Username wrote on 2011-02-10 22:05
[Warning: Wall of Text]
A Rant, do not flame please x__x;;
The title is a bit off then what i'd like to say it is. I'm recently looking into College going for Computer Sciences possibly a few other things. I'm looking into colleges and i start to get confused with Masters and Bachelor Degrees. I honestly doubt i have the capacity to get Masters, but i wont know if i try. I apologize if i dont know what im saying.
I'm almost 20 without a job, will be getting one soon, and my marks in high school were average 60's-70's. Sometimes i feel out of place when all my friends were University Bound Students, and they're off now. The problem i face is getting money for College. However, from what i remember, since i live in a welfare state with my parents, and my sister had problems getting OSAP. Which is a type of student funding loan program based on your credit or something to that effect. As well was not many computer related courses at my high school, and possibly would need to take an introductory course to boot.
However im kind of scared, by the time i get money to even get in college, i wouldn't call it stupid, but i would need alot of re-introduction.
The main reason why i never worked until now, was partly because i was scared, sorry to say but im a bit of a scardey-cat. As well as, when i was 16-17, i was going to get a job however my dad took strokes and, it took the toll on me when i had to look after him, kind of gotten depressed for no liable reason, at least it didn't feel like liable reason. With the stress of taking care of my father, my marks remained in the 60's-70's department, however i took university courses during grade 11-12, and yet still in 60-70's standard.
I guess this is all panic, this is happening faster then i wanted it too; I loved lectures and taking notes and such, however my problem lies when im surrounded by people when doing my work. I'd need to get over that over time.
Theirs also a love issue; but its not entirely effecting my goals; I just fell inlove with someone across the world; not even going out, just a clingy thing, though it might fade off in time, since i live in southern Ontario, while shes all the way in Georgia. Even the fact, if something worked out, however i wouldn't want to cause burden on her, afraid that if i do go out with her in the future, or anyone else for that matter, they will make more, then i would. Its just a guy ego thing i think, i just would want to be compensating. A minimum wage job wouldn't cut it. Sorry. However im scared that i wont get a really really good job either.
You know, when i first looked up stuff, i was more confident that i could do great things, to an extent. The highpoint about college i find that would increase my intelligence and understanding and greater marks is that resources are better then a high schools, and you wont have too many things interrupting you. When i go to college, i also plan to cut ties to most people and cut any ties i got to games. However, if i get a part time job to go alongside classes, i dont know how abundant my time will be.
Also im worried about renting, instead of going on residence which is gonna cost an ass load, and that i will have to fork over 500+$ a month for rent, and afraid that other costs wont make it in time. Though, im thinking of part-time as minimum wage. I'm not like my university friends, im not getting paid to go to college because of how smart i am, or got rich enough parents, actually my parents are really disabled and are on welfare, as i stated. However, i have high hopes that when i get to college that i will be able to do things in a better manner. I just hope i win a lottery or something, okay that isn't very realistic but you get the point mostly.
I'm actually getting really stressed thinking about this, but i have to else I'll be some bum in a dead end job, which i dont want, but i feel that i might have lined myself down that road anyways. I'm stressed, and scared at the same time. I'm scared that if i dont get good enough grades when i go, i wont be able to have a set job in place.
When i see myself and my family, and compare to friends family's, it kinda hurts because i dont have a great family to rely upon.
I do admit that i am pretty pathetic; but at least i admit it, and i kinda seek some advice here. Writing it here feels like a load off my back.
Lan wrote on 2011-02-10 22:17
:< Graduating next year which scares the crap out of me >_>
Good luck.
Wing wrote on 2011-02-10 22:19
Dw my family isn't that different.
Cucurbita wrote on 2011-02-10 22:30
Well its a good thing you're not trying to be an English major.
Good luck with the GE's, they'll bore you to death, and some of them are actually pretty challenging. Just because you're going for Computer Science doesn't mean you don't have to take classes in other topics. In particular, they'll really crack down on math and physics, so be prepared to take a lot of those.
I'm a few weeks from 21, and I'm a drop out. I've been trying very hard to go back but once you've been kicked it seems no one wants to take you, no matter how much you tell them that you've changed.
Now I'm in a very similar situation. My parents abandoned paying for my tuition when I dropped out, so now even if I go back it will be on a student loan. You should be able to strike up a pretty decent loan, but its true that costs of living is a real betch to figure out.
First off, get a job, asap. Turns out that having a high school diploma isn't enough to land you even a normal mundane job because they require "x years of experience in related field", and that means you'll have to work a terrible minimum wage part time somewhere in fast food or something where you're treated like crap.
Its not just about the money. You need work experience, both for future employment and for learning how to live in the system.
