ProudGrandma Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 My 9th grade son LOVES science...but hates math...he does ok in it...but doesn't excel by any means. Any kind of science type program he would eventually think about wanting to consider in college will require more, intense math. Let me tell you a bit about my son. About 1 1/2 years ago he decided he wanted to put a homemade engine on one of his hot wheel cars...and send it shooting down a track and see how far he could make it jump. Everything, except the car and the track were homemade. He made a form of gun powder and put it in a tube...attached a fuse...attatched it to the car and sent it on its way. There were successes and failures. But this didn't last long, then he went to building his own rockets...making everything from scratch...from the rocket to the fuel...he looked on youtube and found different ways to make rocket fuel...how to make the engine, what sort of packing he needed, how much fuel, based on the size of the rocket and engine. There is so much I don't even know...again he has failures (from which he tweeked this or that) to have many great successes. He has made 1 and 2 stage rockets. Every night all summer long was the "rocket launch" in our back yard. Then it got cold...and he turned to blacksmithing....and forging...and making knives (and other things) from rebar and other pieces of metal. His latest thing is taking a piece of railroad tie and turning it into an anvil because he "needs" that to make the things he wants. He asked for a grinding blade for a sander, a belt sander, and other blacksmithing tools for Christmas. This is the kind of science he likes....he is not scared to try things...to take something that didn't quite work and make it work by doing this thing or the other. Trial and error. I think he would be a very fun, middle school science teacher. He has a witty sense of humor that kids would love as well as the "playfulness" of "what would happen if..." that middle schoolers would appreciate. But, I still think that would require him to take math courses he wouldn't like or maybe even not do so well in. So, what kind of career would a kid like this be well suited for? Yes, I know he is only in 9th grade...but as I making decisions about his education, I do want to keep in mind a direction he might end up going. Any interesting thoughts for me? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 My first thought is mechanical engineering. It is still math heavy but not as theoretical as a math degree. My second thought is anything quality control/testing related. My husband is an electrical engineer on the hardware side. He is in a team that makes sure products have a low failure rate before the product is launch. His company has delayed product launches when the failure rate wasn’t low enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Perhaps mechanical engineering technology? These degrees/jobs tend more to the applied rather than conceptual. There is still math but not as intense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 He might still change his mind about math. My oldest daughter struggled in math for YEARS vascillating between D's and B's, retaking multiple classes. And then she got a great teacher in 11th and 12th (same teacher both years) and suddenly she pulled A's in Precalc and Calc and a 4 on the AP exam. She never would have thought it was possible when she was in ninth grade still just scraping by. Also you could always check for 2e's. Turned out mine had ADHD which led to her making a ton of careless mistakes. She thought she didn't understand the concepts, but more of it was just inattention and rushing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) Theater/Film Prop Designer?Exhibit Designer?Welding Artist/Sculptor or Industrial Welder?Gunsmith or Custom Knife Maker?Blacksmith or Farrier?Metal Fabricator / Sheet Metal Technician?Machinist?Mechanic?Industrial Designer? Industrial Engineer?Design Engineer?Research Engineer?Mechanical Engineer, or Mechanical Engineering Technician? Technologist in Applied Physics and/or Material Science? Edited February 1, 2019 by Lori D. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 My first guess is some kind of mechanical engineering technology. I know several kids who are more "hands on" than theoretical and the heavy math component of engineering would have ground them to a powder but are thriving in their polytechnic classes at university. My other thought was some kind of trade. Welding or a mechanic or something like that. I know most people on this board are steering their kids away from trades, but they are good solid jobs that take a lot of skill and know how and can be very satisfying to people who are wired that way. And they can lead to owning your own business, which is very appealing to a lot of "hands on" people. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 My first thought was on Lori's list, which was theater tech. You get to just constantly build and wire things. Of course, you have to enjoy sitting through the show and running lights and so forth as well (though it's not all theater... I know someone who does this for concerts who just transitioned to running tech at a hotel for conferences). But you don't even need a degree necessarily. It's more of a trade. Also, some people do make blacksmithing a living. I know someone who builds the equipment that tests certain things for the government - so he has to design it and come up with new things all the time. I'm pretty sure he started out with mechanical engineering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock2 Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 3 hours ago, Momto5inIN said: My other thought was some kind of trade. Welding or a mechanic or something like that. I know most people on this board are steering their kids away from trades, but they are good solid jobs that take a lot of skill and know how and can be very satisfying to people who are wired that way. And they can lead to owning your own business, which is very appealing to a lot of "hands on" people. This was my first thought as well. I wouldn't rule out trades, at least. They require much less math. This is where my boys are likely headed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Depending on his other strengths/interests, he might make this sort of thing a lifelong hobby and do something totally different. Some people let go of stress by developing high level skills in their area(s) of interest just for recreation; sometimes it's learning and perfecting a skill or concept that is fun--then they never do it again. But yeah, consider trades. My DH and his brother are both people that weren't conventionally good students, and both of them sucked it up and did school to get where they wanted to be. Neither of them followed their Plan A. Both went back for additional schooling, lol! (In the case of my DH he pretty much had to as his degree required graduate school of some kind--it just wasn't what he had initially planned to do with that degree.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) On 2/1/2019 at 10:34 AM, hollyhock2 said: This was my first thought as well. I wouldn't rule out trades, at least. They require much less math. This is where my boys are likely headed. Or at least the math is applied and more real. Edited March 4, 2019 by Frances 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 you guys are amazing. Thank you so much for helping me think about this....I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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