I chose programmer in the 80s and it paid off for a while. However, US corporations always go for the low cost solution and therefore outsourced high paying programmer positions as often as possible. Even though I saw what was happening, I had no choice but to train my replacements. Eventually, the younger, less expensive folks win. Now with AI, their days are numbered too.
On the flip side, my buddy who barely made it through high school chose to be a plumber and he built a company that is worth millions today.
With that in mind, I think that we need to reconsider the value of skilled trades.
no choice?????? you could have left. my buddy mike is a 6 figures programmer and his whole company knows if they so much as change his thermostat off 65 degrees he will fucking ghost and instantly cripple their entire organization for a fixed amount of time and return with demands.
His employment contract dictates HIS terms to THEM.
Must be nice. That wasn't my situation. I definitely had more pull with the companies that I worked for than non-programmers, but I don't own multiple houses, a boat, and a helicopter like my plumber friend does. As long as he stays the course, he'll continue to prosper.
Serious question - are you talking about basically being a subcontractor to funeral homes? Because wouldn't most any funeral home have their own crematorium?
Do what you love, or at least like. Don't put too much store into a college degree and for sure don't get into huge debt for it. DOING and CREATING/PRODUCING mean much more that a piece of paper saying you sat in a classroom for X number of years.
No one can predict the future, and the job you will have in 10 years might not even exist right now - just follow your passion with a clear head and you will do great and have a happy life!
A quality window and door installer, fence installer, plumbing, construction, painter, etc
Auto mechanic, appliance repair, roofer..
Take those tests and see what fields you are drawn to. Then, dont be afraid to switch gears if you get going and don't like it (not too many times though..lol).
Then.. have a goal to learn and do quality, honest work!
I would go into a medical care field, particularly care for cancers, heart problems or for people with disabling long term conditions.
The medical field took the Covid Vax at nearly a 100% rate. Many of the medical profession will be dying soon of their vax damage. There will be lots of job opportunities for unvaxed people.
60% of the American public took the vax. There will be a 500% increase in cancers, heart problems and long term health problems. There will be unending work available in every state.
Trades and anything related to computers, including IT, networking, databases, GIS, etc. Those two fields are always going to be in demand no matter what.
Learn sound economics. fundamentals of banking. Law is wonderful knowledge to have for patriots. History - there will be so much work shining light on real history, it would be a wonderful field. Holistic medicine - another light shining.
Small engine mechanic. And trades. Electrician, Plumber, Iron worker, HVAC, Truck driver, pilot, basically anything not IT, healthcare, warehouse or factory work.
I live in London. Years ago I called a plumber. We started chatting. He casually mentioned that he was going on holiday for 2 months to his house in Greece, and he was going to send someone to me, but he was in the area and just around the corner and this was a 5 minute job (I paid 65 GBP). I'm self employed and do very well, but a plumber having a house in Greece and taking months off at a time, got me curious. Turns out he started in plumbing in his late teens. By his mid 20s he had his own little company. By his 40s his company has expanded to the biggest and best plumbing company in the Greater London area, employing hundreds of people. His clients included a dozen 5 star London hotels, stadiums, gym chains, malls, restaurants, department stores, etc.
Everyone has kitchens and toilets. It might not be a glamorous job, but from that day, I realised that sometimes the least glamorous jobs, can be very lucrative indeed.
Healthcare of baby boomers and anything related to boomers. There are millions of us who will need care and assistance over the next 30 years. Nurses, aids, OTs, PTs, products, home health aids etc. Also the social services field and mental health areas are screaming for help across the spectrum, cradle to grave.
Industrial maintenance/mechanic.
There’s such an insane shortage of it right now and the pay has gone up a lot in the last few years. If you’re good, you can do a little if every trade incase you want to take it in a different direction later. Same goes for any of the other trades, if you can do electrical or mechanical you can get into industrial. Not glamorous but you can learn on the job and make a solid living. Seems every plant in my state is hiring and paying well.
Yup, I was interested in the millwright union until I realized the travel commitments. The money would be nice but I wanna be home with the wife at night. Still a great route for someone who’s mechanical and doesn’t want to work on cars or trucks.
It’s been said a bunch, but trades. Learn to be a machinist, carpenter, stonemason/bricklayer, plumber, gunsmith, farmer. Anything where you work with your hands. If you don’t like any of these, learn to code, be a programmer or network administrator, or take some classes to be a paramedic, EMT, CNA or nurse. CNA/Nurse will be needed more and more as the boomers age, the only drawback at the moment is many facilities require vax, but that will change too. It is not a job that can be replaced by robots, yet. If I had it to do over, I would be a machinist or stonemason and work for myself instead of for big corporations.
