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Posted

Heres my situation in a nutshell. I'm 22, almost 23 years old. I've lived in an aparment with my girlfriend for the past two years. I work full time as a cnc operator making $17 an hour w/union.And $1 annual raises until $20, Its about 40 minutes too and from work, its a commute. My girlfriend works part time at CVS as a cashier and goes to school fulltime and has already completed 2 years and always on the deans list. I am thinking about transfering shifts, say to 2nd or night shift, and going to school full time during the day. I have a lot of bills..i have $750 rent , $150 car payment , $515 a month car insurance( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying) $225 phone bill, which my brother splits with me . I don't know ..if i should pull the trigger on college or not. I already made $50,000 this year, at 17/hr. but i worked a ton of OT, i need advice

Posted

Dad was an engineer before he retired and was making six figures.

 

He went to college while working full-time as maintenance.  Mom was a stay-at-home with three kids.

 

Yes, go to college.  We need a middle class.

 

Josh

  • Like 1
Posted

Going to college doesn't necessarily mean a better income especially in today's economic landscape. i certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from going but make sure your degree will lead to some gainful employment and career opportunities. I.e. Don't go and be a history major.

  • Like 3
  • Super User
Posted

C'mon ask about relationship advice me and raider got great advice to give.

  • Like 2
Posted

You know the difference between a CNC operator, and a CNC machinist.  About 5-10 bucks over starting pay. Now I bet you are wondering whats the difference. You as a op is cheap labor. Most of the time you don't need any skills to do it. Compared to a Machinist. A machinist duty's usually include. maintaining the collent, changing broken tools, understating g&m codes, Knowing how to adjust tool offsets and programs, Writing programs, etc. While i bet all you do. Is hit start, Load and unload parts, and debut them.

 

You are almost at the peak of your pay scale. Once you reach it. You could jump ship to another company. But since you are cheap labor. If they are not union. You could be back to making 10-12 bucks a hour. Then what work back to 17 bucks a hour. Just to be at the peak of the pay scale again.

 

As a skilled machinist. Your income is not limited to a company. The harder you work, and the more skills you learn. Other company's will be calling you. Even if you didn't put in a application. If you can run a number of machines, hold a tolerance of .001, and show up every day. Soon or a later. Your name will get out. Kind of like a easy woman. Just in a better way.

 

Not saying you have to go to school. But if you want what I just said. You will have to go to school for at lest two years.

 

C'mon ask about relationship advice me and raider got great advice to give.

No you and Raider should not ruin this kid. Let him work it out for him self. Then we can have even more funny story's in a few years.

Posted

Try a semester and see how hard it is. I work full time during the day and do online classes at night. Don't go into a degree that's to vague. Like business. Also don't go into a field that's extinct ex journalism. Technology and anything medical is not going away any time soon.

  • Like 1
  • BassResource.com Administrator
Posted

I worked FT and went to college FT, and at one point, also interned and freelanced (ya, who needs sleep?).  Didn't have much of a social life as a result, and drove a 20 year old car (when it was running). After college, I held 2 jobs for years in order to pay off the bills.

 

My story isn't unique. 

 

The sacrifices paid off very well. Definitely worth it.

  • Like 3
  • Super User
Posted

Dad was an engineer before he retired and was making six figures.

 

He went to college while working full-time as maintenance.  Mom was a stay-at-home with three kids.

 

Yes, go to college.  We need a middle class.

 

Josh

I will agree partially with this. Im in route to make 6 figures this year. I'll most likely work 10 months next year and pull down 6 again. I don't have a college degree. The trades pay extremely well. You just gotta get dirty to make the bucks.

Posted

I will agree partially with this. Im in route to make 6 figures this year. I'll most likely work 10 months next year and pull down 6 again. I don't have a college degree. The trades pay extremely well. You just gotta get dirty to make the bucks.

 

Raider, while not technically a degree, I count skilled trades the same as having a degree.  Maybe I shouldn't, but there's not enough difference these days.

 

I was trained by an old-timey retired gunsmith who had a bunch of old 1911 frames and slides and rimfire parts.  It's not bragging but rather fact when I say I'm better than most my chosen specialty, and this includes new gunsmiths with these "gunsmithing degrees".

 

On the other hand, I really bite at things like the AR platform.  They just don't interest me.

 

I know what you're saying about the trades.  They should count as degrees in my opinion.

 

Josh

  • Like 1
Posted

Only go to school if you have a specific goal.  Too many wasting time and money in college without a clue what they want to do

 

Also, quit stringing that girl along,  marry her already!

