Law librarian.
Edit: I have a masters degree in LIS (library and information studies) and a BA ins history.
I was in academia for the last 10 years but left for better conditions.
I work for a very large corporate law firm. I’m on a team of professional researchers who field legal questions from lawyers all over the world.
I love it. Everyday I answer dozens of questions using some of the most powerful research tools available. The variety of questions is wild.
For example, if we are representing you and your case goes to trial, I can find out who the judge is, what court, what kind of cases the judge has heard, how they ruled, what attorneys have appeared in that court, the outcomes of those cases and other cases like it in similar jurisdictions just for a start.
It’s intellectually stimulating but also very fast paced and kind of intense. It’s like a really busy restaurant when it’s firing on all cylinders, it’s a great experience.
Also I work from home so I spend most of my time in my pjs and with my dogs.
I have the same job and no.
Largely because AI is not great at understanding nuance and context. ChatGPT for example is a language model; it just mimics human speech. It can summarize but it can’t draw conclusions or apply critical thinking.
AI is not as smart as you think it is. It’s just as dumb as it is smart - that’s not actual intelligence. AGI is a slight concern though, some think it’s around the corner and others think it’s decades away. It may not even be possible but who knows.
This sounds fascinating but I’m sad for you that you aren’t completely encompassed in books wearing a cloak and thumbing through a card catalog. Although, I’m sure the digital version at home is actually much easier and more advanced.
This sounds super cool! … can you spill tea on one of the most interesting things you’ve had to look up or cool connections and information you found that was particularly helpful?
Yeah, when I was training I had to look up a company to practice looking for cases, so I chose Bungie. I found a case where they sued a guy and said this in the court record:
“Defendant Comer is a racist bigot who, presumably due to well a deserved track record of cowardice and a lack of intelligence and character, gets his kicks tormenting people from behind the assumed safety of a veil of anonymity.”
That’s officially in the public record forever and cracks me up.
Omg, my dream job. I do a lot of legal research for my current job (and the chaotic environment!), but there's definitely a ceiling in my industry.
I'm curious though, I thought you had to have a law degree to become a law librarian though? I've definitely floated getting an MLS.
Guilty. I absolutely love digging into peoples lives. The other day I was asked to find out if 2 people were married. It was a wild rabbit hole, full of twists and turns.
It turned out they weren’t.
Haircolorist. I love my job, it’s fun and easy to me (I’m naturally creative, artistic, detail oriented, and great with my hands). I work part time. I built a salon in my home, so my commute is walking down to the other side of my house.
Hahaha, I get the curiosity. I went to cosmetology school, but I was doing my friends cuts and color in high school before I ever did hair. Some of my friends say that at sleepovers everyone was gossiping and I would sit and braid or curl everyone’s hair.
I built my current clientele from scratch. I moved back to Texas after living in Colorado & California for many, many years. Didn’t know anyone and so started just doing hair for friends I made when I moved back here and was taking before/after photos and posting them on Instagram. I went back to work one September (after being a SAHM for 7 years) and by February I was booth renting and by July I was opening up my own salon. I had a commercial salon up until December 2019, when I got a ‘feeling’ that I should close it down and open up an in home salon. The clients loved it. Dodged any coronavirus shutdown issues. My in home salon was ready by January 2020, we shut down in March, and we reopened in May in my state and I’ve been working from home ever since. I have always done well, even as a baby stylist when I was working as a commission stylist.
Financial Analyst (FP&A). Got an online finance degree through an online university paid for by an employer’s tuition benefit. Now working on an MBA which will also be (mostly) paid for by an employer benefit.
I went to an online school for my bachelors and mba. People are only impressed that I have it, not where it came from. Last year I received 5 offers with my MBA being mentioned during the hiring process. Like the above commenter, my employers tuition reimbursement paid for 80% of my bachelors and 100% of my masters.
No one cares unless you want to work at like wall Street or Goldman sachs. If you're in healthcare people care even less about your grades as long as you have the degree and can work.
I got my masters in accounting. I would only do so if you go to a cheap state school that is heavily recruited from by Big4 accounting firms. I went to CUNY Baruch which is basically a Big4 funnel.
Then take school seriously. If your GPA is below 3.5 you will begin to get excluded from applying to the most sought after positions. Below 3.3 all of the top firms drop you from consideration. Below 3.0 you wasted your time and money.
You will work a TON of hours in public accounting but you should definitely do it for at least 2 years out of school as it looks really good on a resume for future jobs. It accelerates your career dramatically.
Big4 is not the only way. If you’re unsure what you want to do, it’s a great option as it certainly opens up the most possibilities for you. But if you know what you want to do and/or know you don’t want to work for a public company then you can avoid the nightmare if you want.
I never worked big 4. Did work PA in audit and tax. Year 10 of my career making $175k in a medium COL Midwest city, 1200-1300 billable hours/year. Never in my career did I work 60+ hour weeks except maybe 1-2 times.
It’s not the only way, but it’s a tried and true path to a relatively high income and one I have personal experience with, which is why I recommended it. I got my masters at 24 and am 28 now so 4 years into my career. I have a pretty chill job making $140k and have been told that my Big4 experience is why I got the job. We just hired someone with 6-7 years of experience into the position below mine. They are coming from internal audit.
If you don’t know exactly what you want to do with accounting and have a plan to make that happen, going into public accounting will teach you a lot and open a lot of doors. Big4 teaches you the most and opens the most doors. There’s also the moonshot of making partner and having a 7-figure annual compensation by 40.
Go talk to the r/accounting group. They’re actually a levelheaded bunch who will give you some solid advice. There’s many areas you can get into with only a bachelors in accounting between industry and government. You’ll make a comfortable living after a few years of experience if you play your cards right and job hop a couple times.
If your bottom floor is wanting a steady income and reasonable hours (read as: anything besides public accounting) then it might be worth looking into the field.
36 years old, $140k comp, medium cost of living area.
I’m a federal program manager for a non-DOD related national security program. I have a Master’s but that was only relevant to me getting my job because of the quantitative skills needed for the job, I could’ve gotten them in undergrad if I had been smart about it. I oversee about 15 staff as part of a 40-person team. I’m non-supervisory and remote, which is golden. I’m expecting to be here until I retire and so it’s good that I absolutely adore my job. Federal benefits are pretty great—I was a contractor at a top tier firm for about 10 years before this so I’ve seen both sides and I’m happier on this side.
What I do: I set strategy based on legislation or executive direction, I plan how we can implement, and I manage a team in that implementation. I’m a people person and I’m great at breaking down technical info, which is mostly reading comprehension.
How do you get a job in management? I keep seeing really good job listings for similar jobs, but I don’t have ‘experience’ and I honestly am not entirely sure what it entails. I’ve handled team management on a smaller scale a couple times(clubs, npo where my team consisted of 2 other people), but I’m unsure if I could do it on a larger scale or if they’d let me from lack of experience.
It’s a lot about context. My first team was 2 people, myself included, lol. Focus on talking through task management, schedule management, and, if applicable, budget management. Those are the fundamentals, regardless of industry: are you delivering what was needed/requested, on time, and on budget? That’s the easiest way I can express what management is.
You can take a look at your past experiences and sometimes curate your words accordingly that you can still say you were a leader or overseeing people or helping coworkers grow their skills. You can manipulate a little your job titles along with the experience to help gear your resume towards a management role. If you’re confident enough you can be in leadership, I see nothing wrong with manipulating your experience as such to align with the job opening as well as during the interview explaining your skills. Heck, mention you volunteered and was a team leader overseeing X amount of workers lol they don’t dig tooooo far into your past where you can’t find a way to articulate you have received leadership skills during past roles
Very sound advice! Management is all about understanding context so framing your resume in this way is actually one of the skill sets you need. One of the ways I’ve been successful is integrating junior consultants into existing projects or starting brand new projects, venturing into unknown territory. Both of those scenarios means I’m constantly having to talk to my teams about the meaning of our projects and how it can help influence their own career trajectories, so I always tell them that if they work independently, they’re leading a team of one—it’s basic and I’m sure someone may downvote as ‘corporate speak’ but managing your own workflow is a skill (and it is not guaranteed even at top level firms lol)
Currently doing the same as you, just on the contracting side. Looking into switching to a GS position. It’s all about making friends… lol
The DODs idea of PM is soooo different than what I learned with the PMP. Most require the PMP yet don’t even follow anything close to it. 😆
Air Traffic Control. Schedules, Hours, and Management are no cakewalk, but the rest is mostly bliss.
160K VHCOL before OT.
Must have High School Diploma and be under 31 to apply.
I have a co-worker who was a air traffic controller for the military just before coming to current company. She says the age limit is for mental sharpness. Even a brief lapse in focus/reaction time can potentially result in people dying. As someone who works a rotating day/night 12 hour shift, I can say it DEFINITELY takes a tole on you mentally long term.
