I might get a job at GoodYear, but I'm not sure.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Today, entering the job market, your chances of a good career path are limited without a 4 year degree. To encourage a young person like Genny of any other notion seems short-sighted. If she were MY daughter, I couldn't do it in good faith. I know with my son, it won't be an option.

I agree, it seems like anymore, having a degree is a necessity. I would also encourage you to go to school- you may even like it! There are lots of opportunities for students. You could take interesting classes to figure out what you want to major in, or study abroad. Starting at a community college would probably be a good idea, or a smaller private school, because in my experience you get better student services there.

My parents couldn't afford to pay for my schooling, so I took out financial aid, but I've never regretted my education. It's not just having the degree that I think is really important, but also what you learn and the experiences you gain.

Good luck with your decision! If you do decide to go school in the near future, you should fill out an application for federal aid, which will give you opportunities for grants and loans. Their website is here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and the application is free.

[Catty1]

Hey, Genny - how about just looking into the military thing? Talk to someone at the recruiting office - it might be just the ticket for you!

[Genny]

Hey, Genny - how about just looking into the military thing? Talk to someone at the recruiting office - it might be just the ticket for you!

No offense to anybody in the military, but I just don't think I could do it.

[kokopup]

While I agree that the military is a viable choice for getting an education it is not the only choice. I spent 6 years in the Navy and got some terrific training while in there that carried me over until i completed my education with the aid of tuition assistance (GI BILL) after discharge. There was a time that I was working full time going to school full time and managed to be a Scout leader on the side. My company was giving me tuition assistance in addition to what I was getting from the Navy. There are many large companies and I'm sure Good Year is one of them that gives tuition assistance to employees.

I believe some of you are putting undue pressure insisting that Genny must be in College or she will not get ahead. There are many many paths to a good education and it doesn't have to happen right now. There are also some very good paying careers that DO NOT require a College education. You need to check out the top paying jobs for the future and none of them require a degree. My son has a degree but is doing a job that he trained himself to do and it pays more than he can make with his degree. The medical field or computers/internet will be the best fields to consider in our new world.

[pomtzu]

Yes Cataholic - I'm a lot older than Genny. My oldest granddaughter is 21!

Of course I realize that things are different now than when my brothers and I were growing up, and it was a lot easier to get a good job way back when. My oldest brother worked in aerospace design for many years, and then in some other fields too, but I'm not certain which. He also holds a few patents for mechanical items he designed. Granted - neither of them would get a foot in the door today without a degree.

It just seems that Genny doesn't know what she wants to do in life, and that's what's holding her back from making a move. And maybe she just never liked school and doesn't want to continue on. I don't know - only she knows that. But I can't see her going to college when she keeps saying everything is "hard", and wants the easy way out. Those two things just aren't compatible.

I think a company that offers a college reimbursement program would be great for her, but unfortunately that's not offered by all companies. The company I retired from had it, and it was not even considered a big business since it only employed around 400 people. You paid for your courses upfront with the school of choice, and the company reimbursed that money upon completion with a passing grade. A lot of people took advantage of that program.

I just hope that Genny will make a move in the right direction. As I said before - the longer you wait, the more difficult it gets.

[Genny]

I talked to one of my managers today (he's my favorite manager and we're pretty good friends) and I told him everything... I told him about me going to be working 9-2 mon-fri and he was really happy for me and was really cool about it and said that I should def. take this job at the pharmacy. I'm gonna go ahead and work the rest of this week at Chickfila since I'm already down on schedule, but I'll start my new job monday! My manager said for me not to say anything about this to anyone and he'd talk to our boss and then after he talks to her he said we both can talk with her and he said he'll try to smooth things out w/ her and get me where I can still work 2-3 nights at Chickfila... That's what I'd really like so I hope everything works out ;]