Hello everyone.

Well, I have been reading my two books. I must say though it has been a year since i started with electronics and i thought that i would be alot father then i am right now or at least should be. I just lack that discipline doing this on my own, i read but then i get lazy. When i was going to night school the discipline was there but the class was to fast pace, i was not understanding some stuff. So i figured learning on my own would be better, then i would go back to school and have it easier then. What or how do some of you out there that is trying to learn on your own keep or do for the discipline ?

Except now I look around at jobs and i wonder this. The school i was attending just has either a certificate program or an associates program no bachelor's. When i look at job descriptions or requirements most state you need a bachelors degree or 5 years experience.

I feel that even if i learn electronics on my own, without the paper i will not get a job right?

Then i do not want to get a certificate or associates that i cannot even use... so it seems i have no options here....

I cannot go to full time school or days do to job and family not to mention my wife lost her job.

I would like to get rid of the house and get an apartment or mobile home which would be at the highest 800 a month instead of 1400 a month for my house. Then i could stop working and have my wife work nights until i am done with school.

I had told my wife that her brother moved out her parents basement why dont we move in this way she would only have to work part time but she is against it i do not know why it sucks sooo bad though.

I had also thought of moving back in with my parents for the same scenario but i doubt my dad would be for it. Not to mention he retired and is an engineer imagine that i could go to school come home and sit with him for an hour or two in his basment which is like an electronics lab. I think i am gonna call and see what he would think. I dont want to piss him off but its not like i am asking for him to pay for the school. i would give him rent to help him out.

It's just that my job now was good when i was single but with family and kids i would like to retire not to mention send my kids to college but i wont be able to in this position i am in now. not to mention i get no respect in this position and i seen how my dad was treated at his work and man they loved him total respect... He still does consulting work for them and everythime they talk they beg him to come back. I want to be an engineer soo bad i wish i went to college after high school instead of thinking my friends were what i needed not a career big mistake....

Can i get some opinions or some advice from some of you guys out there i am tired of feeling there is no way out and i cannot do anything about it. I will also look into online schooling as well but for engineering i would rather be in the class... thanks guys

 

About ten years ago, I was in the same boat, Fortunately,A few years ago, I was hired at a plant where they help pay your tuition. I am finishing it up now, all core classes complete, and eligible for my certificate. Look at DICE.com and type in electronic tech. The tech level is the entry level, and they may even pick up the tab for the next two years. I tried to learn myself, but the stuff was too deep. My professor has a Phd in this stuff, and you can bet I understand it now.... Don't take more than two classes at a time as they will bury you... I was told that my company is looking at me for an electrical or I&C position Good luck!!!

 

I had forgotten about DICE.COM.... i meant to look at that website over the weekend cause i heard a radio commercial about that site. thanks for that.


What did you have under you when you were hired at the plant you work at? did you have a certificate or a degree?

 

Hi Tony:

The first thing you need to do is go here: http://www.paulgraham.com/

Take some time and read Paul's Essays. Learn what makes some of these fabulously successful people successful. Very seldom is it a lot of formal education. Not that there's anything wrong with degrees, but the real winners would have been winners with or without them. The one thing in common with them all, however, is that they knew what they wanted to do. If you were meant to be an engineer, nothing is going to stop you.
Don't be daunted by the current economy. There has never been a better time in the history of the planet to be an engineer....for too many reasons to go into right now.
A word of warninig. If you DON'T have solder in your veins, find something else to do. This is an easy test. If you were meant to be an engineer, you CAN'T do anything else. No, this doesn't mean that engineers are incompetent in everything else, it just means that engineering just won't go away.
Finally....whatever career chooses you....be assured that there is a job out there that only you can do. There is never a need to be trapped. If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, there will be NO competition. You have my word on that.

Eric

 

That is a story in itself. My first love is welding and fabricating. I was certified at 16 (about 30 years ago...) Unfortunately, the northeast (New York) has become very anti business, and virtually all the shops I worked at are now closed. It was more a matter of survival that I jumped over to Security work after 9/11. I had the quals and the credentials, so while I am here waiting to get back into physical labor, I discovered an opportunity to go back to school and get my degree on their dime. HOW SWEET! Now that I discovered that it is very HARD work, I ground my face into it and was determined to finish it. I also discovered that it is really neat stuff and VERY DEEP! As i'm nearing completion, people here are commenting on my drive to succeed and are starting to talk about getting me into the maintenance program. SWEET AGAIN!!! What KL7AJ was saying is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. it will be one of the hardest things you will do, but I now know why people with degrees are treated differently. It isn't only the depth of knwledge you have received, It is the drive to succeed that makes graduates a good choice for the challenging jobs, The tenacity to finish what they start is valued by industry. Don't give in to the helpless feelings, Never take no for an answer, and never say good enough until you have done your very best! I'm looking foward to my next career!!

 

thanks guys for the motivation... I really wanted to become a police officer but i had screwed that up when i was just 18years old. I know i like electronics due to my father... growing up all he did when he came home was go to the basement and work on his engineering projects from work. he would literally put in 8 plus hours most of the time after being at work for 8 hours. he never spent time with me so to see him i would sit there and watch him for hours never saying a word just watching. boy let me tell you i am not afraid of anything electrical, i would have tools he would need next all set and ready for him, lol i was like the little apprentice...

