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OT How did you choose your career?

B

Bkpigs

Member
A friend is trying to find a new career. He says the place he is at now is a "dead end" and bores him to no end. He has a similar mindset as myself. Mechanically inclined, book smart in Math and Science, worked many physical jobs (i.e. has common sense and realizes what work really is), and has a BS degree in Ag. He is just kinda lost on what to do. Just looking for ideas as to how he can narrow his search on what career path he may like. Figured with all the different backrounds, mindsets, opinions, and attitudes on this site; what better place to ask. Thanks in advance!!
 
Might suggest trying some "part-time" work or volunteer work doing something he might enjoy.

Keep the "day" job and experiment with the "part-time" jobs of his interest.
 
The fact that i happen to live only once,I never "chose" a particulair career(altough ranching was high on the list),i did always work i liked or tweeked my interest,money was secondary.
When ever i felt i had enough of a particulair job or trade i moved on to an another one.
Till i bought some land and went farming, all the diff things i did in the past came in handy as i'm now completely self sufficient.
 
after trying to become a mechanic to escape the farm, i got a degree in auto mechanics, right after that detroit forgot how to designe cars [ around 1977] i had a friend put me in a big truck to help him out, 35 years later im still driving them, and owning them, playing with old tractors now reminds me of my time on the farm strange how things always run in circles
 
I got the farming bug pretty good at a young age and that (for good or bad) was the basis for my career path. Other than a 14 month stint at a factory my off-farm jobs have been related to ag. I was also influenced by the notion back in the 1970's and 1980's that if you wanted to borrow money to farm it would be very helpful to have an agricultural degree of some type. Despite my interest in science my grades in high school while acceptable for math and science (I tried fairly hard) just did not point to a career in that field. I have always wished I had other influences growing up that might have led to exploring more options for career choices. Certainly would have helped float the farm in the lean years and grow it in the strong years.
 
Grew up with a Dad that had built houses when he was young and the went on to become a heavy equipment mechanic. Then I had a grandpa that also built houses, did general carpentry/cabinet work and tinkered in the garage. I went on to become a mechanic as my main profession, but still find myself doing construction and industrial maintenance repair work when needed. I did a little of it all when growing up myself beause of the influnces of my dad and grandpa and found that I just liked the challenge of the mechanic side more than anything else thus my main focus. Still I enjoy the challanges offered by the maintenance side of things too when given the opportunity to troubleshoot and get a piece of equipment back up and running. All that along with the satisfation achieved by the carpentry side when you can see the results of your work in what you built, just gives me the opportunity to learn and do more an alot of people ever get the opportunity to do.

I guess my best advice would be for him to look to what he really enjoys the most as a main career but don't be afraid to branch out and learn new things, whether they are your most favorite thing to do or not. Just remember the more things you can do the less likely you are to go hungry when times get tight....
 
Only three jobs and retirement. Two years,13 years, and 28.5 years. Didn't pick any of them, all great, and good pay with retirement. Someone must have been looking out for me. I would never work at a job that I didn't like unless just to get to the one that I liked. Like what you do and you will never have to work a day in our life.
 
Math Science with an Ag degree? Sounds like me! I started at a power plant as an operator and recently moved to Instrumentation and Electrics. Good pay and challenging work.

Gotta be able to pass the Poss Test.

Aaron
 
If anyone has all those attributes and feels they are in a dead end job then any job will be a dead end job for them.

When the going gets tough the tough gets going.
When the tough get going they are not belly aching about being in a dead end job.

The one attribute I didn"t see was fore site. Most of the time with fore site a person does not see a dead end. They see what their boss could see with his fore site before starting the business that caused him to hire people.
 
