GX460 & GXOR B.S. thread (38 Viewers)

[Hiluxforever]

I have three years of college and also 2 apprenticeships. Coupled with over 20 years experience in either construction, fabrication or engineering. Ironically I work for a rather large well known company, but NDA and all that fun stuff so I can't say who it is.

 

[Banandalorian]

^yea I have 2.5 years but have found myself in a fairly specialized wing of software/consulting and its been working out. I thought it was going to hit the wall without it but the last few years have seen our primary clients start to walk back degree requirements. I just haven't seen the need to spend $15-20 grand to get a piece of paper when I can already stack industry certifications if I need them.

I do consider just finishing and going for an MBA, but at this point I'm also not sure I need to spend $50 grand for a second piece of paper to tell people we should use AI to disrupt the paradigm (buy laundromats or something and rent them back to ourselves until we go bankrupt)

 

[JDUB fab]

My perspective as a college professor is that college is not for employment it’s for learning. I see far too many students in school for no reason, not taking advantage of the very thing they or someone is paying for. Or they come in expecting their degree to grant them employment and are only focused on that. Granted some degrees are more professional than others and there is definitely a place for that.
Now I’m just ranting lol

 

[mudwagon]

Would not recommend going back to school unless you're interested and believe it will help you grow. 9/10 times you can just read a book and get the knowledge you seek. You're better off learning under someone or having a good mentor than you are trusting an academic with 0 years experience in the real world (not that they all do, but a high majority I've experienced this to be true). But again depends where you take your skills. If you want to work at a large corporation then you will need to play by their rules.

 

[Rednexus]

For me it's been great, but I'm in an in-demand niche field (geotechnical engineering), and it took me 6 years to get both my undergrad and graduate degrees, then 3 more years after that to get licensed. It's now 15 years after finishing my M.S. and the market for my skills is bonkers, and I get to work on projects all over the world, mostly out of my home office. It's been a long road, but totally worth it. You really have to find a highly marketable area with talent shortages to focus on.

Outside of another in-demand (i.e., technical or medical) field, it's hard to see the ROI. Especially considering how high the demand is now for trades.

 

[Banandalorian]

Specialized STEM degrees and my own crippling ADHD aside, I agree with @JDUB fab that it's really supposed to be about learning and not just trying to min/max employment. It's just so expensive and it's been so many years of hearing from everyone buried in student loans that it's hard not to think in terms of ROI.

 

[mudwagon]

STEM degrees are the only thing I would go to school for. Even medical is 250k in loans minimum. STEM definitely has the highest ROI. I had 80k in loans in 2016 and majority paid off in 3 years prior to Covid. I'm also in a very specialized field. Not many people within my space. For reference was laid off 3 weeks ago and got an offer for 15% higher than what I was making and not looking. I will say one thing they should teach is marketing yourself and skills. That is 99% of the problem for all careers and a lot of people lack this or are complacent.

 

[Rednexus]

STEM degrees are the only thing I would go to school for. Even medical is 250k in loans minimum. STEM definitely has the highest ROI. I had 80k in loans in 2016 and majority paid off in 3 years prior to Covid. I'm also in a very specialized field. Not many people within my space. For reference was laid off 3 weeks ago and got an offer for 15% higher than what I was making and not looking. I will say one thing they should teach is marketing yourself and skills. That is 99% of the problem for all careers and a lot of people lack this or are complacent.

Another nice part of STEM fields is that you often get paid to get a M.S. or Ph.D, due to all of the research money flowing into those fields. I had some debt from my undergrad but zero from my masters.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I have actually looked at ASU because they have physics and engineering programs for adult learners. Then Oklahoma has a MS in Hydrology.

 

[Rednexus]

I have actually looked at ASU because they have physics and engineering programs for adult learners. Then Oklahoma has a MS in Hydrology.

Hydrology - and especially hydrogeology - are excellent fields to get into. Lots of demand, interesting and meaningful projects, and ability to WFH just about anywhere once you are established.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Hydrology - and especially hydrogeology - are excellent fields to get into. Lots of demand, interesting and meaningful projects, and ability to WFH just about anywhere once you are established.

Totally, and paleohydrology is one of my new hobbies. Lots of weirdness happened in the upper midwest with the last glaciation. Some scab land level flooding.

 

[Rednexus]

Totally, and paleohydrology is one of my new hobbies. Lots of weirdness happened in the upper midwest with the last glaciation. Some scab land level flooding.

