Asking advice from elders on a job decision.

M

mrwilson612

New member
I’ve already spoke with close friends/family on this situation, just interested if anyone has had to make tough job/school decision and have any advice on what to do. I’ll try and keep it as brief as possible.

25 Years old with only a high school diploma, worked for a small Excavating/Demolition/Roll Off company for past 4 years (first employee small). Didn’t exactly choose to get into that line of work but ended up there cuz money was good. I still learned a shit ton. Learned how operate large heavy equipment, diesel mechanic skills, underground utilities skills, roll off truck driving skills. Lots of management skills I was forced to develop due to being right hand man at a small business.

Short version I discontinued working there since January and am driving roll off truck for large company for the time being.

For about 6 months I’ve been seriously considering pulling he trigger on attending college this fall to attain Construction Management Bachelors degree with the goal of becoming a project manager at a large commercial construction company. Hoping to work full time doing roll offs while paying for/attending school, then make the jump once I get the degree. Which I’m confident I can get.

Dilemma:

I was just offered a position at a mid sized Excavating Company doing exactly what I did previously minus the roll off work. The thing is, this company is willing to pay me extreamly well, like nearly $90,000 a year well. I’d be doing what I did before but working insane hours and less big company benefits.

The Question:

Do I stay driving a Roll off truck and go to school with the goal of eventually working for a large commercial company running projects working my way up? Eventually making 80-115k with big company benefits/hours.

Or

Take the offer in front of me where I can make nearly 90k a year working crazy hours doing the same shit that I’ve been doing and try to build on that with a mid sized company that offers less benefits/security?

Things to know:

- working crazy hours doesn’t really bother me, I’m in good health and can handle it

- I still have managed to keep an amazing girl for 4 years and have great relationships with family/friends.

- Bottom line, all I really want is to be able to provide and enjoy life with my family and friends while staying happy and mentally stimulated in what I do for a living.

Anybody who gives any fucks. What would you do?
 
What kind of hours are you expecting to work at the job that you have currently?

The reason I am asking is because I have some experience working around construction managers and it seems like they can work some pretty demanding hours too, but I guess it depends on what type of construction management you will be doing (commercial / residential / heavy infrastructure).
 
Quite honestly, college is highly over-rated. You stand a very real chance of setting yourself back at this point by choosing to go to college instead of taking the big career jump. I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who has a very significant amount of college.

I'd take the high-paid position. If it doesn't work out for some reason, you can reassess. Lots and lots of people make far more in the trades than those who went to college.
 
I’d take the high paid job, but maybe ask the new company to allow for you to work on a 2 year liberal degree so that you could work towards your construction management degree. Or do classes at night or online.

Work and slowly chip away at the degree then like 2-3 years when the time is right you can then take time off and get the degree you want and apply to even better jobs down the road.

While having a degree isn’t a need for lots of trade jobs, if you want to be management down the road it wouldn’t hurt to think about a 4 year degree to separate you from the pack.
 
13896848:iFlip said:
Quite honestly, college is highly over-rated.
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Here are the options you listed:

Do I stay driving a Roll off truck and go to school with the goal of eventually working for a large commercial company running projects working my way up? Eventually making 80-115k with big company benefits/hours.

Or

Take the offer in front of me where I can make nearly 90k a year working crazy hours doing the same shit that I’ve been doing and try to build on that with a mid sized company that offers less benefits/security?

A better option that is 100% feasible:

Take the offer in front of you with the goal of eventually working for a large commercial company running projects. IMO Large companies do not give a 100k salary for running projects to 25 year olds. Its much more common for someone that is 30-40 with close to 20 years of job experience.
 
13896856:DirtYStylE said:
Here are the options you listed:

Do I stay driving a Roll off truck and go to school with the goal of eventually working for a large commercial company running projects working my way up? Eventually making 80-115k with big company benefits/hours.

Or

Take the offer in front of me where I can make nearly 90k a year working crazy hours doing the same shit that I’ve been doing and try to build on that with a mid sized company that offers less benefits/security?

