Have a Great Job but Need to go to School

[byalexandr]

Title says most of it, I work in industry now. Last semester I decided to take time off from college and just work. Work and make my own money and make a name for myself. As I mentioned before, I work in industry, installing instrumentation at chemical plants. I recently got a new job at this plant, I make ~$2,100 a week after taxes. Great money, especially since I'm by myself and have no kids or wife or anything. Right now I'm just living and paying off my (expensive) car loan.

 

But my parents want me to go back to school. I want to go back to school too, but I enjoy doing this work. I'm great at my job, and it pays well. Sure the hours are long and it's really hot in the summer time, but I enjoy it nonetheless. The reason for going back to school is so I can finish my engineering degree and work in an office and make even more money every year, something a lot more stable. I know I will eventually get tired of working in the sun and doing a lot of physical labor.

 

So I'm not really sure what to do. I'm only 18, turning 19 here in June, so I have my whole life ahead of me still. But I don't want to regret anything later on in life. I'm just not sure when I should go back to school, and if I even need to in this day and age.

 

Anyone older that's been through this that can give me some advice?

[Teddy07]

34 minutes ago, byalexandr said:

Anyone older that's been through this that can give me some advice?

 

I am 32 and just went back to university to study computer science. You are never too old to study because there are plenty of people ranging from 18-35+ at least in my field. Nobody cares about the age.

 

I would work a few years in the job to save some money so that you don´t rely on a big loan when you go back to university. I would then go study. Maybe you can work in your job full time in the semester breaks.

The problem, however, is that you probably have to reduce your living expenses during university and cut back on things like a car. This wasn´t a problem for me but it can be for some. You may also see university differently than your peers when you worked for a bit.

 

My job also helped me to take university more seriously because I know how exploitative work without a good degree can be. So I study as hard as and finish as fast as I can because it wastes money. Many peers take it more relaxed.

 

As a side note:

I would consider to .study abroad because it is very expensive to study in the USA to my knowledge. My English teacher is from Hawaii and he told us that he tells all his friends back home to send their kids to a European university because there aren´t any huge fees for university compared to the USA and the degrees are the same in terms of quality. European countries also have English speaking degrees even if the country doesn´t have English as the first language.

 

[Andreas Lilja]

I'd go but only as a contingency plan if you can't do the same physical labour in the future due to various circumstances. Maybe study part-time. 

 

 

[airdeano]

ok, ya go to school to be a what?

it takes how long to get a diploma?

you are guaranteed a vocation once you graduate, right?

you already have one diploma from high school, currently working with decent/living wage and going to drop a 5-6 figure education cost for a gamble of what increase over what you are earning now?

 

enjoy what you are doing now?

what is your 'dream job'?

what monetary expectation do you/parents after education completion and work skill to compete in a job market in 4-years?

 

going to secondary school is great, if one has the funds, necessity, and clear expectations afterwards. answer no to any of those and it is an expensive gamble.

[byalexandr]

8 hours ago, airdeano said:

ok, ya go to school to be a what?

it takes how long to get a diploma?

you are guaranteed a vocation once you graduate, right?

you already have one diploma from high school, currently working with decent/living wage and going to drop a 5-6 figure education cost for a gamble of what increase over what you are earning now?

 

enjoy what you are doing now?

what is your 'dream job'?

what monetary expectation do you/parents after education completion and work skill to compete in a job market in 4-years?

 

going to secondary school is great, if one has the funds, necessity, and clear expectations afterwards. answer no to any of those and it is an expensive gamble.

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. I want to work for Toyota, Ford, etc. 4 years of school.

[TetraSky]

I would say keep working to save up enough money that you can concentrate 100% on your school work without needed a part time job on the side. (not saying you shouldn't get one though, just that juggling school and work isn't for everyone)

If you make $2k per week, only use 1 week worth of wage per month to live and save up the rest. After a year that should be around $80k saved up.

Two years of that and you should have plenty to survive on a $36k/year budget for 4 years. (Unless the cost of living where you live is really high and you're dumb enough to buy something like a lambo with monthly payment far exceeding that $3k monthly and live in an apartment that is also way above that amount)

2 years may sound like a long time to you right now, especially at your age, but trust me, IT GOES FAST when you're busy with work and get into a routine.

[Ithanul]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

I would say keep working to save up enough money that you can concentrate 100% on your school work without needed a part time job on the side. (not saying you shouldn't get one though, just that juggling school and work isn't for everyone)

Highly agree with this.