After growing up on a farm and seeing my late dad working 12 to 14 hours a day doing that 7 days a week I knew one thing I wasn't becoming a farmer. When my brother and I finshed high school in 1951 he joined the Air Force. I heard they were hiring at the proving ground and I went down for an interview. I was hired where they were testing all these vehicles for the Army. I still helped my dad with the morning milking until 1953 when I was furloughed for the draft. I also married my high school girl friend. When I heard I was would be rehired back at my old job after I was discharged, I went back in 1955. Our daughter was born at Ft Bragg NC and I needed to find work. Went from wage grade 5 to Grade 19. We were converted to the General Schedule (GS) in the 1970's to GS-9. We didn't lose any money, but we didn't gain much. I was a GS-12 when I retired in 1994. It was nice to have a job where you loved the work. The man that replaced me has 49 years with the government and told me the other day he will retire in 2012 when he has 50 years. He will have all his saved sick leave added to that which is another 2 years. He's probably in his last step of a GS-12. Hal
 
I was interested in electricity and electronics. When I graduated High School in 1968, military service was not an option, it was a fact.

Having no particular interest in slogging around in the jungle getting shot at by strangers, I opted for the Navy. My ASVAB scores were high enough to pick my job, so I sucked it up and enlisted for 6 years to get Electronics Technician school.

That sort of drifted into a career. When I "graduated" from the Navy, I branched out into fixing things besides electronics, but I've been in Maintenance and Repair in one form or another right up until this past year.
 
Not necessarily. I've ruined two perfectly good hobbies by turning them into paying jobs. Can't stand the thought of either one now.
 
didnt necessarily mean something you do as a hobby, cause yes if you do it too much you will get burned out on it.
 
It just seemed easier to walk to the barn every morning than it did to go out and look for a job. Just turned in to a habit.
 
In my junior year in college I started looking at job openings with my major - economics. I knew I did not want to sell shoes or life insurance, so I added a concentration in accounting and finance. It's not what most here would find interesting but I have caught three major embezzlements, and perhaps made a few things work better better.
 
My folks were in small business (auto shop) and pretty successful at it, but Dad always said don't plan on taking this over, get out there and find your own. Liked all things electrical and mechanical so went to design school. Been an engineer of one type or another for 31 years now, still love it.

With that background he should have no problem finding work. There are lots of contract engineering postions out there especially if you like to travel.
 
Didn't get to choose; it was chosen for me.........by the most controlling person I've ever known. I was conditioned by 18 years of 'walking on eggshells' to never question what I was told. My friends went on to college; I was told to hit the tractor seat...........and I did. Eventually broke away and started farming 'on my own'. Had I felt like I had a choice, I would've probably chosen something else, but I don't know what.
 
Some colleges give interest assessment tests in an attempt to match what you like to do, skills, etc. with potential careers.

A book that might be a rough guide is What Color is Your Parachute? It has been around for a few decades and is updated in new editions fairly often.
 

HE is going to have to FIND HIMSELF!!!
Then make a move. Right, wrong, or indifferent.
PS There are millions out there right now looking for a boring, dead end job.
 
I choose my career my learning what I didn't want to do with the rest of my life. Sounds like your friend has found out what he doesn't want to do. That's a step in the right direction. I grew up on a dairy farm. I learned real fast that milking cows wasn't going to be in my future. I was a heating and air mechanic for a few years. Good money, but who likes to work overtime when it's 100 degrees or 10 below. I was never unemployed, could always find work and was never fired. You just have to be able to do things the average person can't do and enjoy doing it. There are many worthless college degrees that won't get you a job. Sounds like an AG degree might be one of those. Tell your friend to try new things, look for a job with good benefits and a pension.
 
i am 70 years old and have spent all my life trying to decide what i wanted to do when i growed up, still haven"t other than chaseing women and drinking whiskey. maybe it will come to me someday.
 
I was always working on some old motorcycle or car, or most likely some of Dads old farm equipment. Figured out that engineers got paid better than I was being paid. Went to college, got the degree, couldn't handle the suit & tie stuff. Got lucky, company wanted an engineer in the plant. Put on a pair of levis and a work shirt and never looked back. I had a great 45 year career, most of it designing and building machines that I would have done for free( I never told 'em that!!). Worst of it was 6 years as head of quality. I just couldn't stand people that didn't have pride in their work and I still can't. Best advice I can give is do your best, keep looking for chances to do more of what you are good at. When you make yourself the guy that your boss just can't do without, you're in a pretty good spot.
 
