I was a contractor for 15 years. Family business for 4 generations. I think the fact that you see a project evolve, grow and reach completion is very satisfying. Some higher playing jobs where you never see the final fruit can leave an emptiness. I think that is what people enjoy about construction jobs. There is a pride that comes from doing something with your hands like that. But yeah, many of them live paycheck to paycheck and during down times I struggled to keep crews busy
I mean if your parents live in Gainesville and you have free room and board/parking etc. My daughter would be just under 6 figures at App State if she did 4 years and tuition plus room/board/meal plan parking on campús etc. (Thankfully she goes in as a Sophomore thanks to dual enrollment and will only live on campus one year.) It's well over 6 figures if you are out of state.
This is true, I have two in college. Dorms and meal plans, IIRC are about 3x tuition. Thankfully one is starting at a local JC.
Yeah. Room and board at App is 12k per year alone. Tuition and fees are almost $8k then the books/parking, etc come to near 24k per year total. (For in state). Out of state is well over $37k per year. Shes worked hard to get some strong grants and scholarships so that has helped a lot but yeah six figures is sorta the norm these days.
I have been saying since my HS days that there should be two tracks starting in middle school or high school. Those that are academically inclined should be prepped for college. Those who are not should be prepped for some form of trade where they show interest and aptitude. By the 7th or 8th grade it is fairly easy to figure out who is on what track.
And by the way, in my experience, the people who feel the need to ”flash cash” usually don’t have a lot of it beyond what’s in their hand.
I've mentioned this before. My dad never made it past the 10th grade but was executive VP of one of the largest corporations in Florida.....My high school chemistry teacher went to school with dad and was very jealous that dad made 10X his salary. He mentioned once in class that dad never finished high school and half the class laughed at him because their dads worked for dad. Teachers can be such ass holes.
Much truth here. I have a friend who works in computer science. He is really good at his work and commands a mid-six figures salary. A few years ago one of his bosses was being annoying, so he took a year off and just hung out with his family for a while. Because he is so good, he always gets pulled off his projects to trouble shoot and bail out other projects. His one complaint about his job is that he has never seen a project to completion.
I agree that college is the best route for but trade school is a great option for those not inclined to enjoy or thrive well in school. I also get tired of the “college isn’t affordable”perception. Yes, four or more years of private school can be too expensive for most but two years of community college (and live at home at the same time) and then moving on to a state school is very affordable, especially with the many forms of financial aid available.
The claim wasn't about total cost, it was specifically that tuition would put you six figures into debt. Which is nonsense. While there are colleges that have tuition that would put you into six figures for tuition over 4 years, unless you come from a wealthy family, that isn't how much you will be paying. And if you come from a wealthy family, you have the ability to pay those ridiculous tuition prices.
And the kids are likely going to have to be paying rent and eating food even if they aren't going to college... unless they are still living at home. So tacking those costs on as an expense of "going to college" is a bit misleading. I could see an argument about the lost potential wages as an "expense" of going to college.
These threads always end up with some conservative talking about hypothetical liberal arts majors in disciplines they dont like and then a roundabout comparison of a specific isolated success story for someone who didn't go to college. It's like clockwork. If this one doesnt end up there I'll consider my post a win. Pretend?
We are talking about student loan debt, right? Whomever suggested 100k was way off. According to this data from 2017, average SL debt was $32,731. In NC it was $26,526. Anyone accruing nearly 100k of debt at Appy St was doing it wrong. Average Student Loan Debt in America: Facts & Figures. In a more recent article from Forbes, the average debt was reported at $28,950. 2022 Student Loan Debt Statistics: Average Student Loan Debt – Forbes Advisor 100k debt figures are outliers and most likely attributable to graduate degrees, or people who attended high priced private schools (where tuition can eclipse 50k/year). The high cost private option may work for rich folk who pay their kid's way, or kids who receive a full scholarship. We all know there are outliers and stories of people who accrued excessive debt, but those who like to critique the cost of higher education need to do so in good faith.
I enjoyed construction growing up. I was strong, in shape, and tan. Chicks dug it. Went to a technical college in my early 30s and it was the best decision I've ever made. The writing was on the wall that I was going to get no where with the construction gigs. No retirement or benefits or anything. If I had any advice for a younger person, it would be to go to a tech school for something in a field they truly enjoyed doing/had real interest in, and try and get on with a big company that would pay for a bachelors while you worked there (If you wanted to get go that 4-year route.) My buddy here in the IT dept just finished his masters, paid for by the company, and he's only been here about 5 years.
I learned CAD through a tech class in High School. I did really well and enjoyed it. In the last week of my senior year a guy from a local CATV drafting company inquired about potential hires. Another student and I both applied and were both hired. I started a week after graduation and just hit 22 years. Now I actually design and draft CATV & fiber optics networks. I make far more than many with college degrees. I am a very fast learner, but traditional schooling just wasn't for me. I was too immature to truly get much out of college.
Also I do have an AA degree (I took classes and worked full time). My education was all over the place as I really didn't have anything besides drafting that interested me. My parents paid for tuition but since I had a full time job I moved out on my own and footed the bill for everything else. It was a giant waste of time and money.
Designing fiber optic networks sounds awesome. I'd enjoy doing that. I've overseen probably close to half a million in singlemode fiber improvements in the 5 years I've been here. 95% of the fiber here when I got on was old OM1 multimode. Barf.
It was extremely challenging at first, but once everything clicked it became very fun. I wish it was a bigger part of my job, but most of the time I'm designing coax networks in order to improve bandwidth. Most old networks are absolutely enormous and were designed before the internet was widespread. Our COVID boom was insane due to everyone being at home. Now we are dealing with supply chain issues and work has slowed as a result.
IMO, someone who is smart enough and hard-working enough to run a successful construction company would have done just fine in college anyway. It's not like college is really that hard - for most majors and fields that someone has some aptitude and interest in at least. It's just that not going to college limits one's options going forward, and I don't think most 17-18 year olds know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. So my thought is why not keep some doors open. The military is another good option - either before or after college - because it opens up a lot of skill sets and doors. If someone loves working with their hands and being outdoors, that is great. If they want to be on the business side of blue collar work, that's cool, too. Naturally, of course, there's a certain age at which even people who enjoy physically-demanding work are going to have a difficult time on a construction site - much less in Florida. But even those guys can probably do well if they save and invest smartly - something that's tough to do when you're young regardless of occupation.
Funny. These posts hit close to home. My youngest starts App State in the spring as a freshman. Tuition went up a bit - was barely $5k but is now $7k .. isnt bad at all compared to up north. Off campus housing in Boone is a joke. Almost no availability.
