Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Kaurich
...While we are not frowning on our students going to a 4-year college for a STEM degree, the mentor brain trust doesn't see this as the only option and is looking at getting our students jobs within 6 months after graduating high school in a technical field...
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Sounds a bit like my background. I went to a vocational high school (graduated 1977) and studied drafting. I worked as a draftsman on co-op my senior year designing concrete batching plants.
I had no thought of going to college until early in my senior year of high school. My drafting teacher came by one day and asked what my plans were. He said he would kick my butt across the room if I didn't go to college and become an engineer. (You could get away with talk like that back then.) I thought he might do it, so I applied to college and went.
My teacher knew me and my skills and pointed me in the right direction. This is one of the things I like about FIRST: Students get the chance to work with engineers, see how they think and solve problems, and get at least some idea of what engineering is like. Lots more information than I had when I went off to college.
Maybe a few of the students you're trying to attract may discover college is an option for them - just like I did.