(1) Decide what you want to do. It's 10,000 times easier to wake up and say "I'm going to this shitty job" if you know it's because you're doing doing it to save money for going back to school, or for getting your pilot's license.
If you know you want to do something difficult, look up what pathway other people have taken to get there and imitate, it's never too late!
- Doctors start volunteering in hospitals, do postbac programs, work in labs, and kiss babies in Africa to try and make themselves more appealing.
- Vets go volunteer in vet clinics and work at getting good grades.
- Physical therapists shadow other physical therapists.
- Programmers literally just start learning to program (I have a lot of friends that never went to school for this and yet now make bank, we're talking 100k+, for being software engineers. A lot of companies want talent, and not just the degree).
- A lot of pilots join the military to pick up a commercial license and hours without spending any money.
- My friends that are graphic or web designers market the heck out of themselves and do a lot of freelance work to try and make themselves both more experienced and appealing.
- My friends that have gone into the wine business, saved up enough money to buy some acres in the boonies, got some investors, and looked up everything they needed to know to make wine.
- As for my friends that are lawyers, well from what I can tell they've done anything and everything.
- Staff scientists all went back for their Ph.d.
- Reporters do a lot of shit work for small time newspapers trying to get their big break. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
(3) If you don't really care what or where you want to be, try to figure out some life goals you've always wanted to accomplish and you may bump into a job along the way. People that say military or peace corp hit the nail on the head for travelling.
- If you've always wanted to visit Africa, China, etc., the Peace Corp may not be such a bad route; and it gives you a job for two years.
- If you've always wanted to make a difference in your community, find a soup kitchen, a hospital, a school you can teach at, a museum to volunteer at, really anything that gets you out and involved in the community. Any one of these can transition into a job if you really throw your heart and soul into it or can introduce you to awesome people who can turn into great friends or boyfriends/ girlfriends.
- If you've wanted to run a marathon, join some running clubs and get out and run every day with a group of people.
- Physician Assistants programs are 2 years long and can equate to a 90k+ salary
- Nurses programs are 1 month for a CNA (25k - 35k/ year), 1 year for LPN (maybe 40k/ year), 2 years for an associate's degree, 4 years for a bachelors degree, 1 year for accelerated program (60k+/ year), 2-3 years for practitioners (90k+/ year) ***Link to CNA program: http://www.redcrossnca.org/index.php/news-and-publications/67-region-in-the-news/628-become-a-cna-through-your-red-cross.html
- Physical Therapist Assistant programs are 2 years long and can equate to 50k+/ year (plus they're really fun)
- Physical Therapist Aides do not need a program, and can be 25k+/ year (I highly recommend looking into this, its just a generally awesome job)
- Teaching can be done with no degree if you're jumping into Teach for America or tutoring, and can hook you up with anything from 30k/ year to 70k/ year (my friend does math for a private school and it does really well for him)
- Web designers can have no schooling, or a basic certificate, and can make 40k/ year and work from home
- Some accounting/ actuary jobs can be acquired with no degree, simply passing a test, and can be done for 40k - 90k+/ year
- Paralegal positions can be found with no degree/ training, simply calling up lawyers, and can do 40k - 90k+/ year (or you can get a certificate)
- Optometrists, Podiatrists and Dentists are all doctors, but don't take 7 years of school (4 years usually), some schools can be as much as 100k/ year, but the programs are only 4 years long (they don't require a residency like med) and graduates have little trouble paying it back
- Real Estate Sales Agents can be done with whatever requirements are in your state (sometimes 40 hours of edu), and can make 30k - infinity/ year
- EMT Basic training courses take about a month, and can net you 35k+/year ***Link for accelerated program: http://www.wildmed.com/wilderness-medical-courses/medical-professionals/advancedemtw-12-day-hybrid.php This gives you wilderness certification but it's only 12 days
- Police Officers do about 40k - 70k/ year, and training takes about 3 - 4 months from the time you start at the police academy, some offer on the job training
- Specialized coaching, in particular I'm thinking yoga instructors, can be done by apprenticing yourself to an older person and volunteering for a set amount of hours, and can make as much as you want/ year
- Patent Office Agents can make 90k/ year and the job is as simple to obtain as passing a test ***Link: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam/registration.jsp Note that the tests are often CRAZY hard, and a lot of times they hire Ph.ds
- Consultants can be anyone/ anything with any amount of experience, they just start. And a 2 year rotational program with a company like accenture or so could really help you get a lot of experience trying out different things until you figure out what you like
- Massage Therapists take 6 months of training and can make 20k/ year - infinity
- Hair stylists/ Salon folk take 1 month - 6 months of training in beauty school and make 30k/ year (although I don't really recommend this, I just had a friend who really likes nails...)
