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1. 

   livinlite
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Feb '12
   Posts: 108

   Part of my ERE strategy is to develop a skill-set or certificated ability that would allow me to work part-time in a flexible, needs-based career. I'd like to find a way to make money where I can mostly set my own hours according to how much money I need at the time and where I can take extended time off. Being able to live/work in a small town would be ideal. I've got a couple years to go to get there, but I need to get going on it before too long..

   I'm 32, have a BA, 10 yrs of corporate work experience, good with numbers, excellent people skills, no problem doing graduate level writing/work, etc.

   Here are a couple paths I'm considering:

   1) Accounting - freelance or contract - would need to get certification and maintain CPEs I believe

   2) Massage Therapy - $9K school investment, may not be best as a male

   3) Technical Writing/Editing - I have a BA in English, but probably need a certificate added to that - market may be saturated and out-sourced

   4) Tutoring - unsure what the cash-flow would look like

   5) Consulting - not sure how to get into this - I have a lot of knowledge in the field I work in, but I'm not sure how I'd set up shop for myself.

   6) ???

   What are some other ideas? I live in Seattle and have good access to community colleges and technical schools.

   Any books to recommend on this?

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   OTCW
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Mar '11
   Posts: 39

   Someone here suggested chopping and selling firewood a while back. Maybe even deliver it.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   livinlite
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Feb '12
   Posts: 108

   Well, yes, and carrying water too...or maybe you were not speaking allegorically...

   I was thinking something a bit more concrete and scalable though. ie. jobs that are still semi-professional in nature and could be ramped up/down depending on income needs and/or investment fails..

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   LonerMatt
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 168

   Teaching doesn't have to be full time. At all.

   Tutoring can be a bit hit or miss. It's difficult to bank on regular income streams (When I did it some weeks would be triple the income of others, and school holidays go flat)

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   Bingeworker
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Nov '11
   Posts: 48

   Nursing! I went part-time right out of University, and have been working only as much as I need to since then, currently work 3 months a year (although I could get by on 1-2 months). In nursing you can work either part-time all the time or do contracts as needed (which is what I do now due to the type of work I do). Nurses also aren't looked down on for working part-time, it's built into the system, and part-timers are needed due to the nature of the work where you always need people working.

   To become an RN would take a while (up to 4 years, maybe less if you find a program that credits some of your other degree) but you can become an LPN (licensed practical nurse) or health care aide in less time.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   livinlite
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Feb '12
   Posts: 108

   I've thought about nursing and actually have come into contact with a number of people who made quite a lucrative life out of being a traveling nurse...hard to think of a better way to bank money than having a per diem and paid housing.

   Are you able to specialize in areas you find interesting though? There are certain fields of medicine I may not have the stomach for, but there are others I could see myself enjoying. I also think its a great option since you're developing a skill-set that has always been needed and will always be needed...probably moreso even than highly technical surgeons.

   Coincidentally, my wife is probably going to be doing an Occupational Therapist Assistant program starting this fall.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   Bingeworker
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Nov '11
   Posts: 48

   Yes, you can specialize. Nursing is also good in that it's not impossible to change specialties, if you get sick of one area you can switch to another. Nurses are often in demand too, in many different geographic areas... you can travel to other countries too, England, Australia, and the middle east are often recruiting foreign nurses, and nurses can move between Canada and the States pretty easily in good economic times.

   Those areas you might not have the stomach for, if it's a blood and body fluids thing, you get used to those. Really. I used to be pretty squeamish but it's amazing what you can do when you need to help someone, and you do get used to it.

   When I went into nursing I don't think it was the dream career for me interest-wise, but I grew into it (it's definitely meaningful work), and ERE-lifestyle wise it's been perfect. I've been semi-retired in it since a few months after graduation, over 20 years ago now.

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   4hrwweek
   

   Novice
   Joined: Jan '12
   Posts: 14

   What do you want to do?

   What is your ideal life?

   From there, I think you will know more about the answers to what you should do next. You need to do that work first because it will help guide you to what type of job will provide what you want to do and support your ideal life.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   Bingeworker
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Nov '11
   Posts: 48

   I find that friends who followed their "ideal life" over time got less of their ideal life, as they were always cash-strapped.

