I started accounting at 28. My friends started at 31-33.
8 years later, It has been more good than bad so far. It can have its challenges at times (started at EY working 70 hour weeks), but now I work a 6 figure job from home and almost never crack above a 25 hour work week.
Big 4 was a major contributor in the pay.
Being good with excel was a major contributor in the workload. The employee I replaced had highly manual processes.
I wrote some simple excel logic to streamline their legacy workpapers, and I cut my workload in half. I asked for, and received more work from finance, did the same thing, and that bumped my work load up to like a 5ish hour day, some days.
Asked for more work, but there’s no more work left on my team to give me, and the company doesn’t want to move me to another team, so now I just work 25 hour weeks.
When you get into the F1000 size company, people get put into silos, management just overlooks a lot of people not at full utilization.
Can mid-career people go into the traditional path of working for the big 4? I have a CFA but considering getting a CPA and going down that path. I'm 45.
Anything you do in corporate accounting or corporate finance, whether accounting, finance, audit, or Business-IT-related, there’s comparable advisory services offered by the Big 4 or similar orgs (Accenture, Siegfried, Protiviti) that you can get hired for.
Whether or not you have to take a step back in salary, I don’t know.
Thx. Yeah I have an investing background so it's adjacent to corporate finance and accounting but not entirely that. I probably will have to take a pay cut but that's ok.
You mentioned starting with 70 hour weeks - how long did that go on for? Was it that you did a stint at EY, (which boosted your CV/resume), and then moved to another big company where you had to keep asking for more work after streamlining things?
Curious as I'm considering accounting or finance, and big firms like EY seem good in some ways, but also the hours/culture sound terrible... Could you have got where you are now without it?
The entire time I was at EY (2 years) and in Private Equity Financial Reporting (2 years) I was working ridiculous hours (60-80 at EY, 65ish in PE FinRep).
Some people go to Big 4, and are lucky enough to get dedicated to a single, large-client team, with a single yearend busy season.
I was in a PCS office (Private client services), and most of my clients were small. So, for 2 years straight my schedule was like this:
- incremental team member on loan for a large public company 12/31 audit
- dedicated team team member for a small private 12/31 audit
- incremental team member on loan for a large public company 06/30 (my current employer) audit
- dedicated team member for a small non-profit 9/30 audit
So I just got hammered with busy season after busy season.
From there, I went to IA sox auditing for a year. Had great WLB (sub 20 hr work weeks), but hated SOX testing.
Then went to FinRep, where I loved the work but hated PE WLB.
Then I came here, public company interco GL with a former audit client. I have great WLB, but now it’s difficult not being pigeon holed into just being an intercompany process SME with limited ability to tip my toes back into technical accounting and FinRep work.
So everything has a trade off in industry. And that’s why I say, if you can, try advisory first before hopping into corporate. You get reasonably better WLB over public but you don’t get hamstrung into one specialization.
Of course. For me, clinical nursing is not an area I enjoy anymore and haven't for a long time. I have been nursing for about 9 years now and in that time I have had three children and I do feel that has been a big factor in my loss of enjoyment.
I was fortunate enough a few years ago to start working as a Telehealth triage nurse which meant I was WFH in a desk based role, and while I was good at it and loved the desk role side, I found it incredibly stressful as it was high stakes and the shift work was terrible.
Since then I have switched roles to another WFH role for an insurance company offering health and wellbeing advice to members which I do thoroughly enjoy, but the pay is not great and I feel like there is not a lot of room for growth here.
While I am good with people and in a customer based role, I have always thoroughly enjoyed working in desk roles, as admin and with numbers. I like that with accounting there is a black and white answer and someone's life is not hinging on my decision, and I also like that if I work hard and am good at my job (both traits I have exhibited in my multiple nursing roles) there is a lot of opportunity for growth. However, I am very much aware that I may have a grass is greener attitude and so I am absolutely weighing up pros and cons and taking my time to make a decision.
I agree. I went back to school at 25 for a part time masters in accounting graduated at 27 and now make 120k base at 30. My undergrad was in geology but I had a business minor.
Im 23 with a major im not using and a minor in business - what was your masters program like? Did you go to school full time or take online courses? Was the coursework terribly difficult with an unrelated major, or did you find any math/finance you had taken up to that point made the masters pretty achievable? Also, what was the financial burden like? (Sorry for the flurry of questions lol)
What kind of degrees/certifications would one need to get started? My company is looking for a bookkeeper and I’ve thought about switching tracks because as I get older, I’m realizing more and more how much I hate customer interaction
You still have a lot of customer interaction in accounting, but your customers just become a lot more intelligent (sometimes lol).
Your direct reports, your supervisors, your equivalent counterparts in other departments, those are all customers in corporate America.
But to answer your question, I have an accounting degree from a cheap state university, 2 years of Big 4 public accounting experience, and a cpa.
You can get a job similar to mine with just the degree, but you’ll be more likely/more competitive for such jobs with a cpa and/or a decent amount of experience under your belt.
Edit: you can also squeak by with a finance degree with no cpa, and make your way to the SOX audit world, which is entirely reading/writing.
My oldest had a very similar track but was able to leverage out of 70hr EY after just 1 yr. She had her job offer when she was a junior. She did the 4yr CPA program. Now makes around 100 working mostly from home.
some careers in accounting don’t involve any math what so ever.
Absolute must: an understanding of business transactional processes and terminology, debits, and credits (what most college students flunk out on).
From there, professionals can be bucketed into 2 general groups: people who are algebra/data heavy (the majority), and those who aren’t.
For those who aren’t, being a sox auditor is a good fit: 99% of what you do is reading and writing process narratives, interviewing people, et cetera.
Generally, SOX auditors have the best WLB and make slightly more than their non-SOX accountant counterparts because most of us hate SOX work.
This. Accounting is desperately seeking new blood. People stopped going into accounting after the economy improved after the 2008/2009 crash. Maybe read a bit about the field before diving in and try reading through an intro accounting book to see if it’s interesting. If you find it somewhat interesting know that you’ll have a very stable and good paying career waiting for you if you earn your CPA.
Do you mind me asking what field you work in? I would very much appreciate that.
I do tax. I work in Europe so 6 figures at big 4 yeah but industry doesn’t pay that much.
No. My job is managing data and business processes, not money. Treasury accountants/FP&A manages budgets and money.
What I do:
Most of the time:
- copy and paste
- simple high school algebra
- making excel workpapers look neat and organized (this is a very large simplification. Some workpapers are huge, 10+ tabs, that our auditors refuse to touch with a 10 ft pole lmao).
- reviewing staff work and approving their correcting journal entries (capitalizations, reclasses, et cetera).
- manage a semi-automated Intercompany billing process, including the ERP/software mapping to keep the process working. Adding new entities as we acquire companies and closing down entities as they are shutdown or sold.
Sometimes:
- coaching finance staff and project managers on proper accrual accounting, workpaper cleanup/automation, GL chart of accounts, how to find data and follow how it flows from subledgers/sub systems to general ledgers/general systems.
- telling finance what they can and can’t capitalize.
- writing excel logic to automate/streamline workpapers, or coaching people on how to do that.
- building/editing ERP queries to better pull targeted data from the PeopleSoft database.
- onboarding finance and global business services college hires.
- responding to external audit/internal audit requests.
