Trash company?! You gave that up?! Garbage men make like $15/hr + all you can eat! Sweet deal!

 

I used to think that; I mean- if you've ever been in the military, every officer you meet puts icing on the cake of evidence that college doesn't make you any smarter than anyone else... That was what I told myself to make myself feel batter about not having my degree...

Then, once I got out of the Army- I was looking at jobs in Killeen starting me out at $6.00 (AT&T Outbound) $9.00/hr (360 degree Communications) and more nickel & dime type jobs. I had sent out a ton of résumé’s; I'd had maybe 3-4 interviews with vendors on Fort Hood (GTE, SimCenter, EPS and one other one) but, no luck. EPS was looking the best, but I wasn't sure about them...

Long story short, after a month of nothing- I was tempted to go re-enlist (Still on terminal leave); I'd retain my rank and nothing would be lost- except my leave when the phone rang- it was EDS. They liked my resume' and wanted to discuss further- I said OK; I had no desire to move to Dallas. There was a large contracting agency (Aerotek) that had 2 jobs lined up for me in Dallas the day I started terminal leave- but I declined- having just built a house in Killeen, and confident I could find suitable employment in Killeen, Temple, Waco, Gatesville, Round Rock or Austin. So far, nothing; not even at the Post Office.

They FedEx'd my packet to me the next day, and my interview was the day after that. Long story short, EDS offered me $33,000.00/year to start. This was a damn-sight more than I was making in the Army- so I took it; no degree and although I was in telecommunications in the military, it was not like the PSTN in the real world- yet; they took me anyway because they saw I was trainable. No degree, no real experience, but a ton of can-do attitude.

In later years I found out that EDS & Perot Systems hired a lot of ex-military and that's probably a good reason why I got hired. However, a similar interview with Alcatel netted me nothing because even though I had 2 years of relevant training with EDS, they didn't want engineers on their team that were not degreed- so they offered me a "help-desk" position- but that was for $26,000.00. By this time I was making $40,000 with EDS. I got turned down in later job pursuits by Sprint (They wouldn't start me out making $40,000 because it was more money than the people made who would be training me.), Fidelity Investments (Even though I knew all their systems- it came down to me and one other guy, and he had his CCNA, so they took him; at least they told me...) and more... But, many of the "more" were "degree required".

It was at this point that I realized that I could not be guaranteed 30+ years of employment with EDS; and for me~ the thought of having to take an entry-level position, should I find myself unemployed- motivated me to get my butt in gear and get my degree- I did... As you make more money, the prospect of dropping back down into the 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's, keeps you up at night, sweating because you don't have that pig-skin on the wall. Havign a ton of bills, a 1 in 15,900,000 shot at the lottery, and no shot at the NFL as a 36 year-old rookie, motivates you even more.

So, now I have the paper- and I have the experience. It's still no guarantee of success, but what it does do is guarantee that I will not be systematically eliminated from consideration- simply because I have no degree... Especially in today's "Employer's Market". From 1997 - 1999 it was an employee’s market- now its cut throat- so I suggest you arm yourself. I'm still getting my guns; you'd better get yours!

 

Well Said, nice story.

It goes both ways. I went to college, then grad school, and have a decent position and good quality of life. However, I know PLENTY of people who finished college and came up short. I also know people with no college who are doing far better than I. It's a matter of the individual, and also the corporate culture.

I do strongly believe that a degree does open more doors... But if you have the proper experience, you can do very well in a lot of fields.

 

Congrats.

chit like that NEVER happens to me.

 

Though you make some valid points....I still disagree that a college degree makes or breaks you when it comes to becoming employed in a "good job".....

I will agree that it is a "tool" that will get your foot in the door....but I am sure you are as well aware as I am that there are just as many, if not more, idiots that go to college and are granted that elusive piece of paper.....

I am not trying to knock education....believe me, I am the first to the podium to tout the benefits of an education....I am just saying that college is not the only avenue in which to gain one....and in most cases....not the right avenue for most people....

It upsets me that people are so blind-sided by the almighty degree of a "higher education" and are even further awed at "big-named" degrees....there is no better classroom then that of the classroom of life....those that are taught and learned by the rules of common sense and intuitive notions are those that are going to be successful....even more so than that ***** with 6 PhD's......Though I believe that a college degree should be a celebrated accomplishment....I DO NOT believe it is one that should be held in high regard.....

Success is measured with the same ruler that determines beauty.....everyone has their own version....what one man considers a great career will be another man's nightmare....and in my opinion...you have to earn my respect....just cause you have an over-priced piece of paper you can hang on the wall does not mean that you know what you are doing....

