What brought me to this posting is a couple people in particular ....one ... a neighbor named Rick ...who is a 50 year old gentleman and very experienced truck driver, currently driving for a local company around the Metroplex area. And the second person I dont want to mention her name here for a couple reason's, although she didnt care if I did .... but she is in one of them job's that are easy to lose, and be replaced, she is a clerk at a neighborhood small business, but she is currently looking to get into a trade college at 22 year's old to try to get something earning a little more than $9.00 buck's an hour, she has high school diploma, just no further. I have looked at some of the literature and such a couple school's gave her and watched their video presentation on getting you into a great career. Also Rick and this lady are not connected.... and have a large age gap, nor know each other ... but also both are getting scammed by employer's with new health care rule's that are manufactured by the employer's, which I will explain later.
This gal was considering a career as a video camera technician ... you know ... like the one's in the news studio's, and these college's have some very attractive brochure's, commercial's, and video disk they even give you ... and plenty of financial assistance expert's to write up your loan app's for you to submit to the government and affiliated financial institution's for student loan's. All they ask you for is your signature .... sound's great ...heh? Well ....it is .... but like everything else ... look at all side's and option's. Choosing a career school and career that you may intend to get into for the next 30 year's or so should take some close viewing. I listened to her story ... then asked her if I could borrow her disk and brochure to take a look at it, her dad died when she was small ... her mom let's just say ... has problem's and isnt doing well .... and she has a roomate she share's rent with who is on the go.
But just out of the clear blue sky, even though she never thought about this camera career, she was quick to buy .... it looked exciting ...you know ... behind the scene's in the studio etc ...and the video you see ... will make you feel like your on your way to being a producer and meeting all the tele personalities. Important to look at these career's closely and demand for position's etc, and like anything else in life ... there's a certain amount of gamble to anything. These graphic art's college's as well ... I of course was in this business year's ago, didnt have any college in it ... but took interest and used my free time to watch, observe, and learn ... then got in as an eager trainee .... a few year's later ... I was running the shop ... yet I only formally had an 8th grade education, and took one of them GED exam's.... barely passed and the rest is history. I "chose" this though ... without no coaching. In this time .. that skill I once had, has became obsolete, there is no more graphic film of splicing or screen matching for color seperation's, and even no need for pre-press department's, or even graphic artist's are in lesser demand ... why? Because technologies has made it to where the customer, can design with little or no experinece their own art at home .... send it electronically to a printer ... bypass all pre press , even plate for that matter ... and a computer and robotic's inscribes the job onto a reusable plate even (even the plate industry got hit as well as the film)etching it with a laser .... the ink's are electronically fed even for the press operator ... and soon they will make them obsolete as well, replaced with all robotic's ... and presto ... you have your product ready for the customer. Yet these graphic art's trade college's are coming out of the woodwork in abundance and advertising an exciting career .... Hell .... by the time your done with college ... you better hope there is a career. I am not saying that these school's are not good ... what I am saying is you should look closely at what career you choose.... they will push you into anything if they figure they can get a loan app through on you.
As I pointed out to this young lady, the news room's for instance at some downtown studio's that even use non human camera personel.... yes... robotic camera's, right now in 2010 ... from the brochure I seen and all the excited young tech's in the studio's in their video ... I think they need to revise their sales pitch let's say. On the other hand ... take nursing ... especially RN or LVN (Registered or Liscensed Vocational) .... this demand is growing even with new technologies that help nurses do alot of the monitoring, there is a good demand in this field .... but it may not be as pleasant seeing sick folk's over tele personalities, but better chance's of not ending up in the unemployment line's (Yes, I realize that unemployment in Texas is done online now to, instead of in physical person, I am just using for example) with $10K to $30K in debt or more before your even 25 year's old .... and getting mark's against your credit rating if your ever late on your pay off. My daughter in a nearby Dallas suburb and her husband do fairly well in that part of the medical industry ... they live comfortable, and never worried about their career's all through this last recession. Dont be so quick to buy these career's without taking a serious long term look at the industry and where it is going, despite how pretty the video's look or the person coaching you for these school's. This is a big business .... and alot of young American's I have met and known wish they would have looked at other career's or option's, take your time .... your not old yet .... you have a few year's ... give some serious thought is all I am saying.
