Recruiting Forum Football Talk IV

[Orange_Crush]

I've just got to share how proud I am of my son. We moved to a new county that has a much better public school system last year. He was in 6th grade which was still elementary school in this county. The entire year I felt like he was slacking off and his grades weren't what they could be and I kept getting on to him and really being hard on him. However, we got some end of the year testing that he did very well in and we also recently got his FSA scores (FL's version of placement testing)and they were very good. So, I was proud but still a little frustrated that he didn't work harder during the school year since I know what he can do.

Yesterday, I was able to take some time off work to take him to orientation for seventh grade at the junior high. Every class that he is in is an advanced class which really surprised me. For his elective class, he chose business typing. When he goes into 8th grade that same teacher will teach an Information Technology course. As part of that course, the students go around school and work on the teacher's computers even going as far as taking them apart and learning how to work on them. If he then follows that path in 9th, 10th and 11th grade he will receive an industry level certification in IT. I can't remember the name of the certification but the teacher mentioned that his mother-in-law is hiring right now for people with that certification and the career starts at $110,000 a year. So he can go to his senior year, graduate and immediately start a career making six figures or he can continue with school and will have 24 credits towards college.



Kudos to our county for instituting such an amazing program and I couldn't be more proud of my son and I love seeing how excited he is for the future. Just one of those great times to be a dad and he got to see/hear me eat some crow and really let him know just how proud I am of him. That said, he better work his butt off going forward. And I'll be there every step of the way to help him and make sure he does.

TL, DR. Cool story bruh.

Comptia A+? Network+?

Certifications are great, but I wouldn't bank on landing $100,000+/yr job right out of high school with no experience and some certs.

 

[SmokinBob]

This one got me in the feels. I watched and listened to this game the exact same way. Tv on, sound down, John Ward blaring on the radio.

I still feel it like it was yesterday, except I was 10 and my parents were the same age I am now. My dad and I were banished to the bonus room in the first half by my mom who didn’t want to hear us yelling at the tv. The rest is history.

Life passes you fast. 31 years later. I’m a dad now and we’re all older. But somehow, this replay rewinds time like it was just last season and I’m a kid back at home with my parents. Funny how a football game can do that.

 

[SpringBokVol]

Comptia A+? Network+?

Certifications are great, but I wouldn't bank on landing $100,000+/yr job right out of high school with no experience and some certs.

Took me 10 years to get over 100k. And then 6 years to double it. Trending in the right direction!

But yes it takes a while and experience and a knowledge base.

 

[gainesvol82]

View attachment 478220

Long John Silvers chicken planks and hush puppies are fire. Don't see a lot of them around Jacksonville

 

[gainesvol82]

Ok one more

View attachment 478221

Perfect deez nuts joke my son showed me on a YouTube named Tim The Tatman's channel.

Alexa says: I bet your favorite soccer goalie is Tim Howard. Tim Howardeez nuts gonna fit in your m**th?

 

[BarnesIsCaliparisDaddy]

it’s sad to know I’ll never be able to retire lol

 

[gainesvol82]

Comptia A+? Network+?

Certifications are great, but I wouldn't bank on landing $100,000+/yr job right out of high school with no experience and some certs.

Comptia sounds familiar but that might be from my days working for Global Knowledge where I sold IT and business training courses. I want to say that the certification started with an S but honestly can't remember. I plan to pick the teacher's brain about it more once school officially starts.

I also agree with you that banking on a six-figure job in IT straight out of high school is not particularly realistic but I do know that having an industry level certification can get your foot in the door at a lot of companies who need employees with certain certifications and I plan to encourage my son continue his education anyway. Whether he decides to go to a university or decides to go a path where he gains more technical training and certifications to make him as marketable and well-rounded as possible so that he has a lot to offer to a prospective employer. Regardless, it is a very cool program to start kids on in 7th grade and really gets them engaged throughout the rest of high school, especially students who are interested in computers and information technology and normally would not be particularly motivated in school.

 

[Big Orange#1]

Comptia A+? Network+?

Certifications are great, but I wouldn't bank on landing $100,000+/yr job right out of high school with no experience and some certs.

Yeah, Certs are great, but you’re gonna need to pair them with a four year degree to sniff anything near six figures. Sounds like some fluff from the school/teacher. But already having security+ on your resume after you graduate with a IT/ software degree would be extremely beneficial to your job prospects as an entry level. Me and everyone in my office got our comptia certs after being hired.

 

[sutro]

I get what you're saying but I think some of the younger kids and recruits have a different view of how much we repeat Rocky Top. I love that it means good things have happened but you have to admit that we wear it the hell out, especially in a Josh Heupel offense. I wonder if the band wishes that we would switch it up more? Any former POTS band members or parents of members have thoughts on this?