Doing a job and schooling (even part-time schooling) is rough.  I did so myself when I was still active duty: 12-16 hour duty days with a class on the weekend and night class during the week.  Can really put the stress on someone if they can't time manage doing so.

 

Definitely agree with others on saving up a good bit of money to cover the costs.  College/University are not cheap in the States.  Also, if OP has yet finish the base general classes (Math, English, etc.).  Do those at a cheaper community college.  Can save a good bit of money that way.

[Sauron]

There's always time to go back and get a degree, if you like your job and it pays well (which it definitely does, especially for an 18 year old at one of his first employments) I think you should stick with it for now. Clearly, you don't need to get a degree if you already have a good job - the question is whether or not you want one, or whether you need one to get a job you'd enjoy more; I can't answer that question for you, personally I got my degree because I'd have very few chances to be hired for the kind of job I want without one, but you don't seem to have this problem.

[byalexandr]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

I would say keep working to save up enough money that you can concentrate 100% on your school work without needed a part time job on the side. (not saying you shouldn't get one though, just that juggling school and work isn't for everyone)

If you make $2k per week, only use 1 week worth of wage per month to live and save up the rest. After a year that should be around $80k saved up.

Two years of that and you should have plenty to survive on a $36k/year budget for 4 years. (Unless the cost of living where you live is really high and you're dumb enough to buy something like a lambo with monthly payment far exceeding that $3k monthly and live in an apartment that is also way above that amount)

2 years may sound like a long time to you right now, especially at your age, but trust me, IT GOES FAST when you're busy with work and get into a routine.

Right now I’m putting most of my paychecks toward my car, very aggressively paying it off.

[byalexandr]

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

There's always time to go back and get a degree, if you like your job and it pays well (which it definitely does, especially for an 18 year old at one of his first employments) I think you should stick with it for now. Clearly, you don't need to get a degree if you already have a good job - the question is whether or not you want one, or whether you need one to get a job you'd enjoy more; I can't answer that question for you, personally I got my degree because I'd have very few chances to be hired for the kind of job I want without one, but you don't seem to have this problem.

It does give me a lot of experience. I've talked to a lot of college grads and they have trouble finding jobs because they don't have any experience.

 

The thing is though, I do make good money, at the cost of being out in the Louisiana heat for 12 hours a day, getting up at 4AM to ride an hour long bus ride, etc. With a degree, I get paid more to sit in a nice office and work from a computer and do the things I really enjoy. Not to say I don't love what I'm doing right now.

 

I think what I want to do is enroll in community college or online classes to get all the basic courses out of the way while I am working, then once I have all that completed I will quit and enroll in university full time, maybe get a part time job as a mechanic since I do that a lot on the side anyway. What time frame, I still have no idea, but the sooner the better since that's what my parents want, even though I'm not really keen on going back to school just yet.

[Mr.Meerkat]

Something you may want to take into consideration is career progression. If you can eventually land a higher-up job (could be both something like supervising or a desk job) and the pay is comparable to what you'd eventually earn in engineering, it may not be a bad idea in putting your degree on an indefinite hold, especially if whatever job it progresses into is something you would enjoy.

 

Something else you may want to take into consideration is job hunting after graduating and graduate (plus eventual) salaries. You already have a some-what stable job and with a degree not guaranteeing a job you want, in a company you want to work for, obtaining that degree may still not grant your ideal job. Also, it seems that the average salary for engineering grads in Murica is about $50K (pre-taxes), which is considerably lower than what you're earning now plus once you factor in potential progression and the time spent studying, you may actually earn less overall.

 

13 hours ago, Teddy07 said:

I would consider to .study abroad because it is very expensive to study in the USA to my knowledge. My English teacher is from Hawaii and he told us that he tells all his friends back home to send their kids to a European university because there aren´t any huge fees for university compared to the USA and the degrees are the same in terms of quality. European countries also have English speaking degrees even if the country doesn´t have English as the first language.

I'm sure OP would like to pay £25K/year in tuition alone...Okay, I know its different for other European countries but just wanted to state how that is not applicable to every single European country. 

 

49 minutes ago, Ithanul said:

Doing a job and schooling (even part-time schooling) is rough.