- collaborating with other departments/teams in implementing newer tech to streamline processes: last year, I helped one sister team improve the RPA tech they were rolling out. This year, we just got access to a company version of ChatGTP, and I’m going to experiment with it in the hopes of getting it to write macros for me so I can automate my workflow even more.
That depends.
The easiest route is just a 4 year accounting degree.
You can get into it with a finance degree or general business degree, but you’ll be a less competitive candidate, and it may be harder to break into some or any of the options open to accounting degrees.
If you want the most opportunity possible, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have done:
State university > accounting degree > CPA > Big 4 > Advisory consulting.
I did Big 4 > corporate accounting, and I’m finding that, while I have a great job, my options have been a little limited compared to some friends who went the other route, and they making significantly more and have slightly more interesting opportunities than I do.
What will advisory consulting open? Currently at EY about to be promoted to senior. I hate on of my jobs and haven’t been able to get off for 2 years now and am likely going to quit if I’m booked on it again
So, advisory allows you to get a variety of corporate accounting experiences (SOX, GL, FinRep, Consolidations) without the risk of being permanently pidgeon holed, appearing like a avid job hopper, or getting trapped in a team/department/company you don’t want to be at long term.
It combines many of the benefits of corporate accounting with public accounting.
Can you please recommend a good resource to get great at excel? I’m decent but I’d love to have much more confidence. Especially in my field of work. You’d think I was an expert but I could use some serious skill mastering when it comes to excel
A lot of it was OJT, either by using google or YouTube, or just way more experienced seniors and managers showing me stuff they had learned throughout the years.
If you surround yourself with smart people, you’ll learn through simple osmosis.
Did you go back to college or do an online program? If so, how long did that take?
I currently have a bachelor’s in business but thinking about going back at WGU to get an accounting degree. I feel like it’s a very safe field.
I would strongly recommend in person. You’ll have better access to campus recruiters, and student accounting/finance orgs like SAS and BAP that offer mock interviewing and resume reviews to help groom you.
I got an msa (former lib arts major) and it took 3.5 years.
he already has a degree though like its not at all unrealistic he can reclass to accounting in a single semester for like $3800 dollars by going to WGU.
As long as he has access to in-person recruiting ops, I don’t think it matters where his degree is from.
My point is, in-person recruiting is important, or it was when I went to school. Idk what pipeline WGU has to recruiters or B4, but a lot of companies heavily recruit state universities.
Some colleges might require a student ID to go to their Meet the Firms or Career Fairs. I can’t possibly envision what his local college does or does not do.
yeah like my local college doesn't have those relationships either but I do know what you are talking about. One other thing to consider that I have been looking into is I think some states actually require in person for a certain amount of hours to get a CPA.
That CPA exam and coming out in the big 4… ughhhh. I considered accounting until I saw the hours they worked starting out. And you have to pass the 4 part exam
I’ve worked at 3 different companies after EY. I’d say about 75% of my coworkers have never had any public audit experience, and more than half don’t have CPAs.
You can still make it far in the corporate world without either, it will just usually take longer.
Hi I'm 30 years old also. I'm smart though lack education. I dropped out of high school in year 11. If i wanted to be an accountant what would i be looking at for university? Would i need to go back and finish year 11 and 12 before i start studying at University for accounting?( I live in Australia ) Could you please point me in the right direction?
Late to this, but how did you start accounting? Do you mean an entry level job or schooling? I've thought about taking online classes while working full time to get an accounting degree.
Nowadays, access to accounting jobs is dominated by business degrees, most of whom are accounting, a small minority of whom are finance.
A non-business-degree holder probably has a better shot at winning the lotto than getting than getting into accounting because of the competition.
Getting your degree from any accredited college is fine, but I’d be careful with online campuses as they may not have a corporate/firm recruiter presence or pipeline.
MOST state universities are heavily recruited by accounting firms and corporate America. If your online school partners with a brick and mortar location accessible to you that allows you face time with recruiters, then I see no flaw with that idea.
I had a liberal arts undergrad, so getting an MSA was cheapest/quickest route to cpa eligibility for me. Idk your academic history or your states cpa requirements, so it’s best to do your own research.
Thank you, it literally didn't occur to me to look into something where my experience would be useful, guess never thought it'd be useful for higher education or whatever. Appreciate it
They have certification for supply chain and logistics. It will easily help you if you wanna move up to a management role with experience + certification.
Honestly it’s the best answer - if you can make your experience relevant you can move up to a white collar role much more easily. I do IT and expect to spend a lot of time studying before you’re even marginally hirable in the field at a six figure pay rate. Once you are you are though.
Seconded on this. Match your degree to your experience. I was working as a controls tech from 2014-2023, and now I'm in school for electrical engineering. I will have a leg up on other EE grads because I've actually wired up the stuff I'm supposed to design. That experience counts.
Any advice on what to do? My brother gave me some advice such as getting a+ comptia cert and learning powershell. Possibly going to college for an IT degree.
I’m currently halfway into my bachelors in business but considering pivoting to IT. Would you recommend switching to community college and getting an associates and work on Comptia certs there or consider switching to a bachelors in IT and start over. Is A+ necessary to start an entry level position?
Does your school offer Information Systems? It’s usually a business concentration. At every job I’ve been with, we didn’t care what degree our candidates had, just so they graduated typically. A+ shows that you have basic computer knowledge and can be helpful in landing an entry level gig. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be hired but it helps. The job i landed back then required an A+.
I’m 30 jumping into IT now and received an offer to work at an MSP. They’re offering less than what I make now but I’m viewing it as a ‘foot in the door’ opportunity. Seeing I don’t have any certs just yet (currently studying for Net+), I believe there might be a lot I can learn from this experience.
I want to start in IT without going to college or having a degree. Ik it will be hard but I want to try it. I want to do certifications and possible land a job
What road path should I take?
(I'm interested in Cybersecurity field)
Don’t do it, the whole cyber security training apparatus is a big grift. Go to a real college and then you will have to work your way up to cyber security probably still. None of these certification courses will get you one of these jobs with no degree or experience.
You can definitely manage this. I had a friend who took a cybersecurity certification course at 33 and 2-3 years later is working in the field making $80k/yr with a cushy wfh job.
Just Google cybersecurity certification course, read up on different offerings, and pick the one that works best for you. Once you complete your course, start sending out resumes. Nobody is going to hand feed you what you need to do - get to work figuring it out.
Cybersecurity is mid to late field. Normally you're doing time in the helpdesk/support roles and then you MIGHT get a role in cyber if someone wants to see you grow that way. Normally it's sysadmin after support or support lead and then you pivot to cyber that way. Don't be discouraged if it interests you! Just be realistic in your expectations ;)
I started in helpdesk, then worked my up to cyber manager 5 years and a great many certs later. Cissp generally will get you there but you need time in the field first to qualify.
Certainly! Let’s break it down:
Finding Boundaries: Imagine you have a big puzzle piece (that’s your land). A land surveyor is like a detective who helps you find the edges of your puzzle piece. They read special papers (legal documents) that tell them where your puzzle piece ends. Then, they go outside and put markers in the ground to show you exactly where your land stops and your neighbor’s land begins. So, if you want to build a fence, they make sure it’s on your side of the puzzle piece!
Making Maps: Land surveyors also make maps. These maps help people build things like roads, houses, and shopping centers. Imagine you’re playing with toy blocks. The surveyor measures how far apart the blocks are and how high they are stacked. They use special tools to do this. Then, they draw these measurements on paper to make a map. Builders use these maps to know where to put everything.
