Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skill?

[Jimmy cooper]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

And they will never go higher, to say district manager or above. 100 grand seems high for store manager.

 

[N918KT]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Kind of funny to watch people advise a kid that isn't willing to put in the effort to go to college that he can get ahead by working hard...

If he is willing and capable of working hard (not physical hard work), then he will be better served by college.

For your information, I go to college and have no plans to drop out.

The reason I created this thread is because one of my friends does not go to college, and may not have the ability for college or vocational education. She works at a local supermarket. So I am trying to find out for her which jobs are decent pay without too much skill or education.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

For your information, I go to college and have no plans to drop out.

The reason I created this thread is because one of my friends does not go to college, and may not have the ability for college or vocational education. She works at a local supermarket. So I am trying to find out for her which jobs are decent pay without too much skill or education.

What limits her "ability for college or vocational education"?

 

[N918KT]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

I rather not go into detail.

 

[Henning]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

For your information, I go to college and have no plans to drop out.

The reason I created this thread is because one of my friends does not go to college, and may not have the ability for college or vocational education. She works at a local supermarket. So I am trying to find out for her which jobs are decent pay without too much skill or education.

Stripper pays pretty well most places, or she can place a service ad here

 

[MAKG1]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Stripper pays pretty well most places, or she can place a service ad here

Yeah, but that's a skill.

Especially evading the undercover cops.

 

[Henning]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Yeah, but that's a skill.

Especially evading the undercover cops.

That's the way government collects tax on 'the oldest profession'.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

I rather not go into detail.

Given that a lot of people "went into detail" to provide you information, including many that suggested oil field jobs that might require more physical strength than most females have, it seems like your "lack of detail" is kind of important.


She either can't afford it, or is too dumb? There are ways to afford it, if she is too dumb, then she may be looking for minimum wage jobs, or, taking Henning's suggestion.

 

[N918KT]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

She has some kind of developmental disability.

 

[Skip Miller]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Put your boots on and head up to Prudhoe Bay or the Bakken.

+1. Roughnecking in the oil or gas industry is hard work but it pays well, as soon as you get beyond the noobie stage. I'm sure you always wanted to spend the winter in North Dakota....

-Skip

 

[Skip Miller]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

So much for that for a second career. I'm afraid that 56 is a bit back in the rear-view mirror.

Yup! I can't see it in the rear view mirror any more.

-Skip

 

[poadeleted21]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Given that a lot of people "went into detail" to provide you information, including many that suggested oil field jobs that might require more physical strength than most females have, it seems like your "lack of detail" is kind of important.


She either can't afford it, or is too dumb? There are ways to afford it, if she is too dumb, then she may be looking for minimum wage jobs, or, taking Henning's suggestion.

Now that we know she's a female, she could still go to the oil fields and make a ton of money more than if she were a male.

When the dudes get back to Anchorage from the North Slope and wind up at the ABC club, it is not pretty.

 

[Henning]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Now that we know she's a female, she could still go to the oil fields and make a ton of money more so than if she were a male.

Oh hell yeah

 

[Concorde]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

You taking over for Henning? I would expect that from him. You missed gigolo. A job any guy with a blue pill can do.

But he can't fly for six hours after taking the blue pill .

 

[Skip Miller]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

She has some kind of developmental disability.

In all seriousness, that is a problem. People get paid for brains or brawn. Or social services broadly defined.

If she can't carve out a niche for herself the future doesn't hold much promise. My daughter has a friend who has been diagnosed as bi-polar. Great kid on the up days, but long term potential? Not so much. Now bi-polar may have little to do with your friend, but if the disability is significant, well... there you are.

-Skip

 

[Howard Wilson]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

What is she interested in?

 

[denverpilot]

You can get by just fine without a degree in the software/IT world. That said, you need to be good at what you do, and becoming good at what you do will take many years of ass-busting and late nights unpaid.

I'd have to agree here. No degree here, very good pay. Lots of hours.

Two ways I offset and avoided the low pay help desk route:

1) work overnights and volunteer for everything. Nobody wants to be up at 2AM. You volunteer to do tough tech stuff in the middle of the night some old fart like me WILL teach you, show you how once and cut you loose. And now you have a friend who wants to see you succeed and move up.

