YoungAndWise's Journal

[TheWanderingScholar]

http://firejourney.blogspot.com/
Here is next post. Basically one where I need help figuring out what to right about next.

[TheWanderingScholar]

Questions to the forums:
Where are careers GIS located at in the U.S.?

[JohnnyH]

GIS careers? All over (some really amazing settings for natural resource work), but the field is declining IMO: the world has already been digitized and more and more professions are doing their own GIS work... GIS techs are being phased out, GIS analysts are more of regional thing. Supply is ample, wages are low for tech work, competition pretty stiff.
Have seen more and more high paying GIS in defense related job posts, but not sure how many of these jobs exist.
Not positive on any of these, but it's my quick fairly educated opinion.

[TheWanderingScholar]

And that is for the world in general? Or just U.S.

[JohnnyH]

Just US, but I imagine the world is similar. You can track these for a while, see if you like what you see:

http://www.gjc.org/map/

[TheWanderingScholar]

Thanks Johnny.

[TheWanderingScholar]

I finally got around to adding a post.
I have an excuse: I was working for an academic competition and scholarships.
http://firejourney.blogspot.com/2013/04 ... fight.html
Here you go.
I'm thinking of doing a blog post on Death and Clarity.

[TheWanderingScholar]

Added another post.

It is about Legacy, Death, and Other Shit.

Expect the next few post to be more focused on life itself.
http://firejourney.blogspot.com/2013/05 ... death.html

[JamesR]

1) A good way of saving money in university is to not drink any alcohol at all
2) As a fellow INTP, I'm somewhat concerned that you may have trouble finding a job that you can stick with, but the bigger risk of not sticking with a job is not achieving ERE as soon as possible, which would free you to follow your passions fully.
3) Did you you look at the salaries of the pharm tech & power plant jobs and do any calculations to see how fast you might achieve ERE with those?
As an example, I'm taking a number from payscale, which could be horribly inaccurate for whatever area you are in..

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job ... ourly_Rate (median salary $24k/year)

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job ... ourly_Rate (median salary $60k/year)

http://www.ajdesigner.com/phptax/tax_2005_single.php (tax calculator)
Assumptions: $500/mo, $6000/year living expenses. 5% interest (not particularly significant on these timescales anyways).
Pharm tech:

Let's take the pharm tech salary at face value - $24k/year. A tax of 13% as per calculator. After 7 years, result is approximately $122,000, with 5% SWR achieved. Only 3.2% SWR after 10 years. Annoyingly long time for an INTP person.
Power plant operator:

Let's adjust the power plant one downwards to 45k (assume you actually started off at $35k and your salary went up approx $5k per year). Tax is 17%. After year 5, result is $174,000, with 3.4% SWR achieved. After year 7, and assuming $50k/year average, $291,000 or 2% SWR.

*super imprecise numbers here!*
The power plant path actually sounds potentially very lucrative, equally lucrative as any career that you might get in 2 years after getting a degree. By the way you seem concerned about the fact it might be a boring job - two things to think about 1) have you actually found out what the job really consists of? 2) boring gauge watching could potentially mean lots of free time to work on your side projects while at the job site, a boon for your INTP nature.

[TheWanderingScholar]

@JasonR: Although that may be true, I still feel like there is something I'll be missing something if I don't go to college,

opportunity cost so to say. The best option I feel like, for me, is to go to college, graduate by twenty w/o any debt. If I can find a job that seems interest me enough, I jump on it. If not, since I am without debt, I can work part-time as a boring as I get my certifications for power plant. The pharm. tech. thing just drove me insane. If I go with the later plan, at the latest I'll have everything done by 22 to 23, with minimal debt or money in savings.
Also calculate the fact this is South Texas Power Plant Project.
Which:
Economic Impact
Comanche Peak has two reactors with a net generating capacity of 2,300 megawatts, enough to power almost 1.3 million homes, based on average electric use in 2006. Luminant has about 1,050 employees at Comanche Peak, 800 company employees and 250 contractors who work on outsourced projects.The Comanche Peak operation paid $24.4 million in property taxes and $100 million in payroll in 2006.10
The eight new reactors anticipated in Texas will need several thousand workers.
STP is operated by the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), which is owned by NRG Texas LLC (44 percent), CPS Energy (40 percent) and Austin Energy (16 percent). STPNOC has an annual payroll of $96 million for 1,150 employees. Hourly wages at South Texas average $31; hourly employees earn an average of $64,000 annually without overtime.11 The average annual salary for other employees is $94,000.12 By comparison, the average annual salary for Texans in 2006 was $36,373.13
However, there are concerns about meeting the demand for a growing nuclear workforce.
So yeah I'm not exactly worried about employment or pay.
On the drinking point: easier said than done.

[TheWanderingScholar]

http://firejourney.blogspot.com/2013/05 ... -late.html
Next post.

