What do you do for a living?

If I could do it over again I would have went into the Air Force. I went in the Army instead.

 

You could do handyman work. Self employed, only take on jobs you want, work in middle class + areas, and be as busy as your reputation allows. If you do good work, and I speak from experience, you will be busy every day. I was charging $35 an hour plus materials dong all kinds of mostly easy, sometimes physical jobs from hanging pictures, to hanging drywall. Depending on your clients, $50 an hour is not out of the question, I had a few I could charge that much. Real estate agents love the service to help get houses ready for sale. All those little jobs people can't or won't do around the house. I was doing it as a second job on my days off from fire services dispatch. Also a great career btw.

Charge by the hour, or the job depending on circumstances. If you can, charge more and do a kick ass job, even if it means working into the wee hours.

Seriously, If you're good, honest, and quick to respond to requests for work, show up on time as promised - you will be as busy as you want to be, you could even hire ppl and build a business if you planned it as such after a while.

 

Laborers union? I used to dig pits all day doing CRM (archaeology) and it was really taking a toll on my body.

It doesnt have to be your dream job right now, what matters is you don’t hurt yourself. You could probably become
an insurance agent pretty easily in the meantime while you figure stuff out.

 

There are so many variables involved in career choice...that's why there are so many books devoted to the subject. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer when I was in high school...luckily I had several chances to reassess because I know I would not have been as happy in my careers and life as I have been. I also dreamed of being an Army officer as a child...and fate took me in that direction. I spent 26 years on active duty, eventually retiring as a colonel. From there, that same fateful connection led me into higher education and I spent 16 years at a college, the last 8 as president of the college. I'm now 3 weeks retired...do that when you can.

 

CFO for a family who owns about a dozen short line railroads across the country as well as a main fence crew doing random railroad related repair jobs. Extremely lucky and never thought I would be where I am today which makes me love my job and feel luckier every day!

 

Well I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade, but I operated an Asphalt Plant for over 30 years. So I've been in road construction for about 45 years.
Luckily, I'm retired now and enjoying life.

 

Retired police Sergeant, spent 26 years on the job. Served on two AG drug task forces, did vehicle accident reconstruction, evidence technician. I retired in 2013, I’ve been asked several times to come back part time, nope, nada not gonna happen.

 

Ha. This thread is a good one. I am closer to being a senior citizen than I am to being a teenager and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up!

I started out in the auto Service business pumbing gas, towing, working in the garage. Worked 60 hours a week and was on call for police towing. Learned a lot and made good money. But met a girl, got engaged and thought I needed a job with better benefits and more of a future. Went to work for a big company in the mailroom. They paid me go to school all the way through my masters. Sort of morphed into IT I’m now doing it for almost 35 years.

Growing up I never said man I like to do IT work when I get older. But I’ve managed to make a career out of it and it has paid the bills. Plus I’m out of the weather. That all said, I’m still doing construction and landscaping, if not for me then for my kids, and keeping my truck quite busy.

 

I own a Pest Management company that specializes in Health Care and Food Safety.

 

I hang TVs for a living.

Here in Oregon it’s part of the limited energy apprenticeship and pays decently. I bought my ‘18 when I started the apprenticeship thinking I’d need a truck, it’s now paid off and I’ve been given a work van. Still an apprentice.

The prewire is rarely laborious, and I get to do a bit of programming when commissioning the rooms. 10/10 the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had.

 

Being a retire electronic tech, that sometimes became my job to lending a hand on wiring some of the more complicated installations with multi devices hooked to these tv's. Most of the time i spent in the shop servicing everything from weird tv/audio warranty jobs to commercial medical equipment.

 

Get into real estate... buy fixer uppers, repair them, rent or flip them.

 

Have you ever heard the saying, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life!" The world is full of people doing jobs and living their lives based on what someone else suggested (or told) them to do. The people who live the happiest lives are likely doing jobs that utilize some of their natural talents and abilities.

But how do you know what your natural born abilities and talents are? Enter the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (https://jocrf.org/). They are legendary at helping people find the direction in their lives they were looking for.

"The Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation is a nonprofit scientific research and educational organization with two primary commitments: to study human abilities and to provide people with a knowledge of their aptitudes that will help them derive more satisfaction from their lives by discovering their natural potential." "Our current fee is $750 in all offices, except $850 in San Francisco, Austin, and Florida." "We measure natural abilities such as spatial visualization, musical aptitudes, different types of reasoning abilities, memories, and design aptitudes among others."

For a few hundred dollars, it may help you answer a lot of questions. If I was your age and had my career to live over, I'd start here. It will very likely give you the direction you're seeking.

It's your life.

Don't waste it.

Enjoy it to the fullest.

Ed

 

Been out of work since May 27, due to my hip grenading itself, ultimately I had it replaced on 7/8, so now I'm recovering from that- can't even drive till at least 7/23.
USPS Rural Carrier is my "career" which I am trying to figure out something(anything) else I can do. Job isn't what it used to be, anymore it's just delivering Amazon, and not getting paid for a lot of my time(look into how rural carriers are paid- I'm not going to explain it here- but basically I'm compensated to do 67 packages per day. May 26- a Tuesday- typically our "lightest" day of the week I delivered 264- still only paid for 67). I'm also sick of being a "career" employee forced to work 6 days a week. I'd honestly be much happier if I was doing 5 days/week. Just never feel like you get a true "disconnect" from work with only one day off. I typically wake up on Sunday in a panic thinking I'm late for work. Also sucks getting the same time off(annual leave) as a 5 day/week employee. Any time I want to take a weekend off- I have to use a vacation day for Saturday. They don't stretch too far.

In my time off from USPS, I'm a volunteer firefighter(Deputy Chief), so I've been away from there physically as well, but I'm trying to do as many administrative duties as I can right now- paperwork, reports etc. from home.

 

I'm a registered nurse. Got my BSN at the young age of 38.

 

Tree work. transmission lines main highways but mostly on commuter rail ways

 

20 years in factories here and I didn't screw up - I like the environment and I chose it after realizing through experience that a Nursing career wasn't for me.

The work keeps you in shape (not all but much), it's predictable (I have always appreciated knowing exactly what I'll be doing each day), and I never have to work with the public. Never once took work home with me, mentally or physically.

I'm a big believer in doing what you're good at.

Take care of your hands and your back. They dont last forever!

 

Join the military and get some career training while you are deciding what you want to do with your life. Perhaps you will decide to stay in the military.

 

I was a carpenter and a surveyor, mostly commercial construction till about 35, (50 now)I went back to skewl and got a degree in Histology and Pathology. Now I section cancer tissue for cancer pathology both live surgeries and post surgery biopsy. I also work,a little bit in routine clinical labs doing molecular testing for STIs and Auto immune diseases.

 

Painter here. Bodyshop painter. Been doing this since I was 19. 49 yrs old now. Time flys. Work hard get paid. Simple as that.