I have found myself stuck in a job without a future I want and I need to ask: what is a good job that doesn't require training in a specific field? I am very employable but the jobs I have had are not the jobs I want in the future. any suggestions?
careers without degrees
- Thread starter gramage
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That's kind of a vague question. Obviously all of the professions (medicine. law, engineering, accounting etc) need a high degree of education not to mention job-specific training. Outside of that though there are many areas that don't necessarily require specific training, but do require prior experience as you move up the ladder.
I live in the world of finance. My degree has nothing in particular to do with my actual job, but there are certain elements of the university education I do use from time to time. From a job perspective, the vast majority of what I know has been picked up along the way. In that sense, I have been trained then in a rather specific field.
If you're wiling to start over again, you can work your way up but at the extreme, that will mean taking a job at $30K per year. Are you willing to do this?
You need to formulate a general idea of what you want to do. Sometimes it's easier to figure out what you don't want to do then see what's left. For me, I work in a department that has a very specific function within the company. I have little to no desire to be one of the mainstream folks in my department. My strengths lie in operations which is what I do. I support those who do other things. In military terms, I'm very close to the front line and I can see everything that's going on, but I'm just one step behind the guys who are on the actual line. My general goal is to end up in a "C" level position; CEO, CIO or COO are all positions I could see myself doing in the future so I'm trying to gain enough exposure to areas that support that eventual goal.
Guess I'm kinda rambling here. Is this helping at all?
I live in the world of finance. My degree has nothing in particular to do with my actual job, but there are certain elements of the university education I do use from time to time. From a job perspective, the vast majority of what I know has been picked up along the way. In that sense, I have been trained then in a rather specific field.
If you're wiling to start over again, you can work your way up but at the extreme, that will mean taking a job at $30K per year. Are you willing to do this?
You need to formulate a general idea of what you want to do. Sometimes it's easier to figure out what you don't want to do then see what's left. For me, I work in a department that has a very specific function within the company. I have little to no desire to be one of the mainstream folks in my department. My strengths lie in operations which is what I do. I support those who do other things. In military terms, I'm very close to the front line and I can see everything that's going on, but I'm just one step behind the guys who are on the actual line. My general goal is to end up in a "C" level position; CEO, CIO or COO are all positions I could see myself doing in the future so I'm trying to gain enough exposure to areas that support that eventual goal.
Guess I'm kinda rambling here. Is this helping at all?
Yes, what kind of things do you enjoy? Do you like working with people? What are you good at? There are many professions that don't require a degree.
You could always consider being Real Estate Agent.
The market has been very hot for the past few years with alot of money to be made.
To get your license you need to pass three exams; phase 1, 2 and 3. Note that with real estate you won't be working the conventional 9-6 since people usually look at houses during the nights or on weekends when they don't have to work.
Check out this link for more info: http://www.orea.com/index.cfm/ci_id/119/la_id/1.htm
The market has been very hot for the past few years with alot of money to be made.
To get your license you need to pass three exams; phase 1, 2 and 3. Note that with real estate you won't be working the conventional 9-6 since people usually look at houses during the nights or on weekends when they don't have to work.
Check out this link for more info: http://www.orea.com/index.cfm/ci_id/119/la_id/1.htm
CNR locomotive driver.
You can make 200 grand a year.
And you don't need a degree and you can live out some of those boyhood fantasies.
You can make 200 grand a year.
And you don't need a degree and you can live out some of those boyhood fantasies.
gramage said:
I too would like to know what dream job that is.
Selling real estate requires specific training. Maybe generic sales. But this sounds to me like "I want to be really successful without having to do much to get it." Making a career switch in mid-stream pretty much requires you to either already be very good at something else or to get retrained/educated.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/02/24/cb.no.degree.jobs/index.html
The best job, for someone without a degree, by far, is air traffic controller. They get paid six figures for sitting in a comfortable chair and making sure planes don't collide.
The best job, for someone without a degree, by far, is air traffic controller. They get paid six figures for sitting in a comfortable chair and making sure planes don't collide.
stinkynuts said:
Unless like me you wonder how close you can get the planes to eachother. And you wonder if you can land one every 70 seconds. Needless to say I did not apply
stinkynuts said:
Whoa there fella. Air traffic controlling is one of the highest stress jobs out there. It's anything but just sitting in a chair counting your money. However, if you wanna take up drinking as a hobby, this may be the job for you!
Sales is a great fasttrack to career advancement. But you can also consider Factory assembly line work. They start you off at 17.50 an hour if you work direct for the company or 11.00 if you work for an agency so I reccommend you stay away from factory.
Exactly...
...what I was going to say, though I was going to qualify by saying "non technical". (For technical sales - epsecially big dollars...education is required not only to understand the product but for crediablity with the customer).
Tons of non-techincal sales fields...SP for example.
Usually do not pay well (base) however...and usually have tons of turnover (due to failure to make quota) plus lots of burnout (as it tends to be very, very draining work - lots of rejection)...
Examples...SP...Insurance salesman....Car salesman....typically not the sort of lofty titles that garner lots of respect.
But if you are good...you do very well....
C Dick said:
...what I was going to say, though I was going to qualify by saying "non technical". (For technical sales - epsecially big dollars...education is required not only to understand the product but for crediablity with the customer).
Tons of non-techincal sales fields...SP for example.
Usually do not pay well (base) however...and usually have tons of turnover (due to failure to make quota) plus lots of burnout (as it tends to be very, very draining work - lots of rejection)...
Examples...SP...Insurance salesman....Car salesman....typically not the sort of lofty titles that garner lots of respect.
But if you are good...you do very well....
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Gramage, I recall you dropped out of school after enrolling in some hopelessly unemployable program like theatre arts or something.
There are basically two ways to make a decent amount of money without a degree and they both involve hard work:
-- get some kind of commissioned position, like sales, real estate, or insurance, and work your ass off
-- start your own business, and work your ass off
Those are the only two ways to make tons of money without a degree that I know of. There are some pretty good jobs out there that don't require a degree but they do require SOME training: become a skilled worker at a unionized shop. Like, a welder, or some such. To get the really good jobs you need to go to college and spend a year or two learning some basic skills. Plumber/electrician/etc. are other examples of non-degree jobs that pay well, but you do need significant education and training. It might fit you better than an accounting degree if you prefer something more hands on, etc., but it's a world away from theatre arts.
The days when there were good high paying unskilled union jobs to be had are long gone, those plans are downsizing, the jobs are going to China, "and they ain't coming back" as the song says.
If you are enterprising there are lots of ways to make a lot of money but it sounds to me like you are looking for an "easy way" and there ain't no such thing.
There are basically two ways to make a decent amount of money without a degree and they both involve hard work:
-- get some kind of commissioned position, like sales, real estate, or insurance, and work your ass off
-- start your own business, and work your ass off
Those are the only two ways to make tons of money without a degree that I know of. There are some pretty good jobs out there that don't require a degree but they do require SOME training: become a skilled worker at a unionized shop. Like, a welder, or some such. To get the really good jobs you need to go to college and spend a year or two learning some basic skills. Plumber/electrician/etc. are other examples of non-degree jobs that pay well, but you do need significant education and training. It might fit you better than an accounting degree if you prefer something more hands on, etc., but it's a world away from theatre arts.
The days when there were good high paying unskilled union jobs to be had are long gone, those plans are downsizing, the jobs are going to China, "and they ain't coming back" as the song says.
If you are enterprising there are lots of ways to make a lot of money but it sounds to me like you are looking for an "easy way" and there ain't no such thing.
