College Alternatives

[MLank]

My guys work alot. They work anywhere from 600-1200 hrs overtime/ doubletime a year. But they get paid rest time as well. If they work thru the night they will get paid to sleep the next day. I was in my tools for 20 yrs. Its not for everyone but it is long hours and they work in all elements. This last few weeks they were working 16-20 hrs a day in the cold.
They sacrifice everything at home to try and get power restored quickly and safely as possible. I see the demand being even higher for lineman in the next few years.

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Thanks. That’s some good insight. The right go getter(s) could do well for themselves.

[wickll]

If he is OK with shift work, process technology (plant operators) pays well. I teach PTEC at Victoria College. We do both 1 year certificates and 2 year associates. PM me if you would like more info.

[Tommyh]

Any union apprenticeship is a boon, and they get paid while learning.

[txchuck]

Do something that cannot be done from a desk. If it can be done from a desk it will be done by slave labor in china or india.

[smokeless]

Forester, you just described my son. I, too would recommend TSTC. My son did the double major in electronics and instrumentation . He is making a dang good living and loves it.Being young, it’s hard to know what you want to do. I wish you all the best in the search.

[doghouse]

Just a personal opinion but here goes. Small town America is missing local welding shops. Replacing axles on trailers to welding anything that a rancher needs fixed.

[Brotherbill]

IT computers been in that field for 35 years.

[Gclyde28]

So besides a trade school, what are some certifications or ???, that might be worth looking into. I ask because as we know a good portion of people with degrees are not working in that field. My son isn’t sure if college is for him, so I’m trying to see what other options there might be.

Thanks for the input in advance.

I see you're in Austin, not sure if you or your son are aware but there is currently a huge labor shortage, at least in the residential construction industry. Not sure if he has any aspirations to be a plumber or electrician but if he can get a little business acumen and gets his licenses and commit to doing really good work, the sky is the limit.

Heck, our trades that do our best work can pretty much name their price and we are more or less at their mercy because we can't afford to lose our good trades.

[Philip-TX]

Check out Texas State Technical College (TSTC). My son didn't want to go to college but attended TSTC (Waco campus) and got Assoc. AND dual Diesel Certification (Over the road & Off highway/AG) Is now a productive member of society as a John Deere Mechanic. I'll call it a success.

TSTC has other campuses also. They have core classes as well as all sorts of programs from radiology, HVAC, IT, welding, diesel, automotive, you name it. There are also a bunch of job fairs/placement opportunities. They have a good reputation w/ Industries.

[Iceman89]

I know that you said no trade school, but TSTC is hard to beat for a 2 year degree. Spend the first year getting the basics done and the second strictly on your chosen field. They do a lot of hands on training in labs, not just sitting behind a desk all day every day. I graduated from there in Electrical and Instrumentation. With that foundation I went to work in electrical substations. From there you can work for just about any major city/utility and be home most nights and make good money. Or work for a contractor and travel a lot more and make really good money.

A good friend of mine went through their “auto collision” program. He’s doing very well for himself as an auto body technician.

[Zmaxhunter]

Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus
located in Salina Ks.

Aviation Maintenance
Professional pilot
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight and Control.. (drone school)
Young men and women come from all of the country.

Cloud County Community College has a very good Wind turbine class..��
I know techs who are making $70k+

(If he ends up here, lmk, i can be a mentor, take him deer and turkey hunting, get him some cash odd jobs)

[Matt_g]

College Alternatives

I felt the same but still went to college... Bounced as soon as I got my associates and felt like 100% wasted time and money. Finally doing what I genuinely enjoy, what I should’ve done right out of high school as I would have been much further ahead.

Today is a super odd time. If he has a hobby or a passion of any kind, it can be perfected and profitable no matter what it may be.

[dustin_mud]

Find a good union job and get your foot in the door early, I work in the aerospace industry and cleared 100k last year. Just have to stick with it.

[ThisLadyHunts]

As an aside, your son can go the website for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and glean a lot of information about job/careers: what they're currently paying, education requirements, the current market for that job/career, predictions of that job/career market in the next 20 (30?) years, etc.

[CTR0022]

Real-estate
Traditional agents
Custom home builder
Flipping houses
Rental property/investment properties

Stock broker/investor
Insurance agent
Insurance broker

Sales rep
Franchise owner

Pool builder
Landscape company
Arborist

Preacher/pastor

I dont know, lots of opportunity out there that doesn't require a degree. Hes just got to figure out what he likes and go from there.

I do believe some college is good, particularly accounting, finance, business mgmt classes bc the reality of life is every evolves around money no matter what you do.