General Adulthood, Planning for the Future: Business, College, Budgeting, Investments, etc! $$$ - General

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Anybody have any experience with Independent Study courses at a University? I've never done one before but I've been e-mailing my advisor about it. She's just really slow at getting back to me.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50332376]Anybody have any experience with Independent Study courses at a University? I've never done one before but I've been e-mailing my advisor about it. She's just really slow at getting back to me.[/QUOTE] Yes! I did two semesters of it with my professor at FSU. Great experience, very laid back. What questions do you have?

I was wondering if you're basically responsible for creating your own curriculum? I'm trying to do two courses to substitute the last two upper division art courses I need. I'm not entirely sure what sorts of things people typically do for independent study. I hear a lot of it is writing a paper throughout the semester, too.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50334563]I was wondering if you're basically responsible for creating your own curriculum? I'm trying to do two courses to substitute the last two upper division art courses I need. I'm not entirely sure what sorts of things people typically do for independent study. I hear a lot of it is writing a paper throughout the semester, too.[/QUOTE] First of all, I'll let you know that I was an IT major and had a really good friendship with my professor going into the Independent Study (IS). Basically, what happened with mine is the professor had some pending projects that the college had asked him to look into doing with students, so this was a perfect opportunity to get those rolling. The course "officially" was described as research into different web development languages and databases. In reality, we created a web app thing for matching TA's with professors. For the second semester, we continued the project I mentioned above, but added 2 students. Previously it was just me working solo. A few other side projects and career opportunities were thrown at us as well from a local think-tank place thing. From what I gathered from friends who did the same thing in the computer science major, they also just did projects for a semester. Similar results. So, pretty much you and your professor will work out what to do. I was given options. We met once a week, or on the weekends for lunch, or whatever was convinient for me. My professor was aware that I go hunting a lot and played baseball. (Only supportive of hunting because I beat him in a bet where we went to the gun range and I shot better than he did :v:)

Want to buy stocks just dont know how in Canada do you go online or do you go to a bank.

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So right now I am finishing up an Associates in Arts as part of a Digital Media Arts program at a local college. I got started because near the end of high school art stuff was one of my talents so I thought that it could be something I might be able to build a career on. Im pretty much finished with the degree but I have decided that I would be much more interested in a career in science, and this of course would require me to continue my education. Im thinking that I might be able to get a job of some kind using the skills I have learned so far, and I could make some money to pay for most of if not all of college, since so far everything has been payed for by my family. The minimum for most jobs in the sciences is a bachelors which is more expensive than an associates, and I would prefer to not to put myself in a whole bunch of debt or ask for much money at all from my family. Im pretty much living for free right now so if I did get a job saving would be pretty easy. I dont know, it seems like a plan but I cant really predict how things will work out in the future.

Was offered the job at Best Buy as a computer sales associate. It's just a second job, still have my full time one. However, a big opportunity for career advancement opened up and I applied for it. if I get interviewed and offered that as well, man life will change pretty drastically for me.

Been thinking of the advice I received last time I posted here I still don't really see myself as capable of starting my own business but if I did, this is what I'd do. Please judge my hypothetical future decisions I'm thinking I could start a production company or something. I don't know if that's the right term but basically I'd do video work for random people like making music videos for local bands or training videos for small businesses. I don't have any such work right now to show off so for all anyone cares, I'm nobody, but I am planning to start work on a couple music videos very soon and I am 100% confident that I can make a great product But at the same time, making videos for my own music is very different than starting a business based around creating media for other people I feel like if it were realistic, I could do the hell out of it, but I can't shake the feeling that it's not realistic in the slightest

