Life after University...

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well not that you haven't heard it, but try to find something that will keep challenging you and allow you to move forward. Also trust your own instincts above someone elses. Take it from someone who's taken the easy way for the last 10 years and believed the crap that he was fed by others. I should have gone back to school 11 years ago. Instead I'm in my mid 30's and awaiting layoff notice in a dying industry any day now. If your goal in life is to not end up like me, you should do pretty well.

What do you mean by that?

(lol at the last sentence)

[kn]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Ah higher education

I had a lot more sex, I drank a lot more and I could turn up for classes the next day hung completely over with no issues raised. I seemed to have had way more money to play with during school.

Those were the golden days, and looking back far far easier and remembered more fondly in a lot of ways then the last 20 years of my life.

I never did any of that during school, got two degrees and a great job to show for it, make decent money, and.... and.... and.... and....

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by kn

I never did any of that during school, got two degrees and a great job to show for it, make decent money, and.... and.... and.... and....

I dunno, I don't think the 2 are mutually exclusive. University residence was a blast with some crazy drinking stories and parties (except for the hospital visits and the ambulance incident), I played on SebC's dodgeball team, I made some fantastic friendships and I'm perfectly happy having one sexual partner (my girlfriend in undergrad).

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I should have gone back to school 11 years ago. Instead I'm in my mid 30's and awaiting layoff notice in a dying industry any day now. If your goal in life is to not end up like me, you should do pretty well.

It's never too late to go back to school. A good friend of mine went back to university in his early 30's, to study electrical engineering. Told me later it was the best move he's ever made.

[NHL009]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I don't really understand why losing a perfect work record would make you miss a stag? It's not as if you're gonna have another one in your lifetime?

If it came down to losing your job on the other hand...I could see that as a viable reason to skip it.

That was my mindset, I picked a potential raise over a stag.

[Traditional_Ale]

I guess I'm lucky in that my debt-load isn't huge so I can work a day job and still have the gear to go do gigs as much as I do. It gets harder as you get older. I notice that when I was 20 I could party at gigs very very hard and still perform well and get up the next day. Now at 26 I can't party hard, especially if I have to play sax on top of run the gear and tear down at the end of the night. I find weddings don't suck as much because they pay a lot more and you get respected well. Never thought this way five years ago...wedding were for washed-up losers!!!

I went to audio school, and now I'm happy living the starving musician life. I'm lucky to bring home 2500 in a month unless I manage to have solid gigs every weekend, which after doing it for a long time now gets to suck and be old after a while. But gear is gear and it doesn't pay for itself.

So I'll be out of debt in a couple more years and probably be able to secure even another grant (first loan was $30,000, and I only had to pay back $5,000) and go for a music education degree. Be a band teacher. I don't mind going back at 28/29 to be done at 34-35. By then I think my body will have been destroyed from too much dirty blues and rock n roll, and I'll need a real job.

Do whatever the hell makes you happy, man. You couldn't pay me any money that might get me away from being able to eat/sleep/breathe music.

[Ozy_Flame]

Hey, I'd say start your own business, but there are other avenues to 'freedom.'

I think you'll be amazed what you find out about yourself on a six-month backpacking trip to countries that don't speak any english. You definitely have enough time and inspiration to come up with some ideas.

And as GGG said before, don't "romanticize" these things to the point of unattainable daydreaming; make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. I'm making sacrifices to one day very soon work in national security, and those sacrifices are paying off.

Walk the walk, Phanutier. You gotta do it for yourself. You HAVE to act on it.

[Muta]

Put yourself in debt. Then, you have motivation to work your ass off and get out of it. That line you cross when you hit the '0$ owing' mark is incredibly revelating.

I wouldn't know what that's like, I'm still in debt. Of course, I'm telling the people that are interested to know that I'm investing with that money, not paying stuff off. I'm investing in my debt.

