Author Topic: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!  (Read 17808 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline R005T3rTopic starter

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 387
  • Country: it
I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« on: November 07, 2017, 10:19:04 am »
Guys,

this is probably the best thing that happened to me since I was 20.... Yestreday I decided to quit university and change my life. It required me a lot of effort, and willingness too I had to be honest with myself and shatter my dream... It was not easy since I've been in the middle of a real bad fight with myself... Not to mention I had to sart again whit no one's help, however, now I'm the electrical sector (automation) and I'm good at it and I love it!

My advice to anyone who finds itself battaling within themselves about leave or stay at university:
be honest with yourelf, if things don't work out or never worked out since you set a foot on it (which was definitely my case), don't be ashamed! you can still be very successful in life, even if you don't have a bacherlor or a phd degree, because out there there's plenty of other possibilities! And in the future, if you want, you can also invest in your education too: In my case, I decided to step up my english and take the Cambridge CAE!

Also, you can take electronics even more seriously as a hobby by discarding or limiting a lot of  "unwanted subjects"!
 
The following users thanked this post: CM800, tooki, JPortici, Electro Detective

Offline CM800

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 882
  • Country: 00
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2017, 10:23:12 am »
At 18 I left my college course and got this job, absolutely love it too :)

... Also in Automation (Drives & Controls supply & support)


EDIT:

That said, I've been considering going back to University on release or something similar, possibly in Physics. I think a wider knowlege assists greatly when it comes to working over a diverse range of industries. My job requires me to provide support to a wide variety of areas from Lab automation & bottling machines over to military and semiconductor manufacturing projects.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2017, 10:41:03 am by CM800 »
 

Offline bd139

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 23017
  • Country: gb
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2017, 10:32:47 am »
Congratulations. Got to be honest, one of the worst decisions I made was to stay at university. I clocked up a ton of debt, I ended up working in a different market sector and I learned precisely nothing I couldn't teach myself with some effort other than the sheer amount of politics in a university. But you know you're told that is the path of life for 18 years of your life and you must take it or work cleaning toilets.

Turns out any sufficiently motivated individual can do well at anything without the support of an incumbent organisation (apart from possibly in medicine).

I'd love to do automation. You get to do things to things that do things so you see the results of your work immediately.
 

Offline CoalCreekPlastics

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • !
  • Posts: 65
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2017, 04:10:50 am »
Good for you!  I think the worst thing we do to young people these days is push them into college.  In the U.S. it's very bad.  I think it's a crime to have young people coming out of these colleges and universities loaded with debt and no marketable skills! 

Hobbies and passions like electronics and computers are a pathway to gainful employment, not a degree.  I went back and got an associates in something I was interested in after the fact, but my company paid for it! 

Also young people should consider online and community college courses, but there is no law that says you can't be a success and make a good living without an undergraduate or advanced degree.  My ex has a masters and couldn't hold a job pouring piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel.
 

Offline hermit

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 482
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2017, 05:23:44 am »
I dropped out because I really didn't know what I wanted to do.  Later in life I had more focus and my company paid so I went back.  Ended up with two associates and one bachelors degree.  I think my lack of focus and direction cost me a couple of decades.  An education is what YOU make of it.  But at the end of the day, all of these kinds of decisions are personal.
 

Offline R005T3rTopic starter

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 387
  • Country: it
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2017, 09:32:02 pm »
Good for you!  I think the worst thing we do to young people these days is push them into college.  In the U.S. it's very bad.  I think it's a crime to have young people coming out of these colleges and universities loaded with debt and no marketable skills! 

Hobbies and passions like electronics and computers are a pathway to gainful employment, not a degree.  I went back and got an associates in something I was interested in after the fact, but my company paid for it! 

Also young people should consider online and community college courses, but there is no law that says you can't be a success and make a good living without an undergraduate or advanced degree.  My ex has a masters and couldn't hold a job pouring piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel.

Yep, it's very common to think that having a degree is the way to success, but it's actually wrong, it's an illusion. My dream is to be an interpreneur someday, and I'm 100% sure that it's the key for me, at least...
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19197
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2017, 11:17:07 pm »
I dropped out because I really didn't know what I wanted to do.  Later in life I had more focus and my company paid so I went back.  Ended up with two associates and one bachelors degree.  I think my lack of focus and direction cost me a couple of decades.  An education is what YOU make of it.  But at the end of the day, all of these kinds of decisions are personal.

