for those of you with higher education

[mattRS]

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME IT WILL ALL BE OVER SOON!
i am so fucking tired of all nighters. i dont know how much longer my body can handle this crap. 3 months until internship, 6 months until graduation, i just have to keep reminding myself of this. AARRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!
me around 7 this morning: :drool:

[FCs Rule]

LOL i been there man just remember this when your done with it all it will be worth while when you owe 30k in student loans :)

[djheimb]

You actually don't have to pull all-nighters if you don't procrastinate. It sounds like you have time management issues.

I'll have my BS in Finance in May and although its frustrating at times, it isn't nearly as difficult as you are making it out to be. If you put school first, college isn't hard.

[yyz28]

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME IT WILL ALL BE OVER SOON!
i am so fucking tired of all nighters. i dont know how much longer my body can handle this crap. 3 months until internship, 6 months until graduation, i just have to keep reminding myself of this. AARRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!
me around 7 this morning: :drool:

The funny part is after you graduate, you'll be looking back wishing you can go back. :D

[FCs Rule]

The funny part is after you graduate, you'll be looking back wishing you can go back. :D
hahahaha now that is true! i do miss my school days

[CornBread]

work so hard doing what everone tells you to do then you finanaly graduate and then you work with more people telling you what to do......


it is true when school is over you will miss it

[mattRS]

i had time management issues, until i realized that if i study even a few days before an exam i will forget EVERYTHING except numbers and stats. so even after i tried to not procrastinate it turned out i did better by procrastinating. i keep hearing that i will miss it, but i personally do not see any feasible way i could ever miss this. i probably will anyways, i just cannot fathom it at this point. oh, and BTW....$48,750 in loans... :mad: :mad: :mad: UNT has hiked its tuition every year for the past 6 years. they are trying to compete with UT and A&M in price instead of academia. jackasses.

[Shelby]

The funny part is after you graduate, you'll be looking back wishing you can go back. :D

Oh man do I wish. ;) And perhaps you should re-evaluate your studying habits these last 6 months so you don't have to pull all nighters all the time ;)

[Exevious]

Stress already?

The semester is still young.... :yeah:

I took the easy way out with engineering and business. All you have to do it figure out how to work the problems, and your golden. I did spend alot of time with the grad students and the labs.... after watching you struggle, they will eventually show you the 'tricks'.

Im pretty sure I wouldnt have been very successful in any major requiring me to actually have to go home and read/study mountians of books, like biology, poli sci, etc...

I started school alittle bit older, after some Military time....
With a little bit of life experience I found I really enjoy talking/listening to people more successful or smarter than myself, I actually used to sneak in to other lectures if I had an hour between a class with nothing to do...

I am actually going back to do some more work at UTD this summer...

[theantirotor]

The funny part is after you graduate, you'll be looking back wishing you can go back. :D

this is true

[ching0n]

hehe, I'm graduating in december and will be starting my masters after that. For some reason I find working more stressful than school. Hang in there. And yes, procrastination bites you in the ass in the long run.

[Mojo]

For me, school blows. It's a waste of time and money for the most part.

I am surrounded by guys in my department (network security) that have 4 year degrees doing the same job and making the same money I do. Plus they have those wonderful student loans to deal with.

I respect people for putting in all of that time and money trying to better themselves but I guess I just don't see the payoff for most people in the real world.

Not saying college is a waste for everyone, I'm just not convinced that it is as beneficial as it was when our parents were just getting started. Back then college was your ticket into a good 40 year career. This is a different time and place now. The job market, employers, and employees are different.

For Matt - you're almost finished now. Stick to it. It will be over with soon enough. Then you can relax a smidgen and reflect on your accomplishment of finishing what you started.

[yyz28]

For me, school blows. It's a waste of time and money for the most part.

I am surrounded by guys in my department (network security) that have 4 year degrees doing the same job and making the same money I do. Plus they have those wonderful student loans to deal with.

I respect people for putting in all of that time and money trying to better themselves but I guess I just don't see the payoff for most people in the real world.

Not saying college is a waste for everyone, I'm just not convinced that it is as beneficial as it was when our parents were just getting started. Back then college was your ticket into a good 40 year career. This is a different time and place now. The job market, employers, and employees are different.

