Some of the "average" young adults among my nieces, nephews, cousins' kids -- receptionist at a medical office (has an AA in medical admin), commercial window installer, multiple teachers, paralegal, vet tech, police officer, insurance company adjuster

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My low IQ son became a mechanic and he loves it. He went to vo tech in HS and then a certificate program in community
College where you pass based on demonstrating skills with no tests required. He’s really happy and makes a decent wage working with the government. I’m happy too because he can support himself comfortably without us.

+1 Plumber, electricians, HVAC.. especially in a hcol can make good money.

My niece (college educated) just married a plumber who works on large scale buildings.

Licensed plumbers can make bank.
As in, they earn more than engineers and architects.

I had very low grades HS, C, D’s and even Fs. The counselor tried to force me to drop out of HS and go to some trade school at 16.

My counselor to “hedge” forced me to take auto repair class, blue print reading, woodworking, welding, metal working, small engine repair even a cooking class.

Exactly how is a C student with ADHD and poor math and Art skills who does not study and barely pays attention supposed to be a Chef, master mechanic, carpenter I also got poor grades in that.

Finally he called my Mom in and my counselor and principal told my mom all my problems and how she needs to do that, she needs to this and she needs to work with me to get me to be a better student or I need to go to trade school.

My mom after long pause goes to counselor and principal will you come to my house, vacuum my carpets, do my laundry, cook my dinner, go shopping for me? They go no why would we do your job? My mom said exactly. I am not doing your job, you are paid to teach my son not me. He is my problem when he is not in school, but 9-3 Monday to Friday he is your problem, so do your job and she got up and left.

I graduated 76 average, graduated college 2.6 GPA and graduated my masters 3.0 GPA and by 45 was making $360k with a corner office.

Don’t let teachers or GPAs pigeon home you. Joe Biden was a crappy student and became president. He didn’t listen to the haters.

A family friend's DD was pretty average academically but super personable and attractive. She went on to work in marketing. She also married very well. Her and her family seem to be doing extremely well in terms of house/car/private schools.

you speak so highly of your child it's no wonder they are thriving.

Stop pushing them into things. let them figure it out and they will be much happier when they live across the country from you.

This was me, due to a trauma response. I ended up getting an undergrad degree online after I had my first kid, graduated at 30 (it’s an accredited brick-and-mortar university). Was a SAHM and then went back to get my MBA at a no-name school. Started as a data analyst in healthcare, pivoted to hospital administration, and I’m now about to start at a Fortune 10 as a senior manager.

Whenever I see parents wringing their hands about their children’s supposed failures/bleak futures, I have to laugh. I always had a pretty bad GPA, didn’t do anything “right,” but I’ve been able to become successful. Why? Because I’m driven to succeed. By and large, that’s what it takes.

I was a very average student in HS/college (2.5 in both.) Managed to find a career as a therapist that I am good at, went to grad school (still was not an amazing student) but have gone on to have a great career, have published articles, presented at national conferences, received several promotions/awards at the company where I work, and make a very decent living working PT.

I told DH recently that I wasn't a great student, but I am a really good employee.

Not my child but my brother. He was an average and sometimes below average student but he worked hard and it was very frustrating for him. Years later it was determined via his daughter who had the same struggles that he had a learning disability. But, he had tremendous street smarts and was a great problem solver and he did incredibly well in business and became very wealthy. He was also very competitive and loved to win so his drive really helped him succeed. He wasn’t book smart but he was very smart.

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is not learning disabled, but is behind in a few subjects. Everyone on this board talks about wanting their kids to get into the best colleges, etc., but I want to know, what should we be pushing our child to do, realistically. Our kid isn't going to get into an Ivy League school or UVA/Virginia Tech. They're not going to be a scientist or a doctor. What should they consider? What did your average to below average children end up doing successfully?

1. You need stop reading the College Forum here in DCUM. The "best" college is the one that best fits your child. Not necessarily an Ivy League or UVA where the % that get admitted is very low anyway.

2. I would still encourage my child to pursuit a college degree. GMU, VCU, JMU or simply start at NVCC.

Did you or your spouse attend an Ivy League school? Or became a scientist/doctor?

If money is not an issue, why deny your child the opportunity of an Education? The world needs more than scientist and doctors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is not learning disabled, but is behind in a few subjects. Everyone on this board talks about wanting their kids to get into the best colleges, etc., but I want to know, what should we be pushing our child to do, realistically. Our kid isn't going to get into an Ivy League school or UVA/Virginia Tech. They're not going to be a scientist or a doctor. What should they consider? What did your average to below average children end up doing successfully?

My very average DH was always bottom half of school. He went and played D1 football and now he’s a C Level Exec of a tech company. Makes over $500k in 30’s. He went into tech sales but now he’ managed multiple teams. The majority of the people he works with at his company are ivy league except for the sales team.

In fairness...you are using just one metric to define your husband as average...how he did academically in school.

I would never label Dave Grohl (who basically was flunking out of HS until his mother officially let him drop out to tour with his band at the time) or countless other exceptional talents as average or below average.

There are plenty of professional athletes that didn't have tremendous grades, but once more, I don't think anyone would label them average or below average.

We are talking about academics in school. He's also very bright and can hold his own. Sometimes being a star student or a below average student growing up does not correlate with future success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is not learning disabled, but is behind in a few subjects. Everyone on this board talks about wanting their kids to get into the best colleges, etc., but I want to know, what should we be pushing our child to do, realistically. Our kid isn't going to get into an Ivy League school or UVA/Virginia Tech. They're not going to be a scientist or a doctor. What should they consider? What did your average to below average children end up doing successfully?

My very average DH was always bottom half of school. He went and played D1 football and now he’s a C Level Exec of a tech company. Makes over $500k in 30’s. He went into tech sales but now he’ managed multiple teams. The majority of the people he works with at his company are ivy league except for the sales team.

In fairness...you are using just one metric to define your husband as average...how he did academically in school.

I would never label Dave Grohl (who basically was flunking out of HS until his mother officially let him drop out to tour with his band at the time) or countless other exceptional talents as average or below average.

There are plenty of professional athletes that didn't have tremendous grades, but once more, I don't think anyone would label them average or below average.

I have a cousin who is an ASE certified mechanic - the least academically inclined of us. Another who is a CWO on the Army - smart, but just not interested in school. A third is a fast food restaurant manager.

There are A LOT of jobs/careers that don’t require you to be the academically smartest ever, but do allow you to make a good living.

OP - does your child have common sense? Problem solving skills? EQ?

Flight attendant
School bus driver
Prep cook, then chef
Dispatcher at a warehouse
Truck driver
Personal care assistant
Fast food worker

All people in my family/in-laws

Can he problem solve in non-academic ways?
Good plumbers are problem solvers.

HVAC unions can’t find enough people to train.

Good electricians have spatial sense, not to mention safety sense. Even better ones have aesthetic sense that leave things tidy and beautiful. Our electrician is a jazz aficionado who listened to stellar playlists while he worked ( turned it off when we came in, but we didn’t mind). Finding that work life balance has many plusses.

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is not learning disabled, but is behind in a few subjects. Everyone on this board talks about wanting their kids to get into the best colleges, etc., but I want to know, what should we be pushing our child to do, realistically. Our kid isn't going to get into an Ivy League school or UVA/Virginia Tech. They're not going to be a scientist or a doctor. What should they consider? What did your average to below average children end up doing successfully?

My very average DH was always bottom half of school. He went and played D1 football and now he’s a C Level Exec of a tech company. Makes over $500k in 30’s. He went into tech sales but now he’ managed multiple teams. The majority of the people he works with at his company are ivy league except for the sales team.