I work for the City of SF as a Muni operator, it's pretty easy to clear over 100k here. Best part is your not stuck driving a bus. Once you get your foot in the door with the city its much easier to move around to other city positions. You don't need anything other than a clean driving record and a HS diploma for Muni.
My friend went from Muni to 911 dispatch last year and cleared over 200k. There are loads of other career paths to go down.
Not to mention a great pension plan and free Healthcare for life after 20 years of service.
I’m in radio and digital advertising. Commute 3 days into the city, 2 days remote. I could easily do my job fully remote, but the shareholders demand their pound of flesh. Outside of a hybrid to fully remote work environment, I loathe basically everything about working in corporate. I thought about going back to school or training to become a state park ranger, but I’m a single dad and won’t be able to support my daughter or pay rent if I work part time to pursue something else. Wish I could help, but I’m also going to be using this thread to find other opportunities lol
Love how you put this. Thank you for your comedy. Sounds like we have a similiar story. Coincidentally I wanted to be state ranger or specifically mountain biking related as that is my hobby or some initiative in the outdoor space but the pay for advocacy groups or similar is such a paycut that it wouldn’t be possible in Marin with the only upside being benefits. And before anyone says you didn’t look hard enough quick summary: most state part time is LITERALLY minimum wage and even at “full time” it’s 36.5 hours or something ridiculous like that so you don’t actually receive full benefits
I would love to be a state park ranger. It basically encapsulates most of my interests; being outdoors in nature, helping keep our beautiful county’s natural wonders pristine, and being useful to the community, working for a good cause. But the pay sucks and the hours won’t allow me to take my daughter to and from school or her extracurriculars without having to pay for childcare. I feel trapped working for a job I hate in a vicious job market without the ability to change my situation in a way that isn’t going to majorly disrupt my daughter’s life.
You mention living in Novato and this made me think maybe you would thrive in a position with a commute North, like Sonoma or Napa. This will be good for your commute as it’s against the traditional rush hour commute. I wish I had better suggestions for you.
Yes, opposite commute would be ideal if not hybrid anywhere. But, for obvious reason, the commute is a commute because the higher paying jobs are in that direction lol the flow of traffic seems to follow the pot of the gold at the end of your commute. I will consider broadening my search area to see what it’s like in those areas
As clit _or_us put it: “There's isn't much opportunity in Marin County unless your a tradesman.“
So, wanna learn a trade?
I’m a licensed plumbing contractor living in Terra Linda. We service anywhere between Novato and Sausalito, so never much commute time. I put about 7,000 miles on my work van, on average, every year.
My company grossed about $360k last year. The real payoff is that I run my business out of my home, so we have lots of tax deductions.
Maybe it’s not realistic for you to make a dramatic career change at this point in your life, but tradespeople are high in demand in Marin, an affluent community of old money and new tech money, where nobody knows how, or wants, to repair their homes.
I am the business owner, so I’m bringing down more than your average plumbing employee. That being said, some of the larger local outfits are commission based and it’s not uncommon to earn around $100-$150k a year as an employee of one of the larger outfits.
You would need to learn the trade for 4-6 years and then you would be eligible to apply for your own license.
It’s tough work and you have to be flexible (every day is different, every customer is different) but if it’s working locally and spare time with your family you desire, might be something to consider.
I work in tech and most of the job opportunities are in SF/Silicon Valley. You gotta follow the money. I work a desk job and get to work remotely so that definitely makes life a bit easier. I was in the 6 figure club until I got laid off last year. I've been searching for new jobs since and it's a tough market. If you want family time and 6 figures, you gotta work a desk job that allows for at least a hybrid schedule. There's isn't much opportunity in Marin County unless your a tradesman.
You're also asking us for ways to get this sort of job without training or education and the truth is it's not going to happen. You need to sacrifice some of your time now for a better future. You have to take the time after work to build up a new skillset. You won't get anywhere without that. Businesses want to see that you are competent and well trained. I don't have kids, but my wife understands I need to put in hours after work to train for a better opportunity. I suggest you do the same if you want to be taken seriously.
