What to do for college...

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by Jake Mundok

I'm not sure if people can still see this but after a little over a year since I posted this thread, I've just submitted my deposit for SUNY Maritime college. I'm majoring in Marine Operations and getting a USCG 3rd mate unlimited tonnage license.

If I'm being completely honest, If I hadn't posted this discussion I may not have every looked into the maritime academies.

I applied to the USMMA but unfortunately got denied because of a medical condition. Maybe it was a blessing not getting in based on what's happening now. Im writing a scholarship essay about how this thread put me in the position I am in now.

Thank you to all the respondents and sharing your wisdom, you've definitely had a big impact on me and my future in sailing.

Jake!

I have wondered how you are, how you have progressed. Thank you so much for getting back to us.

i am so happy that you have made this commitment to your future, to what you want it to look like. good job!

back in the day, when i went to school, i did not even know what a naval architect was (hindsight has named this profession my missed calling). there was no internet, no one to talk to, no way to imagine the road from point A to point B. the future was a fuzzy place in which any effort felt like a shot in the dark. and like me, so many from my generation missed the boat... when i see how you gathered so much good info here and were( and are still) able to gain such an overview filled with options and feedback, i am amazed at how the times has changed!


and i have wondered about you since you posted: isn't is curious how virtual threads can remain between real-life strangers, without much personal contact or shared experiences in the sensory world? It is interesting. i have made a few friends here, just checked in on one last night (Zee in mexico - what a pirate! --- she is doing fine, everyone).

Yes, this forum is special in that, at times (and mostly, i'd say), it offers a very close refection of some of those most cherished qualities shared by so many sailors and people of the sea... a great place to be, especially in lockdown.

please keep us posted Jake. it is wonderful hearing from you. perhaps you could post your essay one day? i would be curious. and do not hesitate to return with questions.


kindly yours,



wolfgal

[RSH]

Originally Posted by Jake Mundok

I'm not sure if people can still see this but after a little over a year since I posted this thread, I've just submitted my deposit for SUNY Maritime college. I'm majoring in Marine Operations and getting a USCG 3rd mate unlimited tonnage license.

If I'm being completely honest, If I hadn't posted this discussion I may not have every looked into the maritime academies.

I applied to the USMMA but unfortunately got denied because of a medical condition. Maybe it was a blessing not getting in based on what's happening now. Im writing a scholarship essay about how this thread put me in the position I am in now.

Thank you to all the respondents and sharing your wisdom, you've definitely had a big impact on me and my future in sailing.

Congratulations! That's fantastic! Have fun and study hard!

[GeneM]

Jake, It's nice to hear you settled on NY. I graduated there M&O in '76, worked Gulf boats, Mobil Oil, Texad A&M, then Maritime Administration. The best jobs today seem to be with the offshore work boats. Classmates are lifetime friends.

Gene

[MV Wanderlust]

Jake,

That's terrific news! Congratulations on being accepted and on a fine career choice. You'll work hard but you can move up and be rewarded with a great career. Thanks for following up and keep us posted on your progress, mariner.

John

[Wood]

Originally Posted by Jake Mundok

I'm not sure if people can still see this but after a little over a year since I posted this thread, I've just submitted my deposit for SUNY Maritime college. I'm majoring in Marine Operations and getting a USCG 3rd mate unlimited tonnage license. <snip>

Congratulations! Enjoy your studies. So few young folks have any idea what career path they want to take.


My son was accepted to the Coast Guard Academy class of 2024. He is off the swab summer end of June.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

...
back in the day, when i went to school, i did not even know what a naval architect was (hindsight has named this profession my missed calling). there was no internet, no one to talk to, no way to imagine the road from point A to point B.....

Very nice that the OP reported back with his decisions. Very cool.
When I was in middle school I wanted to be an architect and in high school took three years of drafting which has been one of the most important skills I learned in high school. Do they even teach drafting anymore...

In high school I took a programming class and noticed that design is design. It did not mater to me if it was designing with bits and bytes or concrete, brick, and wood so my path in college was set before I entered the university.

