Education and Ocupation thread

[luciusad2004]

I thought it would be fun to see what everyone out there does 9 - 5 everyday, and how much work they had to do to get there.

Post up your education (degrees, certificates, or just the things self taught), Then post up your current occupation, and were u want to go with your education.

As for me. I graduated High School in June.

I'm currently in the process of applying to schools. I'm hopeing to get accepted to The University of Scranton to pursue a degree in computer science.

Once i get my bachelors i might look in to getting a masters in software engineering or something. Im not to sure were i want to go with that yet.

As for a career, i just want to find a job programming not really sure on anything more specific than that yet.

So far my experience is just a little bit of c++ my senior year.

Thanks for any replies

Lucius :bunny:

[public_eyesore]

I am a high school senior and I am going to be a police man(training @ Pasadena City College) or an Mp then police man

[Slug Toy]

well ive had a rocky road so far.

i graduated high school... the june before last. last september, i went to SFU (simon fraser university) and tried out some computer sciences, specifically visuals and gaming. hated it... and long story short i flunked out.

after that, it was too late to get into any other schools, so i was stuck having to look for work for the winter semester. nobody wanted me apparently, so my dad put me to work in his electrical company as sort of a pre-apprentice electrician. worst few months ever! the working conditions arent my idea of adequate, and neither are the people i was working with. to me it really was a cold, hostile environment.

anyways, the summer came around, and my dad ran out of work he could put me in, so i was free... for a while. miraculously, i had been accepted to douglas college in general sciences, so i started for the summer semester... i got in just in time. started off with three courses: biology, geology, and geography, and that meant i only had to go to school tuesday to friday from about 10:00 to 1:00. that was some good times because when i wasnt at school, i was tanning, boating, biking, or weight training.

sadly, good weather and good courses dont last. this semester im taking the second section of biology, precalculus, and chemistry. my classes start at 8:30 and if im lucky i can be home by about 2:00 on a good day. some days im not home until after the rest of my family has had dinner. its really screwing up my weight training schedule lately.

next semester, ive penciled myself in for calculus, the next section of chemistry, and either an english or physics course depending on the answers i get from a few meetings. as it stands right now ill be going monday to thursday, starting at 8:30 again. on thursday ill be done by 5:30, and the other days ill be done by 12:30. no school on friday. i dont really like the ending at 5:30 because that means i wont be home until... something like 7:00 and that definitely ruins everything about thursday night. its acceptable though because i can sleep in the next day.

im going to be stuck at douglas college for at least a year from now, possibly a semester longer depending on how many courses i can get in each semester. eventually ill be transfering to UBC (university of british columbia) or UVIC (university of victoria). ill be going into geology, and ill probably be stuck in school for further 3 or 4 years trying to finish my bachelors.

eventually... EVENTUALLY... im going to sign on with a mining company and im going to do some exploratory geology. this means months away from home, exploring foreign properties and hoping to find something like gold, diamonds, silver... bla bla bla something expensive that will end up on your wedding ring. sadly, this means that ill have to drift away quite regularly and be out of contact for weeks, maybe months. good pictures, and great stories though... ill be sure to share if im still around by the time i start work.

heres a bit of info thats pretty awesome though. quite a few years ago now... geology suffered a hit in terms of demand and pay. lots of people got out of the profession, and hardly any new people were coming in. it just wasnt popular. these days, the average age of a geologist is 50+, meaning retirement soon. in 5-10 years, demand is definitely going to skyrocket. they already need more people than they can currently get. how about that eh? ill be done school in 4 or 5 years. some sort of twist of fate... all the bad timing that ive had, and missed opportunities, and suddenly it looks like ill be snapped up soon after im done school.

so that is my recent history and ideal future. just the tip of the iceberg too, there have been a lot of minor events that all add up to get me to where i am now. looking back... lucky accidents considering the good times on the horizon.

[SgtM]

I graduated HS in 1993. Served in the US Marine Corps from Sept 1994 - March 2000. Worked in telecom for about 3 years after that, including service restoration in NYC after Sept 11th. Since 1998, I've been working on PC's, building, repair, blah blah.. I'm CompTIA Network+ certified as well as a Microsoft Certified Professional. I sat the Cisco Certified Network Associate exam, but failed by only a few points. I'll hit that one up again hopefully sometime soon. Married, and a father of 3 girls. Last month, I started a computer service/web hosting company with a good friend of mine that I served with in the Marine Corps. www.mscomptech.com.

