to show up in a Ferrari :troll:

+1 to what Ulic said. Is this the kind of rationale that people think of to make themselves feel better when they don't have any connections? and they think they can't compete as successfully as the next guy? If I have them, I am damn well using them. Why the fuck would I care what you or anyone thinks? more respect because I did it completely on my own? LOLOL please. Nothing more than feel good stories to reaffirm the ideal of the American dream.

There are people who just receive inheritance and do fuck all. There are also those that go and do something with it.

"I don't want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers."
-John D. Rockefeller, 1908, at the launch of his National Education Association.

I posted this a year ago or so.

ya i know but i'm under the impression the electrical trade requires a bit more book learning than other trades due to understanding electricity & electromagnetics, ohm's law, etc...

pretty sure every BCIT trade program requires Math 11 and English 12 as a minimum, which essentially says you gradded

The whole trade or university debate is stupid. Not everyone is going to thrive in our educational system since its a one size fits all and there is nothing wrong with other options. What's funny is so many people think university is the only way that we don't have enough people in trades and as a result of this scarcity, being in trades can easily net better wages than the average university grad in Vancouver :lol

Although I will say a lot of people go to university but don't know fuck all still. Hell, I have had co-workers who barely managed to pass and still graduated. Granted, this is reflected in their personality, and you can easily tell they just "went through the process" but got nothing out of it, which may be symptomatic of their work ethic. As for arts degrees, I do not think they are as completely useless as people make it out to be unless you are an average student. At the very least, I think that if you receive B and up grades, you at least have soft skills such as learning, writing, and analytical abilities (and a healthy vocabulary to boot). For example: cousin graduated with an Arts degree in political science from UPenn, yet got job offers from Wall street banks (JP Morgan, Houlihan, etc) as a financial analyst and found the job easy since the analytical skills are transferable.

Furthermore, those that receive decent grades for an Arts degree or any degree for that matter will gain access to graduate school (Masters, LL.B/J.D, MBA, dentistry, etc) and that could increase your chances of landing more lucrative and prestigious jobs (researcher, executive, lawyer, etc). And as others have said, networking opportunities.

I don't think it's such a shame as HKS PWR says it is. When I was at BCIT, I had to do calculations which involved long division and decimals. It was something I hadn't touched on since early highschool. Struggled in the beginning, but Google taught me as well as some of my clasmates and I made it through.

Trades is huuuuuge. I think some of you have the misconception that it's some last resort for all the retards or something. Far from the truth.

Being illterate, now that's a shame.

Thanked for good points.

It really depends on the trade, and the individual's priorities.
Trades are generally very stable and offer sub-par salaries, relative to degree/office jobs.
Coincidentally, I personally know 2 people on both ends of the table.
Person A makes ~120k+ a year without lifting a finger, works about an hour every morning from his bedroom, on his automated business which took him roughly 2 years to set up.
Person B makes ~180k a year working 9-5 Mon-Fri, but he's been working for this company for over 20 years to get to where he is.
Different strokes for different folks.
These are fairly extreme cases, but it shows that anyone can make almost anything, regardless of formal education merits.

The big money's in business now, and more and more people are realizing it. That's part of the reason why there's so many new incentives for tradespeople.

I agree that trades is far from "retard" work. Obviously when it comes to theory bookwork, some are more complex than others. And when it comes to manual labour, some are harder on the body than others.

I dropped out and am making six figures. I gotta say though that I'm a exception and if I would choose again I would've probably not dropped out because my social circle isn't that big right now (I'm 19). Even though me and my friends are tight I wouldn't mind knowing more females and having more perspectives. I gotta say though the upside is I love being a boss and doing whatever I want. I've always hated authority and that's why I dropped out...........

^^ So... you're a drug dealer?

livin up to ur username huh

Nope. High school diploma (w/ Math 11 and English 12) is "recommended", but not a prerequisite. Most trades don't have much or any prerequisites, but the amount/level of math and reading comprehension that's involved is way beyond whats covered by a high school diploma.

As a tradesman who's gone through the apprenticeship process, I think a high school diploma should be a prerequisite in trades. The level of reading comprehension and the amount of math is very high, and a lot of apprentices have struggled because of it (from the people I've encounter). The funny thing is, the thing I hear most from those struggling was "I got into trades to avoid math"!

Most of the trades I looked at (automotive tech, plumber, electrician) only list "recommended to have Math 11 and English 12, but not required"

Tradespeople are enjoying their time in the sun because of our petroleum economy and of course, 150K-200K/year is nothing to sniff at. But, that's basically a tradesperson's ceiling (unless they own their own company) and if you're a professional such as a lawyer, physician, or a consultant of some kind (basically any job that involves billable hours), your ceiling is much, much higher.

Wait weren't you looking for a baller $15,000 car? And your parents were covering your maintenance?

:fullofwin: you beat me to it

This thread is somewhat important for the little boys like me who have no clue what they want to do...and that sometimes, traditional post-secondary schooling is not necessary, provided we have the drive to be what we desire to be. Some posts in here are very insightful.

An example would be my brother, got in, then stepped right back out of school when he a) lost interest in school and
b) was offered a job in Taiwan by someone he made a connection with

Why would someone want to drop out of HS though, it is VERY easy compared to university, and we're guided every step of the way. If anything, it opens more doors to better opportunity. Some employers might not expect a degree, but seeing a high school graduation on the resume is better than seeing an elementary graduation on there.

The game of life......man i got it easy right now :fullofwin:

I completely agree.
By certification, I'm in the world of technology-trades. However, I just started getting my feet wet in the business world as well, and I've decided to jump ship within the next year or so.

It really depends on the trade. A plumber is not going to make as much as a process operator, unless he owns his own company, but that's also trailing off into business.

Haven't read through the whole thread but here's what a handful of my dropout friends are doing (I only know less than 10...)

1.) Dropped out at Grade 12 after term 2 of 3. Worked at White spot since day one starting as a dishwasher. He is now pretty high up in the kitchen hierarchy at his local white spot and living comfortably.

2.) Stuck to the end of Grade 12 but never finished as he failed some critical courses. Works promoting for a club. I barely see this guy anymore since i'm not a clubbing guy. But the last time I've seen him, he said that though he makes a bit of dough - it's such gruelling work (not as flashy as it seems on the surface) and wished he never got into the business.

3.) Dropped out end of Grade 11 and then went on to "borrow" some of his parents' money to open up a small factory in China. His factory produces graded metal nuts and bolts, and has them shipped worldwide (including Canada). Yes he was a bit spoiled in the beginning with the "borrowing" from his parents... but he has definitely hit it big and is living VERY comfortably.

4.) This is where the fairytales end: Dropped out midway thru Grade 12, Dealt drugs and then got hooked ONTO drugs before successfully getting completely clean mid last year. Works at fast food chain store making minimum wage.

5.) As above but without the drugs, Worked several part time jobs including Subway, Starbucks, McDonalds, Future Shop. Last I heard she is now working as an associate at Nine West and Aldo... both part time.

Muderfudger I ain't no powered by mama where did you get this idea from? and I've increased my budget. Well looks like I can't talk till I get my car.

shut the fuck up you loser.

Oh snapzzzzzzzzzzz