OK, thanks in advance to those who are willing to help. I am basically very tired of my over 10 years of employment in the retail area. I have done decent for myself and family, despite a meager combined income of about $70k per year(average), and especially at first(when housing was cheap), but now I am not making nearly enough, and more importantly I am not happy.
I tend to like artsy/engineering type of jobs. I’m pretty well mechanically and technologically inclined. I currently do photography as a side job, and enjoy it, but it hasn’t taken off. Business wise, I haven’t put 100% into it or risked it all yet. I still consider this as a career path. For what its worth I feel that I am technically pretty good, with a decent creative side as well, but I may tire of it or loose motivation if I do it full time. With a little work, I feel as though I might make for a decent journalist as well, not just the photo side, but the editorial side too. I’m not that into sales, and such. Thats not my style. Was a real estate agent for a year and a half, but dumped it, because it wasn’t to creative, and to succeed, it seemed as though you had to be really greedy and other things. No offense to those agents on this board.
I have all my general ed stuff out of the way, and I figure I could have a bachelors in two years if I ponied up to it. I just don’t know what degree to get or even the schools I could go to. I definitely would consider a good online school. I live in Temecula and have a wife and newborn baby. My wife currently is in school and knows what she wants, and I feel confident that she will succeed in the future. She should be done and have started a better paying job in less than a year and a half.
While my first home was appreciating in value, my friends, who didn’t own homes, pursued careers or school. Luckily, I wasn’t dumb with my money. I sold my home in summer of 05, made a decent amount, and have the money safely saved away. But I now wish I had the job satisfaction that many of these friends, who now make much more than I do, but just bought their first home for 2x what I originally paid. I am willing to invest this money in my education or a future business venture.
Now is the time for me to make a change in my life. I am 30, and this is it. If you have any advice, I would appreciate it. I feet like this diverse board of people might give me a surprise idea or direction. You may even suggest a career in which you think I might not like as well. Also, I am not tied to socal either. We may want to move out someday, to maybe Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Oregon, etc. So travel is ok too.
Also, since I am a real estate bear, like many of you, and actually I am quite concerned about the economy as a whole, keep that in mind. Are there new careers that will be in high demand if the coming recession proves true? What careers would be prone to failure during such an event?
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