My Son & College
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@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@irj said in My Son & College:
Oh and forget learning anything useful in a high school computer class. The person who is teaches it was probably a reject in the field. Otherwise they wouldn't be earning $40k a year teaching high school kids computers.
More likely getting $35K and only teaching that class on the side!
That is not how public schools employ teachers, generally.
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@jaredbusch said in My Son & College:
@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@irj said in My Son & College:
Oh and forget learning anything useful in a high school computer class. The person who is teaches it was probably a reject in the field. Otherwise they wouldn't be earning $40k a year teaching high school kids computers.
More likely getting $35K and only teaching that class on the side!
That is not how public schools employ teachers, generally.
Oh, I didn't mean that he ONLY teaches on the side. I mean that he only teaches that one CLASS on the side. Might teach other, non-programming classes, the rest of the time.
I know my nieces' school does this. They have a science teacher who sometimes teachings a "programming" class by request. It's less than 10% of his workload.
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@momurda said in My Son & College:
@jaredbusch said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
Also, your 17 year old will probably change his mind next week. And then again the week after that. And again this afternoon.
This is a bunch of shit.
No it isnt. I added a conditional probably at the beginning. The vast majority of people at 17 are clueless about what they want for their future, except for some nebulous 'to get a job' type goal that their parents have foisted on them.
Just because you swear and berate people on a forum doesnt make you correct.I agree with @momurda, I don't think most 17 yr olds know what they really want to do with their lives. The rare few who do, are light years ahead, of course, but that only makes them the rare few.
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@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
@jaredbusch said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
Also, your 17 year old will probably change his mind next week. And then again the week after that. And again this afternoon.
This is a bunch of shit.
No it isnt. I added a conditional probably at the beginning. The vast majority of people at 17 are clueless about what they want for their future...
Sure, but if you are talking about the vast majority you need some context...
- The vast majority of people can never consider working in any tech endeavor.
- The vast majority of people never find a career, they just have jobs (if that.)
- The vast majority of people are equally clueless at 40 as they are at 17.
And I'll agree with that too.
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@dashrender said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
@jaredbusch said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
Also, your 17 year old will probably change his mind next week. And then again the week after that. And again this afternoon.
This is a bunch of shit.
No it isnt. I added a conditional probably at the beginning. The vast majority of people at 17 are clueless about what they want for their future, except for some nebulous 'to get a job' type goal that their parents have foisted on them.
Just because you swear and berate people on a forum doesnt make you correct.I agree with @momurda, I don't think most 17 yr olds know what they really want to do with their lives. The rare few who do, are light years ahead, of course, but that only makes them the rare few.
Maybe the most important thing is that by 17 you...
- Have known for many years that you had to know what you were doing by now or were going to face hardships because of it.
- Have committed to some beginnings of a path whether you like it or not.
- Have no excuse for not having planned to the best of your ability.
- Deep down really have a good feel for what you like and don't like as you're way, way older than when so many of your peers are already choosing careers, colleges, programs, vocational schools, etc.
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@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@irj said in My Son & College:
@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@irj said in My Son & College:
@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
@irj said in My Son & College:
Oh and forget learning anything useful in a high school computer class. The person who is teaches it was probably a reject in the field. Otherwise they wouldn't be earning $40k a year teaching high school kids computers.
More likely getting $35K and only teaching that class on the side!
Yeah. those teachers dont give two shits about the kids ....lol
Not very likely. Mostly because even the most casual student likely has already surpassed them in job opportunities.
Some of the worst students in HS become teachers or cops.
It's a known phenomenon, we see it in mental health fields too. Students who struggle, often get extra help from teachers. They start to see value in teachers. So those with the worst education behaviour often see teaching as more important than those that excel in school and didn't need help from teachers as much. So there is a huge gravitation for struggling students to become teachers. Plus, struggling in school means it is harder to get exposure to other fields making teaching one of the few jobs that you get exposed to regularly.
My wife is an exception this this - if not Straight As, near straight As in HS, and a high 3.x in college. She tutored in HS and college - she always wanted to be a teacher.
But when the BS of HS around here grew too much, she bailed and moved onto the local community college...