[LonerMatt]

YaW: I know many people on this board think that college is a trap. Promising great returns, but enslaving people.
I was lucky enough to attend with a free ride 9not that remarkable here) and simply completed a Liberal Arts course (majoring in English and History - two 'useless' subjects).
I thoroughly enjoyed the learning and, I feel, learned a great deal that I couldn't have otherwise (or perhaps more accurately, wouldn't have). My lecturers, on the whole, were excellent. The friends I made were invaluable, and I learned a lot about people, socialising, love, relaxation and life from many of the friends I made.
Much of the social life can be open to non-students, but it's sort of like trying to find an open house party just by looking at the phone book.
What works for you, I don't know. What you want out of the experience is certainly your prerogative. Personally, as someone who has lived a directionless 'useless' degree - worked through it, and landed a job straight out, I don't consider my choices, or my results a double edged sword.
I loved it. I enjoyed my life immensely. If I have to work for 2-3 more years to finance FI, it's worth it. The experience made me a better person.
Others, assuredly, have mixed perspectives, so take mine with a grain of salt.
However, if you end up at a higher learning institution just for a job, you're missing out. There are so many advantages to being surrounded by interesting people in the prime of their life: advantages you won't get when hanging around accomplished people in their twilight years (and vice versa). Enjoy the journey, my friend.

[TheWanderingScholar]

@bigato:Do I have problem finishing things? If it is project that takes too long or just doesn't start right, I just throw it away. So yes I do have a problem finishing things that I do for fun. If it is for someone else, or something beneficial for me if I did then no I am not.
@LonerMatt: One of them main reasons I finally decided to jump into college is the fact of the social, not the getting a job. If I wanted to get a job, I could easily complete a certificate degree and get a job on the cheap. But I don't want that.
I want to experience a part of my life with people I can truly call friends.*
*High school friends were really people I just hang around with. Just now are we truly hanging out. Also note the fact that while we are one of the more accomplished classes, we are on of the meanest class in a while.

[LonerMatt]

Be social - people are great. Learn some crazy lessons, start some bizarre hobbies. Save some coin, avoid debt and learn some valuable skills and you'll be miles ahead of the pack, and not miss out on things that are important to you.
I realise you know this already, but it bears repeating .

[TheWanderingScholar]

http://firejourney.blogspot.com/2013/06 ... -fire.html
Update.
Haven't had much time to write a blogpost and my previous attempt I hated so much that I didn't try to finish it.

[TheWanderingScholar]

There definitely won't be post on my blog for the next three weeks since computer access is limited in the Philippines where I am at.

[TheWanderingScholar]

Finally got around posting an update upon coming back to U.S.

And honestly it was strange coming to back. Felt like I was in another foreign country for a while. Still does.
But I learned that you should properly read the time right unless you are willing to pay $1,702 on new tickets.
Yeah my mom did that.

Everyone in the family got on her for that.

[TheWanderingScholar]

http://firejourney.blogspot.com/2013/07 ... ctive.html

Okay anyways I actually posted something.
Seriously I have the link and all.

[TheWanderingScholar]

Moi.
Been over a year and half since I lasted posted here, but why not?
Anyways I have been busy with college, internships, and studying abroad. I stopped the FIRE blog as you can probably guess and haven't really tried to blog in general.
Right now, I feel like I have too many options and at a suggestion of a fellow forumite, I decided to come back to read my journal. Which is going to suck but whatever.

[TheWanderingScholar]

Graduate School: What, Where, and When?

Recently I have been looking at graduate school, because a Bachelor's of Geography can land me a job out of the gate, however only in limited fields and areas, which I do not like, being constrained to certain positions.

So I am contemplating as to what I should get my Masters in. An obvious shoe-in would a degree that places emphasis on Geoinformatics, GIS, and etc. Technical areas that allow me to expand my skillset. However negative factor of that is big; I am really beginning to dislike GIS after a course here in Finland. However that might be because I just hated that course. So I will wait and see.

Another an interesting idea is going into Security Studies and/or Geopolitics. Topics that I am interested in and that I already have colleges in mind for.

For Security Studies, my home university offers one that is a relatively new program. I could get a scholarship plus some pay (forgot the proper name for it) as my GPA is relatively high at the moment and I do have internships plus a year abroad. The problem being is that I will have three years at the same university (four technically if count the year abroad), as the same college, limiting the potential diversity of my knowledge.

For Geopolitics, I am curious about Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The tuition is not as high as in the U.S. and cost of living is lower as well (in comparison to Turku). The problem is getting in and finding a job afterwards.

Then there is the Dark House of my choices, Urban/Spatial Planning, which I do have experience in and can potentially specialize in easily. The thing about it is my feelings about it are luke-warm as I have no real experience in the day-to-day operations of urban planning. And the bureaucracy behind the EU Spatial Planning scares the shit out of me (although that might be the EU and not the United States, not exactly sure).
I have not really looked into this option.

Another question is when I will do this. I could easily just jump straight into graduate school, or work a year in a related field of work to gain some experience and work. If I work a year, I can save up a year's worth of savings, pay off my student loans*, and get ready to study abroad if it comes down to it.
Also allows me to recuperate from the chaos that will the last year of undergraduate college.

*Had to get student loans because my parents financial situation is shit after their divorce/separation/I don't know and I don't care. By this time, I had made up my mind to study abroad, even if I had to do it alone. Which I have proudly done so far. Have not asked one cent from parents .