[QUOTE=inebriaticxp;50342162]Been thinking of the advice I received last time I posted here I still don't really see myself as capable of starting my own business but if I did, this is what I'd do. Please judge my hypothetical future decisions I'm thinking I could start a production company or something. I don't know if that's the right term but basically I'd do video work for random people like making music videos for local bands or training videos for small businesses. I don't have any such work right now to show off so for all anyone cares, I'm nobody, but I am planning to start work on a couple music videos very soon and I am 100% confident that I can make a great product But at the same time, making videos for my own music is very different than starting a business based around creating media for other people I feel like if it were realistic, I could do the hell out of it, but I can't shake the feeling that it's not realistic in the slightest[/QUOTE] First thing's first, you need to identify your potential customers. There are undoubtedly small businesses, local bands, etc out there that are looking for talented videographers to help them put together promotional material, especially for social media. In addition to bands and local small business owners, you could potentially find clientele in local artists, independent professionals (such as real estate agents), and possibly even schools or other public institutions needing to make a social media presence. The problem is, finding clients and establishing your business is not going to be as simple as just deciding you're ready to start doing business. Even after you have done some work and developed a positive professional reputation with your target market, the backbone of your business will not rely simply on how well you produce video content, but in how well you produce leads. Start thinking about how you can network within your target communities. It may be as simple as visiting businesses, talking to local bands after gigs, cold-calling local professionals and asking for a meeting to discuss their content creation needs, etc. Or you may choose to focus your efforts on designing a website and generating leads through search engine optimization, or targeted Facebook advertisements in your area. I'd look into it more thoroughly if I were you. Maybe check out a book or two? On a personal note, as somebody going into real estate, you could secure a very nice niche in high quality architectural photos and video walkthroughs on new listings. It's not exactly music videos like you were talking about, but if you have the equipment and the talent you could carve out a nice income from this kind of venture. Also, dunno if this is at all interesting to you, but if you are into quadcopter drones, I suspect that there is a budding market in aerial photography and videography of events. Weddings, birthdays, public events like festivals, concerts, etc.

Is it worth trying to play the debts vs assets game? Let's say I have $X still of student loans left, and for whatever reason happen upon $1.5X dollars, after tax. Should I just pay off the loan then and there (hooray no more payments!) or do I hold onto the loan and try to invest the money, hoping the growth of the investment is more than the interest on the loan? [editline]18th May 2016[/editline] Also assume $X is significant enough to matter.

I always am of a mind that paying off debt should take priority to investments. Debt accumulates faster than investments pay off, usually.

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;50342657]Is it worth trying to play the debts vs assets game? Let's say I have $X still of student loans left, and for whatever reason happen upon $1.5X dollars, after tax. Should I just pay off the loan then and there (hooray no more payments!) or do I hold onto the loan and try to invest the money, hoping the growth of the investment is more than the interest on the loan? [editline]18th May 2016[/editline] Also assume $X is significant enough to matter.[/QUOTE] In most cases, I would recommend you pay off your debt in order to maximize your monthly cashflow. Less money going towards expenses and bills each month leaves you greater flexibility with the money you are making. This goes double for short term, high interest loans, like credit cards or car payments. The more you funnel to those payments each month, the more will go to the principle, and the less interest you'll ultimately have to pay. Interest can add up quickly! If we're talking about something huge and very long-term, like a house payment or student loans, though? In that case, I'd prolly err more towards building wealth with investments while making minimum payments.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50342508]First thing's first, you need to identify your potential customers. There are undoubtedly small businesses, local bands, etc out there that are looking for talented videographers to help them put together promotional material, especially for social media. In addition to bands and local small business owners, you could potentially find clientele in local artists, independent professionals (such as real estate agents), and possibly even schools or other public institutions needing to make a social media presence. The problem is, finding clients and establishing your business is not going to be as simple as just deciding you're ready to start doing business. Even after you have done some work and developed a positive professional reputation with your target market, the backbone of your business will not rely simply on how well you produce video content, but in how well you produce leads. Start thinking about how you can network within your target communities. It may be as simple as visiting businesses, talking to local bands after gigs, cold-calling local professionals and asking for a meeting to discuss their content creation needs, etc. Or you may choose to focus your efforts on designing a website and generating leads through search engine optimization, or targeted Facebook advertisements in your area. I'd look into it more thoroughly if I were you. Maybe check out a book or two? On a personal note, as somebody going into real estate, you could secure a very nice niche in high quality architectural photos and video walkthroughs on new listings. It's not exactly music videos like you were talking about, but if you have the equipment and the talent you could carve out a nice income from this kind of venture. Also, dunno if this is at all intestine to you, but if you are into quadcopter drones? I suspect a budding market in aerial photography and videography of events. Weddings, birthdays, public events like festivals, concerts, etc.[/QUOTE] Thanks, have any recommendations for literature? Also I've always wanted a quadcopter just for playing around. If I ever did get one I could totally use it as an airborne camera platform

