NationStates Jolt Archive

Are there any? If so, which ones are there, and what are the requirements?

Merchant navy officers, offshore oil and gas industry personnel and linesmen (people who climb towers to repair high-voltage power lines) get paid ridiculous amounts of money. As I discovered however, it takes more balls than most people have, and even then opportunities are rare.

Merchant navy officers, offshore oil and gas industry personnel and linesmen (people who climb towers to repair high-voltage power lines) get paid ridiculous amounts of money. As I discovered however, it takes more balls than most people have, and even then opportunities are rare.

Damn, that sucks. :(

Believe it or not, to be an airline captain requires no education past grade 11. Of course, it's a major asset, but not required.

I get payed US$25/hr to supervise/operate the technical equipment in the theatre spaces of my public school system when private groups rent them out. Next year I'm also going to get $150/show for a local theatre group I intern with. Requires relatively advanced theatre tech knowledge, and I know some people who do it who never even went to college...hard to find openings w/o connections, though.

Edit: And I'm still just 15 and in my 2nd year of HS.

One of the most surreal experiences I ever had was when I worked for SPSS in Chicago - I was hired as a temp to do an employee education survery they had to turn in to some government agency.

Not one of the people working in that office other then the engineers had a degree in the field they were working in. And the engineers were spotty - most of them had engineering degrees of some type, but many of them were not working in field they had specialized in - like one of main programmers was a civil engineer. :| And the president of the company didn't have a degree at all - he'd completed two years in a BA program and never graduated - of course, I doubt he could have gotten hired with that qualification, but as founder of the company he couldn't readily be fired. ;)

I'm left thinking that it's not so much about what you study in college as it is about the contacts you make and the kind of work you pursue.

Elicere

I think some pro sports have drafted people right out of high school...

Merchant navy officers, offshore oil and gas industry personnel and linesmen (people who climb towers to repair high-voltage power lines) get paid ridiculous amounts of money. As I discovered however, it takes more balls than most people have, and even then opportunities are rare.

I wouldn't mind being a linesmen. I work with all kinds of pretty high voltage eqipment...and I love climbing and I also really like heights.

NBA player

NBA player

How about a job that's actually attainable?

drug smuggler

drug smuggler

:rolleyes:

If you go to train at a prestigious mechanics' school like UTI (what a name!) you can make lots of money fixing up people's BMWs. Unfortunately that requires a large prior investment for the training.

If you can finagle a practical education in marine engines out of someone at cut-rate prices (or even better, for free), you can go to a major marine contractor and ask to be hired. Marine engine techs get good pay, although it comes at a cost of squeezing into cramped, filthy spaces. You'll need a way to prove your skill, though. Fortunately, marine engines are just like land- and air-bound engines, they just tend to be orders of magnitude larger.

/almost got into that line of work
//psych major doing animal-care work in a research lab now

garbage man

How about a job that's actually attainable?

Hollywood callgirl

Manager in a big concern ... its not HAL but nearly:rolleyes:

I'm trying to be serious here, people. If you want to fool around, please, find a different thread.

Rockstar? Moviestar?

They generally require talent. Or at least being hot.

Lottery winner. Bank robber. Porn star. Lottery winning, porn making, bank robbing counterfeit money-maker.

If you have the opportunity, and enjoy technical stuff/theatre I will reiterate what I said. If you can, I'd reccomend going into theatre tech. They get payed a fair ammount of money, and, for me and all the others I know, is fairly tax free. I mean, outside-work life is sacraficed for a couple weeks of the right-before-show hell, but still, it's pretty fun, you can have a lot of job freedom and creativity room, and it pays fairly well.

I'm trying to be serious here, people. If you want to fool around, please, find a different thread.
My post is not fun....sadly....other "educated" people were fired or sold

The people in the oil and natural gas industry make a lot of money here, first year average pay for someone with no experience is about 45,000 and it climbs quickly from there. The downside is you work for every penny of it, you will be sweaty and muscular though ;)

If you have any computer skills at all, there are some software companies that may hire you on contract work, my husband contracted out for one over the summer that was basically unboxing computers and plugging them in and made about $200 extra a week in addition to his regular job. (but it wouldn't be enough to live off of I guess)

anyway, his software installers get something like salary plus an extra $600-1000 a week when they go on installs, but it requires a lot of travel.

Nowadays, manual workers in the UK and Ireland like plumbers and brick-layers get paid very well, because so many people are going into the professions, I suspect.

Many business corporations like to train there people straight out of High School, Uni people for the most part are often snobbish and to idealogical and tainted for many corporations. Many CEOs and the likes just finished High School and had the RIGHT ATTITUDE (most important) or never even finished high school. You may start low but there are many promos in Corporations. The head of Mcdonalds, worked as a janitor in one shop and made it to the top, it isn't what some paper says that makes you, it is your attitude and ambition.

