College

[Babalonian]

I'm going to be a aircraft mechanic, apparently i'm not meant to be a pilot like I once thought

FYI:  A couple of the most level-headed and successful commercial pilots I've met/know went AF, and either never touched a stick until afterwards or until they took it in the AF as a kinda extra caricular activity (I forget the name of the club/program atm - just keep your chin up and don't loose sight of your target, ever).

[Seanaldinho]

Actually some people tell me that within the next 10 years airlines will be hiring big time because even though the economy is down the 65 year rule is coming into play which postphoned the 60 year old rule problem.

[The Fugitive]

From a personal sand point, I did it the old fashion way, HS, Navy, dive into the work force, finally find a job I like, stay there 30 years.

My sons, well I can tell you some stuff there! I have two, 26, and 24 now. Both have Bachelors. The oldest went to a vocational school with "Electronics" as his vocation (it was the closest thing to computers then). After HS he went to college and got a bachelors in Computer Science. Went to work in the IT dept at a security software company. He is now the lead animated scrip writer for the software company.

My youngest went to the same vocational school with "Culinary" as his vocation (his grandfather and I both cook). After 4 horrible years in that department He graduated with honors and went to college with a double major of Art and Music. He dropped art after the first year and music after the third. Looking at what he had for credits, he decided he could get a bachelors in psychology if he set his "mind" to it.    He did and got it. That was 2 years ago. He works for Gamestop, and has irons in 6 or 7 fires because he STILL doesn't know what he wants.

The point is I have two talented and very bright sons. Both THOUGHT they knew what they wanted in HS, one seems to have been right. Don't lock yourself into any one path. If there is a will, there IS a way. We put two kids through college and as I said, I did it the old fashion way. The youngest wanted to try getting into videogame art and stories (he has a portfolio that many would kill for) we helped get him into a school in Washington outside Seattle. The work load was too much WITH a job and it wasn't like what he thought it would be. So he came home. But he went for it. If you want to fly, GO FOR IT !!! Get a job after school and stash EVERY penny then when its time to pay for lessons, you have a big chunk all taken care of. If you don't want to work after school for it, then I guess you really don't want to fly that bad. Thats where that "will" part comes in  

The point is, not everyone KNOWS what they want to be when they grow up.....other than rich   Stop thinking about starting pay on a job you haven't even looked into, nor are you qualified for. If it's the job you want the money won't be that important. If your looking for the job because of the money, chances are you could get it and be miserable at work. Remember, your at work 40% of your day and you sleep 30% and the other 30% is chores/eating/and play time. Do you want to be miserable most of the day?

Your young, try things. Lots of airports have free/cheap first lessons. Try it out, you may like it, or you may LOVE it, then you'll know. Try other things as well. Volunteer at a vets or pet store to clean up if your interested in animals. Volunteer at a hospital or old folks home if you might be interested in care giving. Don't sell yourself short, any thing is possible. It just depends on how much work YOUR willing to put into it.

Good Luck!

[Ardy123]

Hmm, majority of the players here are old farts so I'll ask.  

I'm planning on going to college right after high school (currently a sophomore), and I really can't decide which profession I want to take.

There's of course commercial aviation (no military, parents will not allow unless a draft ever occurs again). I also want to go into computer/video game design. And my Plan B is to be an aircraft mechanic. I live in NYC so there are tons of flight schools around, as well as plenty of nearby colleges to choose from. Now here's the part that's causing me decision problems.

Aviation jobs are in decline (lots of aviation companies are getting smaller or gone), and it'll be rather hard to find a job in a large commercial company (sorry, but I don't plan on flying crop dusters). It's also rather expensive to learn and get a flight degree and money is something my family doesn't have (surprise!). However, I love flying and is willing to do all I can, but have very little money to pursue such an expensive career (unless someone can show me otherwise? I'm open to feedback). I also want a sure-fire job after graduation in a large commercial company.

As for video game designs, I also love video games and everything about it. It's also much easier to find a job for this career because literally everywhere you look, there is a game company. It also helps that I live in the city where the large companies are. But from what I've read, video game designers work long shifts especially in the weeks before a game launch as well as having a rather low income in the first few years (30K-50K, although the average is 70K/year). Also, if anything should happen and I can't find a job, my experience won't carry well to other professions.

So what do you guys think? Do I bet big and follow an aviation career or play safe and follow a video game design career that's relatively easy to find jobs?

Get an engineering degree from an good accredited university....
AS rolex said, what you want is OPTIONS... the world is constantly changing so you want to be able to change too and many engineering degree will provide a wide range of options as long as you don't choose something to 'narrow in focus'. The thing is, by the time your older chances are you won't be doing what you said you wanted to do when you were 16.

[capmedic]

Hmm, majority of the players here are old farts so I'll ask.  

I'm planning on going to college right after high school (currently a sophomore), and I really can't decide which profession I want to take.

There's of course commercial aviation (no military, parents will not allow unless a draft ever occurs again).

As a preface to what I am about to say, I think that all parents mean well for their children. However, that being said, I would never advise someone to allow their parents to close a door for them. Serving our country in the armed forces is a decision that YOU and YOU alone can make Titanic. What I would do, if I wanted to thing about aviation and college, is see if I could not start the process for getting into one of the Academies. A very good friend of mine just graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and his father, one of the most anti-military people I know, a person who told his son he was disowned by going into our armed forces, was one of the proudest parents you have ever seen at my friend's graduation. Again, don't close a door because your parents say you can't go into the military. Make that decision for yourself.

[curry1]

As a preface to what I am about to say, I think that all parents mean well for their children. However, that being said, I would never advise someone to allow their parents to close a door for them. Serving our country in the armed forces is a decision that YOU and YOU alone can make Titanic. What I would do, if I wanted to thing about aviation and college, is see if I could not start the process for getting into one of the Academies. A very good friend of mine just graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and his father, one of the most anti-military people I know, a person who told his son he was disowned by going into our armed forces, was one of the proudest parents you have ever seen at my friend's graduation. Again, don't close a door because your parents say you can't go into the military. Make that decision for yourself.

I agree my mom isn't happy but I tell her at least I am not going to be a Marine

[Seanaldinho]

I agree my mom isn't happy but I tell her at least I am not going to be a Marine

My mom flipped when I said if I could fly in one of the services I was going marines.

My logic being if your gonna go into those situations might as well be backed by the best and be a badass.