I'm getting ready to go to college locally, and I've done some researching into which pathway might be best to take. So I'm going to lay out some of my reasoning, and ask for mirrors and insights.
Ideally (or so I think) my chosen path should allow me to make a living and provide real value to society while also giving me "nuts and bolts" (ie practical everyday) knowledge that will help me to survive and hopefully help others survive in the times ahead. Also, I would like to be able to earn money as soon as possible. Going for a long degree worries me because of the state of the economy and world affairs. However, I don't know how to respond best to these facts which is the reason for this post. Maybe a long degree is a better idea if I could still get a job based on an incomplete degree, for instance. I hope to avoid areas that would force me into designing weapons or poisons, though, or working on other unscrupulous projects, if possible. Also, is there any particular avenue of study that would help me be most helpful in the network here (if the network continues to be, during/after current/coming events)? Maybe that would be the thing that would make me the most useful in general, eh?
My interests have always hovered in these areas;
science/scientific thinking (including psychology, natural sciences, technology/computers/mechanics, the sciences of learning and education, chaos theory, conceptual mathematics, systems),
arts (particularly visual arts),
language
learning/education (the arts/sciences of learning and teaching. Inspired by my difficulties in school, and the sense that learning has been made much harder than it should/could be), and
philosophy/theology.
My strengths and abilities are (by my estimation);
strong language skills,
good visualization ability and mechanical/spatial sense,
good conceptual ability,
strong logical thinking skills/problem solving ability,
good creativity,
dedication to quality work,
good attention to detail,
good artistic ability/aesthetic sense,
good learning ability,
(maybe) mediator/educator ability; seeing things from multiple angles and explaining in ways people can understand.
My weaknesses are (by my estimation);
slower rate of thinking (In school I was usually slower than most or all other students at getting my work done, even when I tried to do it quickly. I sometimes observe in conversation that other people seem to expect me to respond to what they have said sooner than I actually can, so I infer that most people are able to process information somewhat faster than me. Despite this, I am considered "intelligent"; because of my creativity, curiosity, and reasoning ability, I had multiple teachers in school who considered me a "genius", despite the fact that I was barely passing their classes.
:/ This particularly affects me when doing mathematics and my writing/typing speed.),
lack of motivation (I'm Working on this, and may have had a breakthrough recently. Part of this probably relates to emotional wounds from school caused by my slowness; despite my eagerness to learn and succeed, I was forced to intentionally fail certain projects to keep my workload manageable. The feelings of personal "self-betrayal" and also being confronted by teachers and parents about it did not make me feel confident about my future, although I sure tried to be. Of course, slowness and lack of motivation fed into each other to some extent. Why try hard if I always "fail" anyway? So, I more or less gave up on doing well, and just passed my courses. I learned the art of "controlled failure". I never cheated on a test, and almost never copied other students' answers on any assignments, especially difficult ones.),
interpersonal skills (I've never been a very social person, and furthermore I learned to remain a silent observer in order to avoid getting picked on for my "differentness". So I feel awkward in social situations sometimes, although I seem to do okay in conversation. It probably depends on how dissociative I am at the time, and I'm sure that I can adapt if I have to deal with people more often.)
Finally, here are my considerations for college majors:
Graphics Design (or other visual arts) - This used to appeal to me, but since then I don't think it's a good idea. I'm not sure I could muster the amount of dedication required to make a living at art, and I think an art career is probably not the most practical idea given the current state of the world and things to come.
Computer Science/Information Systems - This seems to (potentially) combine most of my interests and abilities, however it is a profession that requires 4 years of school, and the local college is a two-year. I'm also concerned that it is "too lofty" - that the skills may not be "real world" enough to be entirely useful in the times ahead.
Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) - This is what the college counselor suggested to me based on my art and computer interests. It is a 2 year degree (up to 4 years), and based on my internet searches, a drafter basically works under an engineer, putting their designs into visual and instructional forms, probably using a computer. There is also an artistic avenue for drafters, since drafting software and skills can be used for 3D special effects (in movies, for instance) and artistic design. I would earn a CADD Technician Certificate and a Drafting Assistant Certificate as part of my college's degree plan. However, the course consists almost purely of drafting courses, so if I wanted to do something else at some point I would likely have to start from scratch. However, my local college seems to have a very good track record of getting students into careers (or at least they convey as much in their brochure for their CADD program).
Engineering - It looks like engineering professions could combine a lot of my interests and strengths, while conveying practical problem-solving knowledge. There are various engineering fields. At a glance, Architectural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering (closely connected to Computer Science), Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering stand out to me as interesting (from the list here: _http://www.tryengineering.org/become.php?page=majors_eng). Engineering requires at least 4 years of study, and apparently requires lots of diverse classes.
Final Comments
So, engineering and CADD look the most promising to me right now, although I'm not sure what type of engineering I would like to go into (so many choices!
). CADD might get me on my feet quickly, but is not entirely "real world" practical, and may be a sort of "dead end". Yet, my college's CADD program sounds good, and it seems like it would interest me. Engineering, however, would require a longer period of study, but would give me a wider range of knowledge and skills, and practical problem solving abilities - especially regarding my particular engineering field.
