Im 16 and have been around boats my whole life my dad repairs them riggs them and salvages them I have also had the opportunity to do some fibreglass work but when I finish school I was thinking of becoming a marine technician and going to school at MMI in Orlando Florida but, many people were telling me that college is a waste of time and money so what jobs would you recommend me, I would prefer to work on the water and on boats. Also what college would you recommend. Thanks and please don't flame me or tell me I got my priority's mixed up I am just trying to find a job that ill enjoy and if this is the wrong place to post MODS pleas move it.

WORK??? Hey I thought we all had won the lottery.

Not going into the college debate. I would never say it's a waste of time or money. Who says stuff like that.

I'm not in the marine industry or on the water, I run a compagny with my wife that deals in corporate healthcare. What I do have, is enthusiasm for boats, and that I also had when I was your age. What I did was to look up the local boat shops, marina ect. and just ask if there was any work to do. I learned to wrench from home, and got my first summer job at the local merc dealer 24 years ago when I was 13. I know others who did things the same way, and today work with boats one way or another. A friend of mine is a ships building engeneer, another works with Maersk a third is with a smaller local hi-perf shop ect. I'm not in the US, but in Denmark. Still, things are pretty much done the same way up here as in the US. What you wanna do, is get your foot in the door, then find out what area you like. Engeneering, building, technical....

Not exactly what you asked, but maybe it can give you a few thoughts.

Good luck with it.

I'm a farmer. My parents taught me to work hard so you can play hard.

dont turn your " hobby " in to your job or you will end up hating your " hobby " i sold used race car parts on ebay for almost 10 years for a living now i work as a service writer for a small auto repair shop

I agree, had a chance to work for one of the top riggers/race teams in South FL a few years back, and turned it dow. Not because it was a bad job, but because I knew it would ruin my passion for my hobby of wrenching on/testing fast boats.

i can't agree more i work in construction and hate working on my own house i do it all day why come home and do it?

that's why I never wanted to be a gynecologist!!!!

And there is why everyone has choices.... first you HAVE to go to college, it is never a waste of money to have an education, its a great insurance policy as a back up. You may never need the what you learned in college to do your job, but you may very well need to be a colleg grad to even get through the door and apply!! On the other hand I do work what my hobby was and love it ... Hardazzchoppers.com

College is never a waste of time and there are many jobs that require a degree to even be considered. If you work college right, you can have the time of your life, make great friends and future contacts.
I believe thet on average you will have at least three jobs after school before you find the one you will call your career and your dream job more than likely will not be as fun as you initally thought. While in High School, try jobs that interst you and if you get a chance to intern, do it.
Good luck

Most of the people who say "A degree is just a piece of paper" don't have one. It's possible, but definitely getting harder to make a living without one.

I work in the IT field. Pay, benefits, and working conditions are pretty good. Plus it's a job I can do until I'm 70 if need be. Any job involving manual labor will get old as you get old.

I went in the Navy after HS. I earned a BS in Computer and Information Science while working full time. No regrets.