Any Ideas Guys?

[njedrn]

I worked 3 jobs while going to college.. I worked for residence life... managed one of their dorms... took about 25hrs/week plus on call nights. I then worked as a manager for the on campus bar... about 16 hrs a week. Then I worked a the local amusement park during the summers... it was also good weekend work towards the beginning and end of each semester.

For managing the dorms...they paid me about 2k a semester (which paid for books).. plus they gave me free room and board. The bar paid my daily bills including the interest on my student loans . Saved as much as a I could during the summer in order to pay down the growing debt.... it was a rough 4 years... but worth it.

 

[Aggiebq86]

I understand what your saying I really do pollywogg, your looking at the degree from this perspective I want to be a dive instructor. As they said in the Marine Corps “THAT AINT IT“. I’m leaning more toward the side of Maritime Archeology. The diving aspect of sets you up to be and instructor but there are also classes in every aspect of diving not just instruction. The by there first semester of there junior year most of the students have job offers, Example Nekton, DAN, and other big name agency for the fact that were versed in the whole industry and not just teaching people how to blow bubbles. In fact we don’t leave school with a instructors cert. The Major in Sports Management means where management level for sports. (Scuba is considered to be a sport). We also come out with a minor in business. Who would you hire a if you were looking for a person to run you company the guy with just the instructors license or someone who has a degree in the field and a business degree to go with it?

If you have a desire to follow a career in Maritime Archeology, then major in that. My university has a program for that. Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation - Texas A&M University

If you have a desire for business management, then major in that. The sports management option could be obtained from a number of universities. One thing you may not have considered is this: With all the universities out there, why is Barry University the only one offering this degree? If there were a high demand for it, wouldn't many other universities, especially those with a strong sports management program or strong nautical background, be offering a similar degree?

You may want to either consider a business or sports management major at a less expensive school and supplement this with the needed diving instruction from other sources. Another thing to consider would be attending a commercial diving school. From looking at Barry's curriculum, it appears there are about 31 credit hours with some aspect of diving. The other 100 hours of the curriculum are non diving related.

One thing you will quickly realize once you are out of school is there is more that you don't know about your chosen field than what you do know based on what was learned in the classroom. Most employers only look at your degree as proof that you a) have enough intestinal fortitude to complete something and b) have enough intelligence that they will be able to teach you what you need to know in order to do your job. None of them will hire someone with a degree but no experience to run their company. Think back to your Marine Corps days. When you were fresh out of Basic, you weren't put in charge of anything other than your rifle. The people with the experience are the ones in charge.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

 

[Luku]

These guys are always hiring, you'll get paid to learn a trade.
Sealift Command

 

[Herk_Man]

You may want to consult a lawyer and a tax accountant...

Ya, and invest in a Hooked on Phonics kit.

 

[Herk_Man]

Yu rais a intresting qestian...

True dat. I can't believe this guy made it out of high school. It's no wonder someone took him for a sucker willing to pay close to 20 large for a course with no demand in industry.

Are we even making a dent dude? You need help, and not the green kind.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I have a student who has been with me since advanced open water. He's been assisting me with classes and he is 100 times the dive master most anyone holding the C-card will ever be and he hasn't completed the course, yet. He is cave & tech certified. He has the prettiest modified frog kick I've ever seen as part of his quiver of skills including demo quality trim, buoyancy, propulsion and amazing reaction time. Our joke is that if I wanted a cappuccino underwater, he'd have it in his pocket and it would still be hot. He has pulled the most unlikely tools out of his pocket to allow me to repair student's rigs underwater. He is a slow academic learner due to a learning disability, but he never quit or gave up. It took him a summer to complete AOW to my standards. If it wasn't for his learning disability, he'd be so much farther ahead. He accepts it and deals with it. He has severe dyslexia and can't spell worth a darn. His common sense and business acumen is incredible. He's a social worker by profession as well as running his own business on the side. If I judged him solely by his spelling and grammar, I would think he wasn't very intelligent. Having gotten to know this student, I see at times where his disability does impact his life, but I also have developed an incredible amount of respect and admiration for him because he perseveres.

The OP's writing style reminded me so much of this scuba student of mine. The OP may or may not have a learning disability. English may not be a first language. Who knows? But, I think making fun of his spelling and grammar is childish.

 

[TSandM]

Well, I for one haven't made any fun of him. I have, however, taken him to task for shooting down every suggestion made by anybody to solve his problems in any way other than the way he wants to solve them: By staying where he is, and having someone else give him the money to do it.