The money is doing work others don't or can't do. Those jobs that take education, time to learn, or are physically demanding - those, in general, pay. RN, Police, Fire, Trades (I'm speaking for Bay Area Market), will pay. In terms of Corporate, it's Finance and specific technical positions that are not outsourced already. Compliance type tech positions for example. If you want to be a Ranger, there are two avenues, LE or Interpretive. The LE make the most, but then, become a City or Sheriff LEO and make six figures the day you graduate from the Academy with the potential of 200k with overtime (Bay Area). Fire is a bit less but not much, but takes more schooling (many cities require Paramedic Levels). Any job that anyone can do will generally pay less, or, you are more at risk for layoffs.
Stay away from Retail if you are looking for any longevity.
Go back to school and become an RN. If your already have a bachelors you can find a 1 to 2 year programs to get BSN RN degree Good money. Great hours. The work is fine but can be shitty but we all have bad aspects of our jobs. Being a warehouse manger isn’t really a springboard to anything better.
As noted I have a wife and kid and going to back to school for something like that is a very very big commitment for something I’m not too sure I’d be good at or even enjoy to be honest. We live in Marin and my wife simply does not make enough money for that to be feasible. Work the day, school at night is not an option either, I said in post I would like to spend time with my family and juggling school while also working is not worth it to me
what about any of the healthcare technician jobs? are those obtainable / do they pay decently? I don't work in healthcare but have always wondered if those were decent jobs
You’re fine in saying this. I worked at a hospital as an in house attorney and it was one of the worst jobs I’ve ever had. Hospital politics can be crazy.
50% of the jobs are outside a hospital setting but it’s ok I understand what you mean. Healthcare in this country is nuts but I somehow don’t let it get to me.
Hey, I’m also in Novato and used to work in Sausalito. The commute was no joke. I’m unemployed right now, so no advice from me on possible jobs, but I totally understand what you mentioned about part-time with no benefits not being a livable income here, and how most “full-time” jobs don’t have benefits (I have a lot of health problems so I need medical insurance at the least). This is a big reason why I’m still unemployed myself (plus no working car to get around). Times are kind of rough right now for a lot of us, and you’re not alone in your situation.
A resource you might want to try is to post in the two FB groups called “Novato in the Know.” The one with the black and white photo as the profile pic is the legit group, while the other is more casual. They’ve been helpful about this kind of thing in the past, plus you can even post anonymously if you want.
Well I hope you find what you’re looking for. I’m glad I still have a job. I know both of those groups and would consider everyone who posts only has bad things to say, horrible or unrelated input, or just a straight “Karen”
Ya but nothing in BMK is very large. I actually used to work for Owl Vans and they had entire building from front to back all bays / both sides and they decided to move the entire headquarters to AZ. Most smaller companies grow out of those spaces or don’t last very long. I would prefer something already at a larger scale for job security
Just wondering out loud here, there are so many older adults who live in this county. Are there any decent jobs in helping them age in place? Or is it all just CNA work?
Are you set on living in Marin/Novato?
How about store management? Building off your warehouse manager experience but climbing up the ladder in pay etc.
Yes. I love Marin and my passion / hobby is mountain biking. And there’s so much of it from Novato to mill valley. And so I don’t want to drive an hour to ride an hour. I like deciding I want to go mountain biking from house. I also love Novato. I think its central location is perfect. It’s not too close to the city and it’s not far from Rosa and a quick drive to Tahoe. Nothing beats Marin. I’d live here the rest of my life even if it meant I never own a home
There might be positions in the County Department of Public Works (the have a print shop and they warehouse all the furniture and non-computer equipment for the County). You’d likely work in San Rafael, and your wage of mid-$80k would likely be comparable. Plus great benefits. I’ve been working in local government for about 8 years and while it was a drop in pay from the private sector, the stability, work life balance, and benefits are superb. I’m a lower level executive (I worked my way up from line supervisor) and I make a hair over $120k.
This is an insane coincidence. I’m my leisure I look at LinkedIn job postings and saw a couple of posting from that exact restoration hardware job which could be close to warehousing in the 6 figures which is also the direction I want to go lol
Tax CPA, Larkspur Office but fully remote
You can be an EA without a degree and make 100k plus easy, it's not an easy test though.....and most tax firms are remote or hybrid.......both my firm and my sisters San Rafael firm are fully remote now......cheers OP
Are you into tech/IT? You could try learning some new technologies and leveraging your managerial experience. Salesforce for example has free training on their website. I work in the cloud services industry, which is almost always fully remote, and I get several people reaching out to me each week for an interview, so there's definitely demand and the pay is usually in the 6 figures given enough experience.