Another thing I want to point out which involve's this lady and Rick both, as well as a few other's I have talked to that recently had their HMO's dropped in the last few month's. Both of these folk's have told me that their employer's have offered them new plan's ( so called health care provider's), with drastic variation's in plan's and deductible rate's and such. Rick said he was almost pushed into a rush choice to sign on insurance change's in coverage ... and his boss simply went online to get the info he gave Rick ... saying it's all online of the change's. Well ....Rick dont have a computer, or know nothing much about computer's ... and is never online for that matter. Like I told Rick the other day ..."Hold it right there Guy ...." ....NO .... there isnt any damn thing officiated in the health care reform .... they dont even have the new bill complete! He said his boss got the change's online, etc,etc. I dont give a shit if he got them from God via the Holy Spirit Messenger .... there is NOTHING that has changed YET or officiated ... do NOT sign a damn thing .... until you see actual brochure's, from the companies, or through an official news source ... I mean ... these day's you can go online and find any damn thing you want it to say or believe! And the shit will look professional and official .... Hell ... I get email probably once every couple month's telling me I won the lottery in some foreign land and am now a millionaire ... and it look's solid! And the change's in premium's and deductible's and other crap they both told me were insane! Like being robbed with an affidavit instead of at gunpoint! NOTHING YET HAS BEEN PUT INTO LAW ... and what you are seeing is companies pulling scam's before this is officiated to get you to lock into something they may not be able to later.
Enough said .... be Fly and be Wise!
Your friend's daughter is lucky to have you as a wise father-figure (so to speak). You are so right about these fly-by-night schools who might have good intentions, but technology changes so quickly that any learned skill will (not might) be obsolete. She's better off going to a junior college to get a general education AA degree. She'll be able to find a job in lots of other areas instead of keeping herself in one narrow area that will lead to nowhere. Ah! The knowledge of us "older folks." We learned our lessons (hopefully).
ReplyDeleteTG (The Goddess)
If I can use any of my old knowledge or experience to help someone in need of it .... especially my own daughter ... I sure as Hell will. I learned of coarse ...the hard way ....basically getting burned and falling on my ass enough time's. Thank You for your input here Ms.Nancy ....
ReplyDeleteI am a lil emotional right now, because I just posted a post above which I loathed posting for awhile, but had to.
Take Care ..........
I only hope the two people you wrote about listen to you RC. I've made plenty of mistakes that I try to keep my kids from repeating. They rarely listen.
ReplyDeleteI hear you Mr.Truth, I simply present a picture of the reality of the condition, it's not right or wrong, and I am merely a reflection of everyone else, I dont have the answer's to one's life or can even point direction for that matter. My children made their own choice's and done okay without me telling them what to do, or using disciplinary measure's, I am not against strong discipline in parenting, because some children actually need it, I am sayin I never had to use it, or have never for that matter even spanked a child in my life. I simply tried to show them how to utilize the tool's they have, by presenting the grim reality of the condition since our society does not. I seen my share of scam's, and read them fairly well, when they are going down, other subject's I may be dumb as a doorknob on, and need a tip or two from someone else. I can look under the hood of a car and have an idea of what I am looking for to use process of elimination for a problem, yet on a computer, I can barely turn it on, and couldnt tell you a damn thing about it, and hadnt even spent any time trying to learn a damn thing on it for that matter, I just utilize it. If anything can be useful to someone that I say and can help ....great .... go for it! .... because I may need some useful thought and perspective myself on something else. I have a habit of asking little kid's like my grandchildren for their thought's and honest opinion's... Why? Because the children see what we fail to.
ReplyDeleteThank You for your input Sir!