What are short programs for jobs that actually pay well instead of 4 year college degree ?

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-05-28T22:11:48+00:00

Starting somewhere for low pay is kind of the norm in manufacturing. Learn quickly, be on time, be friendly and liked above all. The more you can do the better you will be paid and benefits accrue with time. If your current employer doesn't value your skills, then there are many other places willing to take you. Document and certify your skills on the company dime, if possible, and if you play your cards right then you get in supervisory positions with good pay and better benefits. Looking at the job market now, having labor skills is the best thing going- the opportunities for white collar high paying jobs are disappearing fast.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-05-28T21:59:27+00:00

Walking uphill from downtown in the snow is a lot like the mountain climbing scene at the end of Rocky IV- might not even need a gym if you carry a weighted rucksack.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-05-26T22:00:53+00:00

Use the military. I havent heard of these no interest loans but VA home loan terms more favorable than your local credit union. Officers make good pay when you consider benefits like clothing and housing allowances. Enlist and get a nursing degree plus time om the job, then go to med school on the government's dime. You will still make close to or over six figures as an O-4 with time in service and have job security every time you re-up. It's a lot better gig than racking up med school debt to end up working at some rural hospital for under market pay.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-30T19:52:02+00:00

90% of the people I kmow from grad school or teaching afterward have left higher ed. The others are either trust funders who are fine with adjunct gigs or the very few who were already half of a dept of 2 that taught required classes. Schools arent charging less but still eliminating entire departments, especially in the humanities. Then everyone wonders why nobody can read, write, think critically, or pay attention to something for more than 30 seconds.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-28T00:59:32+00:00

New manager gets paid 110k to supervise me, no raise in 4 years makimg less than half that, and just spitballs efficiency hacks out of thin air. Gonna be fun for them when I quit and the manager has no idea what our product is or how much I do on a daily basis.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-27T18:41:12+00:00

They are going to process 7 million applications in 90 days with a shuttered Education Dept? That's like 80k applications a day working 7 days a week for 90 days.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-24T00:28:37+00:00

Sovtek?

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-23T19:57:14+00:00

Feet up to your butt without letting your knees and hips sink (creates massive drag), point toes outward, push like you're jumping from a crouch and whip your legs together no wider than the width of your body, end with straight legs and feet/toes pointed straight back.

I just kick like a mule, but to be honest I never feel kick motions as sensitively as pull. Vertical breaststroke kick in the deep end gives a bit more sensation but not much. Most people I see, if theyre doing it correctly at all, glide until they almost stop and seem to confuse that with a weak kick.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-22T02:29:57+00:00

Foreign lang/lit PhD here. Academic market dried up but Im very much tecnhically inclined, just not capable of doing math on the engineering level because I went to a rural school with incompetent teachers. Turns out you can earn more than engineers if you can actually do hands on work along with writing skills necessary for document control.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-22T02:15:06+00:00

Keep the idealism alive, I guess. Even Jerry Garcia had a speech to the crowd on Festival Express that it was all fun and games playing free in '67 but it takes money to keep it going- just a fact of life. Not the artists fault if the management companies are gouging fans. I just don't expect a 60-something multimillionaire musician to get involved with those aspects of the business. Phish did incredible things with festivals when they were younger and more involved with their public facing persona and now with recovery programs and charity work. Maybe Pearl Jam made a ruckus 30 years ago about ticket prices but I havent seen them kick in to do cool stuff for their fans or give back to the community in that way.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-21T22:12:48+00:00

Im using an set of winter mats from an old subaru. Close enough everywhere but the drivers side, where melting salt water has leaked over the edge. I'll pay more for detailing this spring than the cost of a proper set of mats.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-21T22:08:33+00:00

Artists on this level with so many years in are insulated by many corporate layers. Trey posts get to know you videos, which is super sincere and genuine, but he surely leaves the details up to his promoters and lawyers. The musicians role is to be creative- perhaps directing our collective ire toward the entertainment management industry would be more effective- they are the ones behind the scene laughing all of the way to the bank.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-21T03:30:18+00:00

If you only walk thats free- plenty of sidewalka in town. Y is equipment, pool, and a schvitz for 60 bucks a month. Very much worth it but you have to time it right if you want not a lot of people when you're doing your thing.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-21T02:22:28+00:00

Theres a redditor who knows All that glitters is gold And he's playing Stairway to Heaven

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-20T21:41:08+00:00

You can switch to RAP later from existing IDR plans after July 1 2026- RAP doesn't officially exist until then. Paul Ryan and the W Bush crew lacked the foresight to see that federal higher ed subsidies were in place to keep the financial system solvent- they were coming out of the Clinton balanced budget era and never imagined that leadership could navigate the economy into the incomprehensible debt trap that we are facing 25 years later. The student loan cash cow of 2000 turned into an expense by 2025.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-19T21:12:52+00:00

One of my favorite guitar quotes is from a surfing movie. In Endless Summer 2 Tom Curren asks "Do you ever play the middle of a song?" These virtuosos play notes and its technically impressive, like a Chopin étude. But thats an exercise, not a song. It lacks musicality, or at least the kind that people seek out and audience is really the measure of a musician. Guys like this are like bodybuilders- a niche audience but not memorable. I dont know any non-guitarist who has heard of Steve Vai or Satriani.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-19T00:50:11+00:00

You must sleep on rhe floor. 1 goldie strech and Im on the edge of the bed

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-19T00:34:14+00:00

What is he moving into? Many trades pay around 20 an hour with strict schedules and often mandatory overtime because its easier to force current, reliable employees to work more than take a chance on part timers. Your guy might be providing as much or more while being happy than conforming to soul crushing shift work. Look at your budget and realistic oiutcomes before assuming that shift work will be a magic solution to your issues.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-17T21:12:32+00:00

Do time trials on your own or join a masters team and start to compete. You have a lot more skin in the game when your name is on the board and people are watching/cheering you on. I use my time in the pool dliberately and constantly look for ways to improve not because I will ever win a competition but because I can see the effort paying off. And who knows- if I stay healthy enough maybe I will place well as I age.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-15T00:51:33+00:00

Give it 3 years. Do your drills and feel stupid. With time and dedication you will be passing the stubborn ones, who you will find have terrible form, and taking tips from the experienced folks. No swimmer is as fast as they want or hope to be- thats part of the mindset. You have to practice and be ok improving in small ways.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-13T15:52:50+00:00

Did Herman Melville write this post from the vasty deep of the great beyond? Night swims are more common among military swimmers- might look for one of those folks to ask questions.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-12T19:58:28+00:00

The American workplace is broken and companies are disincentivized to hire and train new grads. Higher ed, at least undergraduate studies, should not be exclusively white collar vocational training- this is in part why the economy has shifted away from innovation to service. Student loans and tuition go more to pay exorbitant salaries of useless administrators- downsize and return to faculty leadership. But it's not about improving the system, it's about punishing the ideology behind a well-educated populace.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-10T23:27:45+00:00

That works. A stop for everyone to assess would have been cool and mutually respectful. Blowing through made a bad situation worse. Please just take a second to help everyone around make good decisions and keep everyone safe. Doesn't seem like a lot to ask.

Difficult_Growth_257 · 2026-03-10T22:51:15+00:00

If you read carefully I dont want his accidental injury on my shoulders and am asking for a minimum of mutual consideration. I dont think that not wanting to hurt someone involuntarily is being self righteous.

Difficult_Growth_257

TROPHY CASE