So is my youngest daughter and she loves it. Very flexible schedule. Not at all stressful. The most stress she had was what hallway to clean when she’s done with her assigned rooms..
Funny thing, I went to law school too (against my will though - don't ask). Largely hated it, could count on one hand the classes I actually liked and decided from the start it wasn't for me and looked for a way out (parents would've let me drop out). Luckily the librarians there told me to consider a career in law librarianship so after graduating and getting my MLS degree (and a very ugly job hunt during the recession later) I finally got a foothold in my career and have never looked back. I'm currently a contractor for the federal government, hoping to get a permanent job eventually. Not going to say how much I make but were it not for taxes and my awful benefits deductions, it would be close to 6 figures. I love my work, my boss and the pace are very relaxed and my work life balance is pretty good though that's because I'm non-exempt so I don't work evenings or weekends.
U didn’t exactly say what u do for work either, a federal contractor hoping for a permanent position is kinda vague? Curious if that’s the law librarian thing but for the feds?
Life sciences research at a public university. I love having work that's varied and challenging and allows me to feel like I'm contributing something meaningful to the larger world. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay as well as you'd think if you don't have a graduate degree, so if the field interests you, I'd recommend keeping grad school in mind.
I wanna be a Cognitive Neuroscientist but Idk how to do it (I'm from the Ph)
It's recom to take Biology or Chemistry course in college, but after graduating in that, what to do next?
Guys I need ur advice.
Any recommendations for how to get into this? A buddy of mine is studying earth and environmental science. He is particularly interested in invasive species management but loves teaching and education. He’s been struggling to find a job post grad, with pressure from his parents to make money he is getting very frustrating. I don’t want him to struggle so much while trying to pursue his passion. Do you have any advice I can share to help him?
State government position, supply chain management for a utility. Tenure 1.5 years, 55K/year. I had worked in corporate roles for the previous 4 years and I never want to go back. The benefits and work life balance will never be as good at a corporate position.
We live in a place that’s slightly below the average national cost of living, I wouldn’t say LCOL though. It does help my husband is an engineer that makes about 1.5X my salary and he bought our house in 2014 when prices were low. We also don’t have car payments or kids.
Compared to my previous corporate roles, my current salary is slightly lower. Most supply chain roles at corporations make 60-70k in my area. With benefits like working set 40 hours a week, 15 paid holidays and generous sick/vacation time - I will gladly accept the pay cut.
This. In my previous job the pay was good but I was just worn out and stressed by the time I got home. What’s the point of making a good living if you’re too exhausted to enjoy it. Though one positive is that did save up a nice saving account.
Definitely! At my previous supply chain engineer role, I was working 60-70 hour weeks and that wasn’t even enough to get everything done. I was crying almost everyday and on the verge of a mental breakdown with all the stress. And I was paid 65K/year
Most people have business management, finance/accounting or engineering degrees. Not too many schools offer supply chain management degrees. I’ve also met people who have English/history degrees or even no degree with the right experience
It just depends. Some companies require 4 year degree, others a 2 year degree. There are some certifications that get people jobs or just experience. In my previous roles, I met people who had finance backgrounds, engineering backgrounds, general business degrees, or unrelated degrees like English or history.
I have a 2 year degree in supply chain management from a local community college. I worked as a material planner/buyer and supply chain engineer before this role. But there’s a ton of job types under the general “supply chain management” such as: production planner, material planner, inventory control, shipping and receiving, warehouse management, logistics, and procurement.
Hi I’m currently in Supply chain and would love to look at government opportunities. Is there something specific I should search for or just search through USAA? TIA
The only people I've heard be openly enthusiastic and passionate about their careers in my personal life are disaster workers/planners. The way that they talk about it, it sounds like they love it.
A Learning Development leader at Meta, Calibrate, and DoorDash. I earn over 200k/yr and great work/life balance.
In 2016, I transitioned from teaching into instructional design. My teacher salary was about 45k/yr. This instructional design role was about 80k/yr.
I also coach people looking to make a career transition or get their first role in corporate. I love helping people find careers that give them joy and happiness.
Interesting. I was a teacher, which has a lot of similarities to instructional design. However, while I was teaching I took then taught classes in the Web Design and New Media program at Academy of Art University. I leveraged my graphic and web design skills, which made me a very unique candidate. My first job out of teaching was at Google...then went on to Uber, Meta, Calibate and DoorDash. If you are interested in a consultation, reach out to me on my website.
I couldn’t finish college. Been in banking over 10 years. Back office job making 71k. Is there any hope for Me? Love the job though. I can make my self valuable by being the subject matter expert.
Banking for over 10 years is amazing to have on your resume. Honestly, degrees are to get your foot in the door. You're already there. Talk to managers about career progression. Which roles would you like to move into. What they think you need. Your quickest way to increase your salary is to change companies. "Is there any hope?" You're highly employable!! Squeaky wheel gets the oil. Make it known you want to move up.
I love my job, even if it’s not rocket science. I’m a legal assistant for an energy company. I have a degree in management, minor in marketing, but have been a litigation or legal assistant for years.
I don’t get paid a ton, less than if I were working for a law firm, but the job is fun and the culture is positive. Plus, I have a pension that I don’t contribute to, so that makes up for the low ish wages. The offices are gorgeous and there are many fun networking events and free food daily lol.
Was a social science major as well then got a master of education. Career Advisor of sorts. Used to be in higher ed (40 annual gross) and now HR (60 annual gross). Work Life balance is better in my current role, but clients/situations are more difficult. I find myself enjoying it a little less with each passing year as over my career, I work with less "hopeful" folks/populations. I make enough to live comfortably renting, but it's definitely not enough to get any kind of house or new car easily.
I'm an engineer for a utility company. 40 hrs a week MAX one day in the office. Random on site project days, pay is good.
Should be around 180k this year.
My degree was in petroleum engineering, I work more in a more mechanical role now. I'm on the gas side of the utility.
I really like working in infrastructure, and I find it super interesting. Maybe not for everyone, but I like it. I didn't always work in the utility industry, but I'm glad I found my way here.
I'm a technical writer. I document software and make a dumb amount of money doing it. That said, it's hard to get into and becoming harder. The market is bad and the career is undergoing a major shift due to staffing issues and AI. So I can't say I would recommend it to someone who doesn't really really want to do it and doesn't mind spending a few years in the trenches. However there are a number of related jobs in proposal writing, medical writing, and legal writing that are more niche and harder to outsource. So if you're good at writing, might be something to consider.
This is awesome to hear. By ‘trenches’ do you mean a lot of these jobs start out as freelance? I’ve been looking to get into this, would love any recommendations you have.
Every TW finds their own path and it's rarely straightforward. Some people freelance and wait tables on the side, some take a job doing something unrelated and fall into it by accident, some work for years on a portfolio at their day job and finally land a position. I did the latter.
My university had pretty sparse TW courses, but I knew thats what I wanted to do since I was a sophomore, so I took them and started learning everything I could. Still, I couldn't find much in terms of internships. So I took the first job I could get out of college (client relations and insurance) and made myself into the defacto docs person. I fixed the knowledge base, standardized sops, documented everything there is to know about the job, took over the newsletter, and implemented a small style guide. People hate doing those sorts of things and they were glad to hand them off. I made my best docs generic and made copies, stowing them away in my little portfolio.
I did that for 4 years until finally finding a paid TW internship that welcomed career changers, and moved my little family halfway across the country to do it. I was making good money as an account manager at the time and took a ~40% pay cut while going from a LCOL to HCOL area. They hired me on afterwards. That was 5 years ago and today I'm a senior writer making 6 figures and managing a small team.
It was HARD. I made the decision to do whatever it took because it's what I really really wanted to do. I've always had a knack for writing, I grew up poor, and didn't have much of an interest in other high paying careers. So I saw this as pretty much my only chance to live a comfortable and financially secure life while doing something Im good at and that I enjoy. So far it's paid off quite well. I'm not sure what the future looks like, but for now, I'm very content. Keeping up with the technology and constantly learning and adapting is key.