[QUOTE=inebriaticxp;50345639]Thanks, have any recommendations for literature? Also I've always wanted a quadcopter just for playing around. If I ever did get one I could totally use it as an airborne camera platform[/QUOTE] If you're looking for one specifically relating to marketing and lead generation, "[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=tag&tracbook-site-20"]Traction[/URL]" is probably the most in-depth exploration on the various channels of customer growth. It explores the ins and outs of damn near every major channel, including search engine optimization, social media networking, print and broadcast media, viral marketing, and even just good old fashioned door-knocking. Be warned, though: it's painfully dry. Not a fun read, but an informative one. [I]However[/I], you would probably best be served reading books targeted towards salesmen instead. Given your niche, your most effective form of getting your name out there is likely to be personal networking, meaning introducing yourself and your services to potential clients through face-to-face interactions. Remember, while your expertise is video production, your [I]job[/I] is [B]selling[/B] video production services. You can be the best videographer in the world, but it's for nothing if you can't find clients and convincingly inform them of how your services are going to help their business. So, for the skillsets you'll need to develop, sales books are going to be your best bet. And, luckily enough, there is no shortage of fantastic sales books! I can recommend the following: 1) [I]If You're Not First, You're Last[/I] by Grant Cardone 2) [I]The Psychology of Selling[/I] by Brian Tracy 3) [I]The Sales Bible[/I] by Jeffry Gitomer 4) [I]The Challenger Sale[/I] by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson 5) [I]How to Win Friends and Influence People[/I] by Dale Carnegie Out of those, [I]The Psychology of Selling[/I] and [I]The Challenger Sale[/I] are the most helpful imo, but all of them are highly relevant, no matter what your product or service. [I]How to Win Friends and Influence People[/I] is not strictly a sales book, but it is nonetheless one that I think every professional should read if they want to learn how to make good first impressions and build strong professional relationships, making it invaluable for a professional who's success depends on networking.

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;50342657]Is it worth trying to play the debts vs assets game? Let's say I have $X still of student loans left, and for whatever reason happen upon $1.5X dollars, after tax. Should I just pay off the loan then and there (hooray no more payments!) or do I hold onto the loan and try to invest the money, hoping the growth of the investment is more than the interest on the loan? [editline]18th May 2016[/editline] Also assume $X is significant enough to matter.[/QUOTE] I prefer to pay off debt as soon as I can (which is why I always try my hardest for loans that don't penalize you for paying it off early). Basically, the less debt you have, if something drastic should happen, it's less things that you have to worry about paying or defaulting on. For me it's not about having less money tied up in bills, it's about protecting my future should it take a bad downturn.

Started reading [I]The Millionaire Real Estate Investor [/i] by Gary Keller last night. Very interesting, well written! The first part of the book is about the mindset and motivation of investing, and the second part focuses on actionable plans. I haven't gotten to the meat of it yet in the second part (though judging by his other book, it will be incredibly detailed), but the first part has been very engaging so far!

I just checked my university's website and I'm [I]finally[/I] classified as a Senior and I managed to boost my GPA to a 3.09 which is AWESOME because it's been barely above a 2.5 for the last year. I'm pretty excited. It's hard to find other people to be excited with me lol. [editline]19th May 2016[/editline] Also next semester I finally get my disability accommodations which are hopefully gonna make the college experience so much easier for me. Sucks that I didn't know about it until this year but I'm really stoked about being able to actually get through a semester of classes without stressing about illness and accommodations.

