An anonymous-ish question about college/careers...

lol I hear ya but I also agree with him. They are easy to grade but also easy to pass.

I sure am glad that there are good people out there that are willing to teach our brats ( woops sweet children). If I was a teacher I would be ready to throttle the second kid of the day that got smart mouthed in my classroom. LOL Probably a good thing I didn't become a teacher.

Lani

Or maybe not Lani. I am in western Maryland working and have been so impressed by the politeness of everyone, including kids.
It is refreshing and I couldn't help but notice.
Sidney

That's great Sidney! :) I think a great deal of it depends on what age of children one is working with. :) I don't think my 16 year old sister has had a really "good" day since she was about 12! lol :)

Sarah

I had 5th graders today... it was interesting to say the least. But, always better than 1st graders. :-) Give me the "mouth" any day over the "whines" LOL

lol Guess there is something to say about the older ones that is flattering. I sure hear ya on the whining. That sure gets old fast in any age group.

Let's hear three cheers for the gallant teachers who face the world's rugrats, accountability for culture, language, literacy and morals, (eh?) face the demanding hours, individual needs, responsibilities sometimes snubbed by parents, the preservation of innocence, the correction of hatred resulting from ill influences, the demands for attention, the new and innovative designs of spitballs, the potentially depriving salaries, and worst of all: the brutal beauracracy imposed on them from multiple and often conflicting sources.
Hip, Hip, Horay!...

Sarah: my choice:

I'm right in the middle of a Studio Art Degree. Very frankly, because It is easy and I'm a decent Artist. I will finish it. However, my life passion is Gardening. When I begin to nod off in Art History, you might see me waking myself by mouthing words like "Horse-Manure, Sabal minor, compost, Musa sumatrana..."

Realistically, I could quit school and go freelance gardening and more than make ends meet. Even now, I'm always in demand and have to turn down or compensate for new jobs. In fact, I'm trading a garden re-do for some tough prototype boots with the shoe man.

I honestly believe that a super-serious passion for gardening will bring more than an expensive Master's degree worth of education to a person. And why pay for it then? because of a peice of paper. A degree. But, the world looks at degree-carriers with less upturned nose. And I suppose I've chosen to appease the world in that sense, or prove something.

Dang. I used to feel content about that.
As a compromise, I will be taking the course to be a certified Master Gardener during next semester as well -with the cost of some sacrifices.

K.James

" 'What does it matter? Science has achieved some wonderful things, of course, but I'd far rather be happy than right any day.'
'And are you?'
'No. That's where it all falls down, of course.' "

-Slartibartast, from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Speaking of age and .... The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ....


Does anyone know what that book considers to be the answer to the meaning of life?

Let's see who can guess ......

It's numerical, but I can't remember which.

42

If you don't enjoy the discipline while you are going to school, chances are you will REALLY hate it when you have to do it for 8 hours or more per day for 40 years or so.

This is a tough question. Money does matter. It can be the difference between financial freedom and indentured slavery. But the less tanglible job related things matter, too. Are the 2 career option so different that they cannot be somehow combined? If there is a huge disparity in compensation, and if that matters to you, could you do the pricey one for a decade or so while saving and investing heavily and then "retire" to the other one? Today, it is considered normal to change careers 2 or more times in ones lifetime.

Also, note that enjoyment effects performance which in turn effects compensation. If you are sufficiently motivated and creative you may well be able to earn more money doing the thing that typically pays the least - by owning the business, as a consultant, etc.

Also, when basing your decision on money, keep in mind that the relative compensation of a profession varies with time and circumstances. Outsourcing is beginning to effect more and more professions that were not previously considered vulnerable. Outsourcing of even a portion of the jobs in a field, effects supply and demand and thus compensation. Until recently it looked like any job that could be done "offsite" could be outsourced; now, however, the issue of outsourcing fligt attendants has come up, so ... If you choose a career solely on the basis of money, and the "face" of that profession changes dramatically due to outsourcing or some other as yet unforseen force...what then?

I have had the opportunity both to earn a moderate salary while doing something I enjoyed so much that I found myself saying, "I can't believe they pay me to do this" and to live quite extravagantly while counting the painful seconds until Friday on a job I despised. Frankly, I can't advise either option. Think creatively and find a way to do well at something you care about!

The answer for all educational concerns happens to be forty-two as well...

"Speaking of age..." -That must also be the answer to your age, eh, GrannyLois? No sense in telling people you are older than you are. -(Only kidding)

(On Outsourcing, read Thomas Friedman's 'The World is Flat" for the amazing positives: [Paraphrasing] "Global economics are a win-win game, but you have to be playing it." )

Here's to those who are creative and happy for it!

I know I'm weird, but I celebrate age. I guess it helps that I have excellent health now (and appreciate the difference).

I'm 57, and there is not an earlier age that I would return to. Not even 42.

Whenever someone turns 42, I always tell them that little tidbit.