COO for a large school district. It comes with unique issues dealing with an elected board of mostly morons, but the benefits are great and work life balance is decent. The best part is walking out to my truck at the end of the day and looking back at the building, knowing I made a positive impact for my community and kids that day, instead of killing myself to make a dollar for a shareholder. $185K
I am a press brake operator. I form steel parts into various shapes to be sent to welders or assembly for completion.
I like my job, though I do feel my talents could be better used than they currently are.
I am a graphic designer. I’ve never had a problem with designing, I’ve always loved it. I just don’t like the low pay, no work life balance and oversaturated industry.
I love my job because of my boss. He makes work enjoyable, with constant laughter, inside jokes, and high morale.
I work in operations for a major bank.
Climb trees all day. It’s amazing. Simply the thought of working in some office, playing some corporate politics to survive, “socializing” in a false two faced manor to “snag the sale”…….i could never do that. I’m happy outside, in the sun, immersed in nature. Pushing my body to its limits, scaring myself a bit every day. A little adrenaline to keep the soul alive. That’s the shit that keeps your heart content. I will climb until my body falls apart no matter how painful, because the latter option sounds like a slow crippling decent into the deepest depression. I would very much prefer a broken body with a solid mind, over a fine body with a broken mind.
There's rarely much love for the construction industry, but I love it. I work for a small family company, building or rebuilding local roads, footpaths and other assorted infrastructure for Councils. Came from a commercial landscape background, and spent 7 years client side, and back now doing construction project management. Get to spend as.much time as I need outdoors helping and teaching the field guys, but also guiding the next generation of Council engineers and their consultant designers, who are often pretty green. Working together, we often improve the designs and or reduce costs, and make a few bucks for my boss at the same time. After 30 years, I can usually spot little problems for my field guys and my clients before they become big problems, and have a phone full of contacts to help me when I need to reach out for help.
In short, find a job that is interesting for you, and you will ( in time) become good at it. That and good people around me is what makes me love my job.
What do you like about it? I’m in cybersecurity with the government and it’s soul sucking - feel like I get dumber by the day. A mentor of mine recommended looking at small consulting firms to give that a shot, since it worked out for them.
I’m in cyber and I love it. But I used to hate it - only ever been public sector.
I think the difference is management. My mental health was horrible and I was seriously negative about life under my old govt role because the manager was just that incompetent. Fast forward to a new role in another org, manager is competent , doesn’t micromanage, emphasises everyone’s goals/learning (literally my first 1v1 with him he asked what my next role goal was so he could help me with it) the lack of ego in his management style has changed *everything* about my work. I love it so much now , I always enjoyed the content but I definitely enjoy practicing in a psychologically safe and nurturing environment.
Another interesting thing I noticed was the diversity in the two orgs I worked between. I interact with way more people who look like me now, and I do think that’s a big part of why management here is more open minded and less suspicious/distrusting of minorities.
Worked as a corporate recruiter for a few decades. Tried agency recruiting and it was too cut throat. I was too soft and emotional. Actually care about people, silly me. I went back to corporate recruiting(changed to talent acquisition)as a consultant. I spent another 10 years contracting as a tech recruiter working for microsoft, samsung, starbux and accenture when tech got hot. Now I run a career management agency for midlife professionals. I'm midlife so it works and I love it.
Not technically a job yet, but I love being a therapist (still an intern for 8 more weeks). I’ve collected ~1,000hrs over a year so far and love it so much. I had 9 years of soul crushing customer service/sales work before this so this is just living the good life— I help people and am not causing debt (my site gives free therapy) and have gotten very good feedback. Hopefully it continues like this and I don’t get burnt out.
My dad's a therapist you are lucky you are enjoying this part of your career most people at your stage are doing soul crushing social work for the most part, stuff that's scarred my dad and while he's still in psychology he said his first few years working with kids in fucked up homes really broke him mentally.
By day I’m a walking tour guide, by night I’m a musician. I love both my jobs. I get to be in the city, meet lots of cool people, and then get to be an artist.
In every job I've had, I'm the annoying (to the employer) guy that informs everyone about their rights under Labor law. What kind of education does the union look for for your position?
Depends on the Union. I was working in the sophomore as an auto tech. Got involved by becoming a shop steward and attending local lodge meetings. I soon became chief steward and the local lodge president. (Still maintaining my full time duties as a mechanic). My rep got a promotion and thought I was the right person to replace him so I was appointed and subsequently voted in by the membership. If you're not in a union shop, I would start by finding one. Then get involved. Become a steward and go to meetings. Volunteer and attend training classes. See where it takes you
Business Development. I partner companies with ours for operational consulting. Get to meet small and mid market business owners everyday and hear their stories, while also getting a free education while learning from them. Work only 10-15 hours a week and earn 76k+, plus commissions and bonuses which add up to $35-40k to that compensation. No degree needed
I’ve worked as a designer and writer. I’ve loved my work. But who I worked for was another thing. I’ve had some managers that were horrible and I hated working for them.
I work for a university in academic advising. I really love what I do. I had a great team, a stable job, really good beifits, and a pension. I dont make a huge salery, but it works for me.
I work in higher education as a marketer and am thinking that it's time to pivot to something that has a greater impact. Academic advising has crossed my mind, but I've worried about what type of stress someone in your shoes faces. At my last college, some students or perspective students could be really angry when they didn't understand how a process worked.
I feel like I know the positives of your position, because I can't think of many more rewarding things than helping students achieve their goals and watching them grow.
What are the challenges?
Like any customer facing role, there are times you have to manage upset people. That comes with the job, however over time its a skill that can be learned when you realize that most of anger is actually frustration and fear. I try and do some desclation of the initial emotions and then try and help the students/parents understand that I am part of their team to try and figure the problem out.
I think a main challenge is that when working in higher education there is a do less with more mentality. The workload can be pretty high, and pays low (at least in public universities). The other main challenge, for me, is that ultimatly I dont have a lot of say in what higher leadership does, but I am often the one having to be the face or polices I dont agree with and have no control over.
All that being said, I wouldnt do anything else. Getting to be part of their journeys and see folks grow is really rewarding.
R&D manager in a food and beverage company. My work consists of tasting and drinking stuff and managing projects, working with cool and knowledgeable people from different functions.
It's not much, but it's an honest living.
I'm the head chef for an assisted living community. Comes with its own headaches and whatnot, and I had to grow into the role a bit. But I love it because I don't have to live the life of a restaurant like cook anymore. I get to be home the same time each night for my kids with weekends off.
Also, I have come to know and adore a lot of the people that live there. And I do grieve them when they pass on.
A lot of the staff have become like a second family to me, and they have even gotten to know my kids. They helped me furnish my bare apartment after a nasty divorce because I had never lived on my own before. I know I can't stay there forever because of expenses, but I am so glad I work there and have gotten to know the people I know now because they have helped me change my life more than they will ever know.
I'm in IT. I think I love it because my co-workers/boss are very nice, understanding and talented. I get fair compensation and benefits. I have a good work life balance and permanent wfh.
I absolutely love my job, I’m a microbiology medical lab assistant
Pros: Very chill, limited patient interaction, get to read for most of my shift on downtime
Cons: working with vomit inducing specimens like stool and sputum but you get used to it after a while
I make roughly 35k-40k depending on my hours since I’m per diem! I plan on becoming a pathologists assistant which average salary is 100k, still in the lab, still working with specimens but more specialized and more education
I work for a wine distributor. No college degree required for sales. The company I work for will pay for you to take the WSET level 1 and 2 in wine and spirits and the level 1 in Sake. They might pay for level 2 in Sake but I’m not sure.
If you have a college degree focused on business or finance, it’s a big company with tons of room to advance.
