Ugh... school decisions...

[HAL9000]

Well.. as many of you may know... I was laid off back around the end of March... well, I have an opportunity for free, government funded education and to remain on my employment insurance benefits for up to two years. Sounds great.. but what a run around of research and decisions to make. Now I don't blame the assistance programs for making me do the run around and research... they're going to commit to me with funds, I should have to commit to the research and chasing around required to get things going. Well.. I started out by printing off every single course in my area between the university and the technical college that I may be remotely interested in and started weeding out from there. Well... I did university once for computer science, turned out I hated the course and to be honest, I don't think the university life was for me... so technical college it is. A bit more weeding out and I had it narrowed down to 17... yes, 17 different courses... talk about frustrating... well, sometimes you just need to walk away from the pile and come back later and look at it again. I started tossing out the ones that I realized that I only want to do them for my own knowledge and benefit... I wouldn't want to do them for a living such as mechanic or autobody. That got me down to about 9... then tossing ones that seemed like there wasn't enough "meat" to the courses to be truly beneficial... they would be the type where it would only be one of a few courses required for a particular job... not going to do me any good... takes me down to 4.

SOOO.. today... three of them had a common ground and I went down to one of the local associations (kinda like a union hall, but not union) and talked to them about who are the potential employers in the fields I selected. There was a common consensus there to eliminate one because it was a one year course and to clarify the job, they called it an over-glorified computer tech.. not going back to that, even at a higher level.. so down to three. Once again.. a common consensus was that one of them was really somewhat phasing out due to processes becoming highly computerized.. WHOO HOO.. got me down to TWO choices now.

So as it stands as of today.... it will be either Electrical Engineering Technology or Computer Aided Design and Drafting Technology. Both are 76 week courses with both having three mandatory 4 month co-operative paid work terms during that time.... now it's just a matter of calling companies that require employees in these fields with a pile of questions to answer on my funding application and decide between the two. Essentially, I have to convince the counsellor that it worth shelling out the cash for education in one of these fields. I don't think there will be a problem with either as there is apparently demand. The CAD has a slightly higher demand, but the Electrical Engineering has an automatic $2000 entrance award which reduces funding.

Decisions decisions.. no wonder I'm insane.

My first choice was actually commercial pilot... but at approximately $45,000 and almost zero demand in the industry... there's no way I would get funding.

[doubledragon5]

That's great Dave, do they have a cap on how much they will pay for school? Here at least when I lived in CT the government only allowed up to $3000.. Just about every job I looked at wanted between $15,... and up.. So naturally the only thing I had left was truck driving..

[HAL9000]

No... there just has to be a viable plan in place... for example, my employment insurance will extend to two years.. if I were taking a 4 year course, how am I going to survive financially for the remaining two years... of course, is there potential for a job afterwards. As I mentioned, I wanted to look into commercial pilot, but there is no real potential for employment after, so no way will they shell out the money. Essentially, there is a huge application I need to fill out that requires I contact 5 employers with several pre-determined questions that need to be answered. Then things about myself such as this is a partnership, what am I going to contribute. The more I can show them I'm serious and that there is potential of employment due to a high demand profession, the better my chances.

[David M]

Being a Mountie no longer appeals to you?

[HAL9000]

It does... but I have other considerations in my life right now... being a Mountie means 1) moving, my daughter wants stability in her life and moving every couple years doesn't work into that equation and 2) She has admitted that the idea scares her... I am her hero and in the past few years, while mountie deaths have been few, there have been a few incidents. The training lately has seemed to be somewhat sub-par due to a heavy demand for recruits.. given that combination, again, probably not a good choice... I respect my daughters concerns, so I have to let it go.

[lil Jimmie]

Dave, I wish you the best of luck!

A little mechanical and body work for ya http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&l=86c99d9b22

[juppy]

Good luck, Dave! I thought awhile back that I apparently chose the wrong field for this area, because my degree in electronics hasn't found me diddly squat for a job. Around here though, the only job openings seem to be in the medical field. When I check the job openings pages each night, if there's say 45 new jobs posted since my last visit to that page, 38 of them will be for nurses or physical therapists. Guess I shoulda been a nurse. LOL.