  • Super User
Posted

I will agree partially with this. Im in route to make 6 figures this year. I'll most likely work 10 months next year and pull down 6 again. I don't have a college degree. The trades pay extremely well. You just gotta get dirty to make the bucks.

6 figures before or after she takes half?

  • Like 4
  • Super User
Posted

Hehe, Raider Going to be the poorest electrician with a girlfriend & a wife..peace raider! Lol..

  • Like 2
  • Global Moderator
Posted

School doesn't guarantee anything either. My wife has a college degree and I don't, I make twice what she does and don't have a bunch of debt to pay off. I would go if you can afford it, just keep in mind that it guarantees nothing. 

  • Super User
Posted

Heres my situation in a nutshell. I'm 22, almost 23 years old. I've lived in an aparment with my girlfriend for the past two years. I work full time as a cnc operator making $17 an hour w/union.And $1 annual raises until $20, Its about 40 minutes too and from work, its a commute. My girlfriend works part time at CVS as a cashier and goes to school fulltime and has already completed 2 years and always on the deans list. I am thinking about transfering shifts, say to 2nd or night shift, and going to school full time during the day. I have a lot of bills..i have $750 rent , $150 car payment , $515 a month car insurance( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying) $225 phone bill, which my brother splits with me . I don't know ..if i should pull the trigger on college or not. I already made $50,000 this year, at 17/hr. but i worked a ton of OT, i need advice

 

Wow, where to start?

 

"I work full time as a cnc operator making $17 an hour w/union.  And $1 annual raises until $20."  The truth of the matter is that your current pay scale is anything but secure.  Your type of job is worth about $10 per/hour which is exactly what you will be earning there once a venture capitalist group purchases the company.  Fortunately at your age, you haven't had the time to setup a family and a budget based on the type of pay you are currently making. 

 

"I have a lot of bills..i have $750 rent , $150 car payment , $515 a month car insurance( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying) $225 phone bill, which my brother splits with me."  Seeing as how you haven't even listed all of your expenses, I would agree that you do indeed have a ton of bills!  How much do you have left over once you add in the cost of fuel and maintenance on your commuting vehicle, food, and the cost of keeping a girlfriend?  Thinking back to the first part, how in the world are you going to meet these expenses when your pay gets cut by 40%?

 

"( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying)"  "I am thinking about transfering shifts, say to 2nd or night shift, and going to school full time during the day."  So was it only behind the wheel that you acted this way, or did it extend to the class room as well?  If you weren't a pretty darn good student in high school you're going to find college level classes harder than you might think.  Add the fact that you've been away from school for a few years.  Add the fact that your current budgetary woes seem to require you to work all that overtime.  Add the fact that you're going to have to figure out a way to pay for college.

 

Where to end?  Like I said before, you are lucky that you are still young and aren't stuck with a family and all of the budget woes that can cause.  In my honest opinion, I think you need to seriously look into going the trade school route that could give you the chance at a skilled trade type of job in the future.  These types of schools will give you the chance to work on the actual education you need for your job, while skipping past all of the extraneous classes you need to take for a full degree.  You will become what college deans like to call an "educated idiot" because you haven't taken a half a dozen English classes amongst many others.  Does your chosen career path require that much English? 

 

In the short term, try to bid over to second or third shift to see if you can acclimate yourself to working when it's dark and sleeping when the fish are biting.  You can probably figure that this is going to take two or three years to complete.  When you are done, you're going to add another monthly payment to pay for it, so make sure that the schooling you get is going to give you a job that will help pay for it.  Also, don't assume that you'll be staying with the same company you are working for right now.  Study the job opportunities in the area you think you'd like to raise a family, be realistic about the future potential of that type of work, and whatever else you do, don't go crazy with student loans.

  • Super User
Posted

If you choose to become a tradesman, get on the list for the union apprenticeship program while going to trade school. The union programs are far superior than anything you will find at the community college or local trade school. Your union wages and benefits will be superior as well. You need to be at the top of your game. My local takes applicants once a year. Anywhere from 1000-1500 sign up and test for the program and less than 100 get chosen. I don't know how pro-union Massachusetts is, but here in Crook County IL, it's the only way to go. Journeyman union pipefitters can easily make 6 figures with another $30 an hour in health and pension benefits. Non union tops out around $70k with lackluster bennies. Just don't cripple yourself like I did :wink2:

Posted

Wow, where to start?

