17 year old daughter having a 'but first' year..

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by Wikedjuggalo

Liberal of course.

But there is no argument that getting a higher education is a must.
She has time, and community college isn't bad. Let her decided and like I said there is nothing wrong with taking "core" classes until she has at least decided for the first time what she wants.

Thank you ,one and all for the input!!

She's a GREAT kid!! I am PROUD of her.

She is 17, no kids of her own, no boyfriends that make me feel like I need to carry a side arm, Has NEVER caused the police to stop by!! I AM BLESSED!!!!

I LOVE her!!!

(I love all 4 of them, but she is the LAST one!!)

[manofmayo]

Liberals eh?
Hmmm...don't really agree with that statement
its all about who you associate with & the major you choose. Heck, I changed my major over a dozen times & ended up with a 'conservative' major.

I believe that going to college would be the best thing. Even if she doesn't pick a major until her senior year (like I did-although my condition for my dad paying for school was that I take math classes), she will meet diverse people from all walks of life.

In this day & age, as it was in years past, going to college also gives you a leg up on the competition. Employers, mostly, love people who are college educated. Completing college, even if its in a degree in femi-nazi basket weaving, proves that you handled all the forces of college (guys, girls, parties, pizza, more parties, dances, homework, sex, tuition, etc) and still made it through.

Hope I don't get flame (broiled) here. :P

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by subi-crosser

I am convinced that a LOT of the 'higher' education is an attempt to intruduce as many 'Liberal' ideals as possible, rather than 'inform' the children.

I think you should consider that a truly educated person is one who is willing to be exposed to, and challenged by, ideas and ideals that may differ from his or her ingrained way of thinking. Are some college courses pure drivel? No doubt. But the exposure might still be worth the experience.

Seventeen is a tough age; some folks aren't mature enough to make these decisions at 30. There's a technical school near here that has an advertising tag line I like: "We'll help you get to where you want to be, even if you don't know where that is yet." I think some sort of tech training or a community college is a great start for a well-rounded high school grad in no rush to the altar, as she mulls-over her options for the future. As others has said, there's really no rush.

Good luck to her.

dcb

[Cynic]

My son also hated the pressure put on him in senior year at high school. Seems the school system starts telling these kids in grade 8 & 9 that they have to figure out what they want to do in life. He said that grade 12 was no "fun", with parents and teachers pressuring everyone to figure out their life. We kept telling him it wasn't like that, and just go to school and start by taking things that interest you, and it will eventually fall into place.
I don't think the school's new approach is working, as a huge number of his peers, and my boy, didn't go on to college, but took jobs. I'm talking about at least half the kids he knows! The reasons - I don't know what I want to be/do so I won't go; there's no point if I'm not focused on a career; I don't want to waste the $$ on courses that won't help me get what I want, and I don't know what I want. Most are now back at college/university (jobs can do that), but they shouldn't have felt that pressure to begin with.
My son is thrilled to be back in classes, taking things that interest him and not at work...
Tell your daughter not to sweat it, have some faith and in a year or two she'll figure it out. In the meantime, try out courses that she has an interest in.

[essveeexxee]

10 characters.

[SVXRide]

Jerry,
Most high schools now have free aptitude testing available that your daughter should take advantage of. Since there is no "person" telling her anything in this instance - just cold, hard words from a piece of paper - she can do what she wants with the results of the tests. Best of worlds, the results will help provide some guidance in her choice of freshman year courses. I agree with Wiki in that if she has any hesitancy, she should at least go to a local community college. Not staying on an education track is probably the worst thing she could do at this point in her life ("I can always go later" -- famous last words...life comes at you too hard).

As far as a car goes, I'd go with the car that's going to be the most dependable. It's one less thing she'll have to worry about while she "figures things out". As you've noted, the SVX is already hers and will always be there for her.

'nuff said.

-Bill

p.s. my son is in his Junior year of high school and we are just starting to have this "discussion". He's not following in his father's engineering footsteps, so we're talking about things he is good at that translate into careers that are satisfying/provide a good salary. I think he's "getting" the "Phd in Ancient Roman history, but selling shoes" story line.

