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!