Careers

[soursmoker]

where to start this... well first off, I would love to be a full-time ganja farmer but as we all know this isn't necessarily the best option... not to say it is impossible... but for some they would rather get a normal job like everyone else and supplement their income with the smoke...

So I am still young (Something I hate and Love)... I have plenty of time ahead of me and lot's of decisions still to be made...

first and foremost, what do I want to do with my life? like I said i would love to grow full time but is just isn't practical and I wouldn't like the paranoia I would have to deal with... so I plan on giving into the system and getting a normal job...

First off, I don't want to be a millionaire! I would like to live comfortably without any worries...

Anything over $10/hr is nice, over $15/hr would be ideal...

I know you need to be willing to work for the money... straight bust your ass... and while I wouldn't prefer a construction type job... busting my ass full-time... I am willing to accept that might be what I have to do...

I have no previous experience doing anything really. I was planning on going to trade school for HVAC and taking the test for my certification but if I am moving idk if the cert will transfer so I might not even go back to school... and just save my money for later down the road.

I am willing to do a trade school program and get certfied in something but I really don't wanna go to college or any university.

So for some of you older and more wise then me or even those who have just gone through these situations... what are decent careers to look into or even just good jobs that pay well but you don't necessarily have to make a career out of it?

 

[PhenoMenal]

Apparently people change careers something like 6 times on average in their lifetime which i was surprised at! Apart from when I was a young teen and worked at the local supermarket I've only had 1 career, and the reason for that is because _I enjoy what I do_ ... i think that's the key. (Tho after 20 years of it I did experience burnout, but a yearlong holiday fixed that).

When you enjoy your work it's not work, and because it takes up so much time in your life I think it's important to be doing something that you ENJOY, so if possible I would recommend that you follow your heart

Go get 'em tiger!!!

 

[soursmoker]

may I ask what it is you do for work?

I agree it is important to enjoy it since it is going to take up so much of your time.

 

[k-s-p]

Construction is a good gig, especially if you don't mind moving around. If you're of average intelligence (or above) and have a good work ethic you can go pretty far and make a good living at it. Down side is having to piss for most of those jobs. I worked for some pretty large construction companies when I was younger, and to be honest, I kind of wish I had stayed in the line of work. If you like to be outdoors a lot, land surveying is another gig you could look at. You might have to pick up some training at a vocational school or community college, but if you're lucky you could get hired on as a rodman and get on the job training.

The job market is tough right now, a lot of people with college degrees looking for work. Good luck finding something, good luck with the housing situation too.

 

[hush]

I'm in radio, and working in this business is pretty chill, I must admit. I never have to worry about drug tests, and I get to play with sound gear all day long. I would recommend you find a technical school that does radio/broadcasting/sound engineering and then set your sights on radio. Not television, not live sound engineering (way too hard to get jobs, trust me!), but good old radio.

That's my suggestion.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I started messing with websites 15 years ago. They are still relevant, and they have gotten even easier to build. If you can build aesthetically pleasing, fully functioning websites then you will always have income. You will also not be tied down to one place. I don't build them for others( I have in the past), but I do do it for my own businesses. It cost me about $200 for my most recent project. That includes integrating shipping calculations, credit card processing, and many other custom features that most companies charge thousands for. The other side of that coin is that you need to know a bit about SEO work. If you don't you can always hire out to a company via freelancer.com. I do my own seo work on a few websites, and I pay for one as it has a very high competition rate. 15 years later I am still making money off of it, and am in the planning stages of moving for a second time. My income won't be negatively impacted by the move as it is web based.

 

[BlueBlazer]

Much depends on the economy and opportunities in your area. Many folks in my area take whatever they can get (and there isn't much) because the economy is so down.

Sometimes it takes more than one career to figure out what it is that you're really good at and enjoy doing. Sometimes you get lucky. I chose administration when I joined the Air Force back in '78 and it turned out to be what I'm good at and did satisfy me on a few levels.

Still doing administration in my second career, just different employers.

I advise researching the careers in your area to see the median pay and opportunities. You may get a lead that way.

 

[theclearspot]

One of the things I would recommend any young person to do is to travel. I moved abroad when i was late 20s and never regretted it. I know people who have stayed in their home town since their school years and always come across as depressed and resentful.

'Get on the bus, get out of doledrum' as The La's said...
If you dont know The La's - listen to their first classic album.....

 

[DTFuqua]

Welding is a pretty good career. Get a portable welder and be self employed. I was construction but it was before piss tests were so common and i used to weld, still do for myself when needed, but my eyes are bad and my hands shake a little and basically disabled.

 

[Herbophile]

Are you willing to move? A person with a 2 year degree for millwright can make 75k+ at the iron ore mines in Northern MN. Union gig. Those that enroll in the tech schools around the area normally go to summer programs at the local mines and end up staying full time never even finishing the second year. The mines expect to replace at least 25% of their work force in the next five years due to people retiring.

 

[Rob547]

My college degree is essentially useless, ended up going back to school for a paralegal certification, largely due to the many choices of employment and what you can do in all the different areas. Not only that but wide availability of jobs (on paper/statistically speaking) and (reported) relatively good pay after a few years. Kind of a career I don't expect to move up in, but pay should increase over time.... Another reason I got into it is the possibility of self-employment to a degree, usually doing something in mediation...

Whole program is 6/7 classes, just doing it online, about done now! But there are lots of other programs that are similar... I'm 27 btw, never had much of any career jobs, just shitty ones haha

 

[Hank Hemp]

KSP, was right about land surveying. They are the gentleman of the construction trades. Meaning they don't get as dirty. It's interesting work and some companies mostly engineering firms who don't do construction staking it's more walking and climbing than work, I loved it. It can be risky with winter construction down turns like all construction work. Surveyors are first to be layed off and the first back to work.

 

[darkshadow]

Growing weed is a million times better than construction work, trust me on that.

When i was 16, i worked for my uncle's construction company during summer.
It's back breaking, tiring work.

The kind of work you have to get used to being sore all the time.

If i had the chance to work in construction and get paid 100k a year or at McDonald for minimum wage, i would choose McDonald.

Even if it meant i would have to live in a 1 1/2 apartment and eat canned soup for the rest of my life.

 

[unspoken]

One thing I have noticed is a lack of skilled trade in my area. If you go to call a plumber/electrician/hvac hell even a pool guy who just has a cert in small appliance repair, none of them answer their phones and 3/4 don't even call you back here. Sprinkler system or garage door install/repair is another one of the same. This has all led to me learning a few of these skills myself, and I feel like I am a better person for it, but in my market I know you could do alright with a business in any of these fields. Hell I know a guy who started a lawn and pool service company and eventually sold it to a larger company for 5 mil.

Here's my suggestion: Every day try to identify a couple needs that you could fill in your area. Every single day try to come up with a few. After a few months you'll have some good ideas.

I'm going to lay another suggestion on you while I'm here. The industrial sales force is aging like crazy. Not many young people want to get into industrial sales because it's not cool like "social media marketing" or something like that. You can become an independent sales rep if you are even ok at talking to people. I know people selling industrial commodities who are "retired" bringing in 50-100k off of 3 or 4 customers that they keep. These people probably work 4 hours a day max. You have a teach yourself about whatever commodity it is, and then spend a fair amount of time finding your customers, but it's really not hard.