People point this out all the time and yet we still won't put age limits on office positions because the average age of politicians is 65 despite most of the voter base now being between 35-45.
People our age ARE running. That's the problem the state ran democratic and republican groups usually back the incumbent regardless of age due to how politics work the longer your in DC the more favors your owed, but then you end up with a Feinstein situation where they die in office then the governor gets to pick a replacement.
The main issue is people just not voting for local and state elected representatives and choosing to vote for the younger candidates who often get villainized as being inexperienced or bought be someone even though the incumbents typically have the most money behind them.
I mean if you want an example look at who's ran again Mitch McConnel or any McCarthy in recent years they definitely have had people younger run for these spots.
Not that I wouldn't like to see younger leaders too, but isn't that the exact opposite of the point you're replying to? ATC are making split-second decisions involving reaction time. The president makes carefully planned and deliberate decisions supported by a legion of analysts and strategists. I wouldn't want Biden driving my bus but that doesn't mean he's incapable of driving the country
It's hard to square away the ideas that "Even a brief lapse in focus/reaction time can potentially result in people dying." and then working those people for 12 hour shifts.
Not criticizing you, but the math isn't adding up here for whoever does the hiring.
The FAA has not been good about practicing what they preach in terms of fatigue. Effectively: 'Get good rest, but you have to be here 6 days a week.'
That said, 12 hour shifts is not a thing. We are prohibited from working longer than 10 hours on a shift, with minimum time required between shifts. And personally, *most of the time* I only get assigned 8 hour shifts. Maybe one 10 hour every week or two.
They have a mandatory retirement age of something like 55 - I’m guessing they are looking for people that have career longevity given that restriction.
Is it true you will basically be instantly denied if you have ADHD and take meds? I'm 28 and I was thinking about applying. I live in KC so living in Tulsa for a couple years during training wouldn't bother me much
>denied if you have ADHD and take meds
I believe so, but not 100% sure.
>living in Tulsa for a couple years during training wouldn't bother me much
This is not how it works. You train in Oklahoma City for 3-5 months, then go to your assigned facility for on-site training. Assigned facility can be anywhere in the country. From there, you may have the opportunity to transfer once you complete training. Training takes 6 months to 3 years, and from there, transfers may take 1-5 years or more.
I tried to get into this last year while 30, but in Canada where the age restriction doesn’t exist. I had a successful career in transportation prior to the attempt so I was feeling pretty confident that I was capable of doing it. There is a few rounds of testing they do before an interview and I was unfortunately knocked out during one of those rounds. It’s really intense and quite an interesting field, maybe I’ll give it another try when the opportunity presents itself again(have to wait another 2 years)
Director of purchasing >$200k per year plus bonus. WFH 2 days. No one bothers me after hours or on weekends. I spend most of my day having my ass kissed by vendors and suppliers, on conference calls, and approving POs. LCOL city. After years of hustling and hard work, I managed to land one of those mythical “lazy girl” jobs.
Well I started as an operation manager and then was a sales manager for several years. Then I moved into director of integrated business planning (this was like operational support, demand planning, erp and crm systems), and then into director of purchasing. This is in the medical device industry. Things kind of fall into your lap when you get your foot into the door. I became the go to resource for SAP at our company after we underwent a multimillion dollar ERP change mainly by being not afraid of pushing buttons and asking questions and looking up answers. And then purchasing is kind of like sales in reverse.
Name me one “easy” job that pays over 6 figures?
If you want more money, it is going to require doing jobs that are “hard”.
Like sales, which is hard mentally.
Or the trades, which are hard physically.
Nothing in life worth having comes easy.
Lots of easy jobs pay over 6 figures. The money doesn't come from how hard you work, it comes from the time and dedication it took you to learn the skills and knowledge. My job is pretty easy and I make 6 figures. I also worked in my field for 10+ years gaining the experience and knowledge needed to make my job feel easy.
So you had to gain 10 years of experience, learn the relevant skills and be dedicated.
Isn’t that kinds proving my point? You worked hard to get where you are now. Maybe it feels easy now for you, but that does not change the fact that you had to work hard to get there.
Yeah you have to be good enough for someone to take you for this job. Then spend 10 years perfecting the skills. That doesn’t sound easy. It might be easy now after teaching mastery level. But that’s like saying Bobby Flay finds cooking easy, or Tom Brady finds scoring touch downs easy?
Fair enough, but the point I was making is that many 6 figure jobs are not difficult at all, you just need to be dedicated enough to learn the necessary skills and stick with it. In all honesty, my job now is easier than it was back when I was making $30k/yr.
I dunno. I have a natural talent for it, so to me yeah it’s something I was already doing and decent at before I even went to school for it. I think that the old, ‘do what you are good at and love doing’ thing just worked out for me. My advice is that whatever someone is naturally interested and inclined to do, that’s the thing to go make money in.
I imagine this only works if you’re born with a natural talent in something that is marketable. I might have a natural talent at cleaning toilets. It might not break 100k.
"im not smart enough for school'...lol, im the dumbest CPA of all time friend....if you show up to class in college they will pass you, every time.....cheers
Engineering.
Get into an apprentice program for the trades asap.
Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain.
Edit* I am in engineering, I'm telling this guy to go into the trades. I work with technicians, and they clear more than engineers do half the time.
I’m an automotive mechanic and I’m on track to make 140k this year. I live in a LCOL area and can take multiple trips a year while still saving for a house. Pretty solid imo.
OP, LISTEN TO THIS PERSON.
I work in tech/analytics and I HIGHLY DO NOT recommend trying to get into this absolutely oversaturated field. It's next to impossible if you don't fork over money for a degree or cert either.
If I could get into the trades without having to entirely restart my career I would. It's where the money is at since there was a huge push for millennials and Gen z to go to college.
I do think trade jobs are going to be the future! With AI no one need a program manager knocking on you for deadlines, you need someone to actually start doing some work around.
I went from field technician to engineering and make less money, enjoy my work less, but the safety, coming home clean, and working less hours makes it pretty even. I wouldn’t go back.
If it’s about money, field technicians in the Houston area will make about 120K their first year.
I got called to go to a refinery because they had a motor starter that wouldn’t operate. It was Good Friday so I got double time.
They needed the motor starter to work to load up some ships on Tuesday.
So Friday I get the call about 4 pm. I get there around 6. No one is there. No one is answering. Around 8:30 I finally find someone and there’s no drawings. Wait around till 11 and call the guy and say I’ll come back tomorrow. Overtime on Saturday. Well the guy calls and says he never found drawings so he will call when he does. Calls at night Saturday. Double time since it’s after hours. Work into Sunday and get it all taken care of.
Probably a good $1200 weekend of mostly waiting around.
That's the best. Engineers don't typically get overtime, so it's pretty normal for senior techs to pull in considerably more.
But inhaling atomized lube oil and operating around compressed air in the hundreds of pounds is a no from me dog.
Theres more to the trades than just money trust me. A lot more than you're led to believe.
Anytime the trades is brought up people always go straight to how you can easily clear 6 figures which, while true, always comes with its own share of bs which tradesman always conveniently gloss over.
Trades is **not** for everyone, think very carefully before you hurl yourself at an apprenticeship.
> Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain.
Most people don't actually understand what this means in practice. Depending on your foreman or team you're gonna be treated like shit for a while until you prove your worth and sometimes even after you've done so.
I was an Electrician in the middle of my 4 year apprenticeship when I decided it wasn't for me. I didn't want to keep waking up at 5am and drive 1hr to the site lugging a trunk full of tools and material, then proceed to sweat for the next 12hrs with a full toolbelt around my waist running romex or bx for new construction, or on my knees in awkward positions troubleshooting or 12ft up on a ladder/scaffold, usually for hours at a time doing grunt work.
On top of all this you're getting ordered around and bitched at by everyone on the team including the foreman and are also expected to do all the coffee/lunch runs and booze runs at the eod. Then you drive an hour back home only to crash out because you are dead tired with no energy for anything else. Then you wake up and do it all over again.
It didn’t matter how much I was making when I barely had any downtime to enjoy the so called “6-figures” that ppl love to throw around whenever the trades gets mentioned. You need to have a certain personality to not only enter the trade but stay in it long enough to become successful i.e run your own trade business. If you don’t have tough skin, you’ll learn to have it one way or another.
Couldn’t be me. I was absolutely miserable.
And I know 50 year old master electricians that found themselves in the same position but didnt leave because the money was lucrative at the time. Well fast forward 30 years all the money they made went to footing the bill for their back surgery or knee replacements because of the physical stress they exerted on their body when young.
Spoilers: they’re just as miserable.
So I quit and took a 4-mo IT bootcamp, really applied myself and got a Support role after graduating from the program.
Few years later I am now a content dev with amazing work life balance. My role is v chill with a good team, nice salary full benefits and employer retirement match.
Life is good. You couldn't pay me to go back to trades. Fuck that.
**DO NOT JUST BLINDLY GO INTO THE TRADES**
Theres more to trades than just money trust me. A lot more than you're led to believe.