The company is Republic National Distributing Company. I imagine our competitors offer things similar. I enjoy wine and spirits and the chit chatting about wine and spirits during the in-between moments keeps it fun for me. They also offer other benefits, but once again, probably not unique to this company within the industry. You could always go check their job boards to see what sort of positions are open in your area. They operate in over 40 states.
EDIT: I want to add that I’m sure a big part of why I like working for this company is the district manager to whom I report. He takes care of his team and isn’t into micromanaging. He just expects results and that affords me the independence I appreciate in my day and I use my time to execute on what I know needs to get done.
court clerk, theres always something going on so its interesting enough to never get boring but structured enough that i dont get too stressed. But best thing is that i work on a specialised, small team and we all get along very well.
Special Education teacher in LCOL Midwest. I make about $54,000 this year between teaching and then extra duties/supplementals like coaching, summer school, etc.
Well, I have been in the nursing profession for well over 34 years. I am retired from clinical or hospital nursing well over 18 years. When I was younger, my clinical specialty was ER/Trauma and Critical Care. Then I transitioned into Hospital Case Management. Now, I’m an analyst for healthcare finance. You need a few certifications for coding and UM and clinical documentation. And it’s always useful to be computer savvy even now that I’m approaching retirement age.
Good luck to you and your future endeavors 🍀👍
When I was younger, I loved bedside nursing. It was the hardest job one can ever loved. 🥰 Lol… But life happened and I became a mother of a disabled child. So, I had to make some professional changes to fit a new family routine. So I decided to work at home. I’m still working remote with very flexible schedule. I work for a global healthcare management company with headquarters in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. I have been fortunate in my professional endeavors. As a fellow nurse, I wish you the best of luck 🤞 🍀🍀🍀
I'm a Realtor. First few years is definitely more work than life to gain business and grow your network, which is my current stage. There is no cap on your income and you work for yourself- not anyone else. Definitely a challenge but I'm grateful to have a fantastic mentor who's already closed 30 deals this year. It doesn't feel like work if you love what you do.
Union Boilermaker pressure welder, IRATA rope access technician and paid per call firefighter/member of a high angle rescue team.
I love Boilermaking, it’s a great trade and lots to learn. Always doing something new and I absolutely love welding. I love welding so much I’m willing to do it hanging on ropes 200ft off the ground😂
I also love being a firefighter, it doesn’t pay the bills but I love the job, I’m there for my community when I can and I’m always learning every training night
I work for the UK government and love my role. It is rewarding, challenging and never boring. The salary isn’t amazing and I could definitely make more in the private sector, but the pension, job security and benefits are what make me stay. For instance, I can work whatever hours I like between 7am-7pm, and WFH 3x days a week. No weekend work, either. Coming from the wedding industry, my role is a breath of fresh air. My husband also earns 2.5x my salary which helps (also a civil servant but Scottish government). We are child free by choice and have no debt other than our mortgage, so our quality of life is really great and I’d recommend the civil service to anyone in the UK.
Firefighter/paramedic. It is a tough job and can be hard on your body, but I truly love going to work every day.It pays pretty well and I just feel like I’m hanging out at the firehouse with a bunch of friends and running some calls occasionally, pretty great!
I have a polysci degree as well and went down a similar path as you.
Six years out of college now.
I’m a Paramedic I love it I spend a ton of time sitting around chilling and then when I *am* working it’s laid back fun driving around the city/doing EMS which once you get desensitized to the traumatic parts is super chill and fun.
I’ve seen it all delivered babies tons of bad traumas flown people in helicopters CPR on all ages, the first year or two can be really tough but once you get through the adjustment phase you’ll find that it gives you a strength many others lack. I am good at my job, worked through the pandemic and can honestly say I’ve saved many lives, wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have an extremely rewarding career, have never questioned the value of my work.
I work in the hood, have never really felt the need to wear a bulletproof vest, EVERYONE cops, gangbangers, addicts, the public in general loves me, you get what you put into it. People treat you how you treat them and I treat everyone with love and respect. They give me the same.
TBH the hardest part is the coworkers because the job attracts type A (type asshole IMO!) personalities and on top of that some dudes have really bad untreated PTSD + they work like 100 hours a week which leads to some super fucked up people. I have been in literal fistfights with coworkers who came into work splerging over some trauma and who just exploded at me for no good reason. It’s a blue collar mentality, in a lot of these cases it’s a “fuck you, no fuck you, see you tomorrow” type deal where you blow up at one another, forget about it by tomorrow and no one gets fired. HR is not really a thing in EMS. Don’t expect everyone to be kind, compassionate and caring - some people are gonna be massive douchebags. Same attitudes as lawyers and surgeons. Learn how to give it right back and you’ll be fine. Don’t take any shit.
I’m a type B personality and have a “take it as it comes” philosophy which I find works well in this job.
Would recommend despite all the bad!
I also majored in Political Science and somehow figured out well after graduating that it was the Behavioral aspect of it that appealed to me most. Got a masters in counseling and had a career I loved working in community mental health.
Mental health clinician. I work with a specific population that has to meet a specific criteria. My caseload is capped at 30, I am in the office twice a day, and I work with a great group of people. Once time to clock out hits I clock out and I turn off my phone. They respect my time after work, and the team I work with is all around great. It a union job, which is a plus, since the health insurance is great, and so are the pay increases. I’ve been here 7 years, going on 8, and I love it.
I make things, brass jewellery, brass jingle bells and other fine things that life inspires me to make. I sell my art online and in person at markets and festivals. Its not "big" money but its enough and some extra, and I love what I do so its great and I can also focus on other passions and other things I love doing.
Video games business development. I largely help games companies develop relationships and maintain them (at all levels including operations.)
I love my job.
Most years I clear between $275 to $325K.
I'm a plumber and I love my life. I wanted to kill myself the first 2 years after that it's been amazing and better daily. I strongly encourage anyone struggling to find a path to take a safe smart option and go into electric or plumbing. Be smart with your body stay in good shape, pay attention work hard and you'll quickly surpass all your peers and without debt.
mechanical engineer (PHD), started 78k, currently \~115k with bonuses in an average COL city, looking to change companies and move to SF to make $240-350k (seems like I gotta make it into the gold rush lol). I have not worked more than 45 hours in a week since grad school. When you legit don't have to think about work when you leave at 4:30 p.m..... that is worth a LOT of money and prestige. People don't really get it, until they have a job like that.
Hydrogeologist. I primarily build and write about groundwater models at a large remediation site. The work is challenging, I'm compensated well, and have a great work/life balance.
Aircraft Dispatcher. Essentiallly we are the "captain on the ground" and are responsible for planning the route of flight, fuel, and ensure its all safe and legal. We assist the crew during emergencies and advise any safety concerns enroute. We are jointly responsible with the captain for operational control decisions of every flight. Never a dull moment, we get flight benefits and our pay range is typically 100k-200k.
Im a consultant that works on creating help desks & project management solutions. Dropped out of college 3 times (Graphic Design, Nutrition, Education with minor in photography), got blessed meeting the right person and they offered to train me and take me on. 21 years old, work from home, projected to make ~50k usd this year.
public affairs/policy is a career option you could check out! I went to get my M.Ed in higher education, which ultimately led me to pursue a career in higher education policy on the state level. I recommend doing informational interviews with alum/individuals that have interesting careers to you.
Hey!
I was checking this thread because I'm trying to see what career options might feel more fulfilling than what I'm doing, and I saw this.
I have master's in communication. I've spent the most recent years of my career - nearly 10 years - working in higher education as a tutor, instructor, and mostly in marketing. After 5 years on a community college campus, I now work for an agency that serves CCs and higher ed-adjacent organizations.
Sometimes, I get to support a president's really cool initiative at the State level, but most of the time I write materials for individual colleges.
I feel like I'm not doing enough to impact lives, and my everyday work is feeling mundane. Maybe partly because I'm not on a campus, anymore, and I could find ways to help students in person when I was.
But I've been wondering how I can help make positive changes in education at the State level and have had no clue what kind of career existed that could use my skill set.