Trace, motivated and diligent people overcome all kinds of obstacles, physical and mental. But it takes determination, discipline, and often some imagination as well. And sometimes you have to accept that the goal you set for yourself has to be revised. If I set out to be a professional basketball player, no amount of determination would get me there. It may well be that there is no readily available solution for the OP's desire to stay where he is, in the program he's in. But it may be possible for him to approximate that program with a combination of courses elsewhere. Or he may need to stay out of school for a couple of years and work and save enough to complete his current program. He HAS to be willing to look at other possibilities, or he's just like a horse I had, who would run back and forth in front of the section of fence closest to where the hay was thrown, instead of trotting down the hill and through the gate, like the other horses did.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Well, I for one haven't made any fun of him. I have, however, taken him to task for shooting down every suggestion made by anybody to solve his problems in any way other than the way he wants to solve them: By staying where he is, and having someone else give him the money to do it.

Trace, motivated and diligent people overcome all kinds of obstacles, physical and mental. But it takes determination, discipline, and often some imagination as well. And sometimes you have to accept that the goal you set for yourself has to be revised. If I set out to be a professional basketball player, no amount of determination would get me there. It may well be that there is no readily available solution for the OP's desire to stay where he is, in the program he's in. But it may be possible for him to approximate that program with a combination of courses elsewhere. Or he may need to stay out of school for a couple of years and work and save enough to complete his current program. He HAS to be willing to look at other possibilities, or he's just like a horse I had, who would run back and forth in front of the section of fence closest to where the hay was thrown, instead of trotting down the hill and through the gate, like the other horses did.

I'm not defending anything other than the fact that making fun of his grammar and spelling is immature. Another friend of mine from the English department of my college was and is an incredible poet. Yet, he too has issues with spelling due to a learning disability. I'm just cautioning the board that spelling errors may not be as much of a reflection on the OP's abilities as one may judge.

 

[Sas]

I'm not defending anything other than the fact that making fun of his grammar and spelling is immature. Another friend of mine from the English department of my college was and is an incredible poet. Yet, he too has issues with spelling due to a learning disability. I'm just cautioning the board that spelling errors may not be as much of a reflection on the OP's abilities as one may judge.

Yea I agree. I hate reading poor grammar and spelling but that's my issue, not other people's. My sister has even worse spelling and grammar than this guy here, but is very intelligent... but just terrible when it comes to writing things down. After school she was just not getting any work and I was surprised as she is very charismatic and competent. I checked out her resume and hmm.... pink font, smileys and informal writing style with poor spelling and grammar. :shocked2: I had to redo it all for her

 

[OldNSalty]

I have a student who has been with me since advanced open water. He's been assisting me with classes and he is 100 times the dive master most anyone holding the C-card will ever be and he hasn't completed the course, yet. He is cave & tech certified. He has the prettiest modified frog kick I've ever seen as part of his quiver of skills including demo quality trim, buoyancy, propulsion and amazing reaction time. Our joke is that if I wanted a cappuccino underwater, he'd have it in his pocket and it would still be hot. He has pulled the most unlikely tools out of his pocket to allow me to repair student's rigs underwater. He is a slow academic learner due to a learning disability, but he never quit or gave up. It took him a summer to complete AOW to my standards. If it wasn't for his learning disability, he'd be so much farther ahead. He accepts it and deals with it. He has severe dyslexia and can't spell worth a darn. His common sense and business acumen is incredible. He's a social worker by profession as well as running his own business on the side. If I judged him solely by his spelling and grammar, I would think he wasn't very intelligent. Having gotten to know this student, I see at times where his disability does impact his life, but I also have developed an incredible amount of respect and admiration for him because he perseveres.

The OP's writing style reminded me so much of this scuba student of mine. The OP may or may not have a learning disability. English may not be a first language. Who knows? But, I think making fun of his spelling and grammar is childish.

I understand what you are saying and I agree but let me add this.

I also have a learning disability, and an advanced degree in Engineering. I applaud your DM for sticking with it. Like me, I am sure he is very well aware of his issue and works hard to over come it. I review everything I write several times and then have someone else proof it before submitting something to a client.

The young man in question appears to not really care, and more disturbing is the fact that he is a college student. Schools will make some allowances for a disability but they can’t give you a pass on basic skills.

The conclusion is this, either he does not care about his communication skills or his university is a waste.

While it may not have been proper to have fun at his expense, I am sure he is aware of his writing ability. The fact that he appears to exert little effort to correct it is frustrating to many people and a further indication of his basic pig-headed attitude in life that we have seen.