With the skyrocketing cost of a college education and unemployment still at an all-time high some are considering not going to college instead choosing to go into a higher paying trades figuring they could do better by being self-employed.
A Career in Professional Pest Management
We all want what is best for our kids and our parents always told us if you want to get ahead you need to get a good education so you can get a good job. I am a second generation Cuban American my parents came to this country in 1971 when I was just 1 year old, I grew up here and was educated here I went to college and have a business degree with a major in computer science and it took me 20 years to pay it off all my school loans between the deferments and interest and fines and my degree has never gotten me a job.
Not all people are college material
I wasn’t college material and I knew it, wanted to own my own business and work for myself since I was about 14, I remember saying I’m not going to work for anybody, on top of that I was misguided and went into a field that didn’t suit me just because it was the hot thing at that moment, I wasn’t cut out to be programmer and I spent 20 years of my life working in corporate America trying to escape the rat race. A note even if you win the rat race in the end you are still a rat in glorified cage. I’d rather work 80 hours a week on my terms than 40 dictated to me by anyone. I’m an Entrepreneur and I can live with that.
Unless your child is going to go on to graduate school and be a doctor, lawyer or engineer and that is their passion you should at least in my opinion, before you he or she goes into financial debt for the next 20 to 30 years to evaluate what their aptitudes and passions are to guide them and not just say, well get a degree because it opens doors, that facts are there are no doors available to the bottom 90% of the class.
You have a better chance at creating your own job than waiting for someone to hand one to you.
Want a bachelor’s degree let’s look at the numbers
In its most recent survey of college pricing, the College Board reports that a “moderate” college budget for an in-state public college for the 2013–2014 academic year averaged $22,826. A moderate budget at a private college averaged $44,750. But what makes up these charges? Of course, financial aid might help cover some costs, but it is good to know how they add up to a total “cost of attendance” figure provided by the college.
A survey project by the Wisconsin Institute shows . Survey respondents reported an average length of repayment period of 21.1 years, but was typically longer for those with advanced degrees. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/files/OWIStudentLoanEconomicReport.pdf
You could be the highest educated barista at Starbucks
About 260,000 people who had a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of college graduates working minimum wage jobs is nearly 71 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures.
Some 58% of the jobs created during the recent economic recovery have been low-wage positions like retail and food prep workers, according to a 2012 NELP report. These low-wage jobs had a median hourly wage of $13.83 or less.
Of 41.7 million working college graduates in 2010, about 48 percent of the class of 2010 work jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree, and 38 percent of those polled didn’t even need high school diplomas, the report found. Authors Richard Vedder, Jonathan Robe and Christopher Denhart said that the country could be overeducating its citizens, and asked if too many public dollars are spent on producing graduates that the nation’s economy doesn’t need. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/underemployed-overeducated_n_2568203.html
The future of the pest control industry
When most people think of pest control they think of an overweight uneducated guy that walks around with a spray can killing roaches. Wow how is that for an ignorant stereotype.
The fact of the matter is that professional pest control technicians are highly educated and are required to understand chemistry, biology math and the environment most make well above average income.
The median annual wage for pest control workers was $30,060 in May 2012. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $19,540, and the top 10 percent earned more than $47,770.
Quick Facts: Pest Control Workers
2012 Median Pay $30,060 per year $14.45 per hour
Entry-Level Education High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience None
On-the-job Training Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2012 65,400
Job Outlook, 2012-22 20% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2012-22 12,800
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/pest-control-workers.htm#tab-1
Education Available
Purdue University is proud to be a leader in technical education for the pest control industry. Over 50 years, Purdue’s pest management correspondence and online courses have been the training of choice for thousands of pest management professionals. National pest management companies have adopted a number of the courses as standard training for their employees, and nearly every state in the country has approved one or more of the courses for certification or re-certification purposes.
https://www.distance.purdue.edu/training/pest/
I believe in education and I believe in affording young people an opportunity to excel and be productive utilizing their talents and abilities, and that there is a shortage targeted skilled workers. I also believe in the entrepreneurial spirit that built this nation and continues to flourish and for those that refuse to settle for the status quot, creating a way out of no way. I believe you can start from nothing and build something that makes a difference in our society.