Need to Make some money with my Tractor.

[patrick_g]

But did you feel that way back in junior high school (8th grade) when decision time came for selecting a trade high school vs. a college prep high school?

Dougster

Decision...? Choice...? Our family moved around a bit when I was in school. I attended 3 grade schools and two high schools. The grade schools had associated high schools. There was NEVER a choice of which school to attend as there was always JUST ONE. I was the first male family member to get a college degree that we know about as far back as the civil war (AKA war of northern aggression) and my dad's sister (my favorite aunt) was the only female grad. I tried to make up for the slow start by getting several.

I have been blessed with the opportunities to pursue several different sorts of employment which leads some to think I can't hold a job and others to think I have a short attention span and yet a few others who think me versatile. I personally think it is more than one of the above.

I am of the opinion that children do need guidance and rarely are able to choose wisely without assistance. Of course there are notable exceptions but they are just that, exceptions NOT the rule. Guidance can come in the form of varying experiences to which the child is exposed rather than just telling them what to do.

Pat

 

[RoyJackson]

But did you feel that way back in junior high school (8th grade) when decision time came for selecting a trade high school vs. a college prep high school?

Dougster

Well, for me, the decision was made when I received a letter...

GREETINGS!
You are hereby ordered to report...

 

[Dougster]

Well, for me, the decision was made when I received a letter... GREETINGS! You are hereby ordered to report...

A good point. I tend to forget in my old age that the Vietnam war and the draft had a lot to do with many schooling and career decisions made back then. Some would say I was actually fortunate to have a physical limitation that made this pretty much a non-issue in my particular case. However, off I went to college anyway... and 2S status... and eventually a jail cell-like office... never to realize my first career choice.

Dougster

 

[patrick_g]

Well, for me, the decision was made when I received a letter...

GREETINGS!
You are hereby ordered to report...

And then you got all the guidance (and more) that a young man could need, want, or use. Many decisions were made for you: such things as what to wear, how to wear your hair, what and when to eat , when to exercise and so forth.

Pat

 

[RoyJackson]

And then you got all the guidance (and more) that a young man could need, want, or use. Many decisions were made for you: such things as what to wear, how to wear your hair, what and when to eat , when to exercise and so forth.

Pat

You betcha...for the next 8 years...

 

[davidseaquist]

It is funny how the thread is turning out ? I never figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up in school. My father told me to go out and get a good job. My father and my mother did not stress education. I guess there is at least three generations of us that have not completed a college degree. Me and my brother are close to completing a 2 year degree. I spent some time in high school working in retail in supermarkets. I got claustrophobic. I wanted to work outside. I got a job at a plumbing shop at 18 years old. I have spent most of my adult life working as a plumber excluding the last 5 years. My buddy's used to complain about plumbing but they always came back to it, could not find a better way to make a living. I guess I was burned out the last few years I sat on my butt built up my military pension and did general office work. I see from all of these fine examples that I could charge as much per hour plumbing and have a lot less overhead. Drive my van to a job get paid and drive to the next job etc that go home and park the van in the yard. Thanks for all of the liability warnings. I am enjoying the input. Mabey I should of titled the thread "I need to make some extra money ", " or help going through mid life crisis what should I do?" David

 

[Dougster]

It is funny how the thread is turning out ? I never figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up in school. My father told me to go out and get a good job. My father and my mother did not stress education. I guess there is at least three generations of us that have not completed a college degree. Me and my brother are close to completing a 2 year degree. I spent some time in high school working in retail in supermarkets. I got claustrophobic. I wanted to work outside. I got a job at a plumbing shop at 18 years old. I have spent most of my adult life working as a plumber excluding the last 5 years. My buddy's used to complain about plumbing but they always came back to it, could not find a better way to make a living. I guess I was burned out the last few years I sat on my butt built up my military pension and did general office work. I see from all of these fine examples that I could charge as much per hour plumbing and have a lot less overhead. Drive my van to a job get paid and drive to the next job etc that go home and park the van in the yard. Thanks for all of the liability warnings. I am enjoying the input. Mabey I should of titled the thread "I need to make some extra money ", " or help going through mid life crisis what should I do?" David

It's entirely natural for folks to feel that the grass is always greener elsewhere. It sure was easy in my case. I was physically dying and mentally drained after spending a total of 33+ years in those office jail cells sitting on my butt behind desks and computers. Suddenly add in a "new management" team that considered my age, experience, specialty, honesty and business style a liability... and you had a prescription for career change!

The best days of my old career were the ones spent out at a construction site... and in 2004/2005, on hurricane recovery sites. That latter work inspired me to buy a TLB and try to start my own part-time business. That part-time business became my only business following my layoff. Now I've got to make it generate enough income to survive... not an easy task with all the cheap (undocumented, uninsured, unlicensed) competition and high operating costs.

I suppose I could have run into other problems... including job burnout... if I had become a plumbing contractor. But looking back, those that went that route and similar routes are a hundred times better off than I am right now.

Dougster

 

[patrick_g]

David, When you tap into the brain trust here at TBN you never know what gems of knowledge you might elicit. Is it just me or do just plain folks feel more comfortable trying to be their own electricians than plumbers even though plumbing is clearly safer with fewer opportunities to get electrocuted or burn the place down?

I don't think I had a mid life crisis, maybe one day if I grow up I may have one subsequent to that. I have had enough different jobs to avoid burnout and boredom and now that I am officially retired (but working harder than before retirement) I am a rancher/farmer/handyman.

I never took a single shop class (wood, auto, metal, etc.), no vo-ag or 4-H, no FFA, not even mechanical drawing (drafting), and no typing or home economics. What do I think I missed most in high school that would have been of benefit to me before retirement and now? YUP! Just about everything on the list above. Hardly a week goes by that I don't have an opportunity to use one of those areas of study.

Pat

 

[ducati996]

But did you feel that way back in junior high school (8th grade) when decision time came for selecting a trade high school vs. a college prep high school?

Dougster

I would hope 8th grade wasnt the pinacle or defining moment in ones life -

 

[Dougster]

I would hope 8th grade wasnt the pinacle or defining moment in ones life -

Sadly, that was the point (and young age) at which I had to choose my high school: College Prep, Technical, Business or Trade School (now called Vocational/Tech). Like it or not, in my home town at that time, that was the initial decision that set your upper grade schooling and subsequent career path in motion.

Dougster