TheBandit

iTrader: (8)

I have an MET degree and work as a design engineer. I tried outside sales for about 9 months and ended up not really liking the situation I was in (after working as a deign engineer but getting paid like a good drafter). My current role allows me the opportunity to do both design things and in some cases manufacture and build the prototype (which I absolutely love).

My fiancé on the other hand has tried chemical engineering, nursing and now supply chain management without acquiring a bachelors degree. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself.

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

Learn what you don't want to do.

I just want to pick stuff up, put it down and cruise in my pink/red car.

hornetball

iTrader: (4)

She worked those jobs without a degree, or she studied in those majors and switched?

hankclaussen

iTrader: (5)

Maybe he'll chime in but I read it as him making a suggestion to the OP.

To answer the question at hand, I work for the central bureaucracy. It utilizes a business degree, but is certainly not what I thought I'd end up doing.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

I'm the Internet Sales Manager at a Mazda dealership. I kinda hate it but make pretty strong money (did around $70k last year and should do $100k ish this year).

Hard work mentally and just very challenging overall. Worked at several other dealerships amd worked my way up.

I don't really recommend it.

Corifto

iTrader: (1)

I just hit my four year anniversary as a police dispatcher, and I love it. Good pay, great benefits, an interesting job, and rewarding as well.

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

How did you gather that from my post complaining about how managers from engineering companies are less useful than **** on a bull?

Efini~FC3S

iTrader: (4)

This?

???

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

That's what OP did.

Because Derek Zoolander School For Kids That Can't Read Good.

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

That would be me describing the OP.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Anyways, i work in health insurance as a Claims Processor/Business Analyst/Process Writer/Process Tester/Garbage Disposal.

I hate every second of it. But, it pays the bills and i've got 8 years invested here, can't afford to start over at this point. I have no degree, so leaving likely puts me right back into a $25k starting salary. I don't know what "$$$" range is for you. I'm mid-$40k area before overtime. (Still hourly, which i like.)

karter74

iTrader: (4)

Got a EET degree, went to work for a major electrical utility in protection and control. Honestly loved the job, pay, people, etc. Never knew I wanted into this industry until it literally fell in my lap.

Could be stressful at times, my tiny mistake can literally take out an entire towns power.

Now I moved and work for a contractor firm doing essentially the same thing. Being a contractor is not nearly as fun, I'm not a fan of customer based service. I do work more hours now (which is more money, still hourly) but miss utility work.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I have a BS in IT, minor in business, minor in economics. I am currently a Linux system admin for a real estate software company. If you would have asked me when I was 15 what I wanted to do when I got out of school I would have told you exactly what I am doing now.

Since getting into miata's about 10 years ago my interests have changed greatly. I no longer have a large passion for IT like I used to, but it is "easy" work, I am good at it, and it pays well. So unless something drastically changes I am planning on staying in IT until I retire.

On the side I am starting MKTurbo to provide budget turbo setups to the masses. If car fabrication paid anywhere near what I make in IT I would switch careers in a heart bear.

dieselmiata

iTrader: (3)

While I do have a BA, It has nothing to do with my career. I did a 12 year stint in the Navy and worked on boilers the whole time. Now I manage the maintenance shop for a company that sells and rents industrial boilers. Energy production is pretty lucrative so I make enough to be quite comfortable, and it's something I enjoy doing. I wouldn't say it's my favorite thing, but I'm good at it and it's such an obscure industry that my skill set pretty much guarantees me employment for the future.

Ryan_G

iTrader: (8)

I have a MAcc and a CPA. I work at a global professional services firm. Pay/benefits are good, clear path for advancement within the firm, great exit opportunities, the ability to work with different industries and clients, and ample opportunities to travel for work both domestically and internationally. I work in Internal Audit consulting myself and the more responsibilities I get the more I like it. The job can be very demanding and the hours can be long but I love the people I work with as they are all very driven and generally the best of the best. I have been here for under 2 years and can't see myself leaving within the next 3 years. Who knows, I may even go for Partner.

festersays

iTrader: (3)

Keep in mind, I'm 20.

I'm currently working full time for a furniture repair service. It pays well enough to get me through school, and besides that I will hold my tongue.