I grew up in my dad's tool & die shop. I went to college, part time, majored in accounting. Worked full time. Got to be a senior in college, found that a entry level job in accounting paid 1/2 of what I was making as a toolmaker. And less in bennies also. I worked for a couple of independent shops, then Chrysler, then GM. Basically, I followed the line of least resisstance, so I really don't have any good advice.
 
Once had a good friend that was always looking for the "perfect" woman - a nymphomaniac that ownes a liquor store.
 
Grew up on the farm with dad trucking and working for various soda bottling co. on the side. Always wanted to farm but knew I wasn't rich enough by far to last out a lifetime of losing money! lol So at 13 iwent to work for thre RC bottling company after school loading trucks and working as helper on the routes when I was out of school for holidays and summers. At 16 I switch to Coca-Cola doing same thing until age 18 and the made a relief route salesman. All this time I was farming about 40 acres of corn a year. After HS couldn't decide what to do, continue with Coke, Buy a dump trck and haul rock etc, or go to college. I went to college and kept working for Coke 40 hrs a week. But gave up on farming ( weren't enough hours in a day) Eventually ended up with a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Univ of Mo-Rolla. Went work for Mo Dept of Transportation just see if I liked it and began farming grandma's farm again. Retired after 33 years there as District Maintenance Engineer, intending to farm the rest of my life. God had other plans for me, my health went down hill fast the 1st year I retired and I had sell my herd of cattle and cut back on my farming. As my health gets better I plan on truck patching a little and playing with the grandkids.

Henry
 
Since a little boy I had always wanted to be a police officer. When I became old enough to it just wasn't in the cards for me to do it. Then things changed about 15 years later and I got to do what I wanted. Worked the road, then promoted to criminal investigations for several years then to the command staff. Promoted to Chief of my agency over 6 years ago. Only a little over 3 years now to retirement. What a ride... Would not trade it for any other career in the world.(other than farming!!!)
 
I remember wanting to quit school to farm in the second grade . My parents went ballistic ! The more they tried to make sure I would never farm the more I wanted to , It only got worse as I got older . Worked a BUNCH of different jobs to get here . I started out as a stripper ( worked at a furniture refinishing operation ) , traveled around working Fair's a couple years , Spent 1 summer riding bull's ,mechanic at a IH dealer , ran a sandblasting & painting business ( still have all the equip ) drove truck ( still have 3 ) , did service work on trucks & trailer's . Usta buy wrecked auto's , pickup's or semi's , rebuild them to sell . When 45 ft flat bed trailer's became legal I bought old rusted 40 footer's , rebuilt them put 5 ft in the middle , sandblasted & painted them to sell . Bought hundreds of antique tractors for resale or to part out . Still have 20 or 30 around here to get rid of . Anything for a buck until I could farm full time . When I couldn't rent enough ground to farm I did custom work . My oldest was running my second combine by the time he was 13 . We were doing around 2000 acres of custom back than . I did get around 1000 acres rented as some of our custom guys retired .Hasn't ever been easy but I made it and I wouldn't change any of it .
 
Just went with the flow. Took advantage of opportunities that came along. Grew up on a farm,worked on cars and machinery. got a chance to learn the machinist trade through the GM apprenticeship. Worked at that for 38 years. Got a degree in mechanical engineering. Now have a shop and been restoring John Deeres for several years. Made a good living and am now able to do what I want when I want. Life is good.
 
I always knew what I wanted to do, but I had to take the scenic trip. I went 2 years of college and then worked one job for 18 years and another for 6 years. I had a bad experience trying to start farming in 1984 but I continued to work and I invested my money and bought my first farm. I quit my job and we closed on the farm 9/6/2001. 5 days later I almost worried myself sick. But here I am almost 10 years later and we're still going. Sometimes you have to do something you don't like until the right opportunity arrives.
 
i am a high school (9th grade specialist) history teacher - got to that job by picking a college major out of a hat (history), then after graduating with a BA in history, realized that i needed more decided to get a master's in education - i can honestly say i enjoy every day i work...but teaching is not for everyone...there are too many of us who are miserable...
in the summers I bale hay - grew up doing that but didn't get a love for it until i was about 18 - haven't looked back - make enough money doing that to supplement my other hobby which is a 6 year and counting complete modernization/restoration of an old farmhouse and leaves enough $$ for the purchase of equipment and tractors
in short...i love my life - job is great, pays well enough, enjoy what i do, leaves me time (especially in the summer) for what i love to do...baling hay and building things.
i am a very good carpenter and would never want to make a dime doing that (other than odd jobs here and there) becuase it would ruin a great hobby
glad i picked history out of a hat...i would have been a good but miserable engineer.
 