Anytime you can learn a useful skill with an extra adjective in front of it, do so. Specialization only comes after general knowledge, and anything you can do to make your skills applicable in as many situations as possible will be of great benefit to you.
Also, if you can learn how to fix your own tools, that's one less person to rely upon and one more way to make yourself in-demand. But also don't sleep on being able to teach these skills - you won't be young forever.
Please see my comment above. Coders won't be needed for long in the capacity that we have been in the past.
Interesting fact. HP makes 3d printers that are completely manufactured/printed by 3d printers. Humans only assemble the pieces. How long before robots do that too? Easy answer, as soon as it becomes more cost effective.
Honestly, this isn't even a terrible suggestion - even if you follow the best advice on here, you could always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time where your hard-won skills aren't needed, but a trained musician with a wide repertoire would be. Less likely, to be sure, but it's important to remember that there are no guarantees, beyond death.
IT or trades. Aim for those first. If not. Get in the slow boiling pot and take political science and become a government employee. Take them over from the inside out.
Trades, like electrician, plumber, construction, etc. And anything computer related.
I chose programmer in the 80s and it paid off for a while. However, US corporations always go for the low cost solution and therefore outsourced high paying programmer positions as often as possible. Even though I saw what was happening, I had no choice but to train my replacements. Eventually, the younger, less expensive folks win. Now with AI, their days are numbered too.
On the flip side, my buddy who barely made it through high school chose to be a plumber and he built a company that is worth millions today.
With that in mind, I think that we need to reconsider the value of skilled trades.
Exactly what Google has done too.
Record breaking profits y/y. Recently outsourced cloud engineering and support teams to overseas to "save money".
no choice?????? you could have left. my buddy mike is a 6 figures programmer and his whole company knows if they so much as change his thermostat off 65 degrees he will fucking ghost and instantly cripple their entire organization for a fixed amount of time and return with demands.
His employment contract dictates HIS terms to THEM.
Must be nice. That wasn't my situation. I definitely had more pull with the companies that I worked for than non-programmers, but I don't own multiple houses, a boat, and a helicopter like my plumber friend does. As long as he stays the course, he'll continue to prosper.
Niiiiice
Dude I could literally take your story as my own. We took nearly identical career paths. I administer Oracle Solaris and Databases now.
Great info. Thanks for posting that.
Become a prepper lol
Funeral homes... become a mortician, pathologist, or a coroner.
Serious question - are you talking about basically being a subcontractor to funeral homes? Because wouldn't most any funeral home have their own crematorium?
ouch
Where would one with no formal computer background start with that?
Gunsmith
Machinst. Work indoors make goods $$$. Needed everywhere. Apprenticeship get paid to learn or 2 years at community college.
A guy I know is a relatively young machinist in a small city and is making 6 figures as a machinist. I think this would be a good option as well.
My friend opened a machine shop and did so extremely well he is a millionaire several times over.
Guillotine operator
Blacksmith… gunsmith…
Do what you love, or at least like. Don't put too much store into a college degree and for sure don't get into huge debt for it. DOING and CREATING/PRODUCING mean much more that a piece of paper saying you sat in a classroom for X number of years.
No one can predict the future, and the job you will have in 10 years might not even exist right now - just follow your passion with a clear head and you will do great and have a happy life!
Salt mining.
funeral services
Trades
Watch Dirty Jobs and you'll know very quickly what areas you don’t want. 😄
A quality window and door installer, fence installer, plumbing, construction, painter, etc
Auto mechanic, appliance repair, roofer..
Take those tests and see what fields you are drawn to. Then, dont be afraid to switch gears if you get going and don't like it (not too many times though..lol).
Then.. have a goal to learn and do quality, honest work!
That's a good thing to think about. I just know they are in demand.
I don’t think electrician is a good choice if you dont want to end up dead or in a burn unit. But, they are needed.
Self reliance…
I would go into a medical care field, particularly care for cancers, heart problems or for people with disabling long term conditions.
The medical field took the Covid Vax at nearly a 100% rate. Many of the medical profession will be dying soon of their vax damage. There will be lots of job opportunities for unvaxed people.
60% of the American public took the vax. There will be a 500% increase in cancers, heart problems and long term health problems. There will be unending work available in every state.
If one wants to heal:
Trades and anything related to computers, including IT, networking, databases, GIS, etc. Those two fields are always going to be in demand no matter what.
