Pivoting to a Four Year College

Little Kat is getting close to the end of his Associates Degree program at his community college. Momoko, Little Kat, and I have been researching what he should do next. He could do an apprenticeship through his college. He could jump to another community college that has better programs. He could get some credentials like a certificate and then get a job immediately. Or he could transfer to a four year college.

Today we made some progress figuring out the four year college path. Last night, Little spent the night at our house. He had scheduled a call today with one of the local state schools. We were specifically talking to the person who deals with community college transfers at this four year college.

Little Kat and I went out and picked up some Chinese food for lunch. Then we rehearsed how we though the call would go. We had to have him practice many times until he could communicate his situation and the questions we had for the four year college.

Pretty much we want to know if Little Kat actually needs to get an associates degree, or whether he can jump to the four year college now. The program he wants to enter says that transfer students need an associates degree in computer technology (or related) in order to get into the program. We wanted to know if Little Kat could bypass that.

The call went well. We had some positive surprises. The person from the four year college sold their school to us. Now we need to finalize what courses Little Kat will take next semester at his community college. This might be his last semester there.

Microsoft Certified

At my last job, one of the senior developers was let go. He told me the only database jobs he could find were Microsoft based. A year ago I was let go from that project too. The only jobs I was able to find that seemed interesting were with Microsoft SQL Server. I thought I saw the writing on the wall. So I decided to learn SQL Server.

Why not get a certification while I was doing this? Might as well. I decided on the SQL 2016 Database Development one. It is an MCSA cert. That stands for Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate. I needed to hurry up though. Microsoft is retiring this certification in January 2021.

Well today I went to take my second and final exam required for this MCSA cert. My normal testing centers are closed due to COVID-19. I tried an alternate site for the first test. The exam crashed in the middle, causing the admins to run around rebooting stuff for 30 minutes. That is not the optimal environment for exam taking.

So I tried a new testing site today. The windows on the front of the building were covered so you could not see through. The front door was locked. They did not have any lockers you could secure your belongings in. I decided to lock my valuables up in my car. Still have to check in my car key with a guy who would "put it in a filing cabinet".

This second exam was difficult. Lots of DBA questions. Turns out I was sufficiently prepared. I passed and am now a recognized MCSA. Next up, I need to determine what to learn next.

Duplicate Credit Card Charges

I needed to pick up my car from the dealership. Was having some maintenance done. Before going in, I decided to stop by Little Caesars to get some bread sticks. I pulled up to their drive through window and tried to pay by credit card.

The dude had trouble running my card through. He tried a number of times. Eventually he said he got it to work. And I thought everything was okay. Then I got my credit card bill. Turns out they charged me four times that day.

I called the credit card company up. Told them 3 of the 4 charges were not valid. They told me to call the vendor and try to get them to refund the bad charges. I called the store. They told me to call Little Caesars management.

I called the manager. They saw my charges. But they said that they did not collect the money due to communication problems with the credit card machine. I said that seemed strange as my credit card company was passing the charges on to me.

In the end, the vendor said they would not credit the charges back. So my credit card company had to charge the money back. Lesson learned it to pay online using their web site, and just pick the food up from the local store.

Career Proposals

Momoko and I searched Little Kat's college offerings. We looked for a program with minimal classes in an industry with good pay. We wanted a program that was not difficult to get into. We also did not one a program that required a lot of difficult classes.

Our first choice was 3D printing. You can get a certificate in it with a little as 3 semesters. The average salary in the field is very high. There are some concerns. 3D printing is not a mature field. Also, it requires a physical sciences class that seems difficult.

Next program is CAD. It also only requires a couple semesters of study to get a certificate. The average salary is no that high. Another drawback is both new students (like Little Kat) and people experienced in the field might be going for the certificate, putting the newbies at a disadvantage. Finally you need to take labs starting the the first semester, which will be challenging due to COVID-19.

Last up is Cyber Forensics. It needs a few semesters of study. The average salary is decent. However like CAD, it requires labs starting in the first semester. It also requires tough courses such as a Python programming class, along with a very tough networks class.

Once Little Kat is done with the current semester at school, Momoko and I will pitch our ideas to him for a new college prorgram and career.

In Search of a Career

Little Kat is trying to get into a specific program at his college. Word on the street is that it is a competitive program to enter.  I had thought Little Kat would have passed all his prerequisites before applying. However he might not pass one of the classes he is taking this semester. That would have an impact on his priority in getting into the program. It is not looking good right now.

Momoko and I started looking into backup programs that Little Kat could study at his college. I figured that since he has been going to college for a long time, the program would need to be short (i.e. 2 years). I was also looking for a program that gives you a career with a decent starting salary. It would be nice if there was room for advancement within the field. Finally, we need something Little Kat can get into and complete in college.

One of the interesting offering from his college was a certificate in Network Security Administration. The biggest draw was that the average salary for somebody in this field is $75k per year. Also, the certificate only requires 24 credits worth of courses. That around 8 courses, a light load. I figured there must be a trick. Indeed there is. This certificate is for people that have experience with computer operations and networks.

Back to the drawing board. Konner only has some experience serving people food in a nursing home. We need a program that will teach him all he needs for an entry level position.

Late Night Delivery

I forgot to give Little Kat the new insurance cards for the car I let him drive. Momoko also mentioned that he was running out of laundry detergent. I had given him a small bottle of Purex when he moved into his apartment. I had some extra bottles for him at our home.

I called up Little Kat, and scheduled a time to come by later at night. Asked him if he needed anything else. He said he was running out of paper towels and toilet paper. Oops. Luckily we always have some backup supplies at our house.

Put most of the stuff in a laundry basket, and drove off to Little Kat's apartment. By the time I got there, it was raining. I only came in my slippers. Parked in Little Kat's driveway. He came out and brought all the stuff into his apartment.

Of course Little Kat's housemate comes back to the house and parks in the driveway as I am parked there waiting for Little Kat. Oh well. Got to keep ahead of his supply needs. I ordered some more paper towels and toilet paper. Might also need to order some more Purex.

Trouble in Anatomy

Little Kat is finishing some of the prerequisites for the college program he wants to enter. He almost did not make it into the Math class he requires. But he somehow got them to approve him taking the required Math class. He is also taking Anatomy II.

In the middle of the semester, I caught wind that Little Kat was thinking about dropping his Anatomy II class. That raised the alarms for me. He needs that class to be able to apply to his program and have all prerequisites completed.

Momoko and I stepped in and told Little Kat that he needed to improve his grade in the Anatomy II course. There is a lecture and a lab. He was doing poor in both. We advised him to concentrate on the lecture. It counts twice as much towards the final grade in the course.

Unfortunately Little Kat failed his last quiz in Anatomy II. There is only one more quiz and a final left. There have been so many poor quiz grades that Little Kat is close to not being able to pass this class with a "C". The most likely end game from this is that Little Kat will not be able to get into his program of choice at college.

Soon it will be time to regroup, and figure out a new path towards a career for Little Kat.