[iizbeastie]

Two suggestions come to mind... first, every one says you need to do what you want and or what you're good at and both is the correct answer. I'm good at a lot of things that I couldn't possibly stand DOING all day! I'm lucky to have found myself in a career that I enjoy.
If she has any idea what she would like, then she should aim to find a position in a company that does that kind of work and offers tuition assistance. It doesn't usually have to be for the position she has in mind either. For example, if nursing is something she would be interested in, most hospitals will pay much if not all of her tuition even if she starts out as a receptionist. I work in engineering where a chief engineer starting out as an assembler in the shop is not uncommon.... started where they could get in just after high school and let the company pay for the education needed to move up..... anyone who has been in college knows that the most annoying part is the cost and debt.

Working in a company like that would also help her get a grasp of how that company operates as well as what the industry is like.... again in the case of nursing, she could start off in a clinic where there are multiple disciplines (urgent care/pediatrics/family practice etc....) and she could start with the basics and get the specific discipline figured out as she observes the differences from the front door......

[benebob]

Jerry higher education is just that, an education. Sure there are mandated subjects (although there really aren't mandated classes) as to ensure that the student gets a more rounded education (not just the classes they are majoring in). Sure most kids end up taking the prescribed "easy" fillers like intro to music or intro to art, etc. but there is nothing stopping a student from taking a drawing or violin class to meet the same requirement and needless to say you'll get a whole lot more out of it.

Simply remind her that some 70% of college grads are not working in the field in which they graduated. Just encourage her to pursue a well rounded education, the rest will take care of itself.

I rarely encourage anyone to major in something which is highly specialized such as engineering, architecture, criminal justice, sports management etc as these majors tend to limit your perceived options out of school without seeking a masters in another subject. Sure there are great opportunities with these majors but for example a business degree with a later decision to minor in sports management will allow the student to get a job in that field and possibly realize they hate the crappy hours, low pay etc. They still have the business degree to fall back on.

[SVXRide]

Originally Posted by benebob

Jerry higher education is just that, an education. Sure there are mandated subjects (although there really aren't mandated classes) as to ensure that the student gets a more rounded education (not just the classes they are majoring in). Sure most kids end up taking the prescribed "easy" fillers like intro to music or intro to art, etc. but there is nothing stopping a student from taking a drawing or violin class to meet the same requirement and needless to say you'll get a whole lot more out of it.

Simply remind her that some 70% of college grads are not working in the field in which they graduated. Just encourage her to pursue a well rounded education, the rest will take care of itself.

I rarely encourage anyone to major in something which is highly specialized such as engineering, architecture, criminal justice, sports management etc as these majors tend to limit your perceived options out of school without seeking a masters in another subject. Sure there are great opportunities with these majors but for example a business degree with a later decision to minor in sports management will allow the student to get a job in that field and possibly realize they hate the crappy hours, low pay etc. They still have the business degree to fall back on.

Ben,
I agree with about 95% of what you said (not bad!). The one area I'll disagree is majoring in engineering. Speaking from experience, an engineering education is one of the very few disciplines I know of that you can actually get paid in while you're going to school (in addition to getting your employer to help on tuition -- thank you U.S. Navy!!) via a CO-OP program (versus non-paying internship jobs in most other disciplines). By paying attention to your electives, there is enough "room" in the total number of credits you need to graduate to get a very well rounded education. In my case, I essentially have minors in economics and psychology along with my bachelors in mechanical engineering and masters in engineering management (yeah the minors helped out when it came to the masters degree).
Bottom line is that you've got to "own" your educational path.
-Bill
p.s. the masters degree took 5 years since I was working full time for the Navy and then NASA while taking classes at Hopkins

[SHISVX]

i would agree to go to the local community college and take the core classes, that way they can transfer to what ever higher level education she wants.

i knew what i wanted, after a brief trial and error period, and i went for it. i have been an emergency room nurse for almost 4 years now. some people don't know what they want. what i would suggest is to make a list of a few things she would be interested in doing and then get a job in that area. for a while i thought that i wanted to go to vet school. i worked for one for 5 years and decided that it wasn't what i wanted to do. even a lower level job in an area that she could be interested in could give her a glimpse into the future.

i then joined the local emergency squad and decided that i liked it a lot and went further into the education.

for you i would say just be supportive in what ever she wants, not like i have to tell you that.

i wish her the best!

Kelli

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by SHISVX

i would agree to go to the local community college and take the core classes, that way they can transfer to what ever higher level education she wants.

i knew what i wanted, after a brief trial and error period, and i went for it. i have been an emergency room nurse for almost 4 years now. some people don't know what they want. what i would suggest is to make a list of a few things she would be interested in doing and then get a job in that area. for a while i thought that i wanted to go to vet school. i worked for one for 5 years and decided that it wasn't what i wanted to do. even a lower level job in an area that she could be interested in could give her a glimpse into the future.

i then joined the local emergency squad and decided that i liked it a lot and went further into the education.

for you i would say just be supportive in what ever she wants, not like i have to tell you that.

i wish her the best!

