oh my god DO NOT GO INTO ACADEMIA IF YOU ARE AT ALL UNCERTAIN ABOUT IT, holy shit. holllllly shit. red alert, do not pass go, do not feed the animals, do not do not do this. cannot stress enough how bad an idea that is. especially if you’re american.
people who benefit from academia are passionate, driven, and totally in love with their subject: psychology, history, biology, whatever. academia is emotionally and physically destructive: in any field, you are required to pour an absolute fuckton of time, energy, dedication, and MONEY into your education. you will be required to live an extremely unhealthy, high-stress lifestyle. at the end of it, you’re going to be scraping desperately for a job that probably won’t pay you enough to live comfortably for years, if ever. tenured positions are disappearing, unpaid internships continue to proliferate, etc etc. sexism, racism, and classism is still rampant.
do not go into academia unless you love something so much you are willing to sacrifice your financial, emotional, physical, and social well-being for it. a lot of people are, and we as a species are probably better off for it. but jesus fucking christ don’t put yourself through that meat grinder because your parents think you’re too smart for the trades, dude. the days where academia was a fast track to a cushy life were gone forty years ago, and only existed for white dudes, anyway. these days you are looking at a life of constant, crushing stress and poverty.
welding classes can take four months of training, and are often subsidized or low-cost or free, and you can be making 20-30$ an hour within a year if you’re good. starting pay is 11-15$. some welders make 60$. some welders make hundreds. look for a Women In Trades program, or start calling your local community colleges, or run a search for ‘trade schools’. look into construction jobs, carpentry, masonry, or CNC operation. a lot of manufacturing and construction jobs are still hiring and still paying a living wage. you can pursue academic interests on your own time, debt free.
oh also personally i was interested in welding because it’s a hands-on manufacturing discipline i haven’t done before! i’ve done woodworking and ceramics, and cnc operation works with metal but involves programming machines to do the work for you– it’s just the right thing for a lot of people, but i much prefer to get my hands dirty.
i’ve been thinking, career-wise, about starting with welding, then moving on to carpentry, plumbing, and finally air-conditioning, before ultimately saving the world from the fire nation.
Hi this is probably pretty random, but how did you know you wanted to go into welding? I’ve been looking a little into more hands-on careers like that lately (i am very unsure about pursuing academia like my parents want) but I’ve never done it before so idk. Do places have like open houses for stuff like that? Or info sessions?
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just moving along like everyone else 