss it away. It is VERY easy to do at that age. I did it. I would bet the majority of guys on here did it. This is why you will hear this repeatedly. It is an easy trap. Young, money in your pocket, next thing you know 3-5yrs go by and you have nothing to show for it. It is a tough world right now. Tougher than your parents or my parents grew up in.

If you choose the work route, keep your discipline about yourself. I am not saying if you have saved up $4-5k you can't go spend a couple hundred, but with uncertainty in the global economy, social security, the housing markets, etc, the more you can save the better. If you have any questions, feel free to call me or PM me. I am no expert, but I started investing when I was about 21 or 22. Wish I did at 18. There are some investments that you cannot touch. Others it is okay to draw out of them without penalty if you are using the money for schooling or to buy a house. If you are undecided about what career choice you want to go after, it might be a wise idea to work a couple years and stash some money away until you decide.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Listen to these guys Taylor. I'll be 30 in September and we have only been out of this trap for a few months now. We made $120K last year (2010) and blew almost all of it. When we started making money, it was so easy to spend it and we lived like that for 5 years. Sure we own a house, vehicles, and the like, but we could have a much nicer house or even be looking at making an upgrade soon. Those 5 years of frivolous spending left me with one hell of a collection of hunting gear and stories of wild, careless weekends. But it did nothing to better my future. Now more than ever, you need to bank that coin...

 

[moundhill]

Thank Phil, If i do go to college I will be the first one in my family to do so. I've heard over and over that with this terrible economy you won't make it without going to college. But i know this isnt true, both my brothers and my dad make good money with out attenting college..do they bust their asses when they work, yes typically. But they make it. I might have to send ya a PM about how to go about the mowing bizz if this is the route I wanna give a try. Right now, honestly I'm loving life with basketball and my senior year, it's a hell of alot of fun. And I'm trying to focus on just having fun and getting good grades now..but now I need to factor in what to do with life, and it's alot to think about..I've always been one to over anylize and think about things to hard..maybe I just need to let it come to me and roll with the punches.