[Omega]

I'll Graduate high school in '09, with hopes to apply to UTI (Universal Technical Institute), an Auto Mechanic school.

[jdbnsn]

I graduated HS in 93' near the bottom of my class, did my last year while in vocational school for auto mechanics and passed but couldn't afford the tools needed to get a decent job. Then worked for 4 years in a warehouse loading/unloading trailors. In year 2 of that job I started college as an art major with subatnce abuse problems to boot. That went ok, but I wasn't devoted enough to become deeply interested so i went majorless for a couple of years. By year 4 of the warehouse I had gotten a job at a coffee shop within a gym and quickly moved to the gym floor after studying fitness training. Worked there as a trainer for a couple of years and became night manager (it was a bull**** title and I was too naive to know that it only meant everything was my fault). From there I landed a job at the cardiology department running various electrocardiographic exams and switched to biology major in college. Graduated in 04', and applied to med school, was accepted and took my last big vacation for a long time as a month long trek through China. Started med school in late 04' and kept my cardiology job, also picked up a job as a forensic pathology technician. Got to go to scenes of death (some quite crazy stories from that place) and assisted in autopsies (he even let me perform a few). Now in 3rd year of med school and take the first of the 3 biggest exams of my life which is the step 1 (of 3) medical liscencing exam this wed. (been studying for 4-5 months and scared ****less). Moved to Philadelphia to start clinical rotations after the exam and hope to end up in either surgery, cardiology, or pathology (go figure).

Jon

[Silenced_Coyote]

Currently in my 2nd year at University of California, Irvine. Studying economics but I want to switch to business economics. I might minor in computer science, but I am not sure.

My temporary job at an insurance company just ended a few weeks ago; worked there for a year. This last weekend, at the nVidia Reality Tour, a guy from EVGA gave me his card and mentioned something about being a forum moderator and giving tech/customer support from home. This would be awesome, but I feel like I am not qualified. I applied to be a Community Assistant today for a company called American Campus Communities. One of the perks is free rent! It would be so cool if I get both jobs!

I wanted to start my own business but I don't have the entrepreneur skills/mindset for that... I'm quite happy helping people out. It felt good to help a guy figure what heatsink to get and inform another guy about DX10 and video card support.

I guess you can figure out that I don't know what my future plans/goals are.

[silverdemon]

I'm in my 4th year at the Technical University Delft, studying Mechanical Engineering. I'm currently in my BSc. phase, but I will continue till I have my MSc degree.

At this moment I am calculating the effect of downforce (wings, diffuser etc.) on a Formula Student car. That's a formula car that races on thight tracks with low speeds (a lot of corners, so average velocity is about 45 km/h and top speed 85-90 km/h)
Since last week we're making a model of the laptime of the car, in Visual Basic. So I do most of the programming, while others in my 'team' do other stuff like finding out what formulas to use in the equations and making sure we get a wing ready for our test-run (with car from last year) which is in about 1-2 weeks...

[luciusad2004]

Silverdemon - that sounds really fun lol. I dabbled in visual basic (just some very very very very very simple stuff) in my computer math class my senior year.

[tennysol]

Graduated from highschool in 1994, and immediately went into college that fall at Norwich University in Vermont...for architecture. Took a year off from that in 1998 to study fine art, then went back and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2000, and a minor in Fine Arts. Started working upon graduation...now an Architect/Project Manager in Melbourne Florida. Currently working on my MBA online through my alma mater...graduate in May.

Took some night classes here in Florida in HTML and Cinematography in 2002.

Self Taught in AutoCAD, Photoshop, Sketchup, Lightwave, 3DSMax, Rhinocerus, Bryce, Adobe Premeire, and a host of other little progz. Also self taught in computer assembly and repair (although I would like to next take a couple classes in that too, just for fun)

Lars

[simon275]

Graduated from School about 7 days ago. Haven't got marks back yet. I am currently looking for a job. Went to a new store that opened and sells home electronics tv's, computers, toasters etc. They want me to work for them because they are desperate for staff. Since I havent got my marks back I don't know what courses at universitities I can and can't get into. I either want to do Information Technology or Business majoring in E-Commerce.

