What career can I get without a college degree? (job application, applications, paycheck)
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Forget degrees, it's whether you are a self motivated person or not. Anyone in America who is self motivated, always learning, and have a broad spectrum of knowledge can get very far even in corporate America. A college degree is more like a filter, it's to ween out the vast amount of the uneducated and under skilled people. Once you get yourself through the door, the rest is up to you. Just by having a degree at a company doesn't automatically setup anyone for career advancement.
How about garage door repair? Had a guy come fix mine yesterday. He learned by working for a guy who had this business. After learning how to repair more issues he struck out on his own. I paid $220 for getting my door back on the tracks for about 30 to 45 minutes of work. Say between driving to homes he spends 2 hrs on avg that is a lot of money a year if he has plenty of customers. No classes just work for someone to learn how to do the repairs they are not complicated just need to know what to do and how to do it.
I've been working the same 9-5 cubicle job for the past four years and I'm seeing no signs of advancement or growth in the near future.
I'm feeling really lost in regards to my career. This cubicle job I have now doesn't seem to have much in terms of long-term career potential and I don't know what to do. I don't have a college degree and I don't want to go to college given the debt and the fact that a degree isn't worth as much as it use to be. I've been looking at entry-level careers like real estate agents and financial advisors, but I've underestimated how difficult those jobs are and I don't know what else to do.
My only hope is to just apply at any other entry-level job (retail, restaurants, etc) and hope to advance within the company, but there's obviously no guarantee in that. My parents have suggested learning a trade (specifically heating and air conditioning school) but that simply doesn't appeal to me. I honestly feel like I'm going to be stuck in my cubicle for the rest of my life and I don't know where else to go. I'm just at a really tough spot in life and I don't know what to do. Are there any entry-level careers out there?
Given where you're at, there are really three phases you have to plan for:
Research - Figuring out what you want to do. You obviously need to continue working during this phase and the next, so either come up with a date for your transition if that will motivate you to stay in your current job, or find another cubicle job as a temporary move. You know what you don't want to do: get into debt, do an expensive college degree. Different kinds of jobs appeal to different types of people - for example, an extrovert would probably be happy in a sales type job, but miserable in a cubicle without a lot of interaction with people; vice versa for an introvert. You can explore possibilities by using the following tool at the O*Net site:
Be sure to read all the instructions. You can learn a lot about potential careers by going through this exercise. At the bottom of each career description page, there is a link that says: "See more details at O*NET OnLine". This will give a lot more detail about the career, if what you've read on the My Next Move page interests you. Here's the O*NET OnLine site:
As part of your research, identify which careers might be of interest to you. If a career doesn't interest you, be sure to use the "EXPLORE MORE" link on the career pages to explore similar careers.
This obviously is going to take you some time, as will preparation. The outcome should be a short list of careers to consider; I suggest three is a good number.
Preparation - Doing what you need to do for the transition. If the career you've decided on requires application for an internship or training at a local community college, that's what you'd do here. Unless you get a paid internship, you'll probably have to continue working during this period so you may have to put in long hours - but it will pay off for you in the end.
Suppose you get an internship and decide it's not for you? Go back to your short list from Research and start Preparation for your second choice. You'll still be working at a job that isn't a good fit during this period -- but you're moving toward something, which you've not doing now.
Transition - Making the move to your career. Get a resume together, use your contacts for networking, apply for an internship if it's required, work on your interviewing skills. Once you get to this point, there are lots of resources available online that can help you with things like your resume and interviewing skills.
How about garage door repair? Had a guy come fix mine yesterday. He learned by working for a guy who had this business. After learning how to repair more issues he struck out on his own. I paid $220 for getting my door back on the tracks for about 30 to 45 minutes of work. Say between driving to homes he spends 2 hrs on avg that is a lot of money a year if he has plenty of customers. No classes just work for someone to learn how to do the repairs they are not complicated just need to know what to do and how to do it.
SO $110 per hour. Take out health insurance and retirement you're down to $70 per hour. Take out overhead costs like material, gas, vehicle, marketing, accounting, rent, etc you're down to not much at all. Not to mention he has competitors and might not always have doors to repair. He likley averages in the 20s per hour.
I feel so sorry for you OP. You have no idea the gift you have, of being only 24, young, with so much time and energy in front of you.
It is said that youth is often wasted on the young...how true that is.
College, and graduate school, were some of the best times of my life. I got to defer boring 9-5 work to go to school every day, meet tons of other young people, mingle with interesting educated teachers, and learn whatever topics were interesting and important to my future career.
I got to travel the world by doing international studies. What an amazing time that was.
Despite making over $200k per year now, in a very cushy job where I control when I work, how I work, and what I work on (Information Tech related), I would gladly trade all of that to be young again and go back to school and do it all over again.
College was so fun and so awesome. Even though my job now is amazing, and the envy of most people, it pales in comparison to college.
A change of perspective is really needed. Wait until you're 50 or 60 years old with no college degree, still complaining about how hard life is.
I'm killing it in my career making so much money, having so much freedom, and enjoying my creativity in IT so much, but it was all because I was curious, wanted to learn, and enjoyed college / graduate school.
A person's attitude is so important to life. You determine how successful you are, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.
There are so many young kids who have no idea how lucky they are to be able to go to college, but view it as a chore / burden. So they get tempted by the allure of a cheap full time job, getting responsibility of having a 40 hour work week and think they're skirting the system. They don't realize they are cheating themselves of a important life experience, because once you get on that 40 hour work treadmill its usually for the rest of your life. It's so hard to get off that treadmill later to go back to school.
I've only been working about 20 years since graduate school, but making far more than if I had skipped college. I can't imagine what life would be like if I skipped school and had started working mundane 8-5 jobs since my early 20's....I'd be super depressed.
There are no trades that interest me. I don't care about being an electrician or HVAC guy. I wish I could go to college, but I'm 24 and it's too late for me. On top of that, I can't afford going to college for at least two years. I'm renting an apartment and the cost of living mixed with college tuition is too much to wrap my head around. Stuff like that is why I feel like I'm running out of options.
Too late to obtain more education? People 44, 54, and 64 are pursuing extra education.
Too late to obtain more education? People 44, 54, and 64 are pursuing extra education.
I went back and got an MA in clinical psych at 56 after 30+ years in high tech, and did clinical work (then career coaching) as a second career. Now I'm retired from the 9 to 5 world, doing web development with a colleague and starting up a limited private practice doing retirement coaching. It's never too late to start something new and I find it mind-blowing when I see someone who's 24 saying "it's too late for me".
I went back and got an MA in clinical psych at 56 after 30+ years in high tech, and did clinical work (then career coaching) as a second career. Now I'm retired from the 9 to 5 world, doing web development with a colleague and starting up a limited private practice doing retirement coaching. It's never too late to start something new and I find it mind-blowing when I see someone who's 24 saying "it's too late for me".
Well, I'm not likely to survive to 56. I didn't want to mention this on this thread, but here it goes. My dad's side of the family has an absolutely HORRIBLE history of heart disease. My dad, his dad, and his dad before him all dropped dead of heart attacks in their forties and my doctor has told me that my chances of similar cardiovascular events are doubled with family history as bad as mine. He's said that there are certain things (proper diet, exercise, etc) to reduce my risk, but I'm not holding my breath.
I'm basically of the mindset that I'll be dead sooner than later, hence why I'm in a bit of a rush and worrying about how the rest of my life is going to play out.
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