Brainstorming....need some advice!

[chromedome]

Hey guys and gals....I am looking for some advice. I hope that I can get away with this in the topic category.

Anyhow....I am came to the realization today at the Sand Sports Expo in Orange County that I need to look into a CAREER! I am 26 love our sport almost as much as my girlfriend if not just as much . I am currently working two fulltime jobs. Have been doing this for almost 3 years now. Both are basically deadend jobs. Today my girlfriend and I were walking around and looking at toy haulers and sandrails and everyother type of toy any man would want under the sun......when it HITS ME!!!! HARD! I am just an average american income wise, and that is working 2 fulltime jobs. I dont want to sound like a money hungry punk but I want one....a rail and a toy hauler, and a home to put them at. And the way things are right now....this will only be a pipe dream unless I change somethings!

So this is where I need your help.....I am trying to brainstorm what type of field or career I should be looking into. I am not so much the college type of guy...ie.(4 year university) more thinking along the lines of trade schools. What do you do for a living...what would you recommend?

Mods...that is why I put this thread in under this topic..(The owners are here)please dont move it! ?

I really appreciate any insight or advice that anyone can give. Just as I am sure that my girlfriend will.....the day that I pull up with that toy hauler... ? Thanks in advance..

[Chickenhauler]

I drive long haul truck, but would not reccommend it for someone who has a clingy GF or wife.

If your GF would be looking for a career change, good reliable teams can make over 100k per year! The upside of this is that if you REALLY want to bank massive amounts of cash, you can let your apartment go, and put all your stuff in storage and live in the truck. I did this myself one winter (Jan 1 through April 1) and came home to a nice stash of cash that allowed me to buy a new bike, a fairly new PU, and still have 5K left to start house shopping.

My first suggestion, seeing you live in CA, would be to relocate. Your cost of housing and all around living there is nuts, and very hard to get ahead when everything is rising so fast.

Whatever you do, get an education, not a degree. There is a difference. Degrees are something you study to get, an education is knowledge you keep and use. You can have all the framed paper hanging on the wall, but if you don't know anything, you're worth no more than those sheets of paper.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead, and make the best out of your lot in life, anyone who tells you otherwise is a socialist.

[sonobob]

I drive long haul truck, but would not reccommend it for someone who has a clingy GF or wife.

If your GF would be looking for a career change, good reliable teams can make over 100k per year! The upside of this is that if you REALLY want to bank massive amounts of cash, you can let your apartment go, and put all your stuff in storage and live in the truck. I did this myself one winter (Jan 1 through April 1) and came home to a nice stash of cash that allowed me to buy a new bike, a fairly new PU, and still have 5K left to start house shopping.

My first suggestion, seeing you live in CA, would be to relocate. Your cost of housing and all around living there is nuts, and very hard to get ahead when everything is rising so fast.

Whatever you do, get an education, not a degree. There is a difference. Degrees are something you study to get, an education is knowledge you keep and use. You can have all the framed paper hanging on the wall, but if you don't know anything, you're worth no more than those sheets of paper.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead, and make the best out of your lot in life, anyone who tells you otherwise is a socialist.

Yet again, I stand in full agreement with the ChickenHauler. An education is of much more value to you AND your employer than a framed certification of any type.

If you have a good working knowlege for residential construction and are hard working (already having two full time jobs tells me you are), working for a home builder may be another viable option for you. I am a builder for a national home builder, my title varies from company to company...aka...community superintendant, construction project manager, etc....

The hours can be long and the duties demanding, but a lead builder with a community of their own can expect (in the Atlanta regional market) to earn from $50K-$80K per year with combined salary and bonuses. And with no personal overhead expenses. Many builders will also offer vehicle and phone allowances as part of their pay scale. Depending on your knowlege in this field, you can even start as a punch-out employee; working your way into an assistant builder position, then on to builder. For clarity, assistant and lead builders do not swing hammers...they are responsible for the scheduling and overseeing of all contract crews, and all critical path scheduling of homes under construction.

