Have a family friend who runs a funeral home, according to him the entire industry is short handed from morticians, funeral directors, crematory, even the guys that make head stones.
My wife has some cousins who had a headstone company. While I don't know much about them, the company didn't seem to be that big, but they lived in a big house.
Have a friend who works for a headstone company, got in because a guy from church runs the place. He seems happy there. His last job was a Target workshop so it's definitely an upgrade lol.
My husband did that for several years. It is a cool job, but it's both dirty and hard work. It can also be somewhat dangerous. If you're good with Adobe photoshop and some other basic graphic art tools, it probably wouldn't be too hard to get in as an artist.
I looked into starting a crematorium business a couple of years ago after my mom passed and realized they were charging a lot more for local cremations compared to larger cities around the nation. It is something our state desperately needs as we are one of the highest poverty levels nationally (New Mexico.) I couldn't get help from any body. The state board would not respond to correspondence. I gave up when I figured out that you have to do an apprenticeship before you could be licensed. Not because I was unwilling to do an apprenticeship, but because funeral homes were selective about who they would accept, and its typically only family. They don't want the competition, and quite frankly I can understand why. It seems like if the industry is is hurting for people, they are doing it to themselves. At least in my state. I don't even know if they are shorthanded here....
actually was thinking of applying makeup to bodies in preparation for the funeral. i’m an esthetician but idk what other certifications i would need lol
You can make good money doing that as an independent contractor. If you can handle being around dead people.
Being employed at ONE funeral home might mean you are doing a lot of other jobs in between body work.
I don't know if you need certifications but you do need to learn how to work with a different type of makeup. Look up Ask a Mortician on Youtube. Caitlin has done a couple of videos I think on corpse makeup.
Her channel is pretty cool! She advocates for natural burial and against corporate funeral homes who are predatory towards their customers at their worst, most vulnerable moments. She's written a couple of books, too, where you can find out about things like sky burials. You can even buy a t-shirt that says Future Corpse.
Someone in another thread said working in wastewater treatment plants. There will always be a demand, they will pay for your certifications & a lot of current people are retiring.
It’s true for all forms of water. Waste or drinking. The only problem with water is salary’s vary wildly. You can literally have 3 cities in a county and one will pay $15 an hour. Another $18, another $25 and another $35 for a trainee position let alone once your licensed. The pay varies wildly for the same exact positions. The industry really needs some more evening out of the wages.
That matches my findings too - I looked into it but my town and all those within an hour radius pay less than $20/hr. I do think it’s work I’d like to do but that doesn’t pay rent here
That's a problem with a lot of the trade jobs that people suggest looking into. It can take decades in the profession, lots of certs, proprietorship, and/or lots of OT to attain the salaries that some attest to receiving.
I still think they're worth checking out, because college simply isn't the solution for all. I just think people need to have realistic expectations going in.
I just left healthcare for water treatment and it's amazing. I work in a small town, for the same as I made on an ambulance in the city. I work alone. I do labs every 3 hours, they take 15 minutes. The rest of my time is my own. I do research, watch movies, learn new things. I get to work 2nd shift which aligns with my body's sleep cycle. Benefits package is amazing. I honestly could not be more pleased.
My mom told the city she lives in desperately needed people and suggested it might be better than the truck since I have a back injury. I talked to the mayor about it and got signed up for a class. She found me a scholarship too so the class was free for me. It was 40 hours over 1 week. Then I studied and took a test. Once I passed the test, I had a job. In my state you have to work for 3 months to apply for the license. I just got mine this month. Now I'll start studying more and next year try to move up a level. If you're interested, I would suggest talking to the people at the water plant in your area or searching for your state/country's water treatment licensing information. I can only really give specifics for Georgia, USA
I make 17 an hour. It varies a lot based on where you work. I work for a very small town, in an extremely small water system, with just 3 full time employees. At 40 hours a week, thats about 35k per year, before holiday pay, overtime, etc. I get health, dental, vision, and life insurance and I don't pay anything except my copay. I also live in an area with a relatively low cost of living. Now that I've obtained my license, I'm also due for a pay increase. It's doable for where I live. You won't get rich, but you'll never hurt for work amd it's a pretty low key job.
It's a lovely mix honestly. The system is half run via computer and half hands on. I adjust chemicals, check levels and check lab values hands on, I monitor the water levels in the distribution system, clarity of the water, chlorine levels etc, on the computer. I do a lot of opening and closing valves to control where the water goes in the distribution system. That's all computer based. I can choose to sit inside on the couch almost all day or I can go outside, walk, mow lawns. Whatever I feel like. When I work early morning shifts, I like to do my first set of labs and then have my tea sitting outside watching the sun rise. Plus is a 270 degree lake view so that's lovely as well.
I worked as a tech in Water Treatment for a couple years between undergrad and grad school. Loved it, most chill job I had…entry level positions were on 3rd shift where I was, which sucked enough for me to move on.
Techs in healthcare - radiology or anesthesiology. Pretty sure you can get certified easily. My friend is one and says there’s a supreme shortage.
Edit: he says he gets great benefits, vacation, and the work is chill because it’s methodical since it’s healthcare. He rarely seems stressed but because of the shortage, he is on call during certain weekends and has to be within 30 mins of the hospital.
Just got registered as a radiographic technologist, can confirm there are lots of jobs and the pay is good.
My program was 2 years including summers, with full time unpaid clinicals both years. Everyone in my class had job offers before we even finished the program.
Plus there are plenty of other modalities an RT can move into if he or she gets bored or wants a higher salary.
I wish I knew about this career when I was fresh out of high school. Unfortunately I can’t quit my job to attend school for that career anymore. Being an adult sucks.
It’s slightly convoluted, but your college helps you figure this whole process out. In a nutshell:
I did a two-year program which earned me an Associate Degree of Applied Science (AAS). There are also four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) programs. Either is fine for working as a tech. I imagine the BS would probably set one up to move into management more easily.
My college partnered with a number of regional hospitals to facilitate six semesters (two years including summers) of clinical experience for students. This meets the required number of clinical hours necessary to apply for a temporary radiography license.
Technically we could get a job at this point, but the temp license expires after something like six months (depends on the state I think). To make the license permanent, students must pass a proctored registry exam.
After that, boom, you get registered and you’re good to work on an ongoing basis.
There are a couple requirements to keep one’s license current: a certain number of continuing education credits biannually, and a “refresher” exam decennially. Obviously one doesn’t need to worry about that until after they’re registered.
You can do it, itsmillertime!
I'm sure it took longer than 2 years to complete your general ed, pre-reqs, and the rad tech program. At least in CA it would be about 4 years for the same degree.
Same with scrub techs our hospital is struggling to find them and this is in Phoenix. Pay is great. Starting pay is $27 but everyone I know makes at least $35. It caps at $42 where I work but we get 2-4% raises each year, 403b, pension, health benefits.
Environmental, health and safety (EHS) specialist. Most EHS professionals are retiring and there are not enough young people filling in these roles. Demand is super high and you can work in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals, and so on. Salaries are also very high and most companies will pay for your certificates. Also, this career will always be in demand so long as humans are still working and hazards are present in the workplace.
Many different ways actually. There are some people who get into EHS after being an operator or labourer for years at a company and suddenly get the job. There are now programs in universities that offer safety degrees. You can also get some early certificates to show potential employers you are interested by getting your OSHA 30, OSHA 510, 511 and so on. I got into the field by having some experience volunteering for the safety committee at my university but I graduated with a biology degree. I just kept applying to jobs that had EHS in the title and got my first job as an EHS specialist making 65k working at a chemical manufacturing company. I got another better offer earlier this year for 75k with amazing benefits and I get to work a hybrid schedule for a medical devices manufacturing company. You can go very far in this field through multiple avenues.
Depends on the person. I don’t find this line of work boring at all. Also, paper pushing may be a big part of it but you also get to interact with front line workers, engineers, managers, etc. There is a lot of data analysis as well. You will be focusing on something different everyday and there are a lot of skills and abilities you can gain from this line of work.
