In late August, I slapped down the obscene
sum of $4,300 on a "Landman" school, gas & hotel with
the hopes of starting a new career
... WHAMMY #1
If I had paid more attention to the following "RED FLAGS",
I would've "hit the brakes":
1) The price of oil was seriously surrounded by bears.
2) Our financial system was gagging from their own
sub-prime greed.
3) Our economy as a whole was being flushed down the tubes.
4) Election time was coming ~ That's a chinese cluster-%
right there.
5) The real estate market had flipped like a coin toss.
6) Other so-called "Landman" schools charged $400 to $800!
From the beginning of October - '08 to the end of the year,
I made several hundred phone calls with emails & resumes
attached. This, as well, cost me another $747 in non-returnable
expenses... WHAMMY #2
If I had DONE my homework, I would have discovered the following:
1) The "Landman" career field was already extremely overstaffed.
2) The fourth quarter is the "slow season" for Landmen.
3) Oil & Gas Brokers start NEW budgets after January 1.
4) The shale plays actually started back in '05/'06.
Now that the "New Year" has arrived, I was looking forward
to finding ANY work & getting a return on my initial investments
... WHAMMY #3
Now that I WAS doing my homework, I discovered the following:
1) The Brokers won't touch anybody with less than 3 years experience
OR prefer to hire strippers, family or close friends before anyone else.
And... For the "Finale"... A drum roll please...
2) An individual cannot claim this type of schooling or any
other schooling w / the attached expenses on their taxes
UNLESS they were already working in the career field.
Since I changed careers, I'm $5,047.00 OUT OF POCKET and OUT OF A JOB!
Summation:
A) I paid for and received a product, there's no arguing that case.
I received "XEROXED" copies of land titles/abstracts & a fancy
geology book.
B) Do I feel that the product was worthy of the monies paid?
Of course not!
C) On the FINAL day of our "Landman" class in the late afternoon,
the schools' owner NOW advised us that the hardest part of the
"Landman" career field was "getting your foot in the door"!
Ahh, NOW the TRUTH is revealed & he's already pocketed my $4,300.
Nice, hey? Here's a small nugget of info for anyone else that attends
THIS school or any OTHER type of secondary school... DO YOUR
HOMEWORK FIRST on the career field to see if it's already flooded
or not and/or stay in a REAL College/University and obtain your
degree in something that's REALLY in demand (I.E. Engineering, MD, etc.).
Best of luck to all & beware of those "rip-off" career schools.
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