On a side note, new travel experiences can fulfill what yuo're looking for in the short-term. Don't get bogged down by society's pressure to have the white picket fence. That's a fabricated ideal that has seemed to put most of our society in a trance to continuously chase this goal. And for whatever reason, it's extremely evident in Calgary. I broke up with my long-term girfriend over something like this.

Point is, travel. Or, strive for the career that you know you have to work your ass off to get. I'm taking a huge chance by starting my Sports Masters in the United States next year, and there's huge risks... but atleast I could then say I atleast did it and failed than to have never tried at all.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

What do you mean by that?

(lol at the last sentence)

Depending on what you do, and who you associate with, there will be people in your working life who will give you advice and often try to influence you to move in certain directions in your career. As you gain experience you'll develop your own ideas as well and they may not always be inline with what others think you should do (or what they want you to do). When you hit a situation like that, don't discount what you think you should do just because someone else who's older, or higher up tells you something else.

No one is going to make the right choice 100% of their time in their life or their career, and if they do they're damn lucky. But I think when you follow your own path and it doesn't work out, you can at least respect yourself for going your own way and move on. Whereas if you follow others and that doesn't work out, it's tougher to let that go and just move on. Conversely when it does work out, it's much more satisfying knowing you went your own way.

[JohnnyFlame]

Seeing your interest in sports I would look into coaching. I've done the whole back to school thing--Twice. So I have a better job--whoopee doo. It's never going to be a motivator for me. It's just money making. It has a purpose and I do it.

Coaching on the other hand I throw myself into the effort. I'm passing on knowledge to kids, exhorting them to try their best, teaching them how to get along with their teammates and all kinds of life lessons. It's very rewarding. Yes it takes up a lot of time, requires preparation and hard work but the results are geared towards someone else and I think that's the key.

Just like my family where I spend the vast majority of time on them and not myself.

I've gotten myself in better shape financially and heck even physically and it's really meant very little in the end. It's just a whole lot more meaningful to invest in others. Family first of course and then outwards from there.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Walk the walk, Phanutier. You gotta do it for yourself. You HAVE to act on it.

I've been sort of watching this thread, wondering how to respond and Ozy pretty much nailed it.

For a guy with pretensions of being a pro soccer player, our friend Phanutier sure seems hesitant about putting himself into the game (of life).

"Professional Student" is the label that comes to mind.

There is a common theme in the responses in this thread, that being people go to post-secondary, get training, head out into the work force, perhaps realize they aren't doing what they want to be doing and go back to post-secondary for re-training . . . . . then, they're off to the races.

In all cases though, they're using post-secondary as a tool to achieve something else whereas Phanutier has said he hasn't really looked beyond post-secondary and now is a bit puzzled as to what to do next.

For him, post-secondary isn't a tool, it's a way of life.

Phanutier also tells us his true love might be academia and that would be no surprise after reading his other comments.

If you need motivation to leave university, well, that's just pretty sad . . . . . . unless that's where your heart is and you intend to make it your occupation/career.

It's a "Linus Comfort Blanket."

As to becoming an engineer because your folks expect you too, well, unless it emboldens your resume for you to eventually return to academia, and that's your ultimate goal, don't waste your time living the dreams of your parents.

As Sylvanfan says, you've got to go your own way.

Most people have an average of three careers. I'm in my 31st year in the work force, with the end game clearly in site, and the 22nd year of my second career. I already have a pretty good idea what the third career is going to be.

At the start, I had a vague idea of what I wanted and a lot of angst too . . . . . which would be pretty normal in most young people.

However, like Ozy said, we all gotta start flying at some point. Time to seize the day.

My two cents . . . . no offense intended.

Cowperson

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Dion

It's never too late to go back to school. A good friend of mine went back to university in his early 30's, to study electrical engineering. Told me later it was the best move he's ever made.

I hope so because I think it's something I need to do. As others have mentioned, it's not uncommon for someone to change careers, so I can't complain about 2 years of post secondary getting me by for the next 13 in the real world.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by fotze

The guys that were the "mature students" in engineering that I went to school with all seemed to get a hell of a lot more out of the schooling than I was ready to get. I "got through" they learned their brains out. They are all doing extremely well now. That previous experience seems to pole vault those people way past most of the other engineering grads.

