Career Ideas for the non-college educated and the computer illiterate

[Sig]

i'm an electrician, never been out of work or out of a job. completed a 4 year apprenticeship and have taken lots of other classes. I work for an oil co now and its great. Good tradesmen are hard to find, plus all the companies i worked for paid good, paid for school and had future possibilites.

Hey Ko! Hope you are doing well.

What would you recommend as a path to get started down that road?

I think the electrician idea along with some of the others could prove attractive to him. I just don't know much about the most effective steps to take to get headed in the right direction.

 

[Sig]

Logistics - specifically Freight Forwarding.

Let me know if you want more info for him

Yeah I would be interested in some more information! Post it up here or email me at [email protected]

Thanks.

 

[Blackend]

Yeah I would be interested in some more information! Post it up here or email me at [email protected]

Thanks.

Basically what you're looking for is a 3rd party logistics company. The big company that I got started at eventually got purchased and became part of DHL, but it started out as Skyking, then MSAS, then Exel, so I got to see many parts of freight forwarding. I would suggest looking for a larger company like DHL Global Forwarding (they may be sold off in the near future, apparently when I left they started sucking ) or Eagle Global Logistics. Both of them have large offices in the DC area. Also look for Team Logistics, All States Logistics, Panalpina, Expeditors, etc. I would tell him to check out www.jobsinlogistics.com as a great starting place. You're really not going to find another career that generally requires little to no formal education that offers this high a pay scale. In fact, I typically start off my basic customer service reps at $10 to $12 an hour which is fairly higher than comparable customer service positions outside the industry.

 

[Mirroredshades]

UPS

Work as much or as little as you want. Get full benefits for free. If you work more than 25 hrs a week, you get overtime.

 

[Ko-nsx]

Hey Ko! Hope you are doing well.

What would you recommend as a path to get started down that road?

I think the electrician idea along with some of the others could prove attractive to him. I just don't know much about the most effective steps to take to get headed in the right direction.

Im doing ok, and thanks! Moving to this rural town area is a shock but people here are nice.

This is were i started
http://www.njatc.org/

His training needs to come from somewhere reputable. Apprenticeships are great, you work 4 days a weeks and school one day, you get paid for a 5 day workweek. Plus they are FREE!!!! Tradeschools are also an option, this was the big wig in st.louis
http://www.ranken.edu/ 99% placement rate

something like that is a good start. Depending on were your from, some educational programs differ a little. I started in construction and got tired of that fast. Then i went to work for chrysler and got into automation, i really liked that. They offered a buyout so i split. Now as of Sept 07, i work for www.oxy.com, as an electrical tech. VERY happy with the job and company so far, possibilites are good also. I would choose the electrical trade first because of the variety of work and future possibilites. Apprenticeships are the best way to train and learn. check them out in your area.

 

[DocL]

Sports memorabilia resale through an eBay store. All he has to do is have a closet full of jersey's and a computer. Sell half of the same item at regular auction and the other half at buy it now prices. Half of the items will sell more than the buy it now price and the buy it now ones will be easy money. All he has to do is find a Chinese maker of replica jersey's and he's set. He doesn't even have to go to the post office to ship them out. He can print postage labels at home.

 

[queenlives]

You're assumption is correct, no wife or kids. It's funny, I know plenty of people who were the first ones in their families to attend college. My brother is the first in my family (immediate and extended) to NOT graduate college... that's how much he hates school.

Getting him to accept a 4 year program does not appear possible. I had a long talk with him over the weekend on this subject and was able to get him to accept the idea of 1-2 year specialized education programs. I have been unsuccessful for 6 years trying to get him back into a 4 year program... so I am going to accept the middle-ground victory of a 1-2 year specialized program and help push that plan into reality. Unless of course, he gets really excited and passionate about something else that does not require this type of education.

sig,

i mean no disrespect to you or your family. in fact, i have a related story, myself so i understand where you're coming from. that said, my thoughts are, "good luck pushing that string."

my personal experience is that not all members of educated and / or success-oriented families share the same - or even vaguely similar - goals; likewise, not all members of non-productive families are satisfied with their lives and will take advantage - and / or create - of every opportunity presented.

sadly (for everyone involved), some family members leverage their families for all the co-dependent, lifetime support they can get so they don't have to push themselves in the "real world".

good luck with your efforts on your brother's behalf.

hal
btw, i don't recall who the poster was (ko?) who is an electrician, but i've got friends who have gone down that path (union apprenticeship, journeyman) and done very well for themselves.