A better option that is 100% feasible:

Take the offer in front of you with the goal of eventually working for a large commercial company running projects. IMO Large companies do not give a 100k salary for running projects to 25 year olds. Its much more common for someone that is 30-40 with close to 20 years of job experience.
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The only reason it’s not feasible to work towards the degree and take the high paying job is because the high paying job WILL demand 55-65 hours a week. Whereas it would be more realistic to attain that degree working 40-50/Hrs a week doing the less physically/mentally tasking job of driving a roll off truck by day, school by evening/night.

Getting that degree and working the high paying job seemed unrealistic/wishful thinking.
 
13896843:TrickyDick470 said:
What kind of hours are you expecting to work at the job that you have currently?

The reason I am asking is because I have some experience working around construction managers and it seems like they can work some pretty demanding hours too, but I guess it depends on what type of construction management you will be doing (commercial / residential / heavy infrastructure).
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Roll off driving job demands 35-45 HRs December-April, and 45-55 May-November. I figure completing the degree is more realistic with those hours plus the less mentally/physically tasking job of driving a roll off truck.
 
13896848:iFlip said:
Quite honestly, college is highly over-rated. You stand a very real chance of setting yourself back at this point by choosing to go to college instead of taking the big career jump. I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who has a very significant amount of college.

I'd take the high-paid position. If it doesn't work out for some reason, you can reassess. Lots and lots of people make far more in the trades than those who went to college.
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This is what I’m leaning towards. Feeling like everything I learn from high paying job could be just as useful as that degree whatever happens in the future.
 
13896854:50Kal said:
I’d take the high paid job, but maybe ask the new company to allow for you to work on a 2 year liberal degree so that you could work towards your construction management degree. Or do classes at night or online.

Work and slowly chip away at the degree then like 2-3 years when the time is right you can then take time off and get the degree you want and apply to even better jobs down the road.

While having a degree isn’t a need for lots of trade jobs, if you want to be management down the road it wouldn’t hurt to think about a 4 year degree to separate you from the pack.
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This is great advice. I didn’t consider doing smaller dose of school while taking the big money while it’s good and then reasses down the road possibly taking a less demanding job while I do the bulk school work if that direction seems right.
 
I mean, you could go to college and get a job making 90K a year (best case scenario) or take a job making 90K in the same field.. At the end of the day the experience you get will ikely be more beneficial then a degree at this point.

I'd take the gig and parlay it into the next big thing. Going into 100K of debt insteads of making a 100K seems silly. This from someone with a degree who tells people to get one.

If anything, why not take the job and save and pay for school outright?
 
13896869:bdarb207 said:
I mean, you could go to college and get a job making 90K a year (best case scenario) or take a job making 90K in the same field..

I'd take the gig and parlay it into the next big thing.

If anything, why not take the job and save and pay for school outright?
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I wouldn’t aim to be in the same field as the gig in front of me after the degree, the high paying “gig” is basically the get er done man wherever the boss needs me. Where I would hope the degree would (after years of work and proving myself in that management field) eventually lead to a structured position in an established big name company where I am managing specific big name projects.

I’m liking the advice of taking the high paying job now, and slowly realistically chipping away at a degree adding the the knowledge and experience I gain in the excavating trade.
 
I've done the college thing.

This year I'll be paying more in federal tax than my best year (gross) I made in the field with my degree.

You can have your midlife crisis when you're older, have enough money to take a few years off, and get whatever piece of paper you desire.

Go on take the money and run. Du, du, du.

**This post was edited on Feb 22nd 2018 at 8:37:08pm
 
I think the biggest mistake you could make is pass up an opportunity for a better job that is right in front of you, in hopes of one day getting something better. Take the job. Worse case scenario, you get the job and then find out that the boss is a jerk or the hours are just too demanding. No big deal, you can always quit and find something better.
 
13896891:Ghost said:
I think the biggest mistake you could make is pass up an opportunity for a better job that is right in front of you, in hopes of one day getting something better. Take the job. Worse case scenario, you get the job and then find out that the boss is a jerk or the hours are just too demanding. No big deal, you can always quit and find something better.
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Amen. Thanks for all the advice guys! Fuckin NSG coming through.
 
