Alternativer Dyktige Trades Rettferdig

Hva ville du tenke på en jobb hvor du kan tjene penger mens du lærer Ja, det er riktig. Med lærling kan du begynne å tjene penger rett etter videregående skole mens du lærer en dyktig handel. Lærlingsprogrammer lar deg fortsette din utdanning og tjene penger på samme tid, mens du lærer en dyktig handel fra en mesterhåndverkere. Du kan få på jobb trening gjennom en lærling i nesten hvilken som helst karriere du kan forestille deg og få en løpende start til høy lønn, en flott fremtid og en karriere yoursquoll love Så, hva er en lærling Hvordan kan du finne en Hva gjør du må gjøre for å forberede og hvordan vet du om en lærling er riktig for deg Ta vare på andre gtgt Bruk teknologi til å lage ting gtgt Cook og server mat gtgt50 Jobs over 50 000 8211 Uten en grad (Del 1) Marquese Scott 8211 world8217s beste robot - som danser Når folk skriver til meg for hjelp, konfronteres I8217m ofte med et dilemma. Mange av dem er hardt arbeidende og intelligente mennesker som gjør rimelige økonomiske valg, men på grunn av den ikke-omsettelige karakteren til Math. ikke ende opp med så stort et månedlig overskudd av kontanter ved utgangen av hver måned som deres høyere inntektsdeler. Enda mer bekymrende er brev fra nyutdannede på områder som liberal arts eller til og med lov. 8220My grad var dyrt8221, de forteller meg, 8220But jobbene som er der ute i mitt felt don8217t betale nok for å få meg ut av denne enorme student lån gjeld hole.8221 8220Hvordan skal jeg få en fin busk 8216Stash, når vi ikke har en seksfigures husstandsinntekt som så mange av de andre MMM-leserne ser ut til å ha I8217m over 30 år, og jeg har nylig bare sprukket 40.000 inntekter.8221 Saken med å tjene penger er dette: ingen kommer til å betale deg mer penger enn de må. Så hvis du vil ha nytte av en høyere inntekt, er det første skrittet å sørge for at du ikke er selvtilfreds med din lavere. Faktisk, hvorfor bry deg med en jobb som krever en grad i det hele tatt, hvis den ikke betaler det tilsvarende. I min nåværende stilling til mannen som ikke lenger trenger jobb, har jeg det sjeldne privilegiumet med å sirkulere rundt i landet og møte mange mennesker og deretter høre om hva de gjør for å leve. Og det jeg har lært har blåst meg. Mens foreldrene våre alltid fortalt oss at du trenger en grad for å komme deg overalt i arbeidsmarkedet, har virkeligheten blitt vendt på hodet de siste to tiårene. Det er alle slags mennesker der ute, og stille en mynte. i yrker som jeg syntes var enten ikke-eksisterende eller lavt betalende. Noen av dem har tvilsomme ferdigheter, og du kan enkelt overgå dem i egen jobb. Og likevel er mange av de universitetsutdannede jobbsøkerne sittende fast på den andre siden av denne enkle pengeskjeldet. For å hjelpe deg med å finne din alternative moneymaking fløyte, er det noen av måtene jeg nylig har lært at folk gir rimelig inntekt, uten noen formell opplæring. Siden det er ca 2000 arbeidstimer om året, kan vi definere en 50 000 jobb som en som betaler over 25 per time (eller 200 per arbeidsdag). God gammeldags manuell arbeid Mens alle strekker seg gjennom universitetet og konkurrerer om kontorjobben, har de tradisjonelle handler hatt en mangel på nye ankomster i mange år. Som et resultat har lønnene gått opp. Men for å fange den gode lønnen i dette området, må du vanligvis kjøre din egen småbedrift. heller enn å jobbe for et eksisterende selskap. Lønnsforskjellen er ofte over 300. 1: Carpenter 8211 min flerårige favoritt. Når du har et godt omdømme i et område med fine hus og gode inntekter, er det lett å tjene over 50 per time å bygge ting 8211, like ting som gjerder eller dekk. Kjøkken og bad betaler generelt enda bedre. Ingen formell trening kreves, men det bidrar til å jobbe sammen med en annen god snekker i et år eller to, eller ta kurs på et felleskole. 2: Plumber 8211 litt mer tradisjonell og formell, i mitt område krever denne jobben en toårig lærlingskap før du kan få ditt eget første nivå lisens. Men det betyr egentlig bare at du får betalt 20-30 per time mens du lærer, så starter du din egen bedrift og begynner å lade 80 (og ansett din egen lærling for å ytterligere øke fortjenesten). 3: Welder 8211 Jeg snublet over denne gullmine for selvstendig næringsdrivende, da jeg lærte metallbearbeiding meg selv i 2005. Sammendrag, rike mennesker trenger alltid tilpasset stålarbeid gjort på sine hus. Ikke mange vet hvordan de skal gjøre det. Så det er enkelt å lade 50-70 per time for å kjøre sveiser og grinder sammen med noen grunnleggende design ferdigheter. 4: Elektriker 8211 Jeg spurte nylig en lærlingelektrisk arbeider i mitt eget område. Han var en grad-holdig geolog som endte opp med å ta denne jobben fordi den betalte bedre. To år med lærlingskap (eller kortere beløp i fellesskolen), og du kan skrive testen for å få ditt første nivå lisens. Sjefen hans fakturerte ham ut på 65 per time, og boss8217s tid selv kommer på 85. 5: Skulptør 8211 Ingen gjør sitt eget maleri i disse dager, og dermed søker de ofte etter malerier for å håndtere det. Men de fleste av disse selskapene drives av uorganiserte og noen ganger uhøflige eiere som ikke vet hvordan de skal returnere en e-post. Så DITT firma, med høflig og profesjonell ledelse, vil ha svært lite problemer med å utfordre all virksomheten den kan håndtere. Når etablert, kan lønn være 25-40 per time, avhengig av hvor klokt du byder høyere hvis du ansetter ansatte til å jobbe i 10-15 for å øke hastigheten. 6: Tile Setter 8211 En ideell kombinasjon med 8220Painter8221 ovenfor, fordi de samme ferdighetene gjør deg bra i begge deler. Dette betaler litt høyere, og du får til å lage fine bad og kjøkken. Bytt ut både fliser og malerier, og se på kundene på linje. 7: Landskapsbedriftseier 8211 litt vanskeligere fordi det krever kunnskap om planter og designprinsipper samt varmetoleranse, men generelt et lukrativt felt hvis du jobber i et høyinntektsområde. Ingen gjør sin egen hagearbeid i disse dager. 