I'm back after a short slumber.

[ray1970]

Update. I definitely think you should not move to Colorado.

This is based solely off the fact that you are from California.

We have a few too many here already.














(Mostly kidding. Besides, I?m a transplant myself. Not California though.)

[kidicarus13]

Take anything gun related off of your list of considerations completely, because it doesn't matter even a little bit. Every single aspect of what you are dealing with is more important than anything gun related. Cut the guns out of the conversation and reevaluate.

[Great-Kazoo]

I get opportunities are limited without a degree. I want a degree so badly. I came from a white collar family and there is so much pressure from my family NOT to fail. My wife is a little more easygoing, but wants a final result somehow. A degree seems about as far away as a "mystical unicorn" at this point. Compounded with the fact that as a male in America, I have a desperate desire to adequately provide for my small family. It doesn't have to be 6 figures, but enough to pay the bills, have a roof over our head and have a little excess (lower to upper middle class). Please don't get me wrong. I go to class, I do the homework, I go to office hours, and talk to my Professors. But when it comes down to brass tax I'm struggling to keep up with my peers and get the grades I need to graduate. Where it's going to so wrong, I wish I knew.

All in all? I'm just a 32 year old guy that loves the 2nd amendment, firearms, shooting, and anything about that subject in between. My wife calls me the "nerdy guy that doesn't fit in a box". I like watching Star Trek, cosplay, Dungeons and Dragons...and firearms (weird mix, I get it but those are my interests). Hence the avatar of Boris from Goldeneye.

Just maybe where I am lacking is some stability and I'm just trying to find my way in life. Emphasis on the "trying to find my way" part.

You want to make money and have a chance to advance? Learn a trade. There's few people actually wanting to get their hands dirty as well as do physical work.
Even down here they have a hard time finding people who have a clue when it comes to say basic plumbing, or driving a truck.
Hell even the fast food places pay $12.50-$15 to start.

[FoxtArt]

Yeah.. if in-house doesn't work, maybe consider the online (regionally accredited) route. Tuition is between $3,000 - $4,000 a semester for WGU *but* to really make it cheap you can pack as much as you want into a single semester - which can be motivating to some people. There is only objective assessments (multiple choice) to finish a class required, and the occasional performance, e.g. paper to finish select classes. If you already know the material you could skip right to the objective assessment.

ETA/side note:
A reality on firearms for 90% of people are they matter far, far less as you get older, btw. I wouldn't base life decisions around it. With a few exceptions, most guys who shot every weekend in their 20's once they become deeply embedded career parents (and older) might shoot once a year, at best. Just a part of natural course of life that rearranges priorities.

[ray1970]

ETA/side note:
A reality on firearms for 90% of people are they matter far, far less as you get older, btw. I wouldn't base life decisions around it. With a few exceptions, most guys who shot every weekend in their 20's once they become deeply embedded career parents (and older) might shoot once a year, at best. Just a part of natural course of life that rearranges priorities.

Yep. In my 20's I used to shoot a lot. Usually two days during the week after work were range trips and just about every weekend was some sort of competition. The weekends without competitions were usually more practice time or maybe a gunshow.

Once the kids came my free time drastically reduced and I started shooting less and less. I actually took a hiatus from shooting altogether for about a ten year stretch. It wasn't until the kids were pretty much out of high school that I started enjoying my hobbies again.

Nowadays, having multiple hobbies to occupy my time, I probably make it out to the range maybe three or four times.

I've never made any serious life decisions based off of anything related to my hobbies.

[ChickNorris]

..

[Martinjmpr]

WRT the college degree, the value of the degree is that with so many people already having 4 year degrees, having that sheepskin can often mean the difference between a resume that gets looked at and one that goes into the trash.

A harsh reality, but a reality nevertheless.

[spqrzilla]

There are a lot of college degrees that don't return their cost. It's possible to make good money without a degree. It takes an entrepreneurial mindset.

[FoxtArt]

There are a lot of college degrees that don't return their cost. It's possible to make good money without a degree. It takes an entrepreneurial mindset.

Possible, yes. But fraught with risk.

STEM degree, IT degree, or certain medical = guaranteed ROI as long as you stay in the field.
Entrepreneur: For every 1 minor success, there's 19 failures, and most of them are not from mindset. For every 1 amazing success, there's probably 1000 failures. Regulatory and tax burden alone +being out-competed by economies of scale will ultimately destroy 9 out of 10 businesses, even when investing 80 hours a week of effort - it's a matter of time, in most cases. [for the record, I lump permanently struggling businesses into the "fail" category, since barely-scraping-by at less than minimum wage for 15 years is not a success]

[Irving]

There are a lot of college degrees that don't return their cost. It's possible to make good money without a degree. It takes an entrepreneurial mindset.

Yep, I can name three jobs right now where you can make $100k+ in the first year with no degree and little to moderate training. There are no benefits, no raises, and no movement beyond striking out on your own to start a business. Cut that down to $50-$60 k and you wouldn't have to travel and could still do some sort of education on the side at the same time.