I need help with my future!

[knowledgehungry]

Well, I am about to graduate High School. I have been accepted to Drexel University for Chemical Engineering with a 15,000$ a year scholarship. That means I only have to pay another 7 grand a year plus room and board(or my own apartment) My father recently got fired so I am paying for college on my own.

I have several things I need advice on

Should I go to College?

What should I major in(undecided is not an option at this school)? I am interested in a major where my career will have oppurtunities to do hands on work, I am not going to sit in an office.

What careers have you heard about that interest you? And what are the requirements for those careers? If you have a job that you love please tell me about it.

I need help deciding what to do with my life because fuck if I'm going to college then realizing I wasted my money and time on something I have no interest in career wise.

Also when do you think is the right age to get married at? I've got a long time girlfriend and I'm not planning on getting married to her now but I am planning on it in the future, so I have to plan that into my life as well.

Don't think I don't have anyone else to talk to about this, it is just nice to get some more advice, especially from people who share my hobby. I know that there are a whole variety of ddifferent people based on age, religion, experiences and nationality so I figure someone here will have something interesting to say.

[nuclearattack]

If you will study chemistry it's a good way to have more chance to work in explosives. Maybe like a researcher.
I like very much astronomy so i would like to work in an observatory.
About the right age to get married there isn't a right age...it depends from you and your girlfriend. I get married when i was 24 and i'm happy of this decision!

[Mumble]

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been accepted to a few colleges. My plan is major is just chemistry, maybe a minor in physics, and see what really jumps out at me. I will then pursue what I am really interested in in grad school.

[Anthony]

I don't think you can schedule a love-life. The right time would be 1) When you think it's the right decision 2) You can pay for it 3) She won't wait any longer. It'll cost a lot and when the day is over, you'll have nothing physical to show for all the money you blew :)

Are you saying that your college course (tuition fees) will cost $15k + $7k per year? If so, that is outrageous! Most people here get a 3 year university degree for less than 15k total.

[Jacks Complete]

Anthony, here, we get most all of our fees paid for. The USA doesn't have that. Also, dollars are two for a pound at the moment...

knowledgehungry, might I suggest you be careful to avoid telling us exactly who you are? I suspect that I could find a shortlist of you in about 3 minutes with a warrant or a badge.

"Hi there, I'm Federal Marshall T.L. Jones. I'm looking for a scholarship student, young man with one arm..."

...or perhaps I'm paranoid?

Anyway, the world is changing. Computers are taking away what little of humanity and fun we once had in our work, as the relentless drive for cheaper "stuff" means that where once there were craftsmen and finishers, we now have CAD and a polishing machine - or even no finishing.

Do not forget, as I did, that doing something you love for a job kills that love. You will be working for a moron. You will be three years out of college/university, max, before the world changes forever due to AI coming of age. After that, all bets are off.

Keep learning about the stuff on these boards, as well as keeping your hand in on the IT side. Make some friends, have some fun, get drunk, get laid, get a bit of paper that makes you (somewhat) employable. Don't forget, there is truth to the joke

"What's the first thing a * grad says when you meet him?"
"You want fries with that?"

* Sociology, Psycology (unless you go further), Media (or anything like it) studies, any arts, etc. The list is long!

Even the hard sciences are winding up with people who are struggling to get jobs. Where I work, about 80% of the starters quit within a two year window of starting, and this is one of those big companies that routinely buys big awards like "Best place to work".

Anyway, my advice would be, do something you feel you are good at, get a good result, and then see what you want to do afterwards.

As for your girl? I was in love, went to Uni with her (she followed me) and by the end of Freshers week, I was in bed with the hottest girl on campus. She was destroyed, her mother interferred... Totally fucked up my life for a while, but I didn't get out of bed for weeks! Be aware that things change rapidly when you are hundreds of miles from home, getting drunk, both on beer and freedom.

Hope this isn't too negative. Just remember, the only thing that is constant is change.

[VX]

Man go to uni! I cant recomend it enough. Its a completely different lifestyle to what you'l be used to, try to mave away from home. It doesnt have to be far, just far enough so as to be living away from the watchful eye of your parents. Get some independance, itl give you an unbelevably differant perspectave of things.