I love my jobs. Worked on major films in Sweden, Denmark and Australia. Doing Live TV-shows and concerts almost daily. Just worked on Eurovision Song Contest in the control room, also administered and led the camera crew; and this gave me 4 week vacation! The key changing factor working with film and TV-production is that any night someone can call you because they need help in order to make it in the time next morning. You usually work from 08:00-17:00, but everytime it's a major production (which it often is now) it can go from 06:00-23:00, for days... So hence the vacation times we get. I always dreamed of working with film production, and it was a real hard working pain to get here. It's still a pain to work here but I am so in love with it I believe I am obsessed, and my co-workers can litterally see this; I do everything there is to do, and it ruins my mental health. Considering the 3 diagnoses I already have (OCD. Asperger, Tourette) makes any job a daily hell, but that's life in general so I can take it in doses untill I need to recharge. I've always done the specialized jobs during the shots, and my boss told me that he understood my needs. But now I've climbed the ladder and and started to lead the crew a lot more, such as the camera crew. People depend more on me now, and I need to take responsibility, so I have no idéa how this is going to affect me in the long run. The guys I work with are great, a good variation between young and old people. We have a military kind of environment, but for the love of film making. We go through pain togheter and it makes it so easier. Also love how the veterans teach the new guys whenever they can. No education can prepare this, it's all about field experience; and when it's in the bones, it's amasing. If my mental health won't take it one day, I'll just get a more simple job. It's easy for me to go back up again if needed so. But I'm happy for having a job I love, and a salary on frickin' $3,488... Of course this varies depending on the job, like Eurovision for example, gave me a hefty bonus. It's difficult to believe that a guy like me, that don't even know how to buy a car, pay the rent, who has an assisstent that helps him once a week, can do this. But maybe I was lucky?

Luck nothing, dude. Your passion if the key you your success. In spite of whatever limitations you may feel you in have, your passion for what you do fostered an obsessiveness in your work ethic and desire to excel at that field, and that is what has carried you to where to you are. So long as you still have that passion, you'll always be successful, and always have the strength to keep going.

So I've been looking recently at switching Colleges because I'm currently going to St. Petersburg College online for my Associates in Computer Programming. Now, I want to go for my four year, and it needs to be pretty much Computer Science/IT related. I've been looking around and no local places offer it online, so I've started looking broader. This has brought me to my recent possible choice. [B]West Governors University[/B]. It's a college that charges you $3,035 per term where each term is 6 months. The requirement is that you take at least 4 classes minimum, or else they may drop you, yet if you complete the four and still have time you can take more classes for nothing extra. That means if you spend a month per class, you could finish 6 classes in a term, which sounds great. Yet there's a few catches. First off, you take each class one at a time and it's done in a sort of [I]pass/fail[/I] way. You have one assessment at the end of the course, which can be a paper/test/certification (in my degree a lot of them end in certifications), if you do well on it you pass, if not then you have to try again. Now this is where it's weird. How do they figure out the GPA? It doesn't make sense to me but I'm assuming they still have to follow a typical grading method. This also seems like it'd guarantee at least a 3.0 GPA (I'm not too worried about GPA since I'm running a 3.65 atm after finishing my second semester). My main worries are this - Is it properly accredited? They say they are credit by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which is recognized by the Department of Education, yet how far does that carry with employers? They also say that they are non profit, which is great, but the accreditation is what I worry about. I'm also worried about that pass/fail thing - I've been reading some stories where people say their 'mentors', which are people who check up on them every so often through a phone call, have held them from graduating by not letting them complete the class. Finally, I'm worried that I may make a mistake and get myself into some deep shit with this. I'm just trying to look for a 100% online College that offers my degree. If anyone has attended this college, or know someone who has, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. I need to switch here soon as I want to be ready by the time the Fall Semesters start, and I'm trying to make sure I get the right choice for what I want to do. Also if anyone has alternate suggestions for colleges that you are going to for your degrees online, for Computer Science or know that your college offers Computer Science/IT related degrees please let me know, I'm trying to find one. Thanks for putting up with my lengthy post. This whole college swapping thing has had me tearing out my hair.