Very true.

What is objectionable is someone that didn't complete a degree then going on to say that degrees are worthless and trying to persuade others that they shouldn't get a degree.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline edpalmer42

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2257
  • Country: ca
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2017, 12:31:46 am »
When I was in university (Electrical Engineering), one of my profs told the class that when you graduate after 4 years of classes (40 hrs/week + at least another 40 hrs/week outside of class), you wouldn't know anything of value to an employer.  So the obvious question was "Then why am I killing myself getting this damn degree!!".  The answer is that when you show your degree to a prospective employer you are showing him that:

1.  I have a functioning brain and can learn complex material relatively quickly and then apply it.
2.  I can learn things that may not be of interest to me and remember and apply it.
3.  I can put up with assorted BS.
4.  I have the persistence to stick with a project until I complete it.

When you tell a prospective employer that you dropped out of university, what do you think he hears?

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for those of you who dropped out and found good jobs that you enjoy.  Often, people like that are the best workers in the company.  But if the bean counters are looking for people to lay off, it wouldn't surprise me to find that anyone without a diploma might be high on the list.  So make sure that you take extra courses online, at night, or at work to improve your skills and make sure the company knows about it!

Ed
 
The following users thanked this post: hans, Pinkus, bitwelder, kony, Gary350z, JPortici

Offline bd139

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 23017
  • Country: gb
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2017, 10:07:23 am »
If there’s anything we’ve found, aptitude comes from enthusiasm, not from slogging 4 years of university. HR are the only people who have a problem if you don’t have a degree, unless you’re a surgical registrar or something.
 
The following users thanked this post: EmmanuelFaure, JustSquareEnough

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19197
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2017, 10:13:59 am »
If there’s anything we’ve found, aptitude comes from enthusiasm, not from slogging 4 years of university. HR are the only people who have a problem if you don’t have a degree, unless you’re a surgical registrar or something.

Enthusiasm and aptitude are orthogonal. Neither is necessary, neither is sufficient, both are highly desirable.

HR-droids tend to be the gatekeeper (or a modern incarnation of a "flapper" as described by Jonathan Swift). That can be a problem for anybody, e.g. those who are "too old".
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19197
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2017, 10:15:51 am »
This comment from a parallel thread is directly relevant and therefore worth reading. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/relative-integrity-of-educational-systems-how-trustworthy-are-degrees/msg1365259/#msg1365259

edpalmer42's posting above is also accurate.

EDIT: when I try to follow that link, it ends up at the wrong message. The message I think is particularly relevant and noteworthy is:
Quote
From Simon Global Moderator
Re: Relative integrity of educational systems. How trustworthy are degrees?
« Reply #78 on: Yesterday at 07:41:59 PM »
I was hired because I was cheap! And I often get thrown in my face the fact that I am not qualified. Any job offer I see for any other company demands a long list of qualifications and often experience.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2017, 04:39:43 pm by tggzzz »
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline rsjsouza

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 5974
  • Country: us
  • Eternally curious
    • Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2017, 03:58:20 pm »
There is no silver bullet here. I know examples in several fronts with varying degrees of success: friends that dropped university when their dream job was still paying enough but eventually found themselves back when the market changed; friends that had followed on to their degrees but ended up finding themselves too overwhelmed with bills (and some with pride) to change careers when things went bad for their specific field; friends that completely dropped and found themselves in varying degrees of success.

I dropped out because I really didn't know what I wanted to do.  Later in life I had more focus and my company paid so I went back.  Ended up with two associates and one bachelors degree.  I think my lack of focus and direction cost me a couple of decades.  An education is what YOU make of it.  But at the end of the day, all of these kinds of decisions are personal.

Very true.

What is objectionable is someone that didn't complete a degree then going on to say that degrees are worthless and trying to persuade others that they shouldn't get a degree.
I agree. You need to go through to know how it is.

At least in my course, our degree taught us how to sistematically learn and pursue an end goal over a number of months and ultimately do a final project to give some practical and applied validation.
Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico http://videos.vbeletronico.com

Oh, the "whys" of the datasheets... The information is there not to be an axiomatic truth, but instead each speck of data must be slowly inhaled while carefully performing a deep search inside oneself to find the true metaphysical sense...
 

Online HighVoltage

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 5452
  • Country: de
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2017, 04:23:35 pm »
I had a prof at the university that told us that there are three things to be successful:

1. Knowledge (University)
2. Skills (May be not university)
3. Attitude (definitively not university)

And the last one has the highest weight.

