rwheelz

Pay now, play later OR play now, pay later. Your choice! I buried my head and went the educational route. You will be broke for a long time, but it will be worth it in the end. If you are driving an S2000 at 17, you already have it made!

iflycoach

The 4 years spent in college will go a long way. When you get out its not what it used to be, but the life experience is priceless. So many things happened during my college days. Things that I took for granted or didn't realize until years after I finished. It will open your mind, you will build personal and professional networks, lets not forget the endless pool for girlfriends. I can go on and on, but I'll stop my rambling because I'm sure you've heard it all. And believe me its true.

If I could, I'd definitely trade shoes with you. The working world sucks, just kidding.

Some community colleges offer a Radiology Tech program. If you're interested in something that involves medical, look into Respiratory tech. I would look into the different counties and see what programs are offered. 15k a year is pretty steep for a non-degree.

Hope this helps you with what ever you decide. God I feel old...

Killer_B

Check locally but look for any place that is offering "Dave Ramsey's - Financial Peace University". It's a commonsense program that everyone should go through or at least listen to. It's not a quick/fix/get-rich gimmick, just commonsense theories that will help you manage your money and eventually build wealth. In the program there is a section about discovering who you are and suggests a couple of books to read to help you pin-point a career path based on your strengths and personality.

I've always managed my finances well because I grew up "poor" and was afraid of struggling as an adult. I now follow and apply a lot of his theories and although I don't have a six figure salary, my money and finances are not something I worry about even though I have an expensive car obsession like most people on this site.

I personally think that no one should be allowed to graduate High School without taking this program.

s2cho

thanks everyone!

rustywave

i say go to college. you say your parents struggled before and you don't want your kids to struggle. college is not the only answer nor necessarily the best one, but in my opinion if you choose a good major and work hard do well then that route is a hell of a lot better than anything you're looking at right now. w/o a degree, and unless you go into business for yourself, you will most likely find yourself facing a ceiling everywhere you go.

s.hasan546

your going to spend $30K on a non-degree cert. propgram? Im sorry and maybe im being rude but that is just plain STUPID. Go to a state school close to home and it will be cheaper than that. I paid $20k for a my college degree from a decent state school. Much better than a community college.

Don't go to community college. Go to a state or city school with a decent reputation b.c for the average person school does matter. Just keep a high GPA and than figure out what you want to do.

s.hasan546

also where are you looking at these salary and pay statistics? Remember when you look at median statistics the higher end salaries and pay is normally either in A. Big cities like NY where cost of living does not make up for pay difference or B. after being tenured for 20 years.

Take for exmaple, my mom is a Nurse Practitioner making close to if not the top salary in her field but she is the exception not the rule. The average NP makes roughly $20,000-$30,000 less than her. However, she heads her department and has been with the same hospital for 25 years. That is normally not the case.

slidinby82

Its not what you know it's who you know. I am a mechanic because I wanted to take a hobby and make it a carrer. So when the economy took a dive, I was back to making $10/hr changing tires hating life at 24 yrs old. So I made a change and started thinking outside the box. Now I'm 28 in Afghanistan making 6 figures tax-free working on military vehicles. (Because a coworker left a year before and got me into it) So the point is, don't limit yourself to 1 thing, take what you know and who you know and see where you fall into for success; e.g., most people use daddy can you get me a job? But if you network, then that is the key to success. Ex. If you and I go for a job, but say I had a friend in the company I was going for. I would get the job 9 out of 10 times even if you were more qualified. That's how the world turns.

s2cho

a quick update!!

I'm enrolling into community college of Denver and I'm going to get my general education for starters.
Then I'm going to see where i go and transfer into a university. The transfer rate for credits are 1 to 1 so i will save some money and get my credits.

So after my GE I'll get into medical guys!

I found that life is unpredictable and you just need to go with it, and stop stressing about every little thing cause it will all work out!

prowess

Good call, you can't go wrong by doing that. I am taking my last final of my undergraduate career tomorrow morning and looking back it has been a really great experience. Since I did community college the first two years, I just chilled and drove/rode my motorcycle and enjoyed life. But like you said, I felt bad for spending the parent's money, etc. I will say that it's not easy, but depending on your work ethic you can work and go to school. I was fortunate enough to land 2 internships (I'm studying accounting) that payed decently, so my last 2 years at University were paid for with that and now I have enough saved up that I bought an s2k and have enough left to live off for about a year (Going to grad school and not working). Not only will you not be using your parent's money if you decide to work (which is ok, honestly), your potential employers could possibly look at you differently because a lot of people understand that working and taking classes isn't easy.

If I could go back and do it, I would go to a flight school and fly helicopters or private planes. Just a passion I've always had. I plan one day to get my private licenses still, but I am okay with waiting since I know I will have a decent income when I graduate.

I know you're set on doing medical stuff but make sure you keep an open mind. I switched out of a Bio degree and I'm pretty glad.

Best of luck to you.