I don't know what you're like or what those jobs are specifically but one thing I value above all else in my profession is the ability to keep me interested. Whether that includes day to day tasks changing and challenging me or me advancing further up. I always need something to look forward to or work on past my daily duties.

I also value skills that are more general in nature. Management skills are useful across careers. You may get paid a bunch but if your skills are super specific your resume isn't progressing.

While my career isn't close to what I went to school for I still value my education highly. It's not the specific things I learned in college but what is most helpful is the way I approach problems and data. Being able to look at a problem from all angles instead of what is right in front of me is a skill I value.

Honestly, you're so young and people these days are working more different career paths than ever before. I wouldn't pigeon hole myself into a specific skill or career no matter how much I was being paid. Being burnt out and working a job you hate isn't worth any amount of money.
 
Go to school....honestly. People telling you not to go to school are fucked. The potential for you to make more money, be even more stable or even own/operate your own buisiness will be much better with the education. Hell you already have experience working and building up a small operation.

That experience that you have running equipment will be something that you will always have, but going to school becomes much more difficult the older you get ( trust me ).
 
I'm 33, got a start at 21 doing dirt work and moved to structural concrete for about 6 years before I got a job as a maintenance worker for a Public Utility.

Recently I went the school route, learned GIS, project management, finished my bachelor's and now I have a desk/pm job in stormwater management.

I think the main considerations you should think about are: Is driving a truck what you want to do in the long term? I know more than a couple guys that have gotten into the management scene and decided they didn't like it, which brings me to my second point-

There will always be a trackho you can run, or a truck to drive. Not everyone wants to do office work as a field worker, but if you get your degree and get management experience, you can do anything. The real question is do you love field work enough to stick it out long term, because 90k is great money, but working a fuck ton of hours might get super old years down the line and gauranteed that's the most you'll ever make digging a ditch.
 
13896919:Casey said:
There will always be a trackho you can run, or a truck to drive. .
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This is not true. I think heavy equipment operators will be around for a while but truck drivers are going the way of the dinosaur well before a 25 year old is looking to retire.

Look at the port in Long Beach or LA, half the crane operators are out and one operator runs multiple cranes from a set of screens.

It's a tough decision for sure.

I wasn't very interested in school and took the work experience route. Now I have a full time job and run a small company on the side. I'm well compensated for my field and enjoy my work most of the time.

I'm going back and forth on my advice but I think I'd take the job, buy a property that would be attractive in the rental market should you need to move for a different job or school in a few years.

Also did you mention where you're living? $90K doesn't go too far everywhere.

Are you planning to marry your current SO? Settle down and work your ass off to get ahead?
 
If you have a ton of experience in your field I think college sounds like a giant waste of time and money. If you're going to go to school for something similar. Maybe your experience doesn't apply completely to the field you want but you can still try and get a job doing something similar.

Idk, to me it sounds like a field that a bunch of experience and contacts matters a fuck ton more than a college degree. And considering how expensive college is, if you don't need it for your field I'd skip it.

Figure out what your goals are. It sounds like you have a good idea. Try and pick up jobs and skills that will help you move there. You're 25, you have experience in the field, and you have a ton of time to move into it. If you have to take a job for less money to get your foot in the door or get more skills, don't be afraid too. I'd def be hesitant to spend the money on college when even if you take a pay cut, you're still getting payed to get training and experience vs paying.

Good luck regardless. Sounds like you're doing pretty well.
 
I had a little time to think it over and I think this is the better question to ask.

What do YOU want to do? I mean, really? If money, didn't matter and you could do anything in the world, what would it be? Whatever it is, THAT is the path that you should be working towards now. fuck everything else bro lol. Everything else is just noise that is standing between you and your dreams.