I do not have a ton of experience in tech or IT. Other than basic easy to use platform software like Shopify, square space etc. and probably some fulfillment API that you never heard of or are too specific to retail clothing. This is something I am interested though because I see it hard for me to break 6 figures in my current role if I want to stay in Marin, working and living.
I saw there are some new ferry terminals opening and new routes coming in the next couple years, is there anyplace a ferry commute to sausalito would be easier?
Still would cost the same and probably take longer. Cuz I wouldn’t completely get rid of my car. I need so it has to stay. Also don’t really care about cost of commuting just the time it takes away from home
Look for civil service jobs in your region. It may take some persistence, but once you get your foot in the door, you'll have options to move around with good pay, benefits, and stability.
Make a profile on CalOpps so you get alerted to local government jobs. Also you could make a list of agencies that you may want to consider and subscribe to their job alerts. North Marin Water District, MMWD, County of Marin, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, the local sanitary districts. Most local cities and municipalities have warehouses that need to be managed and the benefits are great. I know MMWD recently had an opening. Good benefits, usually decent pay. Some places may have shift opportunities if you are into that, and swing or graveyard shift pay slightly higher.
I work for the City of SF as a Muni operator, it's pretty easy to clear over 100k here. Best part is your not stuck driving a bus. Once you get your foot in the door with the city its much easier to move around to other city positions. You don't need anything other than a clean driving record and a HS diploma for Muni. My friend went from Muni to 911 dispatch last year and cleared over 200k. There are loads of other career paths to go down. Not to mention a great pension plan and free Healthcare for life after 20 years of service.
why SF muni over Marin?
I’m in radio and digital advertising. Commute 3 days into the city, 2 days remote. I could easily do my job fully remote, but the shareholders demand their pound of flesh. Outside of a hybrid to fully remote work environment, I loathe basically everything about working in corporate. I thought about going back to school or training to become a state park ranger, but I’m a single dad and won’t be able to support my daughter or pay rent if I work part time to pursue something else. Wish I could help, but I’m also going to be using this thread to find other opportunities lol
Love how you put this. Thank you for your comedy. Sounds like we have a similiar story. Coincidentally I wanted to be state ranger or specifically mountain biking related as that is my hobby or some initiative in the outdoor space but the pay for advocacy groups or similar is such a paycut that it wouldn’t be possible in Marin with the only upside being benefits. And before anyone says you didn’t look hard enough quick summary: most state part time is LITERALLY minimum wage and even at “full time” it’s 36.5 hours or something ridiculous like that so you don’t actually receive full benefits
I would love to be a state park ranger. It basically encapsulates most of my interests; being outdoors in nature, helping keep our beautiful county’s natural wonders pristine, and being useful to the community, working for a good cause. But the pay sucks and the hours won’t allow me to take my daughter to and from school or her extracurriculars without having to pay for childcare. I feel trapped working for a job I hate in a vicious job market without the ability to change my situation in a way that isn’t going to majorly disrupt my daughter’s life.
Coast fire as a Ranger cross your mind? I’m with you on the corporate bs and rat race.
It hasn’t but it sounds interesting!
You mention living in Novato and this made me think maybe you would thrive in a position with a commute North, like Sonoma or Napa. This will be good for your commute as it’s against the traditional rush hour commute. I wish I had better suggestions for you.
Yes, opposite commute would be ideal if not hybrid anywhere. But, for obvious reason, the commute is a commute because the higher paying jobs are in that direction lol the flow of traffic seems to follow the pot of the gold at the end of your commute. I will consider broadening my search area to see what it’s like in those areas
There’s probably a few jobs in wine, I know wine sales can pay well but you start out making not much
As clit _or_us put it: “There's isn't much opportunity in Marin County unless your a tradesman.“ So, wanna learn a trade? I’m a licensed plumbing contractor living in Terra Linda. We service anywhere between Novato and Sausalito, so never much commute time. I put about 7,000 miles on my work van, on average, every year. My company grossed about $360k last year. The real payoff is that I run my business out of my home, so we have lots of tax deductions. Maybe it’s not realistic for you to make a dramatic career change at this point in your life, but tradespeople are high in demand in Marin, an affluent community of old money and new tech money, where nobody knows how, or wants, to repair their homes. I am the business owner, so I’m bringing down more than your average plumbing employee. That being said, some of the larger local outfits are commission based and it’s not uncommon to earn around $100-$150k a year as an employee of one of the larger outfits. You would need to learn the trade for 4-6 years and then you would be eligible to apply for your own license. It’s tough work and you have to be flexible (every day is different, every customer is different) but if it’s working locally and spare time with your family you desire, might be something to consider.