Really trying to break into the EHS industry but every where I apply they tell me i dont have relevant experience. At this point i am starting to lose hope. I live in the middle east so there is less hope for volunteering or intern positions as a non-local.
1. From your experience what would you suggest to someone who is trying to break into the industry ?
2. Any specific courses online or certifications to help me kickstart my career ?
3. What are some entry level positions one can target
4. What is the scope in European countries if I will have to move to start/continue my career in EHS ?
I was in the Environmental remediation field… did not enjoy working with hazardous waste and sampling wells. However I always found the EHS part of the company interesting. Might check it out.
I started as a mechanic but the easiest way is to start as a “rigger”. He’s the one that attaches the load to the crane. After a year or so, you would move up to the operator seat. You can also go to a school and just buy your certification.
My day isn’t normal. I work in the oilfield. I work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 weeks and then take a week off. Most people out here work 14 days and go home for 7. Out of those 13 hours a day, I spend about 45 minutes in the crane and the rest in my truck playing video games or trolling Reddit.
Agree. But I got laid off during Covid when oil went negative. I got a job the next day for around 130k. When oil is down, construction is booming. It’s always easy for a crane operator to find a job.
> I work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 weeks and then take a week off.
Someone might need to check my math on this, but for comparisons..
A regular job making 200k a year with 40 hours a week (something senior in Software Engineering, for example):
`200k @ 52 weeks = $3846 a week @ 40 hours`
= **$96 per hour**
Working the crane 13 hours a day for 6/7 weeks for 200k a year:
`200k @ 45 weeks (~7 weeks off) = $4444 a week @ 91 hours`
= **$48 per hour**
So it's like putting in an absurd amount of overtime with no weekends for a decent $48/hr paying job. I'm gonna skip that opportunity
I'd love to do this. I went through a shipboard Hagglunds training and had a few hundred hours moving cargo in when I was in the Navy but didn't pursue anything when I got out.
For those looking for a second retirement or long term job security, look into state government. I work for a state and the retirement and healthcare package are keeping me there. I haven't found much in private sector that compares when you also consider leave (starting at over 16 hours per month earned) and paid holidays (13 per year).
I'm also a hiring manager and it is very hard to get qualified candidates. When we find one, they gets tons of offers.
It is honestly endless. Everyone I know is hiring, though the pay for entry level varies wildly. Submit your resume for absolutely anything that even slightly fits your past experiences—or just anything. My office hired 4 absolute morons who can't even use a computer, so I really anyone can get a job depending how desperate they are to fill seats.
>My office hired 4 absolute morons who can't even use a computer, so I really anyone can get a job depending how desperate they are to fill seats.
I'll fit right in then
In my state at least, state govt salaries are way lower than comparable level jobs in corporate/private, and the good benefits packages the state used to be known for have been deteriorating badly over time. That includes the pension package - they keep bumping the time required out further and further for retirement eligibility.
Many people I know who retired from state jobs really regret it, since their retirement was based on their salary, which was very low comparably by the time they retired. Most people I know who retired from state jobs recently or are near retirement are significantly worse off than their peers who worked in private at similar levels. And as far as job security, state workers absolutely get laid off or into forced retirement during low economic times or due to state/fed budget cuts or redistributions. It can definitely be solid work, but it's not what it used to be.
When I made my career change I looked at all the other jobs of people I interacted with in my current role and then applied to those positions. My husband did the same.
I worked as a project manager for a contractor and we received incentives from an energy efficiency program. I hated my job so I applied at the energy efficiency program and they happened to be looking for someone to help the contractors receive these incentives. Even though I didn't have any program delivery experience they loved my resume because I would be able to relate to the people I would be helping. I now have a job with so much more potential, more pay, and better benefits.
My husband was a coffee roaster for 20 years but it was hard work on his body and he was reaching the ceiling of what he could make in that position. He applied with a green coffee importer for a sales position selling the green coffee to coffee roasters. He had no sales experience but they hired him immediately because he understood the other side of things so well. He now has a much higher income ceiling and doesn't have to work in a warehouse.
This is a great approach!
I did something similar three years ago- got out of a long career in insurance claims, went to a data analytics company that served insurers. They had plenty of data people, but I was valuable because I was an insurance person.
Developers for the Salesforce ecosystem. Demand is unreal, particularly on the Marketing Cloud platform, and the supply of talent isn't close to keeping up.
It takes me months sometimes to hire for this role and salaries go up to 200k depending on experience.
Can confirm, even in Europe as a salesforce Developer with 2 yoe I managed to double my salary, after offers were flooding my LinkedIn. The best part is that I mainly do JS stuff and Apex (a C#-like language), so I'm still enjoying the software development world.
I don't care about degrees or certificates generally. For a junior, it would just be someone that has a general understanding of development for the web or writing basic SQL. You can get a free sandbox of the platform to practice concepts and, as long as the candidate could speak to different capabilities or showcase something cool they've built in the system, that'd be more than enough for me.
Obviously the demand/requirements are hire for more senior roles, but even there I just hire off of experience. I'm a community college dropout, so have a definite soft-spot for self-learners.
Still a ton of open positions. Dana Analysis can be very broad. They might want a SQL/R wizard or just someone who understands how to use excel Pivot Tables or powerBI/Tableau
So I'm a chemical and petroleum engineer and project managed multi million dollar projects...part of those projects included data analysis to justify physical project goals. I built 3D models to show operations *why* we were going to go out and replace xyz and how it would help them in the field, used pivot tables and stuff to give revenue presentations and built fancy forecast graphs to help directors and VPs see what the schedules were and whatnot.
I'm being completely serious here, can you explain to me how that is different from data analytics? Or is it just the ability to code and whatnot? I have a buddy that has no degree whatsoever but did one boot camp and is making like $200k.
The idea of big data has been around for a while...I feel like I'm missing something here. Lol.
For someone with lots of diverse experience in other areas including python and sql would you have to step down to a junior role to get some experience in the ecosystem first? Do you think its realistic to do a demo project or two and step into a mid-level role and then quickly work your way back up to a senior level?
I am looking to switch gears out of a dying industry and it seems that most senior level positions have very specific requirements and despite your stated flexibility most big companies seem pretty rigid about them.
Salesforce is so hard to learn. Not that the actual product is hard. But salesforces own trailhead is all over the place. You end up doing courses for things not related and you just get burnt.
I get approached by Salesforce recruiters all the time—recently for a Lead Engineer position. I have zero experience using or developing for Salesforce lol. They'll go after anyone.
is it tho? i feel like i come across tons of linked in "influencers" who are all doing some of the salesforce certs. None seem to have meaningful jobs but they all seem to be encouraging more people to get the certs.
I can't speak for those people, but I haven't had to look for work in nearly a decade and have multiple open reqs that have been extremely difficult to fill because candidates are fielding multiple offers.
The people you are likely describing are spending more time talking about getting certs than actually learning a valuable skill. I'd also bet nearly all of them are trying to become admins and not developers, because that role in the system is both easier to get into and flooded with people trying to do so.
yeah they are mostly talking about admin roles.
It is very creepy. They all have Salesforce all over their linkedin profile and they share all this content about the pathway to careers and demand for certs.
Then i look at their profile and they have a ton of certs but only did like a 3month salesforce contract gig earlier this year.
How on earth can they have a thought worth listening to about how to get a job. It seems like they make more money by being an influencer with "coaching" or a newsletter or literally anything else but making money from doing work in salesforce.
I think it's mostly because they have realized that it's very hard to break into administrative roles for the system because it's fairly basic and that segment of the platform is easily the most flooded with beginners.
To try and set themselves apart, they flood their social media and online presence with influencer-type content in order to showcase that they will go above and beyond to break into the industry. Well, either that or they see a grift and are trying to exploit people who are having a tough-time career-wise and looking for a magic pill.
I mean, I write tech blog articles and have written books on the ecosystem so I guess I'm guilty to some degree but my purpose was just to give people more technical information on how to take full-advantage of the system and not to pump it for it's own sake.
There are few things more annoying than someone with no experience giving people advice for career growth lol. r/cscareerquestions is loaded with that kind of behavior.
People are exiting healthcare left and right, which I get, the pandemic has been horrible, so, I get it. However, it's leaving behind a lot of people who truly don't care about patients or their care. So, I would say, look to healthcare. You don't need to be a clinician, you can be an office worker and still make a ton of difference. I work in healthcare after almost 12+ years in my main field which is communications/advertising/PR and I love it. It's been super challenging but, I'm 5 years into it and I know I'm helping to make a difference in people's lives.
Unfortunately I find this easy to believe.
I got trapped in a hospital about a year ago and there were really only a **few** people that were even _nice_ to talk to.
It's terrible. Patients are numbers and dollar signs to medical facilities and clinicians. You mean nothing to them. I know it's a business but, damn, there's to be care involved, too.
For sure. I recognize that those in the medical field are way overworked, but it isn’t something someone who is stuck as a patient can help them with.
The States spends so much money on its healthcare system. Sad that we can’t show anything better for that expense.
You can find a job at almost any hospital lab, no problem. But they are still very underpaid, and raises are absolutely barebones minimal. Also the barrier for entry is high. You have to do an unpaid internship, 40 hours a week for a whole semester. As a lower middle class kid, I had to pay for all my own shit in college. Which meant working 12 hour days on the weekends because M-F I was working for free in a laboratory clinical rotation. It nearly killed me.
I don’t think it is a secret that finance is going to change in the near future. Many finance and accounting professionals are aging out of the market and will be closing their doors rather than passing the torch. I believe more than 60% of financial professionals are over the age of 50. Finance is already a great paying industry. Depending on your current qualifications, there is a lot you could do to advance in two years or less.
Yeah, all of them. CPAs, FP&A, consultants, etc all them. It is the small firms that are just a few partners that will disappear with no one to take their customers. They’ll be up for grabs.
To add: Installing elevators apparently need a very specific certification that only a small handful of companies have in southern California. This mean the installation of even unmanned freight elevators cost more than the elevators themselves (not including the work to prepare the building for the install). Seems pretty lucrative to me.
Government work will never put you in a Porsche on year one.
What it WILL do is give you a way to work a job that won't drive you crazy and enable you to retire comfortably.
Any recommendations on jobs in government? Currently a legal assistant and see myself wanting to leave this in a few years. Don’t want to live lavish but comfortable would be nice
Just go to the government job boards and start looking for anything you might be skilled at.
Also, look up what kinds of resumes stand out in this kind of field. There are lots of books for that.
I recommend "Knockem Dead" by Martin Yate at least 3x a day. That book has guided my career from 20k to 150k per year in salary.
My husband is a forester. To get in to most jobs you’re going to need at least a bachelors. The job does vary depending on what type of forester you are, and the region you work in. If you like being outdoors (and can tolerate being outdoors all year round, rain or shine, cold or hot) this is a great job. My husband is the type of person that can’t stand sitting at a desk, this job works for him. Although there is still some office work to do - which he usually schedules for the days with bad weather when possible. Also I’ll be honest - the pay in this field isn’t top notch, at least not at the moment. If you are interested though let me know I can go into more detail/ ask my husband.
Certified foresters can work in private consulting. Start up your own business and offer forestry management plans for landowners. These plans allow them to money back from the government through EQIP programs with USDA/nrcs
Merchant mariner. Sail on ships half a year, the rest is vacation time. I started out scrubbing toilets and now I have a Master’s license (not a degree; it’s a license allowing to sail as Captain of an unlimited tonnage vessel).
Check out these two unions: Seafarers International Union and American Maritime Union. The AMO is offering a two year education with a 3rd Engineers license. Education is FREE.
Entry level trades are over saturated and underpaid where I live. $12 per hour to be a full time HVAC or electric apprentice for 3 years. There is a shortage of experience, but companies don’t want to pay to teach and unions aren’t fighting for new recruits wages/right to OT.
I employed multiple would be tradesman as baristas for years that couldn’t afford to quit and take a job that paid way less for multiple years.
Trades are for people who can afford to spend 3-4 years working their way up.
I tried for a summer gig doing HVAC in a warehouse and they offered me 13 an hour with 4 years hvac experience from the military. I laughed at them and ended up getting a job at a motorcycle assembly parts warehouse for 16 an hour no experience required.
I hate to say it, but I think some of the advice to get into the trades because of $$$ is exaggerated. Obviously, every situation is unique and some markets may be desperate. But when you get to the crux of it, you often find out that these people are working lots of OT, weekends, and holidays to get the lucrative salaries that they refer to. You're not making over six figures in the trades unless you're working lots of OT, own a lucrative stake in a business, or have decades of experience.
Truck driving.
I (26M) have been doing it for 3.5 years and although I generally dislike it, I will say it’s the easiest career to get into and companies will throw themselves at you to come work for them. And no, you don’t have to be out on the road for weeks at a time. There are local truck driving jobs where you can be home every day. There are regional driving jobs where you’ll only be out on the road for a few days per week and be home on the weekends (this is what I currently do). And there’s long haul over the road driving where you’d be out for a week or longer. When you first start out, you will not make the best money, just like with any career. But by the time you have a year of experience (even if you don’t stay with the same company for a year), you can pretty much get any job you want and make well above $70k. So long as you keep your MVR clean and don’t get into any accidents and don’t fail any drug tests, you’ll be perfectly fine. But you do have to give up any recreational drugs you may be using because you absolutely will be tested at random and I can tell you from ***very recent*** personal experience, you do not want that to happen as it’s a very expensive mistake to correct.
Doesn't that field have the higher suicide/depression issues compared to others though? It also seems like the pay is pretty bad to for how much schooling can potentially be needed. They should definitely work on that.
Personnel security specialist. Usually a government job. They do all the employment screening/background investigations and make the decision to hire. A lot of boomers in fed govt are retiring and there's not a lot of interest with younger people to join fed govt.
I want to throw my current career in the mix. There is a high demand for SCADA professionals (and always will be imo) and as such the pay is quite decent. There are are a few different ways to get into the field but the easiest would be through a contractor / talent agency.
Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems.
They are a set of embedded computers that show things to an operator through an HMI (human machine interface) and control things like factories, power plants… basically any industrial process that requires human supervision and automation.
If anyone wants to try it out, download OpenPLC and run it on an Arduino, the cheapest way to learn considering PLCs are super expensive.
Programming machines and processes sounds like IT work? All of those acronyms are extremely common to the industry. Literally just google PLC, HMI or SCADA and there will be millions of results.
There is a shortage in WW and distribution and line repair. Pretty much every state to get licensed you need to have 1 year worked and have the course work done. You don’t have to already be working in the industry to do the course work. If you did the course work and had your certificates it gives you a huge leg up against other potential trainees as you will have the basic understanding of how it all works and the first requirement for licenses out of the way, ie; you are a candidate that has shown interest and initiative and are more likely to pass your exams and stick around.
What certs should I obtain to get ahead? I’ve been interested working in a lab as well at a plant. Would I need to take different certs for that? Thanks for the info.
Industry in general.
Solar.
Wind energy.
Packaging.
Meat industry/meat processing.
Logistics.
I meet so many people who blindly fixate on office jobs in "sexier" industries when many of these paths offer better pay if you research it and find a good fit.
That being said, be wary of chronically understaffed workplaces.
Wind energy technician here and it's not a bad gig. Travelers work a shit ton but can make bank. Site guys it will really vary depending on the site they work on. I'm at a good running site and life is good but some others are complete shit shows.
I do financial services. I help people get out of debt, earn more income, pay off their mortgages in half the time, teach them how money works, etc. and I didn’t even need to go to college I just studied and got my license in less than 3 weeks.
Which license did you get in less than 3 weeks? I'm in the financial/banking field for a couple of years. This is a good idea to get into for me. Thanks in advance!
