I'm going to chime in here!!! I had been in very similar shoes when I was
younger. Here is what I have learned.
It is wise to get a degree, but it did not necessarily matter if I had a
degree or not. The more decisive factor was my environment. That is a big
reason why poor families stay poor and pass it along to their children.
I love my parents and siblings dearly, but the combination of everything in
and near where I came from, made it very difficult for me to psychologically
break that cycle. Every time I thought I had a plan and knew better, I found
out I was wrong.
Eventually, I moved away and worked on the issues that made me one of the
'poor folk'. It wasn't until after I turned 30 years old that I completely
came to this conclusion, and sometimes I wish I had done it sooner.
Someone in a previous post mentioned "networking". That is VERY true.
However, for successful networking, that will require time and making new
friends and possibly slowly losing some old friends. You have your goals and
aspirations. It is good to surround yourself with similar people - sort-of
like the old proverb that says "Steel sharpens steel".
This is not to say you are to throw away old acquaintances, but you will
need to devote more time elsewhere in order to attain your aspirations. I
haven't lost all my old friends, but many of them just sort-of drifted in
their own directions.
As for the semantics of what college to go to, what curriculum, etc... well,
when you network with others, you will get plenty of people who can guide
you based upon their own personal experience and wisdom.
I can also say that as far as being a technical person, a degree or
certification doesn't make you that kind of person. It only qualifies you
for selective employment. If worse came to worse and all the computer jobs
went overseas, the oil market crashes, etc... there will still always be
technical things that need to be accomplished, situations where you need to
think outside of the box, and someone that will need YOU to do it. Your
sense of self worth and the results of your 'networking' will determine your
value.
And.. if you think about it.. schooling is basically the institutionalized
networking of knowledge. The down side of many kinds of schooling is that
someone is CONTROLLING what you learn and how you learn it while you pay for
the organized dissemination of that knowledge. That is why getting a degree
AND maintaining your personal networking produces such good results.
On 10/6/05, nick velez <velez_nick@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hello All,
> I seek your opinions.
>
> I come from a poor background. Growing up, I enjoyed learning as much as
> possible about everything. I would spend much of my time at the local public
> library as this was the only source of free education available to me
> outside of the public school system. It was there
> that I developed a love for technology, especially computers and
> programming.
>
> I am now a young man preparing for college. I want to factor in my love
> for technology and also ensure that the past never repeats itself so that my
> kids never have to go through what I went through growing up in a poor
> household. I want to give them more than I could
> ever have hoped for when I was growing up. I have two options that I am
> considering which can fulfill both these factors. These are as follows:
>
> Option#1: I can pursue a career in software engineering by obtaining a
> Computer Science degree. It is my understanding that this is a financially
> lucrative career option. But I ask myself: is this a stable career venue in
> today's job market? Am I correct in my
> financial analysis of this career option?
>
> Option#2: I can run my own technology-based business. But then, what
> degree would best compliment my hard work and determination? I can get a
> Computer Science degree and develop my business administration skills as I
> go along. Or, I can obtain a Business Administration degree and hire people
> with CS degrees to develop the company's
> technology.
>
>
> I am not seeking advice, but rather am interested in hearing your opinions
> on what you would do given these circumstances. What would you do and why?
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
>
> ------------------------------
> Yahoo! for Good
> Click here to donate <http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/> to the
> Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
>
>
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