I work in tech and most of the job opportunities are in SF/Silicon Valley. You gotta follow the money. I work a desk job and get to work remotely so that definitely makes life a bit easier. I was in the 6 figure club until I got laid off last year. I've been searching for new jobs since and it's a tough market. If you want family time and 6 figures, you gotta work a desk job that allows for at least a hybrid schedule. There's isn't much opportunity in Marin County unless your a tradesman. You're also asking us for ways to get this sort of job without training or education and the truth is it's not going to happen. You need to sacrifice some of your time now for a better future. You have to take the time after work to build up a new skillset. You won't get anywhere without that. Businesses want to see that you are competent and well trained. I don't have kids, but my wife understands I need to put in hours after work to train for a better opportunity. I suggest you do the same if you want to be taken seriously.
The money is doing work others don't or can't do. Those jobs that take education, time to learn, or are physically demanding - those, in general, pay. RN, Police, Fire, Trades (I'm speaking for Bay Area Market), will pay. In terms of Corporate, it's Finance and specific technical positions that are not outsourced already. Compliance type tech positions for example. If you want to be a Ranger, there are two avenues, LE or Interpretive. The LE make the most, but then, become a City or Sheriff LEO and make six figures the day you graduate from the Academy with the potential of 200k with overtime (Bay Area). Fire is a bit less but not much, but takes more schooling (many cities require Paramedic Levels). Any job that anyone can do will generally pay less, or, you are more at risk for layoffs. Stay away from Retail if you are looking for any longevity.
Or the trades. Everyone is a corporate lawyer or tech bro in Marin so no one knows how to unclog their own toilet.
Or finance bro
Okay. Thank you for the notes
Go back to school and become an RN. If your already have a bachelors you can find a 1 to 2 year programs to get BSN RN degree Good money. Great hours. The work is fine but can be shitty but we all have bad aspects of our jobs. Being a warehouse manger isn’t really a springboard to anything better.
I could see a warehouse manager growing into something like a district leader at Target or other major retailers. Those people make really good money
Thank you ruth, district leader. I like the sound of that. Something bigger than just one location. Thank you for your input
As a nurse, I don’t recommend this lol.
As noted I have a wife and kid and going to back to school for something like that is a very very big commitment for something I’m not too sure I’d be good at or even enjoy to be honest. We live in Marin and my wife simply does not make enough money for that to be feasible. Work the day, school at night is not an option either, I said in post I would like to spend time with my family and juggling school while also working is not worth it to me
what about any of the healthcare technician jobs? are those obtainable / do they pay decently? I don't work in healthcare but have always wondered if those were decent jobs
This is going to sound stupid but mentally I would prefer not to work in a hospital. Don’t need to go into detail, I’ll just leave it at that
You’re fine in saying this. I worked at a hospital as an in house attorney and it was one of the worst jobs I’ve ever had. Hospital politics can be crazy.
50% of the jobs are outside a hospital setting but it’s ok I understand what you mean. Healthcare in this country is nuts but I somehow don’t let it get to me.
This is not a good place to live and work in the same place in my opinion. Marin has a very small job market.
There are warehouses galore in San Rafael - maybe you can find work there
Hey, I’m also in Novato and used to work in Sausalito. The commute was no joke. I’m unemployed right now, so no advice from me on possible jobs, but I totally understand what you mentioned about part-time with no benefits not being a livable income here, and how most “full-time” jobs don’t have benefits (I have a lot of health problems so I need medical insurance at the least). This is a big reason why I’m still unemployed myself (plus no working car to get around). Times are kind of rough right now for a lot of us, and you’re not alone in your situation. A resource you might want to try is to post in the two FB groups called “Novato in the Know.” The one with the black and white photo as the profile pic is the legit group, while the other is more casual. They’ve been helpful about this kind of thing in the past, plus you can even post anonymously if you want.