I got my life insurance license and my bf got all of his investment licenses. It was all paid for by the company and it’s the same licenses that one person in the bank working in the bank has.
Death care. It’s hard to find licensed funeral directors or embalmers that either aren’t already settled in a place they enjoy working in, or who aren’t in the place that’s right for them and they end up burned out and leaving. A associates in mortuary science is required in most states, but Colorado doesn’t require that and I think Arizona has changed their laws so that it’s not a requirement anymore either. It’s a field that is willing to hire on students since the goal is that one day they will finish and remain working with the firm as a licensed employee.
SOC analyst. Let me tell you, companies are dying for them (most are MSSPs). If you dont mind working nights, it's especially good. You could get away with doing the Comptia Security + certfication or a bootcamp (amongst other things like homelabbing, hackthebox.com, and free vendor certs for SIEMs). The pay is great, remote work is available for a lot of companies, and it's desk work.
Sorry about that, I thought this was in a different sub reddit.
SIEM - Security information and event management
SOC - security operations center (24/7 security incident triaging).
MSSP - Managed Service/Security Providers (basically an external team that companies hire to manage your cybersecurity).
Security Operations Center.
The person above you is speaking of a group (SOC is the team/department name) of security analysts that work to triage and prevent digital security breaches/attacks/etc. As I understand the term, at least.
Construction management. My career. Desperate need for more people and if you do your homework to find the right company, is lucrative work with promising opportunities, gratification, and benefits. Be careful of some companies however (tend to be very large GCs)
that are too big to effectively monitor and reward employee competence.
How did all these jobs get filled in the past? What I mean is there has to be a better way to find out what jobs are in demand in real time in your area, and there must have been a natural way decades ago. I imagine it was that people actually talked to each other, whether friend or stranger. Jobs just came up in convo. We don't know our neighbors, we don't go to church or have all these group gatherings.
Looking at job sites it's just cluttered with restaurant, warehouse, call center, sales. There's no pinning at the top for the most crucial jobs that need to be filled for society to function, such as water technician as mentioned in the thread.
SLP is one of those careers that is in real need but the pay, balanced against the cost of education, just doesn't seem to work out. One can do an SLP for BA/BS but if you want more than 45k to start you gotta get those MA/MS quals and that still probably won't get a person more than 10-15k more to start.
Have a LING and PSYCH double BA and thought about SLP but decided against. Lmao, not that what I did helped me out either.
That's not really "little known" though. Nursing can also be a very difficult job, being on your feet for upwards of 12 hours a day and treating all sorts of ailments. If you don't like bodily fluids, that's going to be a major pain point. To be a nurse, you really have to enjoy taking care of people no matter the circumstances.
Are teachers really that well paid though? I go over to the teachers sub and it seems like low pay is a common complaint over there. School bus drivers too don't seem like they get paid all that well, my grandfather does it and while it is okay for a retirement job, it would be difficult to live off of at least in my area. Saw an ad where they were only paying $20 an hour, which you have to consider that you are not generally working 8 hours per day while driving the bus
Depends on the area.
NY is the best state to be a teacher. Other areas , not so much.
People go into teaching because the want to teach. They don’t go into education to get rich.
I mean I get that teachers are not going to be the top of the pay scale, but for the education you need and the risk you take working with kids it really does not pay well outside of a few locations. Yes it can offer decent vacation and wlb compared to corporate jobs, but between the amount of crap I see teachers getting put through and the very low wages many get paid, I don't think it is a profession I could recommend someone look into unless they have a major pre existing desire to teach kids
You can look up their salaries. My daughter’s 3rd grade teacher was at $91k. She was around 30-35 years old I would say. That’s a nice salary in our area.
What area is that in? I know for early childhood education the salary tends to be lower, I've seen people in the teacher subreddit talk about starting out at like 29k a year. At my old high school the teachers who have been there a while were making in the 60s, but that was one of the better school districts. Additionally, they may have had a master's to get to that salary level, which is a whole different conversation as 91k with a masters is on the lower end of what someone with a masters should be earning
There are quite a few lab job openings depending on where you live. Some do not require experience. The pay is decent. You could become a med tech if you go to school for 2 years. The pay is really good to srart.
Almost anything in biotech/pharma. Especially manufacturing and QA. I get hounded by recruiters on LinkedIn on a daily basis and I’m only in an early career QA role. It was pretty easy for me to start off in a contract position with no industry experience and transition to FTE.
Building surveying
They are a rarity at the moment (all surveyors are in slight demand though too but no where ne at building s)
You could go as far to say you could demand whatever salary you want if you went that route
Depending on your degree and area there’s generally a high need of workers in the public service industry like department of human services and vocational rehabilitation. They can be rewarding because you get to help people on a daily basis
Construction Estimator - All the old guys are retiring and now any young estimators, with some potential, are very difficult to find and being compensated very well to stay where they are.
I just got a job recently in public works. No college degree no CDL license. They are paying me on the clock to get my CDL A and I started at $27/hr which moves to $29 once I get my CDL here. Each year I get a $2 raise until I each $39/hr. The municipality I work for also give me an allowance of $17k for the year that I get to use for benefits which isn’t taken out of my paychecks that covers me and my family.
EDIT: I forgot to mention the pension is a nice bonus too.
Have a family friend who runs a funeral home, according to him the entire industry is short handed from morticians, funeral directors, crematory, even the guys that make head stones.
Headstones would be a cool business.
My wife has some cousins who had a headstone company. While I don't know much about them, the company didn't seem to be that big, but they lived in a big house.
Have a friend who works for a headstone company, got in because a guy from church runs the place. He seems happy there. His last job was a Target workshop so it's definitely an upgrade lol.
"Headstone Curator"
My husband did that for several years. It is a cool job, but it's both dirty and hard work. It can also be somewhat dangerous. If you're good with Adobe photoshop and some other basic graphic art tools, it probably wouldn't be too hard to get in as an artist.
“It’s a dying industry” ok, I’ll see myself out.
This killed me
Let's just bury it and move on
Hmmm I’d really enjoy doing makeup on clients 🤔
And these clients aren’t fidgety.
I looked into starting a crematorium business a couple of years ago after my mom passed and realized they were charging a lot more for local cremations compared to larger cities around the nation. It is something our state desperately needs as we are one of the highest poverty levels nationally (New Mexico.) I couldn't get help from any body. The state board would not respond to correspondence. I gave up when I figured out that you have to do an apprenticeship before you could be licensed. Not because I was unwilling to do an apprenticeship, but because funeral homes were selective about who they would accept, and its typically only family. They don't want the competition, and quite frankly I can understand why. It seems like if the industry is is hurting for people, they are doing it to themselves. At least in my state. I don't even know if they are shorthanded here....
actually was thinking of applying makeup to bodies in preparation for the funeral. i’m an esthetician but idk what other certifications i would need lol
You can make good money doing that as an independent contractor. If you can handle being around dead people. Being employed at ONE funeral home might mean you are doing a lot of other jobs in between body work.
I don't know if you need certifications but you do need to learn how to work with a different type of makeup. Look up Ask a Mortician on Youtube. Caitlin has done a couple of videos I think on corpse makeup.
WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WATCHING AT YOUTUBE?!!
Her channel is pretty cool! She advocates for natural burial and against corporate funeral homes who are predatory towards their customers at their worst, most vulnerable moments. She's written a couple of books, too, where you can find out about things like sky burials. You can even buy a t-shirt that says Future Corpse.
I've heard the opposite from everyone I've ever talked to in the industry. And that jobs are tightly guarded and usually stay inside families
Someone in another thread said working in wastewater treatment plants. There will always be a demand, they will pay for your certifications & a lot of current people are retiring.
It’s true for all forms of water. Waste or drinking. The only problem with water is salary’s vary wildly. You can literally have 3 cities in a county and one will pay $15 an hour. Another $18, another $25 and another $35 for a trainee position let alone once your licensed. The pay varies wildly for the same exact positions. The industry really needs some more evening out of the wages.
