where did you guys go to school? I need some HELP.

[austinaubinoe]

I didn't really know where to ask this, but its mainly geared towards the jeepspeed guys or the fab guys.

Ok, so I am currently in college in upstate NY and I am finishing up my freshman year. Its a good school, nice campus and some classes are interesting, but I kinda feel like im in high school again. All people seem to do is drink and smoke weed. It was fun at first, but now im just bored out of my mind. also, when Im sitting down writing an essay, etc. Im just like WTF why do I have to be here. It can be MISERABLE at times. and being without my Cherokee sucks.

My dream is to get into desert racing and all I really think about is working on cars. I was looking into schools and I recently got in contact with WyoTech and am expecting some info in the mail soon. Looks like they have some awesome programs.

Im going to talk with my dad this weekend about transferring next year.

what Im really asking is if I really want to get into welding and custom fab, where is the best place I can go? Where did you guys go? I really feel like im wasting my time in school right now, much like I felt in high school. Sitting in class everyday just thinking about cars.

I feel like the only reason im in college now is because i didn't take any action otherwise. I just went with the flow when senior year came around. My dad will probably be concerned with getting a job, but I feel like being highly educated in mechanics, welding and automotive could be just as effective as having a degree in environmental science (what I am currently studying). And I would be super stoked with what I was doing.

Its just really hard to decide now, when im 18, that I want to leave college and choose an entirely different path. And I need to convince my dad that if I really take this seriously I wont just be a mechanic at a gas station. I dont mean to offend, I just dont know of another way to put it .

Thanks for any guidance you can give me.

-Austin

 

[Boatwrench]

OK. I'll sound like a Dad here, because I am one.


STAY IN SCHOOL

I believe the days of HS education good enough are over. I didn't finish college, but got life educated in the military in leadership and have landed a fairly decent job. I repeat this because I believe it is important. Stay in school.

Now if you want to learn the trades I recommend Universal Technical Institute. If you want to get a jump on it go in the military and get a rate or MOS in the trade, the VA/GI Bill will pay for tech schools now. If I had to do it over again I would pursue either electrician or HVAC, although in this area elevator guys make the most.

 

[ECKSJAY]

http://www.goarmy.com

 

[crimsondragon]

I was in the same position you were in about 3 years ago. I was in Florida aspiring to be a pilot. Well let me tell you, it got old real quick. Both flying and Florida. I transfered out and went is/attending my current school. Of course I still stuck with Aeronautical Science for one more semester but it was more academic than anything. I felt maybe I got a little discouraged while in Florida so I stuck with it, until I met my first car. At which point I start doing things with it. Beating it, fixing it, driving it, rinse and repeat. I promptly switched out of pilot training and went into the Aviation Maintenance program instead. To this day I owe my current status to my car in the avatar pic. Of course I still haven't graduated due to unforseen circumstances with this shit school I'm in but that's a different story.

If you're definitely not happy with your current status, plan accordingly, do your research on where to go and what you want to do. And if by the end of the semester you still feel like crap, move out and move on. No use in wasting money on credits that most likely won't transfer over.

 

[urban yan]

Go to Coney Island College. Go WhiteFish!!


.

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

That's why I'm in college and work on cars on the side...best of both worlds (for me at least....well...most of the time at least )

Whatever you decide, even if it be stay in the school you are now, consider this quote from a friend of mine that I heard just yesterday actually.."Don't let school get in the way of your education"

Suddenly, I have a slightly different perspective on how i'm going to be finishing my last couple of months in college.

 

[Waterhammer]

I didn't really know where to ask this, but its mainly geared towards the jeepspeed guys or the fab guys.

Ok, so I am currently in college in upstate NY and I am finishing up my freshman year. Its a good school, nice campus and some classes are interesting, but I kinda feel like im in high school again. All people seem to do is drink and smoke weed. It was fun at first, but now im just bored out of my mind. also, when Im sitting down writing an essay, etc. Im just like WTF why do I have to be here. It can be MISERABLE at times. and being without my Cherokee sucks.

