Can she get a job in a lower cost of living town?
The cost of living in 2024....
- Thread starter Hillbilly Deluxe
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Even in our low cost of living area, it's getting up there. We're pretty happy with our mo-bile home on an actual 1 acre parcel and the $1000 mortgage. It's comfortable. Apart from student loans I don't have any non-mortgage debt and am able to 401k/set aside pretty nicely. I guess my fiance has my car payment as I have taken over the Sentra but that's pretty cheap. Neither of us has any CC debt or personal loans.
14 years into IT and if I could go back, I wouldn't go to college for it. The most successful people I know in IT do not have any sort of IT related degree (and in most cases, none at all).
14 years into IT and if I could go back, I wouldn't go to college for it. The most successful people I know in IT do not have any sort of IT related degree (and in most cases, none at all).
I hear you HD.
My 18yr/old son is going to an out of state school for mechanical engineering. This college is only ~60 miles away so they gave him "in state" tuition. It's still going to cost him $25K+ per year. He has to pay for it and is currently financing it all. Much to my wife's dismay, I tried talking him out of college in the first place, because he isn't the most driven student and could have gotten some (in my opinion) great jobs w/out a degree.
My 22yr/old daughter struggled badly with RN school and ultimately re-directed to (hopefully) become a diagnostic medical sonographer. She was forced to do much of the classwork "remotely" as a lot of the local schools don't have enough staffing for in-class. She is also taking loans and paying as she goes as she works part time (36-40hrs/week).
I also have a 20yr/old son who can't seem to find direction and a 12yr/old son who keeps me on my toes.
My 18yr/old son is going to an out of state school for mechanical engineering. This college is only ~60 miles away so they gave him "in state" tuition. It's still going to cost him $25K+ per year. He has to pay for it and is currently financing it all. Much to my wife's dismay, I tried talking him out of college in the first place, because he isn't the most driven student and could have gotten some (in my opinion) great jobs w/out a degree.
My 22yr/old daughter struggled badly with RN school and ultimately re-directed to (hopefully) become a diagnostic medical sonographer. She was forced to do much of the classwork "remotely" as a lot of the local schools don't have enough staffing for in-class. She is also taking loans and paying as she goes as she works part time (36-40hrs/week).
I also have a 20yr/old son who can't seem to find direction and a 12yr/old son who keeps me on my toes.
I received my bachelor's in 05. Basically a waste of money. Never needed it. College is an outdated model for most people. Specialized/trade schools are a much better fit for the modern world. Unless you have your heart set on something that absolutely requires college like a teacher or doctor it's most likely never going to pay for itself.
I'd be surprised if she wasn't eligible to receive other forms of pay such as shift differential, shift differential OT/ regular OT /holiday OT, weekend pay & weekend OT, etc.
I did great in a four year college for a Business Admin degree -- 3.8 GPA and that was literally not trying at all. A 4.0 would have been easy but I was young and wanted to party.
Not sure I'd do it again, not sure what I got out of it.
In my 30's I went to vo-tech -- ya know, where the losers go -- for machining. I got WAY WAY more out of that because I actually cared about the subject matter. I have no interest in sitting behind a desk building only piles of paper or gigabytes of data.
I'm just one of those losers who prefers to create things and fix things with my hands. Poor me.
I was very lucky with state-subsidized vo-tech that was around $320 per semester. I'm not typically in favor of socialist type programs but educating the masses in the skilled trades benefits everyone.
Not sure I'd do it again, not sure what I got out of it.
In my 30's I went to vo-tech -- ya know, where the losers go -- for machining. I got WAY WAY more out of that because I actually cared about the subject matter. I have no interest in sitting behind a desk building only piles of paper or gigabytes of data.
I'm just one of those losers who prefers to create things and fix things with my hands. Poor me.
I was very lucky with state-subsidized vo-tech that was around $320 per semester. I'm not typically in favor of socialist type programs but educating the masses in the skilled trades benefits everyone.