Oh yeah, and they cause interesting problems to figure on on project sites. The geo-STEM fields are awesome to get into - most folks in them (myself included) genuinely enjoy what they do.

 

[Tex68w]

We've been kicking around picking up a 60 Series in recent months to turn into a resto-mod build of sorts but after lots of number crunching and reflection I am happy to report that we've settled on keeping our current 2022 GX460 alongside of the GX550 Overtrail we plan to purchase next fall. I plan to build out the 460 to some degree and run it for years to come instead of throwing $30-40K+ at a tired 40 year old 60 Series that will be less refined, less comfortable and less reliable. Now to start the build planning stage and possibly start amassing parts.

 

[r2m]

I signed an offer today. I am psyched and massively relieved. I don't have a degree so I wasn't getting a lot of callbacks. Should be in Colorado by late October.

I'm still looking... It's been over a year, but part of that was recovery from a knee replacement and dealing with my Father-in-law with dementia and moving him near us.

College and experience are not the same. Just need to look for small businesses that know this vs. corporations with HR departments that don't do anything but front run that whole scam. Coming from someone that has a degree and went to college. I do have a job in my degree field, but I can tell you with high degree of certainty I have not referenced a single book I read in college since I left there.

I actually have both, college (BS Biomedical, MS Engineering Systems) and over 25 years experience! Work is just plan skinny down where I'm at.
A lot of companies want to hire interns for free or very cheap or fresh out of college kids for cheap.
I actually became an engineer before my degree. Had to prove myself, but what made me finish my education was the "glass ceiling". Without a college education, no chance of moving up beyond just an engineer.

 

[mudwagon]

I actually have both, college (BS Biomedical, MS Engineering Systems) and over 25 years experience! Work is just plan skinny down where I'm at.
A lot of companies want to hire interns for free or very cheap or fresh out of college kids for cheap.
I actually became an engineer before my degree. Had to prove myself, but what made me finish my education was the "glass ceiling". Without a college education, no chance of moving up beyond just an engineer.

Right the glass ceiling is unfortunately just a gatekeeper way to eliminate people that haven't paid into the system with college. Not saying you won't learn, but 20k cost in the 80's is not the same as 100k today. Plus add in 2 extra years of college for most STEM bachelor's programs due to general electives it just is a really long route that is frustrating to navigate once you are out of college. It's not what you know, it's who you know. It's how life works whether you are growing a business or a career.

 

[Rednexus]

Right the glass ceiling is unfortunately just a gatekeeper way to eliminate people that haven't paid into the system with college. Not saying you won't learn, but 20k cost in the 80's is not the same as 100k today. Plus add in 2 extra years of college for most STEM bachelor's programs due to general electives it just is a really long route that is frustrating to navigate once you are out of college. It's not what you know, it's who you know. It's how life works whether you are growing a business or a career.

It pretty rarely actually costs $100K unless you either 1) go to an expensive private or out-of-state university or 2) don't have good ACT/SAT scores or a good grades from high school/etc. Most people will pay around half the "advertised price" for a state-school STEM degree with various scholarships and grants, which, considering entry-level geo-STEM jobs start around $70K (to upwards of $100K if you are mobile or get in a very high-demand STEM field), will be meet ROI within ~10 months of working and pay dividends for 30+ years after that if you are still in your 20s when you start. Also my undergrad engineering degree was 128 credit hours and completed in 4 years plus one summer where I took 3 classes. That behind said, we still started 529 plans for both of our kids as soon as they were born.

For my area in particular, it would be incredibly hard to learn it "on the job". A lot of it is theory based and difficult to pick up without a graduate degree that goes into the fundamentals. One also can't legally practice my profession without a professional engineering license for each state they practice in, which (you guessed it) requires an accredited degree and two 8-hour tests to get (plus some other hoops). But, not every field is like that, some are more application/practice based and can be learned on the fly. Or they may not have the professional licensure hurdles, and are therefore easier to enter from an alternate starting point.

 

[r2m]

It pretty rarely actually costs $100K unless you either 1) go to an expensive private or out-of-state university or 2) don't have good ACT/SAT scores or a good grades from high school/etc. Most people will pay around half the "advertised price" for a state-school STEM degree with various scholarships and grants, which, considering entry-level geo-STEM jobs start around $70K (to upwards of $100K if you are mobile or get in a very high-demand STEM field), will be meet ROI within ~10 months of working and pay dividends for 30+ years after that if you are still in your 20s when you start. Also my undergrad engineering degree was 128 credit hours and completed in 4 years plus one summer where I took 3 classes. That behind said, we still started 529 plans for both of our kids as soon as they were born.