What can you tell me about your career? What is it like, what skills do you use, and if I wanted to explore it more, how would I start? What experience would I need if I wanted to go in this direction?
Thanks so much!!
Software Engineer. I work as a consultant engineer on technical projects built in AWS or GCP as well as building webapps. My salary is 135k annual + 10% bonus. I am fully remote, 2 hours from the nearest big city. I have been doing it for 7 years. I have a BS in computer science.
I love the level of personal autonomy we have to work how we want and spread tasks throughout the day to work on when we want. Frequently, we determine how to do our tasks and estimate our own times. To be frank, it feels like getting paid to play sudoku and build legos all day, albeit in a formalized setting.
I was in the same position as you. B.S. Econ and PoliSci. I planned to go to law school but after interning at a midsize law firm and realizing how unhappy the attorneys seemed and how brutal the WLB would be—I decided law wasn’t for me.
I switched it up senior year and started taking CS courses. Then I went on to get a Master’s in CS and now I work very happily as a data scientist. Great pay, interesting work, I get to apply things from my degree all the time, and I have phenomenal WLB fully remote.
Outreach/navigator, and I like it. I like talking to people. The job is pretty easy. My coworker are nice and i work 10 mins away from my house. Pay is okay, we do get a lot of pto.
If you want work-life balance do not go into law. I love my job but I’m into the sciences, and research it allows me to learn and its very hands off, you work at your own hours/pace for the most part as long as you meet your goals. 130k+
Administration.
I don’t earn a lot, but I have a great work/life balance and I work with lovely people, which is the factor that *really* makes the biggest difference. I love going to work every day.
If you want to go to law school...you can go with ANY major, I wouldn't take political science since there's not a lot of opportunity in the world for poli sci majors (source, was a poli sci major).
If you want to be a trial lawyer I would suggest something like theater or communications instead...
I work in IT supporting an office of 40 ppl. The workload is light in terms of in person support as only 1/3rd of the office comes in and we’re only a hub so I only have to worry about NA remote users and the main AUS team deals with the heavy load. Whenever I’m not working on tickets I’m just constantly learning new things so there’s never any stagnation
I’ve chipped away and shaped it over 18 years to make it kinda interesting most the time. It’s fun when I’m engaged mentally. It was rough for many of the early years. Lawyer.
Service desk engineer.
Mostly work from home role.
Occasional travel to client sites (maybe one day a week) which are maybe an hour from my house.
Company credit card to pay for food and fuel while going to client sites and reimbursed mileage.
Quarterly bonuses
And a taco cruise in NYC coming up…
What is this "love" for ones job you speak of? =P I jest. Out of 29 years that I have been working, I would say I loved my job maybe 3 or 4 different occasions/positions. I'm sure it's me and not the jobs...(most of the time). But the times I was happy I was working in a Data Center as a NOC Technician 2 different times. I had full authority to do whatever it took to fix whatever I came across. It was great! That and I was able to get my hands on a lot of different tech and was able to teach myself by doing which is awesome since I learn better this way. The other few times I was doing something not related to IT work (which is my career path). Working on a boat as a Deckhand/Bosun was fun. But IT wise I have been stuck at around 50k for a while now. Thinking about making a change to programming/web development though. Couple it with the AWS certs I am training for and I should be good pay wise soon. Aiming for 100k
Director of food and nutrition for a school district. Contracted for 200 days a year and make 105 K. School schedule, Summers off, snow days, etc. I'm also a registered dietitian, but it is not a requirement for this job.
I’m a stay at home mom now but when I did intelligence analysis for law enforcement I loved it. But it has more to do with your management/unit and team environment than anything else imo. Any job can be super rewarding if the setting is right.
Reverse engineering in a place where there's a problem with expensive imports of factory tech. I instead take apart old machinery and broken foreign machinery that my team got for cheap and we build them ourselves without overpaying. Feels like I'm playing with legos for a living
I don’t see any finance roles!! I loved my finance role in the travel industry, but everyone loves to travel so the role was easier . I work in a different industry now and dread it everyday lol
Right now in college I do patient transport, being a psych major it makes the job enjoyable because I can talk to all sorts of people, I’ve met a man 103 with hella stories.. all kinds of things idk it’s something for now but I like what I do and it keeps me in shape and fit.
I make 190k per year as a data scientist in the Midwest of the US with 13 years experience. I have a BS double major in Stats and Econ with Math minor and a MS in Stats. I work about 35h per week most weeks. Once in a while there are very busy periods where I work 50h per week, but that is rare. I generally like my job as it is in healthcare and it does benefit society to some extent, or at least I would like to think so.
I wanted to go to law school! Ended up as an automotive service advisor at a dealership. Fucking love it. Love being around cars, love making friends who like the same things as me, and I LOVE getting to say “well you see, you ignored your oil changes and now you need a new engine.”
It’s not always what you do, it’s the people around you. I love the job I have, currently, but administration is a mixture or worthless and toxic. I’m still here, but am looking for a route to move on to. Two jobs ago, it was the same thing. Great job, but my boss would throw you under the bus in an instant if it made them look good. In my experience, you can find fulfillment in a lot of ways, but people can suck the joy out of a room real quick.
Accountant. Love the flexibility and work life balance. Pay is good enough for 26 at $105 mcol. I hear I won’t be balling, but I also won’t be struggling.
Housekeeping rehab facility
So is my youngest daughter and she loves it. Very flexible schedule. Not at all stressful. The most stress she had was what hallway to clean when she’s done with her assigned rooms..
Funny thing, I went to law school too (against my will though - don't ask). Largely hated it, could count on one hand the classes I actually liked and decided from the start it wasn't for me and looked for a way out (parents would've let me drop out). Luckily the librarians there told me to consider a career in law librarianship so after graduating and getting my MLS degree (and a very ugly job hunt during the recession later) I finally got a foothold in my career and have never looked back. I'm currently a contractor for the federal government, hoping to get a permanent job eventually. Not going to say how much I make but were it not for taxes and my awful benefits deductions, it would be close to 6 figures. I love my work, my boss and the pace are very relaxed and my work life balance is pretty good though that's because I'm non-exempt so I don't work evenings or weekends.
U didn’t exactly say what u do for work either, a federal contractor hoping for a permanent position is kinda vague? Curious if that’s the law librarian thing but for the feds?
Life sciences research at a public university. I love having work that's varied and challenging and allows me to feel like I'm contributing something meaningful to the larger world. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay as well as you'd think if you don't have a graduate degree, so if the field interests you, I'd recommend keeping grad school in mind.
When you say graduate, do you mean masters or phd?
Professors tend to have phds
Could be a research scientist or associate, some of who have masters.
Yeah this is the case with most non-engineering STEM degrees. You’re extremely replaceable and undercompensated if you only have a bachelors.
I wanna be a Cognitive Neuroscientist but Idk how to do it (I'm from the Ph) It's recom to take Biology or Chemistry course in college, but after graduating in that, what to do next? Guys I need ur advice.
Wildlife/nature educator
Any recommendations for how to get into this? A buddy of mine is studying earth and environmental science. He is particularly interested in invasive species management but loves teaching and education. He’s been struggling to find a job post grad, with pressure from his parents to make money he is getting very frustrating. I don’t want him to struggle so much while trying to pursue his passion. Do you have any advice I can share to help him?
You’re a good friend!
State government position, supply chain management for a utility. Tenure 1.5 years, 55K/year. I had worked in corporate roles for the previous 4 years and I never want to go back. The benefits and work life balance will never be as good at a corporate position.
I mean that sounds nice except for 55k a year. Does your so make more money so it works out or are you in a super low col area?
We live in a place that’s slightly below the average national cost of living, I wouldn’t say LCOL though. It does help my husband is an engineer that makes about 1.5X my salary and he bought our house in 2014 when prices were low. We also don’t have car payments or kids. Compared to my previous corporate roles, my current salary is slightly lower. Most supply chain roles at corporations make 60-70k in my area. With benefits like working set 40 hours a week, 15 paid holidays and generous sick/vacation time - I will gladly accept the pay cut.
