Experiences

I was thinking about how states could offer free college education at a low cost …

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There has been a lot of talk about making college education free for students. Usually the proposal involves either a new tax on the rich or cobbling together existing funding streams, adding a little extra money here and there, and saying that college is now free. The prior idea often is dismissed as politically impossible, and the later idea while implemented is misleading at best, as usually it involves little additional funding and doesn’t cover the cost of fees and housing during college.

But maybe the answer exists today with the infrastructure built during the pandemic — remote learning. Let students get full college experience via Zoom or other video lecture. There is no limit on class-size for Zoom lecture, a classroom could span a whole state or even the world for relatively little money compared to old ways of educating. Online tests and quizzes can be automatically graded by a server. Papers and essays could be submitted electronically for review by the professor and adjuncts. For other quizzes and tests, where there is a concern about cheating, local High Schools could be used in the evenings with paid test proctors to administer the tests in a secure environment. Likewise, High Schools could be used in group discussions in the evenings, connecting with the professor over Zoom.

There once was a bias against remote learning and remote work. But the pandemic has struck many of those prejudices down, showing it can work. While part of human connection is lost over Zoom, already many traditional classes were taught in large, impersonal lecture halls. The remote learning infrastructure could be made so much cheaper that it would be easy for states to fund unlimited learning and certification of people wanting to learn new skills to advance their careers, improve their knowledge, or learn more about a subject.

Already, there are many colleges like MIT and Penn State that offers free online lectures and textbooks. It’s a good start, but there is no formal testing or certifications after participating in such courses. But adding this component to learning process could be a very economical way for states to provide free learning to all their citizens. People could gain new skills throughout the careers, advancing the work force and allowing their citizens become more knowledgeable about the world.

What to do for work when I move west

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One question that is on my mind when I move out west, eventually is what I will do for work. While I plan within maybe a year of moving to have my own land in the clear and live a simple off-grid homestead, I will probably still need some work for health insurance and to cover incidentals without bleeding down my savings until well into retirement.

My parents are quite dismissive of any future move, noting that I’ll probably not be able to find another job in government and politics. Not that I want another job in this field – truth be told I only work in this industry now because it’s a leading field in the greater Albany area and it pays well with good benefits. It’s allowing me to save a lot towards a better future for sure.

That said, I think my job nowadays in research, communications and middle management actually is helping me to develop skills that could be useful in a wide variety of industries where people have to be managed, papers written, demographic analysis done and communications a key. I also think my growing experience at map making – especially high quality maps for presentations and analysis of GIS data is an asset. While I don’t have any formal training in GIS, my ability to develop good maps entirely using free software and open data is an asset.

But all opportunities need not be white collar too. If I have enough money saved and cut my expenses enough I can probably live on much less income as I won’t need to be saving so much money, and I won’t have rent to pay, utility bills, cheaper gas prices and cheaper items in places with a lower cost of business. I am certainly able to do any kind of secretary work or even maybe work in social services like I did with the disabled years ago. I could even do something like work in a grocery store if that helps cover the bills and pays for health insurance. I could certainly do political communications or run campaigns but it’s not something that I want to do when I move west. Being a long haul trucker might be a good job for seeing the country. I briefly dated a girl that was doing that on the side while going to community college.

I don’t know, I have options. By no means am I tied to Albany for the rest of my life but I’ll probably stay local while I have family nearby and I’m making good money to save for tomorrow. It’s been a great few years in the stock market and I’ve been making enough money to invest and save a fair bit so when I make the leap, I can do it and make a smooth transition. It’s not going to be tomorrow but I do want to have enough time remaining in my life to enjoy some fun things, be able to own my own land and live the life I actually want to live.

Move In Day At The Cabin!

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Colorado Offgrid Adventures: "I'm so excited to spend the next 3 months in this off grid cabin located in the Colorado Rockies! No running water or electricity, just a big ole wood stove and tons of inspiration in the form of immediate access to the San Isabel National Forest just outside the front door. I'll be doing a video diary so check back for regular updates!"

Moving cattle to winter permit: Vlog #14

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Mule Ranching Vlog #14: In this episode we move the remaining cattle off the ranch an onto the winter range.

Modern-day cowboys moving cattle on horseback on the open range. Good to watch while listening to some John Denver.

Tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day
Driving the cattle over snow covered plains
All of the good gifts given today
Ours is the sky and the wide open range