Learn sound economics. fundamentals of banking. Law is wonderful knowledge to have for patriots. History - there will be so much work shining light on real history, it would be a wonderful field. Holistic medicine - another light shining.
Small engine mechanic. And trades. Electrician, Plumber, Iron worker, HVAC, Truck driver, pilot, basically anything not IT, healthcare, warehouse or factory work.
Professor teaching self sustainability classes Buy land and grow a garden
I live in London. Years ago I called a plumber. We started chatting. He casually mentioned that he was going on holiday for 2 months to his house in Greece, and he was going to send someone to me, but he was in the area and just around the corner and this was a 5 minute job (I paid 65 GBP). I'm self employed and do very well, but a plumber having a house in Greece and taking months off at a time, got me curious. Turns out he started in plumbing in his late teens. By his mid 20s he had his own little company. By his 40s his company has expanded to the biggest and best plumbing company in the Greater London area, employing hundreds of people. His clients included a dozen 5 star London hotels, stadiums, gym chains, malls, restaurants, department stores, etc. Everyone has kitchens and toilets. It might not be a glamorous job, but from that day, I realised that sometimes the least glamorous jobs, can be very lucrative indeed.
Healthcare of baby boomers and anything related to boomers. There are millions of us who will need care and assistance over the next 30 years. Nurses, aids, OTs, PTs, products, home health aids etc. Also the social services field and mental health areas are screaming for help across the spectrum, cradle to grave.
Don't you mean "womb to tomb"? Unless of course, you believe life doesn't start until birth
How to make a fire 101 Setting up you own barbed wire fence The basics of survival All you need to know about firearms Food storage for Dummies
is some I'd pick
Industrial maintenance/mechanic. There’s such an insane shortage of it right now and the pay has gone up a lot in the last few years. If you’re good, you can do a little if every trade incase you want to take it in a different direction later. Same goes for any of the other trades, if you can do electrical or mechanical you can get into industrial. Not glamorous but you can learn on the job and make a solid living. Seems every plant in my state is hiring and paying well.
Yup, I was interested in the millwright union until I realized the travel commitments. The money would be nice but I wanna be home with the wife at night. Still a great route for someone who’s mechanical and doesn’t want to work on cars or trucks.
It’s been said a bunch, but trades. Learn to be a machinist, carpenter, stonemason/bricklayer, plumber, gunsmith, farmer. Anything where you work with your hands. If you don’t like any of these, learn to code, be a programmer or network administrator, or take some classes to be a paramedic, EMT, CNA or nurse. CNA/Nurse will be needed more and more as the boomers age, the only drawback at the moment is many facilities require vax, but that will change too. It is not a job that can be replaced by robots, yet. If I had it to do over, I would be a machinist or stonemason and work for myself instead of for big corporations.
Electrician, Plumber, Gunsmith, Welder, Underwater Welder. These are the five that seem to be the most stable.
UNDERWATER WELDER ESPECIALLY
Anytime you can learn a useful skill with an extra adjective in front of it, do so. Specialization only comes after general knowledge, and anything you can do to make your skills applicable in as many situations as possible will be of great benefit to you.
Also, if you can learn how to fix your own tools, that's one less person to rely upon and one more way to make yourself in-demand. But also don't sleep on being able to teach these skills - you won't be young forever.
Aircraft mechanic,if you like overtime and fat checks.
Learn a trade, stay as far away as you can from "traditional" colleges.
To veer off a little, run the suggestions here through your own personality and preferences.
Pathogen Studies…. Dr pathogens
Learn to code
Please see my comment above. Coders won't be needed for long in the capacity that we have been in the past.
Interesting fact. HP makes 3d printers that are completely manufactured/printed by 3d printers. Humans only assemble the pieces. How long before robots do that too? Easy answer, as soon as it becomes more cost effective.
Rock and roll band
Honestly, this isn't even a terrible suggestion - even if you follow the best advice on here, you could always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time where your hard-won skills aren't needed, but a trained musician with a wide repertoire would be. Less likely, to be sure, but it's important to remember that there are no guarantees, beyond death.
Commercial pilot provided reqs change for shots.
IT or trades. Aim for those first. If not. Get in the slow boiling pot and take political science and become a government employee. Take them over from the inside out.
Claims adjuster. Insurance is the least well known field with truck loads of opportunities.
EV mechanic, automation, law, welding, hvac, plumbing, electrician, electrical engineering, bridge engineering,