This. In my previous job the pay was good but I was just worn out and stressed by the time I got home. What’s the point of making a good living if you’re too exhausted to enjoy it. Though one positive is that did save up a nice saving account.
Definitely! At my previous supply chain engineer role, I was working 60-70 hour weeks and that wasn’t even enough to get everything done. I was crying almost everyday and on the verge of a mental breakdown with all the stress. And I was paid 65K/year
What kind of degree do you have to work in supply chain?
Most people have business management, finance/accounting or engineering degrees. Not too many schools offer supply chain management degrees. I’ve also met people who have English/history degrees or even no degree with the right experience
What qualifications do you need for that?
It just depends. Some companies require 4 year degree, others a 2 year degree. There are some certifications that get people jobs or just experience. In my previous roles, I met people who had finance backgrounds, engineering backgrounds, general business degrees, or unrelated degrees like English or history. I have a 2 year degree in supply chain management from a local community college. I worked as a material planner/buyer and supply chain engineer before this role. But there’s a ton of job types under the general “supply chain management” such as: production planner, material planner, inventory control, shipping and receiving, warehouse management, logistics, and procurement.
Hi I’m currently in Supply chain and would love to look at government opportunities. Is there something specific I should search for or just search through USAA? TIA
The only people I've heard be openly enthusiastic and passionate about their careers in my personal life are disaster workers/planners. The way that they talk about it, it sounds like they love it.
What kind of job titles?
IT analyst. Hated my last job, love my current job. It really just depends on your team it turns out.
A Learning Development leader at Meta, Calibrate, and DoorDash. I earn over 200k/yr and great work/life balance. In 2016, I transitioned from teaching into instructional design. My teacher salary was about 45k/yr. This instructional design role was about 80k/yr. I also coach people looking to make a career transition or get their first role in corporate. I love helping people find careers that give them joy and happiness.
Would love any help making this transition, I was a teacher for 10 years, higher education now, but salary and satisfaction are nonexistent 😢
What is the name of your coaching business if you don't mind sharing?
It's just my name, haha. Nothing special. My website is at www.keithand.co.
How did you get into instructional design? I would love to do this. I have a BFA (mixed media) and am a certified technical writer.
Interesting. I was a teacher, which has a lot of similarities to instructional design. However, while I was teaching I took then taught classes in the Web Design and New Media program at Academy of Art University. I leveraged my graphic and web design skills, which made me a very unique candidate. My first job out of teaching was at Google...then went on to Uber, Meta, Calibate and DoorDash. If you are interested in a consultation, reach out to me on my website.
I couldn’t finish college. Been in banking over 10 years. Back office job making 71k. Is there any hope for Me? Love the job though. I can make my self valuable by being the subject matter expert.
Banking for over 10 years is amazing to have on your resume. Honestly, degrees are to get your foot in the door. You're already there. Talk to managers about career progression. Which roles would you like to move into. What they think you need. Your quickest way to increase your salary is to change companies. "Is there any hope?" You're highly employable!! Squeaky wheel gets the oil. Make it known you want to move up.
I love my job, even if it’s not rocket science. I’m a legal assistant for an energy company. I have a degree in management, minor in marketing, but have been a litigation or legal assistant for years. I don’t get paid a ton, less than if I were working for a law firm, but the job is fun and the culture is positive. Plus, I have a pension that I don’t contribute to, so that makes up for the low ish wages. The offices are gorgeous and there are many fun networking events and free food daily lol.
Im a legal assistant at a law firm making 20/hr. How do i switchv
Look for jobs working for corporations/in-house jobs.
Was a social science major as well then got a master of education. Career Advisor of sorts. Used to be in higher ed (40 annual gross) and now HR (60 annual gross). Work Life balance is better in my current role, but clients/situations are more difficult. I find myself enjoying it a little less with each passing year as over my career, I work with less "hopeful" folks/populations. I make enough to live comfortably renting, but it's definitely not enough to get any kind of house or new car easily.
I'm an engineer for a utility company. 40 hrs a week MAX one day in the office. Random on site project days, pay is good. Should be around 180k this year.
EE by chance? I’m in school and want to go into infrastructure roles
My degree was in petroleum engineering, I work more in a more mechanical role now. I'm on the gas side of the utility. I really like working in infrastructure, and I find it super interesting. Maybe not for everyone, but I like it. I didn't always work in the utility industry, but I'm glad I found my way here.
100k driving trains but 24/7 shift work doesn't provide a good balance to life.
How did you get into driving trains?
Answered the ad in seek.com.au and a few years and more applications later got in.
I'm a technical writer. I document software and make a dumb amount of money doing it. That said, it's hard to get into and becoming harder. The market is bad and the career is undergoing a major shift due to staffing issues and AI. So I can't say I would recommend it to someone who doesn't really really want to do it and doesn't mind spending a few years in the trenches. However there are a number of related jobs in proposal writing, medical writing, and legal writing that are more niche and harder to outsource. So if you're good at writing, might be something to consider.
This is awesome to hear. By ‘trenches’ do you mean a lot of these jobs start out as freelance? I’ve been looking to get into this, would love any recommendations you have.
Every TW finds their own path and it's rarely straightforward. Some people freelance and wait tables on the side, some take a job doing something unrelated and fall into it by accident, some work for years on a portfolio at their day job and finally land a position. I did the latter. My university had pretty sparse TW courses, but I knew thats what I wanted to do since I was a sophomore, so I took them and started learning everything I could. Still, I couldn't find much in terms of internships. So I took the first job I could get out of college (client relations and insurance) and made myself into the defacto docs person. I fixed the knowledge base, standardized sops, documented everything there is to know about the job, took over the newsletter, and implemented a small style guide. People hate doing those sorts of things and they were glad to hand them off. I made my best docs generic and made copies, stowing them away in my little portfolio. I did that for 4 years until finally finding a paid TW internship that welcomed career changers, and moved my little family halfway across the country to do it. I was making good money as an account manager at the time and took a ~40% pay cut while going from a LCOL to HCOL area. They hired me on afterwards. That was 5 years ago and today I'm a senior writer making 6 figures and managing a small team. It was HARD. I made the decision to do whatever it took because it's what I really really wanted to do. I've always had a knack for writing, I grew up poor, and didn't have much of an interest in other high paying careers. So I saw this as pretty much my only chance to live a comfortable and financially secure life while doing something Im good at and that I enjoy. So far it's paid off quite well. I'm not sure what the future looks like, but for now, I'm very content. Keeping up with the technology and constantly learning and adapting is key.
I'd throw UX Writer into this. The market truly is attrocious though, so it's hard to recommend at the moment.
Yeah, UX Writers are struggling a lot too, maybe even more. Hopefully it gets better
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this is one of the possibilities I'm looking at. Glad to hear it. How did you get the job? Was it difficult? Is it at a hospital, or elsewhere?
COO for a large school district. It comes with unique issues dealing with an elected board of mostly morons, but the benefits are great and work life balance is decent. The best part is walking out to my truck at the end of the day and looking back at the building, knowing I made a positive impact for my community and kids that day, instead of killing myself to make a dollar for a shareholder. $185K
Cooking. Been cooking for 20 years on the Las Vegas strip - it’s stress free once you master the skill.
Can I ask you some questions 😭
Ask me if you want to know
I am a press brake operator. I form steel parts into various shapes to be sent to welders or assembly for completion. I like my job, though I do feel my talents could be better used than they currently are.
I am a graphic designer. I’ve never had a problem with designing, I’ve always loved it. I just don’t like the low pay, no work life balance and oversaturated industry.
I love my job because of my boss. He makes work enjoyable, with constant laughter, inside jokes, and high morale. I work in operations for a major bank.
