Thinking about college.

[CrazyTeaPot]

I really only have two interests. Food and technology. So I'm thinking about getting some kind of culinary degree and maybe something in relation to technology, but I really don't know what. I have some experience in PC building, but that's about it and that's not really saying much. Playing with legos is more difficult than building a computer. lol

Any ideas or suggestions? I'm just not sure what to look into. All I know is that my life has always revolved around food and tech and I enjoy both immensely. Aside from that I feel kind of lost and without direction. I want to go to college, but what should I go to college for? Any ideas and/or suggestions would be appreciated!

[Technochicken]

What specifically about technology are you interested in? If you want to actually create technology, and are willing to do some (okay, a lot) of math, then engineering is the way to go. I'm actually starting college this fall, and will be studying mechanical engineering (once I get through some of my general institution requirements, that is). There's also computer science, if you are interested in the software side of things.

[Airbozo]

I really only have two interests. Food and technology. So I'm thinking about getting some kind of culinary degree and maybe something in relation to technology, but I really don't know what. I have some experience in PC building, but that's about it and that's not really saying much. Playing with legos is more difficult than building a computer. lol

Any ideas or suggestions? I'm just not sure what to look into. All I know is that my life has always revolved around food and tech and I enjoy both immensely. Aside from that I feel kind of lost and without direction. I want to go to college, but what should I go to college for? Any ideas and/or suggestions would be appreciated!

About 8 years ago when I got my Baker certificate, I was investigating a career in food technology or just the food industry. I found that there are many companies that sell and service the POS systems and another niche for technicians servicing the equipment in the kitchen and restaurant. Most of those companies require a basic ServSafe certificate because you are dealing with a food area. Check your area for similar jobs. I have not done much looking in the last several years otherwise I would recommend some companies.

[CrazyTeaPot]

What specifically about technology are you interested in? If you want to actually create technology, and are willing to do some (okay, a lot) of math, then engineering is the way to go. I'm actually starting college this fall, and will be studying mechanical engineering (once I get through some of my general institution requirements, that is). There's also computer science, if you are interested in the software side of things.

I'm absolutely terrible at math, unfortunately. It's been the bane to my education since I was but a wee lad. I even took special education classes for it, but it only helped so much. My brain just isn't wired for it.

I've thought about doing something on the software side of things before, though the only experience I have in it is Front Page, which is not only obsolete, but it was also just something I barely dabbled in at the time. I'm not sure how different any other kind of software developing is compared to that, but I did enjoy it a bit.

Edit: I guess I also have a bit of experience in Ubuntu. Frustrating trying to get things to work, but also interesting and rewarding when you do figure things out.

[Airbozo]

I'm absolutely terrible at math, unfortunately. It's been the bane to my education since I was but a wee lad. I even took special education classes for it, but it only helped so much. My brain just isn't wired for it.

I've thought about doing something on the software side of things before, though the only experience I have in it is Front Page, which is not only obsolete, but it was also just something I barely dabbled in at the time. I'm not sure how different any other kind of software developing is compared to that, but I did enjoy it a bit.

Edit: I guess I also have a bit of experience in Ubuntu. Frustrating trying to get things to work, but also interesting and rewarding when you do figure things out.

Funny, My wife teaches special education math. She has kids that couldn't even add 2+2 come into her high school class and by the end of 3 years they are doing advanced algebra and geometry. I honestly think it depends a great deal on who your teacher is. My mom handed me an advanced math book when I was 10 years old. It screwed me up for life. That book taught a different way to look at numbers and how to manipulate them. To bad I always got in trouble because I was not showing my work the proper way.

If you want to check out software programming use your ubuntu box and load a c+ Compiler on it and play around. You can also check out some of the tools for web site creation to see if you like that too. Also check out some graphics classes. Basically spend some time trying a few things to see if anything really grabs you.

I learned early on that the best work is play. If you find something you like to do, it is like playing all day and the time will just fly by...

[CrazyTeaPot]

What's something computer related but doesn't require much math?

[Yeticorn]

To understand the concepts of Computer Science you have to understand math. For most bachelor's degrees you have to take at the very least Calculus 2. There are usually 2 different varieties of CS bachelors degrees Bachelors of Arts (BA) and Bachelors of Science (BS).
The two are basically the same, difference being the a BA is more rounded (less math) and a BS is a bit more engineering focused (probably up to calc 3+). Either way, both of these options are what people choose for software engineering. I went with a BA myself and I've never been a huge math wiz. If you take the time to wrap your head around the math and it's concepts, getting out in 4 years isn't too hard

Edit: More to the point, not a whole lot of basic software dev jobs require advanced math on a day to day basis. I know mine doesn't. What's important to understand is how programs and the dev cycle works from the inside out. To understand how software operates, it is necessary to have some math skills. Don't take this as a warning though, like I said I'm an average math student and got through college relatively unscathed.

[CorsePerVita]

What do you do well? Or do the best?

[CrazyTeaPot]

I know how to assemble computers, but that's about it and that's not saying much. It really is a lot like lego blocks.

I've done some really basic HTML type stuff back when I was a teenager. I've messed around with Ubuntu a few dozen times.

Other than that, I've got nothing. That's why I'm just kind of lost in looking for something to go into college wise. I know I love cooking and baking, so I'll likely go into that to some degree. But the rest, I'm unsure.

I suppose I should look at some local colleges here in WA and see what they offer. Might be a good place to start.

[CorsePerVita]

Here's the thing. If you go to college to "discover" what might work, you may end up with a 4 year degree in something you find out you hate, the market may change for that job or you might find out you're not good at it and you're stuck with a degree that you'll never use.

Someone gave me advice a long time ago when it came to the business world back when I was looking to start my own business:

To sum up, no one gives a rats ass about your dreams and "doing what you love" -- what they do care about is what you can do for them; what your business can do for them.

Ultimately, you have to ask yourself this: "What do I have to offer the world?"

This is why I asked what you do well. The devil's advocate side to this is that maybe you go to college and find out there is an area you never knew about before that you love working with and it ends up being what you do for a living.

However, keep in mind that it's a good idea to try and think about the future when it comes to this.

- What would I be good at?
- Are there multiple different things I could see doing with this degree? What's the market like for them?
- Is it more important that I look for a job that makes a lot of money, or would I rather get my degree so I can find a job I both enjoy and am good at? (remember, money isn't everything, but it does of course help)
- What do I think the job market will look like for this particular sector by the time I'm done with my degree?

For instance, I wanted to go to college to do cars. I LOVE cars. I'm not bad at wrenching on them either. Problem is, I take my sweet time. I tried working on them and I hated it because everyone in the industry wants you to be done now now now with stuff. I can't work under those conditions.

Later on I found my niche was computers. I love computers, and I'm not bad at that too and I have over time found a passion with unix/linux systems which I interface with a lot at work. Now cars are my hobby which I love and enjoy, and I've found a good bit of fun in the technology industry too.

Alternatively, you might try interning or an apprentice ship with a local business to see if it's really something you'll want to do for the rest of your life.