Kelli

Everyone has such greatt opinions!! It seems to follow a 'pattern' though.. Go to the 'Comunity College' and make the 'hard' decisions later!!

That follows closely with my own 'leanings', since I did the same thing!!


Now that I am approching 57 years old, I might have to make a decision soon!

I have been working in a job for over 21 years that has NOTHING to do with what I learned in college, but it helped me get where I am at.

[SHISVX]

my mom went to college for dna research and she dropped out to get married and have a family (i know what was she thinking??) 6 years done
she was a stay at home mom till my father decided to leave then she had to get to work. she did a 6 month quickie college to get a cert in medical billing. she now does all the billing for a emergency ambulance company and makes good money. she still says that she doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up

i think with the way the economy is going and how jobs are scarce, the best protection, if there is such a thing, is to have an education in something. i picked my route because i know that there will always be a demand for healthcare providers and the demand is only going to get higher. the money is decent, the hours to my liking, and i truely love helping people.

i see my friends who don't have a college education suffer looking for a job that pays decent. in my area the only jobs are for nurses and newspaper routes. my husband is going back to school at 32 because there is just no money in not having an education

then again, my girlfriend started at m&m when she was 17 as a temp. she was highered full time, they paid for her degree and now she makes 6 figures...go figure. some people fall into things like that.


i was able to get both my degrees from 2 different community colleges, sometimes the 4 year isn't needed.

probably bottom line advice for your daughter is to find out what would make her happy, i think everyone can agree, having to go to the same job, doing the samething day in and day out is much more tolerable if it is something you like doing.

Kelli

[benebob]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

Ben,
I agree with about 95% of what you said (not bad!). The one area I'll disagree is majoring in engineering. Speaking from experience, an engineering education is one of the very few disciplines I know of that you can actually get paid in while you're going to school (in addition to getting your employer to help on tuition -- thank you U.S. Navy!!) via a CO-OP program (versus non-paying internship jobs in most other disciplines). By paying attention to your electives, there is enough "room" in the total number of credits you need to graduate to get a very well rounded education. In my case, I essentially have minors in economics and psychology along with my bachelors in mechanical engineering and masters in engineering management (yeah the minors helped out when it came to the masters degree).
Bottom line is that you've got to "own" your educational path.
-Bill
p.s. the masters degree took 5 years since I was working full time for the Navy and then NASA while taking classes at Hopkins

You're missing my point. A BS degree in say mechanical engineering is fairly limiting as far as your career path goes. That's all I'm saying. There are tremendous opportunities in all that I listed but they aren't the types of degrees I would recommend to someone who wasn't 100% clear that was the area they wanted to pursue. 3 years into a engineering degree makes for a tough change of majors. Lots more classes to take and of course pay for as with my architecture classes... I couldn't even convince the school I transfered too that either my 20+ credit hours in the arch. studio, or my 9 credit hours of architecture history would qualify for the 3 hours of manditory art class.

[Noir]

Originally Posted by Landshark

guy i work with, his 4-year old, when asked what he wants to be when he grows up:

"i wanna be a pig!"

Alan became what he wanted to be:

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by benebob

You're missing my point. A BS degree in say mechanical engineering is fairly limiting as far as your career path goes. That's all I'm saying. There are tremendous opportunities in all that I listed but they aren't the types of degrees I would recommend to someone who wasn't 100% clear that was the area they wanted to pursue. 3 years into a engineering degree makes for a tough change of majors. Lots more classes to take and of course pay for as with my architecture classes... I couldn't even convince the school I transfered too that either my 20+ credit hours in the arch. studio, or my 9 credit hours of architecture history would qualify for the 3 hours of manditory art class.

I FEEL your pain!! I spent 2 years working towards a degree. I 'dropped out' lacking 13 'credits'. When I went back and asked about the program, I was told that it "Didn't exist anymore".

I have used what I learned in those 2 years most days that I got off of the couch.

I used the 'attendance' figures to secure a job, even though it had NOTHING to do with what I would be doing!

It seems that SHOWING UP for work carries as much weight as KNOWING what to do while there!