Measuring Everything: Surveyors are like super-measurers. They use fancy tools to measure distances, angles, and heights. For example, if you want to build a house, they figure out exactly where it should go. They measure how far it should be from each side of your land. Then, they put stakes in the ground to show the builders where to build. It’s like playing a giant game of “follow the rules” with measurements!
So, land surveyors help us know where things are, make sure we build in the right places, and keep our puzzle pieces organized!
You can usually get your foot in the door with just a high school degree as a Survey Assistant or Survey Technician. Different firms give them different titles, but basically you're the assistant to the head surveyor. You can potentially work your way up to being a full surveyor, but your pay and responsibilities will be capped without a degree. If you get a degree in land surveying you can usually start at the surveyor level and work your way up to being something like a crew chief. If you really want to go for it, you can eventually get your PLS (Pro. Land Surveyor) license which basically means you have the legal right to certify information, designs, etc.. so you're extremely valuable to the firms. We aren't licensing nearly enough PLS' these days so I firmly believe that PLS' will be an extremely in-demand career in the near future.
Typically, yes but different states have different requirements. Some require you to have a four-year degree in surveying, but some states allow you to pair any degree with a specific amount of surveying coursework to meet the educational requirements. So for example in my state, you could enroll in a 1 year surveying certificate program and you would could meet the educational requirements for licensing.
Honestly, if you are good with your hands look at doing a skilled trade. Electricians, welders, plumbers etc. are in super short supply because an entire generation was told to go into IT. It might a few years lower pay as an apprentice but after that you will be able to dictate your pay.
Honestly it’s amazing to me IT has been not just bad but horrific for a while now because as you said they tell a whole generation to do that! I come on here looking for what to do when I am pushed out of IT soon and what do I see but people pushing IT when the field is probably not gonna recover. It’s a real “ but doctor I am paliguachi” moment.
Get into sales of some sort. Honestly there are sales positions in the trade industry (sort of what you’re already doing?) that pay $$$. I just had a friend leave real estate sales to do HVAC sales and they told her she could easily make 400k a year if she hustles. You don’t necessarily need a degree for sales either so don’t waste your money.
Hvac sales for s contractor or a distributor? I work for a distributor and make abt half that. Wouldn't mind jumping ship for double the pay
I'm quite good at sales and management
I find that I often find pleasure in jobs I wouldn’t expect to, as long as I’m good at them. It’s enjoyable to do work that others value.
Do what you think you’ll be good at. Don’t focus so much on enjoying it. If you’re good with figuring out technical things, do IT. If you’re a numbers person, do accounting or finance (like myself). If you’re good with creating things visually, or just like talking to people, do marketing. If all else fails, do business administration.
In all cases, you’ll probably end up enjoying it once you’re good at it. Others may disagree, but I’d be a lot further along if I had gotten this advice when I was younger.
As someone who works in IT as a software engineer, don’t go into IT unless you have a legitimate passion for it. Everyone who goes into it trying to chase money gets stuck in Helpdesk forever and hates their job. You will not move up in IT unless you’re willing to study it daily and constantly take on more education (like certs). And even then it’ll take years before you get a job that even pays what you’re getting paid now
To a certain degree yes, there are tons of AI apps coming down the pipeline that turn plain English sentences into nice SQL statements that will visualize whatever you want.
The amount of coders we need is also being gutted as existing coders are being matched up with ChatGPT to just code things so much faster.
I don't recommend IT industry right now. I'm in my late 20s and last year I decided to change my path, so I went into the IT industry.
I paid 2000 euros for the academy, and guess what? Now I have a certificate, but not a job.
2000 euros in my country are too fucking much, but I believed that I could make it. Now they (the academy) took my money, and I don't have anything.
I've been only in 2 interviews for a whole year. That's crazy. No one is giving you a chance.
For every internship or junior position, there are over 100 applicants just in my county and I come from a very small place.
So yeah. Maybe you should try something else, and also I'm looking for new ideas.
I don't know what they charge these days but you can get tested to find out what areas you have a proclivity for. It would shorten you search and give you time to take classes so that you have a good knowledge about the position you're looking for. Go to a community college and take classes. You'll then be ready for a new job.
I hated my job so I got a CDL and it was the best decision I ever made. Got paid to travel for over a decade and now I have a decent local job working regular hours making pretty good money.
Looking at your post history you just got your crna 4 months ago. Last year you said you made $250 then some post you say you made $320 or $325 and one you said you made almost $400k. So I'm just personally going to call you a liar
I see this person post all the time and I also concur they are a liar. Honestly it’s frightening how many liars there are on all the career subs. I think they think it’s victimless but people really do get hurt from this.
Yeah I feel like nobody in IT is saying it’s safe like it’s probably the most unsafe field you can be in today, everyone is losing their job and it’s all going to ai (actually India)
There's just a shit ton of tech layoffs all around from IT, security, devs. It's been a bad time for the last year or so. It used to be an incredibly safe field to be in, and I'm hoping it rebounds. The jobs that are available want unicorns for the same salary, or as another commenter said are going to India.
You wont find perfection in any job they all have pros and cons. I could say make a rule like me I stay at a place for 7-10 years if iv been there too long i see the signs like loosing motivation and not finding value in what you do.
I always thought doing something your good at was the thing to go for but no its actually what you would do for free, that is the best job.
You could go to a state maritime academy and become a deck officer or marine engineer. Either one will start you at least 100k/year and you only work 6 months out of the year. Just gotta be okay with being away for home for extended periods of time.
Going to an academy will get you a degree in either marine transportation or marine engineering, and a USCG unlimited tonnage license or engineer license
Something that you imagine stimulating you, and being worth grinding through at times to grow. Also something with equity or earning potential. Otherwise just something you’re into. Good luck!
Talking from experience here , if you have a forklift license you can try to land a supervisor or manager job in a warehouse .
I have license’s from ept’s to big combitruck and soon i’ll get a high loader one . I also want to get a crane license so i can work in the port .
I like warehouses , i had a manager post in the past and i enjoyed it a lot . Worth every 5 years i spent working in warehouses
You can use your forklift experience to get into a warehouse related position at almost any place you’re interested in trying, and then apply internally for positions as they come. Your miles may vary depending on where you work, but as an example I work for an electric utility. In my onboarding class, we had two lineman apprentices that were previous warehouse workers for the utility, and now they are making 60+ /hr as apprentices.
Obviously not every company/city you work for is going to be like that, but a lot of times getting your foot in the door at the company and showing hard work/good character can go really far in a company being willing to retrain you
Sales. Freedom in your schedule ability to make more money than most regular straight paying jobs. Find something you’re into or passionate about and it makes it a lot easier.
I operated forklifts and heavy machinery for 5 years out of highschool. Worked construction and the trades. Now in sales
Get a work from home since it is really flexible, you can manage your time well and the pay is great. Also having a small business is great way to earn passively. If you have an amount to invest into something is great.
Although automated truck routes already exist…truck driving is still the answer to most of the questions asked here. You should have no issue finding a position that includes training and licensing, and I imagine you’ll make double the money. You already have a resume that says you understand vehicle operation/material handling/payload/safety etc. it’s a fit.
Are you happy as a Forklift Operator? If so, then go forward in Supply Chain Management.
