Buy raptor or go to college?

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RLTW

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Education first.
You will NOT regret it.
My first year out of school I made $250,000; paid off 50% of my school loans, met my future wife, (now ex), bought a Suzuki RM 250, put new wheels/tires on the truck I bought for my brother, (using his money, and saving him $8,000), worked 2,000 hours and learned that my learning was just beginning....
Work hard, do your best, don't settle for anything, and have fun,
Eddie



What do you do? I want to make a qtr mil in a year lol


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HORN HIGH ACES

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First of all, good for you for saving money at your age. Most people in there 20's would have blown it and not have an education or raptor to show for it.

I agree that not everyone should go to college and some people are better suited for a trade, but getting an engineering degree while paying for some/all of it as you go is a lot different than getting a liberal arts or some other BS degree while racking up a bunch of debt.

Get the engineering degree, get the job, and then treat yourself with the truck or whatever you might be into at that point in your life.
 

Stang

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I'll give you my 2 cents with about 18 years experience working for various tech heavy manufacturing companies. First off, Raptor or school? C'mon now. Sure you can make decent money in a lot of fields busting your ass 80 hours a week but your mind and body won't hold up. I see it a lot.

Get your engineering degree and get into a sales position that requires it. A lot of people don't really realize that's a thing and engineering schools don't talk about it but you can't send a schmuck off the street in to sell a $MM project to a bunch of engineers. They'll have their ass handed to them 2 questions in.

You'll make 2-3+ times more than Joe engineer in a tech sales job. Many companies have development programs for new grads that will let you gain experience in 6 month increments in various areas (engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, etc) over a several year period and then let you choose a path.

Pick sales and go for a lower base / uncapped upside comp plan. It's risk/reward. A good sales guy with tech background and experience should be pulling $180k-300k and yes it will vary that much year to year so you plan for it. I've seen guys pull much more in a year. Depends on timing of projects, how/when you get your money , etc.

You also typically have a lot of autonomy once you prove yourself and get to do what you want, how you want, when you want. It also gets you out of the climb the corporate ladder to middle management obscurity BS cycle. You can easily be making as much or more than a VP with none of the headcount or responsibilities. But you might not get stock or a chance to get to senior management if that's a goal.

You need a hunt, kill, eat, repeat attitude and a real passion to help your customers to be tops. It's not for everyone but a great way to make a living.

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BigGriff023

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You can turn 21 and get a job in Law Enforcement right away like me. I bought my first raptor cash and was loving it. Quickly realized college is a huge part of life and very necessary. You often can't promote or move to different positions at a job without a college degree. Moral of the story, go to college right away like I wish I would have instead of being 25 and wishing you would have gone like me.
 

John813

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College only makes sense if you go in with a focused mind and go for a degree worth a damn.

Far too many people I went to HS with, went to expensive/top colleges for BS/diluted degrees.
Go to college, find nothing in their field and work at Boston Market lol.

Since you are thinking about Chemical Engineering, that's something IMO worth going for, if you truly want to peruse that path.
 

bigrig

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Maybe a different way to look at it: I worked on more trucks in college because I met so many people there who shared my affinity for offroading. While you will learn stuff about whatever field you are studying, more learning happens outside the classroom while you are there. It is very rare that you will have a time in your life where your responsibilities are not that great and you can focus on the things you love to do.

If it were me, I would buy a beat up 66-77 Bronco or 90s Ranger, work on modifying it while I went to college and have a blast.
 

Az Scooter

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I'm pretty sure that I make as much or more than most people. I am about 20 times the mean household income. I do not have a college degree. That being said, my kids are all getting degrees, because I know it will make their financial life much easier. Not everyone can do what I do, or have done, and I was extremely lucky to make the income that I do. Knowledge and education is power. Any kind of post high school training will benefit you, and your future Family.
That being said, there will be a day when the guy that knows physical labor will be the guy making the big money. We might be at that point already.
 
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