We had a few dropouts during my time and some of them have been very successful.
I guess it is a personal calling for each of us and when we are honest with our self, we will find the right thing to do.
If we would choose to stay in the university and it is not feeling right, it is probably good to leave.

For me, it was the best thing to do and finish and I would do it again!

 
There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those who can count and those who can not.
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19197
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2017, 04:41:37 pm »
There is no silver bullet here. I know examples in several fronts with varying degrees of success: friends that dropped university when their dream job was still paying enough but eventually found themselves back when the market changed; friends that had followed on to their degrees but ended up finding themselves too overwhelmed with bills (and some with pride) to change careers when things went bad for their specific field; friends that completely dropped and found themselves in varying degrees of success.
...
At least in my course, our degree taught us how to sistematically learn and pursue an end goal over a number of months and ultimately do a final project to give some practical and applied validation.

All true and relevant; others have reiterated your final point.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline tpowell1830

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 863
  • Country: us
  • Peacefully retired from industry, active in life
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2017, 05:01:55 pm »
Just for starters, let me qualify my background so that my following thoughts may have some basis. I started out in school from a late start, after I was already married and had children. I will not go into the reason for any of this as it is not pertinent to the conversation. So, I started out seeking an electronic technology degree in a 2 year program at the age of 25. With those years behind me of working jobs that varied in nature, but were all labor intensive. I realized that I wanted to step up my education when I kept running into lack of electrical/electronic knowledge. I was a machinist and, the production metal parts that I was turning in a lathe had cuts that would last 12 to 15 minutes for each cut. So I went down to the library and checked out a fat beginning electronics textbook that I happened to know was used by many schools to teach beginning electronics, and as each cutting pass was started, I would read the material and work the problems in the book. This is how I originally learned ohm's law and was introduced to the world of electronics. This is what made me decide to take the next step and enter into the world of secondary education and to seek a degree.

I started in school as an adult and only took classes after or before my workday as a part time student. Without any further explanation, this proved to be a very long process, and as time went on, and I had to move where the work was, I did not finish a degree. Eventually, after 20 years of this part time study, I could not qualify for the original program that I started out, because, schools change programs every few years. So, during that 20 year period, I decided that since that degree was not possible, I would concentrate on general knowledge and took classes that interested me, such as drafting, programming and physics. One of the problems with having to move to different areas to chase work, at least here in the US, is that school curricula does not exchange from school to school for a particular type of degree, the new school always wants in the student to take 10-30 more hours at their school in order to qualify for THEIR degree program.

Just a short interjection here, since I am old, 64 years, and the internet has not been available during most of these years that I am speaking of for my career.

I finally gave up on getting any kind of degree, and eventually stopped taking classes altogether more than 20 years ago. I am now 64 years old and here is what I learned from my experiences in trying to get jobs relating to my interests and field of study. Most of the times that I was seeking a new job, I would find a colleague, past or present, that would tell me of an opening for a specific job and I would wind up interviewing for the job that I wanted and not get that job, but would get offered a "lower" position because of my lack of a degree. Jobs became more difficult to get over the last 25 years because of the changing economy here in the US, and I will not get into the reasons, but suffice it to say that I had fewer choices and the jobs would not last because of company downsizing, sellouts, shutdowns, etc. which meant the there were fewer and fewer jobs that I could get.

So, here is the take away from my personal experiences in my career as a non-degreed engineer, who has had some small successes in career, and some not so successful periods. The "degree" in a technical field is essential to get a rapid deployment into a set field in that the curricula is finely tuned to target a specific area and teaches the student the very basic technical tools needed to get started in the field. The actual completion and diploma in the field is a door opener to get the person qualified to interview for the related jobs. Without the diploma, the skepticism of the qualifications is a matter that will not get your resume onto the pile of other resumes that are pre-qualified, and therefore, you will not get you the chance to interview for such of a position. The very few times that I was able to get the interview for such positions was when their was a common link with a person that was able to get me in the door for such interviews. The battle was still uphill because of the lack of diploma, and often I settle for those "lower" positions with a vague promise of if I did well, I would get the title. (Never happened.)


