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Nords · 05-04-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Not only was it a lot cheaper, I got paid.* Apprenticeship?

TH, you remind me of this story.*

A couple years ago the military was rolling out a new computer system to help us all evaluate our skills & experience in terms of college credits.* The idea was to motivate people to get their college degrees by showing them how they probably already had a semester or two of "life experience" that could be converted to actual credits.

The beta testing involved sitting a bunch of actual sailors of different specialties in front of the software while clipboard-toting monitors checked the system's human-engineering useability.* As the hour ticked by, one grizzled E-8 became progressively more upset.* Eventually he began to vocalize his displeasure.

When the monitors checked on his "problem", it turned out that the program had just awarded him more than 150 credits of lifetime experience.* He already had the equivalent of a bachelors and was well on his way to a masters.* The irony was that the only educational certificates he possessed were his ASVAB scores and a GED.* (The Juvie judge had agreed to expunge his other "certificates" if he'd join the military.)

So, TH, next time your self-esteem is feeling fragile (I know, I know, but stick with me here just for the sake of the discussion) you might check into CLEP testing.

wabmester · 05-04-2006, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Apprenticeship?

That is a great approach.* * Basically, the only thing college does for you is to define the curriculum and then set the pace for going through the material.* * A curriculum is a useful short-cut, since the alternatives are either a shotgun approach or a depth-first approach as you learn on an as-needed basis.* * And having them set the pace for you is useful if you don't have much self-discipline.

Since I've retired, I would love to find apprenticeships in a bunch of fields -- horticulture, furniture making, architecture, etc.* * I'm not making nearly as much progress on my own in these areas as I'd like to.

cute fuzzy bunny · 05-04-2006, 05:04 PM

Thinking back on it, it was a good first job. The owners brother also worked there and he was his classes valedictorian in finance at princeton.

Nords...what the hell would I do with a degree anyhow? I'm already an ordained minister, and thats funny enough!

Nords · 05-04-2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Nords...what the hell would I do with a degree anyhow?

What, without a résumé to stick it in? I've been asking myself the same thing since I ER'd.

I think a degree is designed to remind you of why you aren't going back to school even if you now have the time to do so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

I'm already an ordained minister, and thats funny enough!

Travesty of justice, maybe, but funny?!?

cute fuzzy bunny · 05-04-2006, 05:30 PM

Immoral, perhaps, but travesty of justice?!?

I'm surprised the church that ordained me didnt instantaneously burst into flames...

youbet · 05-04-2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

I'm surprised the church that ordained me didnt instantaneously burst into flames...

Do those snakes ever bite back?

yakers · 05-05-2006, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet

Do those snakes ever bite back?

Watch it youbet, you're copmpeting with T-AL for nasal milk reactions.

free4now · 05-05-2006, 02:31 PM

I would have to agree that it's not how much education you have but how the education applies to your career.

I have a BSEE and got a high tech job out of school, and I'm now semi-retired at 35. I think my degree got me the job, but most of my actual learning took place on the job.

My sister got a Masters of Divinity, decided she didn't want to be a minister, and now owes a few of years of salary towards her student debts which continue to compound.

mickeyd · 05-05-2006, 09:16 PM

I'm afraid that many of my fellow Americans will find a need to hone their retirement skills to include the art of panhandling. They have not discovered the time-honored skill of delayed gratification, or living below ones means.

I anticipate that they (or some of you perhaps) will be knocking on my door sometime in the next 30-40 years and asking me for a scrap of bread for a needy fellow citizen. I'll probably have to sic the hounds on them, but I will justify it by recalling that I did not purchase every year that BMW in the 90's like they did. I only had a Toyota Camry that I kept for 12 years. I invested the difference and that, my friend, is reality.