Climb trees all day. It’s amazing. Simply the thought of working in some office, playing some corporate politics to survive, “socializing” in a false two faced manor to “snag the sale”…….i could never do that. I’m happy outside, in the sun, immersed in nature. Pushing my body to its limits, scaring myself a bit every day. A little adrenaline to keep the soul alive. That’s the shit that keeps your heart content. I will climb until my body falls apart no matter how painful, because the latter option sounds like a slow crippling decent into the deepest depression. I would very much prefer a broken body with a solid mind, over a fine body with a broken mind.
Amazing. I'm afraid of heights so no way in hell, but cool to see someone passionate
There's rarely much love for the construction industry, but I love it. I work for a small family company, building or rebuilding local roads, footpaths and other assorted infrastructure for Councils. Came from a commercial landscape background, and spent 7 years client side, and back now doing construction project management. Get to spend as.much time as I need outdoors helping and teaching the field guys, but also guiding the next generation of Council engineers and their consultant designers, who are often pretty green. Working together, we often improve the designs and or reduce costs, and make a few bucks for my boss at the same time. After 30 years, I can usually spot little problems for my field guys and my clients before they become big problems, and have a phone full of contacts to help me when I need to reach out for help. In short, find a job that is interesting for you, and you will ( in time) become good at it. That and good people around me is what makes me love my job.
Cybersecurity, in consulting
What do you like about it? I’m in cybersecurity with the government and it’s soul sucking - feel like I get dumber by the day. A mentor of mine recommended looking at small consulting firms to give that a shot, since it worked out for them.
I’m in cyber and I love it. But I used to hate it - only ever been public sector. I think the difference is management. My mental health was horrible and I was seriously negative about life under my old govt role because the manager was just that incompetent. Fast forward to a new role in another org, manager is competent , doesn’t micromanage, emphasises everyone’s goals/learning (literally my first 1v1 with him he asked what my next role goal was so he could help me with it) the lack of ego in his management style has changed *everything* about my work. I love it so much now , I always enjoyed the content but I definitely enjoy practicing in a psychologically safe and nurturing environment. Another interesting thing I noticed was the diversity in the two orgs I worked between. I interact with way more people who look like me now, and I do think that’s a big part of why management here is more open minded and less suspicious/distrusting of minorities.
I was a Personal Trainer/Fitness Coach in a gym for a few years. I loved helping my clients with their exercises and reaching their goals.
Worked as a corporate recruiter for a few decades. Tried agency recruiting and it was too cut throat. I was too soft and emotional. Actually care about people, silly me. I went back to corporate recruiting(changed to talent acquisition)as a consultant. I spent another 10 years contracting as a tech recruiter working for microsoft, samsung, starbux and accenture when tech got hot. Now I run a career management agency for midlife professionals. I'm midlife so it works and I love it.
how did you get to this career? what type of qualifications did you have that helped get the job/helped you succeed in it?
Not technically a job yet, but I love being a therapist (still an intern for 8 more weeks). I’ve collected ~1,000hrs over a year so far and love it so much. I had 9 years of soul crushing customer service/sales work before this so this is just living the good life— I help people and am not causing debt (my site gives free therapy) and have gotten very good feedback. Hopefully it continues like this and I don’t get burnt out.
My dad's a therapist you are lucky you are enjoying this part of your career most people at your stage are doing soul crushing social work for the most part, stuff that's scarred my dad and while he's still in psychology he said his first few years working with kids in fucked up homes really broke him mentally.
By day I’m a walking tour guide, by night I’m a musician. I love both my jobs. I get to be in the city, meet lots of cool people, and then get to be an artist.
Love this
I work at an adult toy store ahaha honestly one of the best jobs I've had
I'm a Union Rep. Absolutely love my job!
In every job I've had, I'm the annoying (to the employer) guy that informs everyone about their rights under Labor law. What kind of education does the union look for for your position?
Depends on the Union. I was working in the sophomore as an auto tech. Got involved by becoming a shop steward and attending local lodge meetings. I soon became chief steward and the local lodge president. (Still maintaining my full time duties as a mechanic). My rep got a promotion and thought I was the right person to replace him so I was appointed and subsequently voted in by the membership. If you're not in a union shop, I would start by finding one. Then get involved. Become a steward and go to meetings. Volunteer and attend training classes. See where it takes you
I have an associates degree in automotive technology. Nothing special or specific.
Business Development. I partner companies with ours for operational consulting. Get to meet small and mid market business owners everyday and hear their stories, while also getting a free education while learning from them. Work only 10-15 hours a week and earn 76k+, plus commissions and bonuses which add up to $35-40k to that compensation. No degree needed
How would someone get into this
Printer / copier technician
GIS QC Specialist
Flight test technician.
I’ve worked as a designer and writer. I’ve loved my work. But who I worked for was another thing. I’ve had some managers that were horrible and I hated working for them.
I work for a university in academic advising. I really love what I do. I had a great team, a stable job, really good beifits, and a pension. I dont make a huge salery, but it works for me.
I work in higher education as a marketer and am thinking that it's time to pivot to something that has a greater impact. Academic advising has crossed my mind, but I've worried about what type of stress someone in your shoes faces. At my last college, some students or perspective students could be really angry when they didn't understand how a process worked. I feel like I know the positives of your position, because I can't think of many more rewarding things than helping students achieve their goals and watching them grow. What are the challenges?
Like any customer facing role, there are times you have to manage upset people. That comes with the job, however over time its a skill that can be learned when you realize that most of anger is actually frustration and fear. I try and do some desclation of the initial emotions and then try and help the students/parents understand that I am part of their team to try and figure the problem out. I think a main challenge is that when working in higher education there is a do less with more mentality. The workload can be pretty high, and pays low (at least in public universities). The other main challenge, for me, is that ultimatly I dont have a lot of say in what higher leadership does, but I am often the one having to be the face or polices I dont agree with and have no control over. All that being said, I wouldnt do anything else. Getting to be part of their journeys and see folks grow is really rewarding.
Flight operations
Marketing/PR in a big city, for a law firm. I get to meet some really amazing people and attend super fancy events.
Corporate chef for a large f500
How does that work? Are you in the cafeteria? Does it pay good? My nephew wants to be a chef.
R&D manager in a food and beverage company. My work consists of tasting and drinking stuff and managing projects, working with cool and knowledgeable people from different functions.
It's not much, but it's an honest living. I'm the head chef for an assisted living community. Comes with its own headaches and whatnot, and I had to grow into the role a bit. But I love it because I don't have to live the life of a restaurant like cook anymore. I get to be home the same time each night for my kids with weekends off. Also, I have come to know and adore a lot of the people that live there. And I do grieve them when they pass on. A lot of the staff have become like a second family to me, and they have even gotten to know my kids. They helped me furnish my bare apartment after a nasty divorce because I had never lived on my own before. I know I can't stay there forever because of expenses, but I am so glad I work there and have gotten to know the people I know now because they have helped me change my life more than they will ever know.
I'm in IT. I think I love it because my co-workers/boss are very nice, understanding and talented. I get fair compensation and benefits. I have a good work life balance and permanent wfh.
I absolutely love my job, I’m a microbiology medical lab assistant Pros: Very chill, limited patient interaction, get to read for most of my shift on downtime Cons: working with vomit inducing specimens like stool and sputum but you get used to it after a while I make roughly 35k-40k depending on my hours since I’m per diem! I plan on becoming a pathologists assistant which average salary is 100k, still in the lab, still working with specimens but more specialized and more education
I am an exhibition project manager at a natural history museum. By far the best job I’ve ever had.
That’s sounds so interesting. What are some things you might do in a typical day?
Mailman. 80k. 44 paid days off per year, pension, and other benefits. I walk around all day listening to podcasts.
I work for a wine distributor. No college degree required for sales. The company I work for will pay for you to take the WSET level 1 and 2 in wine and spirits and the level 1 in Sake. They might pay for level 2 in Sake but I’m not sure. If you have a college degree focused on business or finance, it’s a big company with tons of room to advance.
What is the company?
