The Beast

QUOTE (Kid Gleason @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 03:40 PM) I was just explaining how I ended up in my situation. Trust me, for as frustrated as I get about people and their college hang-ups, the last thing I want is for my kids to NOT go to college. Every so often (O.K., every f'in day) I wonder how much happier I might possibly be if I had gone to school and actually accomplished my dreams. If I had actually gained that degree in art. But then I also stop and think "O.K., but what if I did do that, and I was miserable doing what I thought I would LOVE doing?". I don't think anything would have crushed me more than always dreaming of becoming an artist, making a living doing cartoons, then finding I hated it as much as this b******t career I have now. The way it is now, I can atleast escape to the hobbies I love. It's a bad day today...sorry. I think about how blessed I am to be able to go to school - a lot of my generation doesn't take it seriously and piss their parent's money away on nothing. My mom and dad came from humble beginnings, growing up on the south side of Chicago and barely were able to attend college. They were smart enough to go away to school, but went to Chicago State to get their education because they had to pay for school. My mother, a math major, went on to work at Sears for several years before she stayed at home to take care of 5 kids. My dad originally had thought he would become a teacher, and was trained as such. He then didn't like what he was doing, went to work for Radio Shack before getting a sales job. Since then, he has worked with several corporations and I know he does a great job. I just am not sure if he likes what he does or if he is miserable. I'll never know, so I won't ever complain. This is why I wish someone would have told me early on to take this route of going to the community college for two years before transferring to a major university. If I had done that, I would have taken the general education requirements, worked on my math deficiency, and worked to make money of my own. A lot of people knock the community college route, but I wish I had done that before I dove right into a university that I wasn't sure about to begin with. So now I'm hoping to go to SAU to finish off a business degree, intern with sports teams in Davenport and see what doors open. This time, I think I'll appreciate my education and opportunities that are provided a bit more than I had originally. QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 03:11 PM) Very hard to do nowadays. This is why I won't drop out. I know that I can't work in the trades, I suck at working with my hands. I don't want to be a barista, work in fast food or at a grocery store. I could go into health care if I don't get into sports marketing. But I couldn't work in many jobs that don't require a college degree - with the exception of being a police officer and even then I'd be a bit traumatized.

QUOTE (Kid Gleason @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) I became somebody who works with numbers for a living...and I HATE math. I am the ultimate example for my kids of "find what you REALLY love and chase it...but never say you will never end up doing something for a living...as I did". I still haven't decided that this is what I plan to do forever. I can't imagine doing this for the rest of my career, and I am 39! But if I am still in this field when I am 60...I hope to God somebody is paying me A LOT of money, or somebody is getting ready to shoot me. See, I find that fascinating. How could you have gotten through school and worked in a number related job? That's the other thing, I don't like the term "field" because to me, it's more of a "business." I think what kid gleason's post proves is that you don't necessarily find what you are going to do for a living in college. To be honest, I don't think I'm going to end up working in the sports industry, but I'd rather have practical knowledge that I can apply to a business setting rather than study a random liberal arts subject. I don't care about the humanities, but rather, I care about policy making and negotiation. Point being, I think a lot of what we do for a career has to come from discovery and that not everyone knows what they want to chase in life. In other words, just because I'm chasing the sports industry right now, doesn't mean I'm not going to work for a non-profit organization or a health care organization later on because I enjoy helping people.

What I think would be interesting is to see what people thought they'd be and where they are now. And if people are what they thought they'd be, if their job was as great as they thought it would be.