 

[Ko-nsx]

Sports memorabilia resale through an eBay store. All he has to do is have a closet full of jersey's and a computer. Sell half of the same item at regular auction and the other half at buy it now prices. Half of the items will sell more than the buy it now price and the buy it now ones will be easy money. All he has to do is find a Chinese maker of replica jersey's and he's set. He doesn't even have to go to the post office to ship them out. He can print postage labels at home.

I'd like to have an ebay store.

 

[chicagoNSX]

sig,
hal
btw, i don't recall who the poster was (ko?) who is an electrician, but i've got friends who have gone down that path (union apprenticeship, journeyman) and done very well for themselves.

Agreed, the trades are an excellent way to make a living. I think KO gave some great advise including schools, apprenticeships, and the different paths tradespersons can take.

One of the things I like about a trade type job is that it is a skill you learn and can continue to be leveraged. I worry about a job that anyone who is a hard worker can do, there is less job security than a position that requires a skill. Just my 2 cents

 

[Ko-nsx]

Sig, pm me and i'll chat with your loved one over the phone, or you. Thats why i love this site, plenty of help with anything.

 

[queenlives]

Agreed, the trades are an excellent way to make a living. I think KO gave some great advise including schools, apprenticeships, and the different paths tradespersons can take.

One of the things I like about a trade type job is that it is a skill you learn and can continue to be leveraged. I worry about a job that anyone who is a hard worker can do, there is less job security than a position that requires a skill. Just my 2 cents

agreed.

both of the electricians i know went on to medical school (harvard) and paid for their educations / living expenses by working as electricians during their summer breaks. another doc was a plumber.

 

[queenlives]

Sig, pm me and i'll chat with your loved one over the phone, or you. Thats why i love this site, plenty of help with anything.

i agree with you on this, ko... i've found prime to be a great community for helping one another.

 

[Sig]

Sig, pm me and i'll chat with your loved one over the phone, or you. Thats why i love this site, plenty of help with anything.

Done.

 

[Sig]

sig,

i mean no disrespect to you or your family. in fact, i have a related story, myself so i understand where you're coming from. that said, my thoughts are, "good luck pushing that string."
.

None taken. It's definitely been difficult with him. However, the issue was not one of him relying too much on me or my family... in fact the opposite is his biggest problem. He always refused help/advice/connections from my family in his quest to "do everything on his own".

Recently I have had a bit of a breakthrough with him on that front. I finally got him to see that every successful person gets help of some kind. This help can come in many forms; mentoring, advice based on life experience, connections, etc. In my brother's mind, he always equated receiving help in any form with failure. Whereas I view inefficient use of available resources as failure. I believe he has finally come around on that point. Time will tell.

 

[Ski_Banker]

A *very* keen career field, if one is willing to work and retrain, is in Oil & Gas. There is a massive shortage of both skilled and unskilled labor in the U.S. and abroad. From highly technical petroleum engineers to guys willing to work hard and make great $ on oil rigs, this industry, worldwide, is desperate for new blood.

Why?
Because oil & gas hasn't been a booming business (until recently) since the mid 80s, so you have 20 years of college students etc. training for other industries. And, fortunately for workers, it takes years to build up new human resources in the industry. Further, while oil prices will eventually moderate, there will be no shortage of expenditures on big oil projects for many years. PM if you want to know more.

**Aside**
I firmly believe that the US must invest in retraining programs for the numerous factory workers that have lost their jobs to outsourcing, and the Oil & Gas industry is the most sensible place to shift that workforce. Training for Oil & Gas jobs can be relatively straightforward, less than 2 years for current engineers and as little as a few months for laborers on the ground. The industry desperately needs people, and that won't change for a very long time.