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@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
- Deep down really have a good feel for what you like and don't like as you're way, way older than when so many of your peers are already choosing careers, colleges, programs, vocational schools, etc.
I draw the line on this one. I'd say less than 20% of my peers (in my class specifically, not nationally) had any plan. And for those that I've run into since then - many still do those 'jobs' you spoke about, not an actual career.
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@dashrender said in My Son & College:
@scottalanmiller said in My Son & College:
- Deep down really have a good feel for what you like and don't like as you're way, way older than when so many of your peers are already choosing careers, colleges, programs, vocational schools, etc.
I draw the line on this one. I'd say less than 20% of my peers (in my class specifically, not nationally) had any plan. And for those that I've run into since then - many still do those 'jobs' you spoke about, not an actual career.
They had plans, they just weren't bragging about them. By 17, half the class has already actioned whatever plan they are starting. May not look like a plan to you, because it's not a big huge career path, but it's a plan and in motion.
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I started learning to code in High School, have a CIS degree. I worked as a generalist for 8 years before becoming a developer and systems integrator for the last 3. Having the degree has opened doors, but SAM is right, my peers that started coding in middle school write circles around me. It is embarrassing.
What has kept me in a great job has been mainly the following:
- I show up to work everyday, never call in sick
- I don't make excuses and own problems
- I complete tasks without management
- I can learn new things
- I stay on top of new trends
- I can use basic logic
The 4 year degree shows that I can stick to things and greenlights any HR hurdles, and most of what I learned in school specific to writing code, I never used.
I vote work on getting your kid a little daily stoicism, and don't be scared to toss him in the deep end and let him swim.
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Why not just buy him an Auduino Uno kit and a cheap laptop. No internet needed, it's cheap, and quick for him to discover if he likes programming or not.
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I was the same I had several "ideas" what I wanted to do while in high school from working I electronics to being a ninja . Can't really remember what was my main thing but seem to remember it was on the lines of film but more behind the scenes like FX and CGI (remember getting Imagine free from a Amiga mag. Then moving to lightwave on PC lived messing with them).
Then while I was in the last year taking GCSE I got offered an apprenticeship in engineering. Did that so college full time for the first year then working for 3 yrs while doing 1 day a week in college. Got my BTEC in that then carried on with the same company and got a uni degree doing it 1day a week for a few extra years.
In the time I still loved different aspects of IT from gaming to building and repairs. Then got asked to join the IT team (well at the time and until I left was only the manager and me).
Been in IT since. Between worked for Dell as a field engineer, couple of local "computer" shop's. (Was even a double glazing sales man (but only for 2 months as told them to stick it).
So you can plan the future you want from a young age but it might not go that way. But that doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the journey and are happy then go your own route
I will add if you get an opportunity to do an apprenticeship I would recommend it. Gives training while getting work experience.
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@hobbit666 said in My Son & College:
So you can plan the future you want from a young age but it might not go that way. But that doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the journey and are happy then go your own route
I think the things that kids need to think about is that they need to have a plan, right or wrong, just a plan. Then do things to forward that plan. This will either make good progress for you on that plan, or it will show you it is a bad plan, etc. Then you can switch plans to something else that makes more sense for you. Rinse and repeat.
The sooner you do this, the more you learn about "things" and about yourself. This is what you are supposed to be doing all through your high school years, this is your time to figure these things out. So that by the time you are seventeen, you've already filtered through a bunch of things and have honed the plan a bit.
I made "mistakes" like this, I tried restaurant management, hotel management, factory engineering, specialty engineering, etc. All in just a few years. Sure, they all sucked and I learned that I didn't like those things. But I learned tons from the process and could show to an employer or an educational institute that I'd been actively learning about jobs, careers, myself, growing as an individual, etc.
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@momurda said in My Son & College:
@jaredbusch said in My Son & College:
@momurda said in My Son & College:
Also, your 17 year old will probably change his mind next week. And then again the week after that. And again this afternoon.
This is a bunch of shit.
No it isnt. I added a conditional probably at the beginning. The vast majority of people at 17 are clueless about what they want for their future, except for some nebulous 'to get a job' type goal that their parents have foisted on them.
Just because you swear and berate people on a forum doesnt make you correct.So who is the pot and who is the kettle?