Just curious, what do you all think is the meaning of life? (Besides 57, I mean.) :-)

I like Garrison Keillor's answer to the Meaning of Life : " To know and serve God, of course, is why we're here, a clear truth that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernibe but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard." He goes on to say that if we had no other purpose in life it would be good enough to simply take care of the gentle people ( and to goose them once in awhile). James Taylor has a song called The Secret of Life, and his answer is enjoying the passage of time. And this calls into account that there is a difference between the Meaning of Life and the Purpose of Life and the Secret of Life, but if you get the first two right, the third one falls into line. Meanings and purposes and secrets, I think all of those people who are fighting the fact that they are getting older (I'm 53) are missing the point, and making themselves miserable in the process.

Amen to all of that.

Well, here's another late vote in favor of natural sciences! I am 44, mother of two, and when I was in my twenties I got a bachelors degree in business, everyone said it was good to fall back on, and I always wanted my own business! Well, I ended up working as an accounting clerk, doing payables for a general contractor. A very respectable job, w/good benefits, nice (not huge) paycheck, close to home. When I had the opportunity to stay home with my newborn son, I quit my job and started to think about doing what I always loved to do. To make a long story short, I returned to school last year for horticulture, and even changed my major after being so sure that I wanted to design, and now I'm majoring in nursery management. It doesn't stop me from planning to take classes in floral design, and interior plantscaping. I am still interested in having my own business someday, poss. doing containers, and no knowledge is wasted anyway. The real kicker for me, is that I would do it for free. (No, I can't afford to do it for free, but that's not the same thing, is it?) Money is important, so is family and love and faith. Follow your dreams, the path may twist and turn and double back a little ways, but keep the dream in focus. Good luck!

Edited to say, I returned to school at 42!

This message was edited Nov 20, 2005 12:13 PM

Good ol' Mr. Keillor.

The meaning of life: To garden. To grow plants. They are a great reminder for us that we will all grow, bloom, and die on this earth. It may be pretty while we're here, but remember that life is a pinhead at the beginning of the long long string of eternity. So don't take it too seriously!

Out of his mind (and perhaps in the garden)
K. James

Ah... nice to hear from my old pal, Keillor :) I just reread Lake Wobegon this summer. :) before getting sucked onto the Harry Potter train that has completely relaid the track for my reading life this semester! :) lol

You guys have been great with the wisdom :), as I knew you would. Though, I have to admit this thread has turned much more philosophical than I would've predicted.

I, at my tender age of 25 ;), will not be venturing a "guess" at the meaning/purpose/secret of life. I will instead point out that I'm getting offline soon to go spend the evening enjoying my daughter before she leaves me tomorrow to spend the holiday with her dad.

Keep it up guys, I'm enjoying reading all this.

This has me wanting to reread all my Og Mandino... seems like his messages are so pertinent in this discussion... hmm... where are those books, anyway??? ;)

Sarah

P.S. James, if you ever come by the eastern slope (though I don't know why you would, the western slope is so beautiful!), we should have lunch or something... I so rarely get to actually meet other DGers :)

S

You're on. And naturally, if you come this way, I'll put the teapot on. I plan to come over the rocks next spring, namely to visit some botanical gardens and some greenhouses... No doubt you'll be able to suggest a few in your area then.

K. James

And yes, it is beautiful

OOh, yeah... I live dangerously close to Loveland Garden Center, hehe :) Fortunately, I don't have enough money to go too crazy when I visit :) For a small town greenhouse it's great.

I suppose if you come over on 70, you'll be in Denver, though... in which case we should go to DBG, Tagawa Gardens, and Paulino's :) These are just the bigger commercial spots... though, I can get us in DBG for free instead of the usual ten or so dollars :). I don't get to peruse the natural spots as much as I'd like as it seems such a crime to take my 3 1/2 year old to those places to cause havoc! haha But if you let me know ahead of time, I can see to childcare and we can spend a while running around taking it in! :) The Violet Showcase is down there, too... I haven't gotten there yet, but really want to. :) Also want to go to World of Birds, but that's getting REALLY off topic! haha Have you been to the Butterfly Pavilion in Boulder? ...ahhh :) The butterflies are beautiful, and their habitat is nothing to scoff at either!

I hope to do that in the spring, it'd be fun! :)

Here's links to some of the stuff I mentioned:
http://www.botanicgardens.org/pageinpage/home.cfm
http://www.butterflies.org/
http://www.tagawagardens.com/
http://www.paulinogardens.com/
http://www.violetshowcase.com/

I just realized how self-indulgent some of these are... Denver Botanic Gardens is botanicgardens dot org... as if they're the only one. And the butterfly pavilion is butterflies dot org... hmm... hey, folks, you're not the only one's on the ol' internet! :) haha

Sarah

I have quite an itinerary and didn't know it! That's excellent. I was going to hit Vail's alpine botanical garden on the way over... "Betty Ford," I think.

I look forward to spring even more,
K. James

Oh Sarah and James I am jealous! I just LOOVE Colorado. I was born there but didn't get to grow up there, the parents moved to Michigan. But I did move back to see my "homeland" after I married. We lived in Springs for almost a year and it was just beautiful. It was the only place of many we've lived that there was always something going on and something to see. So much was free and so much was nature, it was great! We'da stayed forever but the cost to live there vs. my husband's homestate of TX brought us back here. It is nice here too but it isn't quite the same.