The Next Move

So I'm going to be graduating this year from Florida A&M University with a bachelors degree in business administration. Up until this year I was in the school's MBA program but got out of it because (in order of importance)

A) the program got real shaky (so is the entire university for that matter)

B) switchin majors allowed me to take more classes at home in chicago and transfer the credits down

C) my roommate of 4 years graduated so I would've had to find new roommate(s), place to live, sign new lease etc.

So I'll be out of school looking for a job like the rest of the masses, but I also want to go to automotive school and get ASE certified (I know its not required that I go to a school to do so). The front runner by far for me is Universal Tech Institute. A college friend of mine is about to graduate from UTI-Orlando very soon and he has nothing but good things to say about it.

But I also still want to get my MBA. But since i'll be doing it at another school, I'll most likely need at least three years work experience to get into a good program.

So my dilema is this: I could go to UTI while working full time but it would take me a lot longer to finish. (My friend took about a year and a half) Or I could do UTI and work part time somewhere (but I'd be really poor). Or I could work on my business skills, get a business plan together and try to open an automotive shop (which is my ultimate goal and realistic dream job) with my friend and some other contacts I have.

I have less than a year to decide on what route I'm gonna take since getting in anywhere or getting any job requires application/interview/wait time. Any suggestions? Anybody been in a similar situation?:dunno: :1zhelp:

i don't know how well it would work, but i would look into getting a full time job that possibly has tuition re-imbursement at UTI or a school that will offer courses for an MBA. this way you are making money and not having to pay for schooling. i would probably go after the MBA first, just because of the options it leaves open. plus, once you get your MBA it may come with a pay increase. then you can go to UTI.

i would go for the MBA first also, and this is just me and i don't mean to rain on your parade, but if you were to spend say two years at UTI while working. if your dream job does NOT blossom then those two years weren't wasted, but it may hold you back or something. Where as once you get your MBA it looks a little better on job applications. The pay may be greater also, and if you are employed by a company that will pay for you education (i know my work does this) then you haven't wasted more money, you've earned money, and you have a degree will help you in whatever path you chose to take.

hopefully this will help you out a little. I don't want you to think that i'm tryin to bust your bubble of opening your own shop, i think that would kick ass, but in this day of small business closing very quickly, i personally would want something that companies will look at with more possibilities of acceptance.

Definietely appreciate the advice. No bubble bursting going on here. I know entreprenurship (-sp?) is very risky. The main reason I'm considering the riskier (financially) route of UTI first is that working on/in/with/around cars is my passion in life. And I've always been told to follow your passion, because its beter to fail at something you want than at something you don't. Of course its always better to avoid the failure part :p I was originally going to go to school to major in mechanical engineering, but I was swooned to the business school becuase of my (relatively) high scores/grades on english and math compared to my average scores in sciences. Plus they gave me a $2000 grant just for staying in the MBA major.

Now I'm kinda impatient about the whole automotive school thing because I wanted to do that right out of high school but it seemed like a safer idea to go to college instead. And college was definitely a better idea than going to the army which was extremely close to happening. But now I'm about to be done with college which I enjoyed but I still think about what I might be doing right now if I had gone to UTI 5 years ago. Its hard to live with regrets and I don't want to end up regretting that I didn't go for it the second time around. (Great. Now I have that cheesy 'Second Time Around' song from the 80's stuck in my head :shakehead )

My uncle was (according to family consensus) a failure-in-the-making up until he was about 23. Then his comedy thing started flourishing, he eventually linked up with some other young upstarts who are now famous, and now he's won an Emmy for comedy writing and is co-executive producer on another Emmy nominated show. So I've seen high hopes turn to reality in my own family and I know it takes hard work and some struggling but I just wanna make sure I'm making the best next step to reaching success like my uncle

the other option i can think of is this. Go to UTI full time and get a part time job so you have some income. make sure you prioritize your spending habits first though. Once you have finished UTI then you can go look for a job and utilize that degree. Once you feel like you have enough money or whatever, go back for the MBA even if it is part time in school. This way you will be doing what you want to do, working with cars, and you will be working towards your MBA.

The reason i suggested all the stuff i did above was just beacuse of the way i see myself in the economy and the world when i graduate, which will be next year as well. I would rather have a nice little cushion to fall back on if I decided to open my own shop rather than starting one out early and not having enough money or something. Then you have loans and shit to payback from the business venture and stuff. I, personally, would rather have that extra little money i could fall back on if times get rough. Just remember that my posts are from my views. None of my parents or family were able to go on and do great things, my family has had some VERY bad history and I'm lucky to be where I am. That's why i would put myself in the "office job" before the "shop job".

Good point. Being broke is getting kinda old now, I think I'm gonna try to give it up cold turkey. I've gotta do alot better with managing my finances anyway. Having a cushion of money to fall back on is something I haven't experienced since high school aka "the time before bills". I'd like to find a part time job that pays pretty well, like at least $15 an hour but thats pretty rare to find in a job requiring less than 35 hours a week

yeah, but, as i'm sure you'll learn when you get out into the world, a college education can make all the difference.

and think of it this way, if none of this works you can always blow your money on the Lottery trying to get rich :lol:

That's Plan C :bigthumb:

Plan C should be to go on as many bank heists as you can until you get caught. Once you get caught you'll be sentenced to prison for the rest of your life and you won't have to worry about workin or anything. Free food, a roof over your head, the occassional ass-raping :uhoh: what more do you have to look forward to :rofl: