What do you do for a living?

Its actually more beneficial than being a physician these days. PAs can move from different areas with little to no training needed. A physician is specialized and can just jump from family practice to ortho or plastics etc. Most surgeons I work with wish they had done PA instead because being a doctor these days isn’t what it used to be and can be more of a hassle and liability in many ways.

 

Absolutely what my friend says (he is a physician). We had briefly discussed going to go into business together - opening offices with PAs and him being the resident (not sure what they call it ) doctor assigned (state requirement I think in surrounding states)...BUT he got divorced and wife took him for EVERYTHING. He says the money for PAs can be equal to more because of liability insurance and other expenses...at least for him as a FP (not a surgeon/specialist).

 

Buy at least a 2 family house. Rent one half, get a roommate for yourself. You’ll make money and build equity.

If you like it, go down the landlord route. Be a good one, not a shister...

If you don’t want to go that way, take the time to figure out what you want to do. Take the Myers-Briggs interest inventory or similar. Find out what you like and want to do then do the best you can at it. It’ll all fall into place from there...

 

Retired with 34 years in Law Enforcement, but I sure as hell would not recommend that to anyone just starting out now a days. I always thought I'd like to be a plumber or electrician. Like electrician better; don't have to deal with shit, literally.

 

You’re welcome, it was an honor doing what I did. I actually stayed on a year longer than I needed to as I was having a good time. I can’t imagine doing that job in the present times.

 

Not to downplay your own experience or anything, all my teaching family got master's degrees too but it didn't take them 100k and 7 years, and even before a master's degree you make decent money as a teacher in SoCal. It sounds like you aren't in SoCal. I know some places seriously underpay teachers, like in AZ. In CA we seriously overpay them. My brother in law started at 50k as a PE teacher and my sister started at 70k, but she's like a school speech therapist or something.

My sister and brother in law had student loans but they're nearly debt free after a couple years because of how much they're making now.

 

I have been an RN since 2004 after 18years in IT. I worked in a Trauma Center for 5 years, loved it, but started having some physical issues, and moved into Infection Prevention, and eventually Quality Management. Today I work in Medical Affairs Admin as a Quality Review Coordinator, and love my job. I have almost complete autonomy, work from home, and set my own hours. Couldn't be happier, and paid I'm well doing something I love, and my dog loves that I am home almost every day! The Medical Field has many open doors for all disciplines.

 

Went to school for biology, came out with bachelors degree in ecology/environmental sciences. Worked my first two years as a seasonal biologist with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, left there for a permanent salary position for an environmental engineering firm for two years working mostly on a landfill as a construction quality insurance inspector. Terrible company to work for, long hours shitty pay on top of working on a literal mountain of garbage. Left there and now work as a aquatic biologist for a private company managing ponds and lakes for nusiance algae and aquatic plants and doing water quality monitoring. Pay is decent but still feel like my degree is underutilized. I'm 26, hoping one day to make my way back into working for the state as aquatic biologist like I started out. The environmental field isn't what it's cracked up to be, takes a while to make any decent money and you still feel like your not making a difference.

 

hit the nail on the head! It’s thankless work for sure, and finding a decent paycheck takes awhile. In consulting it def pays to job hop; gotta go where the good contracts are. A former coworker recently landed a 6 figure job doing consulting work for the NSA, so there’s hope!

 

I work for one of the worlds largest pvc/cast iron pipe manufacturers in the country.

 

At 19 I was servicing reactors for GE, now I work on hondas for the last 8 years.

 

Software developer for 12+ years and I'm 31. Taught myself with YouTube and Google. Love it.

 

I’m a Project Manager for a Civil construction company. I have a bachelors in construction science, and I did 4 years in the military. Feel free to ask me anything.

 

My grandson is in His 3rd year in Construction Science at Texas A&M, and also in the Corps. He plans to go into the navy once he graduates and continue with his Masters. Although the military is not the choice of many, he will complete his Bachelor’s with no debt, and go into service as an officer with a pretty well laid out career path. He’s a smart young man and I am very proud of him.

 

My condolences. From a Tea-sip, from back when Austin was truly weird. McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Business Management, Class of 1981. You might remember me: I was the Fruit of the Loom Grape at the Magic Time Machine on Riverside Dr. BEST job I ever had!

 

I'm a maintenance manager for a biotech startup company.
Basically, we figure out how to do things that no one else in the world has done, while constantly worrying about how custom designed equipment will hold up when millions of dollars are on the line.

Seriously, I love it! It is the most fun I've ever had in my career.

 

Haha it’s funny you say that. I’m in central Texas and those A&M guys will ALWAYS let you know that they went to A&M. I went to UTSA so to me it was just a school. A&M folks are very odd. Smart! But proud!

 

My middle school math teacher said I’d never make it in life because I sat in the back of the classroom and just looked out the window...well....

 

No condolences necessary, as he has a $45k a year scholarship. A free education from A&M is nothing to sneeze at, especially as their Construction Science program is one of the best in the nation.

 

Yeah, I had a scholarship. Swimming scholarship. Full ride. Walked away from it and transferred to Texas. My father disowned me for walking away from a free education. Worked two jobs to put myself through The University. Because I wanted a degree from the University of Texas that bad. So you see, I could have purchased my education from A&M if I had wanted too. But I picked Austin. I am sure his decision to attend A&M will serve him well throughout his life. I wonder though, when he is my age will he look back and value his life experience in College Station as much as I value mine having experienced Austin being Austintacious, before the boom, under the oaks on the back lawn of Barton Creek Pool in Zilker Park, back in the Armadillo World Headquarters era?

I also watched as Earl Campbell made A&M's defense look like a middle school.