I've estimated that even if I take a full student loan ride on tuition for the 4 years it takes to get a BA, I'll still need a hell of a lot of money to survive what with rent and food and other things. Assuming I have a 40 hr/week job and it pays around 10/hr, I'll need to actually work like 2 or 3 years just to have enough saved up to go to college without being a hobo or dying of hunger. 500 dollars a month is low balling like mad. Think realistically, and think about exactly what you need to live, and you'll find that you need at least a thousand dollars a month, and even then I'm estimating on the low end.
So yeah, **** looks bad bro. For both of us.
Hopefully you're a little better off because you don't have "FAIL" in your track record. My only "work experience" is a few months in construction, a few months in a factory, and a few months in burger king. The rest I have to exaggerate about how much volunteer work I did in high school.
pkMaster wrote on 2011-02-10 23:35
Not to sound like a complete pessimist, but now-a-days, your contacts with people in the industry are MUCH more valuable than what's in your head (sadly). Heck, I knew a person who worked at my dad's old place who had absolutely no freakn experience in CS and she was still able to get a job at that place as a junior programmer. And I remember her calling my dad in the middle of the night to fix simple issues that even I, a middle schooler with my limited knowledge of CS at the time, knew how to solve. Yet now that I have taken many undergrad and grad courses in CS and have a much better understanding of CS, I still can't get a job simply because I don't have a degree which is total BS. And it's not like I don't have any real world experience either since I've done some commissioned work for other ppl before. Employeers just don't count that as experience for whatever reason they can come up with. AND YET, a total freshy with the right connections can land the same job with no prior experience, professional or otherwise.
And you want to know the reason why I don't have a CS degree yet? It's because I still have to finish all my GE reqs, and THAT's IT!!! Hell, I could probably get my masters right now if I had all my GE courses finished. And it's not like any of these course are even remotely related to CS. It's just extra crap that these colleges/universities seem to tack on just to keep you tied to them longer.
Cucurbita wrote on 2011-02-10 23:38
pkMaster is right.
You can go very far in life just by knowing the right person.
Contacts are incredibly important.
otto wrote on 2011-02-12 17:52
Quote from Username;329440:
You know, when i first looked up stuff, i was more confident that i could do great things, to an extent.
I know exactly what you mean. Unfortunately, your whole post hit close to home since im almost 20 myself-- with no job, and worrying my head off about college and the like. The fact that jobs are scarce nowadays doesnt help much either.
I cant give a perfect solution of course, but everything Cucurbita and pkMaster said is right on the money. I'd just suggest taking things slow since rushing would just cause more stress and make you feel worse. Here's hoping you get things working out for you c:
Quote from Lan;329458:
:< Graduating next year which scares the crap out of me >_>
Good luck.
College stuff goes by a lot smoother if you start filling out the necessary stuff throughout your senior year instead of at the last minute. You've got time c:
BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-02-12 22:29
Quote from Cucurbita;329474:
Well its a good thing you're not trying to be an English major.
Good luck with the GE's, they'll bore you to death, and some of them are actually pretty challenging. Just because you're going for Computer Science doesn't mean you don't have to take classes in other topics. In particular, they'll really crack down on math and physics, so be prepared to take a lot of those.
I'm a few weeks from 21, and I'm a drop out. I've been trying very hard to go back but once you've been kicked it seems no one wants to take you, no matter how much you tell them that you've changed.
Now I'm in a very similar situation. My parents abandoned paying for my tuition when I dropped out, so now even if I go back it will be on a student loan. You should be able to strike up a pretty decent loan, but its true that costs of living is a real betch to figure out.
First off, get a job, asap. Turns out that having a high school diploma isn't enough to land you even a normal mundane job because they require "x years of experience in related field", and that means you'll have to work a terrible minimum wage part time somewhere in fast food or something where you're treated like crap.
Its not just about the money. You need work experience, both for future employment and for learning how to live in the system.
I've estimated that even if I take a full student loan ride on tuition for the 4 years it takes to get a BA, I'll still need a hell of a lot of money to survive what with rent and food and other things. Assuming I have a 40 hr/week job and it pays around 10/hr, I'll need to actually work like 2 or 3 years just to have enough saved up to go to college without being a hobo or dying of hunger. 500 dollars a month is low balling like mad. Think realistically, and think about exactly what you need to live, and you'll find that you need at least a thousand dollars a month, and even then I'm estimating on the low end.
So yeah, **** looks bad bro. For both of us.
Hopefully you're a little better off because you don't have "FAIL" in your track record. My only "work experience" is a few months in construction, a few months in a factory, and a few months in burger king. The rest I have to exaggerate about how much volunteer work I did in high school.
If Kitae has balls,
(and common sense)
kitae should join the military
Cucurbita wrote on 2011-02-12 22:57
Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;333001:
If Kitae has balls, (and common sense)
kitae should join the military
Yeah lets see you try it.