I am so tired of being an uneducated factory worker. No college education, crap job I don’t enjoy, putting up with people I share nothing in common with, the whole package.
To me enviroment is everything. I try to keep a creative mindset (trying to learn to write properly), keep a positive outlook, but it is hard when I have to work 5 days a week at some dusty, hot, factory with a bunch of other tired, angry people stuck doing a job they don’t enjoy.
It is not great money, and I can actually afford a bit less money. (25-30k a year). 4 years of college would be pretty easy, 6 years a bit trickier, and something like a Ph.D would be hard to say the least. (would be about 32 by the time I got out of school)
Some of the things I have contemplated are Forestry, Physics, Personal Trainer, Archeology, and even a firefighter. Forestry is a bit of a dangerous job, but has a bit of a romantic appeal. Physics is something that fascinates me, but I have never been real good at things like Algebra and Calculus. Archeology sounds great, but I think it requires teaching if you want to get a job. Teaching does not really appeal to me, I think it is standing in front of a bunch of people with me as the center of attention. Firefighter would have been great if I would have gotten into it when I first wanted to. Before 9/11, now it seems it is a career that is flooded with people interested.
What are some other good jobs for somebody that does not like alot of attention, does not have to deal with alot of people (like sales), would not detract from my attempt at being a writer, and makes a decent amount of money? (25-30k a year) I am not sure I have what it takes to start my own business, though I have a couple Ideas for web businesses, I think running something like that could leave me with little energy to write.
Pimp and stripper I think could be discluded also.
I dunno what to tell you, hun. Your best bet really is to find a way to go to college and work at the same time. Perhaps you should look into cultural anthropology. You’ll learn interesting stuff about how people react to each other and their environments, and you could work behind the scenes in a business. Your best bet would be to just take beginning classes at a college without a chosen major and talk to a counselor there. They usually have good career counseling.
I, myself, am a French major with 3 semesters left and NO IDEA what I want to do!
You really owe it to yourself to make an appointment with a college career counselor and get (free) professional feedback. At your tender age, you have an awareness of perhaps 20 percent of the career tracks that exist. You need a more complete picture to make an informed decision. A battery of assessment tests measuring your skills, interests, aptitudes, goals, etc. will give you a clearer understanding of the professions for which you are best suited. I’d also recommend reading “What Color Is Your Parachute,” a classic that is updated every year or so and is jam packed with wisdom and common sense information.
Also consider talking to as many people as possible about their work–what they like/dislike.
The good news is that your writing skills are better than 90 percent of most incoming freshman. You’re also articulate, driven, resourceful, and mature–qualities that will be invaluable in college and thereafter.
Again, talk to a career counseling professional (find a good one) and develop a realistic blueprint before you embark on your journey. Every generation, countless tens of thousands of young adult spin their wheels in college.
Cultural anthropology eh? Sounds like it would be interesting and very challenging.
Getting a Masters would give me a better chance of getting a job, but looks like a Ph.D would be better. Will definately look into it further, the site I found seemed to have some good information on it about the job. Thanks!
Well, 25-30K/year might be OK when you’re young and single if you want to do the struggling artist thing, but it’s not a particularly ambitious salary range. If you start a family or want to buy a house, you’re going to want to see that upper range increase substantially. A college degree would certainly help there.
As for your ideal job, if you like writing, you might consider journalism. The money is not spectacular, but you do get to write. You do have to deal with people. You might consider also technical writing.
One caveat -- intellectual jobs can be just as tiring as physical labor -- after a day spent doing a lot of writing/thinking for pay, you may not have the energy to go home and do the same thing for fun. It takes a lot of discipline to spend the day, say, computer programming, and then sit down in the evening and try to write a novel.
My brother-in-law is a forestry major, and at least here in the Pacific Northwest, he has had trouble finding steady long-term employment. There are a lot of short-term contract jobs to be found, but nothing with a nice 401(k) plan and health benefits. Heck, nothing that he can even reasonably expect to be doing a year from now. Apparently the industry has changed from when he decided to be a forestry major in college.
Anyway, my brother-in-law spends a lot of time living in the back of his truck, shuttling from work site to work site, and often goes up to a year without seeing his family, as his work takes him far from home. If this life seems appealing to you (it doesn’t to me, but tastes vary), it would be something to consider.
Beyond that, I support what others in this thread have said.
Former archaeologist here. I don’t know how archaeologist’s fare in the US but here in the UK I always give one piece of advice to anyone considering becoming one - Don’t.
This site has a really good overview of the situation over here.
Put simply: Archaeology is a wonderful hobby and a really crappy career.
Former archaeologist here. I don’t know how archaeologists fare in the US but here in the UK I always give one piece of advice to anyone considering becoming one - Don’t.
This site has a really good overview of the situation over here.
Put simply: Archaeology is a wonderful hobby and a really crappy career.
I thought of journalism, was at one time my goal. Don’t really remember what changed my mind, perhaps all the negativity journalists seem to recieve.
I understand about the intellectually tireing jobs. I am still not sure if my dream of writing is one of those childhood things I just never really lost. I write quite a bit, but get frustrated and delete or throw them away, or simply don’t finish them. I have alot of unfinished stuff. If I find a career I like more than writing novels or even short stories, It would still be better thing than working in a factory.
Kal: thanks for the advice on archeology, sounds like astronomy.
MsWhatsit: Sounds like forestry really isn’t my bag.
I might stick with what Ringo said. Get or start on a bachelors degree and see where it takes me. Always good to adjust plans as the battle progresses than think it will work out as planned.