Theorectical Career Question

[Zamerith]

Lets say, theoretically that you are a semi-lazy asshole like me. So you're just chilling right now, don't know what you want to do with your life, you just have a general idea. Since 'you' live in Alberta Canada and the oil and gas extraction industry is HUGE here, you're more inclined to go with that industry since the amount of money to made there is just stupid. Now lets say that you kind of dog fucked the day away in high school and only have average marks in the high end classes... lets say.. mid 70's. Now here’s the problem, to get into university to become either a petroleum engineer or a chemical engineer I'm going to have to go back for grade 13, while I'm 19 and do ... 3-4-5 classes over again, depending on how competitive the universities are at the time.. it’s alot of extra work, and university is expensive. The average wage for an engineer in those two fields is around $120,000.00 a year.

Now lets say that since you already have decent marks in the required classes for lets say, a trade university like NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) you wouldn't have to go back and do another semester or two of high school, you could get into NAIT quite easily and spend alot less money on it. The program is a 2 year degree, which is a lot shorter then the 4 year program at lets say, the University of Alberta. If you went to NAIT you would be going for either a petroleum engineering technologist or a chemical engineering technologist, which is the same field and almost the same duties, but it is considerably less money per annum. The average salary for this option is around $70,000.00 a year.

So here’s the ultimate question us slackers have been asking for eternity, do I actually apply myself and do the extra semester of high school, get my required grades and HOPE I get into university, or do I take the safe route, go with the engineering technologist degree and possibly upgrade my degree later? And is university really worth it in today’s society? Considering the average amount of debt a university student has after being done a degree is around $20,000.00 which is alot of money to pay off as a entry level engineer. What’s your take, and please help as I have been so stressed out lately. I know that a gaming forum filled with a bunch of 14 year olds having fun is not the best place to post this, but believe me when I say I've tried many other sources, this is a last resort.

Thanks for reading.

[camaz0tz]

thing u need to realize is that no university student is there for a set amount of years...its called a 4 year university cuz 4 years is the general average...some stack up on classes and finish early some finish later...some are there for 6 years! anyway u may stay there an extra semester but there will be tons of others who will be staying there for that semester and maybe even longer

ur choices in HS dotn effect ur university for the most part...well they dont make u stay longer if anything they can make u finish early(AP classes and so forth) but not more...if ur ending up doin more its because u really just dont understand the material and need to retake it to understand it and thats nothing to be ashamed of and nothing any company would look down on as long as u get ur degree and get good grades in ur classes in uni!

bottom line: DONT MAKE THE SAME CHOICES U DID IN HS AND ULL BE FINE

[Shurt]

Lets say, theoretically that you are a semi-lazy asshole like me. So you're just chilling right now, don't know what you want to do with your life, you just have a general idea. Since 'you' live in Alberta Canada and the oil and gas extraction industry is HUGE here, you're more inclined to go with that industry since the amount of money to made there is just stupid. Now lets say that you kind of dog fucked the day away in high school and only have average marks in the high end classes... lets say.. mid 70's. Now here’s the problem, to get into university to become either a petroleum engineer or a chemical engineer I'm going to have to go back for grade 13, while I'm 19 and do ... 3-4-5 classes over again, depending on how competitive the universities are at the time.. it’s alot of extra work, and university is expensive. The average wage for an engineer in those two fields is around $120,000.00 a year.

Now lets say that since you already have decent marks in the required classes for lets say, a trade university like NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) you wouldn't have to go back and do another semester or two of high school, you could get into NAIT quite easily and spend alot less money on it. The program is a 2 year degree, which is a lot shorter then the 4 year program at lets say, the University of Alberta. If you went to NAIT you would be going for either a petroleum engineering technologist or a chemical engineering technologist, which is the same field and almost the same duties, but it is considerably less money per annum. The average salary for this option is around $70,000.00 a year.

