Help me out with an article?

[PonyGirl93]

Alright, so I'm writing an article for a little teen e-zine that I write for, & I'm interviewing lots of people about career choices & paths, then I will compile the best answers into an article. I would like it if some of you could answer this little questionnaire [: ((Oh, and just adding that this article is not a plug for DL. You can of course rave about it if you wish, but I'm not going to be pushing it :p ))

What has your education/career path been?

Was it anything like you planned when you were a teen, if you had a plan?

Would you change anything about it if you had the opportunity? Any regrets, anything you are so happy you did?

What would your advice be to a young person trying to choose their career/education path? Any other thoughts?

Thanks [:

[andy3000]

I was in a regular college and hated it (the academic part, social aspect was fun). I had no interest in a 9-5 job so college seemed pointless; decided to drop out and join the Army. After the Army went into designing and building websites. Was building corporate web sites for Ad agencies. I enjoy the creative and problem solving aspects of the job; hate dealing with idiot clients. Also a very high pressure work environment. Found out about CLEP exams and decided to go back to school. Want to start my own business don’t really need a degree for that, so degree is more of a back up plan.

Had no idea what I wanted to do as adult, still trying to figure it out.

I have a few regrets; anyone who says they don’t is a moron. Wish I knew about CLEP exams 20 years ago. Thought about buying stock in Google after 2008 market crash but was too busy with work to pursue it. Was at $50 a share now at $476, douh! Should have gotten out of Army sooner.

Put yourself first before any job, at the end of the day they don’t give a damn about you. Try to find something that you enjoy and are good at, that pays well. Try working in the field before making a big commitment (internship or something). Learn as much about computers as you can; the internet is changing everything, need to understand how and why. Realize a college degree just gets your foot in the door for an entry level job. (Unless you go to a top tier school) Today’s bachelors degree is yesterday’s high school diploma. Get a bachelors degree as quickly and cheaply as possible and then go to grad school. After you finish school keep you mind active with hobbies and reading; try to learn a new skill every few years.

Don’t pay attention to people’s advice unless they have first hand experience. Most people just repeat conventional wisdom they heard from someone else.

[PonyGirl93]

Thanks andy [: bump?

[radeonator2048]

I am 21 years old and have taken the non-traditional path...

I was homeschooled so I guess I was always a self starter and rarely followed the norm.I was dual enrolled at a community college and took a couple courses, college algebra and comp 101 while still doing high school. I met an Army National Guard recruiter and having had a desire to serve and a thirst for adventure I joined...I joined as a forward observer in the artillery and figured I would use the benefits to pay for a business degree and didn't really plan further than that.After my Military training I enrolled into my community college and took the basics...business calculus philosophy, comp 2, speech, accounting. I hated it.Seemed like all the kids were not motivated or older adults starting over. I felt like I didn't fit in. Thought about going to a state university and doing ROTC. Most programs including mine require literature of some sort and I dreaded this because my comp 2 teacher made us do a scrapbook and I saw no relavence to the business world. Depressed about literature, I looked up clep and sumbled across Excelsior college, Instantcert, 123 collegedegree and the like. I had also recieved Brad Voelers book on accelerated learning a few years prior...I made a plan, that summer I would take intro to psych clep and see how I did.I did great and since I was only paying a proctor fee I took intro to computing and smoked it...After that Saturday, I was on a CLEP frenzy warpath and completed my BS liberal Studies with concentrations in Admin Mgnt and psychology.Never returned to school and was finished in 9 months.Luckily I had some saved up Army money and was living at home. By this time I was nearing 20. I found out my unit was deploying in about 10 months and the economy tanked...It was November of 08...I got a job delivering pizza with my buddy and did that until the deployment.I am now almost done with my deployment and will be done in a month...I now have aspirations of an MBA or, PHD in Business or Psychology.Looks like some entry-level positions are opening up and like Enterprise Rent A Car and what not and will do that for some experience.I need experience to boost my resume and to possibly take classes part time.

My advice is for young people to not neccessarily jump into a college for no good reason.Learning to Weld or delivering pizza for a year is not that bad of a deal.My reccomendation is to join the military and get a skill Government paid for and then go into the private sector after a few years and use the GIBILL...I concur with the above poster that Bachelor's is the new HS diploma.Sad but too many people have them so we have to go tto graduate school or have a skill like welding.I am going to invest my deployment money and get experience and live cheap.Looking to get employer sponsered education on top of GIBILL or funded PHD... There is almost no reason to go into debt just for a degree unless you are in med school.

I will keep you all posted on progress after bachelors and deployment but the main thing is educate yourself and gain experience.There is no shame in delivering pizza for a few years or joining the military for a few years.Many times you can meet connections and learn about yourself and what you want to do.

I reccomend reading Te Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind both by Thomas Stanley PHD and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill...All three books are inspiring and show that you don't have to have Ivy League education to ave plenty of money...

SPC Aaron Davis

Camp Taji, Iraq