What, do you have a blanket too? And need to be tucked in at night?
Suck it up and finish school, theres PLENTY of time to go to a trade school after you finish. Upstate NY kinda blows and I don't blame you but find a college you like and transfer there ( I suggest UVM
The days of having just a high school diploma ended twenty years ago. Now, just to be competitive you need a masters. Which is what you'll realize when its too late.

Do something that will make you enough money to do your fab work on the side, on your own terms. When you start doing something for a job sometimes it can take the fun out of it.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, really. Just grow a pair, and finish school. If you don't like what the other kids are doing then do your own thing...

Cheers
-A

 

[Phil]

Hate to break your heart, but there are very few schools with degrees in welding, and none with degrees in desert racing.

Look for schools with SAE Mini Baja or Formula SAE.

I learned to weld and met my wife on my school's Steel Bridge team.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

What school are you at upstate? If you're at Cornell and thinking of dropping, I'm gonna slap you. To me, it sounds like you need a new group of friends if you're over the drinking and partying. There are kids who don't do that everywhere... trust me.

Finish school. I wanted to do the same thing you're thinking of when I was in college, and I'm glad I didn't in retrospect.

If you want to learn a trade, learn it. Find a local shop and take a gopher position just to get in the door. They'll teach you stuff soon enough if you show interest, and you'll make a couple bucks.

Also, if you're truly interested in doing the fab stuff for a living, I strongly encourage you to get a business degree, then learn the trade. This is purely anecdotal evidence from the few shops I've worked at over the years, but many shop owners are just mechanics/fabbers who got sick of working for someone else and started their own place. The problem was, they had the trade skills, but had no idea how to make a profit doing it.

Having the accounting, finance, etc background PLUS the fab skills from a trade will make you very valuable and versatile to an employer in that industry, and will have you set for if/when you want to open your own shop.

 

[MrShaft696]

check out http://www.pct.edu/schools/ , my cousin graduated from there & he started wrenching when he got out & after some time doing the ditry work he was able to get into a better managment position with toyota. Look at some of the transportation technology degrees.

 

[AIbandit]

none with degrees in desert racing.

Lies!

 

[XBoBJ]

Now if you want to learn the trades I recommend Universal Technical Institute. If you want to get a jump on it go in the military and get a rate or MOS in the trade, the VA/GI Bill will pay for tech schools now. If I had to do it over again I would pursue either electrician or HVAC, although in this area elevator guys make the most.

good luck finding a branch recruiting.

 

[CherBear]

How about an automotive engineering degree?

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/125218/article.html

 

[joe_peters]

College is wasted on the young.

I'm going to cross thread a lot of people here, but if you don't know what you want to do with your education, then you are pissing away one hell of an opportunity, and maybe you shouldn't waste the school's time or your own, and (I'm a**uming) your Dad's money.

You can take your general courses while awaiting an epiphany, or you can try working at what you want to do for awhile to see if that really is your cup of tea.

There is nothing more miserable than a person with the wrong education, working in the wrong job, for the rest of their lives.

Time for a little soul searching and an in-depth personal inventory.

 

[kujito]

Again:

STAY IN SCHOOL!

If your not really into your current course of study, go around campus and talk to other departments. There's almost always someone (Dean, Chair, longstanding Prof.) who will be willing to take some time to talk to you. I would find it hard to believe that there is nothing offered at your school that wouldn't interest you.

"Don't let school get in the way of your education"

There is a lot of learning to do in college that has nothing to do with the stuff in your books.

Learn to play the game, as it were.

 

[vt98xj]

Hate to break your heart, but there are very few schools with degrees in welding, and none with degrees in desert racing.

Look for schools with SAE Mini Baja or Formula SAE.

I learned to weld and met my wife on my school's Steel Bridge team.

