FINAL UPDATE: College/Careers: take 2 for 2 DSs... otherwise known as "here we go again"... ;)

[Lori D.]

FINAL UPDATE: December 2021

Posting this as encouragement for those who have children who are not on the typical track of "direct to college after high school," or if you have a child who is not really geared for college at all. From my signature, you can see that it took DS#1 quite a while to figure out what he really wanted to do, and that DS#2 has been forging his own success non-degree path.

DS#1
After 4 years, including 2 summer sessions and working part time for a good chunk of those 4 years, next week, DS takes his final exam of finals week, and will graduate magna cum laude with his BS in Mechanical Engineering. 🎉

Also, he has accepted a full-time position with the small local firm that he interned for this summer and continued part time during this semester. They liked him so much that they offered him the position just 2 months into working for them. It is a perfect fit for him!

DS#2
After completing 5 seasons of wildland firefighting in another state (and returning here after each season), DS just got word that he will be hired on with the wildland firefighting crew that is based in the wilderness area next to our city -- and it is at the next step up in pay grade, and is a step up on the chain of command to a lead position. 🎉

Last year he independently finished all of the required continuing ed. work needed to "move up the ladder," and this season he had several opportunities to put that into practice, as he got to the commander on several small fires. Very exciting, and also perfectly suited for him, as he is great at keeping a cool head under pressure!

So very, very proud and excited for both of my guys as they have persevered through the 4-5 years to get to where they want to be for their careers!

BEST wishes to all who have young adults following the lesser-traveled paths of life, or who are following well-traveled paths--but in their own timing. 😉 

===================

ORIGINAL APRIL 2017 POST:

Annnddd it's official now: we're off and running in two new directions for college/career for both DSs at the same time, one of which involves a return to college for a career "re-launch". ?

Just a week ago, DS#1 re-enrolled and signed up for a summer school class and then full-time classes for the fall. He is going back to college for a second 4-year degree. After not finding work beyond part-time entry-level jobs, and realizing he really doesn't want to make a career in either of his AAS or BA degree fields... DS#1 is heading back to college -- but in a completely new direction -- for a Mechanical Engineering BS that will take 4 years.

Good news is that he no longer needs our financials on the FAFSA; bad news is that he's no longer eligible for Federal grants because he has a degree. He may be eligible for work study. Fortunately, the first 2 years can be done at the local community college (CC) for about 1/4 the cost, and then he'll transfer to the local university that has a good Engineering dept. and finish off. Also, more good news is that the CC has some scholarships available, and they do not restrict to students without previous degrees. There are a number of small scholarships for the various Engineering programs, so we'll see once we get there if DS is eligible for any of those...

And in related very exciting news, DS#2 is off and running in his new direction. He just this week was hired onto a wildland firefighting crew for the 2017 season. He takes off in 2 weeks for his location in a nearby state, where he'll be doing pick-and-shovel line work, chainsaw work of felling trees, and removing brush. This is the next step of intensity of what he was doing last year with his AmeriCorps projects with American Conservation Experience, where they were doing trail restoration, invasive species removal, and thinning of trees to reduce potential fire load.

The season starts by managing the National Forest area near the crew's home site, and as the season progresses, and as the need arises, western wildland fire crews get shipped farther north and west, to states with later fire seasons. He's pumped!

So, here we go... again... and in a new direction. 😄

UPDATE #1 in post #8

UPDATE #2 in post #12

Edited December 12, 2021 by Lori D.

[MerryAtHope]

Thanks for sharing this, Lori. My oldest hasn't yet decided what to do, and he's getting close to finishing up his AA at the CC. He may be taking a year off to work after that (which does change things up financially for us but I try not to think about that!) I'm curious, if you don't mind sharing, what your son's AAS and BA degree fields are, that didn't seem to pan out for him? Our CC does a great job with offering scholarships too--such a blessing! Anyway, I hope the new direction works out for both of your sons!

Edited April 12, 2017 by MerryAtHope

[JanetC]

Congrats to them both!

[Lori D.]

On 4/12/2017 at 12:51 PM, MerryAtHope said:

Thanks for sharing this, Lori. My oldest hasn't yet decided what to do, and he's getting close to finishing up his AA at the CC. He may be taking a year off to work after that (which does change things up financially for us but I try not to think about that!) I'm curious, if you don't mind sharing, what your son's AAS and BA degree fields are, that didn't seem to pan out for him? Our CC does a great job with offering scholarships too--such a blessing! Anyway, I hope the new direction works out for both of your sons!

