Sorry for the OT post but hoping to get some opinions/advice. My daughter will be graduating this year, she hasn't really decided what she wants to do, no kid does, but she doesn't have any real idea. We talked about the military, I was in the CG 8 years, and of course I thought the idea was good. We're not joining the military now. Had a guy(salesman) from Devry in KC come to the house last night, all of a sudden she decides she'd like to go into health management stuff. She was ready to sign up last night, I told the guy we'd wait until next week so we could talk about it. We're talking 50K plus another $400 a month for housing year round. Of course all she heard was what she "COULD" make upon graduation, and this wonderful job placement %. I told her after he left that you don't start at the top, you'd be lucky to make 25K in a hospital admin dept. Guys and gals, anyone ever attended Devry? was it worth the dough?, do you have a job in your field of study? I know this isn't the place but I can't find any real info on the web regarding good or bad. The one thing I caught from the start was, he was talking about Devry and I heard him say "The Company", that really *****ed my ears up. I know they are a business but this really put me off. Please Email me at Farmallpete@yahoo.com , I don't want to use up anymore of Ryan's bandwidth. Farmall
If she has no idea, how about nursing? My Grandmother (84 years old )keeps her license up, and gets calls at least once a week. (I guess the age isn't on file with the license ). Some offers are as high as $450 a SHIFT! (8-12 hours) plus signing bonus, etc.. Plus most local colleges have nursing programs, so that should be a little less burden. Just something to think about, there's such a shortage and lots of money to be made.
If she's interested in helathcare, what about becoming an EMT? I'm sure there is a JC in the area that could have her certified in less than a year. Upon completion, she could work for one of many private ambulance companies, urgent cares, or ER's. Not that she would necesssarilly want to be a career EMT, but it exposes her to just about every facet of healthcare (including admin and healthcare management), so that she could have some time to explore her options. Not to mention, that she could be out and about working shy of a year if she is sharp and truly applies herself. I did it and ultimately became a paramedic and a 911 dispatcher, was good ride for about 10 years. Incidentky I'm employed in another field now. Good luck.
After reading your post again, I realized she still has the bulk of school year to go. Depending on her cl*** load, drive, and her social obligations, she could start taking the cl***es during the evening now. When I went through the program, there were several HS Sr's doing just that. Food for thought anyway.
James is right on about the recommendation for nursing. In the bigger city area nurses are in high demand and are pulling down $40-50/hour easily (that is for RN's, LVN would be a bit lower). Not an easy job, but good money and can work anywhere you want to live. Will not be a M-F 9-5 type hours, but many jobs are not. You can get an AS Nursing (two year) degree at your local junior college and then, depending on the state, take the board of nursing exams, and become a RN or LVN. Some states may require a BS Nursing to become an RN. The local junior college sure beats $50K, the end degree you get will be in higher demand, which means better employment opportunities. The population is only getting older and health care needs increasing. Besides, she may just meet some young doctor......
Thanks for all the replies, I've gotten several at the email account I listed. She is currently taking cl***es for credit from a JC, general ed. stuff. We've also talked to her about nursing, and the local university in Topeka has a pretty good nursing program. IT is definetly out, my wife and I both work for the state in IT. The thing is, she really doesn't have any clue at all, I think she just said yes to the guy becasue it was the first person we really talked to. I think she was all gung-ho on the military, scheduled a visit with the USAF guy, he left before we got to his office. Now it hasn't been mentioned in months. Devry has business programs now, but we're talking 60K with housing . I told her she could live at home if she went to Washburn(Topeka). I'm not too worried about her getting in somewhere, it's just that I wish she had a little bit better idea of what she wants and what actually lies ahead for her. Farmall
[ QUOTE ] I'm in school for IT right now. Thats where the future is I think. [/ QUOTE ] Not trying to bum you out, but the IT industry is still not recovered from the dot-com bust. There is fierce compe***ion for the jobs that are out there. A lot of unemployed IT workers. It recovering but slowly. I went almost a year without work in the Industry, lucky I have other skills... Just a warning don't let them blow smoke, the starting salaries these people quote are BS... Join soem local user groups and get a handle on what is really going on in your area....
Personally, I think she should find somewhere to WORK in the field she is thinking of going into. Obvsiously it wouldn't be the same job she would try to achieve after college, but it could give her an idea of the environment she'd be in. I work in a pharmacy, and I love the one *I* work in, but I've also filled in at other pharmacies in our company, and I hated every second. I've seen at least 3 pharmacists go through 5 years of pharmacy school, only to get out and HATE what they do - they never tested the waters before the dove in. Take a year off after Highschool, don't rush into college, because if she doesnt WANT to be there, she could be setting herself up to fail, and waste your money. Take it from me, I've been there, and done that. And now, at 25, I honestly feel like I could do well in college. The first 3 attempts were pointless. kris
I agree with Cherryblossom to an extent. I have a lot of friends who went to College and several who went to high-end Tech schools. Most of them ended up with Jobs that have nothing to do with their schooling. On the other hand, education will always give you an edge over those that don't have it, whether it has anything to do with the job or not.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I'm in school for IT right now. Thats where the future is I think. [/ QUOTE ] Not trying to bum you out, but the IT industry is still not recovered from the dot-com bust. There is fierce compe***ion for the jobs that are out there. A lot of unemployed IT workers. It recovering but slowly. I went almost a year without work in the Industry, lucky I have other skills... Just a warning don't let them blow smoke, the starting salaries these people quote are BS... Join soem local user groups and get a handle on what is really going on in your area.... [/ QUOTE ] Thanks. Thats something I was worried about. Too many people getting into it. I do want to do some web hosting on side for sure.