You're at a great position in life right now, where it sounds like you have some great skills, a good job, and not a ton of responsibilities.. yet. (I got a wife and 3 kids now, so shit changes quick bro lol)

When I re-read over your post a couple things jumped out at me.. You didn't 'choose your line of work', you have skills that you were 'forced to develop'... Don't let life force you down paths that you don't want to go. You gotta grab life by the balls. The only way you can take control is to first get clarity on what your real dreams are and what really gets you excited. Then create a plan on how you can turn THAT into a realtiy.

Because honestly, let's say you get this job, or that job, or get a degree and then get a higher paying job.. If all of it ends up being stuff that really doesn't make you happy, who cares?

"Bottom line, all I really want is to be able to provide and enjoy life with my family and friends while staying happy and mentally stimulated in what I do for a living."

I think you really got to break this down and figure out what you really want at the core. When you say you want to be able to provide.. how much?

Do you just want to make sure basic needs are met, or do you have a number in mind that you really want to earn? $3k/mo , $5k/mo , $10k/mo etc?

When you say you want to be able to 'enjoy life'.. What does that mean to you? Do you mean that you want to be able to take the weekends off? Be able to go skiing in the winter? Be able to take vacations? Have a job with low stress? Have lots of free time? Or have money in the bank so you can ball and make it rain $100 bills in the strip club?

When you say you want to be mentally stimulated... What kind of jobs, situations, and things do that for you? The reason why I'm bringing all this up is that if you really dig down.. It's going to paint a CLEAR picture of EXACTLY what you really want underneath it all.. and then the choice becomes super easy.

I think your main problem and why you've spent 6 months debating on whether you should go back to school or not, is because you just don't know what you really want. Answer some of the questions above and you will. You may find out that you've been looking at everything wrong and what really makes you happy is growing your own veggies on your own farm, or living in a chalet in the Swiss Alps, or owning your own restaurant, etc.

Whatever it is, figure it out, and then attack it like a spider monkey. Don't spend the next 10, 20, 30 years of your life going down paths that you don't want to go. Grab life by the balls my friend. Grab life by the balls.
 
13896848:iFlip said:
Quite honestly, college is highly over-rated. You stand a very real chance of setting yourself back at this point by choosing to go to college instead of taking the big career jump. I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who has a very significant amount of college.

I'd take the high-paid position. If it doesn't work out for some reason, you can reassess. Lots and lots of people make far more in the trades than those who went to college.
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13896861:mrwilson612 said:
Roll off driving job demands 35-45 HRs December-April, and 45-55 May-November. I figure completing the degree is more realistic with those hours plus the less mentally/physically tasking job of driving a roll off truck.
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What iFlip said is kind of what I was getting at. Also those hours don't seem bad at all. You could easily get that year round if you did construction management on heavy infrastructure for instance.

I know lots of people who went to college, got engineering degrees, and don't make $90,000. I make two-thirds of that and I design dams (though I'm not licensed yet and just took a new job).
 
If you like the work ok then take the money and try it out. You can always go back to college later. Community college is a great option so you could go back at any age for something completely different if you decide you don't want to do something so physical in the future or don't like it etc. Sounds like both the options you are looking at are pretty similar types of work etc so probably go for money.
 
You need to list the benefits of the profession you are considering.

Job security? Pension?
 
Going to a school is great and all, but it's really just a means to an end. You already seem to have that "end" at least partially. I say take the job and work your way up through the company. If you want to improve yourself, do some management schooling part time such as an MBA; not to mention some big companies will pay for it too.

As I said already, you already have as good as or better offer than you likely would getting out of school. Don't be naive and think a management construction bachelors degree will entitle you to have a high paying job straight out of a school. Not everywhere is hiring. Not everywhere pays top dollar, regardless of what the BLS report may say. (even the BLS says median pay for the job you'd be going to school for is $89k.).This offer is probably better than the first one you will get straight out of school. You will still likely have to work your way up through a company after graduation.

Example: My university was big on equestrian degrees. Like huge. One of the best. So all these kids came and paid $40-50k a year thinking they'd be training million dollar horses after graduation and making bank. I'm sure a few kids ended up well off, but the majority not so much. Fuck, one guy is a limo driver haha. I consider that to be something similar to your situation. You could take this basic management degree and risk competing with thousands of other graduates every year for a job, or take the one handed to you now, work your way up further in the company and be light-years beyond what you'd be at after graduation.

