college planning/ideas, opinions please!!!

[rollie]

I'm a Junior in high school right now and im trying to get started planning my "after high school plans"

I have a few different idea's ive been playing around with

1. Go to a traditional 4 year college for business, or something similar, come out of school, work with my father as a plumber, get my lisence, and eventually take over his Plumbing company

2. Go to school around here for motorcycle mechanics, 18 month program, i would work with my father while i wasnt at school saving my money, id graduate the 18 month program and get my plumbers lisence, not sure what i would do after that haha

some things to thing about...
1. i don't really love school
2. I do enjoy getting up everyday and working with my pops(only on weekends and saturdays so i dont knwo how long i would like it for)
3. i go to school for plumbing now at my high school
4. I'd like to keep my quad and keep racing while i do this
5. i dont really want to go to far from home
6. id like to start making some money and getting along on my own at a good age( dont wanna live at home till im 30 haha)

opinons welcome!

[dpizz450]

i was in the almost exact same boat as you. with my dad owning his own business and not sure if i wanted to go work for him and all that. ( i was also working for him while in high school) but dont sweat it man. you got another year or two to think about it. things will come around. dont get me wrong its good to be thinking of what you wanna do. but the statistics are very high of college students changing their majors. my opinion is get into college and get all your basic and general classes down and decide where you wanna go from there. thats what im doing im just taking a bunch of basic classes right now and my major is business but who knows i might end up changing it. good luck.

[Quad18star]

Best thing I can tell you is this ... where do you envision yourself in 10 years from now ... where do you want to be 3 years after comming out of college or university ... what goals do you want to achieve??

If you can answer those types of questions , the rest will fall into place.

Are you the type that wants to sit behind a desk , or would you rather be out in the field? Do you like physical labour or are you more laid back , number cruncher kind of person?

Do you want to stay in the area you live in , or do you want to move away?

Will your career choice limit or possibilities of advancement , or are the possibilities endless??

All are questions that you have to consider. I made some wrong career decisions , but I'm now back in College taking something that I WANT to do. Even though they might have been " wrong" decision , it's all experience I can bank .

I can now go into a job interview and tell them I've previously taken Civil Engineering , but now I'm enrolled in a Mining Engineering program. The stuff I learnt in Civil can actually transfer over to the mining designs , which makes me a better candidate for the job.

[Sjorge450R]

A LOT will change between now and next september when you start sending out applications. I am a senior in Highschool now and I was gonna take the community college approach to save money, but its not for me. I wanna get out there and live some where else for a little. Chances are, I will be over at University Of Pittsburgh this time next year. GOing out this weekend to visit and to make my final decision. Chances are, I will be telling them that I will be back next August!

To the point. I wanted to go into Automotive and then I wanted to go into Motorcycles, then I realized that its not for me. I wanna have time for a family and i wanna be there for my family. I know what its like to play sports and to rarly have both parents at the events. After thinking of this, I decided that I am gonna become a teacher. This way I have my week nights (for the most part) and my weekends and of coarse my summers. I love helping people and I always had teaching in the back of my mind for a major. While teaching, probaly about 10 years down the road, I wanna open a business, not sure what kind, I just know that I wanna own my own business.

I know that was pretty long, but I just wanted to let you know what I did. Just remember. DOnt worry about now. Dont worry about quads now. THey will be there when you get done school. Dont let them hold you back. (This took me forever to get over the fact that I wont be riding, but w/e. I will live) Also, look at long term like Quadstar said. Its all about long term and where you see your self 5, 10, 20 years from now.

[trxwannbe]

rollie i live pretty close to you probably even raced you a couple times in 200/300 in neatv a few years back but there are a lot of good schools right in mass and conn for business as a major. right now i'm majoring in business at west conn and while i don't love the classes i love the concept of being able to come out and be on an upper tier in a company somewhere and i realize that isn't what your looking for the family business thing will tie in well with the courses here at least and should you decide to you would be prepared to step it up and take it to the corporate level

[jesseweaver]

im in about the same situation. im a sophmore right now, i hate school and im not too sure about college. i want to be able to keep my quad and still be able to race and stuff. and i wouldnt stand having to sit behind a desk in an office all day. right now i have no problem working sometimes up to 70 hours a week flooring and on a farm and i dont really mind going to work every day. but i really like flying and was considering going to college for aeronautical engineering. i think it would really be cool to fly planes. ive been considering getting my pilots liscense soon, and my uncle is a pilot, he flys the guys who own DART paper company all over the world in their own jets. that would be something like id like to do, but idk about that cause youd be away from home so much. i was also considering going to a small engines school or a technical school or something. it would be cool to be a mechanic or something like that for a factory team. oh yea my GPA is right around 3.1 or 3.2, is this enough to get into most colleges?

[Robin Hood]

Look into types of engineering. It's a lot of math and physics, but right out of college the average pay is 60,000$ or higher. In one/two years you could pay off your college loan and already start banking for your new home/car/whatever!

There is also a large demand for civil engineers in the US, which means you wont get out-sourced to other countries and crap like some other professions might.

