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Note: Suggestions cannot be based in entertainment or sports industry.
I'll start off with electrician. Pretty good money, and unless working on industrial jobs, your home every night.
Small town Police or sheriff.. Good luck getting a promotion though. Super fun job, though. They will pay enough to get by in a small town, but not much more.
Edit: maybe I put fun above money.
I'd get started in a machine shop. Competent CNC programmers and operators are always in demand. The only real requirement is thinking through problems and being meticulous..
Edit: With no experience, though, plan to start sweeping floors until your prove your worth :)
Small business owner. You dictate your pay by how much you bust your ass. Very rewarding though.
ThePhranc wrote:Small business owner. You dictate your pay by how much you bust your ass. Very rewarding though.
+1.
Firefighter. Lots of fun. Very rewarding. Usually come home at night.
Ranger50 wrote:ThePhranc wrote:Small business owner. You dictate your pay by how much you bust your ass. Very rewarding though.
+1.
Agreed. Best so far.
My neighbor and friends owns his own Accessibility Equipment business. He installs chair lifts, elevators, and outdoor wheelchair ramps and decks. He makes good money, but doesn't do quite enough business to let the business run itself.
Business owner.
The guy who delivers the mower and crew to cut my neighbor's grass rolls a $100k benz when he isn't pulling a 36' trailer bearing his name down the side with a big dodge diesel.
The guy who comes to clean out my septic tank has his name on the truck, lives in a neighborhood where $450k gets you the entry level McCastle.
Whatever you end up doing - be the guy with his name on the sign and do it well and the expensive piece of paper from college is something you can require of your employees.
I've just started to think that income, freedom/flexibility, and happiness in ones job is very valuable. I'm a humanist, and I feel bad about taking advantage of people, and I also want to leave "a good mark" on society.
Some of the greatest philanthropists I know were tradesman. Take the plumber who makes a good living and goes to Africa to build wells. Or the electrician who teaches developing countries how to utilize solar power.
I'm becoming very jaded as an underpaid office worker in a cubicle.
Bill Gates doesn't have a degree.......
Woody wrote:Firefighter. Lots of fun. Very rewarding. Usually come home at night.
The topic specified 'highest paying' - the firefighters I know either have second jobs, are looking for second jobs, or are living off their wifes' income.
A lot of highly compensated IT jobs are based on certifications and experience. My highest-paid family members are all in IT and none of them have degrees. One who just turned 30 makes six figures as a Siebel CRM instructor, and never even went to high school (she got her GED and started working instead).
nderwater wrote:In my experience, there is no identifiable group anywhere that is a tighter group of cheapskates than firemen.The topic specified 'highest paying' - the firefighters I know either have second jobs, are looking for second jobs, or are living off their wifes' income.
Teachers come close, but firemen win.
Hilarious that this discussion pops up today of all days. Trying to stay motivated to continue my mechanical engineering degree.
How far into it are you?
I've always wished that I was good enough at math and hard sciences to be a mechanical engineer.
I would be picky about jobs though. I would want to be in product testing/design, preferably in an outdoor industry.
Taiden wrote:Hilarious that this discussion pops up today of all days. Trying to stay motivated to continue my mechanical engineering degree.
When you are done you get to make ok money and drive a desk!
Sitting here trying to stay motivated to not jump ship on mechanical engineering career..
Too bad you said "No Entertainment". I'm a stagehand by trade. Most of my coworkers don't have a degree. Heck, some don't have HS diplomas.
I work a regular 40 hour week, although it is, by nature, the evening shift.
My earnings are in the (very) high 5 figures. Guys with a little more hustle make $100k.
nocones wrote: When you are done you get to make ok money and drive a desk!
The fate of too many engineers I know. These are also the same guys who ask me how difficult the process of replacing brake pads is.
A lot of these jobs are disappearing. The only way a tradesman is making that much money is if his name is on the sign. That said, these jobs generally pay more than entry-level "professional" jobs. The college guys don't pass you until several years in, if they're not hired on to be your boss straight out of college.
About the Mech E thing: Stick with it if you're 2 years in. You don't have to work as an Engineer when you graduate. You could do R&D somewhere, or eventually do consulting or something. You could go to law school and do patent law. Boring, but $$$$$. Besides, you're not a real engineer until you do the PE thing anyway.
EvanR wrote: Too bad you said "No Entertainment". I'm a stagehand by trade.
I'll let it slide, if only because there are many trade jobs related to entertainment and sports.
Tell me, how does one become a stagehand?
PHeller wrote:EvanR wrote: Too bad you said "No Entertainment". I'm a stagehand by trade.I'll let it slide, if only because there are many trade jobs related to entertainment and sports.
Tell me, how does one become a stagehand?
You are going to need a Stage coach.
PHeller wrote:EvanR wrote: Too bad you said "No Entertainment". I'm a stagehand by trade.I'll let it slide, if only because there are many trade jobs related to entertainment and sports.
Tell me, how does one become a stagehand?
Evil union onion peeps.
nderwater wrote:Woody wrote:Firefighter. Lots of fun. Very rewarding. Usually come home at night.
The topic specified 'highest paying' - the firefighters I know either have second jobs, are looking for second jobs, or are living off their wifes' income.
They're doing it wrong.
Woody wrote:nderwater wrote:Woody wrote:Firefighter. Lots of fun. Very rewarding. Usually come home at night.
The topic specified 'highest paying' - the firefighters I know either have second jobs, are looking for second jobs, or are living off their wifes' income.
They're doing it wrong.
So, your wife is a lawyer or doctor, right? A lot of my Army buddies married balling women that wanted pet soldiers. I guess firemen can be the same.
I kid I kid.