Construction is a unique field where people with only high school degrees can become head honcho. I say take the job and do some schooling on the side to really step up your game. I went to school for 6 years for a job that absolutely requires a degree. Yours does not; take the offer bro. I would.
 
13897564:IsitWinterYet17 said:
Going to a school is great and all, but it's really just a means to an end. You already seem to have that "end" at least partially. I say take the job and work your way up through the company. If you want to improve yourself, do some management schooling part time such as an MBA; not to mention some big companies will pay for it too.

As I said already, you already have as good as or better offer than you likely would getting out of school. Don't be naive and think a management construction bachelors degree will entitle you to have a high paying job straight out of a school. Not everywhere is hiring. Not everywhere pays top dollar, regardless of what the BLS report may say. (even the BLS says median pay for the job you'd be going to school for is $89k.).This offer is probably better than the first one you will get straight out of school. You will still likely have to work your way up through a company after graduation.

Example: My university was big on equestrian degrees. Like huge. One of the best. So all these kids came and paid $40-50k a year thinking they'd be training million dollar horses after graduation and making bank. I'm sure a few kids ended up well off, but the majority not so much. Fuck, one guy is a limo driver haha. I consider that to be something similar to your situation. You could take this basic management degree and risk competing with thousands of other graduates every year for a job, or take the one handed to you now, work your way up further in the company and be light-years beyond what you'd be at after graduation.

Construction is a unique field where people with only high school degrees can become head honcho. I say take the job and do some schooling on the side to really step up your game. I went to school for 6 years for a job that absolutely requires a degree. Yours does not; take the offer bro. I would.
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Good stuff man thanks for the reply
 
It's construction, if youre getting offered 85k+ for driving a roll off, take it. Never worked with roll offs personally but that seems like an incredibly lucrative offer, especially for your age.

If I get offered that much to fuck around with a truck I'd take it instantly.
 
13897813:daannnnieel said:
It's construction, if youre getting offered 85k+ for driving a roll off, take it. Never worked with roll offs personally but that seems like an incredibly lucrative offer, especially for your age.

If I get offered that much to fuck around with a truck I'd take it instantly.
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Your confused. The roll off gig will bring in about 60k/year

The excavating job which entails operating skids, excavators, lowboy trailer/end dump driver, utilities labor, and shop work. This will be about 60hrs a week and pay around 90k/year. Harder work and more physically demanding but it would be more interesting, not to mention 25 min shorter daily drive. But then l don’t have as much time to invest into acquiring that degree..
 
13898454:mrwilson612 said:
Your confused. The roll off gig will bring in about 60k/year

The excavating job which entails operating skids, excavators, lowboy trailer/end dump driver, utilities labor, and shop work. This will be about 60hrs a week and pay around 90k/year. Harder work and more physically demanding but it would be more interesting, not to mention 25 min shorter daily drive. But then l don’t have as much time to invest into acquiring that degree..
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I want to point out that $60k at 40 hours per week is the same as $90k at 60 hours per week lol. So we are comparing apples to apples? Is the $90k your salary for 40 hours per week, but they say expect to work 60+ and not get paid extra? I am aware that salaried employees are exempt from federal overtime laws, but I know plenty of places that pay extra to their salaried employees for hours over 40/week. I would question that in your offer. If they say no, then request a higher salary or more vacation or better retirement contributions or something. FYI most salaried employees will work more than 40 hours per week; it's just not your job, it's a countrywide thing. And 60 hours per week for construction is not high by any means. I know people who work 7 days a week 12 hours a day.

Myself personally, I wouldn't work much longer than I'm paid for without getting extra. Sure I'm salaried and sure some days I stay a little over without pay or look at and respond to emails outside of work, but if I'm asked to show up early or work extra shifts, you can bet I'm getting paid extra for it.
 