8: Gravemaskin 8211 Et oddball valg, men det kan fungere hvis du liker ultralette maskiner og gjør matematikken riktig. Du kan leie en stor kjøre-gravemaskin, levert, for 400 per dag pluss drivstoff. Eller kjøp en brukt en for ca 50.000. Dette kvalifiserer deg til å grave grunnlag og annet arbeid (ofte under kontrakt for lokale husbyggere eller byregjeringer), som gir ca. 1000-2000 per dag med arbeid. Fyren jeg hyret til mitt eget husbyggingsfirma var en tidligere matematikkmor som fant utgravingsvirksomheten til å være mer lønnsom. Du kan investere 200k i utstyr hvis du har en dumper, tilhenger, bobcat og digger. Men hvis det 200k gir deg mulighet til å gjøre 100k per år mer enn du ellers ville, er det et stort avkastning. I tillegg er du en helt til små gutter over hele byen. 9: Husbygger 8211 Selv om dette gjøres profesjonelt, er det ikke godt med mitt temperament, lønnen er bra hvis du fokuserer på å bygge drømmehjem for rike mennesker (i motsetning til spekulativt å bygge hus for å selge som jeg gjorde dumt). Bygherrer får ca 15-20 av byggekostnader, som går ut til omtrent 100k for et seks måneders prosjekt av heltidsarbeid. Du må likevel overvåke andre handler, men som er som herding katter 10: Mechanic 8211 når du vet hvordan du skal fikse en bil. alle dine venner og naboer vil ha deg til å fikse deres. Selv om du underbebyr de virkelige garasjer, kan du fortsatt tjene over 50 per time i din egen garasje. senere utvid deg til et reelt anlegg når kundebase vokser. Disse yrkene er eksotiske, fordi de er nye og ofte dumme. Men de er ekte, som jeg lærer da jeg møter flere av disse menneskene som tjener latterlige mengder penger. Nøkkelen til det er størrelsen på Internett: it8217s er uendelig, så du trenger bare en liten markedsandel til å være større enn de store lokale tycoons av gamle dager. 11: WordPress Utvikler: Hva bruker jeg til å skrive denne bloggen WordPress, akkurat som alle andre med en blogg. Det betyr at millioner av mennesker og bedrifter trenger dette systemet for å jobbe for dem, og mange tusen av dem er avhengig av at de skal leve. Hvis du er en ekspert på å få det til å fungere, betaler de 8211 mye. Relativt enkel programmering og et høyt nivå, åpen arkitektur gjør det til en av de enklere former for programvareutvikling for å lære. Med en etablert kundebase er lønn 60-100k per år. 12: Blogger: Jeg trodde dette bare involvert noen ganger å skrive litt dritt inn i datamaskinen for noen få latter. Men da jeg deltok i fjor8217s 8220Financial Blogger Conference8221 i Denver, så jeg over 400 bloggere som samlet seg i et swanky hotell, med fancy sponsorer og VIP-behandling, noen av dem som Ramit Sethi driver nå hele organisasjoner med millioner av dollar i årlig fortjeneste. Gitt interessant nok innhold, det er ikke så vanskelig å bygge opp en blogg med følgende av en liten avis eller et magasin, og med lite nøkkel sponsing eller reklame, er det godt nok til å leve. Denne bloggen, i tilfelle du er nysgjerrig, genererer nå en seksfigures inntekt like under tre år i eksistensen. Og min inntekt er på den svært lave siden for nettsteder av denne størrelsen (5,4 millioner sidevisninger i februar 2014). 13: Passiv inntektsguru: En av mine internethelter Pat Flynn har et radarlignende sinn for å finne måter å lage små 8220 nisjewebområder 8221 som selger pent pakket informasjon til folk som søker etter den. Disse legger seg inn i søkemotorer og begynner å generere små innsatsstrømmer av penger. I8217ve la merke til den samme effekten med mine egne artikler om hvordan man bygger en dusjpanne og den billige mobiltelefonplanen - folk dukker opp hver dag fra søkemotorer som ser etter disse emnene. Hvis jeg tok deg tid til å lage en fin dusjbyggings eBok eller en ultimate telefonplanguide, kunne jeg faktisk selge de for 5 hver og lage hundrevis av dollar per dag. 14: Interessante ideer GuyGirl: Dette er en unnvikende, men Chris Guillebeau og Tim Ferriss er gode eksempler. Du lærer om og gjør fantastiske ting, og lærer andre om hva du lærte. Til slutt kan du skrive bøker om det, hvilke folk vil kjøpe. Og selskaper vil ansette deg for å være på sine brett, bare på grunn av den fantastiske allure og buzz du har opprettet. Men det hele begynner med å bli ekspert på noe som alle ønsker at de var ekspert på. Kreativt og kunstnerisk Som produserte gjenstander blir mer spilt ut og kommoditert, kommer kreative mennesker i økende grad å finne måter å få betalt for sitt arbeid. Tross alt er Apple Computer rik på grunn av sin mestre av design, ikke den tekniske raffinement. 15: Skribent: jobben som pleide å være takeløs og underbetalt (og fortsatt hvis du jobber i rang og fil på en avis eller et magasin.) Men i disse dager, hvis du skriver en fantastisk roman og selvpubliserer den på Amazon , du har en langt bedre sjanse til å betale for dagligvarer enn den uhøflige 8220Jeg fikk 75 avslag i posten i dag8221 forfattere av yesteryear. 16: Techno Music Composer: akkurat som å skrive, har musikk blitt et åpent meritokrati. Gjennom Pandora streaming, oppdaget jeg musikken til en ungdom og andre kanadiske som heter Deadmau5. Og han har gjort det stort, rockende stadioner som er fulle av folk rundt om i verden når han liker 8211 bare fordi stor dancymusikk popper inn i hodet hans, og han produserer den med Ableton Live. Denne ideen er nær hjertet mitt, da jeg lagde masse musikk ved hjelp av eldre versjoner av programvaren gjennom hele min ungdom, og nå er min 7 år gamle sønn blitt både en Deadmau5-fan og en komponist selv, med over 30 søte fengende hus sanger under beltet hans. Hvis vanen pinner, kan han være på platene foran stadionene før han selv uteksaminerer seg fra videregående skole. Eller hobbyen kan åpne andre dører. Uansett er det ingen dårlig grunn til å lære en ny kreativ ferdighet. 