Long Time No See!

[KevinKohler]

How do you feel about the health care field?

I'm open to it, but those jobs tend to require degrees and certifications, don't they?

 

[Bum]

I'm open to it, but those jobs tend to require degrees and certifications, don't they?

Yes, but the pay is good, and if you get an initial certification or Associates, many hospitals will pay you to go to school for higher education in exchange for an agreement to work with their organization for a given time.

Example; my wife was an LPN, and the hospital paid for her BSN and eventually her Masters in exchange for her remaining with the Hospital for a period of time.
Though, it is not just limited to Nursing; it's worth researching.

 

[gdgyva]

Contact a few of your local dealerships (auto)
You have a very diverse background....ask to speak to the general manager or owner
Talk with them for a few minutes....
You might fit really well into a number of departments....
And the leadership/management aspects are direly needed at most stores

You may need to spend a little time getting to learn the parts department/service areas....
But there is a lot of good money if you are willing to put in the work and hours

 

[Roadvirus]

This will likely be too long for most here, and that's fine. I'll type an abridged cliffs noted version as a second post.

Anyway....long time no see, debate politics! I didn't really INTEND to take such a long hiatus...and I have lurked, just haven't posted in a long while, because I haven't had the time to follow up, or even follow along. I've switched careers, been working a ton of hours, and been busy with the kids. And possibly a little burnt out on politics? It's gotten unbearably partisan, the battle lines drawn, and between none ever seem to meet. Compromise is a dirty word. And i was guilty of it too. So I unplugged for a bit.

Anyway, these days, I feel like I might be experiencing a mid life crisis, lol. So, I figure, there's lot of folks here who I respect, who have lots of experience, so why not pile my problems onto you guys?

I'm about to turn 44 years old, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for money for the next 20 years or so. I left retail in mid 2023, got into carpentry briefly while I was getting a class A CDL. Built sheds, didn't mind it too much, but it's not a job I want to do as a get older. Previously to this, I had worked for BJ's Wholesale Club for since 2007, and had climbed the corporate ladder quite a ways. And then felt trapped. When I left, I was making on average 150K per year, plus or minus 20-40 based on bonus. I know it's crass to talk about how much I made, and it's not to brag or anything like that, it's to achieve understanding. When I left retail, I walked away from quite a lot. Decided to pursue trucking, as it's one of the very few careers options where I could make at least 75-80k as a brand new recruit/rookie. Most other fields, to start at the bottom, requires one to make in the 40-50K range, and I just can't afford to do that. Also, one of my best friends left retail to do trucking, and he loves it. He got super lucky, and got a job at fed ex freight within just 2 years within the industry. I am not just over a year in the industry, and I'm thinking that it's not for me...too much down time. A lot of hurry up and wait. I don't mind the driving aspect, or even the traffic when I hit it. What I can't stand is the sitting around with nothing to do for hour s and hours on end. This morning, I started at 3am to get a load to it's destination for 7am, only to sit there until noon before they got someone to offload me. This is unacceptable, and seems to be a recurring theme within the trucking industry. Past that, though, this job just doesn't leave me very fulfilled. It's not so much a job as it is a lifestyle, and an unhealthy one at that, and one I don't enjoy.

So....I'm 44 years old, still in pretty good shape, looking for a career to grind out the next 20 years or so. I'm not wild about going back to retail, the decent money jobs are stressful, replete with unrealistic expectations, and the requirement to be ruthless. I just don't want to be that guy anymore. But that said...I also have a financial need to make a minimum of 70-80K per year. I bought a larger house in CT because my mom lives with us ever since my dad died. I don't want her to be alone, and I'm glad I made that decision, because now she is having trouble with so basic things like cooking and driving. So I needed a house with an inlaw appartment, which we got, but needless to say, the mortgage is higher than our old house which was almost paid off. I would love to get into a trade of some sort, but they all seem to require a long time to get up to better earning. I could probably swing making 60K per year for a year or 2, on the promise/hope of increased earning after that...but it's my understanding that the trades take longer than that, as in, I would have needed to make this decision 10 or more years ago, in my 30s. I'm even considering selling my house and moving out of CT, to either south or west, North/South Carolina, or even Texas. Somewhere where the cost of living doesn't so very far exceed the median income.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to, and the nature of my crisis. Thoughts? And thanks in advance, as always.

Welcome back!

 

[KevinKohler]

Another suggestion that was recently made to me is data analytics. It's apparently not very time consuming to get into, and has a decent beginner rate of pay, due to current demand. It's a good fit for me....I did tons of "on the fly" data analytics during my years in retail management, I feel like this is in my wheel house.

My concern is, isn't this the sort of job the AI is going to take over?