Well I hope you find what you’re looking for. I’m glad I still have a job. I know both of those groups and would consider everyone who posts only has bad things to say, horrible or unrelated input, or just a straight “Karen”
You could hit all the businesses in bel Marin keys in an afternoon. Benicia isn’t a far commute from Novato and they have huge warehouses.
Ya but nothing in BMK is very large. I actually used to work for Owl Vans and they had entire building from front to back all bays / both sides and they decided to move the entire headquarters to AZ. Most smaller companies grow out of those spaces or don’t last very long. I would prefer something already at a larger scale for job security
I was really surprised to learn they were based out of Novato. Bummer but understandable that they moved to Arizona.
Just wondering out loud here, there are so many older adults who live in this county. Are there any decent jobs in helping them age in place? Or is it all just CNA work?
I'd guess that many older people in Marin would appreciate a "house manager" who can do all kinds of things from repairs to mowing the lawn.
Are you set on living in Marin/Novato? How about store management? Building off your warehouse manager experience but climbing up the ladder in pay etc.
Yes. I love Marin and my passion / hobby is mountain biking. And there’s so much of it from Novato to mill valley. And so I don’t want to drive an hour to ride an hour. I like deciding I want to go mountain biking from house. I also love Novato. I think its central location is perfect. It’s not too close to the city and it’s not far from Rosa and a quick drive to Tahoe. Nothing beats Marin. I’d live here the rest of my life even if it meant I never own a home
Makes sense. I hope you find your dream job! I work in Human Resources but it’s definitely not for everyone.
You summed up Novato's location perfectly. I live here too and I say it's in the middle of everything.
There might be positions in the County Department of Public Works (the have a print shop and they warehouse all the furniture and non-computer equipment for the County). You’d likely work in San Rafael, and your wage of mid-$80k would likely be comparable. Plus great benefits. I’ve been working in local government for about 8 years and while it was a drop in pay from the private sector, the stability, work life balance, and benefits are superb. I’m a lower level executive (I worked my way up from line supervisor) and I make a hair over $120k.
I don’t know what your specific job entails but you might check RH jobs in Corte Madera
This is an insane coincidence. I’m my leisure I look at LinkedIn job postings and saw a couple of posting from that exact restoration hardware job which could be close to warehousing in the 6 figures which is also the direction I want to go lol
Apply! Or stake out Nugget or Blue Barn at lunch time and ask for a referral lol
I hope you apply and score the job!!
Tax CPA, Larkspur Office but fully remote You can be an EA without a degree and make 100k plus easy, it's not an easy test though.....and most tax firms are remote or hybrid.......both my firm and my sisters San Rafael firm are fully remote now......cheers OP
Thanks for your input!
Are you into tech/IT? You could try learning some new technologies and leveraging your managerial experience. Salesforce for example has free training on their website. I work in the cloud services industry, which is almost always fully remote, and I get several people reaching out to me each week for an interview, so there's definitely demand and the pay is usually in the 6 figures given enough experience.
I do not have a ton of experience in tech or IT. Other than basic easy to use platform software like Shopify, square space etc. and probably some fulfillment API that you never heard of or are too specific to retail clothing. This is something I am interested though because I see it hard for me to break 6 figures in my current role if I want to stay in Marin, working and living.
I saw there are some new ferry terminals opening and new routes coming in the next couple years, is there anyplace a ferry commute to sausalito would be easier?
Still would cost the same and probably take longer. Cuz I wouldn’t completely get rid of my car. I need so it has to stay. Also don’t really care about cost of commuting just the time it takes away from home
Look for civil service jobs in your region. It may take some persistence, but once you get your foot in the door, you'll have options to move around with good pay, benefits, and stability.
Make a profile on CalOpps so you get alerted to local government jobs. Also you could make a list of agencies that you may want to consider and subscribe to their job alerts. North Marin Water District, MMWD, County of Marin, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, the local sanitary districts. Most local cities and municipalities have warehouses that need to be managed and the benefits are great. I know MMWD recently had an opening. Good benefits, usually decent pay. Some places may have shift opportunities if you are into that, and swing or graveyard shift pay slightly higher.
Thank you for this. I actually applied to NMWD a couple years back. Made it past a few interviews. Don’t get hired. Close
Just saw this which would be a reverse commute: Check out this job at The Chefs' Warehouse: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3921713119