17: YouTube-kanalinnehaver: Med kringkasting av TV er foreldet, er det nå millioner av seere tilgjengelig for å se hva som helst du lager. Noen fyr som heter Randall snakket i to minutter om Honey Badger. og it8217s over 61 millioner visninger nå 8211 og he8217s sannsynligvis satt for livet. Marquese Scott skjedde for å gjøre seg til den mest fantastiske danseren i verden, og er nå betalt riktig for det etter 91 millioner visninger på hans Pumped Up Kicks-opptak. Verden dominerende berømmelse, som han oppnådde ved ganske enkelt å sette et kamera på bakken og rocket ut foran en bankbygging i noen minutter 8211 effektiviteten er vakker. Men YouTube er bare ikke for freaky ting som uforutsigbart går viral. Mye av pengene som blir gjort, er kjøtt og poteter med hardt arbeid. Tenåringer skaper hundrevis av velfungerte Minecraft-instruksjonsvideoer med sitt eget personlige merke og stil. Eric Car Guy forteller oss godt hvordan vi kan fikse bilene våre. Gitar og piano leksjoner, gjort bra, tjene sine beslutningstakere mer enn de ville fra å undervise levende studenter. Som en av jobbene ovenfor krever vellykket videoproduksjon en detaljert og samvittighetsfull jobb med hardt arbeid. Ingen av disse jobbene er enkle, raskt-raske ordninger 8211 så langt jeg kan fortelle, enkle rikdommer er ikke en reproduserbar modell. Men poenget er at det er mer enn én måte å tjene penger hvis du holder øynene åpne og går utenfor konvensjonen. Vel, se på det 8211 vi har fått en lang artikkel, og vi blir bare oppvarmet. Men den virkelige historien om entreprenørmoneymaking er ikke de tingene jeg tror på toppen av mitt eget hode. Det er de tingene du drømmer om, og dele med resten av verden. På grunn av dette ba I8217ve om fru Money Mustache, Tyler Tervooren av Advanced Riskology og World Domination Summit berømmelse, og Treehouse grunnlegger Ryan Carson for å hjelpe med del to av denne serien. Og I8217d liker også å rekruttere deg. Gå direkte til del 2 av 50 stillinger over 50k I kommentarfeltet nedenfor, del dine egne ideer og erfaringer på måter å lage 50.000 eller mer årlig på et felt som ikke nødvendigvis krever en universitetsgrad. I8217ll innlemme noen av dem i neste artikkel. Jo flere ideer vi drømmer om og deler, jo rikere blir vi alle. Hold deg oppdatert Også på MMM: Et intervju med Ryan Carson på videregående opplæring vs. do-it-yourself teknisk trening. Legg merke til at bare ved å koble til mine egne artikler fra denne populære, bygger jeg søkemotorenes rangering av de andre artiklene, og fremmer syklusen for at folk kan finne dem i resultatresultatet. Og i den passive inntektsverdenen er søkerangering for gode søkeord svært viktig. Isn8217t Internett et bisarrt sted Du kan også like: Inntektene til de manuelle arbeidstillatelsene synes å være rimelige, men det er ikke noe jeg vil anbefale til noen som ønsker å gjøre en rimelig lønn, men prøver å leve en blogging eller være en techno komponist. For hver vellykket blogger eller musiker eller youtuber er det tusenvis av mennesker som drar i hvilke kontoer som ølpenger. Ikke sant. men jeg er sikker på at jeg ikke lyttet til råd slik før jeg begynte denne bloggen (eller søker på ingeniørskole, eller flytter til et nytt land, eller spør meg nå kone ut for første gang, eller8230.) Når det gjelder de kreative tingene 8211 nøkkelen til suksess er det å ha muligheten til å skrive eller lage ting som mange mennesker faktisk ønsker å lese eller høre på. Hvis du har det, er suksess nesten garantert. Hvis ikke, så er din pessimisme berettiget. Hvordan vet du om du har det Jeg elsker din can-do holdning til alt. Det er så lett å gjøre en unnskyldning for alt. De fleste som lykkes har mislyktes om og om igjen og igjen og igjen og igjen, før de endelig lykkes. Jeg prøver å bevege seg så fort jeg kan gjennom mine feil, så jeg kan nå suksess. Takk for motivasjonen MMM Chris 26 juli 2013, 07:47 Ja, prøver om og om igjen er sant, men ikke prøver det samme eller på samme måter igjen og igjen, og forventer suksess, det ville være galskap som Einstein sa, riktig Det handler om å prøve noe, mislykkes kanskje og deretter prøve igjen med justeringer som er lært av tidligere feil. That8217s som gjør folk vellykkede Glen 25. august 2016, 8:43 Jeg tror det var noe internettverktøy, ikke Einstein, som gjorde opp den falske definisjonen av galskap. Å prøve det samme igjen og igjen og forventer et annet resultat, kalles vanligvis 8220practice, 8221 fordi de fleste mennesker lærer å gjøre ting. Darden 27 juli 2013, 4:47 er få mennesker lære av suksess. De reelle læringsmulighetene kommer fra våre feil ABC 25. juli 2013, kl. 12:31 MrMM, du savner poenget. På stor leksjon i livet er å vite når du skal slutte. For mye tid er bortkastet, prøver noe du ikke er dyktig på eller lidenskapelig om. Ofte er lidenskap nok. Det er nok av talent show for å illustrere 8220My Financial Independence Journey 8221 poeng. Hva med å skrive et innlegg om 5 indikatorer som du ikke trives i ditt yrke. Eller dette er for deg sønn. Det er et godt poeng, alfabet. Du må vite når du suger. Men Internett vil fortelle deg ganske raskt. Men de fleste innvendinger mot denne typen optimisme resulterer i at virkelig gode mennesker aldri engang kommer i gang slik at de kan overraske seg selv. Ali Baba 26 juli 2013, 9:12 Jeg har nylig lest en fantastisk bok kalt 8220Mindset8221 av Carol Dweck som adresserer denne bekymringen. Hennes hypotese er at altfor mange mennesker har det hun kaller en fast tankegang, og tror at alle har medfødte ferdigheter som kan utvikles (og ofte ekstrapolerer dette til de typiske klagerne 8220Hvordan er det vanskelig å prøve ting, blir det aldri bedre for meeee8221). For å motbevise denne tankegangen, citerer hun mange eksempler hvor noen ansett å ha en vakker naturlig talent, faktisk utviklet disse ferdighetene gjennom hardt arbeid og praksis. Hun kaller dette vekstløsningen, og det appellerer til meg ved å være både veldig egalitær og mye mer optimistisk. Jeg nekter å fornekte at noen begynner med mer egnethet til bestemte ting (som å komponere musikk og skriveblogger), men jeg hadde en ekte åpenbaring som leser denne boken at de kanskje ikke er ut av rekkevidde av vanlige dødelige, hvis de er villige til å sette i innsatsen. Min første forandring er at i stedet for å tenke på meg selv for hele mitt liv som noen som har en følelse av stil8221 I8217ve begynte å forske på måter å bruke farge og form på til å smigre min figur, og egentlig tenke på hvordan jeg legger antrekk sammen, noe som betyr Jeg får begge mer komplimenter og kan (veldig-mustachisk-ly) få mye mer bruk ut av klær jeg ikke trodde jeg kunne bære og var sløv på baksiden av skapet mitt. Hadilly 26 juli 2013, 10:09 Mindset er den beste boken Alle mustachere bør lese den. Det forvandler virkelig din følelse av hva du kan oppnå og hvordan du skal gjøre det. Det er uvurderlig for foreldre også. Tankesett er en fantastisk bok. Du