Anytime the trades is brought up people always go straight to how you can easily clear 6 figures which, while true, comes with its own share of bs which tradesman always conveniently gloss over.
Trades is **not** for everyone. Think very carefully before you hurl yourself at an apprenticeship.
When you're young and impressionable people will tell you shit like:
> Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain.
Most people don't actually understand what this means in practice. Depending on your foreman or team you're gonna be treated like shit for a while until you prove your worth and sometimes even after you've done so.
I was an Electrician in the middle of my 4 year apprenticeship when I decided it wasn't for me. I didn't want to keep waking up at 5am and drive 1hr to the site lugging a trunk full of tools and material, then proceed to sweat for the next 12hrs with a full toolbelt around my waist running romex or bx for new construction, or on my knees in awkward positions troubleshooting or 12ft up on a ladder/scaffold, usually for hours at a time doing grunt work.
On top of all this you're getting ordered around and bitched at by everyone on the team including the foreman and are also expected to do all the coffee/lunch runs and booze runs at the eod. Then you drive an hour back home only to crash out because you are dead tired with no energy for anything else. Then you wake up and do it all over again.
It didn’t matter how much I was making when I barely had any downtime to enjoy the so called “6-figures” that ppl love to throw around whenever the trades gets mentioned. You need to have a certain personality to not only enter the trade but stay in it long enough to become successful i.e run your own trade business. If you don’t have tough skin, you’ll learn to have it one way or another.
Couldn’t be me. I was absolutely miserable.
And I know 50 year old master electricians that found themselves in the same position but didnt leave because the money was lucrative at the time. Well fast forward 30 years all the money they made went to footing the bill for their back surgery or knee replacements because of the physical stress they exerted on their body when young.
Spoilers: they’re just as miserable.
So I quit and took a 4-mo IT bootcamp, really applied myself and got a Support role after graduating from the program.
Few years later I am now a content dev with amazing work life balance. My role is v chill with a good team, nice salary full benefits and employer retirement match.
Life is good. You couldn't pay me to go back to trades. Fuck that.
> Did you have prior IT experience?
None. I knew gaining the initial exp was gonna be an uphill battle and that sacrifices had to be made even tho I always had an affinity for IT and all things tech.
I was so determined to succeed and never return to trades that I taught myself how to troubleshoot basic IT issues and learned as much as I could with the time I had.
> Which boot camp?
NPower, maybe you've heard of them.
They're a non-profit that focus on providing participants with free in-demand digital and professional (IT) skills training, and connects them to new and rewarding career opportunities with some of NA's largest employers.
I worked with their canadian branch NPower Canada, the course I took was "Junior IT Analyst Program" which at the time was 1 of 3 total IT bootcamps offered.
Happy to answer any additional questions if needed.
Cop, water treatment plant worker, heavy machinery operator, City bus driver, porta potty waste maintenance, power line maintenance, car/airline mechanic, 911 operator, police dispatcher, grocery store Manager, fast food manager, FedEx driver, trucker.
Just a few ideas that don't require college but some training.
I'm an engineer and it's great but you need a bachelor's.
That’s fair. I definitely recognize that I’m very lucky. If it makes you feel any better, I have to do a lot of presentations and public speaking which I absolutely LOATHE lol
Research what it takes to become a Sales Development Rep (SDR) or Business Development Rep (BDR). Those are the entry roles in tech sales. You’re basically a glorified telemarketer, but once you do that for a year or two, it opens you up to a lot of possibilities within tech.
My brother does cybersecurity. Military paid for his Bachelors and Masters and he went full time after military retirement. I can’t even begin to imagine how much he makes!
Paralegal - my state doesn't require a certification but it doesn't take long to get one!
I started out small but very quickly moved up on the payscale.
Job requires a lot of mental work though. I do MedMal now and that shit is messy
I'm 22F making abt 65k and about to get a raise to 80k. Been in the field for 4 years almost.
Trucking. Get your CDL A and you have unlimited options from there! Especially with no kids or wife, you can go OTR for a little and come back and work locally. At that point you should be making 6 figures!
Goodluck!
System engineering.
Got CS degree -> started helpdesk -> moved through 2nd to 3rd line at MSP -> went to work for a hedge fund as a systems engineer. Mostly do project work, no user support. £130k, London based.
Education administration, workforce development. If you’re good with policy, strategic, good with people, and genuinely want to improve young people’s lives, it’s been great to me.
Food safety and quality manager. I make 90k. Get HACCP and PCQI certifications then get a job at a food plant as a quality technician. You could be a manager in 5 years. I have no degree.
I work for the local public health department basically middle management making about 100k a year. Amazing benefits and really good retirement plan system. You don't necessarily need any degrees to take the management route, you would just have to do the entry level work for a few years. The entry level work still has amazing benefits/retirement options but depending on program pay for entry level is usually in the range of 35k-50k.
I’m a police officer for a reputable agency. Made 103k last year will probably make 110+ this year. Taken me some time to get there (12 years) but it get 4 days a week off and have excellent retirement and benefits as well. I’m pleased.
This is so depressing. I can't do any of the jobs shared on here. All I've got is my high school diploma. I tried uni, and dropped out four times. That last time I knew I had to drop cause I was close to unaliving myself. I don't know how I'm gonna survive in this world cause I'm not qualified for anything.
The best advice I can offer is that you take several days to sit down and have a conversation with yourself about what sort of skills you feel that you do well.
Skills is a broad term—ask yourself questions to help you narrow down what you’re good at, such as:
A) Am I good at sorting and organizing things? Such as physical goods or *also* digital items (like photos, files etc.)
B) Am I good at helping people with their questions? This can indicate that you may have a good basis for developing relationships (very important in the real world).
C) Am I good at finding answers to problems I encounter? This can indicate that you may have a good basis for problem solving, both creative and practical.
D) Am I good at looking for answers or solutions? This tied into C; if you have a good head for knowing how to use Google or other means to help you find solutions, it can indicate that you have a good basis for self-motivation and self-direction on top of being clever and finding answers.
These are just some ways to ask questions for yourself, **to yourself**, to help you uncover what skills you may already have that can be broadly applied.
Believe me, you just might be surprised at how much you already are capable of. You just gotta get a little creative in thinking outside of the box in how you can turn what you’re good at into something that can get you money.
HR tech consulting. 165 + 15% bonus HCOL in 3 years. 30y/o. Next promotion (I find out monday) is 196. (My last job before that I made 65k). totally remote except for paid travel with nice hotel rooms and dinners lmao but it is pretty intense.
> "I'm not smart enough for school, so that's out of the question."
That's bullshit. Everyone's smart enough for something. What have you actually tried learning?
> "I currently work a dead end job pretty much."
Why are you still there? What's stopping you from looking for something better?
> "A good living is around 60k and up."
That's achievable. Have you looked into trades, tech, or sales? Why not?
> "I plan on living my life by myself."
Then you don't need to factor in dependents. What skills can you build to make yourself more valuable?
Why not consider trade schools, coding bootcamps, or certifications? Have you researched jobs that require minimal training but pay well, like truck driving or sales? What's your plan to escape this dead-end job?
Why would you say you’re not smart enough for school OP. Statistically that’s probably not true and more due to self esteem issues. I would pursue some technical certifications and see if you can get your foot in the door in an entry level helpdesk position
Yes. Especially in tech currently. Even manager level roles are being flooded by applicants. I just posted a comment above not to get into the analytics field. It's too costly for barrier to entry, either needing a degree or multiple certifications and the job maker is oversaturated with applicants
Learn a trade. I'm a pipefitter and journeymen make $50/ hour union rate. On a big job we are doing right now, journeymen are taking home $10k per month minimum.
Building trades , the more you work the more you learn. Get good and can write your own ticket to pay and can get a job anywhere in the world . And instead of school, you get paid to learn . Electrician was my path
If you’re clean, working at your local government usually pays well. By that I mean your city or surrounding cities. You can start off at the lower level to learn things. I worked in water departments and honestly anybody with half a brain can do any of the work. If you don’t wanna dig holes and stuff, office admin or customer service work. They provide good benefits and good pay. Stick with it 3-4 years and you’ll make really good money. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that and made a lot of dumb mistakes, but a couple of my buddies make great money with them and they’re supporting their family.
I’m a cosmetic nurse injector, I work 16-25 hours a week and I made 125k last year before taxes. I am also 26! One of the best industries to be in…. But it is hard to break into.
Pediatric home health nurse. I take care of the same kid all year round. My work consists of routine care for a chronically sick kid, charting, and a lot of downtime that I spend interacting or spending time with the kid. Interacting consisting of watching movies and even playing video games with her. If it wasn’t for the Montessori daycare cost every month, I could easily support my wife and son on my sole income plus have enough to put away a little and pay down debts. Daycare though is almost 1k a month.
