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Comment by jetbalsa | Hacker News Reader

I attended this program about 10 years ago. To answer your questions, It is a school, they pay the student a stipend and lots of other benefits. the courses are mostly "blue collar" related job training. So thing like Welding, Brick Laying, Computer Repair. You will find most of their courses are targeting job sectors that are in need of people. they also house you for the entire time and is a rather good program to get into.

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Do you know if they have any partnership or work with foster homes to give foster kids a solid path into adulthood?

So once you join you are housed in a dorm on campus. Once you start to leave they will help you find a job, a home and give you starting money. You will not leave the campus until all of this is done. Once you are out on your own, You can rejoin Job Corps if you are still under aged and do a different program and get all the same benefits

I don't know if they have explicit partnerships, but it's certainly a program that case workers in the foster care system are aware of. My foster daughter's case worker explored it with her as one of a range of options after high school. (She ended up just getting a regular job instead.)

I'd be really curious to know how it works out for former foster youth who try it. On the one hand I can imagine the structure and support to be really valuable to kids who have been in the foster care system. On the other hand foster youth often benefit most from systems that can give them lots of second chances and can work with them to meet their individual needs, and I don't know if that's something Job Corps can offer.

You may be interested in ASMBLY Makerspace in Austin, which has a scholarship program to help foster kids / teens get skills that can help them transition into adulthood and get great jobs: https://asmbly.org/new-maker-scholarship-program/

Computer repair is now considered a blue collar job?

I would certainly consider Geek Squad blue collar type work.

Between this and CNC it is amazing how highly technical and how high the education requirements can be for “blue collar” work

Indeed! Have you look at what's needed to be good at car repair lately?

Most blue collar work has always been technical and required a fairly high level of education. The educational path has historically been different (apprenticeships, trade schools, etc), but no less rigorous.

You can scratch by, get your certs, and stand by a machine for ten hours a day, six days a week. Or you can really apply yourself and focus on attaining SOME engineering-level skills and end up indespensible (usually given a part and asked to make it by coming up with a program, as opposed to working from print or existing process). You can be a glorified monkey or you can make yourself into an engineer. Up to you.

Yep. On top of that you better be fast and generally mistake-free or you will be broke. Oh yeah, don't rock the boat either. You have to accept the level of personal safety (gear/practices) that everyone else has accepted--or you are out the door.

I've always thought of it as such... but it probably falls into that borderline between the two.

Definitely. Just like car repair that requires A LOT more training.

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