I'm going to try for my Masters in Civil, which means I've got another 4-5 years of college ahead of me, but I can't wait to put my stamp on a set of plans to build a monster sky-scraper. :devil:

[rollie]

Originally posted by trxwannbe
rollie i live pretty close to you probably even raced you a couple times in 200/300 in neatv a few years back but there are a lot of good schools right in mass and conn for business as a major. right now i'm majoring in business at west conn and while i don't love the classes i love the concept of being able to come out and be on an upper tier in a company somewhere and i realize that isn't what your looking for the family business thing will tie in well with the courses here at least and should you decide to you would be prepared to step it up and take it to the corporate level

Your racing at all this season?


thanks for all the help guys, i appreciate it

[trxwannbe]

probably not now my car took a crap yesterday but i'll be around at a couple races and i know what your bike looks like so i'll stop by and if we raced together you def know what my bike looks like i had a purple blaster lol but like i said its been a few years

[Moto49X]

dont go to college!

haha for real man, its a tough decision. I dropped out and now i work 6pm-6am in a factory and run a landscaping business. If i had the chance, i still wouldn't go back. Everyone is different so just don't let anyone force you to go, OR force you not to go.

If you can, stay at your parents house. I moved out as soon as i graduated high school and it was a 24/7 party. I never really made it to class which was a big mistake on my part, i will admit that.

[Bradracer18]

College sucks(well, the work part of it)....but I'll tell ya, I think its the best 4 years I've spent. When I get out, I will have to work 8-5 at a relaxing job, and still pull in about 55,000 at the start. I would highly highly consider it.


Or, go to a trade school, where you can maybe learn some more about plumbing(like codes and stuff). Or maybe you like electrical work or framing too.....something like that.


Working on quads seems fun, but imagine a day/week/month where all you work on is sportsmans, or big bears, etc. That's what an actual mechanic told me lol. Not all of them coming in are predators, yfz's, trx's.....if fact, they are probably rare.

[Fred55]

Originally posted by Bradracer18

Working on quads seems fun, but imagine a day/week/month where all you work on is sportsmans, or big bears, etc. That's what an actual mechanic told me lol. Not all of them coming in are predators, yfz's, trx's.....if fact, they are probably rare.

That is so true! I work at a dealer in parts/service and I think for every YFZ, Outlaw or KFX that we get in, we have probably 50 Sportsmans, Brute Forces and Grizzlies....

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by Fred55
That is so true! I work at a dealer in parts/service and I think for every YFZ, Outlaw or KFX that we get in, we have probably 50 Sportsmans, Brute Forces and Grizzlies....

Our shop mechanics go home and don't even want to work on or ride their machines because they work on other peoples stuff 50 hours a week.

Everyone thinks being a mechanic for atv's , motorcycles , sleds is a fun job , but it turns out like every other job out there ... fun for the first few months , then it becomes a JOB where you have to pull your arse out of bed in the morning and drag your feet into work and wrench on other peoples junk.

[xrxmxcx]

ROLLLLLLIIIEEE

come to school out there, leave the quad at my house, and we can ride out here!

hhahaha

[Rulz]

Originally posted by rollie
I'm a Junior in high school right now and im trying to get started planning my "after high school plans"

I have a few different idea's ive been playing around with

1. Go to a traditional 4 year college for business, or something similar, come out of school, work with my father as a plumber, get my lisence, and eventually take over his Plumbing company

2. Go to school around here for motorcycle mechanics, 18 month program, i would work with my father while i wasnt at school saving my money, id graduate the 18 month program and get my plumbers lisence, not sure what i would do after that haha

some things to thing about...
1. i don't really love school
2. I do enjoy getting up everyday and working with my pops(only on weekends and saturdays so i dont knwo how long i would like it for)
3. i go to school for plumbing now at my high school
4. I'd like to keep my quad and keep racing while i do this
5. i dont really want to go to far from home
6. id like to start making some money and getting along on my own at a good age( dont wanna live at home till im 30 haha)

opinons welcome!

It all depends, ask yourself, do you want to do manual labor the rest of your life, then don't go to college! It boils down to that. With college you have options, without college you have very few options. Your chances of being successful with college are far greater than without college!

My son is a junior in college majoring in chemical engineering. He studies constantly, never has time to go out except on weekends. He keeps complaining how difficult school is, yet his GPA is outstanding at 3.86. I keep telling him the reward is after he graduates, when the offers start rolling in and he'll have his choice of excellent paying 9-5 jobs.

[Tommy 17]

Originally posted by Rulz
It all depends, ask yourself, do you want to do manual labor the rest of your life, then don't go to college! It boils down to that. With college you have options, without college you have very few options. Your chances of being successful with college are far greater than without college!

My son is a junior in college majoring in chemical engineering. He studies constantly, never has time to go out except on weekends. He keeps complaining how difficult school is, yet his GPA is outstanding at 3.86. I keep telling him the reward is after he graduates, when the offers start rolling in and he'll have his choice of excellent paying 9-5 jobs.

very well said...

I know when I came to penn state 4 years ago I had to give up everything. Yes i still rode but its always in the back of your mind that you can't get hurt and school becomes a number one thing in your life... Yeah its gonna be hard and yes alot don't make it but if i'm pulling a 3.16 in mech engineering anyone can trust me... Now that i'm almost ready to graudate and the offers are coming in i'm smiling... most of the business majors and teachers are gettin offers in the 28 to 45 range and here i am gettin in the 55 to 65 range with a big increase in the near future...

very few non college grads are even making 45 yet alone the 65 range working only 40 hours a week... a salary like that can buy alot of 450rs and trucks and corvettes when combined with a wife's salary of the same...

[Rulz]

Good for you Tommy! My nephew just graduated from U. of Tulsa with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. His starting salary was $88K with a 22K sign on bonus with a small oil/gas firm in Tulsa. Since then he's already been bumped up to $128K/year and his year end bonus was a whopping $60K! Don't tell me engineering degrees don't pay!

[Bradracer18]

I agree. I'm going for an Ag engineering(power and machinery) degree. I've got about a year and a semester left. Its a very very tough road, but well worth it. Offers are great!!!