Reaching out to you all

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

Hello Simtropolis! I have been a member here for 5 years (Officially on 18th of December), and I know I have had my ups and downs with everyone, but I need your help with some things, if you guys do not mind giving me some advice. (Particularly the college graduates or current college students.) I am in my first semester of college as of right now, but I am still confused on what I want to go to college for, or what I need to be looking for. I come from a small town of around ~1000 people, so my resources are fairly limited. The small college I am at right now offers nothing in the Architecture department, nor does it offer anything in design of building or structures. What i am curious, is if you guys could give me some advice on what areas I need to look into, as I am very interested in something I can use my 3ds Max experience with, and my love for making buildings/designing.

 

Anything helps, and I am very thankful for any help I may get, thanks again! 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Are you sure you want to be in a post-secondary education system at all?  Colleges, especially small ones, can be stultifying because of their limited funding and therefore inability to provide the necessary smorgasbord of knowledge.  If you went directly from secondary school to college, you may have missed an opportunity to look around at the world.  It is beneficial to take a year (or two) off the education merry-go-round and see what is in the rest of the world, and that means travel.

If your funds are limited, travel around your country.  You don't say where you are so there are several possible agendas depending on your domicile.

If you are in Europe or the U.K. you can take advantage of the Schengen agreement, get yourself a Eurail pass and just take off, living in hostels along the way.

Unfortunately, if you are in North America you will need to invest in a passport to cross from, say Canada to the U.S.  A little problem caused by an ID 10 T error in Congress at the time of 9/11.

In any case, go see the country side.  See how other people live.  Find out what you really want to do for a job.  In the end, your 3D modelling skills may very well wind up in your CV as "Other Interests".

If money is a problem, plan to work along the way.

[raynev1 1,886]

   I would have to agree with Nonny , get out there and have a look around . Research the job market and see what kind of work out there is in your interest . Nothing against higher education , indeed it can be helpful . Just see what's out there in your liking and how much demand is for it . You'll have to travel around to find the right path you can excell in . It sounds like you may want to check out Engineering or Architecture . Both require extensive mathematics and understanding of materials used .

   And then there is the "Gaming Industry" that uses many artists , but I know nothing of the demand for any said fields . I wish you luck with whatever you take on , and don't be a stranger here on Simtropolis . Best wishes and Happy Holidays .  

   

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I'd like to add one more item.  Have a look at trades.  Plumbers and Electricians make a lot of money after they've achieved their mastery, and you would be working through an apprenticeship system getting paid while you learn.  If you have mechanical aptitudes and don't mind getting your hands dirty, this is definitely an option.

BTW, here in Canada, in order to license a trade business (Electrician Service Company, for example) you have to have a mastery.  This can take up to ten years to get, but you are working and getting paid the whole time.  And you can stop advancing and just be a Journeyman, continuing to work at that level.  Trades aptitudes include interest in precision.

[SteveMSim 275]

On 12/8/2015 at 2:30 AM, A Nonny Moose said:

I'd like to add one more item.  Have a look at trades.  Plumbers and Electricians make a lot of money after they've achieved their mastery, and you would be working through an apprenticeship system getting paid while you learn.  If you have mechanical aptitudes and don't mind getting your hands dirty, this is definitely an option.

I read that there may be a shortage of skilled tradespeople in the future here in the U.S. because of Baby Boomers retiring and the heavy emphasis on college education has resulted in few people entering the trades.  Many young people have been fed the message for years that you must have a college degree to get a good paying job and to succeed overall, and not very many younger people have entered skilled vocational careers.  Some trades are coming into high demand and an experienced worker in such a trade can make more money than in some professions requiring a college degree.  Also, in recent years, many young people are finding that a college education is not a guaranteed ticket to success, considering that many professional employers are not hiring younger people.

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

Thank you all for the replies, I have taken all of your words and noted them.

 

I have searched trade schools, and am interested in one, while at the same time I do not want to give up my dream of maybe designing buildings one day if I can figure out the right area to go into to achieve that.  

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

I took most of my electives my first year, then decided on what I wanted to study. you have a little time at least before you declare.