For Matt - you're almost finished now. Stick to it. It will be over with soon enough. Then you can relax a smidgen and reflect on your accomplishment of finishing what you started.

I think if you're talking about working in the hands on portion of the IT industry the payback is somewhat limited. That world is about certs and experience. ...but you're basing your assumption on a limited "antecdote" type of background.

There is real world benefit to having a degree. There is considerable support for the notion that the rate of return on investment in higher education is high enough to warrant the financial burden associated with pursuing a college degree. Though the earnings differential between college and high school graduates varies over time, college graduates, on average, earn more than high school graduates. According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million (Day and Newburger, 2002).

These sizeable differences in lifetime earnings put the costs of college study in realistic perspective. Most students today-- about 80 percent of all students--enroll either in public 4-year colleges or in public 2-year colleges. According to the U.S. Department of Education report, Think College Early, a full-time student at a public 4-year college pays an average of $8,655 for in-state tuition, room and board (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002). A full-time student in a public 2-year college pays an average of $1,359 per year in tuition (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002).

These statistics support the contention that, though the cost of higher education is significant, given the earnings disparity that exists between those who earn a bachelor's degree and those who do not, the individual rate of return on investment in higher education is sufficiently high to warrant the cost.

College graduates also enjoy benefits beyond increased income. A 1998 report published by the Institute for Higher Education Policy reviews the individual benefits that college graduates enjoy, including higher levels of saving, increased personal/professional mobility, improved quality of life for their offspring, better consumer decision making, and more hobbies and leisure activities (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). According to a report published by the Carnegie Foundation, non-monetary individual benefits of higher education include the tendency for postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more cultured, more rational, more consistent and less authoritarian; these benefits are also passed along to succeeding generations (Rowley and Hurtado, 2002). Additionally, college attendance has been shown to "decrease prejudice, enhance knowledge of world affairs and enhance social status" while increasing economic and job security for those who earn bachelor's degrees (Ibid.)

Research has also consistently shown a positive correlation between completion of higher education and good health, not only for oneself, but also for one's children. In fact, "parental schooling levels (after controlling for differences in earnings) are positively correlated with the health status of their children" and "increased schooling (and higher relative income) are correlated with lower mortality rates for given age brackets" (Cohn and Geske, 1992).

[mattRS]

Stress already?

The semester is still young.... :yeah:

I am actually going back to do some more work at UTD this summer...

21 hours this semester after 25 last semester will stress you out pretty quick, believe it or not! CONGRATS on going back, mike!

[Mojo]

All of that information - and the guy with the medical degree sitting next to me is still making the same money for the same job I am.

Just saying that I see a whole lot of that. People are constantly working in professions that have absolutely zero to do with their degree.

Like I said before, college is not a waste of time and money for everyone, but it appears to be the case for many people that I run into.

Just my opinion. No op-ed piece or snazzy stats to back it up. Just seems that I see a lot of that.

But for anyone going to college - tear it up and give it hell. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones that it pays off big time for!!

[yyz28]

All of that information - and the guy with the medical degree sitting next to me is still making the same money for the same job I am.

Just saying that I see a whole lot of that. People are constantly working in professions that have absolutely zero to do with their degree.

Like I said before, college is not a waste of time and money for everyone, but it appears to be the case for many people that I run into.

Just my opinion. No op-ed piece or snazzy stats to back it up. Just seems that I see a lot of that.

But for anyone going to college - tear it up and give it hell. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones that it pays off big time for!!


I hear ya... I wasn't aruging the Antecdote... but simply pointing out that as you average out the masses, those with college degrees do better and a financial arugument can be made for going to college when you look at the statistics.

...No doubt that the overall trend doesn't translate to everyone. ...and I strongly feel part of it is the business you are in. LOTS of that in the hands-on ranks of IT.

[mattster03]

i feel for ya. senior mechanical engineer here. i guess i'm excited for the school work to end in may... but definately not looking forward to the ending of school "life".

[Phallic_Apparatus]

I'm also a senior BSME student...with a heavyass workload this semester, graduating in Dec from U of L Speed School.

I had a test today in a Mechanics/Applications of Composite Materials (graduate level) and even though I feel I've been swamped by my courseload this semester, hearing a majority of the grad students in the class whine about not finishing the test while I flew through it was a nice feeling. :D

Nothing will make you want to finish school faster than spending time at an actual company and realizing how little info you use from school.

