career choices

sxi4evr

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Location
Weddington
Hey guys, long time lurker 2nd time poster... I have no motivation to get through college because I have no interest in any job a business degree would get me. Despite having a ton of interests like obviously wheeling, anything and everything involved with a motor, music, fitness, etc... I have no idea what I want to do for a living.

So if ya'll feel like sharing what it is that you do for a living and a ballpark figure of how much you make that'd be awesome!
 
Construction pays pretty good and is fun!:D

Scratch that, Construction Management pays pretty good if you hook up with the right company! If you do it right, there are some managers with less than 10 years out of school (with prior experience in the field) that can bring home $180k. But, you have to be good and willing to travel. Its a lot of business as well. You must know accounting, estimating, regulations, codes, how to work with construction workers, and get to work around some cool pieces of equipment and projects :)
 
GotWood said:
Weather man. It is the only job you can do right half of the time and still keep your job. If they were paid for how accurate they are, they would all drive '85 ford escorts.
Click to expand...

That and an architect.
 
Whatever you pick, don't do it chasing dollar signs. You'll wind up miserable. This time last year I was making killer money. Would have made 6 figures this year. But I was miserable so i made a change. Now I make much less but I'm much happier. I'm a project manager for a disaster company. I estimate jobs for mold remediation, flood clean up, air duct cleaning, commercial coil cleaning, then come up with a plan and see that the plan takes place on time and under budget. I like it, but I'd rather be a sheriff. As of right now I make just under 40k. But I will gladly take a paycut again to do what makes me happy.

Also, a degree is a degree. It will be useful in almost anything. Most people do something totally opposite from their education anyway. Stick it out and it will pay off.
 
Are you paying for college yourself, or do you qualify for a Pell Grant, etc? I'm not talking student loans, just straight out assistance.

If you qualify for a Pell Grant or other assistance, you would be crazy NOT TO get a college degree. Most interviewers sort resumes based on Degree/ No Degree first. It's a rare bird that will actually go through the entire thing to make an objective decision based on skills and experience without taking into account a degree.

That being said, my degree is in Advertising with an emphasis in Communications from Michigan State University. I've only worked in an advertising agency for 6 months out of 20 years post graduation, but that job landed me another one and so on up the line. I worked for Ford Motor Company in a couple different aspects. First as a Y2K coordinator (remember the good old days when the world was going to end because computers couldn't process a 4 digit year? Good times), and then as a Website Coordinator. That landed me a job with Price Waterhouse Coopers who moved me from Michigan to Charlotte. I was in my early 30's making over $60,000 a year as a web designer before the dot-com bubble burst. All this because my resume got me an interview with an ad agency.

That said, the job market is WAY different now. Used to I would get job offer phone calls all the time. Now, I am a freelance web designer working out of my house and a full time stay-at-home dad. As my wife was finishing her education as an Occupational Therapist, I was footing the bills and supporting her and her two girls. Now, she is the one getting phone calls with job offers because she selected a good field to be in and hit at just the right time. Due to changes in the system, now to match her income potential, one would have to get a Master's Degree in OT, where she has a Bachelor's.

Now, all this to say if you are having to pay for college yourself the old fashioned way (like I did), I would NOT pay for college only to get a degree you aren't into at all. You will just be wasting money and getting frustrated and want to drop out. College is hard enough for those who enjoy what they are learning. Use the money you would pay for college and get tools to do what you enjoy and buddy up with someone who is already doing it well. Work for them for free for a while if you have to just to learn skills and prove yourself. It will be VERY difficult, but it can be done.
 
Was a school teacher in october. Now I'm at central office as a director. I dont know exactly what I make but it was a awesome pay raise.

Not too many people flat out know what they want to do. I'll say this the market is flooded with people who love motors, music, and fitness. What it is lacking is educated, self-sufficient, hard working people. Getting a degree will be the key for your mobility from here forward.
 
I'm a gigolo ( I entertain women only) The older women bring more money. However the younger women are much more fun.

The amount of money I make depends on the clientele, I do very well in Charlotte when I am down that way. But in lincolnton I think I am getting screwed...:D
 
Maybe I am just trying to justify why I am on NC4X4 on a gov computer while at work, but have you thought about the military? How old are you? A lot of people still dont know what they want to do into their late 20s. Going military could "buy" you some time to figure out what you want to do while adding a lot to your resume. You may love it and make a career out of it, or you may do your first contract and get out. If you just do your first contract and get out, you could use your education benefits to help pay for the school that you need to pursue the career path that you want.

Active duty = full time job, full time benefits, looks great on a resume
Guard/reserves = part time job, tons of benefits, still looks great on a resume.

