[JonnyRocket]

I work a ****ty dead end retail job. I've worked full time since I turned 15. Oh, but I do a little bit of freelance IT on the side.

I basically just work hard and I'm really stingy...I only make 25k a year (often less). I've pretty much got a year's salary invested in my system.

My philosophy was always this...I'm not going to go to school for something like a liberal arts degree (which is what I really want) because I'd pile up debt and end up in the same crappy job I have now...and I wasn't going to go to school to get a degree in something I hate to get a better job, to pay off all the debt from school.

I really wanted to get a music theory degree...maybe even a Ph D so I could be a professor.

EDIT: To chime in on the Math discussion. I got a perfect score on my math SAT and I loathe it.

Do you have to work a lot of hours?

 

[Audio-Omega]

I wouldn't go for a university degree at this time because of the current economic crisis.  There is guarantee of debt upon graduation but not employment.  Jobs in security are in demand.  I wish I was a locksmith.  

 

[MacedonianHero]

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There really isn't anything else that I'd be interested in and also have a good future outlook.
 
Medicine is interesting and mostly science/memorization based, but I'm nowhere near hard working or studious enough for it.
How about a branch of Engineering that's relatively math light (compared to the others?)

Sorry, there are none. They're all math intensive. Removing mathematics from engineering is like removing water from swimming. Kinda hard to do.

 

[MorbidToaster]

Do you have to work a lot of hours?

To get what I want when I want it, yes. But I'm very careful when picking apartments and what not so my monthly expenses could be covered by about 40 hours a month. I've been working 50-60 hour weeks lately though (not by choice really).

 

[beerguy0]

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Sorry, there are none. They're all math intensive. Removing mathematics from engineering is like removing water from swimming. Kinda hard to do.

 
You will have to take far more math than you will ever likely use. Unless you wind up in some esoteric field, algebra is what you'll use the most.
 
(Note: This is based on my experience in the EE field, but pretty much any engineer will likely tell you the same thing.)

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
You will have to take far more math than you will ever likely use. Unless you wind up in some esoteric field, algebra is what you'll use the most.
 
(Note: This is based on my experience in the EE field, but pretty much any engineer will likely tell you the same thing.)

 
FWIW, I'm a professional engineer (Bachelors and Masters degree in Chemical Engineering) and agreed that one doesn't use math as intensive as in university...it is still very much part of my daily routine. Nothing esoteric in my 16 year career so far (primarily in electronics manufacturing).

 

[daigo]

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FWIW, I'm a professional engineer (Bachelors and Masters degree in Chemical Engineering) and agreed that one doesn't use math as intensive as in university...it is still very much part of my daily routine. Nothing esoteric in my 16 year career so far (primarily in electronics manufacturing).

 
Yeah, engineering of all fields will have a heavy dose of algebra and calculus because upper division coursework is mostly applied mathematics for different subjects.  It is nice to see something theoretical apply to real world situations though.  I always enjoyed math and science growing up, so applying for engineering majors was an easy choice for me. 
 
However, after almost ten years of working, I've become more project manager than engineer though, and don't use much of that math I learned in college so I'm slowly forgetting it   I'm considering going back to school for an MBA at the old age of 32 as well.

 

[Tangster]

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 I'm considering going back to school for an MBA at the old age of 32 as well.

Do it. One of my old physics teachers was 37 and on his 3rd degree, he already had a MSc in Physics, an B.Math and was doing the MPsy at the local uni. Never too old he said.

 

[Xinze]

Quote:

 
FWIW, I'm a professional engineer (Bachelors and Masters degree in Chemical Engineering) and agreed that one doesn't use math as intensive as in university...it is still very much part of my daily routine. Nothing esoteric in my 16 year career so far (primarily in electronics manufacturing).

That's exactly what my dad (Materials Sci + Eng) told me. I also know that this applies to computer degrees as well, far more math than you will ever need to use. I'm entirely fine with doing it, and feel that it's easier to do well in than hard science..
 
Engineering is just one of the most appealing career options now, right behind if not along computers. Especially since I just got into a pretty decent school where most people can get job ops. before they graduate, my biggest concern is the ability to stick with all those brain-grinding courses until graduation. 
 
What really got me though, is that my dad says he only has to do 1-3 hours of actual work during the day. He's always on some Chinese version of Reddit there while my mom comes home completely worn out as an accountant earning a fourth of what he does. 
 
 
 

I had quite a few things that prevented me from going to college. Not just my extreme fear of debt (which ties in to some of my other reasons). 
 
My parents filed for bankruptcy twice when I was growing up. They now both live with their parents (both are well into their 50s). My mother is (once again) buried in credit card debt due to a shopping (from home) addiction that developed due to depression after they divorced. My father basically stole my college fund during the divorce nonsense as well. 
 