So here’s the ultimate question us slackers have been asking for eternity, do I actually apply myself and do the extra semester of high school, get my required grades and HOPE I get into university, or do I take the safe route, go with the engineering technologist degree and possibly upgrade my degree later? And is university really worth it in today’s society? Considering the average amount of debt a university student has after being done a degree is around $20,000.00 which is alot of money to pay off as a entry level engineer. What’s your take, and please help as I have been so stressed out lately. I know that a gaming forum filled with a bunch of 14 year olds having fun is not the best place to post this, but believe me when I say I've tried many other sources, this is a last resort.

Thanks for reading.[/b]

Well, in my honest opinion, a college degree is becoming more and more of a requirement in today's society. I, like you, slack off on my work, but somehow manage to maintain decent grades (80's or above). I don't plan to change much when it's time for college either, but then again, i seem to have a good system going and, why ruin a good thing? For you though, I would suggest re-thinking your slacking methods and giving something new a shot, if not abolishing them entirely. Your slacking seems to be the cause of everything else. I think if you didn't slack off, took the necessary courses to apply for college, you'd make it. Now, that's assuming there isn't a lot of competition for that job. I don't know anything about an petroleum engineer or chemical engineer, so I can't help much there. In my honest opinion, getting a college degree is the way to go. The extra debt is miniscule compared to the benefits you'll have. In addition to that, if you ever get bored as a petroleum engineer or chemical engineer, you can always get a job working at a laboratory working with chemicals to change the way we live.

[Goathorns]

Without a degree, there are only so many jobs you could apply for, and they wont pay very well. Where I live, it's either College degree or Army as the cost of living keeps going up, so much that minimum-wage jobs just dont pay the bills. Unless you want to sell drugs, there is just as much money there, even more depending what you sell, than most jobs :unsure:

If you think you are an average student, it is very likely you will stay more than 4 years. Even then, you might have a change of heart midway and decide to study something else, some classes can be "carried over" but chances are you'll have to take the same classes under a different name which means more time...

Oh yeah, lazyness... Dont need to totally drop it, I'm a lazy bastard myself, but it's better if you just pick up better studying habits and get everything done on time... You'll have more time to do nothing after without the guilt.

[TunaFishyMe]

i have many friends in alberta and they told me you can make $20+ / hour working at a specific 7/11 h34r: h34r:

anyways, a diploma is nothing compared to a degree. Go back to highschool and finish those courses. Your marks in highschool is pretty meaningless when it comes to university. University is all about hardwork and dedication. In highschool, I pretty much did jackshit and got a 95% average. I went to university and in first year, I did jack shit too and pretty much did like shit. dont skip class. 12 weeks a semester....i skipped 11 weeks.. Thats not a good idea. Even though the prof might seem like hes just talking from slides i can access from the net, you will never look at the slides until its too late lol.

Im in electrical engineering and I would say it one of the harder diciplines of engineering. I started to go to class this year and I guess "work harder" so my marks are around the top 25-30% of the class. Im pretty sure id make it through and get my iron ring but I still have to determine how much effort i want to put in. I still have time for friends. starcraft, badminton, during the school year so you dont have to give up your entire life. However, if i want to aim for top 10% of the class, id probably have to give up my life.

People are different. I have a friend who studies 24/7 and doesnt do well because he doesnt pick this up fast enough. I have a friend who doesnt study at all until last minute and still gets a pretty decent mark. Find out where you are and see how much deciation you need to put into it to get the grades you want.

[Adis]

True Tuna,

A diploma now is like grade 11 practically, and a bare univesity degree is even starting to grow weak where soon masters will be ultimate minimum requirement. The diploma thing might be a bit of an exaggeration, but realistically, that is what it amounts to for some careers. Get those classes done, you'll thank yourself later. I have a very intelligent friend in the same situation, all he did was slack and now he's in college and is trying his best to get into a university degree program. Nothing worse than being years behind.