Hello...Life Advice?

[BlackJohn]

So the economy will be in recession or worse for another 2 years. Is that time to finish your Masters? What about instead of going back to school fulltime, do it via some other method that will give you time to gather what you need to build the bus you would want to build as a keeper. It takes a lot of time and material once you get it in your head to do the build. the thing is, if you don't have these requirements, then you loose time when you are building, running for the parts. You know how to estimate I take it so get ball park basics and as it comes together you have the stuff to complete each task or phase of construction.
Are there really any jobs out there worth considering at this time or in your field of choice? Just think how much better your resume sounds with a masters, experience in building a tiny-home and having built your own skoolie too.
I think when the SHTF that you'll be much better suited to ride out its affects/effects. You won't be in DEBT either, well not to deep.

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate to build your bus. Build it forever and then see where life may lead.
The Gods are with you,,,,lol

[turf]

wow, you got the world by the tail.

go do graduate work at mines! if money isn't an issue, go enjoy the college life as long as you can!

used buses will be available forever.

my brother in law has an engineer "stamp", i don't know what its called, but it made the city permitting process for my garage go a lot easier. pretty useful "stamp"

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by brokedown

As far life advice goes... If I could talk to 20 year old me, to say that I wish I had done this twenty years ago. Men were not built to sit in a cubicle. You will never build your dreams while working for someone else. The American dream is mostly a lie, the life society encourages you to live is one of submission and busy work to keep you quit until you die. Hearts are more important than minds. If you don't make your life great, nobody will do it for you.

I have a slightly different take... a minbd is a terrible thing to waste... I lived my life bettering my mind.. some of it was in a cubicle, some of it was working for a big company.. a lot of it was what i did after work... the time and effort i spent into sharpening my chosen skills on my own...

that work and effort of the mind paid off when I used a collective of engineering,. testing and such on a personal level to develop a business product.. one that has allowed me the freedom of working from wherever whenever and not worrying about whether i could afford to replace a tire if one blew on my bus tonight...

a Heart is in fact a terrible thing to waste.. but sometimes you have to have a sharp mind to get to where you can set your heart free...

every single one of us is different.. i cant make your decision.. but I *CAN* say that the interests, hobbies, and projects you choose outside of work *CAN* actually become your living...

the engineering fields are suited more to nomadic free-spirit life than most other careers... however reputation in an industry goes a long ways toward you establishing your means of going out on your own career-wise.. sometimes you have to work for someone to develop the relationships and skills and reputation needed to go at it...

I know my take is different... im also not one who lives in a bus.. but I do get mny best work done when im travelling in some fashion..

-Christopher

[tobeamiss]

Awesome advice SDR76 and Cadillackid


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[Gonce4]

You are 22.. Go have fun!!!!! watch TED talks, learn where your passion lies. Grad programs will be there when you are ready.

[lg22woo]

Thanks for all your advice everyone!

cadillackid, those are some deep thoughts. It seems like you've kind of seen and done most of it. You've gotten to the place that I hope to be one day, where you have enough experience, knowledge, and reputation to strike out on your own and be successful. I totally understand if you don't want to share specifics, but I'd be really interested to hear any more details about your career and where you are now.

I don't see myself living in a bus forever. It seems like a 3-5 year plan at this point. Eventually I think I'll be OK settling down in one place, buying a house (or probably attempting to build one myself, knowing me ), etc. But because of that, I feel like if I don't pursue it now, I probably never will.

[lg22woo]

Side note - anyone have any good ideas for how to incorporate converting a school bus into a legitimate Master's project? A couple options that come to mind: two-axis solar tracking, rainwater collection/filtration, advanced insulation/thermal mass storage, other renewable energy generation methods....

Ideas?

[Robin97396]

That would be pretty cool if you were able to combine your building skills with your masters. You don't end up being a starving artist that lives in a bus.

[tobeamiss]

Originally Posted by lg22woo

I don't see myself living in a bus forever. It seems like a 3-5 year plan at this point. Eventually I think I'll be OK settling down in one place, buying a house (or probably attempting to build one myself, knowing me [emoji3]), etc. But because of that, I feel like if I don't pursue it now, I probably never will.

If you think this will be a 3-5yr plan, then you should probably try it. The thinker and hands on person that you are is dying to try this and make it better than anyone has ever seen coming up with ideas that no one has thought of yet.
Yeah, you're 22 and have the rest of your life to get that Masters.
You probably should do this and get it out of your system

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[lg22woo]

Could I ask a couple actual skoolie-related questions?

1. I'm leaning towards a rear-engine flat-nose school bus (not transit or coach). Does that style only come in 40-ft lengths? Or could I find, say, a 30' RE pusher?

2. I'd like to live around and explore the mountains of Colorado. Is it hopeless to find a bus that can handle that and also have decent highway speed like 65 mph? It seems like the gearing on your drivetrain kinda gives you one or the other.

3. If I get a skoolie, I want to go full-time, so I'm thinking either ~30' or full-size 40'. How much different is it handling, finding parking spots (planning on lots of boondocking), navigating, etc. in a 30' vs. 40' bus? Or should I just go for the bigger size?

[BlackJohn]

For fulltime, you big for the extra living space. They drive/handle. better than many motorhomes that size. You can always find a utility vehicle for finding those outta the way fishinn holes.

[family wagon]

In part because of your own hard work and in part because of tangible and intangible gifts you've been given you're in a good place. Myriad options lay before you. Many of them are good, some are mutually exclusive, and there won't be time to pursue them all. Choosing which to do now, which to hope for later, and which to close the door on forever can be very hard (especially that last part). Live up to your privilege: enjoy the goodness of the station that you're at. At the same time, be mindful of the future and don't indulge so much today that you end up pillaging your tomorrow.

You haven't mentioned any family plans. That's OK not to divulge; it's a deeply personal thing. In any case do consider whether your family will be yourself alone, with a spouse, or with children. There are children in my family and looking back I'm grateful that I didn't delay that until everything was "ready" -- one is never fully ready for any opportunity in family nor in business, and excessive delay or preparation can result in diminished or even missed opportunity.

Ok, enough philosophical stuff.

Yes pushers come in a variety of lengths. Mine is a mere 38'. I see some around here that are even shorter, probably in the 30' range, but not a lot of them.

One thing I'm glad for is that I used both of my buses immediately after buying them. The reason why I'm glad for that is that my first was a type D aka transit-style or flat nose school bus with the engine in front. After one trip, about 18 hours driving, I knew this wasn't the right bus for us and unloaded it. The second bus was only slightly converted (seats removed and one waste water tank added) when we did 1700 miles over 10 days and knew it was right to invest countless hours and thousands of dollars to build on.

As for work: IMHO working on the road is mostly synonymous with self-employment. In some disciplines it's not hard to go from school directly to self-employed on the road, but I believe that'd be a difficult feat in engineering. One probably needs a few years conventionally employed to make connections in industry and to learn the "stuff they didn't teach in school." It might even be required by professional licensing statute in some states. But don't lose sight of entrepreneurial dreams: that day job in engineering could well provide the financing and training for your own venture in or out of engineering not so far in the future.

I wish I had any good ideas for something that's useful in the real world and engaging to work on and has support from faculty at my institution for a master's thesis... that's what held me back from a master's in electrical engineering.

[oricha1984]

Here are my 2 cents;

Warren Buffett:
“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn't that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7JlI959slY