I grew up on a farm and after high school I worked in a neighboring apple orchard for two years. It was fun in the summer but crawling up in a tree in the winter when it was 10 degrees out changed my mind. I quit and went to vocational school for auto mechanics and found a job at a small shop. That turned out to be a dirty, pressure to get jobs out without any help awakening. The local large factory had some job openings. I put in an application and about a week later I called them back and they told me to come over. I started in the punch press dept which was hard work and monotonous. I worked the night shifts and went back to school in Industrial electronics. After completing two years of school with very little sleep the company was just starting maintenance apprenticeship programs. I got into the Mechanical program and after 5 years of that I applied for the Electrical maintenance. That is where I ended up and am now retired after 39 years at that company. I didn't have any real plan but just kept trying to improve whatever I could. I have some tractors and implements that I play with and that is what draws me to this and the Tool Talk site.
 
Grew up on a farm, so that part of my career came naturally. In ninth grade algebra class i saw an old algebra teacher that was poor at his job. I taught my two buddies algebra at lunch time and figured I could do better at that than the teacher. Ironically, seven years later I replaced him and taught mathematics for 36 yrs and 24 yrs evenings at a Jr college. Always liked tractors so collecting, buying & selling tractors just happened. Old age is happening.
 
I took the first job that I could find and followed that process for over 50 years. When I retired I was making over $100,000 a year, that was in the early 90s when a dollar was worth more. I had no formal education and had a number of people reporting to me over the years with Masters degrees. Has a lot to do with effort.
 
I went into the Air Froce after High School in 1958. Spent 20&1/2 years & retired in 1978. I was a jet aircraft mechanic. Ididn t want to work on Aircraft when I retired, so I trained in a good Small engine repair shop in Clovis, New Mexico . I worked in that Field until I retired in 2006. I still enjoy working onthem, 2 cycle & 4cycle. I wouldn t thing about charging what the shops do in Arizona for Repairs. I do it mainly for friends & relation. I ve always enjoyed helping others I only charge them for the parts .
 
My dad got rid of his dairy cows and went cow/calf when I was 9. I went to work for neighbour on a dairy farm mile down the road at 13. I was hooked, finished high school at 17 took a job doing maintenance work in a seniors home in Toronto. Got a part time job painting apartments, did this till I was 20. Quit , rented a farm that was an empty dairy next door to dads place. Purchased all the cows and quota I could get with the $10,000.00 I had saved and another $10,000.00 I borrowed form my folks. 30 years have gone by and I am still here chasing my dream. Bruce
 
My dad worked 35 years for GE, cut a few lawns on the side for extra $$$ to raise us. I hated helping him. Then one day in 9th or 10th grade I was sitting in a classroom looking out at the pine trees and blue sky, a few white clouds,, and said how much it sucked being in a room. I couldent wait to get out of there and help dad. By 12th grade I bought a brand new TORO 44" walkbehind lawn mower and started a landscaping business, became a NYS certified nursery & landscape proffesional Nurserymen, CNLP,or certified nursery proffessional. I aslo started working at the horse farm when I was 14, I am still there and thats how I got into farming. I wouldent change anything. Its been a great ride!
 
I always wanted to be a farmer.I have succeded in that much.over the years I have worked as a plumber,welder,mechanic,parts man.Now I am back to full time farming,this time for 6 years.I dont know how long I can continue before I have to get a job.I some times wonder if I made the right choice.
 
