Ride All the Rides!

Ride All the Rides!

Undoubtedly, many of you will spent  some time this past summer at an amusement park, water park, or other recreational establishment. Many parks now have a single price for admission that lets you ride all the rides as many times as you like. After paying the price of admission, most folks try to ride as many rides as possible to get their money’s worth. I can remember planning out my day at Disney World so that I would make the most of my time. I can see many of you smiling because you have done the same thing and planned a manic day at a pricey amusement park so you would get your money’s worth. I read recently that a year’s pass to Disneyland was now over $1000. I would have to be riding stuff every day if I paid that. So here is my question. Why are we so intent on getting our money’s worth at an amusement park, but beg to be cheated in education? When you pay your tuition for the semester, you are paying to ride all the rides. Every lecture, every lab, every online assignment, and every test you already paid for when you paid tuition. Chances are, your tuition was more than $1000 and it was not for an entire year. If you think tuition and fees are high, why would you not take full advantage of all that you paid for? Try reading the assignments more than once. It does not cost any more, and you get more out of the assignment. When you miss a lecture, lab, or assignment you are cheating yourself. Not only are you not taking advantage of the services you have paid for, but you are also limiting your earning potential later on. My brother Richard has a saying “work hard at school, or work harder all your life.” People with jobs which require less education and skill work harder and longer for far less money. HVACR is a very performance based industry. If you can’t perform, your earning potential suffers. Your diploma may get you in the door, but it won’t keep your job. HVACR is also a very technical field. To excel, you need to understand the systems and how they operate. Sure, without a lot of training you can get a job holding the other end of heavy things or running to get tools for other people. But without training or education, you won’t advance much past that point. And of course, the folks holding the other end of the furnace don’t get paid the big bucks. Attending school is not the only way to learn your trade. There are many ways to educate yourself, but the easiest and fastest is to go to school. Throw yourself into your studies. Attend all the lectures, read all the assignments, and do all the labs. Ride all the rides!