List some ways people without a college education can get ahead.

[lefty louie]

Having a discussion with another member here and he claims that a young couple can't make it on minimum wage jobs. I pointed out that with a couple of years of sacrifice and hard work they can not only make it but own a home/apt after 2-4 years if they kept the big picture in focus.

I supplied a link to many number of condos in the area that are listed for 60-100K and with saving all possible extra cash they could purchase one in a relative short time for cash then have no mortgage payment.

This didn't go over well with the person on the other end as you might imagine.
So, do me a favor and list some blue color jobs that pay above minimum wage.

Plumber, even a helper earns $12 per hr
Electricians helper also earns the same $12-15 per hour and with both these jobs you get training as you go.
Laborers in the construction industry by me in north jersey get $125-175 per day depending on their skill level.
House cleaners, mine get's $20 an hour, no real skills needed, just be honest and on time.
I'm leaving a few out so maybe a few of you will add to this list.

Thanks.

 

[justabubba]

identify a need you can fill. then do it. you just launched a small business

often requires more grit than smarts

 

[Cardinal]

identify a need you can fill. then do it. you just launched a small business

often requires more grit than smarts

Identify a need, then, at the very least, apply to a trade school that will make it likely you'll be able to fill that need successfully. Sure, you can learn it all on your own or on the job, but as a general rule that is a painful and unnecessarily time-intensive way to go about it.

 

[itsforthekids]

Get a job, learn and practice the soft skills first (if you haven't been taught them)...showing up on time, doing what you're expected to do, showing a willingness to do a little extra, learn everything you can about your job, ask for advancement, don't feel entitled to anything....

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Drug dealing and prostitution

Prostitution worked for Trumps family. Grand dad ran a brothel and set the family on it way.

The Kennedy's were rum runner's so were the Seagram family.

 

[humbolt]

Welding. There's a shortage of tractor trailer drivers. Yoga instructors. Hillary devoted a large portion of some 33,000 emails to yoga, so you know there's a need there. All of us baby boomers are getting ready to die, so I'd recommend starting a crematorium. You can have barbeques on off days.

 

[Barnacle]

mail carrier
welder
car mechanic
diesel mechanic with extra/evening classes
truck driver
mason/brick layer

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I don't have a problem with it at all.
I'm not only well aware of those jobs, I've done them.
My entire video production, post production and duplication business was wiped out in the 1994 Northridge Quake, so I had to reinvent myself and go to a fallback alternative. In fact, I never thought I'd be able to get back into the TV-film-video business again.

Here's one that isn't in your list:
IT infrastructure, which includes racking and stacking servers and data cable installation, and often involves voice and alarm installs as well.
If you show promise, a lot of companies will send you to classes to advance to an RCDD position (Residential Commercial Data Design) but it's not college. It's just 30 to 40 hours of classes to start with and you can do it part time or they might send you out for a few weeks.

I did that for a while, got an Avaya certification, then moved "almost all the way up" to RCDD; they put me to work even thought I hadn't yet gotten the RCDD sheepskin.
I've also laid brick, that can pay pretty decently as well.

For those who simply aren't cut out for those types of jobs, for whatever reason, it might not be an option.
Not everyone can lay brick, or do plumbing, or do electrical, or rack and stack servers.
Sorry, not everyone has the muscle power, that's just a fact.

My grandfather on the maternal side built almost a third of the new postwar homes on Long Island.
After almost twenty-five years in the business his body was broken.
But if you've seen Goodfellas or All In The Family, or Long Island Medium, or The Sopranos, you've seen neighborhoods that he built.
And you've seen his son's handiwork as well.
But they were big men, with almost no necks, they used their muscles as well as their brains, because they were blessed with those genetics, and so was I.

You don't even need a college degree to get into some aspects of the television business, necessarily. If you can get into one of the unions, like NABET for instance, you'll earn almost as much as some doctors. They want college if you're going to be a photo-video journalist but if you're doing studio work, it's not always necessary.

Same goes for IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees). You can get into the IA as a gaffer, rigger, electrical dept, set painter, wardrobe, sound, or you can be a grip, best boy, driver, even an animal wrangler, and of course, a camera operator or director of photography or as an editor. All of those positions and more are under the IA umbrella and all of them are solid good paying union jobs.

You will also wind up working those 16 or even 18 hour days, too...but you WILL get your overtime, guaranteed.

 

[lefty louie]

I'll add police
Fire
Wait staff to the list of jobs that don't require college. Although some police dept's are now favoring people with a degree.

 

[gdgyva]

Having a discussion with another member here and he claims that a young couple can't make it on minimum wage jobs. I pointed out that with a couple of years of sacrifice and hard work they can not only make it but own a home/apt after 2-4 years if they kept the big picture in focus.

I supplied a link to many number of condos in the area that are listed for 60-100K and with saving all possible extra cash they could purchase one in a relative short time for cash then have no mortgage payment.

This didn't go over well with the person on the other end as you might imagine.
So, do me a favor and list some blue color jobs that pay above minimum wage.

Plumber, even a helper earns $12 per hr
Electricians helper also earns the same $12-15 per hour and with both these jobs you get training as you go.
Laborers in the construction industry by me in north jersey get $125-175 per day depending on their skill level.
House cleaners, mine get's $20 an hour, no real skills needed, just be honest and on time.
I'm leaving a few out so maybe a few of you will add to this list.

Thanks.

ASE certified mechanic up to 40 bucks an hour depending on where you live

Here in Cleveland area, we pay lube techs 14 an hour on up to master techs 32 or so...

 

[dirtpoorchris]

Social engineering. Being funny. Being nice. Faking it until you're "making it". Get drunk with out of towners and figure out where they get their Contract money from and if you have a friend with a good job, now you have a good job.

