I've got to be honest, I've seen too many people sell their future short by feeling they don't have what it takes to make it - they feel they are unable to learn. Or they listen to the negative thoughts of others who may call them failures, or to settle for less because its easier. Then there are those who feel they are too cool to learn, so they end up working behind the counter of a convenience store. Real smart, huh? If you want to flip burgers the rest of your life and live in a flop house or an apartment in a high crime area - that's your choice. Good luck to you and the unlucky person who becomes your mate and the children you bring into the world to live in poverty.

Or, you can apply yourself, and learn. Even if you can't afford college, you can still succeed by using your mind and map out your life and having a plan and taking a course of action. Unskilled labor brings unskilled income. Learning a skill and occupation opens doors you never knew existed, or never thought you'd get through. It takes concentration, putting in your time, making the effort. Go into any large department store chain or fast food restaurant and watch all the clerks work hard, knowing their wages buy them very little, at any moment, they can be financially wiped-out living in a cardboard box in some nondescript alley begging change for a sandwich or a bottle of rotgut! Pretty depressing to think about.

Here's the thing, this website is a chance to reach into a positive future, but you have to make the effort. You can invest in yourself as much as you want, when you can. The information here is free, no charge. There will be a mention of some books you might search for in a library, or you can invest in for a moderate cost. Your high school education gives you the basics in reading and math, however, not all public education prepares you for real world skills, in college, we would call it core courses. By the way, you can start your advance education at any age - even if you are five years old or ninety-eight! The point is, if the interest is truly there, you can achieve. Nobody can make you apply yourself - only you!

The communications arts continues to grow by leaps and bounds and covers several fields. Technicians and engineers make great money and they earn a lot of respect. Whether in commercial, governmental or military, there is always a need for a top-notch technical guy or gal. The great thing, is your job can't be outsourced, especially where it requires a license, in this case, an FCC commercial license. Get the ticket, expand on your knowledge base, and you can go practically anywhere. The other great thing is when you are behind the camera or in the control room of a broadcast facility or other commercial or industrial concern - getting old is not a liability.

So, here is what 727 BROADCAST offers. A question pool of the latest FCC General Radiotelephone Operators Licensing (GROL) information. Links to online practice tests. Book links in the various technical area of interest. Links to communications publications. And yes, links to technical career listings. The site is not an end, but a beginning. We urge you to get more involved reading material as well, like the latest edition of 'GROL' and 'GROL PLUS' by Fred Maia and Gordon West. It features the GROL question pool, but goes in-depth. Our online question pool is limited in scope to just the questions and correct answers, along with some math formulations as well illustrations to help you with your test.

So if you want to get into the technical side of communications, mark the site in your 'favorites' bookmark and lets get started!

- Andrew Boggs, BA -