After reading some of these posts, it occurs to me that a lot of us are describing a lost world. When I was starting out, the Tool & Die trade was referred to as the "King of Trades" in the Detroit area. You could get a apprenticeship, work hard, and make a very good living. I haven't heard of anybody getting a apprenticeship in 10 years in any trade, and the last toolmaker apprentice at my old plant graduated in 1986. Very few companies want to train anybody now. They expect employees responsible for their education and training. Basically, if you don't go to college now, you are pretty well screwed.
 
Lord gave it to me. But part of it was it chose me. Main thing was electrician for 40 years. Always liked to take things apart and see what is going on inside and repair when possible. Curious george syndrome maybe. Radio, tv, anything with a motor and electrical,too. Auto repair on the side. Never any training for that. Just read all technical books I could find. Bought more than 50 cars, just to see what was wrong. Usual story "nobody can fix it" got me opening my wallet and towing it home. Many evening went under a car at 5pm and watched the sun come up without stopping. Total fun. Bout to give up now at 67. Dave
 
I wish there would have been a thing like this,
http://www.careerdirectonline.org/
years ago.
Check it out!
 
Thats funny the few guys I know that went to collage, are now out of a job, and cant find one.
 
Send him to Peoria - Looking for GOOD help!

Oh yeah, back to the post. Folks sent me to engineering school back in 1972 and still can't repay them. Still kinda wish I could have farmed BUT prolly wouldn't have met my wife and kid!

34 years here - but thinking about retirement soon to "work" on/play more with our tractors.
 
My job pretty much fell in my lap. I was thinking either mechanic of some sort (leaning towards deisel/agricultural equipment) and machinist. I happened to walk past my co-op teacher I was gonna have my senior year, and he just got off the phone with a gear & sprocket shop who was looking for a co-op student.

I worked there for 4 years, 3 of them after highschool, and then needed to go to nights so I could finish my technical diploma during the day. Worked the next 1 1/2 years for a job shop, then 3 months at another job shop (got sick of nights after my brother died and they didn't treat their guys with much respect), 5 months at a pattern shop (attitude problems), and now I'm happy at the shop I'm at and been there for over 2 years. We do a variety of things, some long run 1 pc. orders, some small intricate things, but hardly ever the same thing 2x. Lots of setups and many different industries.

I enjoy my job most of the time and I get along with most of the guys I work with. I can play nice with those who I don't. There is upward advancement available, which is why I'm now on 2 bigger machines, and I think I'm gonna be here for a while.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
I'd challenge him to go about it backwards. What does he love to do, where does he want to live, and how much does he need to earn to cover his needs and some of his wants. Answer those questions and the job will come to him. I've had a few different jobs, I grew up helping my dad on the farm. He always farmed part time and worked first for the school system and later for the state, both in education. I loved everything about the hay business, even as a kid. All through highschool and college I did as much custom work as I could.

Over the years I've been a hay farmer, dental lab spec in the army national guard, intel officer in the air guard, grad school teaching assistant, ag extension agent, ag teacher, and now back to a hay farmer. The irony is I always wanted to be an attorney. May still do it, I've always liked school. Got a BS in ag education, MS in education and another one in agronomy, then a PhD in Religion/religious anthropolgy. Outside of farming which Ive always done to some degree, teaching was my longest career. I always said that when I quit liking my job it was time to change.
 
Grew up on a farm, had an older brother, so I was told to go find my own way. died Worked construction, got layed off, joined the army for eight years, the federal pen was hiring so I went there 21 years ago, three more and I can retire. Farm on the side.
 
A little college and uncle sam decided i could be an engineer officer in the us army after that farmed,started construction bussiness,branched out into trucking then selling heavy equipment and then owning two KUBOTA dealerships. Just trying to unwind it all and retire at age of 67.
My thoughts are life is kinda like a deck of cards and you have to play them right. My adivce to anyone that is not happy with their job early in life to start looking . Life is just too short to be not satisfied. Have managed to get my grand kids to kinda take over and I am enjoying retirement.
 
