Making an important life decision - could use some advice

[Ross Miller]

Good morning!

I'll have to make a fairly important decision soon, and I'd like to get some advice from investors. It's going to be a long read, but I'll try to trim the fat as much as possible.

Right out of high school, I got a full-time job. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a career, so I didn't want to waste money and time going to school just to change majors. I'm a car guy, so I eventually decided that mechanical engineering would be the perfect career for me. A local community college had a partnership with Temple University to offer a B.S. in mechanical engineering technology. At the time of my enrollment, the advisers had essentially convinced me that MET is the same as ME.

That was entirely wrong. I didn't think about it much until I got my A.S. in MET. When looking at the courses required for the B.S. degree, I realized that MET is much more focused on things like manufacturing machines and automation, which I have almost no interest in. Around this time is when I started getting interested in RE. I considered dropping out of the B.S. program at this time, but I received a fairly substantial scholarship towards the B.S. My parents convinced me to finish the B.S. degree even though it's not really what I'm interested in. I'm about to graduate in May, hence my decision coming up.

My current job (I've been there 11 years now) is a laborer and equipment operator on the road maintenance crew of a local township. It has some great things going for it. The pay is great for my area. The benefits are amazing - seriously, I pay almost nothing out of pocket. The hours are incredibly flexible - I can take time off with minimal notice as long as there's not a huge project going on. We can break our vacation days down in 15 minute intervals if we want. We start early and get home early - I'm home by 3:15pm. It's a 7 minute drive from my house. I don't mind the work. I've been there long enough that I now get a ton of vacation time each year. I actually kind of enjoy being outdoors. There is also a possibility that I will be promoted to "roadmaster" (basically the foreman of the road crew) within the next 2 years. This comes with more responsibility, but more pay also. On the other hand, this job is very labor intensive. It's also slightly volatile, since new supervisors could be elected and decide to fire you without any just cause. It's highly doubtful, and hasn't happened once in the township history, but it's possible.

If I get a job that uses my MET degree, it will almost definitely be at least a 45-60 minute drive on a crowded highway with weekly crashes to get to where the jobs are. For personal reasons, I do not want to relocate yet. I won't like the 9-5 hours, which means I will only be home around 6pm. I will be starting over with vacation time, and it is highly unlikely that I will be able to break up my vacation days like my current job. There is a wide variety of jobs that I may be qualified for, but most of them don't seem like anything I would enjoy. On the other hand, the starting pay will likely be a few thousand per year more than I'm making now, with increases as I move up the ladder.

I feel like I will have wasted years of my life in school if I don't get a job using my degree. Everyone I've talked to thinks I would be crazy to not get a MET job, but they are also people who have never been very successful. They're mostly lower-middle class that have always worked a safe job and aimed for mediocrity. I'd like to get input from people with a more diverse background. 

I don't like working for a boss. I want to be my own boss. Even if I get an MET job, the ultimate goal would be to eventually make REI my career. In that capacity, it seems the only advantage of an MET job is the higher pay. I feel like the flexible hours of my township job would be very beneficial to REI. Obviously, I'm leaning towards staying with my current job, but I'm not yet convinced that it's the best decision.

What do you think?