[rosecityracr]

grad. in 02' from H.S. Went to Lamar University for 2 years studyin Business Management. Didn't like it so I took a little time off while employed at a friends-of-family nutrition store (going on my 4th year there) and going to school now off and on at Lamar's sister school Lamar Institute of Technology for Computer Networking & Tech. I'm not a big fan of school. I'm ready to get out in the work field and go work my mojo, but I also know not many businesses will take me seriously without a degree of some sort so that's why I'm taking my time with school so I dont get too burnt out on it and wait for my door to open.

[TheMovement4]

Well Im a sophomore, I go to school all day.

Im skilled in PHP, CSS, HTML, and alittle SQL.

Im hoping to become a networking engineer or something like that.

Thats about it..

[CanaBalistic]

Slug: I've never heard of anyone who despises manual labor as much as it apprears you do.. :)

Here's my Story...

I never graduated high school. Like any other red blooded Canadian growing up on wellfair, I forged a diploma. I spent a few years wasting away at various warehouse/**** jobs making minimum wage. I got a job at a small paint manufacturing plant and worked there for about 8 months. They seemed to be out of money because they wernt getting me new filters for my mask and the boss kept bringing new motorcycles to work (humm...). So i quit. Spent a while looking for work. I got a job at the SuperStore warehouse/freezer. After seeing about 15 people come down with pneumonia and myself starting to get sick from beeing in -30c for 8 hrs a day. I quit that job too. I spent a year in self reflection. Went to Calgary to persue a job with a moving company that was apparently thriving. After working 3 days in the first month i decided that was a flop and came home. A buddy of mine got me my current job as an asbestoes technician/labourer. This job's been good to me. I've never made so much money and had so many freedoms. I've learnt how to run a bobcat (big whoop; i know) and also a huge excavator and an even bigger concrete crusher. I've trained men, put myself in deaths way. Anything that needs to be demolished, I've done it all. Im currently working on the Golden Ears Bridge project and a few other various places. Somewhere in the middel of that, i decided to get a degree as a computer repair technician. Im about half way through learning most of what i allready knew. With a few exceptions...

[Slug Toy]

Slug: I've never heard of anyone who despises manual labor as much as it apprears you do..

nah, i dont HATE it... i just choose not to do it. even though i weight train and all that... construction and electrical is too rough for me. i like the manual labour that i decide to do... like creative metalwork, wood carving, jewelry... and modding eventually.

anyways you know how it is... its fun until someone tells you that you HAVE to do it from now on, and then its a job.

[luciusad2004]

Slug: I've never heard of anyone who despises manual labor as much as it apprears you do.. :)

Here's my Story...

I never graduated high school. Like any other red blooded Canadian growing up on wellfair, I forged a diploma.

forged a diploma? Isnt your education provided in canada? Do you have to pay?

[nil8]

I've been around a computer most of my life. My family got our first when I was 5 and I played games on that thing for years. After a while, it got boring, so I went to console gaming.
I really started getting interested in computers again around 1997. I was a half life gamer by this time and decided it was time to upgrade.

I had a 400 mhz k6-2 hp machine. My first upgrade was the video card to a pci voodoo3. Then a voodoo4. Then a new machine.

I barely graduated high school because of drugs and my lack of caring about the knowledge that I was forced to deal with. I was more interested in learning about things they don't teach in high school, like OpenGL programming, drugs, firearms, sexual deviances, and anything I could about computers or networking.
After high school I went to the local tech institute where I majored in server and network administration. I loved the classwork and relaxed atmosphere and got an associates degree in 1 year. My offical major was Cisco internetworking. I competed for my school in VICA and came 4th in the state for router configuration & 2nd in the state for pc troubleshooting. I learned physical networking, server administration, tcp/ip, and network implementation and management. Rather normal stuff.

After RTI, I became CCNA and A+ certified.
I had a slew of crow-eating oddjobs waiting for an IT position to open up in my small town. I was a hotel clerk, factory janitor, general laborer, drug dealer, bodyguard, and general miscreant.

After a couple of years the local hospital hired me as a pc grunt on a 7 man helpdesk. HP machines & printers, no server work, no active directory work, nothing special. PC grunt work. Shirt & tie, 9 meetings a week kind of place. Not my style.