What a complicated question. I had several interests when young and could have went several directions. I originally wanted to build and do carpenter work but in 80 when I got out of school the economy sucked for that so I followed my second interest and went and got a 2 yr degree in diesel mechanics. then worked 2 yrs and it became obvious I was never gonna earn enough to be comfortable so I reteurn and got a bachelors in Management. What a crock! It did land me my wife of 21 yrs but also taught me what I didn't want to do, kiss butt. I accidently landed a union job as a mechanic in a large plant which pays...okay and have 20 yrs in. I am now 48, too old to retrain, sick of bending, squatting, and scrubbing my hands. This notion of doing "what you love and it will never be work", is a crock. I used to love fixing stuff and restoring tractors, now i am tired of fixing. Tell your friend to choose something that pays good. Theres plenty of time to "do what you love" when you get home from work. But, if you have to work 60+ hrs a week at your crappy mechanic job to make enough money, fixing things at home is no longer fun. I could have done ANYTHING with my career instead ofchoosing money I chose my hobby and ripped myself off. I'l let you in on something: My kids go to a private parochial school where 90% of them are rich. All, and I mean All of their parents work in the bank/money field or medical field. Whether you like it or not, hobbies take money. And trust me my hobby has pretty much ground to a halt.
 
Helo thurlow: I likely know what you went through during your first 18 years. In my case, 6 month after high school I had to help him sort hogs when he went into a severe outburst of anger. He came running toward me with a pitchfork and it was all I could do to out run him. I jumped partitions and out the barn door and almost a half mile down a highway before he and his pitchfork stopped. It took the county sheriff and the Pastor plus his brother to control him enough. I kept walking down that highway even tho it was Winter. Now I see that day as the most important day of my life... It was my 1st day to start my life over in a different direction. The toughest days were over. Six years later I had a degree and a great job but freedom from fear was more important. You said you finally broke away.. Great.. you got the most important item in life. A job is second to the freedom to change how and where one lives and works.. All jobs are "better" when your around good people. ag.
 
A friend of mine told me that I should take a civil service test because the County would be hiring lots of people for Expo 74. I took the test and ended up doing very well and got hired. I stayed with that department for 25 years, and would probably still be working if I hadn't come up with health problems.

I had trained to be a science teacher, but never really used that training at all. And my bachelor's degree never earned me any incentive pay, like a degree would have in some other jobs. I did have a VERY GOOD TIME in college, though!

I have always wondered if I would have liked teaching better than what I did. But my job payed better than teaching, and was usually fairly interesting. I had been a fireman while in college, and decided that while fire fighting was very interesting when you had a fire, most of the time there was little or nothing to do. Really boring!

I have not regretted working in the public sector, although I might have made more money in private industry. Although the pension system that new hires today is not nearly as good as the one I am in, it is much better than most in private industry. Unless the state goes bankrupt, retirees in my pension system should be OK for the rest of our lives. Retirement is definitely something to consider and plan for.

It is pretty tough to give advice to someone on what they should do for a career, since something that is great for one person might not work at all for someone else. It is wonderful to have a job that interests you and is something you enjoy going to. I would suggest looking around to try to find something that is attainable, interesting and that will not be outmoded in 10 years. But specifics?--I sure don't know. Good luck!
 
if i had to do it all over again , 1975 i would had got a pup tent and camped out at Ford Motor Co Louisville, till they finally found a job for me ,Life would had been better and easir , But by then FORD was not hiring except from families who came to retirement parties ..,, as it Was ,since a wild tornado of 74' tore thru these parts ,, And repairs Were NEEDED badly, Built me some sawhorses and ladde rRacks , borrowed DADs Ladders , and started doing Home Improvement ,all the While farming and feeding Hoggs at nite , had Early success, Good help , And paid GOOD wages , Had some years where I grossed over $300K, Bought land during the 80s , The Smartest Thing I did !!!, Still Own 209 ac.,and the Farm provides a fair living ... early 1990s,, Burning the candle on both ends caught upwith me ,,,vertigo problem ?., had serveral Accidents and injuries , at the same time Something Criminal(Vertical integration ) in the Hog industry Pushed Me Out .... Went thru haleof divorce that nearly kiltMe ... And i Have survived.. thanx to cattle ,grain & timber sales ...
 