Then there is me who was planning on studying full-time (Uni), work part-time (probably around 10hrs/week) and train part-time so I can get me CPL+IR (aka frozen ATPL). If you're wondering why I wanted to do that, its simply down to how I'm going to Uni to please my parents (plus it would have been free) with me working part-time so I'd be able to supplmenet my student loan (living at home+free tuition=would spend almost spend none of my SL) and pay for pilot training, as my dream job is to become a commercial pilot (has been since 14 years ago so might as well follow through with it). Too bad (and probably thank god) the Uni I required for this to occur (oh, it my first choice as well so wasn't sacrificing anything) rejected meh.

[Techicolors]

3 hours ago, byalexandr said:

It does give me a lot of experience. I've talked to a lot of college grads and they have trouble finding jobs because they don't have any experience.

 

The thing is though, I do make good money, at the cost of being out in the Louisiana heat for 12 hours a day, getting up at 4AM to ride an hour long bus ride, etc. With a degree, I get paid more to sit in a nice office and work from a computer and do the things I really enjoy. Not to say I don't love what I'm doing right now.

 

I think what I want to do is enroll in community college or online classes to get all the basic courses out of the way while I am working, then once I have all that completed I will quit and enroll in university full time, maybe get a part time job as a mechanic since I do that a lot on the side anyway. What time frame, I still have no idea, but the sooner the better since that's what my parents want, even though I'm not really keen on going back to school just yet.

you can fill the no-experience with internships. but students are competing those

 

going to CC is good. i am there, plus cheaper. just make sure credits transfer, contact all unis you're interested in. tho some states have smooth transitions in-state. 

[wasab]

Only go back to school if you believe a college degree will help advance your career. Else no.

 

From what you posted, it sounds like a good investment, just be smart on the majors, the university, and the tuition. Go to a public isntution if you can and advoid student loan as much as possible.

[TopDollar]

On 5/25/2018 at 9:57 PM, byalexandr said:

Title says most of it, I work in industry now. Last semester I decided to take time off from college and just work. Work and make my own money and make a name for myself. As I mentioned before, I work in industry, installing instrumentation at chemical plants. I recently got a new job at this plant, I make ~$2,100 a week after taxes. Great money, especially since I'm by myself and have no kids or wife or anything. Right now I'm just living and paying off my (expensive) car loan.

 

But my parents want me to go back to school. I want to go back to school too, but I enjoy doing this work. I'm great at my job, and it pays well. Sure the hours are long and it's really hot in the summer time, but I enjoy it nonetheless. The reason for going back to school is so I can finish my engineering degree and work in an office and make even more money every year, something a lot more stable. I know I will eventually get tired of working in the sun and doing a lot of physical labor.

 

So I'm not really sure what to do. I'm only 18, turning 19 here in June, so I have my whole life ahead of me still. But I don't want to regret anything later on in life. I'm just not sure when I should go back to school, and if I even need to in this day and age.

 

Anyone older that's been through this that can give me some advice?

I'm an engineer myself (in the marine industry). I would very much recommend finishing the degree. Mostly for the reasons you laid out. Even if you like what you're doing now, the degree gives you much more flexibility in the future.

 

Having the existing experience in a technical industry will certainly help. Getting additional experience each summer either with the company you currently work at, or at different companies, will be very beneficial as well. I've done some recruiting and interviewing for entry level engineering positions. Getting industry experience throughout college is one of the things that pops out to me on a resume.

 

I'm guessing the majority of your pay comes from overtime? Entry level mechanical engineering jobs are around the $50-$70k per year range. A lot of office jobs being salaried positions. Mid career can certainly be in the 6 figure range, however a lot of these jobs are supervisory instead of being technical. Positions with hourly pay and true overtime are certainly available (mine is one for example).

[byalexandr]

41 minutes ago, TopDollar said:

I'm an engineer myself (in the marine industry). I would very much recommend finishing the degree. Mostly for the reasons you laid out. Even if you like what you're doing now, the degree gives you much more flexibility in the future.

 

Having the existing experience in a technical industry will certainly help. Getting additional experience each summer either with the company you currently work at, or at different companies, will be very beneficial as well. I've done some recruiting and interviewing for entry level engineering positions. Getting industry experience throughout college is one of the things that pops out to me on a resume.

 

I'm guessing the majority of your pay comes from overtime? Entry level mechanical engineering jobs are around the $50-$70k per year range. A lot of office jobs being salaried positions. Mid career can certainly be in the 6 figure range, however a lot of these jobs are supervisory instead of being technical. Positions with hourly pay and true overtime are certainly available (mine is one for example).

A good portion of it does, yes. But also my hourly rate is just pretty high and I also receive per diem since this job is out of state. A $2,500 check means I worked 60 hours (5 12 hour shifts).