Have you checked out CU/Ithaca, NY? Ithaca is an interesting town and has a good biking scene though its not very close to any major metro area. My adviser as an undergrad was in your field:
Grad school, life, Massachusetts, hillbillies, the housing market...
- Thread starter BurlyShirley
- Start date
Western Mass is awesome. I could live anywhere on the globe right now, and I still choose to live here. What's not to like? For bikes; The best XC riding on the planet, amazing roads to ride, 4 bmx tracks within 1.5 hours, tons of lift accessed and push up DH, and within 2.5 hours of most of the Road, XC, 'cross and DH races in the northeast.
Quality of life;
I never have to drink a beer that is brewed more than 25 miles from my house (from IPA's to Belgian's, we brew it all, and well), we have more good coffee per capita that just about anywhere. Northampton and Amherst have every type of food imaginable.
The Spooky office is the floor above www.greasecar.com, On our floor we have our 2000 sq ft fab and office space, Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace record label, an Autism Advocacy group, and a Miso Paste company, among other things.
We have the "rock and the roll" in spades. What the valley doesn't have is "real" employment. You need to make the 30 minute drive down to Springfield to work a traditional white collar job, if that's your bag. Yours seems to involve waterways and fish. Nature, now that, we have in spades, everything from serious mariculture operations to hatcheries and fish ladders, you can't go for a road ride without smelling fish emulsions...
Quality of life;
I never have to drink a beer that is brewed more than 25 miles from my house (from IPA's to Belgian's, we brew it all, and well), we have more good coffee per capita that just about anywhere. Northampton and Amherst have every type of food imaginable.
The Spooky office is the floor above www.greasecar.com, On our floor we have our 2000 sq ft fab and office space, Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace record label, an Autism Advocacy group, and a Miso Paste company, among other things.
We have the "rock and the roll" in spades. What the valley doesn't have is "real" employment. You need to make the 30 minute drive down to Springfield to work a traditional white collar job, if that's your bag. Yours seems to involve waterways and fish. Nature, now that, we have in spades, everything from serious mariculture operations to hatcheries and fish ladders, you can't go for a road ride without smelling fish emulsions...
Damn SD, that sounds inviting, doesnt it? Do I have to trade my cove for a spooky if I move there? Haha, Id probably want to. It's good to know there's alot of hatcheries in the area... I may be interning this summer at one, so that's a serious work possibility if I dont start school straight away. very, very good info. guys keep it coming.
Syadisti, I think we've discussed cornell before. :biggrin:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153125&highlight=cornell
Syadisti, I think we've discussed cornell before. :biggrin:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153125&highlight=cornell
I thought you were near Brattleboro ? your up by Burlington ?Remind me not to hire you as a navigator.
Total Est. Time: 3 hours, 21 minutes
Total Est. Distance: 155.22 miles
BS, do not fail to consider UVM in Burlington.
If time was my concern I wouldn't go directly to grad school. I would get a job in my field and go to school at the same time. Spending more time solely in school is going to put you further behind in your career than if you worked in your field and obtained a higher degree. It takes a couple years to get out of entry level crap regardless of your degree level. It will also decrease your earning potential (lost investment opportunities, retirement contribution, etc.). Note: This is entirely industry dependent and career dependent.
Most of the corporate go-getters that I work with are working full-time at a good salary and going to school to get an MBA or masters engineering degree (few do this). Why? If you find a good company they will more than likely have a tuition reimbursement program to entice you to work. A master's engineering degree in my field is only necessary if you are a design engineer or want to eventually be a manager (arguable). Anyone doing "real-world" stuff only needs a BS, as experience is more valuable. It's up to you to determine if another degree is actually worth it or a waste of your time.
This isn't what I'm doing because I value life over the dollar and I don't need a masters degree to earn a living. But, if your goal is to have an upper-middle class family at an early age I would do this. Enjoy.
Most of the corporate go-getters that I work with are working full-time at a good salary and going to school to get an MBA or masters engineering degree (few do this). Why? If you find a good company they will more than likely have a tuition reimbursement program to entice you to work. A master's engineering degree in my field is only necessary if you are a design engineer or want to eventually be a manager (arguable). Anyone doing "real-world" stuff only needs a BS, as experience is more valuable. It's up to you to determine if another degree is actually worth it or a waste of your time.
This isn't what I'm doing because I value life over the dollar and I don't need a masters degree to earn a living. But, if your goal is to have an upper-middle class family at an early age I would do this. Enjoy.
Wow, this is an EXACT answer to a question I asked a while ago on another site.
http://www.bustedspoke.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=38853&highlight=school+grad
I have since decided to work, right after graduation (have had a job lined up at a place I work part-time), then work on getting my MBA part time over the next couple years. At the beginning of this year (senior year, WPI, ME major/design concentration), I was thinking heavily about getting my MS in ME after school, but realized two things over the next 4-5 months: 1) Everything you need to know to land a good engineering job you earn with your BS (told to me by several PEs) and 2) getting my MBA will open up a whole new job opportunity spectrum, and increased salary. After seeing first hand how an engineering manager can ruin the efficiency and overall quality of an engineering department, I've decided I could do better. Having a solid engineering education background, paired with great organization, time management and cooperation skills made me realize engineering management is right up my alley. I do want, however, to remain very hands on and active in the design process if/when I become a manager (which is the exact opposite of my manager).