NC Army National Guard:
part time - 1 weekend/month, 2 weeks of annual training per year
up to $4500 per year in federal tuition assistance
up to $7800 per year in state tuition assistance
$362 per month GI Bill as a full time college student

We have diesel mechanics, heavy equipment mechanics, generator mechanics, heavy equipment operators, field artillery (shoot big guns), communications, carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, heavy vehicle drivers......

Im not too far from you. Call me and I will be glad to talk to you. If this interests you, I will refer you to one of my teammates that is in your area.
 
Last edited:
I have an Associates degree in Business Admin. I honestly had no interest in running a business....(I would if given the right opportunity) but I knew that it was a pretty generic and broad degree that I could branch out and do different things.
I got it and ended up working at a bank...starting as a teller with NO experience whatsoever and have been here for 4 years...I dont LOVE it, but it pays the bills and its relatively easy...plus I have been given a raise every year.

My wife knew what she wanted to do since she was a kid and she followed through and went to school to be a Dental Assistant, She has been there for 4 years and she comes home complaining and tired just like everyone else.

alot of people work so they can enjoy the time they are not working, not to say that you should settle....Just don't go chasing the all mighty dollar...have some fun within the job you do and take pride in it.
 
I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. At graduation I thought what the hell did I learn? I have a degree in business management.

I figured I'd get into banking because it seemed like a good idea. I got lucky and landed a job with Bank of America in the Large Corporate bank dept. We basically lend money to large companies. My job isnt hard and I don't think a degree is necessary but I enjoy the atmosphere. Say what you want about BOA but they take good care of their employees.

I make a decent salary for only 4 years out of college. I have a set career path and flexible schedule.

It doesn't come with out draw backs. We would rather live closer to my wife's family and our friends. We have a long commute each day as well.
 
The thing is that a degree says something to a prospective employer that lack of work experience says otherwise. It says, "This guy (or gal) had the where-with-all to put his time and money on the line to learn something that he or she felt important in their job search". You didn't learn that stuff because the prospective company just couldn't survive without you walking in the door to save them. If they are looking for "new technology", it's not going to come from a degree. It will come from someone taking what they learned and applying it to what's already there.

Unless you are going into a specialized field (medicine, law, engineering, anything requiring certification), a liberal arts degree is worth just about as much as anything else. My problem in my career is that I never really fit a "job title". I could do a lot of various tasks that qualified me for a lot of different roles, but never enough of one to be a "specialist" in any of them. Some people are what their qualifications call them. That makes job searches easier for sure. If you are a CNA, then if a job posting comes up for a CNA, you qualify and apply. If you are a guitar technician and a posting comes up for a phlebotomist, you don't qualify.
 
The time has come where you need to decide if you want to work with your hands, or in an air conditioned office. After building dies in my dad's non-A/C shop for freightliner and the likes, in 90*+ NC summers...it made the decision pretty easy for me. I've been out of college for 5 years now...I think the stats say something along the lines that 85% of people won't end up in the profession they went to school for...I'm one of them that have. That said, as an employer and someone that is 20 years ahead of where he should be in his career...a college education doesn't teach you jack. That pretty piece of framed paper means about as much to me as the toilet paper I use...because I've never once had to solve an accounting word problem, or stats word problem, or financial word problem or international business word problem since I've graduated. But what that piece of paper does tell me is, you can stick with a long term task, you don't quit and you have probably learned the building blocks for me to mold. What that equation usually means for me is, after doing whatever training I need to do, is done...I can get out of their way and they'll make my team look good.
 
LibertyKK said:
I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. At graduation I thought what the hell did I learn? I have a degree in business management.

I figured I'd get into banking because it seemed like a good idea. I got lucky and landed a job with Bank of America in the Large Corporate bank dept. We basically lend money to large companies. My job isnt hard and I don't think a degree is necessary but I enjoy the atmosphere. Say what you want about BOA but they take good care of their employees.

I make a decent salary for only 4 years out of college. I have a set career path and flexible schedule.

It doesn't come with out draw backs. We would rather live closer to my wife's family and our friends. We have a long commute each day as well.
Click to expand...


I think about it this way. The job i have sponsors want i want to do in life. My job is not my life.
 
I agree with going into a branch of the military if you are unsure of what future you want. I didn't do that, went to college instead and have a job I like a lot doing complete opposite of my degree.

I sometimes wish I would have done the military thing when I wanted to at 20-21 years of age. Air Force always looks cool to me. I have a high respect for anyone in the military, past or present.

Best thing to do (my opinion here) is to seek all the advice you can get and pray about it. That's what I do now after making some poor decisions on my own in life. And seeking advice and praying works just fine for me.
 
sxi4evr said:
I have no motivation to get through college because I have no interest in any job a business degree would get me.