It's more like an intelligence/learning/discipline test tradition than anything, which is logical considering you gain most of your skill on the job for specific applications for specific companies. It just so happens that companies that hire engineers are looking for those traits...

[Hobz]

Been through Mech E bachelor's and master's at U of Michigan. Glad I did it, glad I never have to do it again. College life is good, but you can live that outside of college if you meet the right people.

I'm not concerned with salary, but with knowing what I want to do. I don't regret a thing, but it was difficult, and the all nighters do end at some point. We all got through that somehow.

[Phallic_Apparatus]

...the all nighters do end at some point. We all got through that somehow.

It's hard to explain this phenomenon to most people w/ or w/o any degree. And people stereotype engineers w/ a 'god complex'...well it's because we make everything if you want to know. :D

[AgFormula02]

It's hard to explain this phenomenon to most people w/ or w/o any degree. And people stereotype engineers w/ a 'god complex'...well it's because we make everything if you want to know. :D
What did one engineer say to another?

Nothing


Engineers are my gimps. LOL

Don't take offense, just making light of things.

[AgFormula02]

All of that information - and the guy with the medical degree sitting next to me is still making the same money for the same job I am.

Just saying that I see a whole lot of that. People are constantly working in professions that have absolutely zero to do with their degree.

Like I said before, college is not a waste of time and money for everyone, but it appears to be the case for many people that I run into.

Just my opinion. No op-ed piece or snazzy stats to back it up. Just seems that I see a lot of that.

But for anyone going to college - tear it up and give it hell. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones that it pays off big time for!!
What kind of medical degree does this cat have? That is key. Many undergraduate degrees are intended to prepare someone for graduate studies: IE Biomedical Science, Psycology etc
They tend to pay off only if you finish what you started.

If I had to do it again, I would have stayed with engineering and then gotten my MBA.

[rx7what]

I never went to school but my wife did. I am now a genral contractor, I plan to make over a million dollars in the next three years. Even more the years after that. I am 29 and own my home out right.

She is a insurance agent making 14 dollars an hour.

I have seen dozens of people that I know go to collage and even go away to big schools only to come back and be secratarys, and I even know one person that went to a very expensive school for 4 years and now works at walmart in the pet food area.

I am in no way bashing school. I wanted to go to school but came from a middle class family that could not afford it. I actually just recently started taking class's at our local comunity collage. But just the ones that I want like welding(to get ASE certified).

I just say be careful. Go to school for what your really want to do. And follow through if you dont your going to end up working a walmart with a bachlors in art history.

[mayhamfx]

What did one engineer say to another?

Nothing


Engineers are my gimps. LOL

Don't take offense, just making light of things.

How do you get a guy with a PHD off your porch? Pay him for the pizza! HA HA HA HA......... oh sorry.

[Hobz]

I just say be careful. Go to school for what your really want to do. And follow through if you dont your going to end up working a walmart with a bachlors in art history.

This really is the key. Take initiative and don't settle. Fight for what you want to make the best out of your degree or you will just blend in with everyone else who has the same degree. Stand out from the rest and seriously, try to impress recruiters as much as you can during the first interview or the career fair. Dress smart, and I mean suit and tie, not business casual. It's not the fact that you look good that matters, it's that you're showing you're making a serious effort to impress them. I hate dressing up but it works :)

[Bigblockquad]

Dude it doesn't end......you just get used to it. The basics are still there they just change names:

Nagging teachers become asshole customers.
Midterms and tests become deadlines and reports.
Pulling an "allnighter" becomes working overtime.

Welcome to the real world..... in ten years you'll wish you could go back but the wife, kids, and mortgage won't let you.

Just be sure you really like what your doing it makes things alot easier.

my .02
Rich.

[mattRS]

here we go again! WOOHOO! provigil #2, sugar free no fear #3, dr. pepper #2, and cigarette #....cant count that high. before i get flamed, im prescribed the provigil, and yes, i am aware that my kidneys are going to fail by the time im 26. but at least i'll have a degree!

[mattRS]

7:58 update! i dont know what to type. i do agree with you though, rich. luckily i am very passionate about what i am going to school for. oh, and to update everyone a little further, look at my new thread.