Ditch college, learn a skill

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Kizmet, Jun 23, 2016.

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  1. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    It turns out I am reasonably handy. As I am staring retirement in the face (3 years, 11 months, and 22 days to go!) I've thought of doing occasional handyman work, perhaps as a volunteer (think Habitat for Humanity handyman) or perhaps for pay. Based on my experience and the experiences of others I have talked to, my number one qualification will simply be showing up. It seems those working as handymen are quite unreliable.
     
  2. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    Perry I definitely think you are on to something. After my experience with the handyman I wrote about earlier, I hired a fellow that advertised ceiling fan installation. After I had him install some ceiling fans in my place of business, I also had him install cabinets, chair rail, security lighting and on and on. I used his services up until he suffered a stroke and could no longer work. Now I'm having a devil of a time finding someone to take his place, when I need something done that I just don't seem to have the time to do or don't want to risk throwing out my back on. My son volunteered for "Habitat" and he learned framing, how to wire a small house and other handy things to know and learn by watching and then doing. He was always overseen by a foreman to make sure everything was done to code for future inspection.

    So again if it's something you want to do, I'm certain in a fairly large city you'll find a market for it. Good luck.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  4. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Employers want someone who can do the job. They need someone clever enough to be able to quickly adapt to the new environment and the new expectations of that job and perform.

    Traditionally, you assumed that a person with a college degree was a safe bet. If they can do four years of college then they can almost certainly adapt to this job. It isn't rocket science (unless, of course, the job is as a rocket scientist).

    Now tons of unskilled college graduates come in demanding company smartphones, offices, hefty paychecks and oh, by the way, can you teach them how to do every aspect of their job?

    Silly assumptions lead to workplace difficulties. It was conventional wisdom, for years, that if you were hiring police officers or security guards that you should get former Army and Marine Corps. Infantry or Military Police preferred. And those individuals do tend to work out fairly well. Many present nicely. They wear uniforms well. But former NCOs and Petty Officers also had the advantage of being able to order people to do stuff under penalty of law. Go mop the floor. No? Article 15. Go take that hill. No? Court-Martial. While many veterans adapt well to civilian life some really don't. How a person conducts themselves in an interview is far more indicative of how they will perform than simply knowing that they were once employed as an X or once earned a degree in Y.

    Funny story...

    I have a colleague who used to work HR at a very large hospital. He was hiring security guards. These are not typical observe and report guards. They have Peace Officer status (authority to make arrests, carry firearms, conduct road stops on the property etc). He was interviewing a candidate who seemed, on paper, to be perfect. Former Army infantry. A.S. in Criminal Justice. Completed a Peace Officer Academy downstate and had been working as a security guard at a college. My colleague said the guy seemed just a little "off" during the interview. So he asked:

    "Say a mental patient has a nurse in a headlock. What do you do when you arrive on the scene?"

    The guy, without pausing, launched into MacGyver mode. He began using examples from around the office of things he would grab and use as a lethal weapon. He gave him around 10 possible approaches each one ending with the patient being killed, always violently and often very theatrically. At no point did he entertain the possibility of talking to the patient, summoning medical staff to sedate him/her, or even employing some non-lethal weapon.

    They ended up hiring a mild-mannered but confident and well put together former mental health technician who worked private security on the side and had his EMT-B certification. He reportedly became a stellar employee.

    The qualifications might get you the interview but the interview is what gets you the job. And no degree, no military service and no certification can make up for bat-poop-crazy.
     
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I'm printing that out and framing it. What a great wall-hanger! :laugh:

    J.
     
  8. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Around half of the apprentice applicants I used to review had college degrees. There are a few apprenticeship programs now (stationary engineering and electrical testing technicians), that are actually listing bachelors of engineering degrees as the preferred requirement for admission into the apprenticeship program. Many people, including me, enjoy working in the trades even when there are other opportunities.
     
  9. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    There is also a relatively new type of college on the scene that teaches trade skills and awards college degrees, like this one:

    Welcome to ACBA!

    I love the concept behind this school. Way too expensive though.
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    It's a great concept. It's also unaccredited.

    There are plenty of accredited (often NA) trade schools where you can earn an associate's degree. Some even have articulation agreements so you can score an RA bachelor's without duplicating coursework.

    I like this concept. And maybe, in this space, an unaccredited but well regarded (by the industry) degree would serve you well. But at $20k per year that puts this at the higher end of trade school tuition without the benefit of federal financial aid.

    I also think this is an odd statement:

    To me this looks like an attempt to inflate the degree requirements for the skilled trades. And hey, maybe they crank out the best carpenters in the world and we should look to them for how to train carpenters in the future. But I'm skeptical that we need to start requiring wood and metal workers, in general, earn a bachelor's degree. Looks like a marketing gimmick that implies strongly to a young person that this school will allow them to get a better job than they would have obtained after trade school. That kind of is what led us to this "I don't need to pay my dues, I have a degree!" mindset that is starting to turn on us.
     

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