I've not been able to get my 19 yr old son motivated in a direction. Tests on the spectrum. Worse, he has a physical disability so I can't really force him to do manual labor (can barely walk up stairs and he'll lose that ability soon enough). The younger daughter though has a plan, but we're drilling it into that it's the total package for school, the compensation that is, as I did not save for their college.
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I don't know what I'd do if I had to do over again, or could somehow go back. Depends on how much bitterness I could take back with me... I like some of what I do, but I'm afraid if I were go back with what I know now, I'd just not get married nor have kids, and would have just moved off the grid.
Yes, that's true, my sister got her masters in biochemistry, got her promotions, and she's living in a pretty nice house in San Francisco. Lots of money spent on her education but she's making it pay off. To get an MBA I think most schools still require a bachelor's degree?
Lots of technician folks also go on to run their own businesses and do very well too, but they usually have reasonable people skills as well.
For sure there's lots of people getting a degree that probably should just get a college tech diploma and and vice versa...
I think my oldest son should probably get a more hands on technician education/job, but probably he'll start at a university for a year and see how it goes? His people and staying on task skills aren't that good at the moment, which means sitting at a computer staying on task, is going to be a challenge for him...
+1
Too many chiefs, not enough indians.
Excellent posts above. I echo the technical training route over college in my case.
I flunked out of regular college at 18, had extreme anxiety and various home issues. Was told that I needed to enroll in college as part of my parents divorce decree, on my dime. Parents had no money and would not even sign on a loan. So I did that and went to a 2 year technical college for about $30k.
Got out of college and could only get a data entry job in my home town. I made about $25k per year and hated every minute of it. Took a chance and moved to Austin and got a bunch of IT related certificates and worked for a Government Agency. Moved to San Antonio for another Government agency and got even more, and got into IT infrastructure engineering, then leadership.
Hard work and taking chances paid off. My spouse has a Masters in Social Work, and advanced state license and only within the past couple years did she start making good money. She is a GS-13 Fed, and she worked her butt off to get into that position.
I flunked out of regular college at 18, had extreme anxiety and various home issues. Was told that I needed to enroll in college as part of my parents divorce decree, on my dime. Parents had no money and would not even sign on a loan. So I did that and went to a 2 year technical college for about $30k.
Got out of college and could only get a data entry job in my home town. I made about $25k per year and hated every minute of it. Took a chance and moved to Austin and got a bunch of IT related certificates and worked for a Government Agency. Moved to San Antonio for another Government agency and got even more, and got into IT infrastructure engineering, then leadership.
Hard work and taking chances paid off. My spouse has a Masters in Social Work, and advanced state license and only within the past couple years did she start making good money. She is a GS-13 Fed, and she worked her butt off to get into that position.
Many great posts above! I won't repeat the wise words.
It is imperative that today's employees keep searching for adequate pay, be willing to relocate, and know how to avoid bad locations. Improves the chances of long term success.
It is imperative that today's employees keep searching for adequate pay, be willing to relocate, and know how to avoid bad locations. Improves the chances of long term success.
Yep, I did the same - my first job gross was just a little less than my 4 year engineering degree.
2 kids doing the same now. There's would be about 150K - state school - all in including housing. First job - maybe half? But its going up.
The OP's daughter will work at that hospital for a year or two. Then she will take a 2X pay raise to go work in a private practice - one that likely doesn't take medicare because they can't afford to.
We will all pay much more for services. Already happened at the low end, then trades, then Unions. Professional services like healthcare, etc will happen soon enough.
All that money printing that tripled everyone's 401K will also drive up everyone on the young ends pay. Macroeconomics works, there is just a lag.
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My older son is getting his degree in mechanical engineering this spring. When he graduated from high school he didn't really know what he wanted to do, so he joined the military and did a 5 year stint as a Recon Marine. When he got out he was focused, hard working and knew what he wanted to do. Four years later he is graduating with $0 debt and a job waiting for him. I didn't have to give him a dime toward his education. He said he feels it's the best thing he could have done because he has no student loan debt while all the people he is graduating with have close to $100,000.00 debt before they start a job. If your kid can handle 4 years in the military this is a great way to go. Not sure I would want to join with the way the military is now days under the current regime, but if they don't know what they want to do and need to learn how to focus it's a really good option.