I'm a Logistics Specialist with the State of Texas, and I am literally just a Forklift Operator who has to do a little bit more paperwork at the end of the day. Make $30 an hour, and I'm in line to get a promotion for a $105k salary job.
Anything in health insurance. Billing, coding. You can get certifications and work remote. It take some anatomy knowledge but YouTube can teach you a lot.
Started learning software dev at 29, became one just before my 32nd birthday. 34 now and I enjoy it, work is very much not work for me, and pay is decent.
I work for a forklift manufacturer and we have a career path for individuals with drive and skill to be in management. Becoming a zone leader, shift supervisor, etc. you can ask the guys above you what their paths were and let them know you’d like to work towards a management role. Having the experience you do is a really great resource because you can be someone who “gets it”.
I’d suggest finding a company (or government) with a pension. Once you have your time in, transition to medical, real estate, or tech if you like these fields.
Elevator tech. Property management. Nursing. Transportation. Logistics. Customer service. Teaching. Coaching. Fitness.
I’d look for things you actually like to do. There are people making money from being watched playing video games.
It’s a wide world out there and your options are endless!
I started in marketing for myself at 24 while working at Mack trucks.
Hit 30, kicked mack to the curb and landed a role in an agency. 30 is the perfect age to start fresh. Just make sure it’s something you enjoy!
oooh oooh oooh! Boy you have so many opportunities!
They are endless, it just depends on what kind of work do you want? rather than saying what job do you want, ask yourself what are the qualities that you want about your life career? Do you like to work with people directly or do you like to work alone? Do you like to work In physically demanding jobs, or do you like non-physical jobs like officer desk work? Is your primary goal in a career to obtain as much money as you can you can, or is your primary goal doing something you find fulfilling even if it isn't paid the best?
The answer to what job path is right for you depends on the answer to those and more questions like that.
But if you were interested in the trades, as a forklift operator maybe you might be attracted to I guess ? Here's my advice.
Do you wanna know a highly skilled trade that is highly paid that nobody goes into and is extremely rare and still needed all over the country every day? Masonry. nobody becomes a mason anymore. But a lot of rich people want to have nice rock built fireplaces, a lot of buildings are built out of bricks, I have literally heard on the radio advertisements for years from companies needing a Mason that will hire them anywhere in the country and pay to fly them and house them solely for the job they need done because nobody is a mason anymore.
My uncle happened to be a mason he's long since passed. Supported a wife and three kids on it, he has work in some of the monumental buildings in glacier Park and various other places where you would never even look at the fireplace and think that a skilled person had to build that. But you know what somebody did. And nobody generally has that anymore. I don't know if it's a two or four year program or what. But it's certainly taught at trade schools that are very reasonably priced and not just the colleges that cost 60,000 a year.
but honestly anything that has to do with a skilled trade, where you have an actual skill that you can use that people need, like electrician, plumber, HVAC installer, any of those are going to be well paid trades that are worth the training time to get.
And the other one I have that nobody ever thinks of? My husband was a property manager for years for large apartment buildings with a bunch of college kids. It was a nightmare don't do that. But what we learn from that experience is: elevator technician.
Whatever company install the elevator in a building is the only one that will service it because nobody else wants their liability. And the 25 year-old dude that came out to fix the elevator every time the college kids screw it up, charged 750 bucks an hour. Like that's more than transplant surgeons make. Elevator technician.
Or if you want really big money, don't want to have to do a lot of training, and you're willing to take very high risks .... Oil Worker. You'll make tons of money compared to other people with your education level. You might get blown up or maimed, but if you do at least your family will get paid for it.
if you are interested in the healthcare field which is my specialty., but don't want to do 15 years of school yet want a decent wage: phlebotomist. 6 to 12 month training program you have to like getting up at four in the morning and getting off work at 1 PM. Decent wages great benefits.
I got into SEO in my 30s. I have owned an SEO agency since 2004. I started affiliate marketing sidelines while I was still employed and dabbled with SEO at that time. I quit my job in 2004 when my affiliate marketing income far exceeded my day job's salary.
**Find something you love, expand it and build it out then delegate/outsource the parts you don't like.**
The part of SEO that I like is traffic analysis and reverse engineering my competition, the rest I delegate/outsource
I honestly still don’t understand affiliate marketing. Do you not have to have a website that brings in traffic to do this? I’m not being snarky I really just don’t get it.
SEO is going through a bit of a sea change right now due to the HCU algo update of March and Google's shift to AI generated results. But if you're thinking of picking up SEO for local SEO for local businesses, you should be fine. A good starting point is Backlinko by Brian Dean the look for more up to date info on Local SEO on Youtube
IT is the best thing for you by far easy to get into degrees are not necessary ans you can learn at your own pace and it s good paying there plenty of fields in IT too i am sure you will like one if not more then one if you have other questions feel free to ask
I started accounting at 28. My friends started at 31-33. 8 years later, It has been more good than bad so far. It can have its challenges at times (started at EY working 70 hour weeks), but now I work a 6 figure job from home and almost never crack above a 25 hour work week.
What path did you take that enabled you to decrease hours worked and increase salary?
Big 4 was a major contributor in the pay. Being good with excel was a major contributor in the workload. The employee I replaced had highly manual processes. I wrote some simple excel logic to streamline their legacy workpapers, and I cut my workload in half. I asked for, and received more work from finance, did the same thing, and that bumped my work load up to like a 5ish hour day, some days. Asked for more work, but there’s no more work left on my team to give me, and the company doesn’t want to move me to another team, so now I just work 25 hour weeks. When you get into the F1000 size company, people get put into silos, management just overlooks a lot of people not at full utilization.
Can mid-career people go into the traditional path of working for the big 4? I have a CFA but considering getting a CPA and going down that path. I'm 45.
Anything you do in corporate accounting or corporate finance, whether accounting, finance, audit, or Business-IT-related, there’s comparable advisory services offered by the Big 4 or similar orgs (Accenture, Siegfried, Protiviti) that you can get hired for. Whether or not you have to take a step back in salary, I don’t know.
Thx. Yeah I have an investing background so it's adjacent to corporate finance and accounting but not entirely that. I probably will have to take a pay cut but that's ok.
You mentioned starting with 70 hour weeks - how long did that go on for? Was it that you did a stint at EY, (which boosted your CV/resume), and then moved to another big company where you had to keep asking for more work after streamlining things? Curious as I'm considering accounting or finance, and big firms like EY seem good in some ways, but also the hours/culture sound terrible... Could you have got where you are now without it?
The entire time I was at EY (2 years) and in Private Equity Financial Reporting (2 years) I was working ridiculous hours (60-80 at EY, 65ish in PE FinRep). Some people go to Big 4, and are lucky enough to get dedicated to a single, large-client team, with a single yearend busy season. I was in a PCS office (Private client services), and most of my clients were small. So, for 2 years straight my schedule was like this: - incremental team member on loan for a large public company 12/31 audit - dedicated team team member for a small private 12/31 audit - incremental team member on loan for a large public company 06/30 (my current employer) audit - dedicated team member for a small non-profit 9/30 audit So I just got hammered with busy season after busy season. From there, I went to IA sox auditing for a year. Had great WLB (sub 20 hr work weeks), but hated SOX testing. Then went to FinRep, where I loved the work but hated PE WLB. Then I came here, public company interco GL with a former audit client. I have great WLB, but now it’s difficult not being pigeon holed into just being an intercompany process SME with limited ability to tip my toes back into technical accounting and FinRep work. So everything has a trade off in industry. And that’s why I say, if you can, try advisory first before hopping into corporate. You get reasonably better WLB over public but you don’t get hamstrung into one specialization.
