College help? Need ideas! *Calling all plant-heads*

[orchidman]

Originally Posted by MABJ

I'm sure it isn't obvious I go here or anything :P.

But really. Prettiest school you'll ever see. They pride themselves In the front office with the "Biggest front yard in the nation.." But that's the biggest thing about us lol. 2000 students roughly undergrad. Average class size of like 18.

That's nice though, having a smaller school! I don't think I would enjoy a super huge school, where you have class sizes of 100 students.

[Leaky Filter]

Originally Posted by orchidman

I don't think I would enjoy a super huge school, where you have class sizes of 100 students.

Try class sizes of 1,000 students.

I can shed some light on some things from a family business/professional side. My father received his bachelors in biology and masters in forestry. My family owned an ornamental business for a number of years as well as some side farming in actual agriculture- peanuts, cotton, soybeans, etc. From there, he went on to manage one of the larger ornamental nurseries in Florida (and the country by default). From there, he moved into the fertilizer sector where he received a whole bunch of advisor certifications and works in commission based fertilizer and product sales rep that specializes in the ornamental side of the business.

Doom and gloom aside, there is money in horticulture and it's far from a feel good career. However, the money is frequently traded for security. Growing things like ornamentals can be relatively high risk because you are at the whim of the market whilst growing a perishable product. It is effected by a fluctuating economy. That being said, the nurseries that are strong businesses will survive while the ones that are good growers but poor businesses will not.

I could write a book of advise, but I'm going to stick to two points.

1- If you want to go into business for yourself, learn how to operate a business when you're in school and make sure to get the credentials while you're at it. More on this in point two. As stated above, good businesses can survive bad economies, but you have to know what you're doing. Take business, accounting, and marketing classes. If it isn't your major, it should be your minor. There is not a career in the world that will look down on a business-related minor.

2- While learning about a niche within a niche shouldn't be your academic focus, it can most certainly be a secondary one. Some of the most successful nurseries in Florida started in people's backyards. They constructed a small greenhouse and grew desirable niche plants and sold them to smaller garden centers and distributors. As demand grew, the business grew. They leased an acre, then five acres, etc. When I worked in tropical fish wholesale and distribution there were people making an additional $25-50k/yr. by breeding and propogating high end fish and inverts in their garages and spare bedrooms. They kept full-time jobs with full-time benefits and did this as a side business. I don't see why an Orchid business couldn't be the same. Choose a couple of varieties, open up a business, and see what happens. You may find that renting a three bedroom house, devoting one bedroom to propogation and subletting one bedroom for a roommate is the way to go. You may get out of school and not want to look at another orchid for the rest of your life. Again, owning your own business isn't going to hurt anything on a resume and it will set you apart during critical interview processes. Frankly, it will look a whole lot better and be a whole lot more interesting than working an internship or part time job at a botanical garden unless you're dead-set on staying in the botanical garden business.

What sounds better-
"I had an internship at orchid botanical gardens during my sophomore and junior year where I worked as a lab assistant who specialized in tissue culture."

Or

"I started and still run a small nursery that sold specialty orchids online and a few select retailers. You can check it out at www.orchidsbyyourname.com. By the time I graduated, I had about ten varieties and five hundred orders per year."

My point is this- eventually you'll find that growing things isn't hard. You develop a skill set and you run with it. There may be some species down the road that are maddening, but for the most part, you won't have trouble growing marketable product. The details of running a business, however, can be much more valuable to learn while you're in school.

[wastewater]

^
Wisdom well stated.

[etgregoire]

I saw you mention that you are into photography and while it hasn't come up any further in the thread I just thought I would say - I'm a photographer and don't be a photographer lol. Unless you are interested in running your own business that is. Photography is fun, but there aren't many jobs you can find where someone will "hire" you. It's usually a self made career path.

I also would say that while you want to do something you will enjoy - at the same time it's work and I think there are a small fraction of people who wake up every morning excited to leave the house because they love what they do that much. I think it's more important to find something that interests you and you can handle spending a lot of your time doing it. I also think that for some people it's important to keep hobbies as your hobbies... It's something you can enjoy on the weekends and it doesn't have to become a laborious task that is your job. It stays light and fun and you can put as much or as little of your attention and time into it as you really feel like.

I think that far too often young people will pick something that they love doing without thinking far enough down the line of how it will make them marketable in the work place. I also think that just picking something you love and saying that you will make your own business is a great idea but it really takes a lot of work because there is far more to it than just the part that you love. There is marketing, invoicing/billing, financial planning and management, health insurance, liability insurance... And then there is of course the investment into supplies and costs of the business.

