Students learn different career path available

ROSSTON – College isn’t for everyone.

Not everyone is cut out to attend a four-year school, nor can many afford it. However, there is an alternative. Be Pro, Be Proud, a state sponsored program that travels around the state, shows students how they can earn a good living without a college education. Cameron Turney, tour manager, and the crew were at the Nevada Schools Monday and Tuesday, demonstrating different possible careers.

Students in middle and high school were literally given the chance to get hands on experience with the different jobs – sort of. The Be Pro, Be Proud team arrived in a semi with virtual reality stations in the trailer. These simulators allowed students to find out what it was like to work in different career fields. By far and away, truck driving was the most popular with students gathered around the simulator waiting for their turn to get behind the wheel of a big rig.

Turney told the students the simulator sponsors are looking for employees. He said this program is like the job corps and pointed out there are opportunities available for those who aren’t going to college. He showed the students how much they could make annually at different vocational professions, raising a few eyebrows at the amount.

From there, the students literally played video games as they worked simulators, donned virtual reality goggles and found out what it was like to do the jobs in question. These ranged from welding to operating an excavator, robotics, working on power lines in a bucket truck, do plumbing and construction, along with computer technology.

Turney said this was done at no cost to the school as it’s a state-sponsored program. Students were told if they were interested they could visit the Be Pro, Be Proud website, fill out an application, which includes their area of interest and tech schools and employers would contact them.