redtom, I hope the youngsters that read your post take it to heart.I graduated from college in 1985 and returned to the farm (ND)for a day. My cousins and brothers "loved farming". Looking at the farm, the economey and all the cousins and brothers I knew my future was someplace else. I flipped a coin and drove west. When my construction dreams failed to worked out I became a sheriff deputy. After 13 years of that I became a firefighter 11 years ago. I also fixed and flipped a few houses and I made what I thought was real good money. I will retire next year at 52. The farm of course, was doomed, far to many people on it and far to many competing interests. It was painfull watching my brother and cousins starting over with basically nothing at 39 to 45 years old, they all learned to hate farming, and each other for that matter. My wife and I were able to write a check for the farm when it came for sale. I don't no, guess love is blind. I can say though that I ended up in a place I never thought I belonged, doing something I never thought I would, and I have had a blast. No regrets about it, and I got the farm.
 
My dad wasnt around to direct me in any sort of career path.But I had numerous uncles and cousins that worked in boiler rooms around the area.I got to spend many a night shift in these boiler rooms as a young boy.I did have one uncle who was a life time farmer and I spent many a summer down there also.I used to love that as I was raised a city boy.Driving tractors,shooting guns,taking care of animals.But as I got older I knew this wasnt for me.Join the army at 17,did two years,was a paratrooper and decided I was going to go out northwest and be a smoke jumper.Well time came to get out and all I wanted to do was go home.Funny how some people can just pack up and take off and some cant.Anyways I got my first job in a boilerroom at 19 and 37 years later hear I am watching the water boil.Dont regret it.Good paying job.Can be a little boring for some people though.Lots of shift work.Seen alot of people over the years look down on us though.There we are sittin on our buts watchin the water boil.Well let me tell ya what ,theres a lot going on in there that you dont see,and when the zhit hits the fan you better know what your doing.Ive seen some that thought they did and the results were disasterous.Anyways,if I do regret anything its not getting a better education.I know,theres a lot of opinions on that too.If you apply apply yourself right you cant go wrong when you got the sheepskins.

Good Luck

Stan
 
In my post I should have mentioned that when I was a kid I always wanted to be a rural mail carrier. It looked like a great job sorting mail and driving out in the country even in the deep snow days.
My thoughts now would be to get in the medical/hospital field as it looks like that will always be around. You don't necessarily have to be a doctor or a nurse.
 
My Dad (who was much wiser than I) kept insisting that I write Civil Service exams that I qualified for. I wrote an "equipment operator" exam and was called for an interview with the State of Mi. fighting fire. That was in 1978. I just retired the first of January. I can honestly say it was a great career.
 
WOW!!!!! Definitely did not expect this many responses. Thanks very much for all of your stories. I will pass the advice and ideas on to him. Thanks again everyone!!!
 
I was not sure what I wanted to do. My dad passed away at age 42 when I was 10 and he had a good job with the V.A. and one grandfater was a contract rural mail carrier and the other was a small farmer. My brother was a year older and had worked part of a summer at a local plumbing shop, before he was fired. I was approached the summer after and had just completed my jr. year in HS by the same plumber andf asked if i wanted to go to work for him. I thought about it and called him and told him I sure did not want any hard feelings, so I would try it for a week and he could try me. well I worked summer and after school until I grad. in 1981 and then went to work full time for him. I got my journeymans license in 1985 and my master in 1988. I then went to work for the govt. in 1993 for 16 years as a plumber but the policitcs forced me out and now just run a small service shop mainly focus to help Senior cit. with there plumbing issues. I love my work and althought I could charge more for my services, I am happiest most when I can help others.
 
Doesn't matter what I chose or why I chose it. Rule is ...find something you are so passionate about that you would do it for free. You will become so good at it that the money will come automatically from people who reallize your passion and know you are the one to do the job because of it. Money alone isn't a good reason to go into a profession. It will get old and you will burn out quickly. If it is your passion then it will never become "work" and therefore there will be no limit on the time you are willing to put in and the dollars will be frosting on the proverbial cake. Tiger didn't choose golf for the money , the Keller,s didn't choose to collect rare John Deeres for the money , John Force didn't get into drag racing for the money...etc. Most millionairs got there because of their passion for something , the money followed because they were better at it than someone who just did it for the money.
 
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