[Strider]

My father was a designer when he worked (40 years at the same place) and the only advice he gave me is if I ever went into CAD was to learn drafting down pat. He told me towards the end of his career people who came out of college with CAD degrees (He was old schooled and never got a degree) were lost at the job because while they learn CAD down cold they didn't know a lick about drafting itself. He was constantly fixing their work or finishing it because when you are doing a job for real there are deadlines to meet. He taught himself CAD and he enjoy it for if he made a mistake all he had to do was delete his mistake whereas he would have to erase it completely or start all over again if he was using a drafting board. I remember as a child going to where he worked and showing me a drafting board that took up a whole room. He just laughs at that now for it now can all be done on a desktop computer using a plotter.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by lil Jimmie Dave, I wish you the best of luck! A little mechanical and body work for ya http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&l=86c99d9b22

Nice shop! What paint system do you use?

[piasabird]

Be selective about schooling in the correct way. Some technical schools are accredited and some are not. I have been working in IT for 10 years and lately all I have been doing is Scanning Documents for the Enrollment Services at our community college. They keep paying me so I keep doing it. At 51 I cant complain too much and at this point no one listens anyway. They have their agenda so I have to go with the flow or go some place else to find employment.

I see a lot of schools that advertise in my area heavily and some of them do not have accredidation. It is really painful to see a student find out his year of education will not transfer. You might consider some other kind of carreer fields that are kind of related. I see some people training in fields like Medical coding and billing or other areas in the medical field. Seems like sick people will not be in short supply any time soon. If you were in programming maybe try networking/Database. In my area we have some other fields like Water Treatment, Process Management for refineries, CAD/CAM, Engineering, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, etc.

It seems that IT departments are the first areas that management start firing people in lean times. My wife worked for bank of America for 18 years as a check processor in the lock box area and they fired her without batting an eye. I think she is going to go into accounting.

You should check out the WIA program as well. Lots of federal dollars flying around. Look at places like JTPA (Junior Training Partnership Act) - they offer training for layed off workers. Sometimes you can start at the community college and look for some ideas in other areas.

[HAL9000]

Well, there are only two major places to go that are close to me other than the little business colleges and stuff... one being the university, the other being the techinical college, both accredited. Keep in mind, I'm in Canada... different programs here. I know right now I'm qualified for a new program through my employment insurance that will keep me on benefits for 104 weeks instead of my current 41, I had to serve a waiting period before collecting benefits due to my severance package, another program may get that back for me but I don't have a 100% confirmation yet, a third program provides me with the funding for school... and finally... I think I'm going to go into the Electrical Engineering Technology as there is demand here... that includes an automatic $2000 entrance award which should assist with my approval for funding.

[David M]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 It does... but I have other considerations in my life right now... being a Mountie means 1) moving, my daughter wants stability in her life and moving every couple years doesn't work into that equation and 2) She has admitted that the idea scares her... I am her hero and in the past few years, while mountie deaths have been few, there have been a few incidents. The training lately has seemed to be somewhat sub-par due to a heavy demand for recruits.. given that combination, again, probably not a good choice... I respect my daughters concerns, so I have to let it go.

I certainly understand that Dave. Sure is a cool job though. Perhaps in the next life? If there is indeed a next life, I would like to be a pilot.

I wish you the best whichever new career path you choose.

[tomster2300]

Good luck as well Dave. I know everything will work out fine for you despite what you choose to pursue.

[HAL9000]

Just a little update.... I have my application in for funding and my application in at the technical institute as I finally decided on Electrical Engineering Technology.... now the fun part happens... I called to check on my application last week only to be told that the class was full... I asked to speak to the person in charge of admissions only to find out that she would not be in to assess applications until this week.... I finally got a hold of her today to find out that no, the class is NOT full yet... GOOD... and that yes, I meet the entry requirements... good... so now it's a matter of waiting to see if I get squeezed in or not.... another plus I found out... should the class be full, there is still PLENTY of room in Electronic Engineering... it's not what I want to take, but the good part is the first two semesters are IDENTICAL to Electrical Engineering meaning that I can take my first two semesters in Electronic Engineering and then transfer to Electrical Engineering and this is perfectly OK with CanSask Employment Services who would be looking at sponsoring me as there would be no wasted funds nor would it be me changing my decision at the last second. Secondly, it gives me the option of getting my diploma in one discipline, then with two more semesters, have a diploma in the second discipline. Finally... what really makes the funding look promising for approval... the entire cost of the courses for tuition, books, fees, taxes, just give us money charges, bend over charges, etc.. is approximately $13,300... from that, there is currently an automatic $2000 entrance award which brings the funding cost down to $11,300... and finally, if all is approved, a new employment insurance program which would essentially refund me my severance pay that was used up as a waiting period before receiving benefits would further reduce that cost down to $5,300.... Not a bad 2.5 year investment that will throw me into a job that starts at $60K+ per year.... as for getting that job, the market analysis that I had to do for the application had me contacting 5 employers... I contacted 5 major places in my area and every single one of them said, get your diploma and we WILL hire you.

