Is it possible to survive in US on a primary school education?

[PretzelWarrior]

I mean for those 30 and under. There are some really old folks like that Simplot guy who made billions of $$ selling potatoes to McDonalds who never made it past basic education. But just wondering if it is possible for "Joe Average" to do so?

And how would it be possible?

[Extend a Hand]

1. here's a classic on how to live w/o a job

POSSUM LIVING

HOW TO LIVE WELL WITHOUT A JOB

AND WITH (almost) NO MONEY

DOLLY FREED


http://www.f4.ca/text/possumliving.htm

[meisje]

5. "raising and slaughtering rabbits" sounds fun

not

[Extend a Hand]

8. no bashing bunnies in the basement

for me either. ;)

What they did was pretty impressive though. I was talking to the butcher at the grocery store the other day and he was telling me about teaching his grandson how to butcher a deer. I bet those kinds of skills become more important again in the future.

[meisje]

10. "Starlings taste almost like doves" yummy

[PretzelWarrior]

9. good link. I think I'll check that out

I've been doing a lot of thinking about scaling back consumption and expenses. (I have college education....but would like to do something closer to nature and the earth)

[Extend a Hand]

15. we are hoping to scale way back as well

right now we are kind of stuck with 2 kids in college another in high school, a mortgage on a house that's not in "ready to sell" condition, car payments, yada, yada, yada.

So we have alot of work to do. I hope the country and economy hold together for a couple more years. *sigh*

[sojourner]

2. construction industry - heavy equipment

doesn't generally require higher ed, and if you can learn the trade (from family/friends) then you can land the job. often if skilled can advance from there, although helps to be intelligent enough to learn about the job.

hard work though. and not stable. but that's how my ex has done it. drove truck, then my dad taught him to operate backhoe, and eventually how to read a blueprint and calculate bid on contracts. dad's passed now, but ex owns his own company now and knocks down 80k annually (profit). "9th grade" education. i taught him to read...he really started working at it when the children could read better than he could (2nd grade).

[pinto]

4. Kudos to your ex, and to you...

[1620rock]

3. Not in this day and age...

...technology rules,,,(unless you are a Bush.)

[bluestateguy]

6. Be one hell of a basketball or baseball player

LeBron James is doing just fine.

And a lot of Hollywood actors never went to college, or even finished high school.

Or come from a really rich family (Paris Hilton).

[HeeBGBz]

7. My son is doing it. Working 3 jobs though.

It's a struggle.

[f-bush]

11. Depends on what you mean by "live"

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Depends on the size of your trust fund . . .

[Silverhair]

13. Impossible to predict what changes will occur in the next 60 years.

The prospects are always grim for the uneducated. It sucks to be ignorant.

[PretzelWarrior]

14. can a person be uneducated but not ignorant?

I'd hate to get too "elitist" and act as though formal education is the fount of true knowledge for every single person.

How much education did the Dalai Lhama get?

[Silverhair]

16. A person can self-educate, but it is very difficult to do. Especially...

...if you are starting from an elementary school level. At that level, you are still acquiring the mental tools to be able to learn.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Sure. I Was A Social Promotion From High School And No College.

I lived in my car through two winters and spent 2 1/2 months in jail.

I now make over 55,000 before overtime and am an operations analyst. I started out there in a union production job but worked my way up. Then I was lucky enough to marry my wife, also making over 55,000.

We now have two kids, an ok house, two carsr and living in northern jersey.

Luck is always a factor, as is dedication, inherant intellect and good job ethic. Sad thing is, that even those with college degrees nowadays can barely find a decent job. So a little luck might be needed to find an opportunity, but once granted I think anyone can make the most of it regardless of education.

