Sorry, to be more specific, helping by defending people in court does not appeal to me.



I agree with everybody. One should like the career they are dedicated to and be less concerned with "which one pays higher". Maybe I was a little vague so I'll try to clarify in what way I can about my original post.

First, my intention isn't to see who is making $xx,xxx in what career so I can try it. Anybody that is genuinely asking "what should I do?" to a group of people he/she has never met will never get the answer they want. But what I do believe works, is asking people WITH SOME OF THE SAME INTERESTS as yourself what they do for a living. The individuals answers won't be definate by any means, but since some part of they're brain favors the same interests as yours, then it stands to reason that they're career MIGHT interest you. Again, the answer is not definate, though it'll give you a direction and path to research/investigate, and ultimately make up your own mind.

I guess what I'm trying to say is best said metaphorically:

Some paths are left hidden untill a fellow traveler points them out to you. Now, you have NO idea whats down that path, but he does. And he tells you about it (but keep in mind to separate fact from opinion). The only one that is going to decide to go down that path is you. Could be a better path, could be worse, but at least now its not hidden and you are now more informed than you were before.

But he could be lying, or biased! So whats the next best thing? Go to the lodge where all travelers are gathered and ask everybody what worked for them! Now you have some real knowledge and its time to decide what YOU will do with that knowledge.

So, just to stay on topic, what do you guys do for a living?

I appreciate everyone's answers thus far.

 

I'll throw my .02 in here. Healthcare will always be a good field. It's going to keep expanding, and I see no end in sight.

I'm an Engineer in the motion control industry. Anything that moves, from lumber mills to Intel. I do a bit of everything (mechanical design, programming, and electrical). I'm a EE by training. Nice thing about my job is you work from your house. I travel quite a bit, but it's not 100% travel. When it's slow, you can do track events, work on the car, etc...

When it's busy, your on the road. Figure most engineers are low six figure jobs.

 

Okay, your re-clarification probably helps us understand your original question, goals, etc. (not that it should matter to us completely, but when it seems like you're asking for advice well-minded and intended people try to do their best).

1. I am a Mechanical Engineer by schooling and my first 3 years of work, but I know work as a Sales Engineer (Application Engineer/pre-sales engineer/Solution Consultant) for a software company.

It sounds like my job has the same attributes as blackey; work from home, travel to customers on demand of customer engagements, heavy/slow periods and flexibility of time.

2. Healthcare, as blackey points out, is a good field to look towards as it looks to only grow in the future. I'm unsure about the earlier comment about European doctors not making much. They make make less ultimate money than our doctors may, but from most of what I've read the differential between that job and the average wage is still positive.

In any case, not every job in Healthcare is doctor and requires 12 years of schooling. My wife is a Nurse by training (4 year degree required these days), worked her way from drawing blood and bedpans to a cardiac specialty, and now she works for a company in field support for those cardiac specialty products. Again similar to blackey and me, she works from home, has variable hours, long days and slow days, etc.

One thing you might want to consider, and be realistic about, is whether you see yourself getting into formal sanctioned racing which is usually all on or around weekends (Fridays + weekend, sometimes Thursday -thru weekend) or if you're going to be just a 'track day junkie' which often have as many or more non-weekend opportunities.

If I were to try to extract a theme, a job with a less fixed schedule is probably more conducive to being able to accommodate this hobby (ignoring money). And by less fixed, it's not explicitly that you don't have a schedule (fixed hours) but it's not always the same and you have some control over them sometime in advance. My brother-in-law is a CRNA - Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (4 year nursing degree + 2 year program after), he makes good money, works in a hospital (shifts similar to hospital shows like ER, etc.) but he gets his 'shifts' set a month in advance and can put in the days prior to their schedule build that he doesn't want to work.

Sorry for the long post, just trying to help the discussion.

 

I work in a bank managing clients.

Initial years are tough (constant client interaction/business trips) but gradually it opens up more time for tracking. 8-12 trackdays a year seems quite possible.

I am currently keeping the car stock (except for safety/reliability modications i.e. brake ducting or oil cooler) and if I add all the costs in, I still have a reasonably modest expenditure budgeted for this year.

I live quite simply and am not a party animal so there's enough left over to pamper the car at times.

Next year or come year end, I should be able to move on a modified setup at one go and practice with a balanced setup.

Also planning to be more involved in karting and the local club level events.

Good thread btw.

 

I think nursing is a great balance of good pay, job security, future options, not having decades of school, and not having mountains of loans.

 

Came across some interesting info about a specific job.

Looking around for anything related to the MOS Landing Support Specialist (military) and found Longshoreman. Specifically the guys working on the west coast. The ILWU, International Longshore and Warehouse Union is probably the strongest union in the country and are therefore paid accordingly. Paid willingly? No! If something doesn't sit well with them, they go on strike, and the entire west coast shuts down. Now thats power. And as of 2002 average salary is 100,000, check out this source, interesting stuff especially since you don't need a degree.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/06/weekinre...&pagewanted=all

And apparently they work only when they want. Here's an interview with a longshoreman.
[media]YfT7p0mN85k [/media]

Now I've heard many opinions. Is this an example of what a good, strong union should be like? Or is it a monopoly? Sounds like a bit of both to me. So what can the country do about it? Union Busting!!!

http://www.canamex.org/

I'm not quite sure about that one, but the next one is a government website and says

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations. It also calls for the gradual elimination, over a period of 15 years, of most remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and services among the three countries.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_pro...ee_trade/nafta/

Do your own search on this stuff and you'll see a rediculous amount of "conspiracy theories". But some of this is fact (just have to sort through the trash, and there's alot of it), and will effectively bust/bypass the ILWU by importing/exporting through Mexico and having their drivers (who will be doing the job for much less, of course) transport the goods up here.

But the ILWU did support Obama's run for presidency, so its possible that at least the majority of port operations in Oakland, San Francisco, Southern California would still remain open...........right?

http://www.ilwu.org/

Politics, my friends, is a tricky business.

In any case, back to the main topic. Getting into the ILWU would be a great opportunity; its just very difficult, hiring new guys comes around every 5 years to keep benefits and pay for the current union members high. And you gotta be fit, like to get dirty, and work outside. To make getting in easier, you have to be a minority, know someone who knows someone, and past experience would help. And you only work when you want to?(i can smell burnt rubber and sears already) Granted, you have to show you are a dependable, hard worker before you get your pick of what jobs you want.

Downside. Entirely dependant on the economy. And its kind of a seasonal job; certain parts of the year they'll just be swamped with work and others, just not as much.

 

P_orn was fun but didn't pay enough. So, I went back to grad school and got my MBA and started working for a defense contractor. You'll find people of all backgrounds on here. Do what you love...take a Friday off a month.

That being said, I am dying to get done with school and start saving for more goodies!

 

I'm a student and no, it doesn't make me nearly enough money

In summers/time off from school I'm a legal assistant at a real estate firm in Charlottesville and warehouse manager at Skyline Lighting (also in Charlottesville). Both of these combined still don't do it for me, I'm only racing AS autocross with the S and I still find myself struggling to keep up with the rate at which I burn through race tires and costs of attending events (to be fair, I've put 45 runs on my current set of tires in just 3 weeks/events, so I'm simply driving a lot mroe than normal these days).

I have plans to either attend law school or get my masters and either teach or work for the government after I finish undergrad (dual major in spanish and political science/pre-law) in 2 years. We'll see how that goes though.