Well, thanks for the post, but in my field...no grad degree = no good job. I wont be writing people tickets for fishing without a license for a living, I can tell you that.
I believe he lives in New Haven, VT. That's right north of Middlebury and Weybridge, about 30 miles south of Burlington.
Hey, drinking there was plenty fun. ER visits , not so much.U-Mass Memorial hospital is 1/2 mile down the road from my school (WPI).
Plenty of trips there in the past 4 years.
I agree.
(btw stevew; "stunning" =
)BS might feel more comfortable / at home if he'd just ugly up his teeth and lower his expectations for his life.
Depends on what you are doing. My first job out of school is not entry level and my salary is substantially higher than it would be with a bachelor's.
How bout ER visits as a result of drinking?
most of the hippies in burlington are the hipster/scenesters out of college who have decided to go vegetarian and not bathe. don't confuse us uvm students with hippies.
BS, i know that the rubenstein school of environmental sciences has some awesome programs run by people who are truly passionate about what they teach. i just don't know what you want to study so i have no idea if they offer it.
man, if the chance even half presents itself, do it! Even if it doesnt seem quite perfect at first, that's a chance to improve it and make it better once you get there. you'll regret it if you don't, and you'll look back after a month, 6 months, year, etc... and think, "damn, we've been here x amount of time already, seems like only a week........"
go for it BS
go for it BS
Your in a similar boat to me. (Forestry, UTK '03)
I tried real hard to get on w/ the forest service, but was told either join a hot shot crew or work seasonal...there just weren't any jobs unless you had military preference.
Worked for a non-profit enviro for a few years and was miserable, making 19k a year w/ a BS sucked. I set a one year goal of getting on w/ a proper firm or going back to grad school.
Landed a job at a consulting firm (below qualifications, just to get in). Been there a bit over a year, decent pay, good atmosphere. They are sending me to stream rest. courses right now and also offer a compensation package for further ed. So, grad school isn't out of the equation.
Honestly, its a tricky call. Most people I've spoken and work with recommend joining the workforce for a couple of years to feel it out before sinking the time/money into grad school. Thats my feeling too. I know a handful of people still working odd jobs w/ masters in fisheries or forestry.
My plan right now (and this changes): Grad school in the fall or next spring. I too have a house payment, so full time student isn't that appealing, but night classes don't seem too bad. However, I'm looking at a biosystems engineering degree. This, coupled w/ my natural resource degree and experience would open a lot of doors and get me into more interesting projects or more marketable if I choose to relocate.
(sorry this was so long, I got to rambling)
No, nice post d.e.f. ,
I actually, luckily am a veteran, so getting on with these government organizations is a bit easier in my situation, but I still dont see many opportunities to be an actual biologist with just a BS. Sure I could get on as a tech easy, or even as a wildlife/fisheries officer, but screw a bunch of that.
Anyway, in this field, as Im sure you know, grad school usually pays the student, because you're working as a research assistantship, and tuition is waved. I think unless some amazing job just presents itself to me, Im going to be back in school.
Anyway, I spoke with my advisor yesterday, he seems to have me in mind for some projects, so I cant rule out TN Tech at this stage either. Will still be doing some visiting up north, of course.
I actually, luckily am a veteran, so getting on with these government organizations is a bit easier in my situation, but I still dont see many opportunities to be an actual biologist with just a BS. Sure I could get on as a tech easy, or even as a wildlife/fisheries officer, but screw a bunch of that.
Anyway, in this field, as Im sure you know, grad school usually pays the student, because you're working as a research assistantship, and tuition is waved. I think unless some amazing job just presents itself to me, Im going to be back in school.
Anyway, I spoke with my advisor yesterday, he seems to have me in mind for some projects, so I cant rule out TN Tech at this stage either. Will still be doing some visiting up north, of course.
I dont really know anything about Marine fish or ecosystems man. It's a whole different ballgame and courseload. I know a bit about salmon and other fish that spawn in freshwater or estuaries, but not anything about the open ocean. Appreciate the thought though.
Well that was quite the slap in the face. Fine!
The Champlain watershed would seem to me to be a cool place to be for you. The fishing and hunting are fantastic. You can get easier access to it from the NY side but the VT side is worth the effort. Not sure what programs UVM offers. But as far as quality of life and affordability I would see what UVM offers. For the most part Massachusetts is an urban/suburban quagmire and not worth the effort/expense unless you have family close by IMO. Western Mass is cool... But so little of it is accessible without some serious coin....
You think? We bought a 1200 sq ft cottage for $~85000 back in '03. Western MA is incredibly diverse in terms of economics. Good housing is available far, far cheaper than in Metro Boston. If you are willing to live in the woods you can nearly live for free.
Do you have enough land to hunt on? How far do you have to drive to find good fishing? Do you have to walk for miles to find any solitude? Were all the parking spots gone at the 4 acres of the 2 state parks that allow hunting? Even Western Mass is pretty populated with limited resources for a lot of users. I am sure it hasn't got any better since I lived there 20 years ago...