DR. JEKYLL's recent thread about money and jobs got me thinking.

There MUST be a way to get into the good jobs without knowing someone (easiest way) or going to school half your life (the hard way).

Let me define "good job". I consider a good job to be one in which you have a fair amount of job security and get paid a good wage, but you are not a slave. Better yet, how about one of those GREAT jobs? We all know people that don't do a damn thing all day at their job and get paid an obscene amount of money for it, and we also know people that worked hard all their lives and have nothing to show for it. Which would you rather be?

There must be some short-cuts. One that comes to mind is being in the right place at the right time.

Now, I'll go ahead and admit that I'm probably on the low end of the spectrum compared to the many "IT-GUYS" on this board with regards to how much $$ I bring home a year. I'm at about 50-60K, which is good for my area, but not REAL money. I have 2 years of college under my belt and NOTHING could make me go back, sorry...don't like to study. But the job I have now had NOTHING to do with my college!

A friend of mine told me to go apply to this job because they were hiring, so I did, a year later I'm at 50K...and so it goes...pure luck...pure chance...right place...right time. I could have went anywhere that afternoon, and the fact is that I make more money for my area than a lot of people with degrees.

Here's the $10,000 dollar question.

Can there be a list of jobs that are high-paying and decently secure that you don't have to have a degree for? Does such a list or # of jobs exist? Can we make such a list? Are there jobs that we can find that take a minimum of training, but have high demand and pay good money?

If you know of such a job, tell us all about it. If you are one of those people that make an obscene amount of money for nothing, tell us how you landed it. If you guys know any secrets, tell us, there must be many.

As I re-read this post I think it sounds a little foolish, kiddish, and I'm close to just hitting the little black X in the top right corner, but I won't. A job is an important thing, and everyone could use an edge.

Do this for the S2000 brotherhood...lol.

Andrew

 

I know of one, but you are of the wrong sex.

 

What a great post that was

 

That can be easily changed these days.

 

go be a whore in Las Vegas, a start...j/k. yes, there are jobs that require little experience, just a little physical strength. But you really have to look for them. The ideal "great job" for me would be a high-paying, but also fun to do job for ex. computer animation artist, videogame creator, car test driver, tactical car manuevering instructor for police, military, and civilians, stuntman, or a consumer who tries out stuff, etc. But remember, you really have to look for it. There are jobs that pay a lot of money, but they seem so BORING to me, like a dentist, nurse, or lawyer. I would never apply for those boring jobs since I have no interest in them. In socal, there are tons of "fun" jobs.

But if you want to do it the easy way like the guy who stole $9 million dollars by conning people, getting at least $50,000 dollars each MONTH with no job experience or knowledge and being a lowlife, make sure you plan first.

 

It's all about how much drive and determination you have.

Take, for example, my uncle. He graduated from Simon Fraser University with a business degree. Lots of people graduate with a business degree. Instead of being just "some other guy," he MADE his future.

He became a BC politician with the Liberals, started his own software company business, got pursued by the CIA for a job position, and now he's the new Vice President of Telus, one of the biggest telephone companies in BC.... and this is all before he turned 32... and he didn't have any connections.

It just goes to show that your future, how much you make, and what you do, is all up to you.

 

First of all, I'm doing mechanical engineering at university and so I kind of lean towards a technical job.

My experience right now would tell me that the oil and gas industry is one place where you can make a TON of money without any prior experience. Naturally, it does take a bit of time, but for instance a neighbour of mine only works six months of the year and makes $80K doing so (in the oil industry). He only works in a warehouse operating a forklift! He doesn't even have any exceptional experience - they just need people badly and so they pay top dollar. The demand is HUGE and the resources don't seem to be there to fill the positions. The company I work for has over 750 jobs available right now, all over the world.

There are guys here where I work that have no formal education but easily pull in $100K+ per year - they work weird hours (long shifts, lots of overtime, but also lots of time off - three weeks on, three weeks off isn't rare) but get paid a fortune. Most just walked in without a shred of formal education and got trained on the job.

Another point in case: my uncle also has no formal education but is the major shareholder/owner/CEO/president of his own company that has an estimated worth that is off the charts (a major oil services company offered him, literally, a blank cheque to just get the LICENSE to use and market his gear independently). It's about to go public late this year/early next year. He just took a problem (drilling wells is slow), sat down for fifteen years and worked out a system that is 200 to 400% faster (as high as 10 000% faster, in some instances!). He had a knack for hydraulics and drilling systems (from experience working for another company) and used it to develop and fully patent his own system. Oh, if anyone wants shares, I can get them for you at $3 USD (instead of roughly $10 if you went to the company and asked to buy) - my father has an option on 250 000 shares that he's willing to part with (all of them, or any part thereof). Anyways, what I'm getting is that a VERY good way to make money is to take a common problem (big or small) and try to solve it. Patent what you decide on, then either sell it or get some partners and build it. Take a look at Rick's line of products - he saw a niche and jumped in (as an enthusiast and entrepreneur - a great combination) and no doubt is making money off of it (not sure how much, but he probably enjoys his job a lot more than most of us).

One caveat is that often to work in this field, you have to move away to get the really big dollars - places like Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Azerbajhan (sp?), Alaska, northern Alberta, etc, etc...so it's not exactly great on a family life or anything. Houston is also a HUGE center for the industry, which isn't TOO bad (hot). If you're single, though, it's a great way to make money (in the UAE you aren't charged any income tax, plus they pay your way to and from there, give you a home, and allow you two visits a year home!)... Another uncle put himself through college working summers on the rigs and came out with money in the bank.

These jobs are lots of work (with lots of time off, too) but you can make big dollars without any formal education or experience. Not sure if anyone would be interested in it, but it IS an option.

Last but not least, there is the famous stock play to get rich scenario. I bought into my uncle's company when shares were 10% of what they are now - I now have more than enough to buy a couple S2000s if I cash in (not to mention that shares usually jump significantly when a company first hits the public market, so maybe I can get one in every colour ). I'd suggest that if you can find a company that has privately sold shares and isn't yet publicly traded (but plans to be in the near future) and buy into it even if you just put in a few grand. Chances are that when it does go public, you can cash out fast and make at least double what you put in (often way more than that) or hold on for the long run and make even more... Be careful, but boldness does pay off a lot of the time.

My $0.02.

 

I know a guy who buys old ironwork from houses in Brazil, brings them to the US and makes coffee tables, lamps, etc. He prices them extremely high and sells them to people with exclusive homes. Each piece has a story behind it (probably made up). This guy is TONNING it!

Anything is possible. Just use your imagination and let 'em hang low.

 

Great replies, I especially like the the one about the guys making 100K+ with no formal education. Hmmm...

 

I used to work with a guy that only had a high school education and never went to college. He basically became a programmer since he was programming as a hobby. He was making some really good money and was actually a millionaire at one time in his young life. He worked for Tivo and had enough options to actually be worth a million dollars. Of course, the stock isn't as high as it was back then, but he still made a pretty good chunk of change.

Becoming a developer is probably one of the better paying jobs that you can have with only a high school education.