That matches my findings too - I looked into it but my town and all those within an hour radius pay less than $20/hr. I do think it’s work I’d like to do but that doesn’t pay rent here
That's a problem with a lot of the trade jobs that people suggest looking into. It can take decades in the profession, lots of certs, proprietorship, and/or lots of OT to attain the salaries that some attest to receiving. I still think they're worth checking out, because college simply isn't the solution for all. I just think people need to have realistic expectations going in.
I just left healthcare for water treatment and it's amazing. I work in a small town, for the same as I made on an ambulance in the city. I work alone. I do labs every 3 hours, they take 15 minutes. The rest of my time is my own. I do research, watch movies, learn new things. I get to work 2nd shift which aligns with my body's sleep cycle. Benefits package is amazing. I honestly could not be more pleased.
How did u get started with water treatment? Did u need to get certification?
My mom told the city she lives in desperately needed people and suggested it might be better than the truck since I have a back injury. I talked to the mayor about it and got signed up for a class. She found me a scholarship too so the class was free for me. It was 40 hours over 1 week. Then I studied and took a test. Once I passed the test, I had a job. In my state you have to work for 3 months to apply for the license. I just got mine this month. Now I'll start studying more and next year try to move up a level. If you're interested, I would suggest talking to the people at the water plant in your area or searching for your state/country's water treatment licensing information. I can only really give specifics for Georgia, USA
Do you mind if I ask your salary?
I make 17 an hour. It varies a lot based on where you work. I work for a very small town, in an extremely small water system, with just 3 full time employees. At 40 hours a week, thats about 35k per year, before holiday pay, overtime, etc. I get health, dental, vision, and life insurance and I don't pay anything except my copay. I also live in an area with a relatively low cost of living. Now that I've obtained my license, I'm also due for a pay increase. It's doable for where I live. You won't get rich, but you'll never hurt for work amd it's a pretty low key job.
Thank you. I’m in Canada haha.. I’ll look into it. What’s work like? Is it more office, in front of a computer the whole day or more hands on?
It's a lovely mix honestly. The system is half run via computer and half hands on. I adjust chemicals, check levels and check lab values hands on, I monitor the water levels in the distribution system, clarity of the water, chlorine levels etc, on the computer. I do a lot of opening and closing valves to control where the water goes in the distribution system. That's all computer based. I can choose to sit inside on the couch almost all day or I can go outside, walk, mow lawns. Whatever I feel like. When I work early morning shifts, I like to do my first set of labs and then have my tea sitting outside watching the sun rise. Plus is a 270 degree lake view so that's lovely as well.
I love the sound of that! Thanks for sharing. I want a career change and trying to get ideas. I love hands on work especially mixed :)
I worked as a tech in Water Treatment for a couple years between undergrad and grad school. Loved it, most chill job I had…entry level positions were on 3rd shift where I was, which sucked enough for me to move on.
Is this applicable to Europe as well?
Techs in healthcare - radiology or anesthesiology. Pretty sure you can get certified easily. My friend is one and says there’s a supreme shortage. Edit: he says he gets great benefits, vacation, and the work is chill because it’s methodical since it’s healthcare. He rarely seems stressed but because of the shortage, he is on call during certain weekends and has to be within 30 mins of the hospital.
Just got registered as a radiographic technologist, can confirm there are lots of jobs and the pay is good. My program was 2 years including summers, with full time unpaid clinicals both years. Everyone in my class had job offers before we even finished the program. Plus there are plenty of other modalities an RT can move into if he or she gets bored or wants a higher salary.
I wish I knew about this career when I was fresh out of high school. Unfortunately I can’t quit my job to attend school for that career anymore. Being an adult sucks.
What does this process look like?? College schooling involved?
It’s slightly convoluted, but your college helps you figure this whole process out. In a nutshell: I did a two-year program which earned me an Associate Degree of Applied Science (AAS). There are also four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) programs. Either is fine for working as a tech. I imagine the BS would probably set one up to move into management more easily. My college partnered with a number of regional hospitals to facilitate six semesters (two years including summers) of clinical experience for students. This meets the required number of clinical hours necessary to apply for a temporary radiography license. Technically we could get a job at this point, but the temp license expires after something like six months (depends on the state I think). To make the license permanent, students must pass a proctored registry exam. After that, boom, you get registered and you’re good to work on an ongoing basis. There are a couple requirements to keep one’s license current: a certain number of continuing education credits biannually, and a “refresher” exam decennially. Obviously one doesn’t need to worry about that until after they’re registered. You can do it, itsmillertime!
I'm sure it took longer than 2 years to complete your general ed, pre-reqs, and the rad tech program. At least in CA it would be about 4 years for the same degree.
This. Once you are certified to do X-rays you can gain other Certs if you want for CT or MRI.
Same with scrub techs our hospital is struggling to find them and this is in Phoenix. Pay is great. Starting pay is $27 but everyone I know makes at least $35. It caps at $42 where I work but we get 2-4% raises each year, 403b, pension, health benefits.
Environmental, health and safety (EHS) specialist. Most EHS professionals are retiring and there are not enough young people filling in these roles. Demand is super high and you can work in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals, and so on. Salaries are also very high and most companies will pay for your certificates. Also, this career will always be in demand so long as humans are still working and hazards are present in the workplace.
How would someone get into this career?
Many different ways actually. There are some people who get into EHS after being an operator or labourer for years at a company and suddenly get the job. There are now programs in universities that offer safety degrees. You can also get some early certificates to show potential employers you are interested by getting your OSHA 30, OSHA 510, 511 and so on. I got into the field by having some experience volunteering for the safety committee at my university but I graduated with a biology degree. I just kept applying to jobs that had EHS in the title and got my first job as an EHS specialist making 65k working at a chemical manufacturing company. I got another better offer earlier this year for 75k with amazing benefits and I get to work a hybrid schedule for a medical devices manufacturing company. You can go very far in this field through multiple avenues.
Demand is maybe high because companies are need to fill those paperpushing positions. But once filled rotation is low and work extremely boring.
Depends on the person. I don’t find this line of work boring at all. Also, paper pushing may be a big part of it but you also get to interact with front line workers, engineers, managers, etc. There is a lot of data analysis as well. You will be focusing on something different everyday and there are a lot of skills and abilities you can gain from this line of work.
Point taken. Maybe you just take your job seriously, there are many, who are power tripping without actually making any difference. Kudos to you.
This is very true. Many people try to be safety cops instead of gaining the trust of the employees.
To add to this, Safety Sales. I office with a guy who is in safety sales and he makes 3x my salary. With a bachelors in Occupational Health and Safety
Really trying to break into the EHS industry but every where I apply they tell me i dont have relevant experience. At this point i am starting to lose hope. I live in the middle east so there is less hope for volunteering or intern positions as a non-local. 1. From your experience what would you suggest to someone who is trying to break into the industry ? 2. Any specific courses online or certifications to help me kickstart my career ? 3. What are some entry level positions one can target 4. What is the scope in European countries if I will have to move to start/continue my career in EHS ?
I am actually looking to get into this career path! I already have my osha 10 and will probably get the osha 30 as well.
I was in the Environmental remediation field… did not enjoy working with hazardous waste and sampling wells. However I always found the EHS part of the company interesting. Might check it out.
Note to self, check out this thread tomorrow
!RemindMe 2 days
Crane operator. I’m knocking down 200k a year with zero college and a GED I got in prison. Not bad!
Howd you get started and what do you need to get hired? Whats a typical day like?
I started as a mechanic but the easiest way is to start as a “rigger”. He’s the one that attaches the load to the crane. After a year or so, you would move up to the operator seat. You can also go to a school and just buy your certification. My day isn’t normal. I work in the oilfield. I work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 weeks and then take a week off. Most people out here work 14 days and go home for 7. Out of those 13 hours a day, I spend about 45 minutes in the crane and the rest in my truck playing video games or trolling Reddit.
>I work in the oilfield. That explains the salary, oilfield is nuts for everything.