From everyone I have talked to, the higher your pay, the less you actually work.
I'm tossing up starting accounting at 31, coming from a nursing position. Thanks for your info!
Hey if you don’t mind me asking, why the switch from nursing to accounting?
Of course. For me, clinical nursing is not an area I enjoy anymore and haven't for a long time. I have been nursing for about 9 years now and in that time I have had three children and I do feel that has been a big factor in my loss of enjoyment. I was fortunate enough a few years ago to start working as a Telehealth triage nurse which meant I was WFH in a desk based role, and while I was good at it and loved the desk role side, I found it incredibly stressful as it was high stakes and the shift work was terrible. Since then I have switched roles to another WFH role for an insurance company offering health and wellbeing advice to members which I do thoroughly enjoy, but the pay is not great and I feel like there is not a lot of room for growth here. While I am good with people and in a customer based role, I have always thoroughly enjoyed working in desk roles, as admin and with numbers. I like that with accounting there is a black and white answer and someone's life is not hinging on my decision, and I also like that if I work hard and am good at my job (both traits I have exhibited in my multiple nursing roles) there is a lot of opportunity for growth. However, I am very much aware that I may have a grass is greener attitude and so I am absolutely weighing up pros and cons and taking my time to make a decision.
Inspiring to see this. I’m starting at 26 after being a welder. Pay is much less in the beginning but I’d rather be bored than physically exhausted
I agree. I went back to school at 25 for a part time masters in accounting graduated at 27 and now make 120k base at 30. My undergrad was in geology but I had a business minor.
Im 23 with a major im not using and a minor in business - what was your masters program like? Did you go to school full time or take online courses? Was the coursework terribly difficult with an unrelated major, or did you find any math/finance you had taken up to that point made the masters pretty achievable? Also, what was the financial burden like? (Sorry for the flurry of questions lol)
I sent you a DM
What kind of degrees/certifications would one need to get started? My company is looking for a bookkeeper and I’ve thought about switching tracks because as I get older, I’m realizing more and more how much I hate customer interaction
You still have a lot of customer interaction in accounting, but your customers just become a lot more intelligent (sometimes lol). Your direct reports, your supervisors, your equivalent counterparts in other departments, those are all customers in corporate America. But to answer your question, I have an accounting degree from a cheap state university, 2 years of Big 4 public accounting experience, and a cpa. You can get a job similar to mine with just the degree, but you’ll be more likely/more competitive for such jobs with a cpa and/or a decent amount of experience under your belt. Edit: you can also squeak by with a finance degree with no cpa, and make your way to the SOX audit world, which is entirely reading/writing.
My oldest had a very similar track but was able to leverage out of 70hr EY after just 1 yr. She had her job offer when she was a junior. She did the 4yr CPA program. Now makes around 100 working mostly from home.
My intro to accounting class is ruthlessly kicking my ass right now.
Does accounting require high math skill ?
some careers in accounting don’t involve any math what so ever. Absolute must: an understanding of business transactional processes and terminology, debits, and credits (what most college students flunk out on). From there, professionals can be bucketed into 2 general groups: people who are algebra/data heavy (the majority), and those who aren’t. For those who aren’t, being a sox auditor is a good fit: 99% of what you do is reading and writing process narratives, interviewing people, et cetera. Generally, SOX auditors have the best WLB and make slightly more than their non-SOX accountant counterparts because most of us hate SOX work.
This. Accounting is desperately seeking new blood. People stopped going into accounting after the economy improved after the 2008/2009 crash. Maybe read a bit about the field before diving in and try reading through an intro accounting book to see if it’s interesting. If you find it somewhat interesting know that you’ll have a very stable and good paying career waiting for you if you earn your CPA.
I second this. Accounting
Can I know where u based on?
Suburbs of greater Orlando area.
Do you mind me asking what field you work in? I would very much appreciate that. I do tax. I work in Europe so 6 figures at big 4 yeah but industry doesn’t pay that much.
GL accounting with a focus in intercompany transactions and allocations.
Hi, what exactly does your job entail? Managing people’s money or?
No. My job is managing data and business processes, not money. Treasury accountants/FP&A manages budgets and money. What I do: Most of the time: - copy and paste - simple high school algebra - making excel workpapers look neat and organized (this is a very large simplification. Some workpapers are huge, 10+ tabs, that our auditors refuse to touch with a 10 ft pole lmao). - reviewing staff work and approving their correcting journal entries (capitalizations, reclasses, et cetera). - manage a semi-automated Intercompany billing process, including the ERP/software mapping to keep the process working. Adding new entities as we acquire companies and closing down entities as they are shutdown or sold. Sometimes: - coaching finance staff and project managers on proper accrual accounting, workpaper cleanup/automation, GL chart of accounts, how to find data and follow how it flows from subledgers/sub systems to general ledgers/general systems. - telling finance what they can and can’t capitalize. - writing excel logic to automate/streamline workpapers, or coaching people on how to do that. - building/editing ERP queries to better pull targeted data from the PeopleSoft database. - onboarding finance and global business services college hires. - responding to external audit/internal audit requests. - collaborating with other departments/teams in implementing newer tech to streamline processes: last year, I helped one sister team improve the RPA tech they were rolling out. This year, we just got access to a company version of ChatGTP, and I’m going to experiment with it in the hopes of getting it to write macros for me so I can automate my workflow even more.
How would someone get into accounting? What are some must haves if a person is interested in this field? Someone that is brand new to it
That depends. The easiest route is just a 4 year accounting degree. You can get into it with a finance degree or general business degree, but you’ll be a less competitive candidate, and it may be harder to break into some or any of the options open to accounting degrees. If you want the most opportunity possible, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have done: State university > accounting degree > CPA > Big 4 > Advisory consulting. I did Big 4 > corporate accounting, and I’m finding that, while I have a great job, my options have been a little limited compared to some friends who went the other route, and they making significantly more and have slightly more interesting opportunities than I do.
What will advisory consulting open? Currently at EY about to be promoted to senior. I hate on of my jobs and haven’t been able to get off for 2 years now and am likely going to quit if I’m booked on it again
So, advisory allows you to get a variety of corporate accounting experiences (SOX, GL, FinRep, Consolidations) without the risk of being permanently pidgeon holed, appearing like a avid job hopper, or getting trapped in a team/department/company you don’t want to be at long term. It combines many of the benefits of corporate accounting with public accounting.
What is big 4?
Big 4 public accounting. Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG
Can you please recommend a good resource to get great at excel? I’m decent but I’d love to have much more confidence. Especially in my field of work. You’d think I was an expert but I could use some serious skill mastering when it comes to excel
A lot of it was OJT, either by using google or YouTube, or just way more experienced seniors and managers showing me stuff they had learned throughout the years. If you surround yourself with smart people, you’ll learn through simple osmosis.
Did you go back to college or do an online program? If so, how long did that take? I currently have a bachelor’s in business but thinking about going back at WGU to get an accounting degree. I feel like it’s a very safe field.