That said, if you don't feel it's what you want to do... dont bother, you'l only wast money and you wont get anything from it.

[knowledgehungry]

In response to Jack's Complete, if anyone wanted to find me they could, IP trace etc etc and etc. Call me naive but I don't think the US government is worried about someone who dabbles in energetic materials in their spare time and only makes enough of an explosive to test it. Maybe some day they will come looking for me, but I'm a nice guy, I'm sure I can make them like me ;) . In all seriousness my friend had his hand blown off with an explosive, cops came ATF came etc. He was questioned but never arrested he is currently in college and doing fine. I'm not too worried.

I hate the humanities. I hate art and I hate music(theory), my main goals for a job are something that a) I won't be bored with. b) makes enough money to live on, 40k a year would be fine. c) Allows me to have a life outside of work. d) A job that I don't have to worry about losing because it is shipped overseas.

Thoughts of the future in terms of jobs are depressing. Currently I'm leaning towards a Chem major and if worst comes to worst I can be a teacher.

My parents aren't watchful of me, even if I don't go to college I will most likely move out.

What do you guys think about taking a year off?

[VX]

I new 18 people who went for a year off. Not a single one of them went to uni after it. I think they realised what they would be giving up by going back to being a student :rolleyes: (money, the lifestyle they were used to etc)

[Jacks Complete]

Haha, yes, taking a year off before Uni is dangerous...

However, doing a sandwich course (2 years, year off, 1 or 2 years) might be a better way.

I told all my younger cousins to work hard at school, so they could go to Uni for the biggest holiday of their lives! Money, freedom, T1 internet, drink, drugs, women, new friends - and perhaps even a course you love, where the work isn't *really* work. One of my mates quit work and went back recently, and I wouldn't have missed it for a job on £40K - not that you are likely to get one of those round here, even with a good degree!

EDIT: Killer robots are the future, you may wish to plan accordingly. :D

[tom haggen]

Well knowledge hungry, I'm impressed that your only 18. You must be awfully smart. If you think you’re going to get a job doing what you’re going to study in college, I would definitely go with engineering. If you’re really planning for the future I can tell you what my choice of a major would be. Go for bioengineering, the simple fact is that 20 years from now biology is going to make up a very large part of our industrial economy. I my self am not interested in biology so I chose chemical. However, I have quite a mechanical edge, and some experience in mechanical engineering. If I wasn't so interested in O chem., I probably would have chosen mechanical. But, there isn't really any need to know organic chemistry for mechanical engineering so here I am. Anyway, seriously consider biology. Here's a news flash for you. Some people may tell you different, but work is not fun. Yes you might enjoy your job to some extent, but everyday routine gets old quick. The fact is we all have to do things we don't want to.

[Mumble]

I've always heard it is best not to decide on a major before entering college. The best thing to do is take a plethora of classes and see what really clicks with you. I am pretty sure I am going for a science degree, probably chemistry, but I still want to take a wide variety of things and see where it takes me.

If you do decide to pursue a chem or science degree the best thing you can possibly do is volunteer to help out in a lab over the summer or so. This is the best way to narrow your way from just a number out of 10,000 students to a handful of people the professor knows by name. A degree from a prestigious college is nice, but if you have personal references from the professors it just puts you on a totally different level as far as a job and grad school go. Find out what every chem professor is researching and e-mail everyone of them telling them that you are interested in what they are researching(even if you arn't), and ask about getting some research experience. Granted you may start off as a bottle washer and solution mixer, but you will get first hand experience in a real lab. If you keep coming back you move up the ladder, the new guy in the bottle washer, and you are now the reagent purifier. Come back a few times and then you can ask to start getting paid to be a research assistant. I worked at a lab over the summer, and I saw all of this. I saw from the outside as more of an assistant to a few of the supervisors instead of the scientists, but what I saw really cemented my interest. If you can make it through a summer as a lab assistant, not get paid and still like the field you know you are a true scientist at heart.

If you can't find someone to accept you into their research apply for some REU programs(Research Experience for Undergraduates). They will have the same thing, only probably not at your college, but at the same time you do get paid a stipend usually as you have to provide food and such for yourself. The lab I worked at had a few REU's come in. They got, I want to say $3000 for 10 weeks, and they slept and told me stories half the time, or tried to get me drunk but that is another story. They also had room, board, some food, transportation provided. So you can look at it two ways. They got paid for their help, or they were expected to eat lobster and filet mignon for every meal.