I just got an interview for full time job at my old high school that may very well pay about $30k a year! If I nail it, I might have to put my schooling on the backburner for a little while and stick with one or two evening classes a semester plus summer classes (and I've got no clue what I'd do for student teaching) but I think it'd be a good way to save up some income BEFORE I student teach. And shit, I might actually be able to move out. I won't get my hopes up TOO high but I'm really excited. My interview's on Thursday.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50383817]I just got an interview for full time job at my old high school that may very well pay about $30k a year! If I nail it, I might have to put my schooling on the backburner for a little while and stick with one or two evening classes a semester plus summer classes (and I've got no clue what I'd do for student teaching) but I think it'd be a good way to save up some income BEFORE I student teach. And shit, I might actually be able to move out. I won't get my hopes up TOO high but I'm really excited. My interview's on Thursday.[/QUOTE] Good luck! I imagine that would make a huge difference in your life! Everything changed for me when I landed my first "adult"paying job at about the sa me wage you could be pulling. I suddenly found myself with extra income for the first time in my life, and that's a pretty damn good feeling. Wasn't rich by any means, but I was getting by with room to breath, and that was enough to take the pressure off and start thinking more long term. I really hope you land it!

Yeah this'd be my first full time job if I got it. I also got myself a request of reasonable accommodation for my digestive disability which I'll probably give to them during my interview just so they know ahead of time. Not that it's a huge deal or anything but sometimes I have to start my days late because of stomach issues that won't let me leave the house. I'm hoping that to them it won't be too unreasonable. I did a fair bit of research on it.

[QUOTE=Nookyava;50375444]So I've been looking recently at switching Colleges because I'm currently going to St. Petersburg College online for my Associates in Computer Programming. Now, I want to go for my four year, and it needs to be pretty much Computer Science/IT related. I've been looking around and no local places offer it online, so I've started looking broader. This has brought me to my recent possible choice. [B]West Governors University[/B]. It's a college that charges you $3,035 per term where each term is 6 months. The requirement is that you take at least 4 classes minimum, or else they may drop you, yet if you complete the four and still have time you can take more classes for nothing extra. That means if you spend a month per class, you could finish 6 classes in a term, which sounds great. Yet there's a few catches. First off, you take each class one at a time and it's done in a sort of [I]pass/fail[/I] way. You have one assessment at the end of the course, which can be a paper/test/certification (in my degree a lot of them end in certifications), if you do well on it you pass, if not then you have to try again. Now this is where it's weird. How do they figure out the GPA? It doesn't make sense to me but I'm assuming they still have to follow a typical grading method. This also seems like it'd guarantee at least a 3.0 GPA (I'm not too worried about GPA since I'm running a 3.65 atm after finishing my second semester). My main worries are this - Is it properly accredited? They say they are credit by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which is recognized by the Department of Education, yet how far does that carry with employers? They also say that they are non profit, which is great, but the accreditation is what I worry about. I'm also worried about that pass/fail thing - I've been reading some stories where people say their 'mentors', which are people who check up on them every so often through a phone call, have held them from graduating by not letting them complete the class. Finally, I'm worried that I may make a mistake and get myself into some deep shit with this. I'm just trying to look for a 100% online College that offers my degree. If anyone has attended this college, or know someone who has, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. I need to switch here soon as I want to be ready by the time the Fall Semesters start, and I'm trying to make sure I get the right choice for what I want to do. Also if anyone has alternate suggestions for colleges that you are going to for your degrees online, for Computer Science or know that your college offers Computer Science/IT related degrees please let me know, I'm trying to find one. Thanks for putting up with my lengthy post. This whole college swapping thing has had me tearing out my hair.[/QUOTE] I can't speak specifically for that school, but other online universities (Phoenix University, I think?) that have very similar structures are not well regarded. They are seen as degree mills that churn out substandard education, and the end results are essentially worthless. A whole lot of debt with little to show for it. Again though, I have no firsthand experience with this. I was briefly considering such a school, but was turned off after reading reports and reviews on the lack of opportunities that degrees from that institution actually provided.

