My degrees are in business and psychology. I took a few surveying classes as electives.
Most beneficial for surveying are
Statistics
Business Law
Business Law II
Business Ethics
Business Communications
Strat & Policy
Cost Accounting (I hated this class)
Operations Management
Human Resources Classes
Basically, most of all of the core business classes were a HUGE benefit to me and I think that all folks who are going to have a business should have these classes. The surveying classes, for the most part, are beneath these in my opinion.
No Survey law?
The best part about my time at UF was the cheap football tickets students could purchase! Of course the team was not very good then so it really did not matter...
Did make good friends there that I still have to this day and that no doubt that has been a help to the old career as well.
Four Year Degree - Add it Up
> When all was said and done I came out of school with a little over $50,000 in debt (2 year private, 2 years public). Got me a sweet job making $12 an hour, it was the experience not the money I was after. I'm 28 years old and going for my L.S.(NYS needs 8 years) at the end of October. I think it might have been a while longer if I didn't have the degree.
If you add up the paid time lost to college for 4 years, hold the $12 rate of pay, that is 100k in missed wages, plus the cost of school, 50k, then it will take 12500 hours or 1562 work days to get back to zero on your balance sheet.
Keep in mind, that is not including the compound interest on the student loans. I know a few attornies that borrowed to go to school and they are in a pretty big hole, stating they will be paying them off over 30 years....ouch.
I just went the route of letting my employer pay for a class or two at a time rather than borrow bigtime dough with interest.
Life is all about choices, make informed ones with a worthwhile goal, to me making money is the goal as it is the only way to pay the bills, protect your loved ones, or make productive investments, all steps in between you and the money you need for a happy life is is just a means to and end and must make good financial sense.
Good luck.
Four Year Degree - Add it Up
Here's a quick and handy way to help you decide what to do, no matter what career you intend to pursue.
Get an idea of how much money you want to make per year.
Start looking around at people who make that much money.
What percentage of them obtained a four-year degree?
Or alternatively, look at people who make more than that, and people who make less than that....what is their respective higher education status?
I'm betting the numbers will tell you something.
Not really. Some was covered in the legal principles class I took as an elective to graduate. The rest was self taught or gleaned from text books I read or CEU classed I attended or dealing with attorneys.
Curly
It is important to note, that I had already had my surveying license nearly 6 years when I graduated college, so I really did it all out of order.
two thumbs up!!!!
Nice post....I agree 100%
Its really not even about whether the profession is divided (which it is) on the necessity or non-necessity of a college education to "survey" - It boils down to just this simple reality:
- If you really want to advance as far as you can in any given field, you pretty much need a 4-yr degree.
- If you want license / job portability, nationally or even internationally, you pretty much need a 4-yr degree.
Just as with experience, education WILL make you a better practitioner. I don't see the requirement for a degree being reduced or going away in this profession.
> If you can specifically address his concern of "If I could take classes that were specifically about what I do and not have to go through the electives, liberal arts, etc (read = $ for the school) then absolutely, school first."
Liberal Arts classes can give you a fine grounding in the history of our great nation 😉
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Four Year Degree - Add it Up
> Here's a quick and handy way to help you decide what to do, no matter what career you intend to pursue.
>
>
> Get an idea of how much money you want to make per year.
>
>
> Start looking around at people who make that much money.
>
>
> What percentage of them obtained a four-year degree?
>
>
> Or alternatively, look at people who make more than that, and people who make less than that....what is their respective higher education status?
>
>
> I'm betting the numbers will tell you something.
Honestly, the financially richest people I know do not have advanced degrees, they are entrepreneurs with high financial IQ's and often do not fit the mold of your traditional linear thinking academic.
Humans have five different intelligences and only two maybe three are measured in school. For example, someone may be lowsy at calculus but can be on fire as an entrepreneur, demanding many multiples in $ annually versus the calculus teacher or advanced calculus students.
Another example, I hired two guys last year and one had an advanced degree from UGA and the other was nearing an associate degree at the local community college, the one with the advanced degree was a dummy with ethical issues and the one with no degree was absolutely amazing and such a blessing.
Degrees may help, they definately open doors to jobs as an employee, however the degree does not make the man, the man makes or breaks himself.
Four Year Degree - Add it Up
>
> Honestly, the finacially richest people I know do not have advanced degrees, they are entrepreneurs with high financial IQ's and often do not fit the mold of your traditional linear thinking academic.
While I don't discount that is the case, I believe that statistically, they are outliers. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, these are perfect examples.
But would you recommend foregoing college on the chance that you will beat the odds? It happens, but really, how often?
The people you speak of may rise to the top, but the vast majority of people who have above average incomes are those with some sort of college degree.
Four Year Degree - Add it Up
> >
> > Honestly, the finacially richest people I know do not have advanced degrees, they are entrepreneurs with high financial IQ's and often do not fit the mold of your traditional linear thinking academic.
>
>
>
> While I don't discount that is the case, I believe that statistically, they are outliers. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, these are perfect examples.
>
> But would you recommend foregoing college on the chance that you will beat the odds? It happens, but really, how often?
>
>
> The people you speak of may rise to the top, but the vast majority of people who have above average incomes are those with some sort of college degree.
Those are some fine examples but I was thinking more locally, the people I actually know, I certainly am not bashing a good education but in the long run it has to make sense in a financial context.
Most CPAs, lawyers, bank employees, financial planners etc.. don't have the keenest financial sense, these are the people that assist others in getting rich but are not rich themselves and do not know what to do, they all have degrees.
If your goal is to be an employeee, employers ask about a degree however, I have never had a bank ask about it, personally I care more about what the bank needs because I want to make money off their money. They care about credit score, down payments, collateral, track record, and successful business plans.
In the real business world $ is the true report card that matters most.
My point is that depending on your age and situation in life it may not make sense to borrow a bunch of money for school unless you are sure it will help you make more $ and how quickly it will help you.
It may be that a good business plan is more prudent and when you have made some $ then go for the education.
I know this is not the cookie cutter answer but it is my opinion.
Mapmaker I hold out as a professional not as an industry man
RADU
Having the opportunity to work for self and bill out at $250
per hour considerably cuts the pay back time ....
RADU
Kris, Christian Clausen did it your way....
RADU
"...always keep the door open so that it is possible for a man to progress by self education to the professional level. Formal education in college is merely one of the many ways that a man can acquire an education. A college degree is proof of theoretical training in a given area. The lack of a college degree is certainly not an indication of a man's knowledge. Many have acquired excellent educations by their own efforts..."
Curtis Brown, 1961
This was written when Mr. Brown and others were breaking ground as far as defining the art and science of land surveying as a profession distinct and separate from engineering. His steps included revolutionary ideas like 16 hours of testing (8 hours of fundamentals and 8 hours of professional practice).
I got a degree in Speech because when I entered college I thought I was going to college to become a trial lawyer. I took a couple of courses in Geography and got interested in Land Surveying though it was too late for me to switch majors. These are the things I learned in college:
the difference between ignorance and stupidity
I know what I don't know
The following (thanks to RADU): "The world is continually being dumbed down because in reality governments find it easier to control those who are not educated to think logically."
Amen, Sam Clemons!
I rarely post anymore, staying busy these days, but I have to say something that will surely get me flamed.....
I've never met/known anyone of wealth who said "I owe my wealth/success/etc to a college education..."
Just saying.....
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you...