 

"I work full time as a cnc operator making $17 an hour w/union.  And $1 annual raises until $20."  The truth of the matter is that your current pay scale is anything but secure.  Your type of job is worth about $10 per/hour which is exactly what you will be earning there once a venture capitalist group purchases the company.  Fortunately at your age, you haven't had the time to setup a family and a budget based on the type of pay you are currently making. 

 

"I have a lot of bills..i have $750 rent , $150 car payment , $515 a month car insurance( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying) $225 phone bill, which my brother splits with me."  Seeing as how you haven't even listed all of your expenses, I would agree that you do indeed have a ton of bills!  How much do you have left over once you add in the cost of fuel and maintenance on your commuting vehicle, food, and the cost of keeping a girlfriend?  Thinking back to the first part, how in the world are you going to meet these expenses when your pay gets cut by 40%?

 

"( i was an idiot behind the wheel when i was in high school, still paying)"  "I am thinking about transfering shifts, say to 2nd or night shift, and going to school full time during the day."  So was it only behind the wheel that you acted this way, or did it extend to the class room as well?  If you weren't a pretty darn good student in high school you're going to find college level classes harder than you might think.  Add the fact that you've been away from school for a few years.  Add the fact that your current budgetary woes seem to require you to work all that overtime.  Add the fact that you're going to have to figure out a way to pay for college.

 

Where to end?  Like I said before, you are lucky that you are still young and aren't stuck with a family and all of the budget woes that can cause.  In my honest opinion, I think you need to seriously look into going the trade school route that could give you the chance at a skilled trade type of job in the future.  These types of schools will give you the chance to work on the actual education you need for your job, while skipping past all of the extraneous classes you need to take for a full degree.  You will become what college deans like to call an "educated idiot" because you haven't taken a half a dozen English classes amongst many others.  Does your chosen career path require that much English? 

 

In the short term, try to bid over to second or third shift to see if you can acclimate yourself to working when it's dark and sleeping when the fish are biting.  You can probably figure that this is going to take two or three years to complete.  When you are done, you're going to add another monthly payment to pay for it, so make sure that the schooling you get is going to give you a job that will help pay for it.  Also, don't assume that you'll be staying with the same company you are working for right now.  Study the job opportunities in the area you think you'd like to raise a family, be realistic about the future potential of that type of work, and whatever else you do, don't go crazy with student loans.

I thought every light was a drag race when I was 16, needless to say i got many tickets from age 16 to 19 before i wised up. In mass insurance points don't fall off til 6 years after the fact. Its also high because i financed a car. My 2000 chevy silverado 4x4 v8 is a pig so I picked up a commuter ,and somethin to build my credit score with. I am debating bumping to 3rd and going to class during the day. Me and my gf have  a joint bank account. She drives my truck to class and work ( <5 miles a day) while i take my pontiac G6. She makes about 700 a month so after gas and bills and food we have about 5-600 left over every month if i just do 40 hours a week

  • Super User
Posted

Hehe, Raider Going to be the poorest electrician with a girlfriend & a wife..peace raider! Lol..

ROFLMFAO!

Hold up now. Its a wife, a girlfriend, and two girls on the side. Yeah, you are correct I'm gonna be a dirt poor electrician. At least I have fun though. :grin:

Seriously though. Its just those two, aint no more, ain't no less.

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

6 figures before or after she takes half?

She takes 49%. My Girlfriend takes 49%. I get 2%. So yeah. That will be before.

  • Super User
Posted

Raider, while not technically a degree, I count skilled trades the same as having a degree.  Maybe I shouldn't, but there's not enough difference these days.

 

I was trained by an old-timey retired gunsmith who had a bunch of old 1911 frames and slides and rimfire parts.  It's not bragging but rather fact when I say I'm better than most my chosen specialty, and this includes new gunsmiths with these "gunsmithing degrees".

 

On the other hand, I really bite at things like the AR platform.  They just don't interest me.

 

I know what you're saying about the trades.  They should count as degrees in my opinion.

 

Josh

I like the way you think.

You specialized and learned your craft from some of the best at it. That trumps the degree. At least in my opinion. Hands on training can be some of the best training available. Especially with a good teacher.

  • Like 1
Posted

I like the way you think.

You specialized and learned your craft from some of the best at it. That trumps the degree. At least in my opinion. Hands on training can be some of the best training available. Especially with a good teacher.

 

Thanks Raider.  Let me expound on this:

 

I've been to college a couple times for a couple things.  First time was a cluster because I got involved with a chic and some other things, but it was for the best.  My major was law enforcement and I was getting jaded with the "us vs them" mentality they were forcing on us.  That is the number one thing that separates the civil servants from private citizens (not civilians; police are civilians as well.  They're not military.)