13898589:IsitWinterYet17 said:
I want to point out that $60k at 40 hours per week is the same as $90k at 60 hours per week lol. So we are comparing apples to apples? Is the $90k your salary for 40 hours per week, but they say expect to work 60+ and not get paid extra? I am aware that salaried employees are exempt from federal overtime laws, but I know plenty of places that pay extra to their salaried employees for hours over 40/week. I would question that in your offer. If they say no, then request a higher salary or more vacation or better retirement contributions or something. FYI most salaried employees will work more than 40 hours per week; it's just not your job, it's a countrywide thing. And 60 hours per week for construction is not high by any means. I know people who work 7 days a week 12 hours a day.

Myself personally, I wouldn't work much longer than I'm paid for without getting extra. Sure I'm salaried and sure some days I stay a little over without pay or look at and respond to emails outside of work, but if I'm asked to show up early or work extra shifts, you can bet I'm getting paid extra for it.
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It is not salaried it is hourly. I’ll have the opportunity to make 90k if l take the amount of hours they have available for me which is basically unlimited. And that’s where the money is made when the overtime pay kicks in.
 
Hmmmmm... the plot thickens..... and you would still make $60k while in school if you went that route? How much does school cost? And how many years?
 
topic:mrwilson612 said:
pay me extreamly well, like nearly $90,000 a year well. I’d be doing what I did before but working insane hours and less big company benefits.
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Jeebus. I'm PhD student so I work like all the time and after taxes I make less than 25k for the next 5 years. Even when I graduate I'll make ~40k as a post-doc for a few years and then maybe I'll make close to or more than 90k after that. After 8 years (5 years PhD and 3 years post doc), we'll likely have worked a similar amount of time but I'll have made about $30,625 a year and you'll have made 90k a year, totaling to 245k for me and 720k for you. That's a huge difference, +475k from what I made.

I'm not saying I'd switch jobs for money, I enjoy shooting gamma rays at things. Do whatever makes you happy, regardless of the money. Granted, money makes you happy too.

Also company benefits might be a big deal, at least I have good health insurance because I'm at a state school.
 
13896860:mrwilson612 said:
The only reason it’s not feasible to work towards the degree and take the high paying job is because the high paying job WILL demand 55-65 hours a week. Whereas it would be more realistic to attain that degree working 40-50/Hrs a week doing the less physically/mentally tasking job of driving a roll off truck by day, school by evening/night.

Getting that degree and working the high paying job seemed unrealistic/wishful thinking.
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I think my message got mixed up in all the copy & pasting. I agree that working the job and pursing a degree is too much.

It seems that you want to go to school to make more money, but you are going to work in the same field. (This is where you need to get out the calculator and try to measure how much your time is worth. Four years without working full time and a huge amount of debt is worth a 20k salary increase with less working hours? If all you care about are the dollars, it will take about 20 years for the school option to be more profitable. With the constraints of earning 20k more while entering 100k of debt and 4 yrs of not working.)

To me, school is a steping stone. It is meant to help you get a job in the field that you desire. School is a great way to enter into a field of work that you have no experience in.

This is why I think you can get the job you want without schooling. You are not entering a new work field. You already have experience. AND you have proven to your previous employers that you are worthy of additional responsibility.

While school may greatly increase your chances of landing the job you want down the road, I do not think you really need the hundred thousand dollar resume booster based on what you have already stated.

I forgot to answer your last part about what I would do. The thing is I already went to college and I fucking love learning. So I would choose the college route just because of who I am. College isn't for most people... so its hard to tell you what to do. I will tell you what. I am not pursuing higher education until I work for a company that will pay for it. There are companies that will pay for your schooling so you might want to look into that.
 
I have an AAS in construction management which I finished five years ago. I spent the last three years building ski lifts. (Love the job, hate the travel) I am currently getting my Bachelor's in business through a 100% online program. No job I have ever worked required my degree but the knowledge has certainly helped. That being said, I am 27 and making moves which would not be possible without college because it is a conversation piece when talking with prospective employers and shows them you are motivated. Blending practical experience and education will benefit you in the end even though having to write a research paper sucks dick.

