“The Skill of a Man’s Right Hand,” New Era, Oct. 1972, 10

Rick Baker, a returned missionary, has attended Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. He has dreams and aspirations for the future, and he is going to be a car mechanic. Rick, studentbody president at Utah Technical College, said:

“I was doing well enough in engineering at the university, but I was not satisfied with what I was doing. I found that working with my hands gave me the feeling of accomplishment that I was looking for. In choosing a vocation, I asked myself, ‘Rick, what are you really interested in?’ I love to work on my car; I love to read about engines and automobiles. Perhaps I should have recognized that it was not so much the engineering aspect of mechanical things that I enjoyed, but the actual feeling﻿—being part of making an engine run, of having my hands in things. I enjoyed reading about men like A. J. Foyt and Mark Donahue, and yes, even Henry Ford. I knew that I could be good at doing things with automobiles because I was intensely interested in them. These are a few of the indicators that helped me decide to try a technical college.” Rick also commented that consulting with his bishop and stake president was of great value to him, along with seeking our Heavenly Father in making prayerful consideration of what career he should choose.

Rick took a good look at vocational training and asked: What are the entrance requirements? Who is best suited to technical training? Is it sensible and fulfilling? Can technical training provide me with a job that will financially support a family?

Entrance requirements Although Rick had no problems with grades, he was interested in just what was required in order to enter a technical college. He found most technical and community colleges that provide vocational training have an open-door policy. This is usually defined as meaning that they will admit all persons whether or not they have completed high school.

Who is best suited for vocational training National studies indicate that the average student in occupational programs is working part- or full-time and has graduated from high school. Most, especially the women, have taken more technical or occupational courses in high school in comparison with the overall population. Most students in vocational training have tended to do better than average in mathematics, above average in natural sciences, and lower than average in English and social sciences. Although these figures are general and not always correct, they may offer some help in judging what kind of training you should pursue. In choosing what kind of training you will pursue, it is perhaps a good idea to find those qualities in yourself that can best be amplified to help you be the most productive and happiest person you can be.

Financial opportunities The opportunity for financial success was one thing that Rick Baker thought carefully about. The fact that people who are college trained make more money on the average than those who are not is an unimpeachable statistic; however, it is also a fact that good technically trained people can make better than average salaries, and well-trained people in technical areas do have some tremendous opportunities for self-employment. It seems that money can help fulfill many desires, but it can never replace the deep-down satisfaction of enjoyed accomplishment.