Not trying to shoot you down here because I know I probably sound a bit pessimistic - I guess I just wish that someone had kind of set my eyes in a different place when I was around your age. I just don't think the whole "you can be whatever you want!!!" when you grow up is the most productive way of pointing young minds into the future.

Whatever you do, try doing some research about what those positions pay, how high of a demand there is for it in the market place, and what sort of education is required to get there. I can't tell you how many people I knew who majored in Sociology because it was interesting, Ceramics because they loved creating art or Philosophy because they loved thinking about deep concepts - and came out of college without much marketable skills or knowledge.

Try reading some stuff on http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ Although sometimes I think the information can be over generalized and maybe not accurate in each region of the country it's a good starting place to understand what is happening in the job market.

All that being said I think that you have a good head on you, because you're looking at all of this at such a young age and much engaged than a lot of people really are. It's also not set in stone, you have the chance to change your major once you get to school and find more interesting new classes to take.

[orchidman]

Thanks for more information guys! And especially that last link! That really helped!!

As far as photography goes, I don't think I'll make it my career to be a photographer. But maybe be able to incorporate it in. Or maybe as a secondary job or something. Whether it is my main source of income or not, I will still be a photographer, because I love it! And if I can weddings here and there and some senior portraits, great! If i can work with marketing companies doing photography for their add campaigns (like I am already starting to do) then thats great too! But I don't think I will make it my main career to be a portrait photographer. But I ill certainly incorporate it, if I go down a direction that allows for that.

[etgregoire]

Well there are lots of facets to photography, I personally do as little portraits as possible. I don't really like to photograph people! It's cool that you really enjoy it. If you decide it's going to be something that you do on the side, it's going to be difficult to do types of photography beyond portraits and weddings. Just because those 2 may allow you to keep a foot in one world and another foot in some other world of your choosing. Finding assignments with agencies typically requires a sizeable investment of equipment and years of experience building portfolio material and contacts / networking in the industry. So it would be rare for someone to do these types of projects and not be fully immersed in photography as a career choice. Good luck to you!

[orchidman]

Originally Posted by etgregoire

Well there are lots of facets to photography, I personally do as little portraits as possible. I don't really like to photograph people! It's cool that you really enjoy it. If you decide it's going to be something that you do on the side, it's going to be difficult to do types of photography beyond portraits and weddings. Just because those 2 may allow you to keep a foot in one world and another foot in some other world of your choosing. Finding assignments with agencies typically requires a sizeable investment of equipment and years of experience building portfolio material and contacts / networking in the industry. So it would be rare for someone to do these types of projects and not be fully immersed in photography as a career choice. Good luck to you!

I really like working with people, but I wouldn't say that senior or family portraits are my favorite. Other types of less-conventional portrait photography are what I enjoy the most! For my own personal enjoyment I like to do fine art and landscape photography.

As far a working with a marketing company like that, I actually have already started doing that! I have connections with a small specialized marketing agency and occasionally I will work with them for one of their add programs or political add campaigns, and I really enjoy it. So through them I would be able to keep working with them occasionally and the owner, who is the one I know, is able to help me get connections. Through him I have covered events, such as debates, for different foundations and done things like that. And I really enjoyed that.

[laqu]

Originally Posted by msjinkzd

If you are interested in running your own business, I would strongly recommend business and accounting classes- including web design and accounting softwares. I struggle the most with the "paperwork" side of running my own business.

No matter where you choose, don't spread yourself too thing. Pick a major that you really will be passionate about, you can always take electives or take courses after you graduate to fine tune for your interests.

My biggest regret is that 12 years after graduating college I am STILL paying hundreds of dollars a month in school loans for degrees I don't even use. Don't rush your decision.

second on BSNS...

and i WISH my daughter understood that loan thing... she has her heart set on a top 25 school (and most don't give meritt aid) .. at 60K a year it's crazy... but she has worked SO hard ...

..

as for majors think INTERDISCIPLINARY.. and self designed. ... not sure where you live but after visiting 30 college in the last year and researching 50+ I can tell you the leaders of tomorrow will be well rounded and have degrees that cover multiple disciplines...

[MABJ]

I'm in a top 5 school for my field. I wanted number two but couldn't afford it. I will regret it every day :/.

If she has any chance of getting in, help.