   One of the amazing things about an ERE type life, is that your ideal work does not have to be the work that provides your income. In my case, I chose a career that did not set me on fire with passion, but was not horrible and brought in great money. This in turn allowed me to work very little and have way, way more hours to spend on my "ideal life" than I would have had if I'd tried to do the things I enjoyed for money.

   So people have to be careful with that. Another thing too is that if you do your ideal job for money, it can suck the enjoyment out of it completely. It doesn't for everybody, and depends on the situation, but it does for a lot of people.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    Cashflow
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 97

    The following Web sites are for career coaching and want people to sign up and pay them money. But they also have free content in the form of podcasts (along with other resources), which I've been listening to via iTunes for ideas on "profitable hobbies" I might want to do someday when I move on from my present freelance gigs:

    http://www.4pointscoaching.com/
    http://48days.net/
    http://freeagentacademy.com/

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    livinlite
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Feb '12
    Posts: 108

    I read this today and liked the message:

    http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/02/18/can-i-be-happy-as-an-investment-banker-the-difference-between-pursuing-a-lifestyle-and-following-your-passion/

    I think a lot of Cal Newport's stuff (aka Study Hacks Blog) is pretty good and matches well with ERE.

    He tries to inspire people to develop Mastery and to work hard in a field that nurtures purpose, discipline, and creativity. I think if you combine that with the Economic mastery of ERE, you can create a very fulfilling life.

    My purpose with ERE is to not be beholden to a job that I don't find inspiring or purposeful or useful for the world. I have nothing against work; I just want to work for something/someone that gels with my other interests/needs/ethics, etc.

    I found an online certificate program here locally for Paraprofessional Bookkeeping/Accounting. 31 credits. Takes ~6 months and I can do it w/o impacting my current job. Should cost around $2K in tuition (minus tax writeoff) and would allow me to take on freelance work part-time while still working my 40hr/wk salaryman job before going into semi-ERE.

    Anyone have experience with that type of work? I see it as a "job" that would be interim to other adventures and learning opportunities..

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    Wolfpaws58
    

    Novice
    Joined: Apr '11
    Posts: 18

    I am about to retire at 53. I have relatively reliable streams of semi-passive income and quite a bit put aside in savings and consevratively diversified investments. Now I can seek whatever type of work I like whenever I want to, but I will make tracking and managing my personal finances my primary job most of the time. I will trade / invest short term based on whatever the economy dictates with my number one priority being preservation of capital and second being minimzing inescapable taxes. I have a decent set of skills and there are a lot of things I enjoy doing. One month I may decide to cut grass and another I amy offer my expertise in industrial robots to local companies. I'm looking forward to the diverse world of possibilities now that I feel I no longer "need" to work for financial gain. I think you're on the right track trying to figure out your perfect balance between life and work. Building a comfort zone is always a good idea before you quit your 9 to 5. Good luck.

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    livinlite
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Feb '12
    Posts: 108

    Well, I've been looking into this pretty intently and think I came up with a path forward for now:

    1) enroll in local community college program for a Bookkeeping Certification; it's 31 credits I can do all online; tuition will be roughly $2,400; I should be able to get most, if not all, of that covered by my current jobs' tuition-reimbursement program; will take 2-quarters to complete (done by Sep'12); will teach me fundamentals of business financial spreadsheet analysis and Quickbooks-type work and Accounting 201/202.

    2) assess if this gives me enough to open a side-business p/t while continuing my day-job or if I need more schooling/credentials to be viable

    3) if so, progress to getting a CPA license by..

    4) enrolling in Western Governor University's MBA online program; would cost ~$12-14K for MBA credentials (current company would pay for ~$10K of that), which would also fulfill the ed req's for the CPA license; independent study for CPA; I could then use the MBA to go into consulting, advance at my current employer, or ??

    I should be able to get to Step 4 by 2014 with minimal impact to my ERE strategy.

    Thoughts? Should I even pursue Step 1, or just go straight to Steps 2-4? I like the optionality of learning essential skills, but also realize that the MBA could be a quicker ticket to a higher near-term salary that could more quickly fund my ERE strategy if I don't lifestyle inflate..

    Note :: I have a BA in English with a significant amount of coursework in Math/Sciences and have 10 yrs of corporate/analyst work; I've completed 3 graduate courses recently too, but don't want to spend the $$ on a private university master's degree at ~$45K.