 

yeah folks have made good points on both sides. Unfortunately many larger companies have a "no degree, no job, no questions asked" policy, but those are companies doomed to failure for reasons as mentioned above. I am working on my degree because I know that I will want a job at a place that will have a degree as a MINIMUM requirement but more and more, you are seeing companies looking at job experience and life experience rather than a piece of paper.
Think about this, my girlfriends father got his degree in archeology, of all things. He is now the head of human resources for a large design firm in atlanta that designed hte new aquarium, many sports stadiums, etc. Ask yourself, what does archaeology ahve to do with it? Absolutely nothing. Just a piece of paper. I can't tell you how many people have degrees in something and never in their entire lifetime use that particular degree. My old boss had a degree in psychology, and another boss had a degree in communications, yada yada, you get the idea.

 

At the end of the day; true success is really up to how you feel about yourself.

I agree with everything you said; which is why for years- I didn't get my degree. I know people with Master's degree's that are broke; I know people with no degree making $100,000.00/year. Will to do is no guarantee of success either. A great career = 10% preparation, 90% luck, or 100% knowing the right people... That gets you in the door- after that it's based upon performance; which click you're in, who you're sleeping with, or if you and your boss are drinking buddies...

 

Congrats on getting the job.
I had a job where something very similar happened. I came home from work one day with a note that said, 'You're Fired'.
My wife demanded an explanation.
I just told her the truth, "I don't know, I woke up and it was pinned to my shirt."

 

He's BACK!!!!!

 

No degree here either, make $51K yr and most of the day I sit here and read worthless crap on the internet
I can't say this job is for a lifetime but the contract is good til 2008 so I'm living large until then. Hopefully, I'll be one of those worthless civil servants by then and then I'll have the security along with the pay.
That doesn't include my retarded military pay of $1600 month.

My real goal is to get the wife to make about $50k a year and I'll just sit around and read worthless crap on the internet, but at home

 

WOO-HOO ! ! !

Finally the goat man is back....we've been worried sick about you.

Thats calls for nanners and beers:

 

Hey, we thought you got blown away in a storm or something! Welcome back!

 

While you're BSing, there was this one girl that worked down the isle from me in the NOC. She was a cute girl, big b00ty, jeans with no pockets, long pretty hair, night shift- I worked days typically, but, in my role as a booster, if one of the shift techs couldn't come in; I would work their shift... One of the guys went out for surgery, and I was covering for him for 2 weeks.

This girl would come in with a blanket (Not unusual in a NOC, the AC is on 68 and girls always get cold; and a pillow (WTF?!)

As sure as I'm sitting here typing this, around 1:30 AM, when things had calmed down- this girl would get under the desk (Which was flat up against the wall, so anybody could see her; it wasn't like she was hiding.) She's make a pallet on the floor, put her pillow down there, and sleep from like 1:30 - 5:00; then get up- take her blanket & stuff outside, prepare turnover- and hand it to the day shift folks as they walked in at 5:30 - 5:45 AM.

The irony is; she slept in front of my team, and the 2-3 members that were on her team. I mentioned this to my manager- who said he'd say something to her manager. For the next two weeks she slept at the same time, every night. Now, there were folks that got written up for nodding off at their desk~ clearly that wasn't intentional. But, when you bring a pillow & blanket to work- you need your @$$ kicked. That girl was probably making $50,000/year- and she was asleep for almost 1/3 of that time... All she worked was nights, never days. If that had been me, I'd have been canned the first time..

When I got promoted to MGR, another girl who was so hot, she didn't even have to iron her clothes- was pregnant- and sleeping at her desk from like 9:00 PM - 5:00 AM. The guys told me about it- I said "You're bull*****ting..." They said- if you think we're lying, come back around 10. I came back around 11:00 PM, and she was KNOCKED-OUT. I went and woke her up, advising her that there was no sleeping in the NOC. She said "There's nothing going on in the network." I asked- 'How would you know that- if you're asleep; who's watching the alarm monitors?" I went on to say- please keep your head up- there's no sleeping in the NOC."

I told her boss the next morning- he told me- "Well, she's right- the network is pretty dead from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM." I could not believe my ears... I said- well, why brign her in, if all she's gonna do is sleep? I said it's disruptive to the team's morale when one person can get away with something that no one else could..." No answer..

She didn't sleep anymore- at least on the nights I was there; but it's funny that you mentioned waking up with a note on you saying "You're Fired". That's exactly what I would have done to those two "Sleeping Beauties" if I had been their manager...

 

SAJEFFC, jamzwayne and bluejay432000,
Thanks for the warm welcome, guess it has been awhile. My job got a little compliicated due to the hurricanes.

So what happened to all the gas threads?

I pulled into a Full Service station and told the attendant I wanted Five dollars worth of gas.
He farted, took my five and walked off.

 

God I missed that humor!