My younger son could have gone to college on a football scholarship but decided he had no interest in going to school for 4 more years. Instead he went to a trade school for a year and a half which I paid for but a tiny fraction of the cost of a 4 year college degree. He is now the superintendent for the company he works for and reports only to the owner and in charge of everyone else. He makes almost 6 figures a year after five years out of school. It's amazing what one can do with a little ambition and desire. You don't need a 4 year college degree to be successful.
My 2yr associates of science in mechanical engineering technology cost me $12K in 1989-1991 and that was dorming there, meal plan, etc. My Bachelors of science in business management (of all things) was paid for by my employer 10yrs later. I'm still with that employer today. My first "career" job out of college was something like $23K/year and I was living pretty good with a decent car and apartment and paid my student loan off in 2yrs.
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Aside from the costs of living, etc., unless you are one of the fortunate who do not have to be concerned with financing an education and living expenses while attending school, college must be looked at as any other investment; what will your return over time be versus money spent and the true cost of those funds to include the foregone income for the time spent in school not working. Simple analysis, but I will say one that many high schools do not prepare students for, nor do all colleges, and that is a problem....
Our daughter goes to a boarding school and I will say their college counseling is good, actually focusing on eventual careers post college and getting the little darlings to consider the costs involved. However, I attended a parent's presentation that included representatives from 5-6 colleges including Providence, Holy Cross, Wellesley, Miami of Ohio and others and found it frustrating. Only two of the schools presentations mentioned pursuing careers, the rest devoted a lot of time to 'growth', 'expansive experience' and 'what does the student bring to the school community?' (parents' checkbook??)... Maybe my (very) low middle class background focused me a bit, but back then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have considered any school, or major, that didn't offer me a pretty clear path to a good living never mind dealing with student loans.
Our daughter goes to a boarding school and I will say their college counseling is good, actually focusing on eventual careers post college and getting the little darlings to consider the costs involved. However, I attended a parent's presentation that included representatives from 5-6 colleges including Providence, Holy Cross, Wellesley, Miami of Ohio and others and found it frustrating. Only two of the schools presentations mentioned pursuing careers, the rest devoted a lot of time to 'growth', 'expansive experience' and 'what does the student bring to the school community?' (parents' checkbook??)... Maybe my (very) low middle class background focused me a bit, but back then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have considered any school, or major, that didn't offer me a pretty clear path to a good living never mind dealing with student loans.
I see what you did there
The official inflation calculation, only mirrors reality. When real numbers are used, along with adequate understanding, the real pain becomes quite clear. 2 bags of groceries today, $121.00. That's where the "understanding" comes in, as a nominal 10% average with a 15% inflation peak does not mean the price is 15% higher it means popsicles are $6.89 from $3.39 over 4.1 years. And a 5 gal jug of water cooler water is now $12, up from $6.
I would have LOVED for my 18 and 20yr boys to enlist. They are decent in sports and have excellent physical ability. Love history and anything Military as well. My wife always pushed back on it which didn't help.
Fortunately I had a scholarship for 80% of my time at university, but when I graduated it was clear that those who lived at home had an advantage when it came to paying off debt and earning enough to move out. Both my half sister and brother did that.
Ya. My stepfather who did a tour at Da'Nang Vietnam as a surgeon gave me about 100 reasons not to attempt to join the USN.
"This is what your legs look like when you step on a land mine"
- Next slide
"This here's a pilot with white phosphorus burns because he crashed on landing. They brought him in still in his seat"
- Next slide
"See these X's on the torso. They're flechette's some of which went through him."
- Next slide
He took photographs to show and discuss the best forms of treatment. This information would then pass information on to surgeons who rotated in.