For my area in particular, it would be incredibly hard to learn it "on the job". A lot of it is theory based and difficult to pick up without a graduate degree that goes into the fundamentals. One also can't legally practice my profession without a professional engineering license for each state they practice in, which (you guessed it) requires an accredited degree and two 8-hour tests to get (plus some other hoops). But, not every field is like that, some are more application/practice based and can be learned on the fly. Or they may not have the professional licensure hurdles, and are therefore easier to enter from an alternate starting point.

I was fortunate that the Army picked up most of my BS and MS degrees AND the school I went to had an active military discount rate.
Agree with the PE. The tests are grueling. I don't have a PE and don't need one in medical device engineering, but I remember my Army buddy taking the PE. He passed one of the 8 hr tests and came back later in the year and passed the second.

 

[Rednexus]

I was fortunate that the Army picked up most of my BS and MS degrees AND the school I went to had an active military discount rate.
Agree with the PE. The tests are grueling. I don't have a PE and don't need one in medical device engineering, but I remember my Army buddy taking the PE. He passed one of the 8 hr tests and came back later in the year and passed the second.

Kind of funny that I need a PE because failures in my field can cause a loss of human life/property/the environment, but you don't need one doing medical device engineering where a failure can cause a loss of human life .

Honestly the PE is not a bad test and is open book. Everyone I know who I thought was a good engineer passed it the first time. The folks who had to try multiple times kind of struggled to start with.

 

[Cold Iron]

I had to look up STEM, haven't exactly stayed up on education and government programs the last couple of decades. I went to college for 2 years after HS and then transferred to the Navy I didn't want to go into any more debt. The US was in the middle of a huge recession and interest rates were in the twenty percent range. Finished a couple of degrees in the Navy over 20 years in my "spare" time but paid for them myself, with help from the Navy.

Ended up in IT first doing business process consulting. Neither were in the field of my degrees, those were the days. I ended up at the #1 ranked hospital in the US as the technical specialist for XXXX. Along the way including where I am at now would have been a show stopper to not have a degree. To an enterprise organization a degree shows you can complete and finish something. And in a larger org you are not limited to a one man show although starting out as a Sys Admin 120 hours a week was not uncommon. Now 40-45 hours and I enjoy my job and as important the people I work with. And it is rewarding even beyond financial rewards. Many of the Doctors I support have both a MD and PhD. Personally I prefer my Doc has a degree and certification

My oldest son was homeschooled he is in the top 5% of OCD cases in the US. I taught him computer systems and after graduating him he worked for Apple for awhile and worked his way to Level 2 support. Then moved to Boston where he is chasing the dollar. Without a degree or even traditional HS diploma I used to worry about him if something tanked. He has focused on small Bio Med companies the last one he has been at for 5 years and the company has been growing. He went there to try and break $200K a year he is close now. I have told him more than once $200K in Boston is not the same as it is here his apartment rent is 4 times the cost of my mortgage. It is a nice place, but not that nice.

Debt and interest is a killer in many ways and a lot of people find out the hard way as they get close to retirement. If you work at it you can pay debt off early in life even if it is high. ROI on what you are purchasing always has to be taken into consideration. A degree in underwater basketweaving isn't going to help much. Now that I know what STEM is I like it LOL.

My FIL didn't graduate HS. He worked at a large hospital in NC Pa. in maintenance and eventually worked his way to the top. And had a heart attack in his mid 50's laying in the hospital bed he decided to start his own electrical contracting company. The stress of working for others was too much for him. 10 years later he sold the company and a couple of years after that he died of a final heart attack that would have been 15 years ago. He had several million in a couple of banks in the Twin Tiers of NY and Pa. Nothing wrong with the trades and personally I feel there should be programs like STEM for the trades. For all I know there may be and hope so.

 

[jdam]

Eh. I find that college is what you make of it, and generally agree with JDUB Fab. Too much time/money is spent chasing or min/maxing jobs when you should be using that time to make connections, learn soft skills such as time management, people management, and other things. I'm probably younger than most of you, live in a super urban/metro environment where technical jobs were not what my peers were looking at. I don't have a STEM degree - I have a BA in Media. But I spent that time after school finding what makes me happy and that's in analytics.

If I could do it again, I'd probably change how I did schooling but like most people have said, it's not for everyone.