Hope this helps...

[Rip Wheeler]

Chickenhauler is right. There seems to be a shortage of drivers right now. Another idea, are you mechanically inclined in automotive? A good journey level tech can roll in 75 to 100K and even more easily, doing this with only a 40 hour work week. But you need to work in a shop with volume. Not in a remote small town shop. Stick with dealerships, learn a line and know it well. You will be lucky to do 45K at best from an independent shop, and they are usually not specialized, just kinda good on all makes. Like the other reply said, get out of California. But a good dealer tech in Cally can do 100K and up, but lots of the $$$ goes to living expense. Keep in mind, this wont happen right away, you will need to put in time, buy lots of tools (its OK, you can buy some as you go, not all at once) and expect to collect about 60K in tools to work comfortably. But you will need a good driving record (a must) and be drug free (piss test). Someone who operates motorvehicles cant have a bad driving record or drug problems, it drives up the insurance of the employer and they will not hire you. Many are willing to train, but you will have to have some kind of mechanical background/knowledge. My dad always told me to "learn a trade" and you can take it with you anywhere. Hands on experience is the only way to go! Once you have some time and training along with certification, you can go anywhere. And when you get closer to retiring, wind down with a city/state/county job working of fleet vehicles till you go off into the sunset!

[fastmike926]

How about California State prisons? You can easily make more than $100k a year being a prison guard with just a high school diploma or a GED.

[Cpres]

Find something you like doing and get and educaion in it and then get a few pretty pieces of paper to prove you know your stuff. As for working for the state in a prision it takes lots of time to get in and some of the jobs don't pay what they should.

[chromedome]

Thanks for the responses guys....I have thought about welding.....motorcycle mechanic....these two werent really recommended from the people I have talked to as in regards to what I want to end up working in the long run....

I was considering plumbing or possibly carpentry or electrician......

Another thing that keeps running through my head is computers......I honestly am an outside person. But, the other day I was thinking about my extra cirricular activities....(riding) then the thought came through my head of that one day when it all goes sour/crash and get hurt pretty good....if I work a Blue Collar job.....not very good. If I was working on computers the wrenches and tools are alot smaller and need less effort. NOW DONT GET ME WRONG!!!! I am NOT LAZY at all....just an idea that ran through my mellon.

Does anyone have any idea what would be a good field to look into....

(Also not to put a damper on a idea mentioned prior by fastmike......but if my backround would allow this opportunity I would jump on it in a heartbeat) lets just say that I had a little tiny bit of fun as a kid that haunts me when it comes to law enforcement jobs. ? Damn, my parents really did know what they were talking about when I was a teen!

[ba10]

If you like outside work, check out surveying. When one of my kids was looking into different types of careers, I did some looking and found surveying is pretty interesting. Talked to a few survey people also. You can either get a four year degree in surveying or work your way up. You can start out as the guy doing measurement and work your way up to the state liceinced person. Lots of work out there according to both people that I talked to as well as internet searchs. Just a thought.

[seekman]

Like anything, you have to find something that you enjoy doing to make it a career. On the other hand, sometimes doing the stuff you enjoy doing as a career could make it unbearable.

Case in point. I enjoy TIG welding as a hobby, but I couldn't imagine welding for a living because it can be back breaking work. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

If I was working on computers the wrenches and tools are alot smaller and need less effort. NOW DONT GET ME WRONG!!!! I am NOT LAZY at all....just an idea that ran through my mellon.

Are you talking about working building computers or working with computers? There's a difference. Think industry and go for that white collar job. Become a mechanical engineer or an electrical engineer and then you can work in many fields; motorcycle, auto, electronics, medical, etc. Work a few years and get into management if it's your thing. If you have the gumption and experience use your engineering experience to start your own business. Make sure you take some accounting classes or have your company pay for your MBA. Many options and like everything, you're going to have to deal with the politics.