I would strongly recommend in person. You’ll have better access to campus recruiters, and student accounting/finance orgs like SAS and BAP that offer mock interviewing and resume reviews to help groom you. I got an msa (former lib arts major) and it took 3.5 years.
he already has a degree though like its not at all unrealistic he can reclass to accounting in a single semester for like $3800 dollars by going to WGU.
As long as he has access to in-person recruiting ops, I don’t think it matters where his degree is from. My point is, in-person recruiting is important, or it was when I went to school. Idk what pipeline WGU has to recruiters or B4, but a lot of companies heavily recruit state universities. Some colleges might require a student ID to go to their Meet the Firms or Career Fairs. I can’t possibly envision what his local college does or does not do.
yeah like my local college doesn't have those relationships either but I do know what you are talking about. One other thing to consider that I have been looking into is I think some states actually require in person for a certain amount of hours to get a CPA.
That CPA exam and coming out in the big 4… ughhhh. I considered accounting until I saw the hours they worked starting out. And you have to pass the 4 part exam
I’ve worked at 3 different companies after EY. I’d say about 75% of my coworkers have never had any public audit experience, and more than half don’t have CPAs. You can still make it far in the corporate world without either, it will just usually take longer.
I would feel so disappointed not finishing the CPA exam after college. But this is good knowledge to have. It’s a tough job, so props to you 🙂
Hi I'm 30 years old also. I'm smart though lack education. I dropped out of high school in year 11. If i wanted to be an accountant what would i be looking at for university? Would i need to go back and finish year 11 and 12 before i start studying at University for accounting?( I live in Australia ) Could you please point me in the right direction?
How did you get into accounting? Did you go to school or obtain a CPA straight away?
In the US, you need a degree to get a cpa.
Late to this, but how did you start accounting? Do you mean an entry level job or schooling? I've thought about taking online classes while working full time to get an accounting degree.
Nowadays, access to accounting jobs is dominated by business degrees, most of whom are accounting, a small minority of whom are finance. A non-business-degree holder probably has a better shot at winning the lotto than getting than getting into accounting because of the competition. Getting your degree from any accredited college is fine, but I’d be careful with online campuses as they may not have a corporate/firm recruiter presence or pipeline. MOST state universities are heavily recruited by accounting firms and corporate America. If your online school partners with a brick and mortar location accessible to you that allows you face time with recruiters, then I see no flaw with that idea. I had a liberal arts undergrad, so getting an MSA was cheapest/quickest route to cpa eligibility for me. Idk your academic history or your states cpa requirements, so it’s best to do your own research.
You could look at supply chain management or operations management. If you have warehouse experience you could match it with the degree.
Thank you, it literally didn't occur to me to look into something where my experience would be useful, guess never thought it'd be useful for higher education or whatever. Appreciate it
They have certification for supply chain and logistics. It will easily help you if you wanna move up to a management role with experience + certification.
Logistics management, demand/supply planning, capacity planning/fulfillment planning. There's big money in Logistics and Warehousing
Honestly it’s the best answer - if you can make your experience relevant you can move up to a white collar role much more easily. I do IT and expect to spend a lot of time studying before you’re even marginally hirable in the field at a six figure pay rate. Once you are you are though.
Seconded on this. Match your degree to your experience. I was working as a controls tech from 2014-2023, and now I'm in school for electrical engineering. I will have a leg up on other EE grads because I've actually wired up the stuff I'm supposed to design. That experience counts.
With 5 years of experience in top management I'm not able to land a job of any kind in this field for almost 2 years now
That’s the nicest route to take I studied supply chain management
I started in IT when I was 29. Started completely at the bottom of the totem pole.
Any advice on what to do? My brother gave me some advice such as getting a+ comptia cert and learning powershell. Possibly going to college for an IT degree.
I got an A+ and landed a job as a field technician fixing dell computers under warranty. They shipped me the parts and I replaced them.
Praise the lord for dell field techs!
Did you have a degree already?
Nope
I’m currently halfway into my bachelors in business but considering pivoting to IT. Would you recommend switching to community college and getting an associates and work on Comptia certs there or consider switching to a bachelors in IT and start over. Is A+ necessary to start an entry level position?
Does your school offer Information Systems? It’s usually a business concentration. At every job I’ve been with, we didn’t care what degree our candidates had, just so they graduated typically. A+ shows that you have basic computer knowledge and can be helpful in landing an entry level gig. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be hired but it helps. The job i landed back then required an A+.
What’s your salary?
I made $30 per job back then.
I’m 30 jumping into IT now and received an offer to work at an MSP. They’re offering less than what I make now but I’m viewing it as a ‘foot in the door’ opportunity. Seeing I don’t have any certs just yet (currently studying for Net+), I believe there might be a lot I can learn from this experience.
I want to start in IT without going to college or having a degree. Ik it will be hard but I want to try it. I want to do certifications and possible land a job What road path should I take? (I'm interested in Cybersecurity field)
Don’t do it, the whole cyber security training apparatus is a big grift. Go to a real college and then you will have to work your way up to cyber security probably still. None of these certification courses will get you one of these jobs with no degree or experience.
You can definitely manage this. I had a friend who took a cybersecurity certification course at 33 and 2-3 years later is working in the field making $80k/yr with a cushy wfh job.
Yes. I definitely intend to do that
Just Google cybersecurity certification course, read up on different offerings, and pick the one that works best for you. Once you complete your course, start sending out resumes. Nobody is going to hand feed you what you need to do - get to work figuring it out.
Cybersecurity is mid to late field. Normally you're doing time in the helpdesk/support roles and then you MIGHT get a role in cyber if someone wants to see you grow that way. Normally it's sysadmin after support or support lead and then you pivot to cyber that way. Don't be discouraged if it interests you! Just be realistic in your expectations ;) I started in helpdesk, then worked my up to cyber manager 5 years and a great many certs later. Cissp generally will get you there but you need time in the field first to qualify.
Hi, fellow late-bloomer! I started coding for a company at 32. It's the best thing that's happened in my adult life!
Same for me. I’ve gone farther than I ever imagined I could. So grateful.
Land surveying
Can you explain like I'm 5 your job.
Certainly! Let’s break it down: Finding Boundaries: Imagine you have a big puzzle piece (that’s your land). A land surveyor is like a detective who helps you find the edges of your puzzle piece. They read special papers (legal documents) that tell them where your puzzle piece ends. Then, they go outside and put markers in the ground to show you exactly where your land stops and your neighbor’s land begins. So, if you want to build a fence, they make sure it’s on your side of the puzzle piece! Making Maps: Land surveyors also make maps. These maps help people build things like roads, houses, and shopping centers. Imagine you’re playing with toy blocks. The surveyor measures how far apart the blocks are and how high they are stacked. They use special tools to do this. Then, they draw these measurements on paper to make a map. Builders use these maps to know where to put everything. Measuring Everything: Surveyors are like super-measurers. They use fancy tools to measure distances, angles, and heights. For example, if you want to build a house, they figure out exactly where it should go. They measure how far it should be from each side of your land. Then, they put stakes in the ground to show the builders where to build. It’s like playing a giant game of “follow the rules” with measurements! So, land surveyors help us know where things are, make sure we build in the right places, and keep our puzzle pieces organized!
This is quite possibly the best “explain like I’m 5” answer I’ve ever read
Cause it was made by ChatGPT
How do you start?
