What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[Gucci]

You perked my ears up. I know of Haven in Canada. I check them out online offer for deals.
Edit: and Roden Gray also in Canada.

https://www.simons.ca/en

They do sell designer stuff but I actually love their in-house products. Great balance of quality and price.

Bookmarked! They have a US site and they sell Undercover. I’ll add that bookmark to the huge list of other stores I window shop at.

[Gucci]

I remember in High School there was a certain snobbery to career pathways. The SMART kids go to university. College, and especially apprenticeships, are for the dumbasses. It's funny because the last 2 are the ones that will give you a much higher chance at a job lol. My university degree was useless, but my 2 year college degree got me a job before graduating.

I’m in my early 30s and if I could do it all again, I would have gone right into a trade school after high school for either plumbing, electrical, HVAV, or even the guys who lay down wiring like CAT 5 cables in multistory commercial buildings. They are making so much money by the time their my age, it’s laughable.

There ya go REPO. That’s your in. Trade school. Chop chop.

[marurun]

the reality is that if you come here without either a shit ton of money or a high paying job lined up, you’ll be almost guaranteed to fall into the former quite quickly.

One of my brothers-in-law used to live in New York but he was only really able to do so because his partner was one of 3 managers of Rockefeller Center. When they split he ultimately left and went back to Seattle. Now he can't afford Seattle because their theater and art scene is on the decline but is more committed to his voice coaching (he's well-regarded, certainly), so he's on the cusp of moving back to NYC, this time with job and roommate secured (fingers crossed). One of my sisters-in-law and her husband and kids live in NYC as well, but mostly because the husband is a financial manager with a big portfolio and he can afford to pad them while they all work in education part-time.

[marurun]

I’m in my early 30s and if I could do it all again, I would have gone right into a trade school after high school for either plumbing, electrical, HVAV, or even the guys who lay down wiring like CAT 5 cables in multistory commercial buildings. They are making so much money by the time their my age, it’s laughable.

The problem there, of course, is you have to be business and tax savvy since you're probably going to end up working for yourself. So if you have the hands-on skills but poor management skills (time management, money management, etc...) it won't matter. If you work for someone else you definitely won't get what you're worth. And then there's the effect of age on the ability to perform some of the tasks, so saving up for retirement early is a big deal. So you can't JUST do trade school and be fine, technically speaking.

Also, I'm not sure I'd ever give up my college education. For some people the love of learning is enough (even though it's clearly a privilege).

[PretentiousHipster]

I remember in High School there was a certain snobbery to career pathways. The SMART kids go to university. College, and especially apprenticeships, are for the dumbasses. It's funny because the last 2 are the ones that will give you a much higher chance at a job lol. My university degree was useless, but my 2 year college degree got me a job before graduating.

I’m in my early 30s and if I could do it all again, I would have gone right into a trade school after high school for either plumbing, electrical, HVAV, or even the guys who lay down wiring like CAT 5 cables in multistory commercial buildings. They are making so much money by the time their my age, it’s laughable.

There ya go REPO. That’s your in. Trade school. Chop chop.

Yea, it's a shame because you have to choose your career at like 17-18 and you have no sense of who you are at that point. Hence why I went to college after to do accounting. I did feel better there, but the fact that I couldn't look at the big picture, couldn't handle the illegal stuff, and being placed on disability had to place me elsewhere. My current dishwashing job can only do so much, and I feel like it's time to move on. I mean, I'm double the age of the other part-time dishwashers there.

The problem there, of course, is you have to be business and tax savvy since you're probably going to end up working for yourself. So if you have the hands-on skills but poor management skills (time management, money management, etc...) it won't matter. If you work for someone else you definitely won't get what you're worth. And then there's the effect of age on the ability to perform some of the tasks, so saving up for retirement early is a big deal. So you can't JUST do trade school and be fine, technically speaking.

Also, I'm not sure I'd ever give up my college education. For some people the love of learning is enough (even though it's clearly a privilege).

As an accountant I dealt with that a lot. They tend to be contractors rather than employees, and technically have to be "their own business". Sometimes making themselves into corporations rather than self-employed to save some money. The problem is that they tend to unaware of stuff like tax rates. They take those for granted because as an employee it's automatically deductible, and then they really pay for it come tax season.

[MrPopo]

And some people went to university, got a STEM degree that was desirable, and got the best of all worlds.

[PretentiousHipster]

And some people went to university, got a STEM degree that was desirable, and got the best of all worlds.

The problem is that it seems to be the TE that is the more desirable ones. It's only personal as opposed to more objective, but I was a math major, and I don't think any of my classmates got jobs related to that field. Going back, I probably would have taken the STEM-adjacent Geomatics program.

[Gucci]

I’m in my early 30s and if I could do it all again, I would have gone right into a trade school after high school for either plumbing, electrical, HVAV, or even the guys who lay down wiring like CAT 5 cables in multistory commercial buildings. They are making so much money by the time their my age, it’s laughable.

The problem there, of course, is you have to be business and tax savvy since you're probably going to end up working for yourself. So if you have the hands-on skills but poor management skills (time management, money management, etc...) it won't matter. If you work for someone else you definitely won't get what you're worth. And then there's the effect of age on the ability to perform some of the tasks, so saving up for retirement early is a big deal. So you can't JUST do trade school and be fine, technically speaking.

Also, I'm not sure I'd ever give up my college education. For some people the love of learning is enough (even though it's clearly a privilege).

You and PretentiousHipster are correct about the need to be business and tax savvy but I have a couple of rebuttals (more like additional helpful information). I work for a bank as a commercial credit underwriter and I see decent amount of businesses that fall into the those lines of work. Various sizes too. As long as you have the right resources (good accountant and good attorney -- make sure you're set up as an LLC, etc.) you can very well be a moderately successful business in those trades. Definitely doable. But even if that isn't the best path, New York is heavy on unionization and we have a shit ton of unions here for all sorts of trades so you can work for a larger company, or even a property management company that manages large buildings, and you can still live comfortably.

And some people went to university, got a STEM degree that was desirable, and got the best of all worlds.

ANother one of those things that I wish I knew about in high school that I should have gotten into.

[Ack]

Popo is an engineer, don't worry about him. He makes Popo money.

In the meantime, happy to say I have finished several edit passes on my first screenplay and have submitted it to several film festivals. I was also just informed that a short film I ADed in February is now through the edit process and is being entered on the festival circuit. I'm talking with the Director/Producer about where he's submitting to be sure we get a solid mix. We have another two being edited, and I'm on hold to AD our next short in September.

Between getting a short story published and dipping my toe in the festival circuit, I've had an interesting 2021 so far.

[Markies]

I remember in High School there was a certain snobbery to career pathways. The SMART kids go to university. College, and especially apprenticeships, are for the dumbasses. It's funny because the last 2 are the ones that will give you a much higher chance at a job lol. My university degree was useless, but my 2 year college degree got me a job before graduating.

I’m in my early 30s and if I could do it all again, I would have gone right into a trade school after high school for either plumbing, electrical, HVAV, or even the guys who lay down wiring like CAT 5 cables in multistory commercial buildings. They are making so much money by the time their my age, it’s laughable.

There ya go REPO. That’s your in. Trade school. Chop chop.

As someone who is best friend's with a Plumber since we were in diapers. He has worked that career all of his life because college was not an option for him as he barely graduated High School.

I can say that the Trade School life is not an easy life.

You will destroy your body much quicker than other jobs. So many of them have to stop working because they are on disability. You work long hours and it is back breaking work. Granted, some are more dangerous than others, but it still is difficult work.

A part of me would have loved to have done a trade, but I don't know if I have it in me.