What would you do?

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Well is the quarry going to close while your working there threw your life? If not work days finish school at night. How far threw college are you?

Without a degree it is unlikely you'll ever earn more than $60-80,000 per year (unless you get extremely lucky), most likely doing grunt work. With a masters degree your earning potential is only limited by your ambition and you'll be doing so from the penthouse office.



...that's the typical story anyway. Some people do get lucky.

^ VERY good point. I wouldnt drop out. In the long run, its not worth it.

although im making $100 a day (salary) and im just starting out with Coke, im not about to leave college. in fact, i cant wait till next fall when all my moving is done and im established somewhere and i can switch to a part time job to go back to school full time.

finish school me. heck, my field requires more experience than a degree, but ya know what, i cant see myself never getting a BA ya know, unless i win the kodak film award next year and TIME or something hires me from that. haha

Why are you even considering dropping out for a job like that?? Finish the degree. Easy choice if you ask me.

Exactly, easy choice. You are considering a manual labour job. There's this pisser of a thing called Globalisation that's been happening for the past 20 years or so. One of the implications is manual labour jobs are generally going to those who will work for the LEAST income. Does that sound like job security? Knowledge based occupations will be where the money and job security is down the track.

It's an attractive pay rate, definitely, but as has been said before, there's going to be somebody who can do it cheaper than you come along and you'll be out of a job and without qualification, stick with college, MUCH more secure in the long run.

Stay in college. I'm majoring in history and I plan to go for the masters once i'm done. i'll either work in a museum or i'll end up being a teacher. I call that, job security. We'll always need teachers.

Stay in college. There isn't much job security in driving a dump truck

Ok thanks guys this really helps. If anyone else has an opinion please, I'm all eyes.

BTW I'm going into my 3rd year at community college (wasn't fulltime my first year there) and just getting my gen. eds. out of the way until I can figure out what the hell I want to do.

Stay in college. As said, it is just worth it in the long run. It gives you a career (multiple well-paying job opportunites) instead of a job which you really have no security that you will always have.

I vote for stay in school as well. Leaving school to take home 50K a year may seem cool now, but jobs like that leave little room for upward movement. Leave yourself some options by getting your degree.

Add another to the list of "stay in school". I have some good friends who had or have similar jobs driving dump trucks for local companies including the local quarries. Over the years 4 out of the 5 were injured on the job and ended up on disability. Most are in their late 30s to mid/late 40s. Of the 4 only one returned to work on a limited basis. the others' injuries prevent them from returning. As a result I have seen 2 of them have to sell their house and move into an apartment, and 2 have ended up filing for bankruptcy because their income was far less on the disability. One problem I saw was that none of these guys had a plan to fall back on for another line of work. Most of these guys went to work right out of high school and had no other formal education beyond that. As a result they will either have to find some employment which most likely will pay far less, or enter a state type educational retraining program to learn a new career, (which is harder to do as you get older.) You seem to have a good start on your education. It would be a good idea to finish there and hopefully find a good job/career where you have a better chance of making good money for a longer period of time.

take your time, just don't quit. once you do, it's hard to get back into the mode of wanting to. i know a lot of people that took a year off or something then just never returned. i think it's harder to take time off after going then before going cause in one way, it's like a long ass summer break when the other, you know what one choice is, but when you start to explore the other...you get caught up in this.

you find something what you think is great and how sitting in class sucks etc. well, no, it doesnt. stay in school man! heck, get the job and stay in school. i work 40+ hrs a week for coke, but im still enrolled full time online doing gen eds and w/e else i can till i get back into uni.

If you can do it part time, go for it. If not, stay in college.

It's a pretty unanimous call here lol

no brainer - stay in school.

studying will allow you to get jobs that'll pay much more than $32.50 an hour.

Wow thanks everybody...I think I'm going to stay in school, it just seems to make more sence and it's my gut feeling. Thanks for all the replies I really appreciate it!

Think of it this way:

Drop out = 32.50/hr driving a truck
Stay in school = $100k+ annual salary, telling the guy where to drive the truck from an air-conditioned office

Think of it this way:

Drop out = 32.50/hr driving a truck
Stay in school = $100k+ annual salary, telling the guy where to drive the truck from an air-conditioned office

Good point! :biggrin:

Stay in college. I'm majoring in history and I plan to go for the masters once i'm done. i'll either work in a museum or i'll end up being a teacher. I call that, job security. We'll always need teachers.

so you learn history, then teach history? i guess it's true, history repeats itself. kinda like the burrito i had last night.

Tractor-trailer driving OTR or USPS can be very rewarding. Especially the USPS because you don't touch the freight and they have good benefits. When I get older I am going to go back to school to finish the one semester left. But I am going to go to Commerical Driver's Training School to get my CDL get myself going and on my feet before I go back. I want to go OTR so I can see the country and think about what EXACTLY I want to do with my life and stuff. But definitely do some sort of schooling.

in the words of the great Van Wilder "Don't be a fool, stay in school"

Yeah, if you can fit it in with school, maybe go for it depending on how hard your course is (i know i sure as hell am not working during school). If not, stay in school. As everyone has said, you'll have more money now but in the long run it's just not as safe a plan as school. without school you're only suited to jobs that don't require a degree (duh) and when you compare salaries, it's a no-brainer.

So I wonder how is school going? Where is school going for you? Are you putting enough effort into school that it will provide the benefit you want for yourself? Where do you see yourself in two years? $32.50 an hour + OT... I can see 100K per year! Does work continue during inclimate weather? What about benefits? Do they offer tuition reimbursement? What would you do with all your money? Plan to legally avoid taxes. You say you haven't figured out yet what you are going to do after school? Get motivated about what school can do for you. You can still earn a four year degree you are proud within three years while you drive the Volvo. That will be a lot of hard work. Don't give up on your education goal for anything. Working will be a real education also. Learn what may be the most important lesson you are presented with. Do what you want to do because that is what you want for yourself, rather than doing what others tell you will be best for you. Ask a lot more questions about this job and get some answers about how to make school happen at the same time. How many guys and women over 40 yrs old are working there? Not so many I suspect.

Knowing what I know now, if I were 20 yrs old again my decision for me would be to do all the research (starting like now!) so that I could make some educated decisions, make my plan, take the job, I would continue school, I wouldn't spend all my money, and most importantly, I would stay single... unless she could type and help with homework.