Sports broadcaster: As a kid I sat in front of my N64 and Playstation (playing sports games with the volume on mute) just listening to the likes of "The Huge Show," "McNeil, Jurko and Harry" and obviously White Sox baseball. I thought it would be great to sit all day and talk, rant and rave about Chicago sports. I even visited ESPN Radio 1000's studio when Len Weiner was the program director at WMVP. I was given a tour and a brief overview of the media industry. He told me, based off his own experience, to go into something else. Little did I know you had to be good to be a talent on the radio and that you'd have to start out small, oftentimes making next to nothing in small town for several years before you got your break. I really sucked on play-by-play and did radio just to listen to music anyway. Sports writer: Much of my high school career was devoted to writing for the school newspaper, and I thought I was as talented as could be. It turns out that I churned out some of the worst stories ever but I could edit and use the page maker like a boss. When I was at EIU I wrote briefly for the paper, discovered that I hated the long hours and tedious work that went with being a sports writer. Again, without an advanced degree (a vast majority NU grads write for the Tribune's sports section) and a lack of passion for the work, I decided that wasn't for me. But I gave it a shot anyway. A surgeon: I watched a lot of ER as a kid and thought that it would be great to be Dr. Peter Benton. You know, have several women to sleep with, take care of a cute kid, run along the lakefront and totally kick ass at his job while getting paid an assload. The problem is that I'm not good at science and I'm only decent at mathematics so I couldn't pursue that. I haven't ruled out a healthcare position yet after I get my bachelor's degree. It'd be kind of cool going into some sort of EMT work. An astronaut: I loved watching October Sky as a kid. Realistically right now I'd love to be a PR Manager, a Healthcare manager, a Marketing manager or to work for a sports organization. Other than that, I've got nothing.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Nov 8, 2009 -> 03:28 PM) Nothing other than he is an idiot, he likes to keep us reminded of that very fact, here and there. Fair enough, I can agree with that I guess.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 05:24 PM) I love getting hammered. I look forward to it when I know it's in my near future. Doesn't make me an alcoholic. There's a difference between looking forward to getting hammered to where it impairs your ability to function on a day-to-day basis and looking forward to getting hammered because you know it'll be a good time. I get my s*** done, I work my ass off during the week, and I unwind hard over the weekend. You seem to take the biggest idiot of the idiots and base your opinions of the whole on that small group of jackasses. And this is just a personal opinion, but if you're drinking to be more social, well, that kind of makes you hypocritical. I do agree, however, that frats and frat parties can suck it. I simply do not understand the mindset of "I want to get wasted!!! Yay..." I never said it made you an alcoholic. Neither did I say people who drink do not get their work done throughout the week. I saw a lot of idiots who were in frats when I was at Eastern and I also have been to a few frat parties. They do not care that you are there. Let me put it this way. I don't go to a party anticipating that I'm going to get trashed. I go to parties to try and meet people and discover what people mean when they say, "you meet your friends of a lifetime at school." Another positive about going to a smaller private school is there is no frats or sororities and I might be able to find "my people." If not, well I have my piece of paper (the BSBA) and am walking away with an education. QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 06:53 PM) Me and another dude were punching each other in the stomach repeatedly last night. What does that have to do with anything?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 01:40 PM) This is pretty much what everyone was telling you when you were pretty much yelling at us that we were all alcoholic morons. We arent calling you an alcoholic now, just pointing out how ironic it is that you are enjoying it. It only changes you if you let it. Otherwise, in a controlled environment, its pretty damn fun. I wouldn't say that drinking is something that I enjoy doing. I do not mind trying new things but there has been nothing that is out of the ordinary amazing about alcohol. A lot of people I have seen do in fact have alcohol issues. There are also many who do not. What I enjoy is when people aren't being idiots and are there just to be social and have a good time. You know, the ones that want to get to know you and give two s***s that you are at the party, social gathering or whatever. Just not frat parties. f*** frat parties. I'm willing to vouch that some people do look forward to getting hammered over the weekend. Again I have to use the word some before people because I know many of you hate generalizations. Some people enjoy doing their own hobbies. I will say though that if a person DOES need alcohol to have fun, they obviously have issues.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 01:21 AM) Just curious, but how did you feel after that? I was perfectly fine. Again, having drinks is not a big deal whatsoever. Jager is good, I bought some of that and brought it with to Western Michigan University for a Halloween party last weekend. Apple cider and jager isn't too bad, though it could be better. QUOTE (SoxAce @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 01:05 AM) LOL, I'm sorry just with all the bullcrap many here have had to put up with you on this issue over the years, I just find it very humbling and very hilarious. I mean there was recent thread just a few months back on you against it. Though I don't wanna stir this thread up or backtrack it so I'll just leave it alone. Welcome to the game though. Yeah, well times change, people change and s*** happens. It doesn't make me an alcoholic and it certainly hasn't changed me in the slightest bit. I don't get to the weekend and think, well s***, it's time to get hammered. I just take situations as they come and much like life, roll with it.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 12:47 AM) Did I actually just read you and drinking in the same sentence? No it can't be..... :o :o I must be hopped on pop (damn pepsi) or something. Dude - I'm 21. It's legal to drink. I don't do it often, but I don't mind having something to drink once in awhile. I just don't pound it like some others do. Tonight I tried a shot of straight vodka, had a miller light and then did the shot of straight everclear. Followed up by lots of cherry Coke. Might I add that drinking isn't really that big of a deal.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Nov 1, 2009 -> 04:04 PM) Everclear leaves me with a bad hangover. But that Apple Pie tasted sooo good! I had a straight shot of that s*** (Everclear). It's disgusting - made me feel like I had a sore throat after I had it.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Oct 17, 2009 -> 01:04 AM) Did you drink the beer? Of course. I also had jagermeister the other evening with some red bull. It was good. But I don't need alcohol to function or have a good time...blah, blah blah...

I didn't see this thread till this morning, but I figured that I would chime is because I ran the Chicago Marathon this past Sunday. I must say that it was the most worthwhile experience of my life. As a majority of you know (if you've been reading the SLaM forum) that I've been trying to figure out what to major in and what to do with my life's work. Since I transferred home from EIU, I not only have found a new hobby in running, but also something that I can do at my next school, run cross country while interning and completing my degree at St. Ambrose University. After my pathetic breakup last December, I thought about doing something amazing and out of the ordinary. So I signed up for the marathon, since I had already been running 5 days a week for about 45-1 hr per day. The training itself was not that difficult once you really start getting into it and running on a consistent basis. I trained from Hal Higdon's novice program, meaning I ran Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and had my long run on Saturday. He suggests that you do cross training on Sunday but I am too lazy for that so I had off-days on Sunday, Monday and Friday. The most mileage that I ran in training was 20 miles. Though it was cold (33 degrees at the start of the race), conditions for the race were ideal. With the adrenaline flowing and by wearing three layers (one of which I discarded), I was able to run the race at a good pace. I would highly recommend starting off with your name written on you in several places so that people can cheer for you. I added time onto my overall time by stopping to have a guy write my name on my arms and throw-away shirt's chest. Nevertheless, it's great hearing people scream, "Go Ross!!!" My favorite memories of the race were running along the lakefront, through the energetic crowds, through Addison (where I saw my support group), through boys town (it actually was entertaining), by U.S. Cellular Field, getting handed a beer at mile 4, running by IIT and UIC, and at the finish line. If anyone wants to train together for it next summer and are in the northwest suburbs, I'd love to do it again and improve on my finishing time of 4:00.32. P.S. I ran that race with peroneal tendonitis.

QUOTE (SnB @ Sep 30, 2009 -> 11:30 AM) I'll be on the other end of a career fair table on friday up at depaul. I'm intersted to see how these things go when you're the employer. I wonder if recruiters care where you went to school, what your GPA is and what you majored in. Just from a recruiter's standpoint, not a student's standpoint.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 03:37 PM) Good luck! Also, it is possible that they'll let me run cross country there, which will put my marathon training to good use. Two more weeks till 26.2 miles. And I'm running with peroneal tendonitis. No response from Mr. Boyer yet, but I feel good about the letter I wrote. Even if I don't get a response, at least I sent it.