Yeah, I remember from my first go round how the mature students actually showed up to school to learn, while I still had a case of the old Do I really have to get up at 8:00. Naive young me, thought wow these old guys seem too smart to have be here, they're able to get decent grades. Sure they were smart enough to learn the material, but they had work ethic and urgency as motivators. Saw it first hand when my wife went back to school 5 years ago too. She was up and at school every day and working at it every day, and did really well.

[MelBridgeman]

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by fotze

The guys that were the "mature students" in engineering that I went to school with all seemed to get a hell of a lot more out of the schooling than I was ready to get. I "got through" they learned their brains out. They are all doing extremely well now. That previous experience seems to pole vault those people way past most of the other engineering grads.

Going to The School Of Hard Knocks before going to University can help concentrate the mind wonderfully.

Cowperson

[Locke]

Life after University? Surely you jest, there can be no such thing, University told me so.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I hope so because I think it's something I need to do. As others have mentioned, it's not uncommon for someone to change careers, so I can't complain about 2 years of post secondary getting me by for the next 13 in the real world.

After he graduated he landed a job that he really loves. Makes a lot more money than his previous career but more importantly he enjoys getting up for work each day. Loves the daily challenge and personal rewards he gets from his job.

[SeeGeeWhy]

I haven't read through all of this, but I wanted to share with you that I felt the same way after graduating from University a few years ago.

That first year out was downright depressing. I totally bought into the arrangement - Go to school, do what you're told and you'll only be held to a certain standard... and you'll do fine. That didn't really cut it once I got out of school.

I still struggle with the idea of what I want my life to be like from time to time, but I am beginning to accept that this is the burden of free will... and that it shouldn't prevent me from trying to create whatever I wish.

The two most important lessons that have formed the basis of my adulthood are personal responsibility and "more of the same".

Personal responsibility reflects that you and you alone are responsible for what your life will become, and that there are absolutely no restrictions in what you can create for yourself. I could talk for hours about this point alone.

Second, no matter what you have, your attitude about it will only bring "more of the same". If you are greatful for what you have been able to create for yourself and those around you, you will bring more of that about. If you are a pessimistic person that always blames others for your problems, well .. you'll get more of that, too.

[DESS]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Material goods, I have a few in mind, I'd like to buy a BMW in the next year, I'd like to own a boat in the next few years and in the next decade (while possibly a dream, but I don't think its unreasonable) I'd like to own my own jet. Other interests, I'd like to get into white water rafting as soon as this summer, I'd like to get my pilots license in the next half decade, I'd like to go sky diving (next few months) and in the next half decade, I'd like to get into base jumping. (Is it obvious yet that I set very definite and time lined goals yet? University attitude)

Okay I'm sorry, but I can't let this go. Were you being serious with this? If so, will you please explain how you intend to go about buying and maintaining a jet within 10 years? Frankly, this is the most outrageous thing I've ever seen on the net including a mash up of Two Girls One Cup and This is Sparta.

Quick Google search on buying a jet gave me this:

Along with a price tag that ranges from $6 million to $50 million for a new private jet, factor in necessities such as insurance, fuel, catering and pilots--who are in short supply. Aircraft management companies will take care of these needs for about $100,000 to $200,000 per year, depending on the size and usage of the jet.

And let's keep in mind you have no track record of earning any substantial money given you've been in school for the past 16 - 18 years, and you are currently unemployed. Why are we humouring this thread? It's ridonculous.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by DESS

And let's keep in mind you have no track record of earning any substantial money given you've been in school for the past 16 - 18 years, and you are currently unemployed. Why are we humouring this thread? It's ridonculous.

Maybe he does have this money and he's humouring us?

I have no problem with him wanting a jet... if you dream, dream big. That's a very lofty goal to attain, but definitely not impossible. I'd encourage Phanutier to completely try and go for it.