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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 6:17 pm
by jacob
Well, you need money. Let's say you want to earn the income. How is this best achieved?
Long haul trucking: $40-50k/year. No residential costs (you can live in the truck). No degree required. Start earning money at 18.
Crab fishing: (as inspired by television): $30-60k for 4 months of hard labor. Training on the job. Must be athletic and prepared to die.
Watch maker: 2 year degree. Starting salary $40k. You'll mostly be changing batteries. Need to move for education (less than a handful of places in the country).
Physicist (University): 100 hour work weeks at a starting salary of $25k/year after MSc. After PhD graduation, increases to $40k/year.
Okay, I'm just kidding about the last one.


Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 6:49 pm
by ScottfromMenominee
Become an air traffic controller. $109,800 per year and on the job training. After 5 years, you'll be burned out anyway and want to retire!
Radiation Therapist. $74,200 with a two year degree. Health care has tons of jobs! (I should know!)
Check out this site for more info:

http://www.careeronestop.org/


Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 7:30 pm
by Q
Air Marshal - not sure of the pay, but like 2 years in a Community College in the Criminal Justice program should do...
In my field, you start around 40k, but, you can make double or even triple that with overtime and what not...
I do Safety system inspections in buildings


Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 8:48 pm
by George the original one
General Office worker for government or large company: $40-50k. Skills & certification: typing & HS diploma


Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:34 pm
by Marius
Freelance IT consultant. Pays whatever the market is prepared to pay. Can be very lucrative when the market's booming. Covers a lot of niches, from mainframe stuff to automation in specific industries.


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:25 am
by Night Runner
@jacob
I had a relative who was a long haul tracker. There is a HUGE bias against young people in that industry - for the most part, they're believed to be unreliable and stupid. :( I can't see an 18-year-old (or anybody under 25, for that matter) getting that job unless they have major connections. Also, there's an even bigger bias against women.
Crab fishing sounds like one of the most physically strenuous jobs on the market, and I'm sure they've got insane competition for those jobs as it is (especially in this economy).
Unless I'm very mistaken, watches haven't been growing in popularity lately. There are only so many watchmakers the market can support...
A roommate of mine was wild firefighter (as in, he fought fires in the wilderness - though he was a pretty wild guy, too :p) and he made $1,500 a week for ~six months. This was here in Nevada, but then our mentally challenged governor decided to cut their funding and they stopped hiring. :^/ I'm sure there are a lot more of those jobs in California.
In the end, I don't think it matters how much your job pays, as long as you're prepared to make sacrifices, save like there's no tomorrow, develop multiple streams of income, and invest aggressively. I make only $30,000 a year (gee, that college degree sure was useful! [/sarcasm]) but I sign up for all the overtime they offer us (and there's a lot of that at my warehouse), I count cards, sell books online, and do many other things... According to my guesstimates, I should be able to save up the $25,000 required to become a full-time day-trader (that damn PDT rule...) by the Independence Day. Once I hit that milestone, the rest will be history. ;)


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:34 am
by Q
Day-trading was my other option as well. Right now I only move 1 stock (my companies) in and out within my 401k - but it takes 1 day to process, and isn't instant, if it was, I probably wouldn't work.
Apprentice Engineers make about $24/hr starting roughly, serve 4 years and then make about $37/hr. Only req is HS diploma, take a test and find a place that needs apprentices - currently hospitals as their engineers are quickly aging.


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 1:44 am
by Marius
Day-trading was everybody's get-rich-quick plan 10 years ago, before everything went to hell.
No offense intended guys, but if everybody starts to dream about making it big with day-trading again, maybe I should speculate on a really big stock crash. ;-)


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:15 am
by Night Runner
@Marius
Look up the Pattern Day Trading Rule. It was passed by Bush during his first year in the office and pretty much ensures that the day-trading craze will never happen again. :( Essentially, you can't make more than 3 day-trades per week if you have less than $25,000 in your account. If you break the rule, your funds (and stocks) will get frozen for 3 months.


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:19 am
by Matthew
How about an ice road trucker while you are heading to your crab fishing job:) I imagine the popularity of those shows have made the jobs hard to come by. But seriously, I think it would have to be working as a Blackwater contractor (basically a mercenary for a private military company). I don't know what they actually make, but I have heard an average of $600-$1200 a day. But if you don't like dying, I would also say air traffic controller.