Ideally (or so I think) my chosen path should allow me to make a living and provide real value to society while also giving me "nuts and bolts" (ie practical everyday) knowledge that will help me to survive and hopefully help others survive in the times ahead. Also, I would like to be able to earn money as soon as possible. Going for a long degree worries me because of the state of the economy and world affairs. However, I don't know how to respond best to these facts which is the reason for this post. Maybe a long degree is a better idea if I could still get a job based on an incomplete degree, for instance. I hope to avoid areas that would force me into designing weapons or poisons, though, or working on other unscrupulous projects, if possible. Also, is there any particular avenue of study that would help me be most helpful in the network here (if the network continues to be, during/after current/coming events)? Maybe that would be the thing that would make me the most useful in general, eh?
My interests have always hovered in these areas;
science/scientific thinking (including psychology, natural sciences, technology/computers/mechanics, the sciences of learning and education, chaos theory, conceptual mathematics, systems),
arts (particularly visual arts),
language
learning/education (the arts/sciences of learning and teaching. Inspired by my difficulties in school, and the sense that learning has been made much harder than it should/could be), and
philosophy/theology.
My strengths and abilities are (by my estimation);
strong language skills,
good visualization ability and mechanical/spatial sense,
good conceptual ability,
strong logical thinking skills/problem solving ability,
good creativity,
dedication to quality work,
good attention to detail,
good artistic ability/aesthetic sense,
good learning ability,
(maybe) mediator/educator ability; seeing things from multiple angles and explaining in ways people can understand.
My weaknesses are (by my estimation);
slower rate of thinking (In school I was usually slower than most or all other students at getting my work done, even when I tried to do it quickly. I sometimes observe in conversation that other people seem to expect me to respond to what they have said sooner than I actually can, so I infer that most people are able to process information somewhat faster than me. Despite this, I am considered "intelligent"; because of my creativity, curiosity, and reasoning ability, I had multiple teachers in school who considered me a "genius", despite the fact that I was barely passing their classes.
:/ This particularly affects me when doing mathematics and my writing/typing speed.),lack of motivation (I'm Working on this, and may have had a breakthrough recently. Part of this probably relates to emotional wounds from school caused by my slowness; despite my eagerness to learn and succeed, I was forced to intentionally fail certain projects to keep my workload manageable. The feelings of personal "self-betrayal" and also being confronted by teachers and parents about it did not make me feel confident about my future, although I sure tried to be. Of course, slowness and lack of motivation fed into each other to some extent. Why try hard if I always "fail" anyway? So, I more or less gave up on doing well, and just passed my courses. I learned the art of "controlled failure". I never cheated on a test, and almost never copied other students' answers on any assignments, especially difficult ones.),
interpersonal skills (I've never been a very social person, and furthermore I learned to remain a silent observer in order to avoid getting picked on for my "differentness". So I feel awkward in social situations sometimes, although I seem to do okay in conversation. It probably depends on how dissociative I am at the time, and I'm sure that I can adapt if I have to deal with people more often.)
Finally, here are my considerations for college majors:
Graphics Design (or other visual arts) - This used to appeal to me, but since then I don't think it's a good idea. I'm not sure I could muster the amount of dedication required to make a living at art, and I think an art career is probably not the most practical idea given the current state of the world and things to come.
Computer Science/Information Systems - This seems to (potentially) combine most of my interests and abilities, however it is a profession that requires 4 years of school, and the local college is a two-year. I'm also concerned that it is "too lofty" - that the skills may not be "real world" enough to be entirely useful in the times ahead.
Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) - This is what the college counselor suggested to me based on my art and computer interests. It is a 2 year degree (up to 4 years), and based on my internet searches, a drafter basically works under an engineer, putting their designs into visual and instructional forms, probably using a computer. There is also an artistic avenue for drafters, since drafting software and skills can be used for 3D special effects (in movies, for instance) and artistic design. I would earn a CADD Technician Certificate and a Drafting Assistant Certificate as part of my college's degree plan. However, the course consists almost purely of drafting courses, so if I wanted to do something else at some point I would likely have to start from scratch. However, my local college seems to have a very good track record of getting students into careers (or at least they convey as much in their brochure for their CADD program).
Engineering - It looks like engineering professions could combine a lot of my interests and strengths, while conveying practical problem-solving knowledge. There are various engineering fields. At a glance, Architectural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering (closely connected to Computer Science), Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering stand out to me as interesting (from the list here: _http://www.tryengineering.org/become.php?page=majors_eng). Engineering requires at least 4 years of study, and apparently requires lots of diverse classes.
Final Comments
So, engineering and CADD look the most promising to me right now, although I'm not sure what type of engineering I would like to go into (so many choices!
). CADD might get me on my feet quickly, but is not entirely "real world" practical, and may be a sort of "dead end". Yet, my college's CADD program sounds good, and it seems like it would interest me. Engineering, however, would require a longer period of study, but would give me a wider range of knowledge and skills, and practical problem solving abilities - especially regarding my particular engineering field.