I'm studying to get into the IT industry, specifically in the Digital Forensics end of things. My school offers a really good program and so I'm double majoring in digital forensics as well as computer maintenance and networking.

I'm not trying to preach this career, but I'll tell you that IT jobs are going nowhere- matter of fact the field is growing. A starter job as a computer tech will probably pay you decently by the hour but once you get a job as a system admin you'll be looking at north of 30k on the no experience end. Once you do that for a few years, you can keep moving up. It takes a certain person who isn't bothered by much, but with a forensics degree you could look really appealing to the FBI and they pay extremely well.

Food for thought.

Sparetire

Wow.

These are some damned good/insightful responses. Probably a lot of people will benefit from the thread.

Six', you asked about my strengths:

I am good at customer service, mostly because I tend to empathize very strongly with people when I am face to face with them. I work in non-profit now and work with people all-day, many of whom are not having an easy day/month/life. I am also good at communicating over the phone in a precise way - used to do tech support for aftermarket car parts. But it does sometimes beat the **** out of me.

I sort of hate computers, but that's also down to dealing with consumer-level stuff all the time and almost universally antiquated gear. I might actually like it if I was doing something other than solving I-D-10-T issues. I am getting really tired of solving the same things with the same people over and over again. I basically act as the first point of tech support for about 65 people, the majority of whom are technically illiterate. As in having a hard time checking Gmail. And I also act as the designated copier repair man, furniture mover, picture hanger, automotive advisor, etc.

I can wrench, though I lack experience with most platforms. When that's going well, I love it. When its not, I can be an unholy terror BFHing my way to hell, chewing on sheet metal and crapping hi-comp pistons. I am great on a LeMons crew, but that's not really like working in a shop.

-Anyone in Denver who wants to run LeMons in a REAL LeMon-y car can PM me BTW-

I am also the guy who no joke and no exaggeration actually shows up on time, dressed appropriately, and leaves a late if that's needed without a fuss. That's a biggie with all my former and current bosses. I don't mind working hard.

Someone else mentioned a skills assessment, and I did one, it was helpful. We basically figured out that I don't necessarily want to work with the public too much, and that I tend to enjoy analysis and problem solving. It suggested surveying, but my research there indicates that its maybe not the best field to get into. The tools make it easy for any Goomba to go out and do a lot of the work, so you have a race to the bottom in terms of price/quality right now. Maybe that changed as the recession wound down?

Anyway, I would like to get to where a lot of you are, where I am not in a 100% supporting role. I am just tired of handling 10,000 little things in addition to some big projects. So I am looking at stuff away from customer service to some extent.

These data points are really helpful and encouraging. I have two goals for 2015 - one is to have my Moms house 100% HGTV ready. The other is to be set to make more $ by the end of the year.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I have been doing IT work in various ways since 2004. I will say forensics and networking are probably not the best places to spend a ton of time or specialize in. Open positions for those specific skills and only those are few and far between.

For forensic work you will most likely need to get a masters/phd to actually learn enough to have a solid understanding and find real job prospects. I just interviewed a guy who did studied heavily in forensic in undergrad and has never used what he studied since getting out.

As for networking, you need to have a good understanding of it, but actual jobs that are doing only networking work are extremely rare. I have interviewed several people who went to for-profit schools and did almost exclusively networking, and their overall knowledge of everything outside of networking was extremely lacking and we could not place them.

If you want to get into IT and go into operations side of things as opposed to development side you will be much better served learning OSes, databases, and virtualization. Having networking and forensic knowledge will be a nice thing to know, but they won't be what gets you a job. I enjoy networking, but very little of my time is spent setting up networks and configuring routers and such. About once a month I will have to go in and change something in a router. Most of the time is spent inside Linux or windows vm's doing configuration and such.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

You need to move around a little. Different jobs, different tasks. I'd second the idea of the military were you so inclined, but that locks you in for at least a couple of years.

The time to experiment with jobs is when you are young. Hard to do when you have a family to support. Trust me, hit up a couple of temp type places. The worst they can do is tell you to pound sand.

z31maniac

Software developer.

My buddy here at work has his Master's. He's less than 30 years old, is a manager and makes $100k a year in OKLAHOMA.

I'm seriously considering going back to school to learn to code.