I was on the RIT Baja SAE team the entire time I went to RIT. I was president for 2 years during that time. Most major universities have baja and/or formula teams and even some small community colleges. most of our team members were in engineering but we did have a lot of different majors on the team. You learn a lot, gain a great group of friends, and most teams travel around the US (hell our team even went to brazil for a race, that was a blast!).

they might be go-carts but they are fun to design, build and drive

 

[H8PVMT]

Go to Turf School, you can get out in 2 years if your that impatient and you can grow grass for a living

plus every place you'll work at will have a full service shop with a mechanic

 

[JNickel101]

Man, first, I have to say to this thread: some of you guys are assholes....a lot of you.

To the OP - I enlisted in the USAF right out of H.S.

Never looked back. 13 years later, I'm happy, I love my job and I'm almost finished with a degree in something I enjoy - and I did it on my terms. Life is too short to do something that makes you unhappy - everyone is different. Some people will work at something they hate, but they make good money - so money to them = happiness.

It sounds like you really need to do some soul searching...I wish I could give you the right answer, but no one really has that except you. I've made tons of mistakes in my life - but I regret nothing. You learn from real life mistakes - not from making a mistake on a test, IMO...

Good luck...ignore the jackasses here...

 

[tbburg]

The problem with going into fab work is the pay sucks unless you own the shop, in which case the pay is however successful the shop is. Fabricators really don't male too much money. Might want to consider a degree in industrial technology, with a minor in business admin. That's for the job where you figure out how to make the design the "real" engineers came up with, and still make a profit doing it.

If you're bored out of your skull and ready to pack it in with college(it does suck sometimes), consider the military. Finish up the current quarter/semester and maybe do another if there are any series classes you're taking that you could loose out on(Physics, chem, and calc. come to mind. Take the first two in the series, take a year off, then come back and try to do the 3rd, or worse yet, try to transfer to another school after a year off,...) Anyway, tie up all the loose ends and do a 3 or 4 year hitch in the service. Doesn't have to be combat arms. Airframe & power plant for fixed wing or rotary, radar, electronics,... go Navy and play with big boats. Talk to the recruiters and see what's available.
Only one problem with this route: It's the same problem with taking a year or two off and planning to return. It is hard as hell to go back to school after you've been out for a while. You think schools hard now? Try sitting through a 2 hour lecture delivered by some insipid twerp who's never accomplished jack after you've been ot in the world and done something yourself. The advantage the ex-mil guys have is the self-discipline the military instills.

The main reason everybody says "stay in school" is because probably 95% of the people who drop out "for a semester or two" never go back.

Army out of HS here, then college. Worked out pretty well, although I didn't finish. Good thing you realized the party thing isn't taking you anywhere. 'Seems like a lot of people don't realize that until about 3 years after they should have graduated.

Good luck.


Edit: Oh god! Mini Baja! That was a BLAST. We had a "stock" 8HP Briggs motor they made us use that put out almost 12 HP on a dyno we had in the basement of the engineering building. And that little monster would pass tech too!

 

[austinaubinoe]

wow thanks man, that really means alot. (J Nickle and Tb Burg)

Believe me, Ive been doing some serious soul searching. I got into college, why would I want to leave? Many people would like to be in college, and here I am wanting to leave.

Also thanks for the links to the Penn state affiliated schools. I am really thinking about WyoTech in Blairsville Pa, like I said, but will definitely have to look into my other options.

Im going to visit my parents this weekend and Im going to have a serious talk with my dad. I think The best course of action would be to take a semester off and see how I like automotive school. ( I definitely will not be taking a semester off a doing nothing until I have the eduction that I want)

Sorry if I was unclear, its not just my major, many courses interest me, but I am just longing to work on cars. I wasted to much time in high school being unhappy, and Im not going to let another 4 years go by like that.

and I never thought about the military, my parents would be scared as shit if i mentioned it, but I do realize that there is more to it then tanks. That would be really cool though to work on heavy machinery like that. I get that it wont be the highest paying job, so yes, I probably will end up studying industrial engineering, etc. after I take some automotive courses.