I did four years of community college on my own. Completed industrial automation, ammonia refrigeration, HVAC, robotics, MIG, TIG, and ARC welding, both structural and sanitary welding certs, etc. Total of 25 certificates.
I went this route because I tried a semester of college after high school and could not acclimate to the learning environment. That is when I realized that I am a “hands on, blue collar worker.” It was natural for me to create things, visually see things and improve the efficiency through design changes, etc. So I took up industrial maintenance and then after so many years of being beat down by poor management practices, I became determined to get a formal education, become a maintenance manager, and put a stop to that culture by being the guy in charge.
There’s been nothing more fulfilling in my career than being able to build a well oiled crew that supports a culture of sharing knowledge and forging new paths into the future through innovation and continuous improvement mind sets. My current crew is the best crew I have ever had the privilege of working with. I hired everyone of them for a specific reason. Whether it was a skill set or cultural fit, or both. Each one of the twelve hired was a puzzle piece that formed unity and knowledge. And those two combined keeps our department and company running strong!
You appreciate your education much more whether it be formal schooling, vocational, or some other means when you sacrifice something important to you in exchange for knowledge.
It’s a shame what is becoming of our educational system. If you read between the lines of many of these colleges, you will see the dollar signs and a poor learning platform.