Whew... |O, I hope this brings some thought process for those who can learn from my experiences. Apologize for the long winded explanations.
PEACE===>T
 

Offline hermit

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 482
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2017, 05:14:13 pm »
I finally gave up on getting any kind of degree, and eventually stopped taking classes altogether
After 2 associates degrees I too started doing classes that interested me but gave up the higher degree.  That actually happened as I was driving down the freeway and saw the school had a billboard touting their new 'general studies' degree.  At first they told me I needed a few more classes.  I said check with 'these departments'.  They finally decided I had enough in two fields (electrical and computer) to qualify.  I ended up on their website as "one student" who didn't have to take any additional classes. ;)
 

Offline b_force

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1381
  • Country: 00
    • One World Concepts
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2017, 05:39:37 pm »
I find schools/college and university the best places to get all depressed and demotivated. Total waste of time.
In my opinion they put way to much effort in the formalities, but not about what is important.

Especially nowadays it's not difficult at all to teach stuff yourself.

So the only thing I can say, is good for you!  :-+

For the record, I don't know many employers who even really care about a degree.
They look for experience, the right attitude and if it 'clicks'.
To many people with a perfect (even cum laude) degree might passed school perfectly, but that doesn't mean they are great workers, or 'out of the box thinkers'.
Sometimes it only means they are good in 'studying', but definitely doesn't mean they are smarter.

Offline amirm

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 122
  • Country: us
    • Audio Science Review
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2017, 07:29:18 pm »
I do have a degree but almost everything in my career had nothing to do with that degree. 

The college system is an antiquated system that has not kept up with times.  In this day and age, I can learn more from a youtube video than I could in an entire college course.  Heck, I can also take that college course online and finish it in days, not months.

What needs to be taught in schools is what we need people to know when they get a job.   Instead of forcing someone to take art appreciation, how about a class on how to write a good email?  Or run a good meeting?  Or making a good presentation?  Or how to act in front of customers, press and executives? 

Ditto for all the advanced math we force students to take.  Countless very smart people drop out or can't qualify to get into a college due to this requirement which we all know is of very little value.

Then there is this notion that it takes four years to get a degree.  Why?  I can teach everything a computer science engineer needs to know in six months or less.  Why not train people properly and get them into the workforce. 

There is a big social cost here too as people with lesser means can't get into school system no matter how smart or capable engineer they could be.  Needing money is a terrible way to stop these people from pursuing the right career not only for them but for society as a whole.

Unfortunately if you are still young, you will be competing with college grads who will get into the door easier by resume scanners (human or otherwise).  Once you get some experience this difference shrinks.  But for now, companies are just as confused as educational system as it comes to value of a degree.

It is my hope that one of these days I can get a movement started to undo this old system and get people faster to their dreams of being programmers and engineers.
 

Offline vodka

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 518
  • Country: es
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2017, 07:38:19 pm »
Quote
I find schools/college and university the best places to get all depressed and demotivated. Total waste of time.
I am agreed , the first year of the college was already dismoralized and jaded ,with felt like of to go out . Finally, i was almost 7 years , besides jammed , without able to advance neither reverse .

Quote
In my opinion they put way to much effort in the formalities, but not about what is important.
At my case , we lost more the time , performing calculate than learning methods and tools for designing and developing projects.

Quote
For the record, I don't know many employers who even really care about a degree.

That is a curious stuff, i have applied for Electronics jobs but only rang me 4 interviewer at almost 3 years. 6 months ago , i decided to change the career and began with software programmer (ABAP, COBOL ) and surprise 30 called , i am amazing because i haven't a software enginnering degree.



 

Offline expinkolator

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 20
  • Country: nl
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2017, 07:44:32 pm »
The answer is that when you show your degree to a prospective employer you are showing him that:

1.  I have a functioning brain and can learn complex material relatively quickly and then apply it.
2.  I can learn things that may not be of interest to me and remember and apply it.
3.  I can put up with assorted BS.
4.  I have the persistence to stick with a project until I complete it.

Someone who spent 4 years and got into 10s of k debt just to show an employer that ought to be considered an idiot.

Couldn't show the same by doing a real job for 4 years? Even being paid nothing would be better than paying someone to teach you nothing useful.
 

Offline hans

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1621
  • Country: nl
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2017, 09:13:02 pm »
I have strong doubts that any 'truth' discussed is universal.

People have different characters. Some like hands-on experience and learn theory as they go, and in particular as they need.
Some other like theoretical approach and find satisfaction when hands-on matches within the confidence levels of the theory. Hands-on is maybe not really their aim, but correlation may be (think simulators).

As long as you're doing something that makes you happy, you're golden. Staying in a job or college that makes you unhappy is the worst decision for you.