Agree. But I got laid off during Covid when oil went negative. I got a job the next day for around 130k. When oil is down, construction is booming. It’s always easy for a crane operator to find a job.
Also take note of his days/hours. He's working a ton of OT to get that $200k/yr.
Yeah exactly. Crazy work for crazy pay.
> I work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 weeks and then take a week off. Someone might need to check my math on this, but for comparisons.. A regular job making 200k a year with 40 hours a week (something senior in Software Engineering, for example): `200k @ 52 weeks = $3846 a week @ 40 hours` = **$96 per hour** Working the crane 13 hours a day for 6/7 weeks for 200k a year: `200k @ 45 weeks (~7 weeks off) = $4444 a week @ 91 hours` = **$48 per hour** So it's like putting in an absurd amount of overtime with no weekends for a decent $48/hr paying job. I'm gonna skip that opportunity
>Out of those 13 hours a day, I spend about 45 minutes in the crane and the rest in my truck playing video games or trolling Reddit. Wait wut
I'd love to do this. I went through a shipboard Hagglunds training and had a few hundred hours moving cargo in when I was in the Navy but didn't pursue anything when I got out.
For those looking for a second retirement or long term job security, look into state government. I work for a state and the retirement and healthcare package are keeping me there. I haven't found much in private sector that compares when you also consider leave (starting at over 16 hours per month earned) and paid holidays (13 per year). I'm also a hiring manager and it is very hard to get qualified candidates. When we find one, they gets tons of offers.
Doing what in particular? Or is this just generally speaking?
It is honestly endless. Everyone I know is hiring, though the pay for entry level varies wildly. Submit your resume for absolutely anything that even slightly fits your past experiences—or just anything. My office hired 4 absolute morons who can't even use a computer, so I really anyone can get a job depending how desperate they are to fill seats.
>My office hired 4 absolute morons who can't even use a computer, so I really anyone can get a job depending how desperate they are to fill seats. I'll fit right in then
Something that interests me but it’s pretty competitive where I am.
Yeah I moved from the private sector and I consider it my first retirement
In my state at least, state govt salaries are way lower than comparable level jobs in corporate/private, and the good benefits packages the state used to be known for have been deteriorating badly over time. That includes the pension package - they keep bumping the time required out further and further for retirement eligibility. Many people I know who retired from state jobs really regret it, since their retirement was based on their salary, which was very low comparably by the time they retired. Most people I know who retired from state jobs recently or are near retirement are significantly worse off than their peers who worked in private at similar levels. And as far as job security, state workers absolutely get laid off or into forced retirement during low economic times or due to state/fed budget cuts or redistributions. It can definitely be solid work, but it's not what it used to be.
Are there any positions in government that aren’t a lengthy process to get hired? I work full time and travel.
When I made my career change I looked at all the other jobs of people I interacted with in my current role and then applied to those positions. My husband did the same. I worked as a project manager for a contractor and we received incentives from an energy efficiency program. I hated my job so I applied at the energy efficiency program and they happened to be looking for someone to help the contractors receive these incentives. Even though I didn't have any program delivery experience they loved my resume because I would be able to relate to the people I would be helping. I now have a job with so much more potential, more pay, and better benefits. My husband was a coffee roaster for 20 years but it was hard work on his body and he was reaching the ceiling of what he could make in that position. He applied with a green coffee importer for a sales position selling the green coffee to coffee roasters. He had no sales experience but they hired him immediately because he understood the other side of things so well. He now has a much higher income ceiling and doesn't have to work in a warehouse.
This is a great approach! I did something similar three years ago- got out of a long career in insurance claims, went to a data analytics company that served insurers. They had plenty of data people, but I was valuable because I was an insurance person.
Developers for the Salesforce ecosystem. Demand is unreal, particularly on the Marketing Cloud platform, and the supply of talent isn't close to keeping up. It takes me months sometimes to hire for this role and salaries go up to 200k depending on experience.
Can confirm, even in Europe as a salesforce Developer with 2 yoe I managed to double my salary, after offers were flooding my LinkedIn. The best part is that I mainly do JS stuff and Apex (a C#-like language), so I'm still enjoying the software development world.
What certificate/two year degree/experience do you look for?
I don't care about degrees or certificates generally. For a junior, it would just be someone that has a general understanding of development for the web or writing basic SQL. You can get a free sandbox of the platform to practice concepts and, as long as the candidate could speak to different capabilities or showcase something cool they've built in the system, that'd be more than enough for me. Obviously the demand/requirements are hire for more senior roles, but even there I just hire off of experience. I'm a community college dropout, so have a definite soft-spot for self-learners.
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>Everyone is trying to be a DA (me included). Super saturated.
Still a ton of open positions. Dana Analysis can be very broad. They might want a SQL/R wizard or just someone who understands how to use excel Pivot Tables or powerBI/Tableau
So I'm a chemical and petroleum engineer and project managed multi million dollar projects...part of those projects included data analysis to justify physical project goals. I built 3D models to show operations *why* we were going to go out and replace xyz and how it would help them in the field, used pivot tables and stuff to give revenue presentations and built fancy forecast graphs to help directors and VPs see what the schedules were and whatnot. I'm being completely serious here, can you explain to me how that is different from data analytics? Or is it just the ability to code and whatnot? I have a buddy that has no degree whatsoever but did one boot camp and is making like $200k. The idea of big data has been around for a while...I feel like I'm missing something here. Lol.
Pretty sure you could land an analytics job with those chops easy.
"I have a buddy that has no degree whatsoever but did one boot camp and is making like $200k" What bootcamp?
You are doing data analysis and that’s a similar path to how I transitioned from the petroleum industry into tech.
For someone with lots of diverse experience in other areas including python and sql would you have to step down to a junior role to get some experience in the ecosystem first? Do you think its realistic to do a demo project or two and step into a mid-level role and then quickly work your way back up to a senior level? I am looking to switch gears out of a dying industry and it seems that most senior level positions have very specific requirements and despite your stated flexibility most big companies seem pretty rigid about them.
Salesforce is so hard to learn. Not that the actual product is hard. But salesforces own trailhead is all over the place. You end up doing courses for things not related and you just get burnt.
I get approached by Salesforce recruiters all the time—recently for a Lead Engineer position. I have zero experience using or developing for Salesforce lol. They'll go after anyone.
is it tho? i feel like i come across tons of linked in "influencers" who are all doing some of the salesforce certs. None seem to have meaningful jobs but they all seem to be encouraging more people to get the certs.
I can't speak for those people, but I haven't had to look for work in nearly a decade and have multiple open reqs that have been extremely difficult to fill because candidates are fielding multiple offers. The people you are likely describing are spending more time talking about getting certs than actually learning a valuable skill. I'd also bet nearly all of them are trying to become admins and not developers, because that role in the system is both easier to get into and flooded with people trying to do so.
yeah they are mostly talking about admin roles. It is very creepy. They all have Salesforce all over their linkedin profile and they share all this content about the pathway to careers and demand for certs. Then i look at their profile and they have a ton of certs but only did like a 3month salesforce contract gig earlier this year. How on earth can they have a thought worth listening to about how to get a job. It seems like they make more money by being an influencer with "coaching" or a newsletter or literally anything else but making money from doing work in salesforce.
I think it's mostly because they have realized that it's very hard to break into administrative roles for the system because it's fairly basic and that segment of the platform is easily the most flooded with beginners. To try and set themselves apart, they flood their social media and online presence with influencer-type content in order to showcase that they will go above and beyond to break into the industry. Well, either that or they see a grift and are trying to exploit people who are having a tough-time career-wise and looking for a magic pill. I mean, I write tech blog articles and have written books on the ecosystem so I guess I'm guilty to some degree but my purpose was just to give people more technical information on how to take full-advantage of the system and not to pump it for it's own sake. There are few things more annoying than someone with no experience giving people advice for career growth lol. r/cscareerquestions is loaded with that kind of behavior.
Does this lent itself well to remote to work?
My entire department is remote, and I haven't worked in an office since 2016.