So that is it in a nutshell... just waiting for acceptance to school, approval for funding and documentation to be forwarded to employment insurance so they can keep me on insurance benefits for the next two years.

[tomster2300]

Congrats Hal! I'm not sure how much you were previously making, but coming back to $60k isn't too horrible of a deal.

[HAL9000]

Well... in the contact center doing sales for Mastercard... in my best year I hit $50K... keeping in mind, $20K of that was bonuses and commissions... when I burned out from that.. I moved to fraud and was at $33K per year... not as much as I would like to make, but combined with my wife's income... we were doing quite well. I figure that when life steps on you.. it's not only time to stand up again, but to step up the ladder a bit higher in the process.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 Well... in the contact center doing sales for Mastercard... in my best year I hit $50K... keeping in mind, $20K of that was bonuses and commissions... when I burned out from that.. I moved to fraud and was at $33K per year... not as much as I would like to make, but combined with my wife's income... we were doing quite well. I figure that when life steps on you.. it's not only time to stand up again, but to step up the ladder a bit higher in the process.

Nicely put. Keep us updated on how the classes go.

[HAL9000]

Well, hurdle number one is complete... I received my acceptance letter to SIAST (Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology) for Electrical Engineering.... now to just hear about the sponsorship funding.

[shadowpr]

Congrats Hal.

It's nice to hear about good things happening to good people.

[HAL9000]

Well... today is the big day... I hopefully finalize my sponsorship for funding.... I'm sure everything will be a go... better be... I start Monday and I just shelled out $1800 for 8 months of bus passes as the course is in another city LOL.

[HAL9000]

Things have now been finalized... I am approved for funding... they are depositing the first two semesters tuition and books to my account and will go semester by semester after that... my employment insurance benefits will now be extended from 41 weeks to 104 so that I may continue to collect benefits while going to school.. so no financial worries.... now that stress is over... now it's just the anxious, nervous, stressed feeling of going to school on Monday ... ahhh, it's all good.

[doubledragon5]

It sounds like your system of treating the unemployed is a hell lot better than here..

[HAL9000]

Well there are plans available provided you meet the qualifications... and for me that was that I have not been on unemployment in the past 3 years and that I have been full time employed for at least 5 years... then there is the one thing that nobody does... you have to go in and ask... you make an appointment with a career counsellor and figure out what you're going to do other than find a job. They get a feel of your dedication by handing you a pile of paperwork to fill out.. essentially, if you're looking for a freebie, it's quite obvious when an application comes in that is minimally filled out... heck, I retyped all the questions so I could have room to answer them... they gave me a book to fill out... I gave them a novel series back. You also have to research the position you are looking at... contact 5 employers for an informational interview, show that there is a posibility of obtaining a career (notice, I didn't say job) afterwards... show them it's a high demand field. It took me over a month to get everything together... she took one look at it today and said wow... you're dedicated and approved it right then and there.

[RevCLB]

You have the smarts & dedication for this. Goforit.

[MaxRat]

congrats Hal.....

[juppy]

Glad you got approved, Dave! Have fun being a student again.

[alanebro82]

Electrical engineering, eh!? Hope you enjoy, I loved it. If you ever have any questions about homework or the like, feel free to PM me.

Congrats!

[lil Jimmie]

Good deal Dave! I wish you well!
I know I'd like to take some more courses but the last time I tried to burn the candle at both ends was just too much for me to deal with. If I could go full-time and not have to worry about working to pay the bills it would be a different story.

[HAL9000]

That's exactly why I can't refuse this deal... school full time with tuition, books and travel paid for all while being paid a monthy employment insurance benefit to go... why would I say no?