GPAs suck. My purpose in life right now is to have the best GPA possible by time I have to write it down on transfer applications. -- start community college -- 3.20 after fall semester (failed a class, 4.0'd the rest) 3.59 after spring semester (4.0'd it) -- present day -- 3.65 after summer semester if I get an A in my 5 unit class 3.68 after summer semester if I get an A in my 5 unit class + an A in another 3 unit class -- no grades after this will affect the GPA I have to write down on transfer apps -- It's so slow to grow, so quick to fall. Looking at the numbers, I'm just gonna stick with that 5 unit class for summer. It's really too fucking bad I failed that one class, or even took it at all (don't need it anymore); otherwise I'd be basking in 4.0 glory. Average transfer GPA to one of the universities I'm shooting for is 3.39; can't find data for the other university (not a super competitive school but a very impacted program). blargh safe 2 say I should have a fallback school

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50383903]I can't speak specifically for that school, but other online universities (Phoenix University, I think?) that have very similar structures are not well regarded. They are seen as degree mills that churn out substandard education, and the end results are essentially worthless. A whole lot of debt with little to show for it. Again though, I have no firsthand experience with this. I was briefly considering such a school, but was turned off after reading reports and reviews on the lack of opportunities that degrees from that institution actually provided.[/QUOTE] I thought the same thing when reading that post and just didn't want to be a dick.. But yeah, it sounds like a bad idea honestly. Getting a degree in "Computer Programming", which isn't even really an industry recognized degree (is that the actual name of the program? If so, run.) from an online school isn't going to carry a lot of weight. You'd be better off self-educating seeing as you'll learn more, save money and end up with roughly the same amount of prestige in your initial job hunt. [editline]24th May 2016[/editline] Honestly I'm pretty sure the majority of online degrees are seen as kind of a joke. The only time I've seen online-only university-level education be taken seriously is when someone already has a bachelors and needs to pursue their masters while working (common in nursing). If you're going to school for the degree, you may as well go somewhere that will earn you a degree that is actually worth something.. And if you're going to learn, you'll probably be better off self-teaching (although being that it's online instruction, you'll probably be forced to do that anyway, just at a slower university pace).

There are many different career fields out there in which an education may be necessary to succeed, but a degree is not. Business, for example. Whether you have a degree is totally secondary to whether or not you can put a no-brainer deal in front of the right people and present it intelligently. If you need investors for your business, you don't show them your degree, right? No! You show them your business plan! If it's a great plan backed by the right data, then you could be a high school dropout and still win the room. If you're interested in a career field where a degree is secondary to your actual ability, I would consider the merits of dedicated self-education in lieu of expensive college education. You might find it more engaging and more rewarding to commit yourself to self-education, especially if it's in a subject that you're naturally inclined to. There are almost infinite resources available online to help guide your educational growth: books, videos, forums, blogs, local networking groups, mentors, etc. Regardless, if you do need or want a degree, online courses are best used to supplement the path to one, not to replace it. For example, while attending a brick and mortar college, take advantage of its online course offerings to knock out some of the easy or disinteresting gen-ed and elective credit requirements, allowing you more time to focus on the more relevant or engaging classes.

For people who need advice on food, invest some decent bucks (or really search thrift stores but they are hard to find) for a big lodge cast iron pan with a lid. With that and a dollar store bottle of cooking oil or leftover bacon grease, you can pretty much make anything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, meat, pasta, cornbread, veggies, pretty much whatever. You basically won't need any other pan once you know how to cook with one. Cleaning them is super easy too. Just avoid harsh soap. The big ones are really heavy though so you do have to be safe while cooking. A dutch oven or other huge pot for your stovetop is also a good choice so you can make soups or whatever from cheap healthy ingredients like beans, veggies, and chicken for later. You can get rubbermaid containers for like 50 cents at the dollar or thrift stores that are great for organizing and freezing leftovers. Also stock up on cheap herbs and spices because usually healthy food is bland, haha. Usually if you have a mexican mart or an ethnic food section you can get decent sized baggies of most things for less than a buck (whereas name brand spices get expensive). Also now that I'm on a roll if you have a Target store nearby that has a grocery section they usually have a clearance rack for food in the back. Most regular grocery stores have a discount section or manager's specials too. Sometimes you can find really good deals. Once me and my bf found a thing of 40 dollar rum for like 18 bucks because it had a big dent in its container. But some things aren't that well discounted though so make sure you compare them before you buy.