I was in the band, and one year I counted the number of times we played it from the beginning of band camp until the bowl game. It's been thirty years, so the exact figure is cloudy, but I'm pretty sure it was either 614 or 624. So yes, quite stale by the end of the year. Nothing better, though, when the crowd is amped up and you can hear the lyrics start to drown out the sound of the band around you. It was also fun and borderline useful when we used to be behind the opposing bench - not only did you just get scored on and have to deal with crowd noise, but now you have a full brass section 20 yards away that has angled slightly to the right to aim directly at the bench. Good luck preparing the offense to come back on the field. Lots of hands over ears on the sideline and players moving toward the North end zone to get away. Fun times.

 

[gainesvol82]

I'm really trying to push my son towards a Certified Ethical Hacker cert. He is very interested in hacking and loves the idea of having a job protecting companies or the military from hackers. That certification also pays extremely well. He's like every kid and would love to develop video games but he is not as interested in coding and working for a company or the military as a contractor is much more realistic than developing video games. Also, much better job security with an established company or the military than a software development company unless he hits the lottery and gets on with one of the big boys in the industry.

 

[Devo182]

Comptia A+? Network+?

Certifications are great, but I wouldn't bank on landing $100,000+/yr job right out of high school with no experience and some certs.

I'll never forget when Farragut offered Cisco certified classes and HS grads were being offered 70k/yr right out of HS (in early 2000s dollars).

 

[gainesvol82]

I'll never forget when Farragut offered Cisco certified classes and HS grads were being offered 70k/yr right out of HS (in early 2000s dollars).

That was extremely forward thinking for that time. I'm impressed with what our school district is doing 20 years later. I really feel that the key to America retaining its place in the world as the greatest country in the world lies in education and reforming how we teach children from a young age. I'm feeling very good about things after seeing this opportunity that is being given to students where I live and I hope that these type of opportunities are being offered all over the country. Manufacturing is dead in this country but computers aren't going anywhere so focusing learning in that area is a great idea, IMO.

 

[engineerVOL]

#Unwrapped

 

[Devo182]

I'm really trying to push my son towards a Certified Ethical Hacker cert. He is very interested in hacking and loves the idea of having a job protecting companies or the military from hackers. That certification also pays extremely well. He's like every kid and would love to develop video games but he is not as interested in coding and working for a company or the military as a contractor is much more realistic than developing video games. Also, much better job security with an established company or the military than a software development company unless he hits the lottery and gets on with one of the big boys in the industry.

That would be extremely useful. Major future market. Network security experts will be as important as entire plattoons as far as the military is concerned. And I'm honestly afraid Russia may be ahead of us, China possibly as well but not 100%.

I programmed video games in HS (made a South Park game ) and then I ran into my first uni professor that told us all that all the jobs were going to India and the remaining jobs were boring...meanwhile he completely missed forecasting the web and mobile explosion...plus most of those jobs did end up staying stateside anyway...lesson is don't let anyone deter him ffs.

I'm just now getting back into programming because knowing VBA (Visual Basic programming in Excel) is such a vital part of being a top financial analyst...but I'm also getting into Apple app programming (front-end)...love doing it all again. Takes me back.

 

[Big Orange#1]

That was extremely forward thinking for that time. I'm impressed with what our school district is doing 20 years later. I really feel that the key to America retaining its place in the world as the greatest country in the world lies in education and reforming how we teach children from a young age. I'm feeling very good about things after seeing this opportunity that is being given to students where I live and I hope that these type of opportunities are being offered all over the country. Manufacturing is dead in this country but computers aren't going anywhere so focusing learning in that area is a great idea, IMO.

Manufacturing coming back somewhat with semiconductor factories coming back onshore with chips act and global uncertainty with Russia and China. Companies might be rethinking oh wait the security of manufacturing in the most powerful and geopolitically secure nation in history might be worth more in the long run than a cheap buck with cheap foreign labor. imagine that.
US Factory Boom Heats Up as CEOs Yank Production Out of China

 

[Orange_Crush]

Comptia sounds familiar but that might be from my days working for Global Knowledge where I sold IT and business training courses. I want to say that the certification started with an S but honestly can't remember. I plan to pick the teacher's brain about it more once school officially starts.

I also agree with you that banking on a six-figure job in IT straight out of high school is not particularly realistic but I do know that having an industry level certification can get your foot in the door at a lot of companies who need employees with certain certifications and I plan to encourage my son continue his education anyway. Whether he decides to go to a university or decides to go a path where he gains more technical training and certifications to make him as marketable and well-rounded as possible so that he has a lot to offer to a prospective employer. Regardless, it is a very cool program to start kids on in 7th grade and really gets them engaged throughout the rest of high school, especially students who are interested in computers and information technology and normally would not be particularly motivated in school.

Send him to Western Governors University and see what he thinks. Much of their degree program is study for and creidts for industry certs.