kan merke mange paralleller til ideer fra The Magic of Thinking Big (som jeg leste nylig etter å ha funnet denne bloggen), selv om det støttes av akademisk forskning i stedet for bare anekdoter. Tankesett har virkelig påvirket meg og forandret hvordan jeg ser på meg selv og hvordan jeg tenker på evner og naturlig talent. Jeg anbefaler boken og hvis du er interessert i å lese mer enn en kommentarboks verdt av tankene mine på det, kan du gå her: ubehageligoptimistunfixing-my-mind ryan 29. juli 2013, 11:37 Min favoritt er noen som sier 8220I can8217t tegne, 8221 da de aldri prøvde i livet. Tegning er en ferdighet du må utvikle og vedlikeholde akkurat som fysisk form. Mr. Minsc 29 juli 2013, kl 12:45 Høres ut som en god bok, må legge til den i bibliotekslisten min. Jeg kunne ha lyttet til den delen av tankene mine som sa at jeg var en sosialt vanskelig person. Det har tatt mange år, nå I8217m endelig til det punktet hvor jeg kan begynne å introdusere meg selv og chatte med tilfeldige fremmede. Jeg har fortsatt en lang vei å gå, men fremgangen så langt føles bra. God ting jeg ikke fortsatte å gi inn til min indre monolog av slike tanker som 8220De don8217t vil bli plaget.8221, 8220Jeg kan8217t gå opp til dem.8221, og så videre og så videre. ) CincyCat 1. august 2013, 13:07 Det høres ut som en flott bok I8217m sjekker biblioteket mitt nå for å se om det er tilgjengelig for nedlasting på Kindle. ) I8217m omtrent halvveis gjennom 8220The Power of Habit8221 som snakker om hvordan å gjøre endringer i vår 8220routines8221 i dag, kan ha stor innvirkning på veien. Kroppen og sinnet er koblet til krever rutine for sikkerhets skyld. Dette betyr at hvis du vil gjøre meningsfulle endringer i livsstilen, må du erstatte en vane med en annen, mer konstruktiv aktivitet. Let8217s gjelder dette til Mustachian principles8230 Jeg har en skyldig glede av å lese helt våte historiske romansk romaner. Jeg pleide å tilhøre en abonnementsbokstjeneste som ville sende papirbøker til huset mitt noen få uker. Da jeg begynte å lete etter måter å kutte unødvendige utgifter fra mitt budsjett, gjorde jeg litt lekser og oppdaget at jeg kunne laste ned de samme bøkene på min Kindle (som var en gave) til en brøkdel av dekselprisen. Dere skjønte jeg virkelig og skjønte at de fleste av mine favorittforfattere er tilgjengelige for nedlasting via mitt lokale bibliotek gratis. Resultatet Det var en gang en kostbar rutine (venter på at bøkene skulle komme med null innsats fra min side), ble erstattet med et gratis alternativ som koster meg kun 15 minutter med å surfe på mitt bibliotek8217s online katalog på lunsjpause. Rob aka Captian og Mrs Slow 27 juli 2013, 6:50 ABC Mens poenget ditt er gyldig it8217s ikke et vanlig problem, forstår folk flest ganske raskt det ikke fungerer, og ved å fokusere på det negative du gjør det forsterker det bare ideen om at det vunnet arbeid, avslutt før du begynner. Jeg personlig foretrekker MMMs optimisme pistol over en dose av virkelighet utdelt av velvillende venner For det andre, I8217m er en fast troende på alle å få heldige pauser, sikker på at min investeringsblogg døde en velfortjent død, men det betyr ikke at vi vunnet8217t når vårt mål om en komfortabel pensjon . Freeyourchains 29 juli 2013, 7:22 med nok viljestyrke, kan noen lykkes med å endre svakheter i styrker. Ingen person bør modernisere 8220Den har ikke kongeblod, slik at du aldri kan bli en king8221-holdning. Du må ha handling for din optimisme for å bryte fri av kjedene dine, enten til onde diktatorer, onde regjeringer og deres 8220laws8221, til konger som vil drepe deg hvis du adlyder at de eier deg eller noe, og til moderne økonomiske slaveri. John 30 juli 2013, 8:43 am ABC, det kan eller ikke være en stor leksjon i livet. Som min nåværende arbeidsgiver vil fortelle deg, er det noen ganger som lykkes å være fyren som lengst henger. Det er mye å si for utholdenhet, og nesten uten unntak, jo lenger du jobber med noe, jo bedre får du. KC 14. desember 2014, 18:09 Jeg antar at American Idol kommer i tankene, og jeg kan fortelle deg så morsomt som det er å se feilene, mange av dem som blir sparket av, gjør det for nummer én grunn og det er at de ikke har opplæring Som talelærer og operasanger kan jeg fortelle deg at mange sangere, inkludert meg, hadde talent, men absolutt ikke nok til å gå på et nasjonalt show på jakt etter profesjonell kvalitet i ung alder med liten trening. Jeg studerte stemme i godt over 17 år og fikk bare min første profesjonelle Opera-stilling etter en god 6 år. De fleste ser etter snarveier og ikke gjør nesten nok lekser eller studerer for å vite om de vil lykkes. Ja noen mennesker kan ha en melodi og bør ikke synge, men mange kan synge veldig bra etter noen års trening, men hvis de hadde auditionert uten trening, ville de ha blitt slått ned. Jeg er sikker på at dette er sant på mange felt. Brad 11. september 2015 klokka 16:23 I8217m sent til denne festen, men I8217ve studerte mange vellykkede mennesker, og I8217ve studerte også ganske mange feil, så vel som mine personlige feil og hovedårsakene til at man ikke lykkes er manglende Følgende: Skarphet når det gjelder å vite når du skal justere metodens tilnærming til målet, fasthet og utholdenhet, intenst nivå av viljestyrke, og mest av alt, konsistens. Flertallet av mennesker er ikke konsekvente. Konsistens skaper sammensatt effekt og dermed kan du bli ustoppelig. Cate 23 september 2015, 13:32 Brad Jeg er helhjertet enig i konsistens, men en annen nær 2. har støtte for å hjelpe egget deg gjennom de tøffe tider, da det vil bli mange Bli med i et fellesskap av som vi sier, likesinnede mennesker , kan være forskjellen maker John Dough 25 juli 2013, 4:13 pm Du ligner akkurat som min millionær arbeidsgiver. Han er konstant optimistisk om å få ting gjort, og møte mål og gjennomføre det umulige. Hvis han bare lyttet til folk med mer praktisk forstand, ville han ikke eie et selskap i NYC med årlige inntekter på flere millioner dollar. Chucks 25 juli 2013, 8:03 pm Vel, du var økonomisk uavhengig da du startet bloggen. Uten en annen jobb eller økonomisk uavhengighet har jeg en tøff tid som tyder på at folk prøver å bli bloggere eller musikere uten å ha en stabil inntektsside på siden. Dere