Believe it or not, to be an airline captain requires no education past grade 11. Of course, it's a major asset, but not required.
You need a lot of specialized training, though, might as well consider it "college education"

Cleaning out vats at a chemical plant

Cybach']...Uni people for the most part are often snobbish and to idealogical and tainted for many corporations...Idealogical, perhaps, but I can honestly say I've never met a student who is 'snobbish'. I've met one or two snobbish graduates, but I'm pretty certain that's cos they were twats anyway, rather than because they were university educated.

But yeah, I agree that attitude and ambition can get you much further than any university education. My boyfriend was at university for nine years and ended up in the civil service! (Admittedly on a graduate program that led to a middle management position, but he could have entered this after one degree rather than four). Whereas I've friends that left school at 16 who are cruising about in BMWs because of the great jobs they got.

The only people I know from HS who are now cruising in fancy cars are the people who already came from families of rich businessmen, usually importers of merchandise.

Nowadays, manual workers in the UK and Ireland like plumbers and brick-layers get paid very well, because so many people are going into the professions, I suspect.

Same in the U.S. Electricians, carpenters, pipefitters, et cetera.

Hitman, weapon dealer, Street Doc...

No really, if you don't want to work to get money, the only thing you can hope for is winning the lottery.

Dude, I have a degree in commercial art (like not having a degree at all :p ), and I do pretty well as an entrepreneur. It takes business savvy (they can't teach that in school) and a little luck, but being a successful entrepreneur is pretty lucrative providing you have the discipline, drive and tolerance for risk.
The applications are endless, though, so I can't really reccomend one particular avenue.

Senator or Congressman.

Hey it almost worked for Fred Tuttle.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113758/combined

Ok here you go:

Any type of sales job usually doesn't require a college degree. You can do Realestate salesperson, Realestate Broker, Insurance salesman, Mortgage broker, Title rep. list goes on in finance field. There is big money in all of these jobs. With the right sales aptitude you can achieve a high degree of income.

Other area would be a business owner. Realestate investor is a great one that anyone with basic math skills can understand. These are fields that I have worked in over the years and or am doing now. So I personally know that a high income is attainable. Hopefully that helps you.

My college didnt come into play for a well paying job as a finance manager at a fairly large car dealership.
Nor as a general manager at a repossession co. Both paid over $75,000.00 per year, plus cash bonus.
Experience & connections from those has gotten me work from attorneys in investigations,fraud, backround searches and asset location,recovery. Ideal with US Marshals, Customs, FBI-even with Dog Chapman, the Bounty Hunter on occasion. I work mainly from home, and I'm doing better than the other jobs I mentioned. My Christmas bonus just kicked ass after a great year
Being able to talk to and deal with people, plus listening and observing people closely served me better than college.

I'm left thinking that it's not so much about what you study in college as it is about the contacts you make and the kind of work you pursue.


Aboslutely. It's often more about WHO you know, than what you know.

I wouldn't mind being a linesmen. I work with all kinds of pretty high voltage eqipment...and I love climbing and I also really like heights.

But where do you go to get into it. I looked into steeplejacking a while back and got nowhere. I think it's sort of a family/closed-shop thing.

Are there any? If so, which ones are there, and what are the requirements?
A tradesperson. What's best, you can begin your apprenticeship in RAP programs in high school, or wander around and find someone willing to hire you with no experience and begin an apprenticeship. Then they pay for your training, and pay you while you learn. You need to be in the right areas to make the good bucks. An electrician can work regular hours, and make about $25 tops in that particular job...or they can get a job with some serious overtime, and make more like $55/hour. My husband contracts himself directly to a mine, and comes home with $10,000 in his pocket after two weeks of 12 hour shifts. Plus, since he's got his own electrical company, he is only paying 4% of that in taxes this year (more the next, and more the year after that...but still!).

Plus, he doesn't have $26,000 in student loans.

But where do you go to get into it. I looked into steeplejacking a while back and got nowhere. I think it's sort of a family/closed-shop thing.
Keep knocking on doors. Seriously...that's the best way to get in. Find companies that do the kind of work you like, and see if they'll take you on as an apprentice. All it takes is one guy to say, "Sure!"

Hitman, weapon dealer, Street Doc...

No really, if you don't want to work to get money, the only thing you can hope for is winning the lottery.
He's not talking about not working. He's talking about not getting an expensive post-secondary education in order to make a decent wage.