While I agree you don't need a degree to prove your skills because there's a large percentage of people with specific degrees that are working in a different industry, you need to play the degree game. Industries call for it so you need to play the game and get that degree. Don't kid yourself. No degree, no game.

I started out thinking that I would become a auto mechanic or mechanical engineer because I love working on cars with my hands. I'm thankful that I went into electrical engineering because I now have skills in electrical (degreed) and mechanical design (no degree). While I love working on cars/motorcycles, I also like working in an air conditioned environment. Sometimes, I don't even have to pick up a wrench because it's all CAD work.

It's all about choices, so chose well. ?

[WebGringo]

When i was living in canada one of my buddys (beeing an engineer) advised me to go inte motorcycle mechanics.

He showed me some school in long beach that seemed good.

Being in sweden right now i might be a bit off , but with west coast choppers and orange county choppers exploding on tv.

Building custom bikes seems like a certain way to make cash doing something ur interested in.

Well , im known to have wrong before.

Myself im in school studying event management , what kind of cash ?

Have no clue , honestly , but its fun....

Im 25 yrs old (tomorrow), been working as a plumber (boring as hell) , bartender, (fun , but ended up an alcoholic) , salesperson in timeshare (great cash , but killed what tiny bit of self respect there were left in me).

So ask urself , what do you ejoy doing ?

Someone once told me , if u work with something you enjoy doing , you wont work another day in your life....

That was my 2 pesos on making a future

[BlackBuzzard]

Certified welders are in high demand right now, and will be for a long time!

Otherwise a roughneck on oil drill rigs make good money.

Up in Calgary they can't find enough people for decent oilfield jobs.

BB

[Triple B]

A SoCal Union Installation Carpenters make $36.25 per hour and will get another $2.75 raise in July 08 and over $2.00 every year for the next few years. That is a Forman wage you will not start there but if you work hard and have a good head on your shoulders you will get there.

One bad thing about being a Union Carpenter is the Carpenter's Union. If you go in knowing that unions are a piece of crap and use them as much as they use you you can make a lot of money, great benefits and have a good pension plan.

One thing is invest your money in real estate instead on bad ass buggies and big toy boxes and you will be better off in the long run. I am not saying don't have fun just do it with out going $150,000 grand in dept.

If you are interested in more info (Good and BAD) on the carpenters union PM me

[jeffgg]

I was 26 years old when Chrysler went broke in 1980 and all of us who'd been there less than 12 years got shown the door. I took the opportunity to go to university and get a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In the 20 odd years since graduating I have never had a day without a paycheck and recently got the chance to leave automotive and into the field of engineering forensics (traffic accidents, industrial accidents, machine failures).

The point is this.....go for it! Make the most of your brain power in a field that is of interest to you. If you like bikes/cars (like I did) go into a mechanical field. You'll never regret getting a good education in an area that you like.

The choices in careers are tough. Alot of the manufacturing in North America is suffering from our "race to the bottom" with respect to wages and benefits thanks to the global nature of many industries. Alot of computer jobs are going off-shore, to India and the like. Companies like GM are moving entire corporate functional groups (purchasing, engineering) to other countries (Mexico). Many of the mainstay jobs of the last few decades are disappearing and the career landscape is changing drastically. What you think you might like to do now may not exist in 10 - 15 years.

But...be brave and listen to you heart. Best of luck. ?

[damone]

Get some AutoCAD certs and start drafting. Many an engineering, architectural and even interior design companies lookign for qualified draft persons. 3 semesters at you local junior college (night classes) will give you anything and evrything you need to know.

This experience/cert could get you into a state job too.

[chromedome]

Very interesting replies guys. I appreciate all of the great ideas. I hear all of you on the whole degree thing but it just isnt my cup of tea. I am not the 4 year kind of guy. More the trade school kind. But thanks for all the input.