What she said, plus, stay (near) home and do gen-ed at http://www.washburn.edu/index3.html until she finds her nitch. A LOT of decisions and minds can and do change between the ages of 18 and 21. (That's why the military likes 18-19 year olds...their minds haven't become "incorrigible" yet!) Devry is a paper mill... I know and used to work with one of their administrators (VP). A degree is only of value as good as the current status of the school that produced it is. Devry has no ivy covered walls, if you get what I mean.
Well...what can I tell ya...as a career counselor i have many suggestions. First off, do your research, i am sure this rep had a good schpeel about how much one can make, this is usually off base by about 5 g's, becuase of the one student who took the program that already had 12 years experience and received a position becuase of that reflecting in the increased salary amount. Secondly, healthcare is a huge industry...she better be able to understand that there is alot of different opportunities available including the nurses, to the administration, including fields like consulting and mental health. So, do some research, if she plans on staying around home...what is the industry like within 100 miles.. thirdly, make use of any available 1:1 counseling, I cannot begin to tell you how many people come into my office saying "Yeah, i am interested in pharmaceutical sales"..well my response is this..do you know what entails being a SALESMAN..."no, i just heard from a friend that i might be good at it"...might...that is an awefully uneducated, yet extremely expensive hope... so sit down with a counselor, do some career related exploration utilizing the SDS, The MBTI, Focus II, red hot jobs, and other career ***essments, and formulate a plan of attack Exploration - research - decision.. tok
I have a good friend that went to Devry.... nothing in his life changed at all after graduation.. except he now has a new monthly payment.... HC
HC is the avatar ruler - Could hardly read what he had to say. But I did send you some info. Some of the best positions at the place I told you about are Nurses that had a business background. They were able to be nurses but with a little asking around they were able to move into management type roles. It is like all jobs however gotta get in and get the experience and keep asking what the next step is.. Hell I'm 33 and have no idea what I want to do yet so I can understand...
[ QUOTE ] HC is the avatar ruler - Could hardly read what he had to say. [/ QUOTE ] He said something, damn I better go back and try and read it.
"but we're talking 60K with housing . I told her she could live at home if she went to Washburn(Topeka)." 60k ?!!! You have 3 excellent universities with one hour of Topeka. K-State, KU and Washburn. I don't know what the tuition is for Washburn, is it a state school? I went to K-State, and I think it is an excellent school. I paid for it all myself and came here from Connecticut because back then it was cheaper for me to go to Engineering school here and pay out of state fees than to go to UConn and pay in state fees! Like Tokyo said- research all available opportunities. (GO WILDCATS!!!)
Farmall.....I have worked in the healthcare field for the last 24 years. I've recommended to my daughters to get into healthcare as well. However, to get anywhere and to make a decent buck, you have to have a minimum of an undergrad degree and, more preferably, a graduate degree (MSc, MBA). Its worth the money, take it from me. I started in the pharmaceutical business and have worked my way up. Pharmaceutical sales is no cake walk. If she has the ap***ude for higher education, encourage her. I'd say stay away from any school that describes themselves as a business. There will always be a demand for healthcare as we all age.
NoSurf, she doesn't want to go to K-State or GayU, too big of cl***es. Washburn is a decent school, it isn't a regent school though, $150 Credit hour, we live 20 minutes from Topeka, the 60K is what Devry dude quoted us, Way out of our range. She'd like Washburn, I think she was just excited at what the guy had to say. We've got a lot of researching to do. I just wanted to see if anyone on the HAMB had any dealings w/Devry. I'm not sold on it, especially if she changes her mind in the second year. I think at WU you have to declare after 54hours. Thanks for all the advice and info guys and gals. Farmall PS K---S----U WILDCATS!!!!
I don't know much about the medical field, but in technology most hiring managers have figured out that paper doesn't mean much without experience. I'm in favor of education, but would encourage general education first and career prep second. The reason is that very few of us have only one career over a lifetime, and that general education will help make those transitions positive.
One thing I would recommend for your daughter is to maybe see if she can do some volunteer work in a hospital admin dept to see if she would really like. Not only would she get an idea of the work but she would get experience & possibly some contacts to help her. You IT guys in school, this is a great idea also. Contact United Way agencies to offer volunteer work in their IT depts. You get hands on, they get free labor & everybody is happy. I did it for 2 days a week for a couple of months & it helped big time getting me my job ( Windows / Linux Sys Admin) Good Luck ! Steve
As a teacher I can tell you none, yes NONE, of my former students that went to tech schools or Devry stuck with it and none of it turned out. I am not saying it is impossible to have things work out, I just have not seen it in 10 years. Do not push you kid, if they are floating and lost they have to work that out or you will just waste money and time. She needs to figure it out. Send her to Jr. College and get the basics out of the way. See how she does...keep in mind if they mess up early it is a hole that is close to impossible to get out of. My first BFA I jumped into thinking I knew what I wanted to do, I changed majors and lost lots of money and because I was having "fun" I had a 1.6 GPA. I never got that one higher than a 2.75 because of my first three terms at school. When I finally figured it out I went back PB and got a social studies degree and teaching cert and had a 4.0. Like someone else said, don't let sales guys sway her with comments about grads making certain amounts of money...it is BS. I really think Jr. College or the military are great options, get some life experience and see what is out there. The MAJORITY of college students now change majors at least two times and are in school five to six years as a result. Floundering gets expensive. Just my .o2.
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