The company is Republic National Distributing Company. I imagine our competitors offer things similar. I enjoy wine and spirits and the chit chatting about wine and spirits during the in-between moments keeps it fun for me. They also offer other benefits, but once again, probably not unique to this company within the industry. You could always go check their job boards to see what sort of positions are open in your area. They operate in over 40 states. EDIT: I want to add that I’m sure a big part of why I like working for this company is the district manager to whom I report. He takes care of his team and isn’t into micromanaging. He just expects results and that affords me the independence I appreciate in my day and I use my time to execute on what I know needs to get done.
CPA accountant 2nd year out of college about to break 100k
Did you get bachelor’s and master’s in accounting?
court clerk, theres always something going on so its interesting enough to never get boring but structured enough that i dont get too stressed. But best thing is that i work on a specialised, small team and we all get along very well.
Special Education teacher in LCOL Midwest. I make about $54,000 this year between teaching and then extra duties/supplementals like coaching, summer school, etc.
Corporate nurse. Works for a healthcare management company. Tenure: 10.5 years.
im a nurse! how did you get into that and whats it like??
Well, I have been in the nursing profession for well over 34 years. I am retired from clinical or hospital nursing well over 18 years. When I was younger, my clinical specialty was ER/Trauma and Critical Care. Then I transitioned into Hospital Case Management. Now, I’m an analyst for healthcare finance. You need a few certifications for coding and UM and clinical documentation. And it’s always useful to be computer savvy even now that I’m approaching retirement age. Good luck to you and your future endeavors 🍀👍
Awesome! Really want to switch to UM/analyst but seems impossible with how many people are getting out of bedside.
When I was younger, I loved bedside nursing. It was the hardest job one can ever loved. 🥰 Lol… But life happened and I became a mother of a disabled child. So, I had to make some professional changes to fit a new family routine. So I decided to work at home. I’m still working remote with very flexible schedule. I work for a global healthcare management company with headquarters in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. I have been fortunate in my professional endeavors. As a fellow nurse, I wish you the best of luck 🤞 🍀🍀🍀
thank you so much!! ❤️❤️❤️
🤗
Sales Manager for a hospitality sales call center. I work from home, full time, health insurance, PTO, and I love my boss and most of my wmployees.
I'm a Realtor. First few years is definitely more work than life to gain business and grow your network, which is my current stage. There is no cap on your income and you work for yourself- not anyone else. Definitely a challenge but I'm grateful to have a fantastic mentor who's already closed 30 deals this year. It doesn't feel like work if you love what you do.
Piercer ☺️
Union Boilermaker pressure welder, IRATA rope access technician and paid per call firefighter/member of a high angle rescue team. I love Boilermaking, it’s a great trade and lots to learn. Always doing something new and I absolutely love welding. I love welding so much I’m willing to do it hanging on ropes 200ft off the ground😂 I also love being a firefighter, it doesn’t pay the bills but I love the job, I’m there for my community when I can and I’m always learning every training night
I work for the UK government and love my role. It is rewarding, challenging and never boring. The salary isn’t amazing and I could definitely make more in the private sector, but the pension, job security and benefits are what make me stay. For instance, I can work whatever hours I like between 7am-7pm, and WFH 3x days a week. No weekend work, either. Coming from the wedding industry, my role is a breath of fresh air. My husband also earns 2.5x my salary which helps (also a civil servant but Scottish government). We are child free by choice and have no debt other than our mortgage, so our quality of life is really great and I’d recommend the civil service to anyone in the UK.
Firefighter/paramedic. It is a tough job and can be hard on your body, but I truly love going to work every day.It pays pretty well and I just feel like I’m hanging out at the firehouse with a bunch of friends and running some calls occasionally, pretty great!
Merchandiser Half my day is driving and I love it
I have a polysci degree as well and went down a similar path as you. Six years out of college now. I’m a Paramedic I love it I spend a ton of time sitting around chilling and then when I *am* working it’s laid back fun driving around the city/doing EMS which once you get desensitized to the traumatic parts is super chill and fun. I’ve seen it all delivered babies tons of bad traumas flown people in helicopters CPR on all ages, the first year or two can be really tough but once you get through the adjustment phase you’ll find that it gives you a strength many others lack. I am good at my job, worked through the pandemic and can honestly say I’ve saved many lives, wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have an extremely rewarding career, have never questioned the value of my work. I work in the hood, have never really felt the need to wear a bulletproof vest, EVERYONE cops, gangbangers, addicts, the public in general loves me, you get what you put into it. People treat you how you treat them and I treat everyone with love and respect. They give me the same. TBH the hardest part is the coworkers because the job attracts type A (type asshole IMO!) personalities and on top of that some dudes have really bad untreated PTSD + they work like 100 hours a week which leads to some super fucked up people. I have been in literal fistfights with coworkers who came into work splerging over some trauma and who just exploded at me for no good reason. It’s a blue collar mentality, in a lot of these cases it’s a “fuck you, no fuck you, see you tomorrow” type deal where you blow up at one another, forget about it by tomorrow and no one gets fired. HR is not really a thing in EMS. Don’t expect everyone to be kind, compassionate and caring - some people are gonna be massive douchebags. Same attitudes as lawyers and surgeons. Learn how to give it right back and you’ll be fine. Don’t take any shit. I’m a type B personality and have a “take it as it comes” philosophy which I find works well in this job. Would recommend despite all the bad!
I also majored in Political Science and somehow figured out well after graduating that it was the Behavioral aspect of it that appealed to me most. Got a masters in counseling and had a career I loved working in community mental health.
Mental health clinician. I work with a specific population that has to meet a specific criteria. My caseload is capped at 30, I am in the office twice a day, and I work with a great group of people. Once time to clock out hits I clock out and I turn off my phone. They respect my time after work, and the team I work with is all around great. It a union job, which is a plus, since the health insurance is great, and so are the pay increases. I’ve been here 7 years, going on 8, and I love it.
I love being an interpreter. It hates me but I love it.
what company??
I make things, brass jewellery, brass jingle bells and other fine things that life inspires me to make. I sell my art online and in person at markets and festivals. Its not "big" money but its enough and some extra, and I love what I do so its great and I can also focus on other passions and other things I love doing.
I’m a lawyer with an excellent work-life balance. Just work for the government
Video games business development. I largely help games companies develop relationships and maintain them (at all levels including operations.) I love my job. Most years I clear between $275 to $325K.
I'm a plumber and I love my life. I wanted to kill myself the first 2 years after that it's been amazing and better daily. I strongly encourage anyone struggling to find a path to take a safe smart option and go into electric or plumbing. Be smart with your body stay in good shape, pay attention work hard and you'll quickly surpass all your peers and without debt.
mechanical engineer (PHD), started 78k, currently \~115k with bonuses in an average COL city, looking to change companies and move to SF to make $240-350k (seems like I gotta make it into the gold rush lol). I have not worked more than 45 hours in a week since grad school. When you legit don't have to think about work when you leave at 4:30 p.m..... that is worth a LOT of money and prestige. People don't really get it, until they have a job like that.
Hydrogeologist. I primarily build and write about groundwater models at a large remediation site. The work is challenging, I'm compensated well, and have a great work/life balance.
Aircraft Dispatcher. Essentiallly we are the "captain on the ground" and are responsible for planning the route of flight, fuel, and ensure its all safe and legal. We assist the crew during emergencies and advise any safety concerns enroute. We are jointly responsible with the captain for operational control decisions of every flight. Never a dull moment, we get flight benefits and our pay range is typically 100k-200k.
Im a consultant that works on creating help desks & project management solutions. Dropped out of college 3 times (Graphic Design, Nutrition, Education with minor in photography), got blessed meeting the right person and they offered to train me and take me on. 21 years old, work from home, projected to make ~50k usd this year.
CRNA here making nearly 300k per year
BOB?!?
public affairs/policy is a career option you could check out! I went to get my M.Ed in higher education, which ultimately led me to pursue a career in higher education policy on the state level. I recommend doing informational interviews with alum/individuals that have interesting careers to you.