skal drømme stort, men har alltid en reserveplan. Julia 27 juli 2013, 11:29 Jeg prøver ikke å høres snippy (selv om jeg er sikker på at jeg vil) 8230 Jeg har ikke lest noe i innlegget som angitt, 8220Hey, avslutt hva du gjør for å tjene penger og gjør dette instead8221 Quitting din jobb (eller ikke ute etter en hvis arbeidsledig) for å forfølge blogging eller bli en musiker som din eneste inntektskilde ville være en dumhård oppgave. Jeg kunne gå galt, men jeg tror ikke det var forslaget. Jeg setter stor pris på dette innlegget, siden jeg var en av kommentatorene som var wowed av verdien av dine ferdigheter. Det er allerede en ting på listen som høres mulig for meg (annet enn å blogge, siden I8217m flyter gjennom det for øyeblikket). Ser frem til del to Dr. Janet Barber 5 august 2013, 1:15 RE: Denne kommentaren er i referanse til den pessimistiske fyren du reagerte på above8211 Takk, MMM. Jeg har hatt så mye pessimisme i arbeidslivet at jeg absolutt ikke trenger å høre det (eller heller lese det) på en så flott, positiv blogg som din. I8217m går for kreativiteten. I8217ll lar deg (og de andre positive leserne og byggerne av rikdom 8211 liv og penger) vite hvordan I8217m gjør. Igjen, takk p. s. Nettstedet mitt kommer snart opp. Jason 5. august 2013, 17:15 Jeg applauderer inkluderingen av musikkfremstilling og kreative felt i denne listen. Jo, det kan være mange feil, men disse menneskene prøver å gjøre ting som de ville ha glede av å gjøre, og hvis de kan overvinne feilene, vil de bli bedre til slutt. Det passer perfekt med temaet til denne bloggen. Mange suger på penger, inntil de tilpasser seg, og de er så glade for at de er ferdige. Det er mer tilfredsstillende å oppnå vanskelige ting. Larry Spears 11. desember 2014, 10:55 Okay8230 Så jeg har fortalt datterdagshistorier fra datteren min siden, da min kone og jeg fant ut at vi skulle bli velsignet med henne. Og det siste året eller så har jeg i hvert øyeblikk opprettet historiene hver kveld i en pågående serie. Mens du leser siden din, fant jeg delen om selvutgivelse gjennom Amazon noe av interesse, og jeg ville bare si takk for ideen jeg aldri hadde tenkt på det ellers. EL 3 mars 2015, 8:06 am Det var et flott svar. Jeg tror mange jobber er utfordrende, og det tar engasjement for å gjøre det på den kreative jobbsiden som blogging. Jeg tror at hvis du fokuserer på å bygge ferdigheter når ung, har du flere alternativer for 50K jobber. Også du må nettverk og markedsføre deg selv som gal. 8220Hvordan vet du om du har it8221 MMM, er det et triksespørsmål Mitt svar er å prøve det seriøst, og resultatene vil fortelle deg om du har det. 8221 En arbeidsanekdote fra mitt eget liv har å gjøre med tilskuddskriving. I8217d har aldri gjort det eller blitt trent til det før jeg prøvde det. (Duh) Faktisk skjønte jeg aldri at du kunne skrive opp forespørsler om midler og sende dem til organisasjoner som kalles stiftelser som ville da 8212 hvis du 8220 hadde det8221 8212 svare ved å sende deg sjekker for titusenvis av dollar. Men jeg tilbrakte omtrent 2 uker med å gjøre grundig forskning om hvordan å gjøre it8230 og da prøvde jeg det. I løpet av de neste 10 årene anslår jeg at jeg genererte rundt 5 millioner eller mer i tilskudd for de gruppene jeg gjorde dette for. En annen anekdote, denne fra mitt nåværende tidligere pensjonert liv, har å gjøre med blogging. Selv om I8217m ikke prøver å tjene penger på bloggen min, prøver jeg sikkert å skrive gode artikler for det og bygge opp seere. Har bloggen min 8220have it8221 For tidlig å fortelle. Men for å få det spørsmålet besvart, må jeg prøve. Som jeg er. Emily 23 juni 2015, 5:15 pm Er du en dyrelsker Hvis så, så elsker vi din hjelp. John Doe 11. mai, 2016, 15:25. Carnival ride veileder får deg også 50k pluss Jeff 25. juli 2013, 11:40 For å være rettferdig, ølpengene er også en potensiell sidehustle. Disse tingene er mange ting som kan jobbe på utenfor arbeidstiden når du bygger deg opp. Selv om de aldri vokser til store inntektsstrømmer, legger de seg fortsatt til stache. Mark 25. juli 2013, 11:48 Jeg tror at for de fleste av disse jobbene er det en startkapital versus tid-til-penger-kurve (bilde en X-kurve for etterspørsel etter behov). Hvis du ønsker å utgrave, trenger du en dyr gravemaskin, men du kan kjøre den av mye og starte grøft (muligens ikke lovlig 8211 ikke anbefale dette, bare sayin8217). Hvis du kommer inn i WordPress, blogging eller techno, kan du bruke 0 på den lenge mens du spiser kattemat og bor i et studio hvor du driller kjøkkenet. Disse low-entry-barrier jobber krever en sterk dose på 8220don8217t avslutte dagen job8221, som synes å være kjernen i din kommentar. I motsetning til det er bransjelaterte stillinger (VVS, VVS, flis, tømrer) en balanse som gir beskjedne kapitalutgifter foran og (med mindre lærling er nødvendig) slik at du kan samle ferdigheter i løpet av kveldene og helgene. Når du finner deg selv å slå bort morsomme jobber i din nye ferdigheter, fordi du skal gå til jobb8221, kanskje du burde slutte dagjobben. Tiden er nøkkelbestanddelen i alle disse tilfellene. Du må ha god tid og være villig til å gi opp noen gleder (spill, TV, etc.) for å komme dit du vil gå. At8217 er et kjent tema på denne bloggen, skjønt, (og din også, selvfølgelig). Ja Dette er akkurat hva I8217m gjør 8212 bygge hva som vil starte som en freelance programmering og webdesign virksomhet i fritiden. Jeg har ikke mye tid til å gjøre morsomme ting i løpet av uken akkurat nå mellom virksomheten og min virkelige jobb (selv om jeg vurderer å bygge denne forretningsmoro), men I8217ve satte målet å gjøre dette lønnsomt nok til å slutte dagjobben i begynnelsen av 2015 Les noen suksessbok 8212 it8217s handler om ikke å være redd for å mislykkes. If I screw up, hey, I just keep at my day job until the next big idea comes along or until my 8216stache gets big enough. Although another part is just being optimistic 8212 others have succeeded. What do they have that I don8217t Nick August 4, 2015, 1:37 pm Hi Anthony, have you been successful since this post in 2013 Mr. Minsc July 29, 2013, 12:32 pm Without reading the rest of the comments: Could not the same be said for traditional business such as a plumbing company Like anything, what