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 2:52 pm
by il-besa
Where came from we say: "shit job, shit (load of) money" :)
Long haul trucking sounds like a very interesting experience to do!!
My path is IT consultancy.

It requires an strong initial passion (that will probably disappear) and very good training (expensive if you don't have a company paying for you).

But can guarantee:

- location independent life

- possibility to decide how many months/year dedicate to work

- good salary
Ciao!

D


Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 3:47 pm
by George the original one
What I'm seeing is a range from $30k-100k. Jacob once worked out an absolute minimum cost for living (essentially for someone working minimum wage)... what was that number?


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:07 am
by KevinW
Yahoo posted a story along these lines recently:

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-article ... e_for-1374
The jobs were:

1. Freelance Photographer: $47,800 median salary

2. Private Detective or Investigator: $50,600 median salary

3. Elevator Mechanic: $61,500 median salary

4. Nuclear Power Reactor Operator: $79,100 median salary

5. Personal Trainer: $37,500 median salary


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:14 am
by jacob
@George - I'd reach the limit of my competence around $4500-5000/year. That's not to say it couldn't be done, but I'd have to lose my "permanent domicile".
See this intro for a $2400/year budget.


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:50 am
by Concojones
Whatever the field you're in, I think that 40k salary is attainable either right from the start or after a year or two of dedication, maximum. (And, as a previous commenter suggested, you can always earn more in overtime or on the side).
Yes, it helps a lot if you work far away in a camp or abroad, with room & board payed for. But don't neglect keeping in touch with friends and family, because they're more important than money, and so is... doing something you like (you saw that one coming didn't you? ;-). What I'm trying to say here is, let's not put our life on "hold" for an extended period of time to earn money. Try to have your cake and eat it.


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:32 pm
by JohnnyH
I keep reading articles about prison guards making 150k in California after overtime... I think that level of dehumanization is something I wouldn't do regardless of the money... Also, there average life expectancy is only 56, yikes!
Truck drivers now face increased competition from Mexican drivers that face less scrutiny as far as inspections. The personal liability is very high, multithousand dollar tickets that have to be paid by the driver out of pocket. Huge liability... Access to good food is very difficult. I know several people that did it and they all advise against it.
When I was a teen I had a very high paying job in a warehouse. Backbreaking labor, many of the older guys had problems, but if you could make it 18-25 - you'd be in great shape.
Mechanic seems like it would be a useful, easily attainable moderate paying job... If you're you're a talented diesel mechanic you could make 50k fairly easily.


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 10:14 pm
by il-besa
EREr's,

Greetings from Abu Dhabi, where I'm in business travel...
I would add that, move to Dubai/Abu Dhabi for a little can help your finance.
Here is tax-free and if you stay away from shopping mall and entertainment for expat, you can make your fortune.
Pretty much everyone here is here for work, sending money back to the country of origin, and leaving in few years.
So, we're talking about jobs but remember 3 things are important: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION :)))
Ciao

D


Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 10:28 pm
by jacob
I had a summer job at a warehouse when I was an undergrad. At the end of the summer they wanted to promote and keep me because they figured I was some kind of genius for understanding their chain wheel categorization system within 5 minutes. Apparently a company shop record.
Here it is:

An example: 2N30. This means a chain wheel with 2 rings of 30 teeth each and a hub (N). No hub would be (P). If the hub was tapered, it would be a T. Hence a 1P14 is a single hubless wheel with 14 teeth and a 3T20 is a triple tapered wheel with 20 teeth. Got it? You're a genius :)
It was somewhat physically demanding (compared to an office job) but required no brain activity whatsoever. One day I spent 8 hours cutting chain and pinning it back together (like making bicycle chains to length out of a 100' long chain). Another day I spent 6 hours with a hydraulic press putting bearings together. I spent several weeks opening crates from China, counting cogs, and driving them around on a fork lift.
$15/hour. Minimum 8 hours but you could take as much overtime (also at $15) as you wanted.


Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:57 am
by akratic
I think Quality Assurance (QA) Engineers get paid really well considering it's something anyone can do (test software). Salaries in the upper five figures.


Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:58 am
by NYC ERE
Drug kingpin--salary: sky's the limit. Must also be prepared to die, if called for.