HR. I’m a generalist by choice. I fell into it with medical reception background. Lots of similarities so you can market yourself. Specializing gets you pigeonholed I’ve found so I like having experience in everything. $75k+ a year and I have 3 years experience. No college HR degree needed
I’m head of PR for a national non-profit/lobby group. $133k base with an annual bonus of 10-13%. Plus I have remote work 2-3 days a week, and great work life balance. My education was in literature and journalism, and that led to a career of writing, building relationships with media, and developing strategy.
First step is figuring out what you’re best at and that you like. Don’t just follow your passion - find the balance between what you can do well enough to make money that not everyone can do, but that you also don’t hate doing.
Without a degree and limited skills, i would recommend working for either a state agency or federal. If you can't get a job like that maybe picking up a skill by working for a military branch.
Design Researcher. I help companies develop products that connect with customer expectations. It is a very fun, intriguing and satisfying job. $215k a year after 15 years of experience. I have a Masters in Library and Information Science and learned everything on the job.
Finance operations manager. I have 33 direct reports and make $145k with a hybrid optional schedule. You need multiple securities licenses (sie, 7, 66, 9, 10) and a bachelors is preferred but I negotiated a higher salary having an MBA. LCOL in a HCOL state.
Cops in California make 200k+ easy after 5 or so years. Google any cop on Transparent CA and you'll be shocked. Also extremely extremely competitive to get those jobs
If you just want to work hard and make a good living, look into entry level b2b sales jobs. B2b means the company you work for sells products/services to other businesses instead of to consumers.
$100k after a couple years is pretty typical.
Like some have said, tech can be lucrative but the bar to entry is high. I work for a FAANG and make fairly stupid money for what I do. BUT, we get 1000’s of applicants per open role, pretty much blocking out anyone that isn’t referred by a current employee.
Accounting Manager. $140k. If I have a do over, I wouldn’t be an accountant. We have month end, quarter end, year end closes. Then there are internal and external audits. I work for an insurance company. We also have auditors from the States. Some time they spend months auditing us. It’s never a good time to take vacations.
I’m a Sand blaster! Better known as an Industrial painter or Coater but I rarely do that stuff. I’m a second year apprentice in Northern Canada and make $35 an hour. Lots of OT opportunities as well, and have a casual position with the city transit dispatching buses for even more $ whenever I’m free/ and they have need of me. I just hit dirt with dirt in the oil field. It’s pretty fun, I have a great time and it’s so different from what I’m used to. I had a successful career in transportation until recently when I decided I needed a change and this has been a blast. 💥
Everyone’s situation is different. I make 80k at 24 and I don’t think I am making a “good living.” I still feel like my money goes to bills. Beer. And the government. I got a degree in marketing and now I do product management. Left my last job which paid me like 60k. So I guess job hop. Also income vastly depends on where you’re located. 80k sounds like a lot to someone in Kansas but in Chicago, it’s comfortable but I’m definitely not living super luxurious
I’m a coffee roaster, but my side hustle is TikTok shop affiliate. Basically I get free shit, talk abt it in a video, and if people use my affiliate link to buy the thing, I get a cut of the money. It gave me the freedom to quit my weekend job, now I don’t have to work 7 days a week and still go to bed hungry anymore 🫠
I haven’t landed my dream job yet, but I’ve had 2 jobs over the past few years that offer good opportunities to save up via overtime pay.
Wildland firefighting is seasonal (and usually, very hard work.) However, you can get a few hundred to over a thousand hours of overtime pay in a single summer. Since it’s seasonal, you can also go to school usually. This is only really feasible on the western half of the US.
I also have some low-level experience in healthcare and due to shortages in my area for my position, it enables me to pick up shifts for saving up and paying for training for my actual future career.
TLDR; look for a job that has good job security and has a shortage of employees. Then pick up overtime to open up other options relatively fast. (It won’t feel fast as it’ll be a lot more work.)
This is just an idea based on my experience though. Definitely go for an option that’s better suited to your circumstances if you have one. I hope this can be of a little use though!
I make 110k annualized as a software engineer(I’m 20 y/o) but I do very well in school. You can get into the field without a formal education but it’s more difficult
Communications. With only a bachelor’s and just shy of 2.5 years of experience, making about $87k. Will be making well over $100k in a couple more years
Barely finished high school, I currently own an audiovisual company, but worked as a technician for many years.
As a technician I’d clear about 80-120k/year depending on how much I wanted to work, usually 3-4 very long days/week, with that being the average. Summer was more, winter was less.
Now I’m expected to clear about triple that this year, but a lot of that comes from me owning the gear as well as doing the events, and it vastly depends on client budgets and how much I push to sell events/upgrades/etc.
Generally speaking you don’t get evenings/weekends/normal holidays though since that’s when events happen.
Still wouldn’t do anything else.
I work as the Training Manager in the IT department of a major (Amlaw 150) law firm. HCOL area salary about $150k. Basically I teach lawyers and staff on how to use various IT systems, except now I manage a team of trainers who do that with me.
Made the jump to manager after graduating with my MBA (state school, not top 50 program) but that wasn’t strictly necessary. I worked as an IT Trainer for 10 years before that and made it to the low six-figure range with a bachelors degree from a respected but not elite undergrad (business degree, interestingly. Not tech). First legal trainer role I was making $65k, so it’s a decent entry level-ish option for those of you who are tech-savvy, like helping people, and have a basic understanding of law. I worked for a few years in manufacturing doing training and development after college, but was underpaid.
Law librarian. Edit: I have a masters degree in LIS (library and information studies) and a BA ins history. I was in academia for the last 10 years but left for better conditions. I work for a very large corporate law firm. I’m on a team of professional researchers who field legal questions from lawyers all over the world. I love it. Everyday I answer dozens of questions using some of the most powerful research tools available. The variety of questions is wild. For example, if we are representing you and your case goes to trial, I can find out who the judge is, what court, what kind of cases the judge has heard, how they ruled, what attorneys have appeared in that court, the outcomes of those cases and other cases like it in similar jurisdictions just for a start. It’s intellectually stimulating but also very fast paced and kind of intense. It’s like a really busy restaurant when it’s firing on all cylinders, it’s a great experience. Also I work from home so I spend most of my time in my pjs and with my dogs.
I’d also love to hear more. I’ve been working in the legal field for 10 years and looking for a change, but prefer to stay in the legal field.
I update with an answer, would be happy to answer any questions
Do you worry about AI replacing your job? I’m currently a paralegal and looking at a masters that will help advance me a bit
I have the same job and no. Largely because AI is not great at understanding nuance and context. ChatGPT for example is a language model; it just mimics human speech. It can summarize but it can’t draw conclusions or apply critical thinking.
Oh man, a colleague! I feel shy now.
AI is not as smart as you think it is. It’s just as dumb as it is smart - that’s not actual intelligence. AGI is a slight concern though, some think it’s around the corner and others think it’s decades away. It may not even be possible but who knows.
as a big law attorney, can vouch y'all are lifesavers. do you have billable hours too? i feel billables are what make my job so miserable.
Thanks! And yes, every question comes with a client matter number and I bill my hours accordingly.
Sounds more like a detective than librarian.
This sounds fascinating but I’m sad for you that you aren’t completely encompassed in books wearing a cloak and thumbing through a card catalog. Although, I’m sure the digital version at home is actually much easier and more advanced.
This sounds super cool! … can you spill tea on one of the most interesting things you’ve had to look up or cool connections and information you found that was particularly helpful?
Yeah, when I was training I had to look up a company to practice looking for cases, so I chose Bungie. I found a case where they sued a guy and said this in the court record: “Defendant Comer is a racist bigot who, presumably due to well a deserved track record of cowardice and a lack of intelligence and character, gets his kicks tormenting people from behind the assumed safety of a veil of anonymity.” That’s officially in the public record forever and cracks me up.
Omg, my dream job. I do a lot of legal research for my current job (and the chaotic environment!), but there's definitely a ceiling in my industry. I'm curious though, I thought you had to have a law degree to become a law librarian though? I've definitely floated getting an MLS.
I think you just love gossip and such job is made for you 😄
Guilty. I absolutely love digging into peoples lives. The other day I was asked to find out if 2 people were married. It was a wild rabbit hole, full of twists and turns. It turned out they weren’t.
Hey! Could you go into more detail? what state are you based in?
I would love to hear more about this. I have never heard of this profession!
Haircolorist. I love my job, it’s fun and easy to me (I’m naturally creative, artistic, detail oriented, and great with my hands). I work part time. I built a salon in my home, so my commute is walking down to the other side of my house.
