It’s funny, I went to college and got my degree in mechanical engineering. I’m glad I went and it’s definitely made my career easier. However, as a power plant operator, in my state a degree isn’t needed, just licensing.
It’s funny, I went to college and got my degree in mechanical engineering. I’m glad I went and it’s definitely made my career easier. However, as a power plant operator, in my state a degree isn’t needed, just licensing.
No, I did not. I started college right out of high school, with a focus on architectural engineering, but dropped out after a single semester for a number of reasons. My parents needed me to work full time to help pay for the house (even though I was moved out and trying to pay for most things on my own already). I couldn’t juggle all the responsibility that entailed between helping family, more than full time employment, and school. I had to cut one of those things out, but figured I would go back to school after things became balanced. While working a number of jobs from food service, manufacturing, security, and construction, I gained promotions and made some decent pay, so I just never picked the torch back up in 15 years. I gained some unique and diversified skills through my experiences, and now I work in a machine shop running manual and CNC lathes. It’s the kind of applied science I imagined when I was initially interested in engineering, and it is low stress and I’m not struggling financially (mostly, ha). I’d still like to go to school, but not just to get ahead in my career or make more money. I really enjoy learning and I spend as much of my free time reading and trying to understand new concepts as my brain can handle, everything from geology to calculus to music theory to critical theory. I’m all over the place. Definitely not as good as a dedicated education, though.