 

[Devo182]

That was extremely forward thinking for that time. I'm impressed with what our school district is doing 20 years later. I really feel that the key to America retaining its place in the world as the greatest country in the world lies in education and reforming how we teach children from a young age. I'm feeling very good about things after seeing this opportunity that is being given to students where I live and I hope that these type of opportunities are being offered all over the country. Manufacturing is dead in this country but computers aren't going anywhere so focusing learning in that area is a great idea, IMO.

Manufacturing may not be dead, but it is going to be more high-tech (and high-value) in the U.S. and whatever can be automated efficiently, by those with enough CapEx capacity, will be. And the tech folks and engineers will be the ones programming all of those assembly lines.

 

[tnvols72]

Took me 10 years to get over 100k. And then 6 years to double it. Trending in the right direction!

But yes it takes a while and experience and a knowledge base.

It takes time, my wife has a Bachelors in IT and she is just now around 65k with about 5 years civilian experience. She went into the Army and was in for 10 years and got medically retired and went to college and finished her degree. She could make more money but we would have to move from our area for her to do so but she does not want to move. It takes time

 

[Nash_Vol97]

When do we scrimmage? That's the good pudding

Could be next weekend, just a guess. Full pads start tomorrow.

 

[Glitch]

Manufacturing coming back somewhat with semiconductor factories coming back onshore with chips act and global uncertainty with Russia and China. Companies might be rethinking oh wait the security of manufacturing in the most powerful and geopolitically secure nation in history might be worth more in the long run than a cheap buck with cheap foreign labor. imagine that.
US Factory Boom Heats Up as CEOs Yank Production Out of China

We have a portion of our materials produced at a facility in China and we buy from other Chinese suppliers as well. We have been looking into this very thing. How do we shorten our supply chain without adding too much cost. We keep about $2M in inventory in-transit at all times to ensure we don't have gaps. Used to be less but with uncertainty of what the CCP will do we can't afford to be caught with our pants around our ankles.

 

[Devo182]

Manufacturing coming back somewhat with semiconductor factories coming back onshore with chips act and global uncertainty with Russia and China. Companies might be rethinking oh wait the security of manufacturing in the most powerful and geopolitically secure nation in history might be worth more in the long run than a cheap buck with cheap foreign labor. imagine that.
US Factory Boom Heats Up as CEOs Yank Production Out of China

Yup, the ebb and flow of markets. Chines wages are also adding up now. They aren't the same as sweatshop labor costs from the 80s. Plenty of those jobs have shifted to worse off countries...but with fewer relations with companies, less valuable.

The beautiful irony of other economies reaching 2nd world status, at least, is it will mean more jobs coming back home potentially.

 

[TheRain]

Slip-stream landing. Many hours spent practicing this in flight school. The first time you do it alone has an amazing pucker factor.

 

[VolGee4]

it’s sad to know I’ll never be able to retire lol

You aren’t alone…I have 4 kids. But we made that choice and wouldn’t change it.

While I could find things to do in retirement, it’s not for everyone. I am of the belief that humans need something to motivate them or contribute to society on a regular basis to remain healthy, and sometimes that can be lost in retirement. It doesn’t even have to be a job, but it’s not all financial.

 

[OrangenSC]

One of the worst things that many school systems did was to remove vocational programs like auto repair, home economics, carpentry, plumbing, etc. Not everyone wants or needs to go to college. If a kid has an aptitude for auto repair and has no desire to go to college, why should there not be a program that would allow them to gain more knowledge in that area so they leave high school and have industry certifications that would help them find great jobs in the field they enjoy. Just because a person has a college degree doesn't mean that they are smart. Shoot, I have a Bachelor's in Business Admin and an MBA.....so point made.

I agree and I disagree.

College is not for everybody, but the guidance departments in the 2 schools I taught in seemed to think it is; constantly pushing students to college. Some need to look elsewhere, i.e., trade/vocational, military.

On the other hand, after a few years of teaching I came to believe that one of the main problems with schools is that they try to be all things to all people. Too many classes/paths.

As a result, they don't do anything well. Or least not as well as they could. If you try to do too much you spread yourself thin and it all suffers. Specifically, the basics and core courses. Limit your focus to a reasonable number you can do well.

But then, if the basics were taught better at the lower levels maybe this wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Devo182]

it’s sad to know I’ll never be able to retire lol

Sorry to hear that. Have you checked to see what your max social security benefit will be if you wait it out till age 70 (3 years past the full retirement age)? They keep upping the benefits till age 70.

Benefit Calculators | SSA

There are also more extreme routes such as a home equity loic or reverse mortgage (I'm wary of the way many firms construct these, though they're not 100% without benefit in some circumstances). A last resort is selling your property (assuming you have equity/paid-in-full) to help fund monthly expenses on top of social security or any 401k/ira/pension you may have.


Tbh if I could go back to being 22, the one thing I'd change is pouring into my 401k right off the bat. Every HS/college should show students the MASSIVE effect this has on retirement.