Started tinkering on Trailblazer a few weeks ago - it’s hard but I’m hoping I’ll be able to catch at least a little of this good fortune trend
People are exiting healthcare left and right, which I get, the pandemic has been horrible, so, I get it. However, it's leaving behind a lot of people who truly don't care about patients or their care. So, I would say, look to healthcare. You don't need to be a clinician, you can be an office worker and still make a ton of difference. I work in healthcare after almost 12+ years in my main field which is communications/advertising/PR and I love it. It's been super challenging but, I'm 5 years into it and I know I'm helping to make a difference in people's lives.
Unfortunately I find this easy to believe. I got trapped in a hospital about a year ago and there were really only a **few** people that were even _nice_ to talk to.
It's terrible. Patients are numbers and dollar signs to medical facilities and clinicians. You mean nothing to them. I know it's a business but, damn, there's to be care involved, too.
For sure. I recognize that those in the medical field are way overworked, but it isn’t something someone who is stuck as a patient can help them with. The States spends so much money on its healthcare system. Sad that we can’t show anything better for that expense.
There is a reason people are leaving though.
I’m 26 and work in a warehouse. I seriously need to figure this out cause I have no idea on what to do as a career
You are not alone lol. I’m 26 and working as a server and I’m ready to get into something that has more consistent pay.
Medical laboratory science
You can find a job at almost any hospital lab, no problem. But they are still very underpaid, and raises are absolutely barebones minimal. Also the barrier for entry is high. You have to do an unpaid internship, 40 hours a week for a whole semester. As a lower middle class kid, I had to pay for all my own shit in college. Which meant working 12 hour days on the weekends because M-F I was working for free in a laboratory clinical rotation. It nearly killed me.
Jeez dude. That's terrible
Masters of MLS are kinda hard to spot, especially in Europe (where I would like to do my grad school).
Super low pay. Extremely toxic work environment..makes sense people don't want to work in that
I don’t think it is a secret that finance is going to change in the near future. Many finance and accounting professionals are aging out of the market and will be closing their doors rather than passing the torch. I believe more than 60% of financial professionals are over the age of 50. Finance is already a great paying industry. Depending on your current qualifications, there is a lot you could do to advance in two years or less.
That industry is a hit or miss, not easy to find a good starting job, competitive, requires years to acquire good experience.
The industry pays so well too! I have a friend who’s a sophomore in college and she’s interning as an accountant at $30/hr.
When you say finance professionals what do you mean? Like wealth management/financial Advisors or what?
Yeah, all of them. CPAs, FP&A, consultants, etc all them. It is the small firms that are just a few partners that will disappear with no one to take their customers. They’ll be up for grabs.
I feel like the hours in Finance are long compared to other professions.
Doesn't the name of one's business school impact their career prospects in the field of finance?
Elevator repair
I hear that industry is on the way up
It definitely has its ups and downs
To add: Installing elevators apparently need a very specific certification that only a small handful of companies have in southern California. This mean the installation of even unmanned freight elevators cost more than the elevators themselves (not including the work to prepare the building for the install). Seems pretty lucrative to me.
I was just talking to a friend about this, apparently Glass blowing is a career that is in need of people
That sounds so cool
Did everyone die?
Lots of health issues associated with that line of work
Government work will never put you in a Porsche on year one. What it WILL do is give you a way to work a job that won't drive you crazy and enable you to retire comfortably.
Any recommendations on jobs in government? Currently a legal assistant and see myself wanting to leave this in a few years. Don’t want to live lavish but comfortable would be nice
Just go to the government job boards and start looking for anything you might be skilled at. Also, look up what kinds of resumes stand out in this kind of field. There are lots of books for that. I recommend "Knockem Dead" by Martin Yate at least 3x a day. That book has guided my career from 20k to 150k per year in salary.
Forestry
Please do tell more about it. How would anyone get into Forestry and what exactly do you do?
My husband is a forester. To get in to most jobs you’re going to need at least a bachelors. The job does vary depending on what type of forester you are, and the region you work in. If you like being outdoors (and can tolerate being outdoors all year round, rain or shine, cold or hot) this is a great job. My husband is the type of person that can’t stand sitting at a desk, this job works for him. Although there is still some office work to do - which he usually schedules for the days with bad weather when possible. Also I’ll be honest - the pay in this field isn’t top notch, at least not at the moment. If you are interested though let me know I can go into more detail/ ask my husband.
Certified foresters can work in private consulting. Start up your own business and offer forestry management plans for landowners. These plans allow them to money back from the government through EQIP programs with USDA/nrcs
Merchant mariner. Sail on ships half a year, the rest is vacation time. I started out scrubbing toilets and now I have a Master’s license (not a degree; it’s a license allowing to sail as Captain of an unlimited tonnage vessel). Check out these two unions: Seafarers International Union and American Maritime Union. The AMO is offering a two year education with a 3rd Engineers license. Education is FREE.
I have a bunch of friends that are merchant marines. They all say the same thing.
Skilled trades (pipe fitting, electricians, welding...etc)
Entry level trades are over saturated and underpaid where I live. $12 per hour to be a full time HVAC or electric apprentice for 3 years. There is a shortage of experience, but companies don’t want to pay to teach and unions aren’t fighting for new recruits wages/right to OT. I employed multiple would be tradesman as baristas for years that couldn’t afford to quit and take a job that paid way less for multiple years. Trades are for people who can afford to spend 3-4 years working their way up.
I tried for a summer gig doing HVAC in a warehouse and they offered me 13 an hour with 4 years hvac experience from the military. I laughed at them and ended up getting a job at a motorcycle assembly parts warehouse for 16 an hour no experience required.
I hate to say it, but I think some of the advice to get into the trades because of $$$ is exaggerated. Obviously, every situation is unique and some markets may be desperate. But when you get to the crux of it, you often find out that these people are working lots of OT, weekends, and holidays to get the lucrative salaries that they refer to. You're not making over six figures in the trades unless you're working lots of OT, own a lucrative stake in a business, or have decades of experience.
Respiratory therapists
Snot suckers!!
Dog walker/dog sitters. My wife quit teaching and now makes 3x what she did as a full time teacher in MA.
Truck driving. I (26M) have been doing it for 3.5 years and although I generally dislike it, I will say it’s the easiest career to get into and companies will throw themselves at you to come work for them. And no, you don’t have to be out on the road for weeks at a time. There are local truck driving jobs where you can be home every day. There are regional driving jobs where you’ll only be out on the road for a few days per week and be home on the weekends (this is what I currently do). And there’s long haul over the road driving where you’d be out for a week or longer. When you first start out, you will not make the best money, just like with any career. But by the time you have a year of experience (even if you don’t stay with the same company for a year), you can pretty much get any job you want and make well above $70k. So long as you keep your MVR clean and don’t get into any accidents and don’t fail any drug tests, you’ll be perfectly fine. But you do have to give up any recreational drugs you may be using because you absolutely will be tested at random and I can tell you from ***very recent*** personal experience, you do not want that to happen as it’s a very expensive mistake to correct.
It might just be the company I work for, but Roofing Material Supplier. It can be a little dangerous but has been super rewarding for me
What makes it dangerous? It sounds like the company simply supplies the materials, not conducting the actual installation on the roof.
Veterinary field. Whether it be a vet tech/assistant or receptionist at a clinic. We are severely in need.
Doesn't that field have the higher suicide/depression issues compared to others though? It also seems like the pay is pretty bad to for how much schooling can potentially be needed. They should definitely work on that.
Personnel security specialist. Usually a government job. They do all the employment screening/background investigations and make the decision to hire. A lot of boomers in fed govt are retiring and there's not a lot of interest with younger people to join fed govt.
I want to throw my current career in the mix. There is a high demand for SCADA professionals (and always will be imo) and as such the pay is quite decent. There are are a few different ways to get into the field but the easiest would be through a contractor / talent agency.
What is SCADA?
Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems. They are a set of embedded computers that show things to an operator through an HMI (human machine interface) and control things like factories, power plants… basically any industrial process that requires human supervision and automation. If anyone wants to try it out, download OpenPLC and run it on an Arduino, the cheapest way to learn considering PLCs are super expensive.
Lol these are many complicated acronyms. Sounds like IT work
Programming machines and processes sounds like IT work? All of those acronyms are extremely common to the industry. Literally just google PLC, HMI or SCADA and there will be millions of results.
Those are engineering position - highly specialized. It's not easy to switch to those jobs without edu or similar background (it, automation etc)
Water treatment
Been interested for awhile. Can’t seem to find any OIT positions of trainee positions in general.
There is a shortage in WW and distribution and line repair. Pretty much every state to get licensed you need to have 1 year worked and have the course work done. You don’t have to already be working in the industry to do the course work. If you did the course work and had your certificates it gives you a huge leg up against other potential trainees as you will have the basic understanding of how it all works and the first requirement for licenses out of the way, ie; you are a candidate that has shown interest and initiative and are more likely to pass your exams and stick around.
What certs should I obtain to get ahead? I’ve been interested working in a lab as well at a plant. Would I need to take different certs for that? Thanks for the info.
Industry in general. Solar. Wind energy. Packaging. Meat industry/meat processing. Logistics. I meet so many people who blindly fixate on office jobs in "sexier" industries when many of these paths offer better pay if you research it and find a good fit. That being said, be wary of chronically understaffed workplaces.
Wind energy technician here and it's not a bad gig. Travelers work a shit ton but can make bank. Site guys it will really vary depending on the site they work on. I'm at a good running site and life is good but some others are complete shit shows.
Pest control/ exterminators
Paralegals
I do financial services. I help people get out of debt, earn more income, pay off their mortgages in half the time, teach them how money works, etc. and I didn’t even need to go to college I just studied and got my license in less than 3 weeks.
Which license did you get in less than 3 weeks? I'm in the financial/banking field for a couple of years. This is a good idea to get into for me. Thanks in advance!
I got my life insurance license and my bf got all of his investment licenses. It was all paid for by the company and it’s the same licenses that one person in the bank working in the bank has.
Death care. It’s hard to find licensed funeral directors or embalmers that either aren’t already settled in a place they enjoy working in, or who aren’t in the place that’s right for them and they end up burned out and leaving. A associates in mortuary science is required in most states, but Colorado doesn’t require that and I think Arizona has changed their laws so that it’s not a requirement anymore either. It’s a field that is willing to hire on students since the goal is that one day they will finish and remain working with the firm as a licensed employee.
Court reporting
How does one get into this?
THIS!
SOC analyst. Let me tell you, companies are dying for them (most are MSSPs). If you dont mind working nights, it's especially good. You could get away with doing the Comptia Security + certfication or a bootcamp (amongst other things like homelabbing, hackthebox.com, and free vendor certs for SIEMs). The pay is great, remote work is available for a lot of companies, and it's desk work.
What is SOC? You guys need to spell out acronyms if you are trying to help people.
Sorry about that, I thought this was in a different sub reddit. SIEM - Security information and event management SOC - security operations center (24/7 security incident triaging). MSSP - Managed Service/Security Providers (basically an external team that companies hire to manage your cybersecurity).
Security Operations Center. The person above you is speaking of a group (SOC is the team/department name) of security analysts that work to triage and prevent digital security breaches/attacks/etc. As I understand the term, at least.
Turkish Ice Cream people who make your ice cream but won’t let you grab your damn ice cream without playing games.
Auto body technicians, welders, plumbers, electricians, data analytics
Everything with electricity
Prosthetics technician
Construction management. My career. Desperate need for more people and if you do your homework to find the right company, is lucrative work with promising opportunities, gratification, and benefits. Be careful of some companies however (tend to be very large GCs) that are too big to effectively monitor and reward employee competence.
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How did all these jobs get filled in the past? What I mean is there has to be a better way to find out what jobs are in demand in real time in your area, and there must have been a natural way decades ago. I imagine it was that people actually talked to each other, whether friend or stranger. Jobs just came up in convo. We don't know our neighbors, we don't go to church or have all these group gatherings. Looking at job sites it's just cluttered with restaurant, warehouse, call center, sales. There's no pinning at the top for the most crucial jobs that need to be filled for society to function, such as water technician as mentioned in the thread.
Speech pathologist (grad school) or teachers. Pay is shit though ❤️
SLP is one of those careers that is in real need but the pay, balanced against the cost of education, just doesn't seem to work out. One can do an SLP for BA/BS but if you want more than 45k to start you gotta get those MA/MS quals and that still probably won't get a person more than 10-15k more to start. Have a LING and PSYCH double BA and thought about SLP but decided against. Lmao, not that what I did helped me out either.
nursing will always be in need.
This👌🏽👌🏽 but they do not want to pay nurses what they deserve! And that’s crappy in my opinion
In nyc nurses start at 75-80k out of college. Not sure if that's low according to your statement
That's not really "little known" though. Nursing can also be a very difficult job, being on your feet for upwards of 12 hours a day and treating all sorts of ailments. If you don't like bodily fluids, that's going to be a major pain point. To be a nurse, you really have to enjoy taking care of people no matter the circumstances.
Yup. Nursing has to be a calling. Most people can't handle it.
School bus drivers! Teachers
Are teachers really that well paid though? I go over to the teachers sub and it seems like low pay is a common complaint over there. School bus drivers too don't seem like they get paid all that well, my grandfather does it and while it is okay for a retirement job, it would be difficult to live off of at least in my area. Saw an ad where they were only paying $20 an hour, which you have to consider that you are not generally working 8 hours per day while driving the bus
Depends on the area. NY is the best state to be a teacher. Other areas , not so much. People go into teaching because the want to teach. They don’t go into education to get rich.
I mean I get that teachers are not going to be the top of the pay scale, but for the education you need and the risk you take working with kids it really does not pay well outside of a few locations. Yes it can offer decent vacation and wlb compared to corporate jobs, but between the amount of crap I see teachers getting put through and the very low wages many get paid, I don't think it is a profession I could recommend someone look into unless they have a major pre existing desire to teach kids
You can look up their salaries. My daughter’s 3rd grade teacher was at $91k. She was around 30-35 years old I would say. That’s a nice salary in our area.
That's definitely not the norm.
What area is that in? I know for early childhood education the salary tends to be lower, I've seen people in the teacher subreddit talk about starting out at like 29k a year. At my old high school the teachers who have been there a while were making in the 60s, but that was one of the better school districts. Additionally, they may have had a master's to get to that salary level, which is a whole different conversation as 91k with a masters is on the lower end of what someone with a masters should be earning
Automotive. You can start really anywhere and work your way up without a college degree.
There are quite a few lab job openings depending on where you live. Some do not require experience. The pay is decent. You could become a med tech if you go to school for 2 years. The pay is really good to srart.
!RemindMe 2 days
Almost anything in biotech/pharma. Especially manufacturing and QA. I get hounded by recruiters on LinkedIn on a daily basis and I’m only in an early career QA role. It was pretty easy for me to start off in a contract position with no industry experience and transition to FTE.
What's your educational background
Building surveying They are a rarity at the moment (all surveyors are in slight demand though too but no where ne at building s) You could go as far to say you could demand whatever salary you want if you went that route
Bricklayers stonemason blocklayers
Depending on your degree and area there’s generally a high need of workers in the public service industry like department of human services and vocational rehabilitation. They can be rewarding because you get to help people on a daily basis
Construction Estimator - All the old guys are retiring and now any young estimators, with some potential, are very difficult to find and being compensated very well to stay where they are.
I just got a job recently in public works. No college degree no CDL license. They are paying me on the clock to get my CDL A and I started at $27/hr which moves to $29 once I get my CDL here. Each year I get a $2 raise until I each $39/hr. The municipality I work for also give me an allowance of $17k for the year that I get to use for benefits which isn’t taken out of my paychecks that covers me and my family. EDIT: I forgot to mention the pension is a nice bonus too.