I'm just going to throw this out there, I have not given it SERIOUS thought yet, but I'm thinking about thinking about it. First a short history on my previous education...

I went to college for psychology and got a B.A., decided it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.

Then I went to college again and got a B.A.S. (Bachelor of applied science) in computer networking and telecommunications. I wasn't able to land a job in the field I trained in, and eventually took one below the abilities I was trained for. Now have basically forgotten about half of the extremely technical, use it or lose it knowledge that I absorbed in college; not interested in it ENOUGH really, to be excited about making still making it my "real" career at this point.

Through a friend talking to me I realized I hadn't really seriously considered ever going to school for anything related to RC, and it seems like lately the field is exploding with opportunities, mainly related to drones...

So I post this here as a general inquiry to anyone that is in such a field or going to school for it. Can you point me in the right direction to learn about what programs are out there and if this is a viable thing to try and make a career in if you love it?

Heck if you love R/C, you can certainly make a career out of it! You can design circuit boards for FPV use, make your own line of EPP foamies, or even design the latest antenna or something. You could even start an aerial photography business if you have good skills and equipment, or start your own R/C products store. What are you looking to do in R/C for a career? Chris from Ritewing makes a living off of cutting foam wings!

Don't ask me about anything more though, I just started high school a few days ago LOL, so I don't know about programs and such.



Dan

I don't know really. Just thinking out loud I guess. I always assumed that 99% of the people who make kits and sell other RC stuff don't make a living off of it. I don't think I am gifted enough to make a career out of it... but hey if I build enough kits there is at least a chance someone will want to buy some from me, thereby getting me some of my money back.

My humble non asked for advice to you is though, don't wait till college to start doing what you want to do as a career, start now! The college part isn't even needed if you are self motivated enough. Just read a book once in awhile.

I fully agree with the advice of not waiting until college to figure out what you want to do as a career. The part of college not being needed is a yes and no answer and it all depends on the field you want to go into. In my chosen profession it helps to have a degree because I have seen companies ask for either a degree or 15 years experience and each time they have taken the person with the degree over the person with the experience.

I'm one of the lucky ones in RC, one that likes to build more than fly... and I've made a decent amount building custom planes and quads for people who like to fly more than they build. Along with my web design and programming operations, I probably have the potential to expand that into a full-time career... but hey I'm not through college yet

Originally Posted by Nin3rsAllDay

I fully agree with the advice of not waiting until college to figure out what you want to do as a career. The part of college not being needed is a yes and no answer and it all depends on the field you want to go into. In my chosen profession it helps to have a degree because I have seen companies ask for either a degree or 15 years experience and each time they have taken the person with the degree over the person with the experience.

So far in my experience, my computer networking degree has not in any way replaced experience. Wasn't able to get a job in it, had to settle for tech support and am payed nowhere near what I should be despite the stuff I do still remember from it. It is pretty annoying being over qualified for what I do, but, not qualified enough to do what I went to school for.

Originally Posted by seeingeyegod

So far in my experience, my computer networking degree has not in any way replaced experience. Wasn't able to get a job in it, had to settle for tech support and am payed nowhere near what I should be despite the stuff I do still remember from it. It is pretty annoying being over qualified for what I do, but, not qualified enough to do what I went to school for.

I fully agree and I see it too that a degree doesn't replace experience. I'm currently looking for a higher paying job in accounting and am running into issues because I have plenty of experience but because my degree is in finance and not specifically accounting the hiring managers would rather see someone with an accounting degree. I don't understand it but in my specific field I have seen it more times than not that a resume won't even make it to a hiring manager unless you have a degree.

I am starting to think my degrees make me look worse, cause employers see two college degrees and wonder why I haven't gotten ahead in the world by now, therefor something must be wrong with me.

That can be hard to explain but I think it is more common now with the way the economy is. I've worked with a few people that have MBA's that have actually been moving backwards in their careers and getting demoted. I also know people that have MBA's that don't list them on their resume because it makes them look overqualified for some positions. The job market is rough these days and from where I sit I don't see it getting better anytime soon.

Originally Posted by seeingeyegod

I am starting to think my degrees make me look worse, cause employers see two college degrees and wonder why I haven't gotten ahead in the world by now, therefor something must be wrong with me.

hello man you can make planes and sell them on ebay...thats the easiest way to get money from your hobby

...btw ..hobbyking are hiring

Originally Posted by omdano

hello man you can make planes and sell them on ebay...thats the easiest way to get money from your hobby

...btw ..hobbyking are hiring

Um.. yeah what do you make an hour doing that? Less than min wage when you include material costs. It would be a fun hobby but there is no way I could do that and make enough money to live. The only people that do are masters at it or can already support themselves without a day job by the time they switch to full time build or kit designer for hire.