- Flight attendants can be anyone or anything, you just need to have a great personality, and they do about 35k/ year
- Secretaries/ Executive Assistants can be anyone or anything, and if you work for a really cool office, like at Universal Studios, you may actually enjoy it
- Dog walkers can be anyone or anything, and they can do $20/ dog/ hour
- Baby sitters/ Day care workers follow the same strategy, and they can do about 35k+/ year ***Link to au pair jobs, the right family can pay well: http://www.greataupair.com/
- Whatever you got your degree in. If you already have a job, get back into it!
- Learn to sail
- Learn to rock climb
- Hiking
- Swing Dance/ Salsa Dance/ Belly Dance/ all that crazy stuff
- Skiing/ Snowboarding
- Adult gymnastics - if you're a dude, you'd be surprised at how easy it is to learn a backflip. If you're a girl, it's just fun.
- Yoga
- Get a puppy/ kitten/ hamster/fish, it has made my life a lot cuter.
- Start investing/ following the stock market
- Build Robots
- Learn how to make a website
- Pick up decorating, why not
- Join a running club
- Join a book club
- Go hang out at a local bar
- Learn how to work on cars/ motorcycles
- Learn to fly planes
- Learn to fly helicopters
- Bowling
- Learn how to ride a motorcycle
- Take up glass blowing
- Take up painting
- Take to the googles and find something cool, hell breed Axolotls, garden, climb trees. Whatever makes you really happy so you can go to work reminding yourself that fun will happen as SOON as you get home.
Here's a few other fun things:
- Ski lift operator, pay is so low it's irrelevant but you get free lift tickets, I met a guy that did this full time and just alternated continents when the weather got better
- Working for a cruise ship, keep in mind you'll get treated a lot better as the piano player than you will as a waiter: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/fun_jobs/fun_jobs.aspx
- Working for a resort (as something awesome like an archery instructor, I've heard it's not as much fun for a waitstaff person) http://www.clubmedjobs.com/metiers.php3?id_rubrique=304
- Forest Ranger, I don't know the requirements, but my friends that work at Yosemite National Park love it http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/
- Fire fighter - 35k/ year (I don't know the exact training requirements, I think it's 6 months - a year)
- Zoo keeper - 25k/ year, takes either extensive volunteering at a zoo, or a college degree and internships. Most aquariums and zoos will let you volunteer at no cost
- Museum science 25k/ year - 100k+/ year if you're a director, most museums in your area will let you volunteer to get started. Degree requirements are different depending on if you're a curator/ archeologist/ simply work on exhibits
- Working for a radio, 10+/ hour, warning to get started in this expect an awful job with a shift at 2 am, and there's no clearer way to get in than to be willing to travel anywhere in the country to take the job
- Animal trainer - 10+/hour - 100k/ year. Because you really CAN become a dolphin trainer... http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/training/animal-training-careers.htm
- Working for the circus, sometimes as low as $200/ month; but you'd be in the circus so who cares - http://www.ringling.com/ContentPage.aspx?id=45822&section=45823
- Biomedical technician/ Engineer - 10/ hour - 55k+/ year entry level, 70k/ year - 100k+/ year with experience. My friend started volunteering in a lab cleaning test tubes, got a full time position and the company paid for him to go back for his bachelors. He hopped biotech company to biotech company and now works as an engineer for a pharma company making 170k/ year
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