 

Second time around was a double major in industrial electrician and industrial maintenance.

 

Sometime in there I got my CNA certificate.  Homes, from what I saw in both clinicals and OTJ treat their "residents" like hell.  I won't be doing that again and didn't pursue the field.

 

Through all that, there was the interest in guns and gunsmithing.  At this point in time, I'm expanding the line of things I make and in about two years I'll be getting my FFL07 so that I can work on and modify (vs simply repair) the firearms that interest me, like the 1911.

 

Degrees are excellent for some things.  However, my dad, who is an electrical engineer, could not wire a house with the same legality as an electrician.  There are just subtle differences there, and if a tradesman can do something that cannot be done by someone with a degree, well, hell, that tradesman has a degree as far as I'm concerned.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

  • Super User
Posted

I thought every light was a drag race when I was 16, needless to say i got many tickets from age 16 to 19 before i wised up. In mass insurance points don't fall off til 6 years after the fact. Its also high because i financed a car. My 2000 chevy silverado 4x4 v8 is a pig so I picked up a commuter ,and somethin to build my credit score with. I am debating bumping to 3rd and going to class during the day. Me and my gf have  a joint bank account. She drives my truck to class and work ( <5 miles a day) while i take my pontiac G6. She makes about 700 a month so after gas and bills and food we have about 5-600 left over every month if i just do 40 hours a week

 

I understand.  In my youth, I always thought that the acronym on those red colored signs stood for Squeal Tires On Pavement!

 

The most important part of my initial post though still stands.  Don't think that your current job will continue at the same pay rate.  My wife's shop was went through this very thing.  Purchased by an investment group that once included your former governor.  Within a year, they had filed for bankruptcy, handed over the employee's pension to the PBGC, and forced the union into a new contract that included a pay cut of over $6.50 per/hour in pay. 

Posted

I thought every light was a drag race when I was 16, needless to say i got many tickets from age 16 to 19 before i wised up.

 

Your only mistake was not building a car fast enough to outrun the cops... :D

  • Like 1
Posted

I'm 24, I work full time and just started school full time. Right now it's pretty manageable for me, but my job is pretty flexible and allows me the time to do school/hw.

you mentioned that you do a lot of OT, if you go to school full time I wouldn't count on OT for extra cash.

Trade school especially through a union sounds like a good option too.

I know a lot of union guys that do very well for themselves, I also know some who have a hard time getting work. Off hand I don't know many college grads that don't have jobs, but that doesn't mean they're better off than the union workers.

Whatever you do just make sure you're fully committed to it, otherwise it will just be a big waste of time and money.

  • Super User
Posted

I thought every light was a drag race when I was 16, needless to say i got many tickets from age 16 to 19 before i wised up. In mass insurance points don't fall off til 6 years after the fact. Its also high because i financed a car. My 2000 chevy silverado 4x4 v8 is a pig so I picked up a commuter ,and somethin to build my credit score with. I am debating bumping to 3rd and going to class during the day. Me and my gf have  a joint bank account. She drives my truck to class and work ( <5 miles a day) while i take my pontiac G6. She makes about 700 a month so after gas and bills and food we have about 5-600 left over every month if i just do 40 hours a week

 

Out of that $500-$600 left over how much do you save of it. (actually save in a saving account of some sort) and how much do you and the GF go shopping, dating, spend on hobbies etc?

 

I'm 26 years old, married with 2 kids. I have a welding certificate from Tulsa Welding School but don't use it at all. I work in facilities maintenance and have luckily worked my way up to a very good salary. My wife has an accounting degree (she just graduated in May of last year) and is making the same salary as I am. She will obviously blow me out of the water on salary eventually (especially since she has just sent in for her CPA materials).

 

My point is, when my wife and I were just dating and engaged, the budgets we had were a joke. Our budget consisted of Rent, Utilities, Vehicle payments, Vehicle Gas, Phones, Insurance, Groceries. Whatever was left after that was a bonus and we blew through it like crazy having fun and doing what we wanted.

 

 

What it did not include was: Cable, Internet, any form of savings, Date night fund, Emergency fund, Medical expenses, House hold items (cleaning supplies), Toiletries (soap, deodorant, shampoo etc..).

 

Basically what I'm saying is that the $600 you have left a month, is probably really $200 after you put a little into each of the above items.

 

Dave Ramsey was a pretty big help for our budgets, and then of course my wifes career keeps it pretty tight as well. ;)

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