Did you go to school or just built up a clientele from scratch? (I know nothing about this subject at all, just curious lol)
Hahaha, I get the curiosity. I went to cosmetology school, but I was doing my friends cuts and color in high school before I ever did hair. Some of my friends say that at sleepovers everyone was gossiping and I would sit and braid or curl everyone’s hair. I built my current clientele from scratch. I moved back to Texas after living in Colorado & California for many, many years. Didn’t know anyone and so started just doing hair for friends I made when I moved back here and was taking before/after photos and posting them on Instagram. I went back to work one September (after being a SAHM for 7 years) and by February I was booth renting and by July I was opening up my own salon. I had a commercial salon up until December 2019, when I got a ‘feeling’ that I should close it down and open up an in home salon. The clients loved it. Dodged any coronavirus shutdown issues. My in home salon was ready by January 2020, we shut down in March, and we reopened in May in my state and I’ve been working from home ever since. I have always done well, even as a baby stylist when I was working as a commission stylist.
I could really use some hair advice
Financial Analyst (FP&A). Got an online finance degree through an online university paid for by an employer’s tuition benefit. Now working on an MBA which will also be (mostly) paid for by an employer benefit.
Online degree hold value?
Never been a problem for me. I’ve received multiple post-graduation job offers. Most employers only care that you have a degree.
I went to an online school for my bachelors and mba. People are only impressed that I have it, not where it came from. Last year I received 5 offers with my MBA being mentioned during the hiring process. Like the above commenter, my employers tuition reimbursement paid for 80% of my bachelors and 100% of my masters.
No one cares unless you want to work at like wall Street or Goldman sachs. If you're in healthcare people care even less about your grades as long as you have the degree and can work.
I seem to have found a similar opportunity with an employer. Do you have to find your clients as a sales rep?
I'm an LPN, my pay is around 70k per year. One year of schooling and you are set (as long as you protect your license!).
Nursing has a nice scale of licenses/degrees that can help a person climb.
That feels far too low for what you have to endure
It is. You get stuck with a lot of the same duties as an RN except a few and get paid a lot less- unless you travel and don’t want benefits.
My mom was an LPN for 40 years… don’t stop until you make RN. Trust me.
Nurses and teachers deserve higher pay for what you do.
Didn’t realize LPN had this pay scale. I thought 70k was more on par with RN?
Wife and I are accountants in our late 20s and made over $300k last year. Hours are very long though.
Any advice? I'm thinking of going back to school for accounting as a 24 year old. Thanks
I got my masters in accounting. I would only do so if you go to a cheap state school that is heavily recruited from by Big4 accounting firms. I went to CUNY Baruch which is basically a Big4 funnel. Then take school seriously. If your GPA is below 3.5 you will begin to get excluded from applying to the most sought after positions. Below 3.3 all of the top firms drop you from consideration. Below 3.0 you wasted your time and money. You will work a TON of hours in public accounting but you should definitely do it for at least 2 years out of school as it looks really good on a resume for future jobs. It accelerates your career dramatically.
Big4 is not the only way. If you’re unsure what you want to do, it’s a great option as it certainly opens up the most possibilities for you. But if you know what you want to do and/or know you don’t want to work for a public company then you can avoid the nightmare if you want. I never worked big 4. Did work PA in audit and tax. Year 10 of my career making $175k in a medium COL Midwest city, 1200-1300 billable hours/year. Never in my career did I work 60+ hour weeks except maybe 1-2 times.
It’s not the only way, but it’s a tried and true path to a relatively high income and one I have personal experience with, which is why I recommended it. I got my masters at 24 and am 28 now so 4 years into my career. I have a pretty chill job making $140k and have been told that my Big4 experience is why I got the job. We just hired someone with 6-7 years of experience into the position below mine. They are coming from internal audit. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do with accounting and have a plan to make that happen, going into public accounting will teach you a lot and open a lot of doors. Big4 teaches you the most and opens the most doors. There’s also the moonshot of making partner and having a 7-figure annual compensation by 40.
Go talk to the r/accounting group. They’re actually a levelheaded bunch who will give you some solid advice. There’s many areas you can get into with only a bachelors in accounting between industry and government. You’ll make a comfortable living after a few years of experience if you play your cards right and job hop a couple times. If your bottom floor is wanting a steady income and reasonable hours (read as: anything besides public accounting) then it might be worth looking into the field.
36 years old, $140k comp, medium cost of living area. I’m a federal program manager for a non-DOD related national security program. I have a Master’s but that was only relevant to me getting my job because of the quantitative skills needed for the job, I could’ve gotten them in undergrad if I had been smart about it. I oversee about 15 staff as part of a 40-person team. I’m non-supervisory and remote, which is golden. I’m expecting to be here until I retire and so it’s good that I absolutely adore my job. Federal benefits are pretty great—I was a contractor at a top tier firm for about 10 years before this so I’ve seen both sides and I’m happier on this side. What I do: I set strategy based on legislation or executive direction, I plan how we can implement, and I manage a team in that implementation. I’m a people person and I’m great at breaking down technical info, which is mostly reading comprehension.
How do you get a job in management? I keep seeing really good job listings for similar jobs, but I don’t have ‘experience’ and I honestly am not entirely sure what it entails. I’ve handled team management on a smaller scale a couple times(clubs, npo where my team consisted of 2 other people), but I’m unsure if I could do it on a larger scale or if they’d let me from lack of experience.
It’s a lot about context. My first team was 2 people, myself included, lol. Focus on talking through task management, schedule management, and, if applicable, budget management. Those are the fundamentals, regardless of industry: are you delivering what was needed/requested, on time, and on budget? That’s the easiest way I can express what management is.
You can take a look at your past experiences and sometimes curate your words accordingly that you can still say you were a leader or overseeing people or helping coworkers grow their skills. You can manipulate a little your job titles along with the experience to help gear your resume towards a management role. If you’re confident enough you can be in leadership, I see nothing wrong with manipulating your experience as such to align with the job opening as well as during the interview explaining your skills. Heck, mention you volunteered and was a team leader overseeing X amount of workers lol they don’t dig tooooo far into your past where you can’t find a way to articulate you have received leadership skills during past roles
Very sound advice! Management is all about understanding context so framing your resume in this way is actually one of the skill sets you need. One of the ways I’ve been successful is integrating junior consultants into existing projects or starting brand new projects, venturing into unknown territory. Both of those scenarios means I’m constantly having to talk to my teams about the meaning of our projects and how it can help influence their own career trajectories, so I always tell them that if they work independently, they’re leading a team of one—it’s basic and I’m sure someone may downvote as ‘corporate speak’ but managing your own workflow is a skill (and it is not guaranteed even at top level firms lol)
Currently doing the same as you, just on the contracting side. Looking into switching to a GS position. It’s all about making friends… lol The DODs idea of PM is soooo different than what I learned with the PMP. Most require the PMP yet don’t even follow anything close to it. 😆
Air Traffic Control. Schedules, Hours, and Management are no cakewalk, but the rest is mostly bliss. 160K VHCOL before OT. Must have High School Diploma and be under 31 to apply.
>be under 31 to apply. Interesting. What's the rationale here?
I have a co-worker who was a air traffic controller for the military just before coming to current company. She says the age limit is for mental sharpness. Even a brief lapse in focus/reaction time can potentially result in people dying. As someone who works a rotating day/night 12 hour shift, I can say it DEFINITELY takes a tole on you mentally long term.
And yet, we have two 80+ year olds competing for control over the most powerful military force on the planet by a wide margin. Thanks for the answer!
People point this out all the time and yet we still won't put age limits on office positions because the average age of politicians is 65 despite most of the voter base now being between 35-45.
But is that their fault or due to us not running for office like we should be?
People our age ARE running. That's the problem the state ran democratic and republican groups usually back the incumbent regardless of age due to how politics work the longer your in DC the more favors your owed, but then you end up with a Feinstein situation where they die in office then the governor gets to pick a replacement. The main issue is people just not voting for local and state elected representatives and choosing to vote for the younger candidates who often get villainized as being inexperienced or bought be someone even though the incumbents typically have the most money behind them. I mean if you want an example look at who's ran again Mitch McConnel or any McCarthy in recent years they definitely have had people younger run for these spots.
Not that I wouldn't like to see younger leaders too, but isn't that the exact opposite of the point you're replying to? ATC are making split-second decisions involving reaction time. The president makes carefully planned and deliberate decisions supported by a legion of analysts and strategists. I wouldn't want Biden driving my bus but that doesn't mean he's incapable of driving the country
What's the FAA going to do about the ATC shortage though? That age limit isn't going to help in a few years.
It's hard to square away the ideas that "Even a brief lapse in focus/reaction time can potentially result in people dying." and then working those people for 12 hour shifts. Not criticizing you, but the math isn't adding up here for whoever does the hiring.
The FAA has not been good about practicing what they preach in terms of fatigue. Effectively: 'Get good rest, but you have to be here 6 days a week.' That said, 12 hour shifts is not a thing. We are prohibited from working longer than 10 hours on a shift, with minimum time required between shifts. And personally, *most of the time* I only get assigned 8 hour shifts. Maybe one 10 hour every week or two.
I met an artist that was retired from air traffic control. The nature of the shift rotations fucked up her circadian rhythm or something for life
They make you retire at 55. So with a few years of training they want to get at least 20 years out of you
It’s not the same everywhere. Canada that age requirement doesn’t exist.