My university happened to have a naval architecture program. I vividly remember the time I was in the book store and saw one of the NA text books. I opened it and read quite a few pages. A light was kindled but there sure was a lot of math about buoyancy, righting movement, righting arms, etc. Kinda made my head hurt. Put the book down and went to find the books I needed for my classes...

Decades later, more decades than I care to count or think about, I was interested in that buoyancy, righting movement stuff, and lo and behold, one of the books I bought to read up on the subject was the exact same text book I saw when I was in school! The "used" book I bought had never been used. There is some chance it was the book I opened and put back on the stack.

Kinda odd how some things circle back around. Even thought about taking NA classes just because. Can't imagine how one makes a living at that profession but it sure does attract my attention...

Later,
Dan

[Jake Mundok]

It really is crazy how making one small step to reach out can make a world of a difference in one's life. It is crazy to see that one post I'd hope to get maybe 3 responses from, turned into a resource that students in the future could turn to if they were in the same spot I was a year and a half ago. Seeing the opinions of the community that I look up to and want to be a part of in the coming years is something truly special.

The prompt for the essay was "write an essay about the unique ways you "Explore, Experience, Excel?" (the school motto). The full essay is below...

The sound of "Explore, Experience and Excel" brings me back to that very first day in 6th grade where we all sat in the gym and listened to Dr. Oliphant tell us about the expectations, mission statement and how we were fortunate to be at the school. That motto has definitely stuck with me though-out the last 7 years. We hear it when we sing the alma mater at soccer games and we see it when we pick up our agendas. The school continually gave us opportunities to live by that motto in school but it was up to us, the students, to apply it in everyday life.

I believe that one must think of this motto as a guide, where each word is connected to the next. What I mean by this is that in order to excel, one must first have an experience that was a result of exploring. The first way I can tie this motto into my life was by discovering the route I wanted to choose going into my higher education pathway.

As a sophomore, all students were required to take college prep as an elective alongside drivers education. Thinking back to that class which I took in the fall that year, I had always put undecided for my major and no schools stuck out to me, a situation that many at that age fall into to. As the year went on, the early stages of my college search were still stalled. My sixteenth birthday came in March, I asked if I could get a dinghy sailboat. I hadn't sailed much to that point, only one week a summer in a sailing camp before my teenage years. After hours of exploring the types of boats and the requirements I had, we settled on a 14 foot Catalina sailboat. After sailing all summer, my heart wanted me to be on the water for the rest of my life. The experience of tranquil summer evenings with the sun setting on the horizon with the sound of the waves lapping off the boat was a feeling I wanted to pursue for a life time.

As the fall rolled around, I used my online class to visit sites about sailboat, broker pages and a place called cruiser forums. I signed up and made a post that said something like "what is the best path to take after high school to be able to sail full-time. Within a week I had over 100 responses from sailors around the world. A few had mentioned maritime academies. After a quick search I found out about the six state maritime academies and what they were about. Fourteen months later, I sent in my deposit to attend SUNY Maritime College. The final step in the motto is to excel, and that is exactly what I plan not only to do in school but also in my maritime career.

[frankstar]

Go to college. Hire some services to complete your assignments and you will have more time for sailing. But do not forget to visit the university sometimes and really learn something. You need knowledge and skills to get a job in future or to work remotely. More skills and knowledge - more money you will earn.

[JanetGroene]

Assess your career goals, skills, aptitudes and decide if a degree is essential. Paid captain? Guide? Sailing instructor? The one advantage of a degree is that you can always fall back on a teaching job including online tutoring you can do anywhere you drop anchor. Everyone is going to college online these days, so it's not the world it used to be. Good luck!

[slug]

Originally Posted by Jake Mundok

Hi all,

I'm currently 16 years old and living in Lewes, Delaware on the Delaware Bay. I've been sailing since age 10 and got a 1992 Catalina 14.2 for my birthday last year. I know I want to sail as soon as possible and live aboard. I want to set myself up to sail the world one day and came to the forum for advice on how to do it. Just looking for ideas on what to get a degree in a where to tour this spring or even what any liveaboards did for college. Really excited to get out of high school and experience the world!