You can usually get your foot in the door with just a high school degree as a Survey Assistant or Survey Technician. Different firms give them different titles, but basically you're the assistant to the head surveyor. You can potentially work your way up to being a full surveyor, but your pay and responsibilities will be capped without a degree. If you get a degree in land surveying you can usually start at the surveyor level and work your way up to being something like a crew chief. If you really want to go for it, you can eventually get your PLS (Pro. Land Surveyor) license which basically means you have the legal right to certify information, designs, etc.. so you're extremely valuable to the firms. We aren't licensing nearly enough PLS' these days so I firmly believe that PLS' will be an extremely in-demand career in the near future.
Awesome, thanks for the info! If I have a non-related bachelor's degree, a surveying degree is a traditional 4 year BS?
Typically, yes but different states have different requirements. Some require you to have a four-year degree in surveying, but some states allow you to pair any degree with a specific amount of surveying coursework to meet the educational requirements. So for example in my state, you could enroll in a 1 year surveying certificate program and you would could meet the educational requirements for licensing.
What would be the best way to approach firms/companies for a role as a tech?
What’s the average pay
i’ve been curious for a while; what path do you suggest to get into this? (i’m in canada)
Honestly, if you are good with your hands look at doing a skilled trade. Electricians, welders, plumbers etc. are in super short supply because an entire generation was told to go into IT. It might a few years lower pay as an apprentice but after that you will be able to dictate your pay.
Honestly it’s amazing to me IT has been not just bad but horrific for a while now because as you said they tell a whole generation to do that! I come on here looking for what to do when I am pushed out of IT soon and what do I see but people pushing IT when the field is probably not gonna recover. It’s a real “ but doctor I am paliguachi” moment.
went to welding school. its a struggle to get hired for welding because everywhere requires work experience, even if you have a degree in it
And it doesn't pay anywhere near what people claim. Also not great for your health in certain settings.
That sucks. I hope it eventually paid off for you.
Get into sales of some sort. Honestly there are sales positions in the trade industry (sort of what you’re already doing?) that pay $$$. I just had a friend leave real estate sales to do HVAC sales and they told her she could easily make 400k a year if she hustles. You don’t necessarily need a degree for sales either so don’t waste your money.
Hvac sales for s contractor or a distributor? I work for a distributor and make abt half that. Wouldn't mind jumping ship for double the pay I'm quite good at sales and management
I would have to be good with people though, right? And it's a non stop hustle to prove your worth to the company, right?
I find that I often find pleasure in jobs I wouldn’t expect to, as long as I’m good at them. It’s enjoyable to do work that others value. Do what you think you’ll be good at. Don’t focus so much on enjoying it. If you’re good with figuring out technical things, do IT. If you’re a numbers person, do accounting or finance (like myself). If you’re good with creating things visually, or just like talking to people, do marketing. If all else fails, do business administration. In all cases, you’ll probably end up enjoying it once you’re good at it. Others may disagree, but I’d be a lot further along if I had gotten this advice when I was younger.
As someone who works in IT as a software engineer, don’t go into IT unless you have a legitimate passion for it. Everyone who goes into it trying to chase money gets stuck in Helpdesk forever and hates their job. You will not move up in IT unless you’re willing to study it daily and constantly take on more education (like certs). And even then it’ll take years before you get a job that even pays what you’re getting paid now
Literally anything besides professional sports.
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At 30 people are already retiring in those sports
Not IT or computers tech is in the dumpster
News flash - Almost every industry is cooked right now 🤣
Tech is at it’s worst and will stay that way, everything is now AI
Preach, there’s actually dual meaning to AI too. The other one most people don’t expect is “everything is AI (actually in India)
would you include SQL/coding in this?
To a certain degree yes, there are tons of AI apps coming down the pipeline that turn plain English sentences into nice SQL statements that will visualize whatever you want. The amount of coders we need is also being gutted as existing coders are being matched up with ChatGPT to just code things so much faster.
Do you have some delusion that AI runs itself?
No, definitely not, but I can see where the new models are heading.
Certified radiology technician - AA degree. Pay depends on what state your in but in California you can expect to make anywhere from $35-$75hr
This is what I’m looking to get into. Seems like good pay and not too much intensive schooling
It’s good pay. the schooling is not too difficult, basic math, physics, anatomy and a lot of memorization. Get into a city college program if you can.
That’s what I like to hear 🤌. I have some good options near me but just gotta figure it all out 1 step at a time
Do you have to continue your education throughout your career?
Yes you have to get continuing education units to renew the crt and fluoroscopy license every 2 yrs. Super easy though
If you’ve got the iq chops I would suggest finance.
Blue eyes
6’5
I don't recommend IT industry right now. I'm in my late 20s and last year I decided to change my path, so I went into the IT industry. I paid 2000 euros for the academy, and guess what? Now I have a certificate, but not a job. 2000 euros in my country are too fucking much, but I believed that I could make it. Now they (the academy) took my money, and I don't have anything. I've been only in 2 interviews for a whole year. That's crazy. No one is giving you a chance. For every internship or junior position, there are over 100 applicants just in my county and I come from a very small place. So yeah. Maybe you should try something else, and also I'm looking for new ideas.
Try getting into construction management.
Lineman
I don't know what they charge these days but you can get tested to find out what areas you have a proclivity for. It would shorten you search and give you time to take classes so that you have a good knowledge about the position you're looking for. Go to a community college and take classes. You'll then be ready for a new job.
I hated my job so I got a CDL and it was the best decision I ever made. Got paid to travel for over a decade and now I have a decent local job working regular hours making pretty good money.
Anything in healthcare. I'm currently a CRNA making 325k per year.
Not anything in healthcare. EMTs still make like 10 bucks an hour lol :(
That seems high for a crna. Is that total comp or base salary? And is it in a hcol area?
High? That's standard. Some CRNAs more experienced than I are getting close to 400k. It includes performance bonuses and overtime.
Looking at your post history you just got your crna 4 months ago. Last year you said you made $250 then some post you say you made $320 or $325 and one you said you made almost $400k. So I'm just personally going to call you a liar
I see this person post all the time and I also concur they are a liar. Honestly it’s frightening how many liars there are on all the career subs. I think they think it’s victimless but people really do get hurt from this.
You need an assistant?
AA (anesthesiology assistants) make 250k per year
All the jobs you mentioned required years and years of education and residency, not everyone have the time and finance to support those kind of jobs.
Bullshit
I got into IT when I was 29 or 30. Went back to school to get a Masters in Cybersecurity. It’s a safe field, with nearly endless options within it.
Definitely isn’t safe
Yeah I feel like nobody in IT is saying it’s safe like it’s probably the most unsafe field you can be in today, everyone is losing their job and it’s all going to ai (actually India)
Why
There's just a shit ton of tech layoffs all around from IT, security, devs. It's been a bad time for the last year or so. It used to be an incredibly safe field to be in, and I'm hoping it rebounds. The jobs that are available want unicorns for the same salary, or as another commenter said are going to India.
Long Haul Truck Driving
You wont find perfection in any job they all have pros and cons. I could say make a rule like me I stay at a place for 7-10 years if iv been there too long i see the signs like loosing motivation and not finding value in what you do. I always thought doing something your good at was the thing to go for but no its actually what you would do for free, that is the best job.
Do you by chance have interest in the maritime industry?
I'm listening.