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    palmera
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Aug '11
    Posts: 270

    1. freelance writing on subjects I enjoy

    2. passive (or rather, alternative incomes) incomes

    and

    3. working seasonally in hospitality part-time translation/interpretation work.

    I want to live off of these income and just let my nestegg do the runaway thermal thing.

    Posted 1 year ago #
15. 

    MichaelAndrewLo
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Sep '10
    Posts: 36

    Hello! I can give the thumbs up for nursing. I am a 24 y/o RN and I have spent the past 1.5 years working in the hospital full time to allow myself to get the job I wanted, part time. I am currently living in Florida and now I do home health per diem. It is WONDERFUL. I can simply choose when I take assignments, and control how much I work in a day. Most of what I do is admissions which take about 2-3 hours and I get paid $75 per admission. It is fee for service. My coverage range is maximum 15 minutes from my house and most of the patients are about a 10 minute drive on average. I have been doing about 1 admission a day on average. Get there by 9am am out by 10 or 10:30 am and have finished paperwork and submission by 11 or 12. It is basically semi retired by now. My living expenses are $700 a month so earning about $2000 a month I can save around $1200-$1300 per month. So not only am I working very little it doesn't even feel like I am working at all! If I did two admission in a day I could work nothing the other days, but for now it's not bad at all. You could become a LPN in about a year and do home health visits as well but to do admissions you have to be a RN. I was working in the hospital before that and do not recommend it. It is too stressful and dangerous for ones license, especially here in florida. Home health is the way to go as far as I'm concerned.

    Posted 1 year ago #
16. 

    Chad
    

    Master
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 999

    I have an undergraduate degree in accounting and worked as an accountant and auditor for roughly 5 years. You won't need any CPE courses until you pass the CPA exam. You will need at least a BA/BS in accounting to sit for the exam and 2 years of work experience or a graduate degree (this changes by state, but this is the standard setup).

    It is very possible to get a part time job as a bookkeeper/accountant with an associate level degree. This won't be extremely well paid, but it won't be McDonald's pay either.

    A few years after leaving the accounting profession I became a management consultant, which is what I still do. I don't work for myself. Consulting is strange. I would say that if you don't already know how you would setup shop yourself, you will never know.

    The MBA will help you get a job at a consulting company (many of them allow part time work, but I would bet that most violate that "part time" title). It will not be much of a benefit for setting up your own consulting business unless it's "Ivy" level or you already have connections to bring business in, which is unlikely since you stated you didn't know how you would set up shop. MBA's are a dime dozen now, as it's the easiest and cheapest graduate program to setup at a college.

    I'm not saying you can't start your own consulting business, but it would be difficult without something "special" (knowledge, connections, Stanford MBA, experience with a respected company, specialty experience, etc.) to get it off the ground.

    Posted 1 year ago #
17. 

    livinlite
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Feb '12
    Posts: 108

    Chad-

    Thanks for the info. With the Bookkeeping cert, I'd just be aiming at part-time work in the $20-30/hr range.

    For consulting, by the time I semi-ERE, I'll have 15-ish years of experience in the energy industry in a pretty specific area, so I think there is a chance I could do something consulting or project specific there that wouldn't be full-time standard employment. That's a bit of an unknown..

    I do understand about the MBA. It would be a means to an end for me; meeting the CPA requirements and/or the job-posting requirements that certain structured corporations require for advancement. Plus, I like learning and it would be a good challenge at a low cost for the WGU degree.

    Posted 1 year ago #
18. 

    Chad
    

    Master
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 999

    You are possibly trying to get into one profession I despise deeply (accounting) and one that doesn't fulfill me much (consulting), and I am trying to get out by writing novels...too each his own.

    Posted 1 year ago #
19. 

    livinlite
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Feb '12
    Posts: 108

    I would love to get out by writing novels - maybe that is my next bridge (well, poetry and short-stories for me). I'm trying to fill the gap between a pigeon-holed, but lucrative, corporate position, and something on the other side. It's hedging. Maybe I'll be willing/able to take a naked-short position for myself in a few years, but for right now, I'm focused on learning, growing skills, and setting up alternative so at worst I can move to self-employment and setting my own hours; at best, those hours are few and far between b/c I don't need them to pay the bills or pad the nest. I don't want to put all my eggs in the basket of investment returns or preserving only paper assets..at least not just yet..maybe I'll feel different if/when I've got a big nest egg and more experience preserving it.

    Posted 1 year ago #

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