> Watch the video - "companies hire first kids because of their experience." That is a good example lie. No company is going to hire into
> robotics, a kid with just a high school diploma.
f people are hiring for a factory, a kid who has been in FIRST will be picked over a kid who has not. As to Engineering and Robotics, most of the kids from FIRST continue on into College and after obtaining their degree, My company, and many other companies I know, will hire these kids fresh out of college, because they have that extra experience of designing and building robots.
> To be competitive you MUST lie about your costs, and your mentor MUST do the majority of the work. The kids are only there for
> appearance, sponsored by the mommies and daddies with the most money.
My frustration with the whole program is more those who look in and think this is a RICH kid's program. I guaranty that our small team does not have very many "Rich" kids. Factory worker's kids, Law Enforcement Kids, Farmer's Kids, Teacher's Kids ... THOSE are not the RICH kids. The team I am with was build from scratch and when the first robot was built they had NO money left to even go to the world championship competition after they had won their first competition and earned the right to advance. The Sponsors picked up the bill. Oh, and these kids also participate in the 4H Program, and the Boy and Girl Scouts too.
Is FIRST perfect? Not by a long shot, but this competition makes these kids learn how to problem solve on a budget, learn to work as a team, learn to market their team to the community, and sooooo much more.
Go Flaming Monkeys
Charles Libby
Mentor Team 3352