Thanks,
Jake Mundok

Any engineering degree is a winner

Geological engineer

https://educatingengineers.com/careers/geological-engineer

Shortage of them , a few years ago the US , Texas was educating them for free

[Ndavies]

Do the European thing.......take a year or two off between high school and college and travel. Get out of the USA - see what the rest of the world does. There's nothing wrong with going to college or with learning a trade. The best advice I can give to you is to experience other cultures and places; learn from other people - you can learn something from almost anyone (even if its how not to be an *******). Chances are you will stumble on something during that time off that will really inspire you and motivate you. Don't go to college or learn a trade so you can get a job; instead find something you are passionate about and that fits with your dreams - that way, it won't feel like "work".

[clara_jenkins]

Originally Posted by Jake Mundok

I'm not sure if people can still see this but after a little over a year since I posted this thread, I've just submitted my deposit for SUNY Maritime college. I'm majoring in Marine Operations and getting a USCG 3rd mate unlimited tonnage license.

If I'm being completely honest, If I hadn't posted this discussion I may not have every looked into the maritime academies.

I applied to the USMMA but unfortunately got denied because of a medical condition. Maybe it was a blessing not getting in based on what's happening now. Im writing a scholarship essay about how this thread put me in the position I am in now.

Thank you to all the respondents and sharing your wisdom, you've definitely had a big impact on me and my future in sailing.

You are a great fellow and have achieved the success you deserve with your efforts. I am very inspired by people who know what they want, for example, how you purposefully searched for a college that suits your lifestyle, one that meets your needs and desires.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by slug

Any engineering degree is a winner

Geological engineer

https://educatingengineers.com/caree...gical-engineer

Shortage of them , a few years ago the US , Texas was educating them for free

Maybe but if he is the artist type being an engineer of any type would totally suck and be his worst nightmare which is why sometimes it's wrong to have young folks choose a career before they know who they are

[Cloroxbottle]

I'm going to add one last little bit of advice to young people who might be readIng this.

Fundamentally, getting a sailboat and setting off to explore the world is an expression of the human desire for freedom. Different people express this in different ways. Some may get an airplane or RV instead of a sailboat. Others might want to move to a cabin in Alaska and live off the land. People who aspire to such lives are typically resistant, or at least unhappy with the round holes in which society tries to pound them.

When you take advice from us old folks, realize that the English speaking world you face will be quite different than the one most of us lived our lives in. Specifically, it will be much less free - and much more expensive.

College when we went to school may have been a 5,000-10,000 a year endeavor in learning how to think critically and appreciate the world. Today. It has become a 30,000 a year plus exercise in learning how to have approved thoughts. I say this as someone who holds an undergraduate degree from a top 25 university and a doctorate.

The bottom line is that the people in charge of English speaking societies today don't want you to be free. They don't want you to think critically. They want you to obey policy. They want you to be useful.


Just something to think about as you plan your life.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

The bottom line is that the people in charge of English speaking societies today don't want you to be free. They don't want you to think critically. They want you to obey policy. They want you to be useful.

What?

I don't think they really care one way or another whether a person decides to drop out of society and live on a sailboat or a cabin in Alaska as there are plenty others that see the folly in that and will stay in society.

Things get real slow real fast for those living in a cabin or on a sailboat especially as a young person.

Certain types though would enjoy that, but most especially younger people want to give the real world a try first rather than running away from it.

As far as college, I wouldn't go deep in debt for a college degree these days. (mine was paid for with GI Bill in the 80's) but would maybe learn computer cyber/computer tech skills on my own or at a tech college or go back in the military as they have tons of tech schools available for free. They just take your freedom for a few years BUT most times you work about 1/2 to 3/4 the amount of hours civilians do so you many times have lots of extra time to persue you hobbies.

I did a little over 5 years military which paid for electronics and computer training and the BA Degree which was liberal arts (from a division 1 university) so it worked out but the timing has to be right. Had it been just after 9/11 for example, I would have most probably been at a check point or at some God forsaken place in Iraq or Afghanistan.