I worked there for 6 months when a friend told me of a position in Springfield working at another hospital that paid more and was more laid back. 3 person crew doing more server work, database work, phone work, physical networking. I worked there until September. I was downsized due to budget issues caused by a state medicaid cutback.

I have been trying to find work since. I've been rejected 23 times and every day I'm still plugging away to find a job. If I don't have one by Christmas then I will get out of IT and try something else.

IT isn't what I want to do with my life. It's great for paying the bills and my only obsessive hobby, but I don't want it to be my profession. After I start work and get settled again I would like to go back to school and work towards a degree in psychology.

Oh, and I am sober now. I've done a 180 on my life because I wanted to. No support groups or replacement therapy, just decided one day this isn't how I wanted to live and started to change.

[.Maleficus.]

... I'm a freshman in High School. Not much else to say.

[SgtM]

Interesting story nil8. Really bearing your soul there. Glad to hear things have changed for the better.

[xdxforever]

I just started a few months ago at Bard College after graduating in the spring of 06 from HS. I'm not sure what i'm doing or where im going, but I'm thinking about computer science. I've only ever had some crap jobs except for working as an event technition at a theatre every once in a while which was always fun, operating the soundboard and filming and doing live video mixing...

[jreffy]

I have earned a degree in Mechnical Engineering (with a biomedical engineering focus) from Kettering University in Flint, MI (#3 most dangerous city in the US, how exciting!), used to be the General Motors Institute.

My university had an extensive co-op progam in which you would attend school for 3 months, then work a full-time engineering job in your field of study for 3 months. Go back to school for 3 months, go to work 3 months, and back and forth on this rotation for the entire 5 years you were there. During my time there I worked for Modine Manufacturing (radiators, air-coolers, HVAC, etc.), BiPro a small company that manufactured prosthetics (artificial knees, hips, toes), and completed a thesis with Illinois Tool Works, doing research on new types of products and inventions that frankly I'm still not allowed to talk about.

I now work as a Biomedical Engineer for a company called Baxter Healthcare just north of Chicago (where I live now). We pretty much make all kinds of hospital equipment. Next time one of you uncoordinated fools cuts off a finger on your latest mod, check out the IV systems and other equipment in the hospital, you'll probably see Baxter's name everywhere.

The funny thing now is I was living with a Computer Science major all through college, and it's only AFTER I graduate with my ME degree that I'm finding myself researching and learning about computers. I sent him a link to my case mod worklog on this site the other day, and he almost died from shock saying, "you are the LAST person I would ever expect to mod a computer case".

[Zephik]

I'm a highschool drop out who likes to watch clouds and tinker occasionally with electronics of sorts. Since about 7th grade I have shown "promise" in anything that has to do with science. But it started to become necessary so I lost interest in it. At times it seems like I am an average semi-somewhat smart guy, but I usually prove otherwise, for whatever reason I don't know (since it seems that eveyone I know considers me to be a "intellectual person", ha funny). Everything is in one ear and out the other unless I show an interest in it. Which people then push me towards for making some kind of goal in life and I lose interest in it. I've had a few girlfriends in my past, but only one special somebody who I am still great friends with today, despite our occasional arguments (girls are complicated in case you didn't know, but so am I, which makes it even worse). Everything lately can be pretty much summed up in one word, Bothersome. That about it...

Pretty exciting stuff huh? It seems that some of this thread has kind of turned into a "what is your life story" thread. lol

-SF

[tybrenis]

I'm but a Freshman in high school. ... I know.

However, I've taken some mechanical engineering classes at my local school, and I am well above the rest of my peers. I am in all advanced classes and considered pretty savvy for my age. For some reason I enjoy college level math and physics, even if we haven't nearly learned that in school yet.

I am in every possible choir program at my school, I also sing in county choir and state choir. Call me a flamer, but I do gymnastics as well (not for my school).

I built my first computer when I was 11, and then started modding. I opened up my first legally registered company when I was 13, so while I might be young (15), I have some decent experience.