ever you pursue has to be something you enjoy. It8217s true, blogging may never become a viable source of income for most. I certainly would not quit what I8217m doing at this very moment for it. Instead, if I ever had the calling, I would blog on the side and let my style and presence slowly build over time. While one may never break out, if one doesn8217t keep trying the opportunity is guaranteed never to arrive. This article is right up my street. Many of these I am already trying, but lots I hadn8217t thought of too. Not sure I8217m quite ready to become king of dancing yet, but perhaps with practice8230 One thing I8217ve started doing in my project is Dog Walking. I was absolutely blown away by how much you can make, and it8217s so easy to get into. All you need is the ability to walk and not lose a dog. You can charge up to 10 (15ish) per hour per dog, walk 4 at a time and that8217s a seriously good wage. If you don8217t mind me linking to my article about my experience, I8217ll include it here. Feel free to delete that part if it8217s against your policies :) Along a similar theme, though perhaps more profitable: Professional Pooper Scooper. In every development my sister has lived in there has been a pooper scooper that many in the neighborhood hire to stop by once a week and pick up the dog poop in their backyard. Cost: 5 per week for about 5 minutes worth of effort. Get enough clients in the neighborhood and travel time between stops is pretty much nil, and you can easily get over 25hour. Once you get enough clients, outsource the work as it really can be done by anyone. Haha, I8217ve never heard anything like it. Very enterprising. Not exactly glamorous but sounds like it brings in the cash Alex July 25, 2013, 1:13 pm You could also consider combining these two side hustles into one serious money making profession. Talk about vertical integration.. Matt K December 7, 2015, 1:55 pm This is the comment that almost gave away my sneaky reading of MMM on my 3rd monitor at work. Almost lost a mouthful of tea all over the keyboard. Imagine this, you 8220walk8221 the dogs around a specific neighborhood then send your employees to scoop the next day. For a full high tech solution, you could GPS mark the droppings and your employees could pre-map the most efficient route the next day :). SZQ July 26, 2013, 5:16 pm I told my neighbor a few years ago to start pet-sitting I knew she could make good money doing it because we paid our pet sitter good money and often would have a hard time finding someone. Well, she8217s started dog sittingwalking and has more business than she can handle And she8217s loving it Win-Win Fangs July 31, 2013, 5:39 pm Do have them know their market. I know plenty of people who tried petsitting8211I am one8211and no one can rely on it unless they are in a larger city. Rural areas such as where I live can8217t support a petsitter. I am one of the few still around and jobs occur one every three-four months. The last magazine I worked for served the HVAC industry. The biggest issue that industry faces Finding enough skilled techs. The biggest issue 50 years ago Finding skilled techs. And for every year in between. Anne July 25, 2013, 11:32 am This is so true, my fiance is in HVAC on the engineering side and in the summers the techs can work as much overtime as they desire - there never seems to be a shortage of calls. mike July 25, 2013, 3:51 pm Anne do you think, or could you ask your fiance, if any HVAC company would hire someone seasonally I8217ve often thought of learning HVAC and doing it as a side job seasonally but I8217m not sure if its feasible. Geek July 25, 2013, 6:38 pm Why aren8217t these technicians paid more if the demand is so high 50k is nothing to sneeze at though. Steve Adams July 28, 2013, 2:05 pm I8217ll hire you seasonally. Try air conditioning season. 8211 offer preseason check outs for 20. Even a new guy can check the filters and see if the ac works. With a little training you can check the refrigerant. If there is a problem the experienced guy can come fix it before the crazy season starts for less then during the heat wave. Keith October 6, 2016, 3:20 pm This seems to be accurate as I work for one of the big manufacturers in test engineering and our facility has 5-6 hvac tech openings open nearly year round. I can only imagine how busy the installation companies get in the early summer and winter. Definitely check your area first. Even living in a somewhat 8220resort8221 area most carpenter jobs pay 15 or less hour if you work for someone and 20-30 hour if you are on your own once you figure in time to plan for the job. We do live in a more rural area though, so most of the locals try to do it themselves and don8217t want to pay much for someone else to do it. If you live in a more urban area I believe it would be much easier to charge more and easily make 50,000. Janette July 25, 2013, 2:41 pm Really You can find a carpenter for under 20 an hour My sister pays over 50 in Anthem. My brother in law bills himself as a handy man and charges a mere 35- but knows he can get much more in Idaho Falls. My nephews got through pharmacy school working for about 40 and hour in Salt Lake. I think you might find that people are definitely willing to pay for someone who has a reputation and finishes the job Kenoryn July 26, 2013, 7:49 am Agree, you can hire a 8220handyman8221 around here for 30hour 8211 but a carpenter you can expect to pay more for. I wouldn8217t expect to hire anyone for less than 30. Brian1975 July 26, 2013, 7:57 am In my area you can get a carpenter for 20hr usually they don8217t have the experience or the expertise that a more experienced carpenter would have with 15 or 20 yr8217s experience. I spent 15 years as a selfemployed carpenter and when I quit I was charging close to 40hr. I was quite busy, I got tired of doing it (love to do it now on my own properties) and also witnessed a 65 yr old carpenter trying to keep up. Decided I should get into something a little less physically demanding before it8217s too late. I joined the financial industry. I make roughly the same income with less damage to my body. Job is closer to my home and I don8217t need