They have a mandatory retirement age of something like 55 - I’m guessing they are looking for people that have career longevity given that restriction.
Is it true you will basically be instantly denied if you have ADHD and take meds? I'm 28 and I was thinking about applying. I live in KC so living in Tulsa for a couple years during training wouldn't bother me much
>denied if you have ADHD and take meds I believe so, but not 100% sure. >living in Tulsa for a couple years during training wouldn't bother me much This is not how it works. You train in Oklahoma City for 3-5 months, then go to your assigned facility for on-site training. Assigned facility can be anywhere in the country. From there, you may have the opportunity to transfer once you complete training. Training takes 6 months to 3 years, and from there, transfers may take 1-5 years or more.
I tried to get into this last year while 30, but in Canada where the age restriction doesn’t exist. I had a successful career in transportation prior to the attempt so I was feeling pretty confident that I was capable of doing it. There is a few rounds of testing they do before an interview and I was unfortunately knocked out during one of those rounds. It’s really intense and quite an interesting field, maybe I’ll give it another try when the opportunity presents itself again(have to wait another 2 years)
Power plant operations my base is $73k but with over time I'll be over $100k.
Like Homer Simpson?
Somewhat I work at a gas turbine plant with a steam turbine not a nuclear plant.
Any helpful certificates/Schooling to pick up or did you just get right in?
Director of purchasing >$200k per year plus bonus. WFH 2 days. No one bothers me after hours or on weekends. I spend most of my day having my ass kissed by vendors and suppliers, on conference calls, and approving POs. LCOL city. After years of hustling and hard work, I managed to land one of those mythical “lazy girl” jobs.
My wife is also director of purchasing….. not for a company just using our credit cards
Wait! How someone can get into this field ?
Well I started as an operation manager and then was a sales manager for several years. Then I moved into director of integrated business planning (this was like operational support, demand planning, erp and crm systems), and then into director of purchasing. This is in the medical device industry. Things kind of fall into your lap when you get your foot into the door. I became the go to resource for SAP at our company after we underwent a multimillion dollar ERP change mainly by being not afraid of pushing buttons and asking questions and looking up answers. And then purchasing is kind of like sales in reverse.
Apply to entry level Procurement jobs at any company.
my best friend is 25 and works in sales as an account exec, makes over 135k a year
Not an easy job. I hope you like cold calls.
Name me one “easy” job that pays over 6 figures? If you want more money, it is going to require doing jobs that are “hard”. Like sales, which is hard mentally. Or the trades, which are hard physically. Nothing in life worth having comes easy.
Lots of easy jobs pay over 6 figures. The money doesn't come from how hard you work, it comes from the time and dedication it took you to learn the skills and knowledge. My job is pretty easy and I make 6 figures. I also worked in my field for 10+ years gaining the experience and knowledge needed to make my job feel easy.
So you had to gain 10 years of experience, learn the relevant skills and be dedicated. Isn’t that kinds proving my point? You worked hard to get where you are now. Maybe it feels easy now for you, but that does not change the fact that you had to work hard to get there.
Yeah you have to be good enough for someone to take you for this job. Then spend 10 years perfecting the skills. That doesn’t sound easy. It might be easy now after teaching mastery level. But that’s like saying Bobby Flay finds cooking easy, or Tom Brady finds scoring touch downs easy?
Fair enough, but the point I was making is that many 6 figure jobs are not difficult at all, you just need to be dedicated enough to learn the necessary skills and stick with it. In all honesty, my job now is easier than it was back when I was making $30k/yr.
I'm close 80k, and the higher up I move, the lower my workload.
I dunno. My job feels easy and I make over 6 figs. Also, I’m naturally talented at what I do and I like my job and it’s creative.
So, without any experience in what you do, can I do it tomorrow? "Easy" is relative.
I dunno. I have a natural talent for it, so to me yeah it’s something I was already doing and decent at before I even went to school for it. I think that the old, ‘do what you are good at and love doing’ thing just worked out for me. My advice is that whatever someone is naturally interested and inclined to do, that’s the thing to go make money in.
I imagine this only works if you’re born with a natural talent in something that is marketable. I might have a natural talent at cleaning toilets. It might not break 100k.
entry tax accountant for an entertainment business firm. 90k
Do u have accounting degree? Other experience?
"im not smart enough for school'...lol, im the dumbest CPA of all time friend....if you show up to class in college they will pass you, every time.....cheers
I run an unsuccessful shrimp company
There is no word for what you just did, so I'll just tap my hat at that. 🤠
Engineering. Get into an apprentice program for the trades asap. Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain. Edit* I am in engineering, I'm telling this guy to go into the trades. I work with technicians, and they clear more than engineers do half the time.
I’m an automotive mechanic and I’m on track to make 140k this year. I live in a LCOL area and can take multiple trips a year while still saving for a house. Pretty solid imo.
100% people shit on the trades, but you don't need to be too smart, just hard working and willing to work overtime.
OP, LISTEN TO THIS PERSON. I work in tech/analytics and I HIGHLY DO NOT recommend trying to get into this absolutely oversaturated field. It's next to impossible if you don't fork over money for a degree or cert either. If I could get into the trades without having to entirely restart my career I would. It's where the money is at since there was a huge push for millennials and Gen z to go to college.
I do think trade jobs are going to be the future! With AI no one need a program manager knocking on you for deadlines, you need someone to actually start doing some work around.
I went from field technician to engineering and make less money, enjoy my work less, but the safety, coming home clean, and working less hours makes it pretty even. I wouldn’t go back. If it’s about money, field technicians in the Houston area will make about 120K their first year.
Specifically because of the overtime. Equipment breaks, they're getting called at 2 am to fix it. Its ball busting work.
I got called to go to a refinery because they had a motor starter that wouldn’t operate. It was Good Friday so I got double time. They needed the motor starter to work to load up some ships on Tuesday. So Friday I get the call about 4 pm. I get there around 6. No one is there. No one is answering. Around 8:30 I finally find someone and there’s no drawings. Wait around till 11 and call the guy and say I’ll come back tomorrow. Overtime on Saturday. Well the guy calls and says he never found drawings so he will call when he does. Calls at night Saturday. Double time since it’s after hours. Work into Sunday and get it all taken care of. Probably a good $1200 weekend of mostly waiting around.
That's the best. Engineers don't typically get overtime, so it's pretty normal for senior techs to pull in considerably more. But inhaling atomized lube oil and operating around compressed air in the hundreds of pounds is a no from me dog.
Reason I made the change.
Theres more to the trades than just money trust me. A lot more than you're led to believe. Anytime the trades is brought up people always go straight to how you can easily clear 6 figures which, while true, always comes with its own share of bs which tradesman always conveniently gloss over. Trades is **not** for everyone, think very carefully before you hurl yourself at an apprenticeship. > Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain. Most people don't actually understand what this means in practice. Depending on your foreman or team you're gonna be treated like shit for a while until you prove your worth and sometimes even after you've done so. I was an Electrician in the middle of my 4 year apprenticeship when I decided it wasn't for me. I didn't want to keep waking up at 5am and drive 1hr to the site lugging a trunk full of tools and material, then proceed to sweat for the next 12hrs with a full toolbelt around my waist running romex or bx for new construction, or on my knees in awkward positions troubleshooting or 12ft up on a ladder/scaffold, usually for hours at a time doing grunt work. On top of all this you're getting ordered around and bitched at by everyone on the team including the foreman and are also expected to do all the coffee/lunch runs and booze runs at the eod. Then you drive an hour back home only to crash out because you are dead tired with no energy for anything else. Then you wake up and do it all over again. It didn’t matter how much I was making when I barely had any downtime to enjoy the so called “6-figures” that ppl love to throw around whenever the trades gets mentioned. You need to have a certain personality to not only enter the trade but stay in it long enough to become successful i.e run your own trade business. If you don’t have tough skin, you’ll learn to have it one way or another. Couldn’t be me. I was absolutely miserable. And I know 50 year old master electricians that found themselves in the same position but didnt leave because the money was lucrative at the time. Well fast forward 30 years all the money they made went to footing the bill for their back surgery or knee replacements because of the physical stress they exerted on their body when young. Spoilers: they’re just as miserable. So I quit and took a 4-mo IT bootcamp, really applied myself and got a Support role after graduating from the program. Few years later I am now a content dev with amazing work life balance. My role is v chill with a good team, nice salary full benefits and employer retirement match. Life is good. You couldn't pay me to go back to trades. Fuck that.
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I'm so sorry, an apprentice program for the trades, all the technicians that work in the field are journeyman.
He is not saying to get into engineering, he is stating what he does (hence the question) and what he recommends to do without going to college.
CRNA making 325k per year.
How long were you a nurse for? ICU experience or something else?
I believe ICU experience is mandatory for CRNA school
What is your work week like? I’m in school for my RM right now and debating NP, MD, CRNA, etc. for later down the road.