Thank you for the well-wishes, Merry! Its exciting, while a bit nerve-wracking. lol. I p.m.-ed you. ?

How exciting that your DS is close to finishing his AA! What degree field would that AA feed in to? Would DS like to work, or volunteer, or travel as part of his "gap year" between the AA and going to university? So many exciting possibilities! ?

Edited November 8, 2018 by Lori D.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks for the update, Lori.  Wishing them both good luck on their new paths.

[Julie of KY]

Wishing the boys good luck in their directions.

[MerryAtHope]

How exciting that your DS is close to finishing his AA! What degree field would that AA feed in to? Would DS like to work, or volunteer, or travel as part of his "gap year" between the AA and going to university? So many exciting possibilities! :)

 

Yes...I think it's the "so many possibilities" that is overwhelming to him (and not really "exciting" to him, LOL!) He'll probably work during a gap year if he does one, but we'll see. He's got a bit to go yet here (and still undecided on a major for his AA). I try not to think/stress about it all too often!

 

So happy for your boys :-).

[Lori D.]

JULY 2017 UPDATE:

DS#1
Just passed with flying colors the first of two 5-week summer school intensive Math courses (a 4-unit course and then a 3-unit course) needed as pre-requisites for the Calculus he'll be taking in the fall semester. All while working almost full time at a pizza place/sports bar.

Along with that Calculus, in the fall he'll be taking the Intro to Engineering and a 5-unit Chemistry course as he starts his journey in a completely new direction, towards a BS in Mechanical Engineering. In short: in spite of pretty much spending his entire summer either working or doing math, he's having a blast -- he does love his Maths! 
 

DS#2
Just returned to his home base today from his second wildland forest fire deployment. His first month was spent training and waiting, so getting out on the job has been the thrill he's been longing for. He's pumped and loving this work: 15 hour days doing shovel, pick, and saw and axe work to scrape and using a fire drip can to burn back a boundary line to contain the forest fires. The big moment: they saved a baby elk from the area they were having to do burn-back in! One of the guys on his crew carried it out, as the poor thing was freaked out and wouldn't move, even when smacked on the rump.

For this second deployment, they got helicoptered in to the site with their equipment, and for personal items -- just bare minimum camping equipment of a light weather/rain tarp, sleeping bag and pad -- and DS said he packed 4 pairs of extra socks. That was it. For a deployment that was slated to last up to a week. Yep, that's my son.  :tongue_smilie: He loved the helicoptering!

Edited December 12, 2021 by Lori D.

[Sunshine State Sue]

The big moment: they saved a baby elk from the area they were having to do burn-back in! One of the guys on his crew carried it out, as the poor thing was freaked out and wouldn't move, even when smacked on the rump.

 

Awww.

 

[MerryAtHope]

This is awesome! And LOVE the baby elk rescue. So glad to hear your boys are doing well :-)

[Kareni]

Wishing both of your young men well, Lori!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lori D.]

AUGUST 2017 UPDATE

DS#1
He completed both intensive summer school courses with As! Those were pre-requisites for starting the Engineering courses for the fall semester -- which starts next week! So DS is just about to start the real plunge back into another 4 years to earn the BS in Mechanical Engineering.

A fun side-note: one of my past homeschool co-op class students is a senior this year and has been doing dual enrollment last year/this year, and he will be in the same Intro to Engineering class with my DS. ? I also had this homeschool student's younger brother this past school year in my Intro to Film Analysis & Essay Writing class, and my son was helping out as my AV Tech whenever he was around, so he has met the brother. That will be fun for both of them to meet  in class this semester. Homeschooling is such a small world. ?

DS#2
As DS#1 prepares to start his NEW adventure, DS#2 prepares to wind down his CURRENT wildland firefighting adventure. He is on the road today with his crew, heading for his last deployment, which will be on a TBD fire currently burning in the northwest. He will be on that for 2 weeks, and then return to his "homebase" to pack up, and will be home again in 3 weeks.