[Slug Toy]

Isnt your education provided in canada? Do you have to pay?

haha, not a chance. our government is way to cheap for that. they're slowly trying to privatize health care up here too, but we wont stand for it.

i said before that my two university choices are UBC and UVIC. UBC will cost... $20 000 once everything is done. UVIC is worse because its over on vancouver island, meaning i have to live over there. i have relatives that i can stay with, but id help out with expenses, its not fair if i dont. anyways UVIC would probably cost something like $40 000.

so... no free school here. high school isnt even free.

[CanaBalistic]

You really have to be "Special" to get free education here. If some sort of accident happens and you can no longer perform your duties at work, the government will pay for you to take school to become almost anything you want/can do. There are some discounts for people who fall into sertin criteria.

But for the average middle class person, youre paying full price.

luciusad2004: I forged a High School Diploma. It looks allright but i dont have transcripts if anyone ever wanted to run a check.

[tybrenis]

Probably want to stray away from that topic on these forums, Cana....

[meticoeus]

I graduated HS at LSMSA in '04 and am now a Physics / Math dual degree at Centenary College. Right now I'm in 18 hours of classes(mostly upper-level math and physics courses) which keeps me busy most of the week, literally. Right now I start class Monday-Friday around 9-am and stay in class until 2, then I have two labs until 5 two days. I regularly stay up until 5-6 am just to get all of my class work done. Double majoring is a bitch/just-plain-ridiculous once Junior and Senior year roll around. I'm also a music voice/composition minor because it is fun and it gets me out of the science building for a while.

After College my plan is to pursue a PhD in physics and do research at a university or a lab somewhere, though sure of which specialty yet. Astro- and related physics currently look appealing.

Mostly self taught in programming Java and HTML/CSS/Javascript and I took some classes in C++. Java and C++ are awesome.

[yakyb]

left 6th form in 2002 with 3 a-levels maths, physics, Design technology (the b*****ds wouldnt let me do comp science which i still hate them for). any way went to uni in manchester and studied Mechanical Engineering. i kind of fell into this because of my physics maths background however looking back should have taken a year to do a 4th alevel in comp science or programming and gone to uni to follow that up but instead graduated in 2005 with a Beng hons after becoming very bored with the course.

anyway during this i played county rugby which i guess is much like playing state Football over in the US, and after graduating, i played national league 2 rugby for a year, earning my wage doing this. it wasnt much but i was essentially pro rugby player for a year.
when the season ended needed to get a job so i got a temp job as a data analyst at an insurance company. basically put i would make graphs using excel for them from data retreived from there database so i did this for a while, before being offered a permantent place in the IT department, so i had to learn SQL in about 3 days which was fun and thats where i currently am building up my CV with courses and such maybe in a couple of years i will re assess and see what my qualifications can get me

bout 2 months into my job i took a place with a different team who play national 1 rugby. we train 3 times a week together, and i have to train on my own as well so my day is now wake at 7.30 goto work for 8.30 work through till 5 drive to rugby for 6 45mins gym session prior to starting training at 7 then training finishes 8.30 - 9 then i drive home for about 9.45 so basically put im working 14hr days at the moment working essentially 2 jobs **** only really realised that just now:eek: ( although i really enjoy the rugby which helps) i only get wednesday afternoon and sundays off (no training or game) however wednesdays i do a further gym session.

on top of this im really trying to get my modding started wednesdays and sunday seem to be my only opportunities right now so my current mods are limited to a mouse mod and a keyboard mod but i have a cube mod started now

despite all this i do have a wonderful girlfriend who helps me with everything

anyway hope i didnt bore you with all that work is pretty slow at the moment so had a bit of time to type itt all out

[SgtM]

Jeremy - congrats on the baby girl. I have 3 daughters. Watch out, she'll have you wrapped around her finger in no time..

[bartvandenberg]

went to private schools till grade 10. moved across the country, and continued in the wonderful public system. (my grade 10 private was the equivalent of grade 12 public). so. i breezed through the last couple years. graduated june '02, and started working construction. After a few years of that, realized that my back and knees were shot, so... i moved closer to my fiance ( was an hour away, now only 2km's) and got a new job as an aluminum welder for a well known truck body company "walinga".

http://www.walinga.com/main.html

Now i build hopper feed bodies, gettin married in june '07, and i "tinker" with comps and have since the brand new $4000 dollar 486 we had.

we were the coolest people in town. *cough*