[fakejosh]

18. college scholarships

hey guys, does anyone here know of some good online scholarship offers? i've been combing online for a while today, so far, i've found this one called www.progressingreward.com which is for $500... seems like it's structured like one of those "free ipod" offer kind of things, except it's cash for school obviously. what do you guys think?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

19. Seems Ridiculous To Me. $500??? What Does That Buy, One Textbook?

[Selatius]

23. Unfortunately, you're not far off the mark (book prices, I mean)

The newest textbooks I've seen while shopping for new books this semester can run between 100 to 200 dollars a piece. 500 will barely cover one semester's worth of books if at all. Forget about college tuition or the interest on top of that. This is what we put on people who decide to get higher education: Several years or decades worth of debt with interest on top of that.

What does that say about our education system versus systems in other countries where people have voted in leaders who believed taxes should pay for tuition, books, and housing for students?

The thing I've seen students do is stack scholarships. They go for several scholarships at, say, 500 dollars a piece. Three or four would roughly translate to 1500 to 2000 in that case, which won't cover tuition at my school or pay for room and board. Most end up having to take student loans with interest because frankly, most students can't compete with the most intelligent when it comes to truly valuable scholarships.

[Cleita]

20. My father never got past the fifth grade and he

was able to become an electrical engineer by the 1930s.

He advised me that it wasn't fun and it really was hard work. He told me that college had to be easier because his college educated peers weren't that able yet they were able to get the same job he had, for the same money, and he had to teach them how to do it.

This is what my dad told me to convince me that I should go to college.

[PretzelWarrior]

22. just an interesting topic. I think less and less will achieve college

education as the corporatists find it easier and cheaper to farm out high tech work to other countries. THere will be many more having to survive on less...maybe more having to drop out of school at whatever age to support extended families who are aging and unprepared for the challenges of older life..

[Maddy McCall]

26. My dad's best friend is a welder and he didn't make it out of

elementary school. He can't read, but he is wealthier than I dream I'll ever be, even though I am ABD PhD.

[thereismore]

21. Mah ole man ain't never did went to school and he made it, dammit.

[Selatius]

24. It's painfully difficult but possible.

The only way I could think of is ending up spending your days working for a fast food restaurant and hope an assistant manager position opens up after several years worth of dedication to the company. With luck, and you're gonna need luck, you might end up managing one of the stores or even several. If you're unlucky, you're stuck there for life.

[sojourner]

25. cripes! i've got a goddamn master's degree and can't get a job!

what are you talking about? yeah, my ex made it without a HS diploma. I went back to school late in life, got my degree. taught college classes, excelled at what I do. Rose to a well paid position in college administration, but when political wheels started grinding I found myself on the sidewalk. Luckily I had earned a good reputation with my research skills and landed a nice post in a State agency...was hopeful that would be my "niche"...but then 9/11 came along and changed the world.

I lost my job when the gov't cut back in response to bad budget. Since I was a "consultant" and among the newest hired, I lost my position with a year to go on my three-year contract. haven't been able to get a position in the two and a half years since. I did start a company -- but that has a ways to go. Efforts to get a position have confirmed for me that the world now wants 20 - 30 year olds with degrees, but not 50-somethings.

I'm tutoring kids to make ends meet. And taking the odd research consulting job....thank gods for research!

but if I was a youngster, (and unable to attend college) I'd be aiming at a small company that does something I am interested in or have some skills in. I'd learn as I went, and work my way up. Sure it is hard work...but it's also very rewarding. Just be sure to save something for the future - even if you hold out little hope that there will be one.

I would NOT be aiming at large corporations because they are out to strip the very life out of you so that their CEOs and shareholders can have their yachts and multiple estates.

[barb162]

30. I agree with your statements here all the way.

They don't want older workers because of the benefit costs. I have seen employers actually state that in newspapers.

[shanti]

27. the only person i know of

with absolutely no education, is a mexican-american woman in her 70's. she raised 11 children and never worked. her deceased husband or her children have always supported her.

[barb162]

29. 11 kids is work (but I know what you mean ,a pay job)

Taking care of ll kids she couldn't work at a paying job

[shanti]

32. right

her husband made sure of that. :(

raising 11 kids most definitely is hard work!

[barb162]

28. I think so; it would probably be farming

[Morning Dew]

31. I never thought it would be possible until

I visited freeperville.

To that crowd, completing sixth grade is considered higher education.