Merchant navy officers, offshore oil and gas industry personnel and linesmen (people who climb towers to repair high-voltage power lines) get paid ridiculous amounts of money. As I discovered however, it takes more balls than most people have, and even then opportunities are rare.
Oh, and a thing to note...some people get a University Degree and never make use of it...either because it's useless (like a degree in philosophy, a friend of mine who has been unemployed since graduating was bemoaning his choice of that discipline), or because the jobs out there for that specialty just aren't very well paying (anthropology). If you don't want to go, DON'T! If you do, do it...even if it doesn't guarantee a higher income. But there are plenty of people who started out in low-paying jobs, and worked their way up while others spent thousands going to school...and those people who worked their way up are now managers, or higher, with a nice income. Higher education doesn't guarantee you higher earnings. Your work ethic, and your drive makes a lot of difference.

Entrepreneur (business owner)

- Potential for high financial compensation

- Equal-or-greater potential for total operational failure and financial collapse

But... you get to be your own boss, call your own hours, set your own prices and product/service offerings, etc.

With the right self employment, you can make tons. It takes a good deal of will power and care with book keeping, but its a good way to go. Vending, which i did, was lucrative but highly competitive.

It takes a minimal amount of cash to start out; a person could get going on a mcD's wages even. Growth is tricky; but the steps are clear; you just need a little bit of salesman in you to approach new locations/clients.

Keep knocking on doors. Seriously...that's the best way to get in. Find companies that do the kind of work you like, and see if they'll take you on as an apprentice. All it takes is one guy to say, "Sure!"

keep both a box of chocolates and a six-pack of beer in your briefcase... if a female answers the door, offer her the chocolates. If it's a man, offer him the beer.

hehe

You've got to get past the gatekeepers first.

[QUOTE=Marrakech II]Ok here you go:

Any type of sales job usually doesn't require a college degree. You can do Realestate salesperson, Realestate Broker, Insurance salesman, Mortgage broker, Title rep. list goes on in finance field. There is big money in all of these jobs. With the right sales aptitude you can achieve a high degree of income.QUOTE]

You beat me to it - I am in the mortgage sales and not all companies require a degree. It can be a fun job and offers a ton of freedom. The downside is that the party is over - rates are going up and the job is much tougher. two years ago you couldn't help but make over $100,000 - now you have to really have connections to do so. Another problem is that all of the sheisters, spam e-mails and telemarketing calls out there have reduced the reputation of the loan rep to that of a used car dealer.

If you have the opportunity, and enjoy technical stuff/theatre I will reiterate what I said. If you can, I'd reccomend going into theatre tech. They get payed a fair ammount of money, and, for me and all the others I know, is fairly tax free. I mean, outside-work life is sacraficed for a couple weeks of the right-before-show hell, but still, it's pretty fun, you can have a lot of job freedom and creativity room, and it pays fairly well.
It's an unsteady start, but yeah.

Film crew, too. About half of the people I work with didn't get degrees and I didn't need a degree to do the work I'm doing. In some cases I'd have been better off if I had just gone straight into PAing* without the college. PAs make dick, but once you get into other crews like audio or lighting or camera (the dream) you start to make a lot of money.

And the other cool part is that you have no expenses while you're working, they feed you and pay your travel. They put you up in some pretty swanky digs sometimes to. But you gotta bust ass for almost nothing for a while to get to those big bucks.

*Production Assistant, fetch monkey. Whipping boy.

President of the United States?

I could'nt resist! :D

You can make good money at security. Or become a prision guard. They make in or about eighty thousand euro a year in my country.

like a degree in philosophy, a friend of mine who has been unemployed since graduating was bemoaning his choice of that discipline
As he has a degree in it, he should use his bullshitting skills to write crappy books that uninformed people will snap up like hotcakes.

keep both a box of chocolates and a six-pack of beer in your briefcase... if a female answers the door, offer her the chocolates. If it's a man, offer him the beer.

Beer & steeplejacks? A potentially lethal combination.

there is nothing you can go into that pays you good money the day you graduate highschool. you either have to go to tech school or work your way up in the job you start in that pays crap.

so, as has been said, sales can be very lucrative if you turn out to have the personality for it. you have to be very good with people and have a great attention for detail (especially if you go into real estate)

the trades are paying better than ever. plumber, electrician, licensed contractor, landscaper, mechanics.

my nephew took a course in auto mechanics that specialized in high end cars that rich people drive. that can work out very well. same with marine mechanic that specializes in yachts.

the local votech has courses that will get you a pretty good job after about 2 years of training. anything from registered nursing to chip manufacturing. give them a call. youll be amazed at the things you can get training for. these days they try to send all the "smart" kids to college so you can clean up in a tech field if you have a bit of smarts yourself.

There's tons of trades that are good. They all require some education and would be best entered with an apprenticeship.
Plumber,
Electrician,
Heating and Airconditioning,
Diesel Mechanic,
Millwright,
Iron Worker,
Rigger...
Photographer

Probably not carpentry, unless you work in a union state. Same with painting. Too many yahoos think they can do the work and bring down the wages.

Stick to a trade that needs a license to work, and you will probably be fine.