I started working at 15 and never stopped. I had to help buy groceries while mom built up credit card debt. I moved out as soon as possible and basically had nothing for the first few years I lived on my own. 
 
While school is doable I didn't have a proper transcript either due to being home schooled the last 2 years of high school. Social anxiety has also stifled my pursuit of college somewhat. 
 
It's been rough but life is kind of starting to stabilize a little bit and I should be cutting back to part time work soon in order to do things I actually want to do instead of working a job I hate all the time. Things are looking up.
 
tl;dr - My parents are broker than broke so I'm very wary of building debt of any kind (no matter how small).

 
Wow, its stories like this that really makes me appreciate what I have and always learn that there's more reasons behind every big decision.

 

[JonnyRocket]

To get what I want when I want it, yes. But I'm very careful when picking apartments and what not so my monthly expenses could be covered by about 40 hours a month. I've been working 50-60 hour weeks lately though (not by choice really).

I need a job where I can get my bills paid with 40 hours a month

 

[billybob_jcv]

I had quite a few things that prevented me from going to college. Not just my extreme fear of debt (which ties in to some of my other reasons). 

My parents filed for bankruptcy twice when I was growing up. They now both live with their parents (both are well into their 50s). My mother is (once again) buried in credit card debt due to a shopping (from home) addiction that developed due to depression after they divorced. My father basically stole my college fund during the divorce nonsense as well. 

I started working at 15 and never stopped. I had to help buy groceries while mom built up credit card debt. I moved out as soon as possible and basically had nothing for the first few years I lived on my own. 

While school is doable I didn't have a proper transcript either due to being home schooled the last 2 years of high school. Social anxiety has also stifled my pursuit of college somewhat. 

It's been rough but life is kind of starting to stabilize a little bit and I should be cutting back to part time work soon in order to do things I actually want to do instead of working a job I hate all the time. Things are looking up.

tl;dr - My parents are broker than broke so I'm very wary of building debt of any kind (no matter how small). 

You seem to be a poster child for getting an online degree. The trick is to get a job with a decent tuition reimbursement policy that will fund some or even all of your degree. It will take a very long time and you will have no social life for many years - but if I were you, I would still do it. Not having a degree is a bigger and bigger roadblock as you get older. Having a cr@ppy job in your 20s is nothing compared to trying to get a job in your 40s or 50s and realizing that you will have to look for those same types of cr@ppy jobs - only now you are competing against people in their 20s and/or working for people in their late 20s that have degrees.

Having a degree doesn't guarantee a good job, but not having a degree is a very good reason for a corporate recruiter to pass right by your resume - and the whole key to getting a job is to survive the HR filtering process by eliminating all the reasons you can be excluded from being hired. Hiring is not a search, it is a sieve - whoever is left, get's the job.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I need a job where I can get my bills paid with 40 hours a month

Realistically after taxes it would need to be a bit more but considering I pay about 350 + Food when it comes to bills it's not too bad. I split a 3/2 apartment 4 ways.

Most of the money I make over I guess 50 hours a month isn't tied into bills. Considering I work about 50 a week right now that's a lot of extra dough after bills are paid. I have 0 debt as well.

You don't need tons of money to live comfortably. I'm just thankful I have a job at all right now.

 

[DefQon]

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You don't need tons of money to live comfortably. 

 
+1 it all depends on how much you fork out for other expenses and/or personal hobbies as well etc. Given that, when I was earning 900-1.3k cash in hand a week during my holidays from uni, I was just barely living comfortably with the amount I was spending on other stuff, such as $50 lunch meals, $100-200 a week for clubbing and drinking, thank god I ain't living like that anymore.

 

[JonnyRocket]

Realistically after taxes it would need to be a bit more but considering I pay about 350 + Food when it comes to bills it's not too bad. I split a 3/2 apartment 4 ways.

Most of the money I make over I guess 50 hours a month isn't tied into bills. Considering I work about 50 a week right now that's a lot of extra dough after bills are paid. I have 0 debt as well.

You don't need tons of money to live comfortably. I'm just thankful I have a job at all right now.

I do about the same thing, our business doubles when welfare checks come out so I'll work 70 hours the first week of the month which pays for everything but food and gas for the rest of the month.

 

[winenerd]

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High school senior planning to go into engineering here.
 
Can any of you veterans offer your views on what seems to be the best branch to go in? 
I strongly dislike math, but I'm pretty decent at it. All sciences besides biology are my strong point.
 
This seems like a strange place to ask, but seeing the high concentration of engineers here, someone please share their opinions?
 
I'm leaning towards Mechanical, Chemical, or Nuclear.

Go into alcohol engineering. Only half a joke, Fermentation Science is a rather fun degree, or just a general Food Science degree depending on what you're into. The job placement is ridiculously high, but the pay is a bit low.
 
Oh and on subject, I'm an enologist. Love my job to death, don't make much, but enough to fund this silly hobby.