I need career advice. OFF TOPIC

[hipmatt]

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? Thanks in advance, Matt

[FormerOwner]

Here are some careers that I think will have good prospects in the forseeable future:

-Physical/occupational therapist
-Pharmacist (although I’ve heard it’s getting more competitive to find a good job now – not sure if that’s true)
-Doctor
-Nurse
-Radiologic Technician
-IT guy for a hospital (programmer/analyst or database admin)
-Go into the military, get a security clearance and some technical skills, then get out and go work for a defense contractor (probably will take a long time but the military seems to be where a lot of $$ are going to be going)
-Teacher; Temecula and Murrieta teachers make 60K-70K for 9 months/year of work from what I’ve heard.
-Find some field that you know a lot about and become a middleman or broker that finds customers and works with contractors to get the jobs done. Many people make mucho $$ as middleman in various industries – almost every industry has them.

[masayako]

Whatever you do, don’t go into telecom.

My wife& I are in telecom and we are constantly worrying about layoffs. We make low 6 figures and never feel really safe at all.

[FormerOwner]

I wouldn’t recommend most IT jobs for the same reasons as masayako stated about telecom. I used to be an IT contractor and did very well during the dot-com boom but it’s VERY much a boom-bust industry with zero stability.

[barnaby33]

I only really know IT. It isn’t terribly stable but if you are good at budgeting it can be a good career for a variety of reasons. First it can be intellectually engaging, though thats not guaranteed. Its also not hard on your body. You can work in it in most cities in America, and even globally should you choose. You can even choose an hybrid form of it. You could go towards the creative side of the IT world (web design as opposed to sys admin or programmer like me.) The downside is that it is very cyclical and you will get laid off. It does pay well though.

On a correlated note, my nephew works as a photo assistant and web/system admin for a porn company. He gets to do all the things you say you like, and he has lots of variety. If you can get over the stigma of that industry or find a niche you are ok with, then it is definitely worth looking into.

My biggest caveat is that in order to smooth out the inherent instability in IT, you would need to finish your degree from someplace reputable in something engineering related. That piece of paper helps alot.

Josh

[hipmatt]

I appreciate all the info. I am also aware of the large sums of money you can make in the pron industry, but I’m not willing to go that route due to personal beliefs, and my wife wouldn’t tolerate that either.

It seems that a lot of people here on this board are in the IT field. I think I would like to look into this, do you recommend any particular schools?

[barnaby33]

Thankfully educationally there are lots of good choices, even some online options. I went to CSUSM. I got a good education at rock buttom prices. Its not quite as cheap as when I went there, but a good deal I feel. I also remember that all my CS classes were evening and late afternoon, which really helped the working people I went to school with.

UCSD extension can be a good place to start, if you just need to get some credentials to start out. As far as schools, UCSD is the 800lb gorilla in SD, but its expensive and you would have to go full time. Its classes tend not to be scheduled for working adults either.

I am also a huge believer in community colleges. Palomar and Mira Costa both have good classes and help you get back into that college feeling without the full cost.

Josh

[lindismith]

Wow, some nice piggington input!

Something that really helped me was a book called, “Do What You Are,” by a husband and wife team, (last name Tieger). It helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses, allows you to make full use of your background, fine-tune some of the confusion when you are investigating something new, and then package yourself up for your new career.

You sound like you have some great experience, and now just want something you can sink your teeth into. What a great place to be!

[sdrealtor]

Knowing what I’ve learned in over 20 years including earning a couple Master degrees and working everywhere from corporate America to tech/healthcare start-ups to RE and most recently entrepreneurial endeavors I would find your true passion and take a shot at an entrepreneurial business. I have never felt more secure, happier or more fulfilled. (Disclaimer: RE while fitting into part of this is not my sole source of income). I cant imagine ever working for someone again waiting for my job to right-sized. There is so much opportunity in this world and the biggest rewards go to the entrepreneurs not the technical professionals. If your wife is about finish school and will do well in her position it should help give you the confidence to go for it. (Disclaimer2: Buying a franchise is not entreprenurial its buying a job not a true business.)

[hipmatt]

I just want to say thanks for all the input and positive remarks. For the next few months I will be researching my options carefully. I am taking it all in, thanks, Matt

[kewp]

My advice, don’t go to UCSD (at least not yet), work there!

The UC system is fairly notorious for not paying competitively (UCSD particularly), which you can use to your advantage. They have a hard time attracting the top talent, so often you can get in without the degree/experience that are required in the private sector.

Its a great campus and there are tons of fringe benefits, for example, if you live in/near Hillcrest you can take a free shuttle to upper campus! Thats worth 10k a year to me! Plus they offer flextime, telecommuting, decent vegan food on campus… tons of perks.

Some tips if you are interested…

Salt your resume with keywords from the job posting. The first round of review is automated.

Negotiate the highest salary you can when you come in, as raises are few and far between. Plan on changing jobs instead of promotions.

No need to work overtime, so consider getting a side gig/hobby that can generate some extra revenue.

[Author]

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