I was making 27 bucks an hour right after highschool because I was lucky enough to have a friend get me into inspection business as an assistant pencil pusher writing his inspections down and I met him paying Dungeons and Dragons. Then I WORKED MY ASS OFF in that assistant position.

There are little tradeschools you can go to that can help place you in these unkown jobs that most people dont even know about. If you get the right certificate for a week or 2 of learning it can actually open doors.

You can take a safety class and be making 18 bucks an hour in 1 week being a hole watcher/fire watcher for when people go into confined spaces. All you do is sit outside the hole and watch them with a radio just in case. From there you can work your way up the safety ladder and when your companies safety man gets fire... Put in an application!

 

[trblmkr]

Get decent grades and finish high school.
Join the Navy Submarine force as a Machinist Mate, Auxilliaryman.
Go to every school you can get.
Get out after ten years because you are a non-conformist and don't really fit in.
Leverage the education into a position in silicon valley manufacturing.
Take a few specific courses at the local college to upgrade your skills.
End up spending the last 15 years before retirement working for a Navy contractor building heavy duty stuff for every class of ship since WWII.
I now review the work of Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, and write technical documents based on that work. I also throw rocks at the work that is not up to par.
I have no degree. I have only the respect I have earned working my way up through this company. My job description requires some sort of degree. Oh well.

Pay attention. Both in school and to those who have years of experience because that will not be taught in school.
Always do what you believe is right. It may cause some pain, but it will be a pillar to lean on later in life.
Learn the difference between doing what you believe is right and committing proffessionnal suicide. (I know that is tricky, learning the difference is part of the lesson)

 

[lefty louie]

How about working for the airlines, baggage handler, flight attendant all make good money, not to mention jet engine mechanic.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Identify a need, then, at the very least, apply to a trade school that will make it likely you'll be able to fill that need successfully. Sure, you can learn it all on your own or on the job, but as a general rule that is a painful and unnecessarily time-intensive way to go about it.

You can learn much about the many "handyman" trades (painting, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and electrical) from magazines and, of course, online content (how to articles and videos). Of course, you could also work as someone else's helper for a while.

Getting started as a professional, self-employed handyman takes some time and a fairly significant ($2K minimum - I have about $5K invested now) investment in tools (but some fairly expensive specialty tools including trailers can be rented).

Over time (a couple of years) I built up a base of repeat customers (and their direct referrals) that are willing to wait weeks (and sometimes months) to have me do home improvement project work for them. I also enjoy a significant break on my rent since I do work for my landlord's personal home/ranch and her other rental properties. I still do some lawn/yard maintenance work but that doesn't net me as much as doing more skilled repairs and home improvement jobs.

I don't advertise because that only invites a lot of time waisting preparing and offering bids (estimates) on work that I won't likely end up getting. My next major purchase is going to be a 7' x 14' (to 16') enclosed trailer so that I can have (weather protected and fairly secure) access to all of my tools at my various job sites. I now have them scattered inside a (8' x 12') tool shed, in my girlfriend's SUV, in the house and around the yard.

The key is to be honest (I have keys and gate codes to many properties), work near your home (to reduce un-billable windshield time), guarantee your work and always do a neat, clean job. You may get 10 referrals from a job well done but can rest assured that a dissatisfied customer will never call you back and will tell 100 others of their bad experience with you.

I only charge $20/hour for my labor but often get tips over the amount of my bill. I rarely do fixed price bids (except for new, stand alone jobs) - you never know what messes (shoddy work by prior contractors) that you may run into.

 

[jdog21]

You can take a water treatment course that's 3 credits and offered at most community colleges or read a $10 book on it and take a state test to license yourself as an entry level water treatment operator. You can apply at any water treatment facility wether that be waste water, drinking water, or irrigation district. Take a entry level helper position and within a year or two you can be a water treatment operator and move up the ladder. Starting off in CA its $23/hr job

 

[Neomalthusian]

I think to really get ahead, you don't need a college degree per se but you do need a commitment to becoming educated, whether that means self-educated with a lot of time and sincere dedication to learning as much as possible, about whatever it is you want to do. Typically, you still have to be able to sell your services to people who need them, but to compete, you need to be able to convince buyers of your service you know what you're doing and will do it right, which means you need to become educated in business. Kids with business degrees are a dime a dozen, but it doesn't take a 4-year degree to have business sense. Modern successful business owners need a long check-list of important things to expect to succeed, none of which by themselves are that insanely difficult, but anyone who avoids them because they're confusing, frustrating, boring, or anxiety-provoking is going to struggle no matter the business.

Anyone who spends the time researching how to create a great website with an eye for search engine optimization, how to develop a marketing strategy that makes sense for your business, how to document what you do and establish policies and procedures you will stick by, how to keep track of all the financial and accounting information for the business, how to develop a budget, how to set goals, when to outsource to an expert who can handle a task much more efficiently than you, and so on and so forth, this takes confidence, intuition and dedication, not necessarily a $100,000 college degree. There is tons of material out there just online that can teach you as much about what you need to do to get off the ground as a college degree would.

 

[lefty louie]

So in less then 2 hours on a holiday weekend we have a pretty long list of jobs and business ideas that pretty much anyone can do. Dispelling the "idea" that you can't make it in this country, it doesn't take a specific skill set to clean someone house, lug drywall, paint, babysit, etc.

If you can't make it in this country you either have made some seriously poor choices or are lazy.

Take your pick.

PS, I don't hire or hang with people that make poor choices and I certainly don't hang with or hire lazy people. Stop looking for a hand out, earn a hand up.

 

[MrShangles]

Don’t forget government assistance, that works if you’re a minority.


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