 

[fullracehonda]

things like for instance being an electrical lineman, i have a good freind that went to the training for that it pays good, great pay for overtime(windstorm nocks out a power line, etc etc.)

if you look into a specialized field like that just make sure there is work availible(dont take the schools word for it) my freind got shafted when he finished his schooling and is still working at the car wash and now going to college

 

[fullracehonda]

i hear drug dealing makes good $ for dedicated people like your brother, although the "retirement" options arent as good as other jobs

 

[DRIFTER]

C.O. (corrections officer).

Funny you say that CO's don't make that much money however it is a good job I make ruffly 45k a year with out overtime how ever I get a lot of time off 3, 2 week paid VC a year 1 week personal leave + 4 hrs sick time every 2 weeks. I work (2s and 4s) 2..16hr shift 4 days off I run a part time car dealer and I also have some income housing. Needless to say I do quite well for my self however its not easy. I work my A$$ off. Corrections can be very stressful at times its not for every one about 2 weeks ago I had an incident that I responded to in the yard one inmate stabbed another killing him I had to retrieve the 10'' shank from the inmate it was quite a scare for me being that close to a crazed murder with a weapon. There are two types of people one that will freeze and ones that will spring into action I found out that day what type I was. I was able to retrieve the weapon with out any further incident. afterwords I felt like i was going to throw up. :redface:

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I second (or forth ? ) the car business, I actually regreted that I didn't start this earlier. I look around the showroom and see many of them without college degree, makes me wonder why I spent the money and time going thru it...

I guessed you could try to research for your brother and make sure which dealership fits his personality better. From what you described him, he might be a good fit.

 

[KSXNSX]

I am trying to help my younger brother start down a new career path. He did not finish college, nor does he have any highly valued skills at the moment. His biggest assets are a tremendous work ethic and relative youth... he's 26. Unfortunately, IT/software/networking related jobs are not viable options for him.... which pretty much eliminates most of the doors I can open for him. At this point he is willing to take the time to do specialized education programs to gain the skills needed for a job or start at the ground level of something provided there is a light of a stable future at the end of the tunnel.

In the past 6 years, he spent half the time doing data line installations in commercial buildings and the other half working for commercial pool building companies. The common themes for both of those jobs was hourly wages/manual labor and no real benefits. His goals for the new path will be one that is less reliant on pure manual labor and provides higher pay/decent benefits (health ins). He doesn't care to make big $ as he has very humble tastes... he does want enough to live comfortably and eventually support a family. though.

I would love to hear some ideas on various paths open to a person that fits this mold.

So far I have ideas in 4 general areas that should have potential:
Law Enforcement - requires academy attendance and passing tests, perhaps some other elements to which I am unaware

Diagnostic Health Care Specialist Positions
MRI & Other Imaging Equipment Operation-don't know much about this area directly, just my belief that adavanced radiology has a great future and that there are opportunities to be operators of the equipment for those with the proper training/certs. Perhaps DocJohn can comment with his thoughts.

Medical Equipment Support/Maintenance-
Similar to the daily operation of the equipment to get quality imagining to the radiologists for evaluation, I would think that there are career opportunities for people to maintain the proper functioning of the equipment whether it be for the equipment manufacturer or some maintenance company.

Non-IT Federal Government Jobs

I'd recommend title insurance or real estate. The markets not great now, but that really fits the bill if you don't have a BS/BA and can't really do computers.

 

[Ski_Banker]

I accidentally deleted a bunch of PMs I hadn't yet responded to here. Sorry :redface:


In general this isn't my area of expertise (Oil & Gas HR issues). But, I've looked at a number of businesses in Oil & Gas (and services), and the overarching issues are 1) what will oil/gas prices do and 2) where can I get good people.


If you know of someone that could be a good fit for the industry (it's a fascinating industry BTW, whether you're a toughneck oil driller or a nerdy petroleum engineer) -- have them look into programs offered by UT Austin. If nothing else, the profs/department heads there will be able to point folks in the right direction.

 

[Ryanmcd2]

Everyone in my family did 0 school and all do very well and can retire anytime we want. Find something you like, I did IT stuff and started work at HP when I was 19, by 24 it was fun but I mastered it so I started doing stocks, 8 years later I work from home doing IT and trade the market working from my home or the lake. Find what you like NOT the money and work hard. Hell my brother plays poker and is worth well over 1 million, do it and do it well.