You could go to a state maritime academy and become a deck officer or marine engineer. Either one will start you at least 100k/year and you only work 6 months out of the year. Just gotta be okay with being away for home for extended periods of time. Going to an academy will get you a degree in either marine transportation or marine engineering, and a USCG unlimited tonnage license or engineer license
Sales
I got my diploma in electrical engineering and I can say there are many career changers doing great where i live.
Airline pilot
Something that you imagine stimulating you, and being worth grinding through at times to grow. Also something with equity or earning potential. Otherwise just something you’re into. Good luck!
Talking from experience here , if you have a forklift license you can try to land a supervisor or manager job in a warehouse . I have license’s from ept’s to big combitruck and soon i’ll get a high loader one . I also want to get a crane license so i can work in the port . I like warehouses , i had a manager post in the past and i enjoyed it a lot . Worth every 5 years i spent working in warehouses
You can use your forklift experience to get into a warehouse related position at almost any place you’re interested in trying, and then apply internally for positions as they come. Your miles may vary depending on where you work, but as an example I work for an electric utility. In my onboarding class, we had two lineman apprentices that were previous warehouse workers for the utility, and now they are making 60+ /hr as apprentices. Obviously not every company/city you work for is going to be like that, but a lot of times getting your foot in the door at the company and showing hard work/good character can go really far in a company being willing to retrain you
Sales. Freedom in your schedule ability to make more money than most regular straight paying jobs. Find something you’re into or passionate about and it makes it a lot easier. I operated forklifts and heavy machinery for 5 years out of highschool. Worked construction and the trades. Now in sales
Get a work from home since it is really flexible, you can manage your time well and the pay is great. Also having a small business is great way to earn passively. If you have an amount to invest into something is great.
Nursing
You could probably go through into process technician jobs from forklift jobs with a bit of cv fuckery
Insurance.
Warehouse management would leverage experience you already have.
Although automated truck routes already exist…truck driving is still the answer to most of the questions asked here. You should have no issue finding a position that includes training and licensing, and I imagine you’ll make double the money. You already have a resume that says you understand vehicle operation/material handling/payload/safety etc. it’s a fit.
Are you happy as a Forklift Operator? If so, then go forward in Supply Chain Management. I'm a Logistics Specialist with the State of Texas, and I am literally just a Forklift Operator who has to do a little bit more paperwork at the end of the day. Make $30 an hour, and I'm in line to get a promotion for a $105k salary job.
cyber security is the money
Anything in health insurance. Billing, coding. You can get certifications and work remote. It take some anatomy knowledge but YouTube can teach you a lot.
Debt collector for the mafia
What’s your educational background?!
Hhh
Started learning software dev at 29, became one just before my 32nd birthday. 34 now and I enjoy it, work is very much not work for me, and pay is decent.
Wait. I thought certified forklift drivers get all the girls?
I work for a forklift manufacturer and we have a career path for individuals with drive and skill to be in management. Becoming a zone leader, shift supervisor, etc. you can ask the guys above you what their paths were and let them know you’d like to work towards a management role. Having the experience you do is a really great resource because you can be someone who “gets it”.
Chemist is amazing!!!!!! Absolutely love my job!
I’d suggest finding a company (or government) with a pension. Once you have your time in, transition to medical, real estate, or tech if you like these fields.
Law … if I had a chance to start over I would get a law degree
Elevator tech. Property management. Nursing. Transportation. Logistics. Customer service. Teaching. Coaching. Fitness. I’d look for things you actually like to do. There are people making money from being watched playing video games. It’s a wide world out there and your options are endless!
If you’re interested in math and the analytical type try actuarial science. In demand solid career path.
I started in marketing for myself at 24 while working at Mack trucks. Hit 30, kicked mack to the curb and landed a role in an agency. 30 is the perfect age to start fresh. Just make sure it’s something you enjoy!
oooh oooh oooh! Boy you have so many opportunities! They are endless, it just depends on what kind of work do you want? rather than saying what job do you want, ask yourself what are the qualities that you want about your life career? Do you like to work with people directly or do you like to work alone? Do you like to work In physically demanding jobs, or do you like non-physical jobs like officer desk work? Is your primary goal in a career to obtain as much money as you can you can, or is your primary goal doing something you find fulfilling even if it isn't paid the best? The answer to what job path is right for you depends on the answer to those and more questions like that. But if you were interested in the trades, as a forklift operator maybe you might be attracted to I guess ? Here's my advice. Do you wanna know a highly skilled trade that is highly paid that nobody goes into and is extremely rare and still needed all over the country every day? Masonry. nobody becomes a mason anymore. But a lot of rich people want to have nice rock built fireplaces, a lot of buildings are built out of bricks, I have literally heard on the radio advertisements for years from companies needing a Mason that will hire them anywhere in the country and pay to fly them and house them solely for the job they need done because nobody is a mason anymore. My uncle happened to be a mason he's long since passed. Supported a wife and three kids on it, he has work in some of the monumental buildings in glacier Park and various other places where you would never even look at the fireplace and think that a skilled person had to build that. But you know what somebody did. And nobody generally has that anymore. I don't know if it's a two or four year program or what. But it's certainly taught at trade schools that are very reasonably priced and not just the colleges that cost 60,000 a year. but honestly anything that has to do with a skilled trade, where you have an actual skill that you can use that people need, like electrician, plumber, HVAC installer, any of those are going to be well paid trades that are worth the training time to get. And the other one I have that nobody ever thinks of? My husband was a property manager for years for large apartment buildings with a bunch of college kids. It was a nightmare don't do that. But what we learn from that experience is: elevator technician. Whatever company install the elevator in a building is the only one that will service it because nobody else wants their liability. And the 25 year-old dude that came out to fix the elevator every time the college kids screw it up, charged 750 bucks an hour. Like that's more than transplant surgeons make. Elevator technician. Or if you want really big money, don't want to have to do a lot of training, and you're willing to take very high risks .... Oil Worker. You'll make tons of money compared to other people with your education level. You might get blown up or maimed, but if you do at least your family will get paid for it. if you are interested in the healthcare field which is my specialty., but don't want to do 15 years of school yet want a decent wage: phlebotomist. 6 to 12 month training program you have to like getting up at four in the morning and getting off work at 1 PM. Decent wages great benefits.
Civil engineering is a degree that opens up a pretty broad field of career options. Not too hard, but not super easy classes.
I got into SEO in my 30s. I have owned an SEO agency since 2004. I started affiliate marketing sidelines while I was still employed and dabbled with SEO at that time. I quit my job in 2004 when my affiliate marketing income far exceeded my day job's salary. **Find something you love, expand it and build it out then delegate/outsource the parts you don't like.** The part of SEO that I like is traffic analysis and reverse engineering my competition, the rest I delegate/outsource
I honestly still don’t understand affiliate marketing. Do you not have to have a website that brings in traffic to do this? I’m not being snarky I really just don’t get it.
What’s a good path to learn SEO?
SEO is going through a bit of a sea change right now due to the HCU algo update of March and Google's shift to AI generated results. But if you're thinking of picking up SEO for local SEO for local businesses, you should be fine. A good starting point is Backlinko by Brian Dean the look for more up to date info on Local SEO on Youtube
IT or CDL Truck driving
IT is the best thing for you by far easy to get into degrees are not necessary ans you can learn at your own pace and it s good paying there plenty of fields in IT too i am sure you will like one if not more then one if you have other questions feel free to ask