I have no idea what I want to do for a living.
Click to expand...


How far into college are you already?


Is "business degree" the only option offered at that school?



There are degrees in wildlife management (if you like being outdoors), there are dozens of degrees around health and nutrition that would lead to great jobs in the fitness world. I've been a fitness instructor and a gym membership sales rep and both jobs were crazy fun. Can you handle wearing gym shorts and tight t-shirts to work everyday hanging out with other trainers? Not the worst work environment. Add a degree in health or nutrition and you become a huge asset in that world.

Some of the most talented people I know don't have a degree, but all of the wealthy people I know do have one. You can make a great living without a degree, but those options are a bit narrower than it is for the same person with a degree.
 
I am retired military from a couple years ago. I still do not know what I want to do with my life. But I agree about going into the military. It is not for everyone but was great for me. And still is great for me if you knew how much I make to sit on my ass if I want to. I can tell you about anything you want to know about the Army if you want .
 
I have a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in management. I interned in HR/accounting positions & was positive this would be my career path. Much to my surprise and my husband's disappointment (he married me for my income potential), I went a totally different path...public service. I was a caseworker for 6yrs then 6 months ago I accepted a position as a fraud investigator. I'll never see a 6 figure salary but I can honestly say I love my job, there's never a dull moment! I'm pretty sure everyone's been in your position. There were countless times I considered dropping out, taking a semester off, or even transferring to a tech school. My advice is to suck it up & stick it out - not everyone knows what they want to do when they grow up but you really limit the possibilities/opportunities by not having that expensive piece of paper! ;)
 
I went to mmi in Orlando for two yrs got my certification for honda tec dyno tech late model Harley Davidson buell and vrod screaming eagle engine building and a few others.. worked on Harley's for two yrs.. it was fun but no $$$ did a few odd jobs in between getting my career started with Norfolk southern. Took me five yrs to get on but I love it. Travel weekly 4-10's but always something different. I work in the C&S department installing new RR xings and new train signals. A lot of hard construction work (shovel work) but I enjoy getting to wire these several hundred thousand dollar pieces of equipment and see them work as intended. But its not for everyone just go with your gut and think hard about your future endeavors and where you want to be down the road and choose a path.
 
I went a slightly different route. I always was intrigued by "the mind" and philosophy and obscure stuff, and knew I had no interest in a business career and wearing a suit... but I prefer to keep manual labor/working with my hands for hobbies, not for a career... so I got a BS in Psychology, got interested in neuroscience, and science as a profession... so went on to grad school (for a long time) and now I'm a professional scientist.
My career and daily life is definitely dynamic! For this you gotta love to learn new stuff but frankly there are a lot of different levels if you will, everything between being a lab tech to running things yourself as a PI. Some days are slow, some are very hectic but in our group we are inventing really cool new stuff that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world and publish things in internationally read journals so that's pretty awesome. I work in a government lab. I do have to wear a suit occasionally... when I have to give a presentation to a VIP... but most days I wear jeans to work ;-).

You asked about salary... it varies widely but in my case, I'm in a government facility and researchers start here between 75 and 80k, doesn't take long to be in the 6 figure mark. But its a long road to get there to begin with.

In my line of work, what kind of degree you have is less meaningful that what else you do while getting it. E.g. extra projects, working with somebody special... things that show initiative and that you can do things on your own.
 
go for a job of something you enjoy doing , I enjoy construction work plumber by trade no college + I can do any thing with houses, plumber $65 n hr , at the same time I worked on my own car ,ect now I am going to start mechanic yes I will be going to scc in nc. they want you to be " ase cert." if I want it bad enough I make them hire me. I was able to do that with plumbing no exp. prier at 21 now at 44 I will do it again to make money at I like doing
 
I liked to work on cars and stuff like that too. I worked thru high school just to have money to mod my jeeps. My dad is a mechanic and said he'd never let me become one, for the same reasons others have mentioned here. I decided the next closest thing was mechanical engineering, so that's what my degree is in. The degree gets your foot in the door (and knowing someone on the inside really helps too), your personality and experience get you the job. I'm a project engineer for an aerospace company and I make upper 5-figures. Work to live, not live to work.

A business degree is a pretty generic degree and applies to almost any type of industry. If you really just hate numbers, then switch to another major, but don't quit. That piece of parchment will open up doors and accelerate your future earning potential enough to justify having it.
 
Don't waste your time and money in school if you have no interest in being there. Get a job doing something you can do and can make money at and start living life until you figure out what you want to do. Your choice may lead you back to school, but then you will want to be there and be motivated.

I'm a mechanical engineer. I probably would have done something different if I could go back in time, but I'm stuck now.
 
Back
Top