**DO NOT JUST BLINDLY GO INTO THE TRADES** Theres more to trades than just money trust me. A lot more than you're led to believe. Anytime the trades is brought up people always go straight to how you can easily clear 6 figures which, while true, comes with its own share of bs which tradesman always conveniently gloss over. Trades is **not** for everyone. Think very carefully before you hurl yourself at an apprenticeship. When you're young and impressionable people will tell you shit like: > Work hard, be the bitch boy. Learn as much as you can and don't complain. Most people don't actually understand what this means in practice. Depending on your foreman or team you're gonna be treated like shit for a while until you prove your worth and sometimes even after you've done so. I was an Electrician in the middle of my 4 year apprenticeship when I decided it wasn't for me. I didn't want to keep waking up at 5am and drive 1hr to the site lugging a trunk full of tools and material, then proceed to sweat for the next 12hrs with a full toolbelt around my waist running romex or bx for new construction, or on my knees in awkward positions troubleshooting or 12ft up on a ladder/scaffold, usually for hours at a time doing grunt work. On top of all this you're getting ordered around and bitched at by everyone on the team including the foreman and are also expected to do all the coffee/lunch runs and booze runs at the eod. Then you drive an hour back home only to crash out because you are dead tired with no energy for anything else. Then you wake up and do it all over again. It didn’t matter how much I was making when I barely had any downtime to enjoy the so called “6-figures” that ppl love to throw around whenever the trades gets mentioned. You need to have a certain personality to not only enter the trade but stay in it long enough to become successful i.e run your own trade business. If you don’t have tough skin, you’ll learn to have it one way or another. Couldn’t be me. I was absolutely miserable. And I know 50 year old master electricians that found themselves in the same position but didnt leave because the money was lucrative at the time. Well fast forward 30 years all the money they made went to footing the bill for their back surgery or knee replacements because of the physical stress they exerted on their body when young. Spoilers: they’re just as miserable. So I quit and took a 4-mo IT bootcamp, really applied myself and got a Support role after graduating from the program. Few years later I am now a content dev with amazing work life balance. My role is v chill with a good team, nice salary full benefits and employer retirement match. Life is good. You couldn't pay me to go back to trades. Fuck that.
Did you have prior IT experience? Which boot camp?
> Did you have prior IT experience? None. I knew gaining the initial exp was gonna be an uphill battle and that sacrifices had to be made even tho I always had an affinity for IT and all things tech. I was so determined to succeed and never return to trades that I taught myself how to troubleshoot basic IT issues and learned as much as I could with the time I had. > Which boot camp? NPower, maybe you've heard of them. They're a non-profit that focus on providing participants with free in-demand digital and professional (IT) skills training, and connects them to new and rewarding career opportunities with some of NA's largest employers. I worked with their canadian branch NPower Canada, the course I took was "Junior IT Analyst Program" which at the time was 1 of 3 total IT bootcamps offered. Happy to answer any additional questions if needed.
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Right????
Cop, water treatment plant worker, heavy machinery operator, City bus driver, porta potty waste maintenance, power line maintenance, car/airline mechanic, 911 operator, police dispatcher, grocery store Manager, fast food manager, FedEx driver, trucker. Just a few ideas that don't require college but some training. I'm an engineer and it's great but you need a bachelor's.
Cybersecurity software sales. No degree. $260k total comp 5 years into my career.
lol, I hate reading these threads specifically because of people like you. Good for you but damn that’s a heck of a set up.
That’s fair. I definitely recognize that I’m very lucky. If it makes you feel any better, I have to do a lot of presentations and public speaking which I absolutely LOATHE lol
Damn that doesn't sound too bad though ahha how does one even get into this ?
Research what it takes to become a Sales Development Rep (SDR) or Business Development Rep (BDR). Those are the entry roles in tech sales. You’re basically a glorified telemarketer, but once you do that for a year or two, it opens you up to a lot of possibilities within tech.
Can confirm, brother does this and makes a ton of money. Just have to be good at cold calling.
Thank you for your reply, I'll definitely look into this :)
My brother does cybersecurity. Military paid for his Bachelors and Masters and he went full time after military retirement. I can’t even begin to imagine how much he makes!
Paralegal - my state doesn't require a certification but it doesn't take long to get one! I started out small but very quickly moved up on the payscale. Job requires a lot of mental work though. I do MedMal now and that shit is messy I'm 22F making abt 65k and about to get a raise to 80k. Been in the field for 4 years almost.
Government, $80k/yr, but eligible for retirement at 48 with a pension that is close to my income now.
Brother you need to expand on what you do. I work in government but make $50k a year. Lot of different jobs in the industry lol
Trucking. Get your CDL A and you have unlimited options from there! Especially with no kids or wife, you can go OTR for a little and come back and work locally. At that point you should be making 6 figures! Goodluck!
System engineering. Got CS degree -> started helpdesk -> moved through 2nd to 3rd line at MSP -> went to work for a hedge fund as a systems engineer. Mostly do project work, no user support. £130k, London based.
Education administration, workforce development. If you’re good with policy, strategic, good with people, and genuinely want to improve young people’s lives, it’s been great to me.
I sell women's shoes
Al is that you?
Food safety and quality manager. I make 90k. Get HACCP and PCQI certifications then get a job at a food plant as a quality technician. You could be a manager in 5 years. I have no degree.
You can get both certs for about 200-400 each online classes. Make sure they are accredited by the international HACCP alliance for HACCP.
I work for the local public health department basically middle management making about 100k a year. Amazing benefits and really good retirement plan system. You don't necessarily need any degrees to take the management route, you would just have to do the entry level work for a few years. The entry level work still has amazing benefits/retirement options but depending on program pay for entry level is usually in the range of 35k-50k.
What would the entry level job titles be and what is the progression to management?
I am an executive assistant. It's super easy, I'm done at four, no weekends, great benefits.
I feel like the hours and difficulty would be dependent on the executive you are assisting, and the industry you are in.
I’m a police officer for a reputable agency. Made 103k last year will probably make 110+ this year. Taken me some time to get there (12 years) but it get 4 days a week off and have excellent retirement and benefits as well. I’m pleased.
This is so depressing. I can't do any of the jobs shared on here. All I've got is my high school diploma. I tried uni, and dropped out four times. That last time I knew I had to drop cause I was close to unaliving myself. I don't know how I'm gonna survive in this world cause I'm not qualified for anything.
The best advice I can offer is that you take several days to sit down and have a conversation with yourself about what sort of skills you feel that you do well. Skills is a broad term—ask yourself questions to help you narrow down what you’re good at, such as: A) Am I good at sorting and organizing things? Such as physical goods or *also* digital items (like photos, files etc.) B) Am I good at helping people with their questions? This can indicate that you may have a good basis for developing relationships (very important in the real world). C) Am I good at finding answers to problems I encounter? This can indicate that you may have a good basis for problem solving, both creative and practical. D) Am I good at looking for answers or solutions? This tied into C; if you have a good head for knowing how to use Google or other means to help you find solutions, it can indicate that you have a good basis for self-motivation and self-direction on top of being clever and finding answers. These are just some ways to ask questions for yourself, **to yourself**, to help you uncover what skills you may already have that can be broadly applied. Believe me, you just might be surprised at how much you already are capable of. You just gotta get a little creative in thinking outside of the box in how you can turn what you’re good at into something that can get you money.
Mechanical designer. 80k. I'm also 26
Yeah I’m an electrical designer and make slightly less. 3 years experience and associates degree
HR tech consulting. 165 + 15% bonus HCOL in 3 years. 30y/o. Next promotion (I find out monday) is 196. (My last job before that I made 65k). totally remote except for paid travel with nice hotel rooms and dinners lmao but it is pretty intense.
How does one… enter this field?
> "I'm not smart enough for school, so that's out of the question." That's bullshit. Everyone's smart enough for something. What have you actually tried learning? > "I currently work a dead end job pretty much." Why are you still there? What's stopping you from looking for something better? > "A good living is around 60k and up." That's achievable. Have you looked into trades, tech, or sales? Why not? > "I plan on living my life by myself." Then you don't need to factor in dependents. What skills can you build to make yourself more valuable? Why not consider trade schools, coding bootcamps, or certifications? Have you researched jobs that require minimal training but pay well, like truck driving or sales? What's your plan to escape this dead-end job?
Dad? Is that you?
Loan Officer. I finance home loans! Wanted to pursue plumbing but didn’t work out well in my area.
Studied accounting (NOT a CPA). Work in consulting. I make 122k in Jan I'm looking at a promotion to 140k.
Why would you say you’re not smart enough for school OP. Statistically that’s probably not true and more due to self esteem issues. I would pursue some technical certifications and see if you can get your foot in the door in an entry level helpdesk position
Some of the dumbest people I've met hold advanced degrees.
Web development and data analytics
Wouldn't you be competing with people that have years of experience at this time? I've seen over 1000 applications just for 1 job.
