My school is r3v

[Dave]

i love all the people trying to rationalize underachievement

Slacker Nation!!!!!

[CorvallisBMW]

I think I'm going to stick with my school. Average salary for a mechanical engineer is $73,861 and the entire workforce is employed. This is from Mondays article in the daily journal of commerce.

Average starting salaries straight out of college is 50k+ and some high %90 of graduates get work within the first year.

To me this just seems like an easy way to do things. I know that I'm going to make money and I know I'm going to be employed. Without a degree its still possible for me to be just as successful, I just feel that with a degree I have a lot more secure future and direction to my life.

Exactly. We have a 100% placement rate for the last 5 years for industrial engineers here. Guaranteed job w/ benefits + $50K or more first year + excellent job security = FTMFW

[LivingLegend06]

I think I'm going to stick with my school. Average salary for a mechanical engineer is $73,861 and the entire workforce is employed. This is from Mondays article in the daily journal of commerce.

Average starting salaries straight out of college is 50k+ and some high %90 of graduates get work within the first year.

To me this just seems like an easy way to do things. I know that I'm going to make money and I know I'm going to be employed. Without a degree its still possible for me to be just as successful, I just feel that with a degree I have a lot more secure future and direction to my life.

[PiercedE30]

I went to college, but I didn't stay for too long. The first time I went I fucked off and screwed up. The second time around I had changed enough to realize that it is difficult for me to learn anything without hands on stuff. College just wasn't something that I am good at.
Between going to college I was working as a Journeyman Iron worker doing industrial construction. I absolutely LOVED doing it. I was having fun, making money, being around people that were absolutely great. In six months I was able to make 45 thousand dollars. That was before I was 21. Right now I'm working at an independent shop. I'm not making anywhere near the amount of money I was making. I'm going back to working construction after the first of the year.

If you like what you are doing, you're happy, and making money, keep doing what you are doing.

[Farbin Kaiber]

What are we looking at that one picture was not enough?

[quikveedb2]

oh yeah, i forgot to add the ;)

lmao, classic

project86, you are a true philosopher

[project86]

You can work for "the man" whether you have a degree or not. The presence of a degree just means that you will receive more compensation from the corporate machine in exchange for services rendered and work performed. Some people don't go to school just to ensure a high paying job in the future, some just like knowledge, learning and ideas, just the same as some people like cars. Eventually we all have to break down and get a job and make money somehow, but passion is more important. Congratulations on finding something that you are passionate about. Most people in college have no passion for anything that they do. Their souls are bought and sold like material goods. Others do have passion and school is what they love. No need for a blanket statement like college sucks or cars suck. Do what you love and do it with maximum effort and then no matter what happens at least you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that no one controls you, that no one owns you. Someone on this forum has a quote in his sig from Emiliano Zapata that says "it is better to die on your feet then to live on your knees." I think this pretty much sums up what I am trying to say.

[325Projectz]

oh yeah, i forgot to add the ;)

[325Projectz]

maybe you missed this part -

(20 credits shy of a bs)

and this part -

us 10% still go to school

[quikveedb2]

one thing we have over the school boys... 4 years of real world experience! it cannot be replaced. guess how long its going to take them to catch up?

uh yeah, except i worked in the field which i was studying while in school, so when i was done i had a degree and the 4 years of experience, in addition to the years of experience in the field i compiled before i started my college education. how long until the no school boys catch up to that?

;)

[325Projectz]

I guess I'm the no school snob? lol you guys are killing me

i'm with you dude, 100%. i'm 22, own a house, lots of toys, good job, no degree (20 credits shy of a bs).

while i think school is really important, its not everything. 90% of my friends went to 4 year colleges... they don't have shit to show for it, but a $7/hr job and a bunch of school debt. us 10% still go to school, own houses, pay off school debt as it comes, and already make a good amount of money for our age. and one thing we have over the school boys... 4 years of real world experience! it cannot be replaced. guess how long its going to take them to catch up?

[quikveedb2]

anyone can be high and mighty if they are adequately-self assured no matter what scholastic backgound they have but:

It's not hard to have an easy life without a degree.

fair enough, however an "easy" life requires hard work at some point, intelligence, a rich family, or dumb luck (pretty much the same as a rich fam). a degree (any degree) shows a potential employer that you are at least willing to put forth the effort and are of moderate intelligence, a well rounded resume can go a long way as well, not something 4-year college gives, but something you make through your choice of employers. without above tools it may be harder to prove oneself, or even recieve the opportunity to do so. intelligence can be utilized without education, by those willing to work hard & take risk. big ups to those of you who are successful without higher education, but there are plenty out there that are not, so don't get it twisted and think that higher education gets you nothing. it's not for everyone, but there are proven advantages.

[Ryan Stewart]

Its not useless. Like LINUS said, they open doors. I know people who are managers with liberal arts degrees while people who dont have any higher education but considerably more experience toil below them.

The majority of companies equate higher education with higher potential. Its just the way it is. Sure you can list of a bunch of billion dollar babies who dropped out but given that over 80% of startups fail within the first year that means for every bill gates there are 200 million guys whose ideas failed.

[Ral]

I'm reading this while trying to finish a huge semester project... goddam it's kinda depressing. You can do fine without going to school, that's been hammered enough already. What an education is supposed to give you is to teach you how to think, and apply yourself, and have something that shows you have done so. Granted, that's usually not the focus of people getting technical degrees (like myself), and "BS" majors are generally not as marketable as technical majors, but that's supposed to be the general idea behind core classes. I'm taking a heavy engineering load now, as well as a few history courses that filled electives I needed. And, I'm happy I'm getting this exposure to different sides of the academic coin. It will, for a fact, help me out in the future. My situation's a bit different from most people on this board, granted, but it doesn't change the fact that an education is not supposed to be confined to technical training, whether at tech school or state school or wherever else. Maybe I sound like a hippie, but that's what "education" means to me.

by the way, what am I gonna do with my Aeronautical Engineering degree from the U.S. Naval Academy? (after I get done flying aircraft from the deck of a boat)- Hand that fancy, prestigious degree on the wall and buy and sell real-estate with the company me and 4 friends set up last year for that purpose.

[Turf1600]

I guess I'm the no school snob? lol you guys are killing me