Sell gear, or sell stocks, to raise money for son's school fees?

[Godfrey]

The word 'credential' is seldom used in English -- French English, or Franglais, is another language entirely -- possibly because it is a gruesome symptom of "Where I work, both my specific employer and the industry at large, if you don't have a degree you don't get a job. At all. End of story."

Highlight: people who do not 'rant' about this -- who say "that's their problem, not mine" -- are a major part of the problem.

Although I completely agree that "Without education and learning, we as a civilization, maybe as a species, are doomed", I completely disagree that education and learning are exclusively, or even principally, the province of a university education.

Finally, a 'gap year' between school and university has proven to be invaluable for everyone I know who has tried it. Will your son be taking one?

Cheers,

R.

You just want to debate. This is not a political philosophy forum, I don't choose to engage that debate here.

I don't have children. Was never interested and chose not to. I help others kids make their college decisions, however, when they ask my advice. Taking time off is fine for some but not for all. College is right for some but not necessarily for all it depends upon the person specifically.

This has little to do with the question of whether one should sell stock or camera gear to help fund a son's education, however.

 

[jsrockit]

Finally, a 'gap year' between school and university has proven to be invaluable for everyone I know who has tried it. Will your son be taking one?

I've seen this gap year turn into gap life though... for better or worse. 😉

 

[Roger Hicks]

You just want to debate. This is not a political philosophy forum, I don't choose to engage that debate here.

I don't have children. Was never interested and chose not to. I help others kids make their college decisions, however, when they ask my advice. Taking time off is fine for some but not for all. College is right for some but not necessarily for all it depends upon the person specifically.

This has little to do with the question of whether one should sell stock or camera gear to help fund a son's education, however.

Fine. You're right. I do; you don't. We have different priorities, is all. My argument would be that those who don't want to debate, and who try to restrict it to a ghetto of political philosophy (I don't see it as politics, myself, though I'd agree about philosophy), rather than dealing with it when it comes up, are in large part responsible for the mess we're in today.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Godfrey]

Fine. You're right. I do; you don't. We have different priorities, is all. My argument would be that those who don't want to debate, and who try to restrict it to a ghetto of political philosophy (I don't see it as politics, myself, though I'd agree about philosophy), rather than dealing with it when it comes up, are in large part responsible for the mess we're in today.

Cheers,

R.

Don't turn this into an ad hominem rant or I'll request you be censured. You are now becoming insulting.

G

 

[Roger Hicks]

Don't turn this into an ad hominem rant or I'll request you be censured. You are now becoming insulting.

G

Dear Godfrey,

I have no intention of turning this into an ad hominem rant. I was merely stating my priorities, which are not the same as yours. This is an important subject, which I feel strongly about. You are requesting that I be censured for this?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Red Rock Bill]

If you sell your gear and or stocks this year what will you do in the following year or years? Bill

 

[mugent]

University is great at a lot of things, but it's not a guarantee of success like it used to be. The most successful people I know are not graduates, but simply people who worked very hard. I don't think I know a single graduate who works in the field in which they studied, choosing a vocation at 17-18 is totally unrealistic, we were all idiots when we were that age, I know I was. A gap year is a very, very good idea.

Education is one of the most important things, period, but in my experience, university rarely provides any more education than a good book.

I didn't go to Uni, I slightly regretted it at the time but looking back, at 33, it was probably the smartest move I ever made.

 

[jsrockit]

For many people who come from small towns, university offers a controlled environment for learning how to deal with people from all races and religions... i.e. learning how to live with people who aren't exactly like you. I've always liked it for that reason.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

This discussion of a gap year got me thinking that I took a gap decade.

I graduated high school and went to community college where I didn't know what I wanted to do aside from sculpture. There I became fascinated with history more than I already was and thought it might be something I could do but didn't want to go into academia.

I joined the US Navy in 1997 and went into a hard science field. All this time I had a camera with me. I had carried some type of camera since I was 12 as a matter of fact. 5 years into my Navy career, I cross-rated to become a photographer and that was that. Spent 3 years as a Navy photographer then chose to let my contract run out due to my personal experiences and thoughts on the war we were involved in.

Since then photography and documenting life has become my obsession, my calling and my life.

When I started up again in college in 2007 I wanted to be a mechanical engineer due to my love for tinkering with things and building cameras, in particular. That didn't work out for a variety of reasons and I fell back on journalism which is that calling of mine.

I got my degree and here I am, incredibly impoverished, couch surfing, living however I can but the experience is rewarding I think. At least, I think it will be when I find some stability, whatever that means. It will make a great chapter in my memoirs.

Now I'm tinkering with the notion of becoming a paramedic but that too is a calling. It's only there for job security while doing photographic work is what I really want in life. Whether or not paramedic is something I'm cut out for only time will tell. I may not be able to hack it with what I've seen and done back in combat but that's another story.

This is a roundabout explanation but I'm saying that we may never know what we want to be when we "grow up" be that age 30 or 50 or 90. There is no reason that a person cannot change careers a few times when the economy changes, family happens, personal philosophies change, whatever.

I'll always be a photographer. What I need to resign myself to is possibly not making most of my income as a photographer. Instead of documenting life I could be a part of it. As a paramedic or a sculptor or a teacher or an auto mechanic or a classical music composer (my dream job when I was very young.)

Life happens to all of us and I'm still in a semester of my education. The university years were the easy ones where I skated by and was given assignments to complete. Now I have to make my own assignments but they have to feed me. I still have many years to go (hopefully) before my education is finished.

Phil Forrest

 

[Godfrey]

Dear Godfrey,

I have no intention of turning this into an ad hominem rant. I was merely stating my priorities, which are not the same as yours. This is an important subject, which I feel strongly about. You are requesting that I be censured for this?

Cheers,

R.

And making a slur against "my" kind of people. I have your number now, Roger. No need to respond further.

G

 

[Roger Hicks]

And making a slur against "my" kind of people. I have your number now, Roger. No need to respond further.

G

Slur? Or legitimate opinion?

Come on, Godfrey, what are you going to do with 'my number'?

No need to respond further. Unless you wish.

EDIT: I've clearly upset you, and I apologize. But you upset me too. That's how it happens...

Cheers,

R.

 

[daveleo]

Sell gear, or sell stocks, to raise money for son's school fees?

Maybe a bit of both.

sigh.....

This is a tough personal decision, and the future outcome could go either way, whatever you decide.
My viewpoint is . . . the camera collection is a personal item of yours. I compare my personal gear to my wife's jewelry. The stocks are shared, financial property, that you may have expected to retire on. ? ?

Sell the stocks and your may have to work a lot longer into your life. Sell the personal items and you may feel proud for doing that but you may also later on feel resentful. Especially if your son does not "set the world on fire" after he graduates and ends up at Walmart 🙄 , and maybe he thinks it's your obligation to him and he does appreciate what you are doing?
I do not feel that parents categorically owe it to their kids to fund 100% of their college degrees.
My solution: . . . send him to a public school (lower costs) and ask him to work part time, go to school part time, and let him borrow some of the expenses, and maybe drag it out 6 years as he is able to earn much of the tuition.

 

[sepiareverb]

Where's the LIKE button?