I am currently a sophomore (for another six days) in a private college in upstate New York. I am studying electrical engineering. I have pretty much fulfilled all my general education classes in the past two years, and I have done a decent job, nothing great, but they still let me come back.
When it all comes down to it, I think I would have been a lot happier getting into a trade. My dad sent me to school because he wanted better for me. He wanted to make sure I did not have to work all the odd jobs he did as a young man, and I can see where he is coming from. He is my biggest role model. One of my biggest goals in life is to make him proud of me.
After two years of school, I am tired of this place. I am tired of learning material only to forget it again. I am tired of taking tests which require nothing but a gifted memory. I learn by applying what I am taught. Another grievance, colleges tend to hire teachers based upon the credentials of teachers and not on their actual ability to teach. I could never see myself being stuck in this academic grind. What is less reassuring is when I talk to my advisor about his history in electrical engineering and he tells me after he graduated he worked for a couple years, hated it and then got back into academics.
In high school, I was decent at computers. I worked technical support for a regional internet provider for two and a half years before getting into college. That taught me how much I hate working at a desk with computers. Lately I have been thinking about that a lot. I am sure I do not ever want to be stuck behind a desk doing computer or paper work. I will pull my hair out. Time seems to stop at a job like that. You lose your sanity and health working at a job like that. Also having no change in work environment is a killer.
I have always been interested in electronics, but it seems like I enjoy learning about electronics much more as a hobby than I do in class. When I am in class it just seems like I hit a brick wall trying to focus, especially since it is the end of the term. I am thrown all this information but it will not have any purpose for at least another two years, if I was able to find work. The worse thing is that my parents are paying enormous amounts of money for it. It would not break my heart if they decided tomorrow to stop paying.
After reading and looking at BLS occupational outlook statistics, it seems like qualified electricians will be in high demand for a long time. It would be nice to know a trade that you could find work in, in almost any areas of the country if I ever decided to move (taking my parents with me).
I was reading about the IBEW apprenticeship program and it seems like that is a great program to get into. I have a friend from high school whose mom was trying to get him to do that, but he grew up in a family of welders (something else I really want to learn). It seems so practical that you can learn things that are useful in real life and you get paid at the same time. All without having to live off your parent’s money. From some things I read, it sounds like the sooner you get into a trade, the better off you are in the future.
Basically, I am asking for thoughts/advice on this. Is there anything wrong with wanting to drop college and try to get an IBEW apprenticeship? The past couple of months I have thought about something like this. Lately I have been reading a lot about IBEW apprenticeships. From what I read on this forum, it does not sound like too many of you would ever look back and regret the decision you have made to become an electrician. I could only hope for something like this.
My reasoning is that if I could get into an IBEW apprenticeship now, I would not have the 20k in loans to pay back that I will if I stay in college. It seems like it would be pretty hard to find a job as satisfying as working with your hands. This is especially true after graduating from college with the debt from obtaining the degree. What are your thoughts? How would I go about talking to my parents about such a proposition?
[This message has been edited by fflipster (edited 06-03-2004).]