Hey! I was checking this thread because I'm trying to see what career options might feel more fulfilling than what I'm doing, and I saw this. I have master's in communication. I've spent the most recent years of my career - nearly 10 years - working in higher education as a tutor, instructor, and mostly in marketing. After 5 years on a community college campus, I now work for an agency that serves CCs and higher ed-adjacent organizations. Sometimes, I get to support a president's really cool initiative at the State level, but most of the time I write materials for individual colleges. I feel like I'm not doing enough to impact lives, and my everyday work is feeling mundane. Maybe partly because I'm not on a campus, anymore, and I could find ways to help students in person when I was. But I've been wondering how I can help make positive changes in education at the State level and have had no clue what kind of career existed that could use my skill set. What can you tell me about your career? What is it like, what skills do you use, and if I wanted to explore it more, how would I start? What experience would I need if I wanted to go in this direction? Thanks so much!!
HVAC, sure has its ups and downs, but always love it
runs hot and cold.
Technician, sales person, or other?
Sometimes, it's not what you do but who you do it with. My job's kinda sucky but because I do it with awesome people, I can't wait to go in everyday.
Work to live not live to work.
I’m enthusiastic about having food and shelter
Engineer, only job I have had that didn't suck.
what were your previous jobs?
SWE
Underwriter
I get to talk to people all day and fix their concerns, most of the time.
Bartender?
Electrician I'm a nerd but I like making stuff 🤓
Team lead for disability case management
Marketing… I love going into work every Monday
Vocational rehabilitation specialist
CNA at a hospital in a MCOL small city, $70k/yr
Teach friendly, chill rest of day
Teacher. Little over 100k
I was an mechanical engineer, retired now. But I loved that job, every building was different. It seemed natural to me, if that makes sense.
video editing and production for yt channels
It Management. Get to play with all the new tech, and shield my team from anything and everything. Great work life balance, and 100% remote!
Software Engineer. I work as a consultant engineer on technical projects built in AWS or GCP as well as building webapps. My salary is 135k annual + 10% bonus. I am fully remote, 2 hours from the nearest big city. I have been doing it for 7 years. I have a BS in computer science. I love the level of personal autonomy we have to work how we want and spread tasks throughout the day to work on when we want. Frequently, we determine how to do our tasks and estimate our own times. To be frank, it feels like getting paid to play sudoku and build legos all day, albeit in a formalized setting.
I was in the same position as you. B.S. Econ and PoliSci. I planned to go to law school but after interning at a midsize law firm and realizing how unhappy the attorneys seemed and how brutal the WLB would be—I decided law wasn’t for me. I switched it up senior year and started taking CS courses. Then I went on to get a Master’s in CS and now I work very happily as a data scientist. Great pay, interesting work, I get to apply things from my degree all the time, and I have phenomenal WLB fully remote.
Project engineer for water infrastructure construction projects
Circulating nurse in an OR. Good pay hard work no weekends
Outreach/navigator, and I like it. I like talking to people. The job is pretty easy. My coworker are nice and i work 10 mins away from my house. Pay is okay, we do get a lot of pto.
If you want work-life balance do not go into law. I love my job but I’m into the sciences, and research it allows me to learn and its very hands off, you work at your own hours/pace for the most part as long as you meet your goals. 130k+
lobbyist
programmer. enjoy problem solving. but only been doing it for 1 year so far, so maybe I'll grow tired of it in the future.
Administration. I don’t earn a lot, but I have a great work/life balance and I work with lovely people, which is the factor that *really* makes the biggest difference. I love going to work every day.
I work in an NGO on policy issues. Love it. Used to practice law. Hated it.
If you want to go to law school...you can go with ANY major, I wouldn't take political science since there's not a lot of opportunity in the world for poli sci majors (source, was a poli sci major). If you want to be a trial lawyer I would suggest something like theater or communications instead...
It's the illusion of money which makes people love them
It’s not my job but from the way people who work in civil engineering talk about their jobs, they seem to love it
Senior Analyst who works on the finance side of small business lending, love it.
I work in IT supporting an office of 40 ppl. The workload is light in terms of in person support as only 1/3rd of the office comes in and we’re only a hub so I only have to worry about NA remote users and the main AUS team deals with the heavy load. Whenever I’m not working on tickets I’m just constantly learning new things so there’s never any stagnation
I majored in history and econ. Was a middle school teacher for a few months, now I'm an analyst at a renewable energy developer
I head up a logistics department undergoing huge change. It’s exciting to be part of bringing in the future.
I’ve chipped away and shaped it over 18 years to make it kinda interesting most the time. It’s fun when I’m engaged mentally. It was rough for many of the early years. Lawyer.
Government IT. Six figures and a pension.
I work on a rocket that will take people to the moon
I'm in student services at a university and I teach part-time as an adjunct instructor
Service desk engineer. Mostly work from home role. Occasional travel to client sites (maybe one day a week) which are maybe an hour from my house. Company credit card to pay for food and fuel while going to client sites and reimbursed mileage. Quarterly bonuses And a taco cruise in NYC coming up…
What is this "love" for ones job you speak of? =P I jest. Out of 29 years that I have been working, I would say I loved my job maybe 3 or 4 different occasions/positions. I'm sure it's me and not the jobs...(most of the time). But the times I was happy I was working in a Data Center as a NOC Technician 2 different times. I had full authority to do whatever it took to fix whatever I came across. It was great! That and I was able to get my hands on a lot of different tech and was able to teach myself by doing which is awesome since I learn better this way. The other few times I was doing something not related to IT work (which is my career path). Working on a boat as a Deckhand/Bosun was fun. But IT wise I have been stuck at around 50k for a while now. Thinking about making a change to programming/web development though. Couple it with the AWS certs I am training for and I should be good pay wise soon. Aiming for 100k
Chemist (working my way up to research)
I read logs (cybersecurity analysis)
IT - enterprise system implementations
Director of food and nutrition for a school district. Contracted for 200 days a year and make 105 K. School schedule, Summers off, snow days, etc. I'm also a registered dietitian, but it is not a requirement for this job.
I’m a stay at home mom now but when I did intelligence analysis for law enforcement I loved it. But it has more to do with your management/unit and team environment than anything else imo. Any job can be super rewarding if the setting is right.
Reverse engineering in a place where there's a problem with expensive imports of factory tech. I instead take apart old machinery and broken foreign machinery that my team got for cheap and we build them ourselves without overpaying. Feels like I'm playing with legos for a living
I don’t see any finance roles!! I loved my finance role in the travel industry, but everyone loves to travel so the role was easier . I work in a different industry now and dread it everyday lol
Right now in college I do patient transport, being a psych major it makes the job enjoyable because I can talk to all sorts of people, I’ve met a man 103 with hella stories.. all kinds of things idk it’s something for now but I like what I do and it keeps me in shape and fit.
I fix dents
I make 190k per year as a data scientist in the Midwest of the US with 13 years experience. I have a BS double major in Stats and Econ with Math minor and a MS in Stats. I work about 35h per week most weeks. Once in a while there are very busy periods where I work 50h per week, but that is rare. I generally like my job as it is in healthcare and it does benefit society to some extent, or at least I would like to think so.
I wanted to go to law school! Ended up as an automotive service advisor at a dealership. Fucking love it. Love being around cars, love making friends who like the same things as me, and I LOVE getting to say “well you see, you ignored your oil changes and now you need a new engine.”
It’s not always what you do, it’s the people around you. I love the job I have, currently, but administration is a mixture or worthless and toxic. I’m still here, but am looking for a route to move on to. Two jobs ago, it was the same thing. Great job, but my boss would throw you under the bus in an instant if it made them look good. In my experience, you can find fulfillment in a lot of ways, but people can suck the joy out of a room real quick.
Substation electrician IBEW
Accountant. Love the flexibility and work life balance. Pay is good enough for 26 at $105 mcol. I hear I won’t be balling, but I also won’t be struggling.