I wrote a letter to Brooks Boyer yesterday to set up an information interview with him, and I sent it out this morning. I want to see what kind of degree, internships and credentials I need to get a job in the sports industry. And if I don't end up in the sports industry but rather doing HR or something for a company, at least I tried pursuing what I enjoy, sports/writing/business material. St. Ambrose University is likely going to be the selection of my school because that has all of what I'm looking for. They'll let me write the material for the sports information department, I can get that business or PR degree and they have internships with sports organizations in the quad cities. Should work out pretty well.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Sep 8, 2009 -> 03:45 PM) To all of you wondering what I was saying... I was talking about Argonne specifically, not going into PR generally... And Strange...she said that there was a lot of governmental red tape and as Hawk would say, Big Hat, no Cattle. They or she had a lot of great ideas, but like a lot of governmental organizations, by the time they get around to getting the money and then implementing any plans, 4 better ideas have come down the pike. Plus, you're dealing with scientists, too, while incredibly smart, aren't exactly the best when it comes to marketing/PR because for the most part, they aren't wired that way. But, if you are interested, please, don't let me sway you. You should find out for yourself. And Beast...after your first job, it really doesn't matter what your major is/was...as long as you are good at what you do. That's the thing - in journalism, I'm mediocre at best. My writing never really improved from high school and that kind of work is too stressful. When an editor expects a story by 4 in the afternoon, he means it, and I can't produce quality by then. Business on the other hand just throws a bunch of math, writing, economics and business courses into one degree. I can do that. As long as I have that business degree, I can always go back to school and get an associate's in health care, given the job market. There are a lot of things that I can do, it's just finding the skills that I do have and making use of them. I'm sure that I'll be better at something in 2 years when I'm set to graduate. Then I can experience the whiplash that I expect and go back for more school. Lastly, just because I don't come from a PR background doesn't mean I can't get a job in PR. I might intern in PR. We'll see.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 4, 2009 -> 02:03 PM) How can you really judge a field after one undergrad semester at EIU? I'm judging based off of the courses that are taught in their Comm Studies department. Their CS department is different than say, Bradley University or other departments. I find it hard to believe that all schools are going to make you stomach a heavy dose of Comm Theory, Organizational Communication or even of the more non-practical stuff before you can even get into things that make sense like press releases, writing or some of the business aspects taught at other schools. In the end, it didn't really matter as I needed to find a new school any way.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 4, 2009 -> 11:16 AM) No. Just go Corporate Communications vs something stupid like Media Studies. I really appreciate the tone of your post. In fact, for a semester I was a Corporate Communication major and I found out how little you actually learned in the field of Communication. I would rather study Anthropology than be spoonfed something about how people talk and function within an organization. With that said, I believe there is a difference with regards to Communication Studies at EIU compared to Communication Studies at Bradley University or at other schools. I have found that I'm more into business but I do want my writing ability to be shown to my employers hence the PR writing. The basis of my research for schools is that I'll actually learn something rather than just be some idiot who goes and learns a bunch of bulls*** and isn't prepared for anything that "the real world" may throw at you. I'm not saying EIU is a bad school, but what I am saying is that some of the departments there are a joke, with the exception of Biology, Political Science, Journalism and the College of Education.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Sep 3, 2009 -> 05:16 PM) I know someone who used to be Director of Communications and her response to any job relating to that would be...DON'T DO IT! Do employers view Comm degrees as a weak degree? I've thought about PR to try and get my way into the White Sox, but I'm currently just wanting a business degree from the private school I'm looking at before getting an associate's in a healthcare position. We'll see what happens, though the dream is to work with the Sox. If not, at least I tried.

I say Sean Lowe should be allowed into the pen.

Coming out of high school, I thought for sure my life would remain the same, I would date the same person, I would enjoy broadcasting and writing for the paper as well as becoming a high school teacher. I attended EIU for several reasons including the 2 year foreign language requirement, the education being superior (not to ISU, obviously) and because they had good media programs. (I only looked at NIU, UIC and EIU and I never really did much research on my decisions - completely idiotic, I know.) I started to take courses and became less sure of my decision to go for a job in broadcasting, journalism or education. Most recently I have transferred home to attend the College of DuPage for a semester before transferring out again. As I've voiced in this thread, I would love to work with a professional sports organization, most specifically with the White Sox or Bears. At ISU, they have a Public Relations program where there have been a few graduates who work for those teams (I've met a few, but the person that stands out most in my mind is Chris Rongey). I'm taking business courses at the moment and I'm trying to graduate within the next 2-3 years. I just hope a more urban environment that is closer to home is a better fit for me. Often times I have thought about obtaining a bachelor's degree in PR or Business and seeing how the market is for jobs when I graduate, so that I could go back to school to check out nursing, being an EMT or a dental hygenist. I'm all over the place with what to do, really. I guess the saving grace is that you don't need to graduate in 4 years.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 10:30 AM) Steve Stone having a Cy Young has a lot more to do with him being in broadcasting then him having a BA in History. As far as your question Farmteam, it certainly helps, but it's more about being a great speaker than the actual voice. Guys like Mike Murphy and Harry Teinowitz have had long careers in the radio business, and don't exactly have "radio voices". As far as the question of the thread, right now I'm a student, getting a degree in Sports Management. I currently work for the media relations department with the Schaumburg Flyers, and also producer/engineer our radio broadcast. (I'm also going to be the color guy on Tuesday, so I expect all of you to listen! ) I also spent 7 great months with ESPN Radio, which allowed me how to learn how to be a producer/engineer Tony - I was just suggesting that Stone's degree didn't really matter in getting a job in the broadcasting industry. Where are you getting your sports management degree at and what courses do you take?

QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 23, 2009 -> 08:58 PM) Where do you teach? Currently in school, getting a B.S. in business. Not entirely sure what I want to do with that -- thinking about something in the merchandishing/planning/buying area, though I'm strongly considering law school. I never considered broadcasting, but it's always in the back of my mind, because I'm always told I have a great deep radio voice. Silly question, to those who work in that field -- how much of a selling point is having a voice like that good for getting a job as on-air talent? I'm not even thinking about it seriously, just curious. I don't think it is so much the voice that you present as it is the talent that you have on-air. What makes Dan McNeil great is his quick wit and analysis he brings to the table. Steve Stone has a BA in History and just knows baseball - though he does have an excellent voice for the air waves.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 04:23 PM) Attorney, trying to figure out how I can finance broadcasting school You could check out the Illinois Center for Broadcasting in Lombard. I'm not sure how expensive that is, but I know 670 the Score has an employee who graduated from there and immediately was in the Chicago market. Part of the problem that I have with the radio industry is that if you are in a school of lower tier, you might not be able to get into the position you want until you spend a lot of time in a small town, small market station. But, since I'm not really interested in the technical work or being on air talent (I don't have the energy that McNeil and Spiegel have), it isn't a good fit for me. Though I must say, if you are at Columbia in Chicago or anywhere remotely close in proximity to the city, you might get that job in the city and bypass a 5-10 year trip to a small town. I'm curious though, how some people at the Score seemed to get in the city upon graduation from SIU, ISU or U of I. As far as the newspaper industry goes, my issue with that is similar to the market for radio. Two things. Is there a market for radio to be in a major city or must people pay dues in small markets? Also, is the newspaper industry going downhill? My occupation is being a student. After working doing manual labor over the summer, I've decided that I do not want to go into the trades or do anything related to not having a degree. I don't want to drop out of college, but I must say, EIU did not suit my needs. Location (rural, a bit far from home for my taste), difficulty level of classes (too easy), the campus itself (too small), the school spirit (I'd rather be more spirited like ISU or NIU), the internship opportunities and my personal goals were not really there. I decided that radio was just an interest in high school, and that journalism could be something I'm still interested in, given the right opportunity - at ISU, NIU or a private school. I didn't like the daily deadlines and how I didn't really grow personally down there. When the economy started tanking, I started to get rather interested in business, but wanted to incorporate my writing ability into my major. I looked at my options at different schools - NIU has both business and journalism, ISU has business and public relations, and St. Ambrose has all of those areas of study. Public Relations is a lot of writing, but it also can incorporate my desire to study about business. I could be a business major, but it would require me to ask the academic advisors at the three schools when I visit them this fall about how many math courses I would need to take before I am able to get into Calculus for Business and Social Sciences. Unfortunately, when I tested at the community college, I hadn't taken a math course in over a year and got placed rather low. So, I'm asking NIU, ISU and other schools about what I'd need to take. And for the semester I'm taking business courses while applying for the spring semesters. If I got the business degree, I wouldn't mind opening up my own business. If I got a PR degree, I could work for a PR firm, be a PR manager or work as an editor in some capacity (probably would require a degree in journalism, which shouldn't be too difficult for me, since that subject area is easy). Ultimately though, I think my passion lies within sports. I'm in the process of emailing Brooks Boyer to see what I could do to intern with the White Sox, or to see what it takes to work with them or within the sports industry. I'm also considering contacting minor league baseball teams such as the Kane County Cougars to work with them in some capacity. QUOTE (Molto @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 08:48 PM) I'm a little of a lot of things: editor, print/web designer, an auditor of sorts (boring job, too complicated to explain), but the most fun is baseball coach/instructor (I get paid to teach baseball, which is sweet). My goal is to expand on the latter. Plus the whole www.soxnet.net thing. What did you major in and what kind of courses did you take for web development? I might be interested in taking a course like that.

Are we all sitting together after the game? If not, I'm not sure that I'm going to go - I hated going to the game alone that one time. =P