More questions about Job Corps

This next article responded to questions that my readers had about Job Corps. Once again, please show your support for this blog and my goal of starting a newsletter by donating through paypal at thestreetreader@hotmail.com

These are questions that were asked in the comments section of the following two Hubs, including one question that was requested of me, which I responded to. Click the links for more information and when you're done reading my responses, check out the Amazon.com hubs for some handy items to take with you should you decide to go to Job Corps.

Note: All of the “questions” are summarized as opposed to copying and pasting the entire comment.

Bear wrote many questions within a question so I will break it down.

I am leaving for the Edison Job Corps in New Jersey and I was wondering if you are allowed to bring your own car.

If you are living on campus then odds are you will not be allowed to have your own personal vehicle there. Parking spaces at most centers are limited and will be reserved for staff and visitors, not to mention the question of would happen if your car were vandalized or stolen.

Are you allowed to leave campus in an emergency?

The term “emergency” is a very loaded concept on a Job Corps campus. A friend of mine once had to leave the campus of Northland's in Vergennes, Vermont because his own mother passed away and he needed to be at her funeral. They needed all kinds of confirmation from various people before he was “allowed” to leave, which was ridiculous since he was an adult and not there on a court case.

Ideally I would say that yes, you are allowed to leave the campus for any amount of time you need, so long as you give them plenty of notice and aren't on any kind of campus restrictions. But your emergency is going to have to be very specific and don't be surprised if they ask you to provide a corpse as proof.

When do you begin to get your Bi-Weekly Stipend?

You start getting that right away. If you started during a pay week you probably won't get an actual stipend until the very next payday. But if it's your first time in Job Corps you will get a 25 dollar bonus at your orientation. Note: You only get the orientation bonus once. You will not get it if you transfer to another center.

Clothing Allowance

This is basically how the clothing allowance and the clothing run itself works. Lets say your first day is April 15^th, (The day the Titanic sank coincidentally). You are placed on a schedule along with every other student that joins with you. It could be as soon as two months and it can be as long as six before your turn comes along. This is because each center receives a specific amount of money for each student at a given time and they need to plan the shopping trips accordingly. The same goes for every subsequent clothing run your scheduled for.

Depending on what center you live at and whether or not the store you're shopping for clothes at has any standing beef with said center, you will be taken on a van, with the other students who were in line to receive new clothes and six staff members who will act as chaperone's to make sure you buy the appropriate clothes. At Northland we went to Wal*Mart, until something came up that I don't fully understand and from that point on they started going to K-mart. When I went to the Loring Center in Limestone, ME, we went to a privately owned local shop in Presque Isle, which was actually very nice.

You're typically allowed to buy two packages of underpants, two packages of socks, or some variation thereof. But the clothes you buy will depend entirely on your trade.

For the Business Technologies trade, for example, I was required to get khakis or slacks, a pair of shoes that would be appropriate for the workplace (I refused to wear loafers, but regular black shoes were fine) and button down shirts. But you are not actually given the money. The staff who are with you will have the voucher in hand and they conduct the transaction.

Depending on how tight the schedule is, you are usually given time to do shopping with your own money. So if you know you'll be going on a clothing run this is a good chance to stock up on some of the items I will include later in this article.

Do they Give Driving lessons?

Yes. They will even pay for you to get your driving test. So that is one potential upside of going to Job Corps.

Dee Writes: I am a sophomore in high school and my grades are low. Do you think Job Corps is a good idea to get my Diploma/GED or should I stay in HS?

Dee, I first want to let you know that I feel for you. I have had responses from parents of kids who are having difficulty in high school and they themselves are wondering if it wouldn't be such a bad idea to send their kids of to Job Corps.

The truth is it's up to you and as a minor, it's up to your parents. If they support you in this decision and it is what you feel is right for you then that is what you need to do.

High School is rough, especially these days. Now if your difficulties are because of a learning disability, one thing I can honestly say is that the teachers at the Job Corps I went to are not notoriously helpful to people with those kinds of difficulties. Some can be very arrogant and very demeaning and yet there are a few gems.

I honestly can't tell you what to expect from every single center but I can tell you that Job Corps is not an easy alternative to what you're going through right now. In fact it tends to be worse, because at school you can go home at the end of the day. At Job Corps, if you're a residential student you go back to your dorm and the drama of the school day just follows you and can get worse.

So if it's just grades and you're just a sophomore, I would see if you can get any extra help at all from a tutor, your teachers, or anyone. Your guidance counselor might even know of alternatives to Job Corps that would better suit your situation.

It's up to you and I hope you make the right decision for yourself.

Do they allow Ipods and Cellphones during free time?

Every center has it's rules about cellphones and things like Ipods, MP3 Players and now a days I bet they even have rules about wireless notebooks and Internet phones. So as far as the rules for each center goes that's a tuffy even if you did call them up and ask: because ninety-nine percent of the time the staff can't keep track of all the rule changes.

