I have never been much of a person for organized classrooms and instructions for extended periods of time (teaching is a different story). I like figuring something out (we call this learning) and then putting it to use. Four years of classroom work (well, currently five now) is of no interest to me. Don't get me wrong the stuff I am studying is interesting, but I like working and doing something with my knowledge instead of just using it in the next chapter to do some else that by the time I may* use it, I have to look it up again anyways.
IMHO, college teaches us how to learn (in addition to some knowledge and general awareness of things as well as a chance to grow up ... though that is debatable at times). People who can think, problem solve, and learn on their own to set and achieve their goals have a definite advantage. My personal opinions on a college degree is if you don't know what you want to do or you want to be successful get one. However, for those of us who can think, problem solve, and learn on their own to set and achieve their goals, we can find scenarios where college may be a waste of time and money.
Here is what I want to do:
I want to be a beach bum of sorts. I want to live in the tropics (live in Indiana now, leaving as soon as possible for Florida, the Carribbean or some other tropical international destination). Basically, I want to live on a sailboat, do diving charters, private cruises, etc. not having many expenses, but lots of fun (and hard work of course). To supplement this until I can purchase a boat and do some independent work, I want to be a divemaster and eventually an instructor working at a dive shop. I also want to do some photography / videography personally and professionally (mostly underwater) for profit, but as a completely informal thing.
Here is what I have:
I have a few years of technical (computer) skills. I have worked help desk and such, and have enough experience to get a ~$35k - $42k /yr job almost anywhere. That kind of work really isn't much to be happy about, but it is somewhat enjoyable and I can last about a year before getting burnt out at a company (providing there are no promotions, otherwise I can last quite a bit longer as more money comes in).
I am OW certified, dove in mostly tropical places, and been certified for 7 years. However, I haven't logged that many dives b/c I live in Indiana and get classified as a vacation diver. I do love diving of course.
Here is where I need advice and some preliminary ideas:
I keep reading about the these internships in Thailand and becoming a divemaster in 2 months or an instructor in 4. I agree that these are short intervals for certification, but they do solve the problem of the fact that I am entering my third semester of college (a semester behind b/c of switching majors and I still manage to maintain interest for only half the semester which really hasn't much to do with the course material, just the fact that I like putting it to use and working). When I got certified back some 7 years ago now, I hated classwork, but the little that there was was enough to keep me interested and the fact that we had pool time and then I could actually go out and dive was the best part.
So, I could leave college at the end of this semester, go on one of these internship things for 4 months, find a job and produce some income all within 6 months of the student loans having to be repaid (another thing... why incur debt for something I dislike doing?). Purchase an inexpensive sail boat to live on, earn all my sailing certifications and other stuff to be able to charter people and do private week long couples getaways (might need to get a bigger boat once I have everything paid off). From there, the possibilities are almost endless. Diving, sailing, and getting paid to do so... that can't be too bad
The other option is to find a dive shop or similar to work at while earning my certifications. A dive shop willing to pay for an extra hand (or dive charter or something) while training would be a good option as well.
The one thing I don't want is a job where I have to spend hours in a lab (like marine biology or scientific diving), however, I do have an interest in animals... but only in the playful sense, the play with dolphins over research breeding habits type difference.
I appreciate your thoughts and comments. This isn't one of those things that I just thought of and it has been in the back of my mind being pondering since before I entered college.
IMHO, college teaches us how to learn (in addition to some knowledge and general awareness of things as well as a chance to grow up ... though that is debatable at times). People who can think, problem solve, and learn on their own to set and achieve their goals have a definite advantage. My personal opinions on a college degree is if you don't know what you want to do or you want to be successful get one. However, for those of us who can think, problem solve, and learn on their own to set and achieve their goals, we can find scenarios where college may be a waste of time and money.
Here is what I want to do:
I want to be a beach bum of sorts. I want to live in the tropics (live in Indiana now, leaving as soon as possible for Florida, the Carribbean or some other tropical international destination). Basically, I want to live on a sailboat, do diving charters, private cruises, etc. not having many expenses, but lots of fun (and hard work of course). To supplement this until I can purchase a boat and do some independent work, I want to be a divemaster and eventually an instructor working at a dive shop. I also want to do some photography / videography personally and professionally (mostly underwater) for profit, but as a completely informal thing.
Here is what I have:
I have a few years of technical (computer) skills. I have worked help desk and such, and have enough experience to get a ~$35k - $42k /yr job almost anywhere. That kind of work really isn't much to be happy about, but it is somewhat enjoyable and I can last about a year before getting burnt out at a company (providing there are no promotions, otherwise I can last quite a bit longer as more money comes in).
I am OW certified, dove in mostly tropical places, and been certified for 7 years. However, I haven't logged that many dives b/c I live in Indiana and get classified as a vacation diver. I do love diving of course.
Here is where I need advice and some preliminary ideas:
I keep reading about the these internships in Thailand and becoming a divemaster in 2 months or an instructor in 4. I agree that these are short intervals for certification, but they do solve the problem of the fact that I am entering my third semester of college (a semester behind b/c of switching majors and I still manage to maintain interest for only half the semester which really hasn't much to do with the course material, just the fact that I like putting it to use and working). When I got certified back some 7 years ago now, I hated classwork, but the little that there was was enough to keep me interested and the fact that we had pool time and then I could actually go out and dive was the best part.
So, I could leave college at the end of this semester, go on one of these internship things for 4 months, find a job and produce some income all within 6 months of the student loans having to be repaid (another thing... why incur debt for something I dislike doing?). Purchase an inexpensive sail boat to live on, earn all my sailing certifications and other stuff to be able to charter people and do private week long couples getaways (might need to get a bigger boat once I have everything paid off). From there, the possibilities are almost endless. Diving, sailing, and getting paid to do so... that can't be too bad
The other option is to find a dive shop or similar to work at while earning my certifications. A dive shop willing to pay for an extra hand (or dive charter or something) while training would be a good option as well.
The one thing I don't want is a job where I have to spend hours in a lab (like marine biology or scientific diving), however, I do have an interest in animals... but only in the playful sense, the play with dolphins over research breeding habits type difference.
I appreciate your thoughts and comments. This isn't one of those things that I just thought of and it has been in the back of my mind being pondering since before I entered college.