My recommendation would be to commit to an associates degree and go from there. If you like it you will continue, if you don't just stop there and save the time and money. The time is going to go by anyway.
 
I would go to college dude because benefits are extremely important, at least to me. You also will be able to get more free time without sacrificing a wage lost.
 
Just logged on here for the first time in two years to look for some bindings on sell/trade and forgot about this old post I did.

Going to give an update but it’s more so for me. Plot twist, ended up staying with the company I thought would be temporary. I decided to torch the idea of going back to school after I realized the abundance of growth opportunity where I already was.

After year two the company has made 24 new hires, built a brand new headquarters, and I moved up in their commercial/civil excavating division with. Hours still demanding but cleared 84k last year with amazing benefits (fucking pet Insurence!) and managed to keep a social life on top of a healthy relationship with my lady.

Happy I didn’t go into debt and do school on the side but rather spending my extra time with my brothers company learning the ins and outs of working on investment homes/rentals.

The good is I found a job that I’m developing a passion for going to sleep at night excited to get up and do again.

The bad, I’m still in the construction industry and the economy is the economy. That’s what living within your means is for.

Anyways, who’s got some bindings for sale?

13898667:a_pla5tic_bag said:
Jeebus. I'm PhD student so I work like all the time and after taxes I make less than 25k for the next 5 years. Even when I graduate I'll make ~40k as a post-doc for a few years and then maybe I'll make close to or more than 90k after that. After 8 years (5 years PhD and 3 years post doc), we'll likely have worked a similar amount of time but I'll have made about $30,625 a year and you'll have made 90k a year, totaling to 245k for me and 720k for you. That's a huge difference, +475k from what I made.

I'm not saying I'd switch jobs for money, I enjoy shooting gamma rays at things. Do whatever makes you happy, regardless of the money. Granted, money makes you happy too.

Also company benefits might be a big deal, at least I have good health insurance because I'm at a state school.
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13899084:DirtYStylE said:
I think my message got mixed up in all the copy & pasting. I agree that working the job and pursing a degree is too much.

It seems that you want to go to school to make more money, but you are going to work in the same field. (This is where you need to get out the calculator and try to measure how much your time is worth. Four years without working full time and a huge amount of debt is worth a 20k salary increase with less working hours? If all you care about are the dollars, it will take about 20 years for the school option to be more profitable. With the constraints of earning 20k more while entering 100k of debt and 4 yrs of not working.)

To me, school is a steping stone. It is meant to help you get a job in the field that you desire. School is a great way to enter into a field of work that you have no experience in.

This is why I think you can get the job you want without schooling. You are not entering a new work field. You already have experience. AND you have proven to your previous employers that you are worthy of additional responsibility.

While school may greatly increase your chances of landing the job you want down the road, I do not think you really need the hundred thousand dollar resume booster based on what you have already stated.

I forgot to answer your last part about what I would do. The thing is I already went to college and I fucking love learning. So I would choose the college route just because of who I am. College isn't for most people... so its hard to tell you what to do. I will tell you what. I am not pursuing higher education until I work for a company that will pay for it. There are companies that will pay for your schooling so you might want to look into that.
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idk what your finances are, but you'll have an easier time in college if you have some savings to get you through while working part time or less.

College isn't going anywhere though so you can always come back to it. I'd just ask, does this job align with your end goals?
 
From my experience in construction the sooner you pick a lane the better. There is basically 2 choices, field or office, and it sounds like you have made your way up a little bit in the field side. The ceiling there is lower, but understand that going back to school, getting a degree in CM and getting a PM job is going to land you lower on office ladder to start out with than you currently are on the field ladder. I would say though that if that is what you really want then this is one of the few scenarios and industries that going back to school once you are already established could actually be a good idea. It is just going to be a big expensive pain in the ass to get there.

I did something similar, I went back to school to get my degree and left private sector for a regulatory job with the government. It took a lot of perseverance and a bit of luck, but I was miserable where I was at- worn out, bored, body hurt all the time, sick of working in the rain all day, etc
 
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