What do: career

[Eye of the Tiger]

I will stop complaining about my shit in other threads, and keep it in this one.

[dazzleman]

You've been jumping around so much, it's hard to follow what's going on after a while.  And all this moving around the country.  Plus you've started how many degrees that you haven't finished, but you're still stuck with the loans for them.  You handle your career the same way you handle your car purchases, buying one crappy car after another when you'd have been better off having one good one.

None of it really solves anything.  I suggest that you do something novel.  Stay with what you have until you have actually found something better.  Stay where you are because something is better than nothing, but look for a better job in the same area.  If you keep looking, sooner or later something will come along.

Do not go back to school at this point.  You're too old to be pulling this crap, unless you know exactly what you're going to do and have a solid plan, which you clearly don't.  You have to support yourself and take on loans to go back to school, and you can't afford to do that without thinking.  You're still stuck with the loans from your previous abortive attempts.

The line between success and failure is very thin, and you're never a failure until you decide you are and give up.  Pick a path and stick to it; stop jumping around while giving up what you have, however imperfect.  Keep this up and you'll be completely unemployable.

Sorry to be so harsh, but I just wanted to tell the truth the way I see it.

[Minpin]

I wouldn't get a bs in meteorology, too specific and too small of an industry. Probably requires grad school too. Check out NOAA and see what they require and go from there if you're genuinely interested.

[Eye of the Tiger]

You've been jumping around so much, it's hard to follow what's going on after a while.  And all this moving around the country.  Plus you've started how many degrees that you haven't finished, but you're still stuck with the loans for them.  You handle your career the same way you handle your car purchases, buying one crappy car after another when you'd have been better off having one good one.

None of it really solves anything.  I suggest that you do something novel.  Stay with what you have until you have actually found something better.  Stay where you are because something is better than nothing, but look for a better job in the same area.  If you keep looking, sooner or later something will come along.

Do not go back to school at this point.  You're too old to be pulling this crap, unless you know exactly what you're going to do and have a solid plan, which you clearly don't.  You have to support yourself and take on loans to go back to school, and you can't afford to do that without thinking.  You're still stuck with the loans from your previous abortive attempts.

The line between success and failure is very thin, and you're never a failure until you decide you are and give up.  Pick a path and stick to it; stop jumping around while giving up what you have, however imperfect.  Keep this up and you'll be completely unemployable.

Sorry to be so harsh, but I just wanted to tell the truth the way I see it.

I pretty much agree. I was thinking that the dental field would be novel, with good pay and huge growth opportunities, but going to school now isn't a great idea.
On the other hand, I will be living in a motorcycle in a couple of months if I don't make
more money.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I wouldn't get a bs in meteorology, too specific and too small of an industry. Probably requires grad school too. Check out NOAA and see what they require and go from there if you're genuinely interested.

This degree would not make me very employable to NOAA. It is mostly just to get a 4-yr degree done, regardless of the field.

[dazzleman]

I pretty much agree. I was thinking that the dental field would be novel, with good pay and huge growth opportunities, but going to school now isn't a great idea.
On the other hand, I will be living in a motorcycle in a couple of months if I don't make
more money.

Then you need to be looking at ways to supplement your income.  Then maybe your experience where you are can serve as leverage to upgrade your job to something that pays more.

That won't work if you leave where you are, or they give up on you because they decide you're irretrievably miserable.  There's a certain hazing that goes on in these types of job, where you have to do some time in crappy circumstances before you start to get the better assignments.  All careers have this in one way or another, and you have to deal with it.  The fact that you keep moving hasn't helped because you can't establish yourself anywhere.

Be careful of your attitude.  What you think at any time gets transmitted one way or another to the people around you, whether you think you are hiding it or not.  The fact that you're always complaining about your job doesn't bode well for your prospects there.  They're likely to pick up on your surly attitude and give you even crappier assignments that pay even less.  That's how the bad cycle works.  You're in a bad cycle, and you need to break out of it.  It will take considerable effort, but the rewards will be worth it if you succeed.

[Minpin]

Think about delivering newspapers in the morning before work. A couple hours a day will get you about an extra grand a month.

[Eye of the Tiger]

There is a difference between low pay, which I'm used to, and so dirt poor that I can't even survive pay. I would not be complaining if it was a case of the former.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Think about delivering newspapers in the morning before work. A couple hours a day will get you about an extra grand a month.

This is an idea. Of course, I'd have to come up with $600 to get my car back on the road.

[Minpin]

If money is as tight as you say it is,it's time to go back to trucking. Get with a better company, and work your way through life from there. If you can't even afford to pay your bills, that's a worse life than spending it on the road.

[SVT_Power]

This degree would not make me very employable to NOAA. It is mostly just to get a 4-yr degree done, regardless of the field.

Honestly if you can swing the degree, I think having that piece of paper will help you the most.

[Payman]

[dazzleman]

He's already done that.  USAF.

[Payman]

He's already done that.  USAF.

I joined the CF in '89, quit in 2000, went bankrupt, re-joined in '04, and retiring in 52 days $440,000 richer.

[Payman]

He can join as a Dental Assistant/Hygienist, get paid $50k a year and have all his training taken care of, and get out after his contract (5 yrs?) with money in the bank.

[Eye of the Tiger]

He can join as a Dental Assistant/Hygienist, get paid $50k a year and have all his training taken care of, and get out after his contract (5 yrs?) with money in the bank.

Probably more like $30K to start, but that is still leaps and bounds ahead of where I'm at.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I joined the CF in '89, quit in 2000, went bankrupt, re-joined in '04, and retiring in 52 days $440,000 richer.

Oh, you meant military.
I can't get back in because of my legs.

[Payman]

Oh, you meant military.
I can't get back in because of my legs.

Oh, right.

[Eye of the Tiger]

If I can get accepted into the program, I would have just enough GI Bill left to pay for a Dental Assistant certificate.

[3.0L V6]

Don't you have a commercial driver's licence? There's lots of demand for drivers....you can do that until you pay down your loans. Then you can save for school and eventually move into a career you want to.

[Minpin]

Anderson, SC

http://www.bigrigjobs.com/Truck_Driving_Jobs/Truck_Driving_Job_Posting/168148.html

[Eye of the Tiger]

Don't you have a commercial driver's licence? There's lots of demand for drivers....you can do that until you pay down your loans. Then you can save for school and eventually move into a career you want to.

Yeah, that is an option, but it is always a temporary solution.

[dazzleman]

Yeah, that is an option, but it is always a temporary solution.

That's better than no solution, if things are as bad as you say they are.  It can keep you afloat until you find your direction.

[Rupert]

Save money like last time you trucked, but this time for debt/school instead of moving.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Trucking is also bad for my health, and my cats' health. I would take a local route, but no more OTR.

[Rupert]

UPS? USPS is kind of in trouble, but they still pay well and have good benefits.

[Raza]

Hmm...a career in something you already had a career in before?  Madness. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Do not want.

If I don't get that dirt job tomorrow, I will blow an intake gasket.

[Laconian]

I've never had a male dental assistant before.

[hotrodalex]

UPS? USPS is kind of in trouble, but they still pay well and have good benefits.

UPS or Fedex seem like good options. Local delivery truck driver or whatever.

I've never had a male dental assistant before.

Seems like they are always early-to-mid-30s women with boob jobs and unnaturally white teeth (obviously due to their profession).