to continually upgrade tools nor drive to far to jobs. FT June 26, 2015, 2:40 pm I mentioned this in my comment on the 8220Part 28221 page, but you can definitely gross 60hour as a handyman, without too much marketing. It takes a few months of research to structure your business properly, and a good Craigslist ad with nice pictures, and living near a small city full of people who don8217t do their own house repairs. (It won8217t work as well in the country.) With better marketing, good networking skills, and a good reputation (i. e. you have to know what you8217re doing and be honest) the sky is the limit. I8217m married to a successful handyman, and he8217s constantly throwing work out to people who are just as good as he is, but who don8217t want to bother with marketing. He has so much work that he can turn down the crap jobs (like crawling around in attics) and take the nice ones (like changing door knobs). I will say that this is a very seasonal business. Nobody wants work at Christmastime, for example. There are ways to mitigate that, though. David July 25, 2013, 11:25 am B-b-b-but MMM, what about my paaaassion. Marcia July 25, 2013, 11:58 am I sometimes think my dad had it easier. He was an auto mechanic. It was a job he had because for most of his life, it made a decent wage. It wasn8217t his 8220passion8221. He left the job at work and came home and enjoyed his family. Stephen July 26, 2013, 9:26 am Rule 1: Don8217t follow your passion. Per Diem July 25, 2013, 11:27 am Per Diem. Use your engineering degree to get a job in a field that offers temporary (1-3 year) field assignments and get paid Per Diem. Mining, Oil amp Gas, Power Generation are the big industries I know. For me this works out to an additional 70Kyear on top of my generous engineering salary. Tax free for the first 12 months. Unless you change locations and then the tax-free clock resets. Live like a gypsy and grow your 8216stache. Or if you have the manual trade skills and can get into the plant outage circuit (pipefitters, boilermakers, carpenters, welders, electricians, formworkers, etc8230 Often union workm, but not always), you can travel the country like this, site to site to site. (1-2 month stints at a time). WageSlave July 25, 2013, 12:20 pm Per Diem 8211 could you elaborate on this a bit Sounds thrilling Per Diem July 25, 2013, 2:43 pm A lot of contract type work in the below mentioned industries will pay you Per Diem for field assignments, to cover living expenses while you are away from 8220home.8221 If you are mustachian, you rent your house (our sub-let your lease) and cook your own food in the rental at your assignment location (as opposed to staying in a hotel and eating out). Even if you can8217t get someone to cover your rentmortgage while you are gone a smart person will come out ahead, and if you follow the 8216Stache, you8217ll come out WAY ahead. cptacek July 25, 2013, 4:54 pm Be careful with the 8220sub-letting8221 part if contracting with the government. I knew three people get fired for this, after hundreds before them did it successfully. It was a shock and wasn8217t really fair, but they just decided that practice wasn8217t right, and bam, they were fired. tallgirl1204 July 29, 2013, 4:28 pm I think that Per Diem is referring to subletting your own personal apartment, not subletting the apartment assigned to himher at the worksite. cptacek July 30, 2013, 10:10 am Yeah, I know. These people had apartments in Dallas (or surrounding area) and were sent to D. C. for a year. They let someone else move in to their apartment, had them pay rent, and the movers had apartments in D. C. and got per diem. More like thousands of people had done that previously, and the company decided it was a bad practice, and bam, fired. Greg July 25, 2013, 2:09 pm Yes, could you elaborate what you mean by 8220for me this works out to an additional 70Kyear on top of my generous engineering salary.8221 Do you mean that you get paid up to 70K more than you would if you were on salary, or that this per diem is somehow additional work to your salaried job Per Diem July 27, 2013, 10:01 am Greg, While on long-term field assignment, if I was staying in a hotel and eating at restaurants, 70k would barely cover my additional expenses. However since I8217m not, and able to rent my house, it8217s effectively extra salary. Also the experience gained on field assignment is highly looked upon in the above mentioned industries and leads to more responsibilities and promotion. This is so great. Sure, a college education is the right path for plenty of people, but it8217s so important to think outside of the box and understand all of your options. This is very much in line with what I did. Takk så mye. I think the timing of this article is great, especially coming off the recent complaint-a-palooza in those Yahoo comments re: MMM8217s salary. It8217s great to see a list of realistic options that are out there for go-getters. Personally, ever since seeing Community8217s 2nd season again recently, I8217ve been considering following in Troy Barnes8217 footsteps and becoming a part time plumber. It seems to make sense on some level: pipes and water and whatnot. Edward July 25, 2013, 11:33 am Along the lines of Wordpress, lots of people clamouring around for SharePoint gurus. Heck, you don8217t even have to be a 8220guru8221. If you have a few years of general computer, IIS, SQL, and web experience it8217s a pretty easy thing to get setup and get working. A lot of places have had SharePoint setup for them but have nobody to support it. I have a steady 9-5 government job and I8217m always being asked if I could help outside places with their SharePoints. 