EDIT: What school are you going to?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

If you want to be an Architect go for it.  A degree in Civil Engineering is a start, but basically Architecture at an advanced level is Doctoral or post-doctoral material.

Don't get discouraged.  The most famous post-doc I can think of right now is one Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Georgia, ex-President of the U.S., former navy person who worked for Admiral Hyman Rickover when the first nuclear submarine (Nautilus) was being built.  Mr. Carter did one of his post-doctoral studies at Chalk River's AECL facility when my wife worked there in the 1960s or there about.  He has an SSN named after him.

Growing peanuts doesn't need a PhD in nuclear physics, but I suppose the experience might help.  Mr. Carter was one of the better 20th century Presidents IMHO.  Makes Al Gore look like an amateur.  He's 91 and still going strong.

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

10 hours ago, DavidDHetzel said:

I took most of my electives my first year, then decided on what I wanted to study. you have a little time at least before you declare.

EDIT: What school are you going to?

East Central University. 

3 hours ago, A Nonny Moose said:

If you want to be an Architect go for it.  A degree in Civil Engineering is a start, but basically Architecture at an advanced level is Doctoral or post-doctoral material.

Don't get discouraged.  The most famous post-doc I can think of right now is one Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Georgia, ex-President of the U.S., former navy person who worked for Admiral Hyman Rickover when the first nuclear submarine (Nautilus) was being built.  Mr. Carter did one of his post-doctoral studies at Chalk River's AECL facility when my wife worked there in the 1960s or there about.  He has an SSN named after him.

Growing peanuts doesn't need a PhD in nuclear physics, but I suppose the experience might help.  Mr. Carter was one of the better 20th century Presidents IMHO.  Makes Al Gore look like an amateur.  He's 91 and still going strong.

Thank you, I have looked into Civil Engineering, I just have had a hard time getting clear information on it. I have talked to advisers, but they do not help me much at all.

[airman15 4,111]

Another way to learn about the trade you would like to pursue would be to see if you can apply for an internship.

I am just finishing one with a firm that does Architecture and Civil engineering and it was needed for an associate's degree in Drafting/Engineering Support. Though the division I was assigned to dealt with cell tower antennas and replacements for the equipment they utilized. For this company we used AutoCAD 2014, more specifically 2D drafting meaning all drawings were made with lines and not models. On the other hand, there might be a company that may use 3D modelling in their line of work. The best approach would be to research the company before you turn in a resume and cover letter.

With an internship, it's on-the-job training. I'm sure it would be a requirement defined if you were to go to a community college. I'm sure for a University it could be the same. It would be something you should talk to a course counselor about regarding your major.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Civil Engineering is all about building things safely and to specifications.  If you read any of the ISO9000 series of standards on Quality Assurance you will find the simplicity of "Quality is conformance to requirements".  A CE's job, among other things, is to ensure that the requirements will produce a safe structure.

This is why a CE degree in which you are exposed to all sorts of things about materials (Strength of Materials is usually a course in year 2), hydraulics, and a great deal of physics, mostly statics.  Interestingly, one of the chaps in my undergrad engineering class was paralysed, but become a CE.  He was one determined cookie.  If you are not bored to death by the first year mechanical drawing professor, you might enjoy it.

One reference you might find interesting is a book by Phillip C. Crosby called "Quality without Tears" (or how to get things done without hassling your employees.)  Mr. Crosby was an engineer working for NASA and one day his boss said to him "Phil, I need someone to get that bird in the air.  I hope it's you."  This veiled thread of dismissal caused him to think hard, then invent Quality College, which I have attended courtesy of my employer at the time.

  Edited December 11, 2015 by A Nonny Moose  
Added reference

[GoKingsGo 342]

If Cartography interests you in any way, get the ESRI 60 day trial of ArcGIS and watch some tutorials online.  If you master that program on your own, employers won't care how you learned it, just that you can produce maps that satisfy their need.  I'm a Geography major at Cal State Long Beach with 3 semesters left until I get my BA, and I'm just now learning the importance of knowing GIS.

It's tough figuring out exactly what you want to do, I agree with travel if you can.  The rest of the advice on this thread is great so I'll leave it at that.