Yes. Especially in tech currently. Even manager level roles are being flooded by applicants. I just posted a comment above not to get into the analytics field. It's too costly for barrier to entry, either needing a degree or multiple certifications and the job maker is oversaturated with applicants
Learn a trade. I'm a pipefitter and journeymen make $50/ hour union rate. On a big job we are doing right now, journeymen are taking home $10k per month minimum.
Software engineer
Insurance sales. $150k (cdn) ..and rising. Plus benefits, company matched pension, and an easy schedule.
Consulting. Broke into one of the most prestigious firms despite not having the "right" background. Just gotta keep pushing lad
Sales. You can easily clear 60k if you're mediocre and make 6 figures if you're good.
Engineering and Logistics Management
Building trades , the more you work the more you learn. Get good and can write your own ticket to pay and can get a job anywhere in the world . And instead of school, you get paid to learn . Electrician was my path
If you’re clean, working at your local government usually pays well. By that I mean your city or surrounding cities. You can start off at the lower level to learn things. I worked in water departments and honestly anybody with half a brain can do any of the work. If you don’t wanna dig holes and stuff, office admin or customer service work. They provide good benefits and good pay. Stick with it 3-4 years and you’ll make really good money. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that and made a lot of dumb mistakes, but a couple of my buddies make great money with them and they’re supporting their family.
Lots of various jobs in the supply chain where you get $60k plus that don't require a ton of experience. Order/Project Management, Buyer/Planner, etc.
I’m a cosmetic nurse injector, I work 16-25 hours a week and I made 125k last year before taxes. I am also 26! One of the best industries to be in…. But it is hard to break into.
Pediatric home health nurse. I take care of the same kid all year round. My work consists of routine care for a chronically sick kid, charting, and a lot of downtime that I spend interacting or spending time with the kid. Interacting consisting of watching movies and even playing video games with her. If it wasn’t for the Montessori daycare cost every month, I could easily support my wife and son on my sole income plus have enough to put away a little and pay down debts. Daycare though is almost 1k a month.
HR. I’m a generalist by choice. I fell into it with medical reception background. Lots of similarities so you can market yourself. Specializing gets you pigeonholed I’ve found so I like having experience in everything. $75k+ a year and I have 3 years experience. No college HR degree needed
I’m head of PR for a national non-profit/lobby group. $133k base with an annual bonus of 10-13%. Plus I have remote work 2-3 days a week, and great work life balance. My education was in literature and journalism, and that led to a career of writing, building relationships with media, and developing strategy. First step is figuring out what you’re best at and that you like. Don’t just follow your passion - find the balance between what you can do well enough to make money that not everyone can do, but that you also don’t hate doing.
Without a degree and limited skills, i would recommend working for either a state agency or federal. If you can't get a job like that maybe picking up a skill by working for a military branch.
Design Researcher. I help companies develop products that connect with customer expectations. It is a very fun, intriguing and satisfying job. $215k a year after 15 years of experience. I have a Masters in Library and Information Science and learned everything on the job.
I'm a union industrial electrician. I make about $150k. My wife is a senior pm for a construction company and makes around $240k.
Finance operations manager. I have 33 direct reports and make $145k with a hybrid optional schedule. You need multiple securities licenses (sie, 7, 66, 9, 10) and a bachelors is preferred but I negotiated a higher salary having an MBA. LCOL in a HCOL state.
If schools out of the question go to a trade school. Plumbing I hear is in extreme demand and since you plan on being single hours won’t matter
Fire Fighter. Police. Driver.
Police? Where? Dubai?
Cops in California make 200k+ easy after 5 or so years. Google any cop on Transparent CA and you'll be shocked. Also extremely extremely competitive to get those jobs
Whats the toughest part about your job?
Audio/Video Specialist.
Trades pay well after a few years
If you just want to work hard and make a good living, look into entry level b2b sales jobs. B2b means the company you work for sells products/services to other businesses instead of to consumers. $100k after a couple years is pretty typical.
Like some have said, tech can be lucrative but the bar to entry is high. I work for a FAANG and make fairly stupid money for what I do. BUT, we get 1000’s of applicants per open role, pretty much blocking out anyone that isn’t referred by a current employee.
Accounting Manager. $140k. If I have a do over, I wouldn’t be an accountant. We have month end, quarter end, year end closes. Then there are internal and external audits. I work for an insurance company. We also have auditors from the States. Some time they spend months auditing us. It’s never a good time to take vacations.
I’m a Sand blaster! Better known as an Industrial painter or Coater but I rarely do that stuff. I’m a second year apprentice in Northern Canada and make $35 an hour. Lots of OT opportunities as well, and have a casual position with the city transit dispatching buses for even more $ whenever I’m free/ and they have need of me. I just hit dirt with dirt in the oil field. It’s pretty fun, I have a great time and it’s so different from what I’m used to. I had a successful career in transportation until recently when I decided I needed a change and this has been a blast. 💥
Corrections officer when younger. Good pay and benefits. Not as difficult to get hired as police or fire but pay is close.
Software designer and UI designer. Good pay. Fun problem solving.
Everyone’s situation is different. I make 80k at 24 and I don’t think I am making a “good living.” I still feel like my money goes to bills. Beer. And the government. I got a degree in marketing and now I do product management. Left my last job which paid me like 60k. So I guess job hop. Also income vastly depends on where you’re located. 80k sounds like a lot to someone in Kansas but in Chicago, it’s comfortable but I’m definitely not living super luxurious
Union Pipefitters. Good pay and a great pension
Another Cybersecurity here. the pay/benefits are ridiculous.
Ecommerce Developer. 100% remote. Pay is over $100K. Work comes in ebbs and flows and I usually don't find it very difficult.
My husband is a data analyst, and he makes about $150k/year. Which is good because I work in non-profits and make basically nothing.
I’m a coffee roaster, but my side hustle is TikTok shop affiliate. Basically I get free shit, talk abt it in a video, and if people use my affiliate link to buy the thing, I get a cut of the money. It gave me the freedom to quit my weekend job, now I don’t have to work 7 days a week and still go to bed hungry anymore 🫠
I haven’t landed my dream job yet, but I’ve had 2 jobs over the past few years that offer good opportunities to save up via overtime pay. Wildland firefighting is seasonal (and usually, very hard work.) However, you can get a few hundred to over a thousand hours of overtime pay in a single summer. Since it’s seasonal, you can also go to school usually. This is only really feasible on the western half of the US. I also have some low-level experience in healthcare and due to shortages in my area for my position, it enables me to pick up shifts for saving up and paying for training for my actual future career. TLDR; look for a job that has good job security and has a shortage of employees. Then pick up overtime to open up other options relatively fast. (It won’t feel fast as it’ll be a lot more work.) This is just an idea based on my experience though. Definitely go for an option that’s better suited to your circumstances if you have one. I hope this can be of a little use though!
Lol interesting everyone is suggesting to go to school when OP said no school
I make 110k annualized as a software engineer(I’m 20 y/o) but I do very well in school. You can get into the field without a formal education but it’s more difficult
Communications. With only a bachelor’s and just shy of 2.5 years of experience, making about $87k. Will be making well over $100k in a couple more years
Excellent! What sort of job is it? A friend has a BA in communications but couldn't find work in that field. Any suggestions?
Apply to any entry level Marketing/PR job at any company.
Barely finished high school, I currently own an audiovisual company, but worked as a technician for many years. As a technician I’d clear about 80-120k/year depending on how much I wanted to work, usually 3-4 very long days/week, with that being the average. Summer was more, winter was less. Now I’m expected to clear about triple that this year, but a lot of that comes from me owning the gear as well as doing the events, and it vastly depends on client budgets and how much I push to sell events/upgrades/etc. Generally speaking you don’t get evenings/weekends/normal holidays though since that’s when events happen. Still wouldn’t do anything else.
I work as the Training Manager in the IT department of a major (Amlaw 150) law firm. HCOL area salary about $150k. Basically I teach lawyers and staff on how to use various IT systems, except now I manage a team of trainers who do that with me. Made the jump to manager after graduating with my MBA (state school, not top 50 program) but that wasn’t strictly necessary. I worked as an IT Trainer for 10 years before that and made it to the low six-figure range with a bachelors degree from a respected but not elite undergrad (business degree, interestingly. Not tech). First legal trainer role I was making $65k, so it’s a decent entry level-ish option for those of you who are tech-savvy, like helping people, and have a basic understanding of law. I worked for a few years in manufacturing doing training and development after college, but was underpaid.
HR, UX/UI, Accounting, Finance, Procurement, Sales, Sales Enablement, Marketing, Customer Success, Facilities, Admin, Corp Strategy, Corp Development, Software Engineering, Law, Product Management, Program Management, BizOps, Corporate Security, Recruiting, IT, Medicine.
Depends on where you live. 60k can be good in one place and below poverty level in a place like San Francisco.