[Silentnite]

I'm right there with you. I recently graduated(coming up on two years now, wow.. two years), and I have been attending College ever since. I'm currently pissed off about my major, due in large part to my schooling. Its supposedly a decent tech school, but here I am learning more about literature and trig then I will ever learn about my chosen profession of Computer Science. I plan on transferring to a University and changing my major, although I'll probably loose about half of my credits.

Campus life is something you have to experiance. Move out at least once while your in college, just to get the experiance. I can say its definitely matured me a little.

I can however, recommend NOT taking time off of college or from school. I tried taking a semester off, and I ended up almost not going back, and in a very very bad place. Barring the fact that the bad place part was my fault, almost no one I know of who has taken time off has gone back. It's doable, but rare.

Try not to incur any Student Loans. They are a very very large bitch. And almost impossible to get rid of. Convenient though.

The right time to marry a girl is just before she gets fed up with you not popping the question. Heh. Just kidding. You should know. I did. Just make sure you do it before its too late. And there is such a thing as too late.

Your never too young for anything you want to do. Also never too old.

And that, is my opinion, but here comes the oft-spoken quote "Opinions are like assholes, every one has them and they all stink"

Go with your gut.

[Hobbit Porn]

knowledgehungry : When you say you want to have "hands on work" what do you mean? Lab work could be considered hands on... but trust me, it can be just as boring as sitting behind an office desk.

I'd say stick with engineering... employment oppurtunities are great, and saying you are an engineer makes you sound important :)

WHen you have to declare a major, does that mean you have decide which stream of engineering you want to persue or something different? (sorry, The Australian Uni system is a lot different)

If your interest in explosives is the driving force behind your studying, what are you wanting to get out of it? The knowledge of how they are produced and work... or the actual way to use them?

With Engineering, the streams that I've found actually use explosives are Mining, Civil and Mechanical engineers (If anyone has found different, feel free to correct me). Unfortunately, most of the time you will actually find employment in a job that you will use explosives, you will reside in the middle of no where, at a mine...but you do get paid shitloads.

THe other problem is that explosives are only a very small portion of everything else you will have to learn, so you will have to wade through a lot of boring maths, theory and general horse shit before you'd even scratch on the subject.

[Sparky]

Well, I don't have much advice for you because I'm pretty much in the same situation as you.

I'm in first year now working on a chem major at university. I know I love chemistry and science from the work I do in my home lab, and the stuff I read about here. But going to class is pretty different. Not a lot of excitement I guess. Equations, labs, exams. I like working in the lab. But it's very different being told what your 'experiment' is. I find it's much better working on your own stuff because it's more exciting and you actually know what you're doing, not just reading instructions from a book.

My university does have an explosives technology course but I'm taking a biochem course that gets in the way this semester.

One thing I can tell you is that university rocks. I mean, it is THE life. If I was rich and set for life I would still go to university just for fun, at least for a year (and get low marks...) :-). I live in res, so basically I am surrounded by friends all the time. It's freakin' awesome. Lots of parties, drinking, and friendly people. You get to meet a lot of like minded people at university which is great.

I'm in the middle of academia. I walk about 100 meters and I'm in the physics library, I can look up tables on ethanol density vs. concentration in the merck index. I want something, I've got it. The libraries and resources are pretty cool, but the damn smart people you're surrounded by are way better. I walk by the chemistry building and see all the equipment I ever dreamed of. I applied for a summer job researching fiber optics used to detect minute concentrations in solutions. Probably won't get it but still. The point is that there is all this stuff going on around me, and it's basically just where I need to be.

[Pb1]

I’m pretty much in the same boat as the rest of your guys (currently looking at colleges) and thinking about what to pursue as a career. I like chem and I’m good at it, but the ‘job kills love for things’ thing is a bit discouraging. What would be a good career for me in this case? Chemical engineer? Something is toxicology / pharmacology? (I’ve heard there’s good money in those two.) Any advice and/or experience is appreciated.