beefcakeb99 572 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I've always considered myself a student of life and get compliments for being up to date and well read, but requirements of training and a piece of paper, along with family/friend pressure encouraged me to enroll into a local community college(get your ribbing done early) Didn't want to jinx myself, but I start Monday. Awarded the full amount on Pell Grant, going for machine tool AAS which hopefully will point me towards my dream of making some real money and eventually into the firearms industry. Who knows maybe someday I'll run a magnificent suppressor manufacturer that all my friends will enjoy! Wish me luck it's been 10 years since I've had formal education. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dogster 577 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Good Luck, Bo. Good on ya! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoeAK 337 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Good luck, have fun, and be careful. I did something similar and I have yet to find a machinist that doesn't like guns, it's great to be able to make your own parts. I'm going to be trying to get on with Douglass Barrels, had no idea we had a barrel manufacturer locally, even less a nationally known one. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Congratulations! You can either die a miserable old man who never chased his dreams or GO FOR IT!!!! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chevyman097 2,579 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 You joined the forums when you were 12 years old? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 You won't get any ribbing out of me for taking the initiative to further educate yourself. Good luck! The few machining courses I took in college were some of the most fun I ever had. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 kick some ass! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thanks guys, great thing is I have two professor friends, bigsal, and one of the guys on my youtube page running my s12. They have been a big help so I skipped orientation and did everything from home and had my shit together the day of admission. The down side, the junk yard starter I put on my old beat up truck went out in the admissions parking lot. Been rolling it off since. Luckily I was able to sign up for three classes 5 miles away on Bristol campus, and one night class about 20 miles away on the main blountville campus. But one of my best friends is a year ahead on 3d design, and is taking two of these classes with me. Which is cool, he is pretty close, we played music together in highschool band in marching, concert, and a paid jazz band. Sadly his parents wouldn't let him go to Ireland with us due to the 9/11 events the semester previous. But he bought the house that I grew up in, adjacent to his parents where he grew up. His father was brought back in from retirement at $60/hour for contract work and they have been designing small batches of designs for part time money. This kinda gives me a kick in the ass I need to really have a potential money maker immediately after I graduate. Berettas decision to relocate the entire facility to Tn is an amazing potential fallback. Considering a lot of the jobs they are advertising would be right down my alley and in the industry of my desire. Just bouncing ideas late and drinking a bit, hey im a student again what the hell. Trying to get back into it will be rough but im getting a laptop with an i5 2.5ghz 4g ram for 200 bucks feom a friend thats not bad eh? Give me any feedback or recommendations to try to focus on, I'm assuming welding will be important. My uncle is a badass welder, so maybe he can help with that. Idk just excited,nervous, hopefull, and afraid all at the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HB of CJ 1,263 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 You are making the correct choice. Using 20-20 hindsight, I wish I had gone through the master heavy diesel mechanic school RATHER then registered nursing school. I probably would have enjoyed it more. Sometimes fixing cool machinery and engines is more fun than fixing hurt and bitchy people. I still find running the rack on an old 2 stroke Detroit Diesel farm water pump engine quite fun. Go figure. I still dream of that around 1970 Ford F500 6 window shorty ex school bus made into a high performance tire burning RV...with a big 8V92TI Detroit...with 10 speed...with Jake Brake. But then I am crazy. I do not have dreams about saving very hurt people. Fuck them. I would rather work on Detroits. HB of CJ (old coot) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Give me any feedback or recommendations to try to focus on, I'm assuming welding will be important. My uncle is a badass welder, so maybe he can help with that. Idk just excited,nervous, hopefull, and afraid all at the same time. This is just general educational advice... When you find someone that is genuinely gifted at what they do, either another student or an instructor, make an extra effort to spend as much time with them as possible, soak up all you can, and ask lots of questions. You're only going to get so many chances in life to have access to a large group of people that are all experts in their fields. Try not to stress too much over it. You'll quickly discover that even total dumbasses go to school and graduate. You'll be fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dad2142Dad 6,559 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Sometimes Fixing cool machinery and engines is always more fun than fixing hurt and bitchy people. Beef Max nailed it, be a sponge. Those who teach stop teaching when they sense the student is not interested. My personal opinion is if your not learning something new everyday, your just walking dead. Have fun, be safe and kick some academic ass. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G O B 3,516 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 You will work 30 or 40 years of your life. Find something you like, and get GOOD at it. NEVER stop educating yourself. Get the education you need, but NEVER loose the desire to learn MORE! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Congrats and good call on getting a useful education. People with degrees in underwater basket weaving are having a tough time finding work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
patriot 7,197 Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 (edited) ...don't forget the student discounts on software. Windows, Office, AutoCad, Photoshop, etc. There's LOTS out there, and the student discounts are HUGE. http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/edu?tid=scmb46ivs_dc&cid=5250&pcrid=39820349333&pkw=microsoft%20%2Bstudent&pmt=b&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_google_5+-+Microsoft&WT.term=microsoft%20%2Bstudent&WT.campaign=5+-+Microsoft&WT.content=cmb46ivs&WT.source=google&WT.medium=cpc AutoDesks's stuff is FREE to students: http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/all Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/education/students/how-to-buy-eligibility.edu.html? Solidworks: http://www.solidworks.com/sw/education/mechanical-engineering-student-software.htm Serif: http://www.serif.com/education/ssdp http://www.alphacam.com/education http://www.studica.com/BobCAD-CAM http://www.cnczone.com/forums/general-cam-discussion/1603-student-versions-cad-cam-software.html I hope this helps! Edited August 23, 2014 by patriot 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 (edited) FWIW, since that's my professional field, I would skip AutoCad entirely and head straight for the 3D modeling software (I suppose you could use Inventor, but practically no one else does). About the most you'll ever need to do with AutoCad is a pull a dimension off of an outdated drawing. Dassault Systemes (creators of SolidWorks and Catia) authors a TOTALLY FREE TO ANYONE version of AutoCad called DraftSight... Go get that if you want to play with DWG files. If even looks just like AutoCad... http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight/download-draftsight/ -------- If you do decide to get into SolidWorks and have some questions send me a PM. I have a set of 2012 manuals from Intermediate Modeling, Sheet Metal, Assemblies, Weldments, and Mechanical Routing. I should be able to look up even the most obscure questions on those topics. I've tinkered around with the basic simulation pack quite a bit too... Edited August 23, 2014 by Maxwelhse Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted August 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks guys! I'm typing this out on a used laptop I just got from a friend. First computer I've personally owned in years! No more being forced to use my phone for everything, but it is nice to have the ability with a top notch htc and years of practice. Start tomorrow morning! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Best wishes, Beef! You'll feel like a million bucks about everything this time next week. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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