And perhaps even this what I just said is not universal. Some jobs just require a BSc or even MSc to get into. First thing that springs to my mind would typically be an ASIC engineer job function.
 

Offline rstofer

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9885
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2017, 11:26:19 pm »
This debate of 'college degree' vs 'no degree' rages on endlessly.  There are always cases where people are satisfied with jobs they can get without a degree.  Why not? 

In my town, there isn't a police officer on the job making less than $100k/year (including overtime and hire-back) and we're not a high paying city.  Law enforcement, in general, doesn't take an advanced education unless you want to promote to Lieutenant and beyond. 

Union electricians are very well paid (4 year paid apprenticeship required) but they don't work full time (generally).  But once you get in with a shop and if you have skills in something special like controls or automation, you probably won't miss a day of work.  So, yes, there are many ways to make a living that don't require a 4 year degree.  It does tend to be hard work and it isn't always challenging.  Flat out, it is boring!  After you have bent some pipe and pulled some wire, the newness wears off.  After that, it's just grunt work.

HVAC mechanics make good money.  It takes a couple of years at a community college and you're good to go.  Repairing residential equipment is most likely a full time job.  Especially since the contractors try to get their customers signed up for service contracts.  That gives the mechanic something to do and it allows them to evaluate your system a couple of times per year.

So, why go to college?  Well, maybe so you can get high paying jobs that aren't boring or life threatening.  Or maybe because the higher level jobs are more interesting.  Or, maybe because SOME of what you learn is useful.  Math is always useful - a little trig here, a little optimization there, you might just find math helpful.  Physics is always useful.  Friction, momentum, power, energy, mechanics - all these come in helpful from time to time.  California History and US History were pretty much a waste of time.  As was Philosophy and a couple of other General Education courses.  Hint:  That's the cool thing about grad school, you get to pick your classes.

Most STEM programs are going to require a boatload of math.  A certain amount of math is helpful even if electronics is just a hobby.  Charge/discharge equations, nodal and mesh analysis, bias conditions, perhaps transfer functions, Bode' plots (and their interpretation) and so on.  Electronics is ALL math.  Even getting an LED to work from some voltage requires at least a little arithmetic.  The ability to do the math tends to be the filter for engineering.  The problem is, most come at math with a bad attitude to start with.  They hate it!  They have hated it since the 3rd grade and they aren't going to like it now.

I have been retired for a very long time but I will say that having a degree gets you in the door to talk to someone.  Not having a degree, regardless of your talent, will almost certainly get your resume' dumped without a phone call.  Just the way it is!

Want to be an engineer?  Go to school!  Or find some other way of making a living that makes you happy.

 

Offline HalFET

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 512
  • Country: 00
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2017, 11:29:59 pm »
My main advice is, do the degree, don't do the PhD...  |O

*Goes back to cursing at data sets and writing*
 

Offline hermit

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 482
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2017, 11:35:12 pm »
I thought I hated math but found out I just hated arithmetic.  When I went back to school I didn't have to do it anymore.  Long live the calculators. ;) 

The reason I went back to school is that there was something I wanted to learn and my company would pay for it.  When they closed my division and I now had a few associates and a bachelors degree.   I was able to get a few contract positions that I wouldn't have gotten without one.  My age was a factor in employment though.  One place wanted me to be a full time employee but as a contract worker.  I wasn't going to do the same job as others that knew less than I did for less money though.  I had other options.  Options that wouldn't have been there without the degree.
 

Offline rstofer

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9885
  • Country: us
Re: I quit university and now I'm doing a job I love!
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2017, 11:36:35 pm »

Someone who spent 4 years and got into 10s of k debt just to show an employer that ought to be considered an idiot.

Couldn't show the same by doing a real job for 4 years? Even being paid nothing would be better than paying someone to teach you nothing useful.

There are plenty of jobs that offer paid 4 year apprenticeships.  All of the construction trades work that way.  Under some conditions, the trades pay well.

But if it's a real engineering job, you simply won't be able to do the work.  What you won't have is the math skill and you won't have the theory either because the theory is buried in math.  Nobody I ever heard of taught themselves differential equations and Laplace Transforms for giggles.  Sure, it is possible to cobble together a bunch of parts and maybe turn out a project but that is technician work, not engineering.

Ever sit down to an engineering meeting where they start slinging numbers?  You need to be able to keep up or get left behind.

Engineering is all math.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf