I’m sitting here and speculating about changing careers. I probably won’t due to the economic situation and the fact that I’d be starting at the bottom of the pay curve of a career that potentially pays less than my current one, but I was curious nonetheless, especially due to job stress and speculating that I might enjoy something else better.
There are plenty of “career training” opportunities that advertize like crazy in newspapers nowadays. I don’t really have the motivation to sit in a classroom for a few months just to qualify for a job that pays a third of what I used to make.
What are some more-than-unskilled jobs that you can study or practice for at home casually? That is, I’m interested in a career that:
Is not just unskilled labor or labor that requires only basic literacy or brief on-the-job training. So jobs like cashier and stock clerk are probably out.
Can be rationally prepared for casually. By “casually” I mean that it can be prepared for without committing to formal education or training programs. There is no maximum level of effort required as long as self-study or self-practice is a rational way to proceed in that you can actually become qualified to the point where getting hired is more than a remote possibility, even if the general consensus among career counselors is that receiving formal training is the best overall plan of action. It is is acceptable if the wannabe worker must pass a certification or licensure exam, as long as the exam may be taken with no formal training.
For example, there are plenty of Truck Driver schools that will supposedly take my tuition and train me to drive a truck and help me get a CDL. Is it possible to study the State driver’s manual at home (pick your favorite state), practice driving Uncle Earl’s large van to get oriented to large vehicles, and then show up at the DMV one morning and ask to take the CDL exam, and if you pass (somehow), you get a bright shiny CDL and trucking companies will hire you, or will the DMV tell you to get lost because you never took formal training or will the CDL be utterly useless because no-one will hire you without formal training, license or not?
I already checked and it is not possible for me to challenge the Bar exam in my state without some semblance of formal training.
Qualification in terms of legal licenses for licensed occupations is in scope, as well as practical qualifications necessary due to the way that companies work in real life. For example, there is no such thing here in the US as a government license to be a software developer, but there are strong qualifications that are necessary in practice. Since I’ve already been a software developer, I’m not terribly interested in self-study to become one, but also am curious as to whether or not someone can rationally self-study all the way from high school in today’s day and age to the point where they can get hired as a software developer. I am very well aware that such a thing was possible and common in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Actuarial practice. You will need a college degree to get hired, but neither the subject matter nor the university are important if you have passed and can continue to pass exams. And, you prepare for the exams almost entirely by self-study.
Most people holding themselves out as bookkeepers are lucky to get 1+1 to come out to 3. (Yeah, I meant 3. They expect the CPA to adjust it to 2.) There is no test or certification required and many people get a bulk of their training on the job.
Tax preparers have only recently had to pass any test to hold themselves out for practice (at the Federal level; some states have had their own requirements for a little longer). The current exam is not all that challenging and is definitely something you can achieve via self-study or a cheap online course.
Computers are one of the only “careers” (as opposed to “jobs”) which come to mind, but I’m no expert in that field.
I strongly suspect that, even in that case, you’ll need certification of some sort to get any kind of real position…certification which you might well be able to earn on your own time, but which would probably require formalized training of some degree.
There is lots of study material online. You can take free courses from MIT, Stanford, and other institutions online. There are all sorts of tutorials that tell you how to write a video game, or an iPhone app, or a something else, from relatively low levels of understanding. Given how much the internet is driven by programming and technical people, there tends to be an even greater embrace of such technologies for spreading ideas and information in this field than in others. You probably don’t need to invest any money at all (assuming you already have a non-ancient computer you’re browsing this webpage with), though a faster machine/bigger screen/more expensive tools will probably make you more productive.
There’s no certification to get*, no professional exams or state license to pass. Many companies really won’t care if you have a degree as long as you can actually do the work. And demonstrating that you can do the work is as simple as doing it. Want to get a job writing iPhone apps? Make an iPhone app. Want to get a job designing web pages? Design some web pages. Want to write a new programming language and revolutionize the software world? Well, I wouldn’t recommend that for your first project, but the only thing standing between you and that is a lot of reading, a lot of coding, and a moderate amount of shouting at the computer at 3am because what the hell does that compiler error mean?
All that said: many people seem to be unable to form the mental models required for programming regardless of instruction. You either have a mind that works that way, or you don’t. Do you love math problems and logic puzzles? Then you can probably write code.
*If you work in IT, there are lots of certifications you can get. I don’t work in IT, so I don’t know how hard they are or how important.
Sales. There’s no such thing as “sales school”. You just have to be good at selling stuff.
Computers are tricky because everyone conjurs up images of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerbug and Sean Parker dropping out of college to found billion dollar IT companies. The reality is unless you are highly entrepreneurial and create your own software products or form your own independent contracting business, it’s very difficult to sell yourself as a computer programmer with no formal education.
Definitely software. It’s something where you can gain the experience by working on your own projects. Except for those areas requiring a technical certification, it’s just a matter of resources available to you. In some states you can qualify for the bar simply by reading the law. I’m not aware of any requirements to be a lawyer that depend on any actual experience. You could study medicine on your own also, but it’s unlikely you would get licensed without a degree and experience. You could become a theoretical physicist on your own if you have the ability, but you’d have trouble finding work in that field without the formal education. But if you’re good enough at the math, a financial firm might hire you.
The limitations are your own ability, access to necessary resources, and required certifications. That leaves a lot of room. But certification requirements are on the rise, so each day the prospects of self education diminish.
Here in Maine, all you have to do is pass the Bar Exam to become a lawyer. No other education required.
My lawyer friend brags about being the only lawyer in Maine with a PHD. It happens to be in English Literature. He did go to law school as well, but it was not necessary. You could study on your own and take the Bar Exam.
I have been told that the exam is very hard and without formal training it is almost impossible to pass the Torts part.
As iamthewalrus(:3= said, software development is one place where the best proof is your work. You can study and try and create some things, or help out with some open source projects. If you have work out there that someone can see and evaluate, and they think it’s good, they will hire you.
Other things…possibly are some skilled construction and mechanical trades, but thats a work your way up proposition. Just try to refrain offering suggestions like “but the code says this and why are we…” and do your job, do it well, and a decent supervisor will eventually ask what you think.
IT-related stuff seems pretty much the only option.
The manual trades might seem like something you can pick up on your own, but there is a strong and hierarchical culture surrounding them, where issues like class and gender are not just hangups to get past, but still very real parts of one’s identity. These guys live their trade - your friends, likes, dislikes, worldview, everything is determined by the job.