2) Volunteer to travel. Nothing like sitting at a customer site with $400K worth of test equipment and a $2M server farm or integrated product/system that isn't working, and a manual in PDF format, and a feeling you shouldn't wake up the Product Support Tier 4 guy, to motivate you and get creativity going! Or to get your memory for "I've been bitten by this before, where's my notes?" habit built. All while seeming cool and calm to the customer. (I can't tell ya how many times I had no damn idea what was wrong and saying, "We'll get it working." sincerely to a customer. Persistence helps. F___ing computer is not going to win.

 

[tinerj]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

$100k in student loans is because they weren't smart and for some reason, wanted to be $100k in debt. You can go to college for $3-5k or so per semester at the local public university.

And live at home. With food and lodging paid by parents. And get a degree at a local college in General Studies.

 

[us AAirways]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

And they will never go higher, to say district manager or above. 100 grand seems high for store manager.

They make that. I used to work there. Dept Managers of plumbing, electrical, etc make $50-60k.

Not worth all the pressure they put you under. But, If you like that sort of career, the money is there. With that company anyway.

Even with the earning potential, they have a high turn over.

 

[flibmeister]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

I was interested in training as an Air Traffic Controller until I read their fine print: the cutoff age to start is 30. I wish I had thought of it before I hit 30. I have a bachelor's degree also.

Yeah, the cutoff age for hiring is due to the mandatory retirement age-- if they hire you later than 30, you can't put in the time needed to qualify for the pension before you turn 56.

 

[VA Aviator]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Mentioned earlier, but deserves mentioning again-- air traffic controller. There's a nationwide open bid next month, here's the training/experience requirements:

"Applicants must have at least 3 years of progressively responsible work experience, a 4 year degree, or a combination of the two."

I've seen guys with nothing more than a high school diploma and three years working at the local McDonald's do well. I've also seen guys with multiple college degrees and ATP pilot qualifications wash out in the first six months.

It's all about aptitude for the job-- some folks have it, most folks don't. But if you have it, you can make well into six figures fairly quickly, enjoy great benefits, then mandatory retirement at age 56 (and optional retirement even earlier).

Can I PM you for more information???

Thanks....

 

[weilke]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Work the oil field for 3 years. Stay away from hookers booze and drugs. After 3 years you will realize that most of the guys that get flown in by their company In a jet DO have college and graduate degrees. Go back to school, pay cash, start career.

 

[flibmeister]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Can I PM you for more information???

Thanks....

Sure, I'll be happy to talk to you about the job itself. But, I'm afraid I won't be much help when it comes to current hiring practices-- I've been retired awhile. If that's what you're looking for, www.stuckmic.com is where a lot of both current and aspiring controllers hang out-- they'll have the scoop on the February bid.

 

[dell30rb]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

As long as you can pass a pee test...... That seems to be very difficult for a lot of applicants... Sigh...

Hey, more jobs for me.

Right now I am trying to get a sales job with my company (medical device). I've been with the company for 3.5 years since it was a start-up. Doing office management/ human resources /accounting and some engineering work. We don't have any sales people and have just begun to market our device. Boss wants me to do a management role (probably manufacturing) and thinks I'm crazy for wanting an outside sales job. "are you sure? all that travel.. and you make money off of comission.." Exactly the reasons I want a sales job. I like traveling and I like to make money $$$ so I will be highly motivated.

I've also been looking at some of the other jobs mentioned here, like heavy equipment mechanic and diesel mechanic. I recently saw an ad for a job I thought was pretty good in AK. It was 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off and $80k/yr. I could probably make some good money in those 3 weeks off doing ferry/contract pilot work.


Lots of opportunity out there.

 

[momalley]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

My brother is a union plumber and makes about $175k/yr

I'm an telecom engineer/manager and make about $115k/yr

Neither of us have anything above a HS Diploma

 

[Henning]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Hey, more jobs for me.

Right now I am trying to get a sales job with my company (medical device). I've been with the company for 3.5 years since it was a start-up. Doing office management/ human resources /accounting and some engineering work. We don't have any sales people and have just begun to market our device. Boss wants me to do a management role (probably manufacturing) and thinks I'm crazy for wanting an outside sales job. "are you sure? all that travel.. and you make money off of comission.." Exactly the reasons I want a sales job. I like traveling and I like to make money $$$ so I will be highly motivated.