His adventures include working on fires in 3 states; using shovels, axes, and hand tools to scrape line, and a fire drip can to burn back a boundary (his favorite thing so far ? ), pulling hose half a mile down hill to wet down an area and then packing it out again (least favorite job ? ), and "fire watch" -- hiking/driving to monitor small fires started by lightning strikes or fires started by burning debris that flings up to a mile away from a major fire and starts up new fires.

He has slept in his tent and out in the open, been filthy with no shower for a week at a time and with only a few pairs of clean sox to change into, got to be transported to one fire via helicopter, and sometimes was served military MRE (Meal Ready-to-Eat) packages from the 1990s for meals in the field. His tip: at all costs, avoid the spaghetti and meatball flavor. He's had a blast and is already looking forward to going back next season. ?

 

Just wanted to share an update on our non-traditional path. :) To all who have students heading off to do non-traditional things this fall, I salute you!  :patriot:  And to all who will be sending students off to college very shortly, I wish you all the very BEST!  :thumbup1:

Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Lori D.

[MerryAtHope]

Great update, Lori! Thanks for sharing what your kids are up to!

[Lori D.]

FINAL UPDATE: December 2021

Posting this as encouragement for those who have children who are not on the typical track of "direct to college after high school," or if you have a child who is not really geared for college at all. From my signature, you can see that it took DS#1 quite a while to figure out what he really wanted to do, and that once DS#2 figured out what he wanted to do, has been successfully forging his own non-degree path.

DS#1
After 4 years, including 2 summer sessions and working part time for a good chunk of those 4 years, next week, DS takes his final exam of finals week, and will graduate magna cum laude with his BS in Mechanical Engineering. 🎉

Also, he has accepted a full-time position with the small local firm that he interned for this summer and continued part time during this semester. They liked him so much that they offered him the position just 2 months into working for them. It is a perfect fit for him!

DS#2
After completing 5 seasons of wildland firefighting in another state (and returning here after each season), DS just got word that he will be hired on with the wildland firefighting crew that is based in the wilderness area next to our city -- and it is at the next step up in pay grade, and is a step up on the chain of command to a lead position. 🎉

Last year he independently finished all of the required continuing ed. work needed to "move up the ladder," and this season he had several opportunities to put that into practice, as he got to the commander on several small fires. Very exciting, and also perfectly suited for him, as he is great at keeping a cool head under pressure.

So very, very proud and excited for both of my guys as they have persevered through the 4-5 years to get to where they want to be for their careers!

BEST wishes to all who have young adults following the lesser-traveled paths of life, or who are following well-traveled paths--but in their own timing. 😉 

Edited December 12, 2021 by Lori D.

[Kassia]

That's wonderful, Lori!  🙂  🙂  

 

[freesia]

How wonderful! Thanks for keeping us updated. 

[MerryAtHope]

Great update, so excited for your boys! Congratulations! Your posts over the years were so encouraging to me, especially when nothing seemed to interest my oldest. The gap year for him wasn’t fancy—local job and a lot of time exploring online. But he also finishes this week with a BA in Media Studies and a Certificate in Digital Media Production (emphasis in film editing) and is doing a few freelance jobs right now. 
 

Praying God continues to lead and bless your boys!

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks for the update, Lori.  Glad to hear DS#1 persevered for that 2nd degree and will be gainfully employed upon graduation. And glad to hear that DS# 2 is enjoying his niche.

[Corraleno]

What a wonderful update, Lori! Congratulations to both your boys!

[Eos]

I remember the initial post and it's so great to see the To Be Continued update!  

 

[Laurel-in-CA]

My non-conformist young man was persuaded to finish his college degree (BA communications) but is still working p/t for the zipline company that employed him all through college. HOWEVER, he's also started his own business (Russian River Media, web sites and videography) and helped build a zipline course in Alaska (Tree Dimensional) as well as building luxury platform yurts high in the redwoods. He's forging his own path, for sure!

[freesia]

1 hour ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

My non-conformist young man was persuaded to finish his college degree (BA communications) but is still working p/t for the zipline company that employed him all through college. HOWEVER, he's also started his own business (Russian River Media, web sites and videography) and helped build a zipline course in Alaska (Tree Dimensional) as well as building luxury platform yurts high in the redwoods. He's forging his own path, for sure!

That is so cool.  I love creative and interesting paths (although I fully admit they would make me nervous as a mom.)

[Kareni]

How lovely to see your update, @Lori D.. All good wishes to you and your sons.

Regards,

Kareni