The policy of Northlands Job Corps was simple. Cellphones and Ipods needed to be left in your dorms during class or they could be confiscated. That policy was very loosely enforced so you'll have to decide if it's worth the risk to be break it at your center.

At the Loring Center you had to give your cellphone to the guy in charge of security until you went to some kind of course. I didn't have a cellphone at the time so it wasn't an issue. After you take the course then presumably you can have your cellphone.

How Big Are the Rooms?

Again, this varies from center to center.

At the Northlands Center you could be in a room with up to eight other roommates or you could just have the one. Single rooms were a privilege that you had to work hard to earn. Yes, I did earn my way into a really nicely sized single room by the time I left there, so it is possible. The rooms may be differently sized depending on what dorm you're in but for the most part you will have adequate leg room.

The Loring Center was an old Air force Base so all of the rooms were two person rooms and you shared a bathroom with the two guys in the next room. I actually liked the living accommodations at Loring much better because there are really only three people to blame if your bathroom gets trashed.

The Truth of Job Corps

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What Job Corps is: A government backed training program that can teach you a trade that may lead to a successful career. They give you a clothing allowance, which I found came in handy quite nicely and if you don't have your high school diploma they will help you achieve your GED.

At the Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone, Maine you can even get your official diploma.

You do get a bi-weekly stipend that increases from the minimum fifteen dollars to the maximum fifty dollars. Once you have completed your trade and earned your GED (if it applies) you get 1200 dollars for completing.

What Job Corps isn't: An alternative to college. This is a huge mistake that many people make and they end up paying for it with their time and their sanity. So let me clarify this point: No matter what the staff members or whatever students who have been brainwashed by the staff members tell you: Job Corps is not like college at all.

The first thing to remember is that as a new student of Job Corps, you are at the bottom of the pecking order. You are not an equal to anyone so check your ego and your personality at the door.

Residential Advisers, Teachers and students in "leadership positions" will treat all new students like they are beneath them. So find out whose good side you need to get on fast and the experience will go by more smoothly.

There are no innocent people, either. If someone else has done something that violates the campus rules, or in some other way upsets or annoys a staff member, everyone is punished.

Depending on what center you go to, the people in the nearby town or wherever you go for clothing and food runs will automatically expect you to steal from them. So just remember that in Job Corps, it is death by association, automatically. It will be up to you to raise yourself above that standard.

Now is this to say that you should avoid Job Corps all together? Absolutely not. By all means, if this is what you want to do, go for it. But here are some suggestions to make the experience go by a lot better.

Ask around. And I don't mean asking out reach counselors, who will tell you anything to get you into a particular center. E-mail students from your particular center and ask about what the campus is like.

The live journal website has groups of Job Corps students from all over the country, who will give you honest reviews of the place they've spent a lot of time.

Buy snack cheap foods as often as possible. Noodles, snack foods, twelve packs of soda, etc, and keep your supply as full as possible. The business savvy student can make a really good killing off of his fellow students. But be careful, because depending on the rules of your particular center you can be terminated for "hustling" or "loan sharking". This is, however, a good way to cement your place near the top of the pecking order.

Buy your own shampoo and soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, and towel. Because the stuff they give you will not suffice.

Keep your pants on. I won't go into the numerous compromising positions you can find yourself in when you try to have intercourse with another student on the campus. It's not worth the risk. (On the other side of the coin, if you absolutely cannot control yourself, the campus Wellness Center does have condoms and other necessary precautions.)

Get up early. Don't wait for the staff to wake you up.

Shower! I cannot emphasize this point enough. If you're in the soft trades, shower in the morning, but if you're working in the hard manual labor trades, where you will be sweating like a hog shower in the afternoon before or after dinner, but before your dorm's headcount. If you go too long without a shower you risk getting placed on what is called a hygiene contract, and lets face it, the center has enough of a leash on you with out it.

Keep your room clean at all costs. If you have only one roommate this should be easy and if you're on your own it's even better. Just remember, if your roommate or roommates screw up and the room fails, it's your problem as well. You could end up being restricted from certain campus activities if an inspection fails, so keep this in mind.

Men: If you shave, buy yourself an electric razor. Trust me on that one.

Women: Buy your own personal supplies. Trust me on that one.

Get involved with activities! Every campus has it's own recreational center, so there's always at least something to do. Getting involved in as many ways as possible is great way to keep your sanity.

Look for ways to score brownie points. If this means volunteering to do extra chores, or helping to clean the gym/rec area, do it. It will pay off in the end.

These are just a few suggestions that can really help with your time at Job Corps. Above all else, heed this advice, which they will tell you a thousand times in your first week there: Avoid the Drama!