I've also been looking at some of the other jobs mentioned here, like heavy equipment mechanic and diesel mechanic. I recently saw an ad for a job I thought was pretty good in AK. It was 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off and $80k/yr. I could probably make some good money in those 3 weeks off doing ferry/contract pilot work.

Of course being a full time professional pilot would be great but its much harder to find the right combination of pay/benefits/time off. Right now i'm having fun doing ferry trips as my work schedule allows, and the ones I can't take I pass off to a friend / cfi.

Lots of opportunity out there.

One thing about hitch work like that (3 on/3 off) is getting your time off may be difficult. If they don't have a relief for you.

 

[Tom-D]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

There is a guy here that owns a porta-pot rental company, got one of those suck trucks and a bunch of port potty thingies and makes over 100 g per year.

 

[cdahl]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Education is a powerful thing......and they'll never take it from you!!!

 

[RJM62]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Education is a powerful thing......and they'll never take it from you!!!

Knowledge is power. Education is paper. Given the choice between a knowledgeable person and an educated person, I'll choose the former over the latter every time.

-Rich

 

[tinerj]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Education is a powerful thing......and they'll never take it from you!!!

Except in most technical and scientific fields it is obsolete in 7 years.

 

[JeffDG]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Knowledge is power. Education is paper. Given the choice between a knowledgeable person and an educated person, I'll choose the former over the latter every time.

-Rich

Especially when you consider that a knowledgeable person, who is not educated, has the skills to acquire new knowledge independently. And that skill is absolutely priceless.

 

[Ken Ibold]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Without formal training etc, it's all about HOW you play the game...as stated before, gamesmanship & strategy.

Therefore: Get a Gummint job. Local, State, Federal, Obama...it don't matter...bennies are good if the entity doesn't go bankrupt...until then they've got your back...besides, they'll print mo' money to make payroll. That just doesn't work for my business, however. My copier isn't that good.

Comments???

I was recently talking to a federal worker who just took a job in a new office. This is a quote: "Never in my life have I seen so many ex secretaries and GEDs who rose to jobs paying $190,000. And they just sit around all the time and literally do nothing. The few of us who aren't lazy end up doing all of the actual work."

No thank you. That environment would be poison to me.

 

[us AAirways]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Knowledge is power. Education is paper. Given the choice between a knowledgeable person and an educated person, I'll choose the former over the latter every time.

-Rich

I know people with advanced degrees that couldn't nail two pieces of wood together if their lives depended on it.

Bill Gates never finished college. I would say he has been successful.

 

[jtheune]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

I know people with advanced degrees that couldn't nail two pieces of wood together if their lives depended on it.

Bill Gates never finished college. I would say he has been successful.

So he is the poster child for going into your own business.

 

[MAKG1]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

I know people with advanced degrees that couldn't nail two pieces of wood together if their lives depended on it.

Bill Gates never finished college. I would say he has been successful.

Do you make all your decisions from the outliers, or did you get flight training like everyone else here?

Bill Gates may have made a successful business, but the field is littered with the corpses of ventures that didn't go nearly as well. Almost all startups fail.

Yes, many things CAN be done without education, but it sure makes a big obstacle you wouldn't have otherwise.

Most of us try to learn from others' mistakes so we don't have to make them all ourselves. Such is the point of education.

 

[weilke]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

The folks who are successful without much of a formal education wouldn't have had a problem obtaining a college degree.

 

[ChrisK]

The folks who are successful without much of a formal education would have had no problems getting a college degree.

Huh. That's a good point.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Knowledge is power. Education is paper. Given the choice between a knowledgeable person and an educated person, I'll choose the former over the latter every time.

-Rich

Why do you think knowledge and education have to be mutually exclusive?

Given a educated person WITH knowledge, I would always choose that candidate over one WITHOUT education.

 

[weilke]

Re: Any decent pay job or career that does not require a college degree or trade skil

Given a educated person WITH knowledge, I would always choose that candidate over one WITHOUT education.

I hire the person who I expect to be able to show up on time and do the job.

 

[JoseCuervo]

I hire the person who I expect to be able to show up on time and do the job.

Not exactly a challenging set of standards.