I started learning computers when i was 7 years old and that was in 1984 none of my friends had even seen a computer nor messed with one. i remember being in school when they first started using them in classes the teacher did not know what would be wrong and here lol i would fix it :O)

i was going to a community college for MIS degree but that was in 96 when everything was going south so i bailed and hung out with friends until i got married and now see i messed up bad by not going back to college...

i have a question for you guys what would it take to become an electronic technician if becoming an engineer is not the right thing for me to do but to do at a later time but at least i would have the technician degree and maybe have the company pay for the ee degree in the future??????

 

Here in New York, The Electrical Technology program is transferable to a 4 year EE as long as you take the 104 mathametics as opposed to the 114 (math for technicians.) You will need the 104 as a pre req to calculus. (Cayuga Community College) I would not recommend taking math on line(I speak from expierence.) If you aren't strong in Algebra, I would say the ET is for you, I think I'm allergic to higher math... The physics is a bear... You can get the certificate in 4 semesters.

 

Yeah, i do not know what to do now... everytime i look for something or to do something i have the door just slam right into my face....

I talk with the wife about this yesterday and tell her the only way to get rid of this house and get a nice one and make more money and she would not have to work but yet she wants to do at least part time. Well, when i mention lets get rid of the house either on a short sale or deed in liu cause i cannot sell it do to to many repairs and that is why i bought the place to fix it up myself but with the economy the way it is i can barely afford the house. so i say lets move in with her parents basement which my brother in law moved out and had already made walls sectioning the basement out.. she says no!!! i cannot believe her lol

I am gonna try to see what my parents think about us going in with them... otherwise i could not go to full time school and the thing about nights is the timing.. i leave work at 5 p.m. and alot of the schools i looked at start at 6p.m. i would not make it since i work downtown chicago and live in the burbs... so online does seem like an option but i question this online learning cause i feel the hands on is what is needed... now unless i learn on my own and then just do the online for the piece of paper is an option but what is the take on online schooling? i know that Devry is nearly as much for tuition for online as for actually attending school lol...

 

You are partially right. You cannot expect to get a decent education in this field totally online, but you CAN take your gen-ed classes there. They are now starting AC/DC theory on line, which is ok because most of it is parallel/series resistance theory and calculations.Basic digital theory is also do-able. Your dad might see that you are taking this seriously and offer some type of assistance. (Even if it is co-signing for student loans and paying interest) Believe me when I say it will be very hard! You must be willing to give up most of your free time to devote to study. If your not a self starter, you will not succeed. Go to a community college and explain your situation, They may offer a better solution. Forge ahead, the doors will open by themselves when people see you driving hard toward your goal. Remember, if it was easy, everybody would do it. Even Byrne Dairy employs techs, you just aren't seeing it yet.

 

you know what good point on the community college cause my parents live in the area of a community college i once went to and there tuition for none area people is like 125 an hour. in the area you only pay 25 dollars an hour. and i remember them having a electronic technician program. haha might have found it ... i will let you all know in a bit.

Also, good point on the general ed classes i would rather take those on line anyways that is great insight thanks for that one...

 

hey guys i checked out the local community college by my area here is the link to there electronic/computer technician associates degree tell me what you think, for the cost i cannot go wrong but i dont want to jump on it yet

http://www.morainevalley.edu/programs/2008-2009/2008-2009_fall/1281_course.htm

 

opps sorry guys it is 77 in the district and 222 if your not in the district still a bargain just hope its worth it

 

the total would come out to be $5,169 total for that associate degree i linked above... is it worth it?

 

That program is geared more toward computers/IT, and SCADA (supervisory control and data aquisition) Automation and communication. Cool stuff, your gonna like PLC's . If that's what interests you, go for it!!! A Tech around here starts at around 40k. Does that help?

 

Mobo, definitley helps... what makes me laugh right now is you mentioned plc's./...... i so wanted to do that but i could not find a degree in it .. would i be better off going to the community since i want to learn plc's rather then going to itt which is not geared to plcs then?

 

IMHO, I think PLC's are awsome, and in high demand. you will be in the middle between the shop maintenance people, and the engineering dept. My class in PLC's was challenging but VERY fun. I'd like to go further in it, but I need to change careers first. My company hasn't made up their mind yet about hiring me, but that will decide my next step. I'm not gettin any younger...

 

Wow. thank you my friend... you just made my decision for me... I always thought PLC"S were the way to go .... i feel if i go to this community college.... Since it teaches so much in plc i cannot go wrong since plc is in high demand correct>?


I knew it, those plc's were the way to go

 

If you use the wanted ads to judge what is in demand, then yes they are! most service tech, product service rep jobs are looking for strong PLC exp. I trained on logixpro, have a ball!

 

whoa... what do you mean judge the want ads..lol..

i really want to know if plc's are the way to go ?

 

Only you can decide what course your career will take, Most jobs listed will have PLC's as one of the desired skillsets, Do you know what they are, and how they work?