[CS-FSLUG] Heading towards a brick wall.

[Don Parris]

On 2/18/06, Nathan T. <celerate at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi list people
>

<SNIP>
>
> I'm sure some of you have been here before: no savings, no plans, no
> car (so you either walk or depend on the bus to get around), no job,
> living outside of the main town. This really seems very hopeless to me
> to be somewhere so unfamiliar and feeling so helpless. I don't even
> know what line of work to get into, it seems to me that everything
> either requires years more education before I an get a job, or it
> doesn't pay enough to be out of debt by 75.
>

Nathan,

Your situation sounds a bit more like my brother's than my own.  He
attended Marshall University in West Virginia (close to where we grew
up) and lived with Pa in the Summer.  He struggled hard trying to find
a job anywhere near the house, and got by on fairly meager earnings. 
He went through at least 2 girlfriends who apparently wanted money
more than they wanted him.  He didn't have any at the time.  He
eventually went onto University of Miami at Ohio to earn hist Master's
in Technical writing, and now works full-time for Microsoft.  Although
I don't like the company he works for, he does earn a much higher
income than I.  It was about 6 years or so, but he made it.

I will also say this.  My Master's is from a privately accredited
school - not a regional accreditation.  This is considered shooting
yourself in the foot, from an educational perspective.  Even so, some
schools the same system have sent graduates onto Dallas Theological
Seminary, a fairly widely respected school.  In a similar vein,
Central Piedmont Community College, here in Charlotte, is either the
#1 or #2 community college in the US.  You could have the worst
teachers and still get a good education.  You could have the best
teachers and get the worst education.  It mostly depends on you and
God.

I have worked for years in private security.  In many cases, you may
be able to study while you work.  I had permission to study during my
3rd-shift while I attended Spartanburg Methodist College.  I sat at a
little table and did my classwork when I wasn't making rounds.  It
kept me awake at the most boring time.  I was often able to finish my
homewrk before leaving.

Pick a school.  Attend it.  Make new friends.  Finish school.  And, as
Jesus said, if the birds of the air don't give a thought to where
their next meal is coming from, what makes you think you can add to
your own stature by worrying about the future?


Blessings,
Don
--
DC Parris GNU Evangelist
http://matheteuo.org/
gnumathetes at gmail.com
"Hey man, whatever pickles your list!"