8230Which I8217m not too thrilled about, because as a programmer it8217s about as challenging as being a physician but making the majority of your bread and butter by walking around putting Band-Aids on scraped knees and elbows. I can8217t imagine how much I8217d make if I put an ad in the phone book. Which most MMM8217s readers would probably say I should do, but I value my free time (away from computers) too much to be sticking my nose in them every evening and weekend, Elkbark July 25, 2013, 12:58 pm You can still make money without giving up your free time. Find someone (or create someone) else that can do the work and contract it out. Take a off the top as your finder8217s fee. And to add one thought, the one that doesn8217t require a degree or even a diploma is running your own small business. All it takes is a good idea, and lots (and lots and lots) of work. Can be a great path for some willing to put in the hours. Anne July 25, 2013, 11:36 am MMM I think you suggested driving a semi-truck to the fast-food worker who wrote some time back. One of my cousins does this and I believe he cracks that number pretty readily. Shelby July 25, 2013, 11:39 am Yeah, these days I8217d definitely have to think twice about recommending college. I think you can do much better in the trades unless you can land one of those 100k jobs right out of college. My diploma does look nice hanging on the wall in my office though, haha Joy July 25, 2013, 11:40 am I8217m new to the Mustache8217s, I started following after the Washington Post article and I am delighted to have found such a wonderful group of folks. I made a career change in 2012 from being an independent film producer to a business manager. I do not have a four year degree. I have a two year associates degree in Film and Television Production. I managed film budgets from 75K to 1.5M for nearly ten years but I kept finding myself broke and desperate for my next job. I decided this wasn8217t a healthy way to live any longer and used my money managing skills to get in to the 9 to 5 workforce. Det funket. I have been happily employed for a year and a half with no end in sight. However, I see the need for indie films and small companies to have someone who is consulting and managing the money and just the books of the projectcompany for reports and tax purposes. I am now combining my producer money skills with my business management skills and starting my own small consulting firm for companies generating 1.5M or less per year. It8217s my starting point. I have my first two clients already and if all goes well I plan to be self-employed by 2015. I8217m using all of my contacts as resources and offering them a great deal on my services if they spread the word about my company to others. Smaller companies have smaller staffs and the owners and managers can be overwhelmed with the daily grind so having someone who is doing your books, monthly, QRTRLY amp yearly reports as well as your taxes for a small fee is something I8217ve noticed most small companies want and need. I8217m just getting started. We8217ll see how it goes. I8217m excited about it. sydney July 26, 2013, 5:11 am congrats, Joy You filled a need and found a niche. I8217m pretty new to this blogging thing but the opportunities are pretty cool. There certainly isn8217t easy money, but as simple an investment as time you can start to build a pretty solid stream of traffic to your site. As your multiple examples demonstrate, from there it8217s a matter of what you want to do with that traffic. The trades examples are great too. For the most part those are skills that most anybody could learn and use to make a good living, without the 4 years and thousands of dollars of tuition. I8217m not really sure why those kinds of professions aren8217t talked about more. JessicaG July 25, 2013, 11:43 am I wanted to share my business that makes over 50k a year with no degree. In fact I didn8217t even bother finishing high school. I started a dog walking company, built my own website (before the days of drop and drag btw so I actually learned HTML and CSS), and off I went. Within a year I was earning over 70k, at one point I had several employees and earning well over 100k but I found the extra work of managing others not worth it and downsized back to just working for myself. If you love dogs and are capable of actually learning about animal behaviour and training AND you are good at new client meetings this is an extremely easy industry to profit from. I did it for about 8 years and have just recently quit to pursue other things. cptacek July 25, 2013, 4:23 pm I believe you, but this just freaking blows my mind That8217s awesome and it doesn8217t surprise me. There are quite a few dog walkers in my area and they look like they are serious about it. What8217s especially cool is that you could get your work out in at the same time that you were 8220working8221 if you logged in enough miles. You could maybe even jog instead of walk if you had few enough dogs at the time (and they were cooperative) Jessica July 25, 2013, 11:45 am I went to college to become an aerospace engineer at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL. This is a career that pays around 50k starting out and 5 years in I was making 140k per year but that8217s not the point. I had a classmate friend who was also my roommate and was really into music. He had hundreds of cd8217s. for extra money, he worked at one of the many local resorts doing different things but one of those things was the kids club and hosting karaoke. Then he would DJ on their pool deck. Eventually he had a bunch of his own equipment and started DJ8217ing for private events (weddings, graduation parties) then the local water park and clubs started offering him regular gigs. Needless to say he graduated with his degree in aerospace engineering but was already making 6 figures so he kept DJ8217ing and had an AE degree as a FALLBACK. Crazy but now he has made it into his own entertainment company and has several people working for him and it sure looks like his job is more fun than mine was although I sincerely enjoyed my job while I worked it ). Marcia July 25, 2013, 12:00 pm shit, I went into the wrong kind of engineering. Trevor August 5, 2013, 7:11 pm I think this highlights a key idea of these lesser-known businesses: there are lots of small, unglamorous jobs that people want with frequency, that don8217t require much experience. Like doing X for weddings, be it music (live or DJ), photography, cakes, center pieces, planning, invitations, whatever. Or doing anything for busy home owners who haven8217t read MMM8217s article on insourcing (all the tradeslandscaping listed in MMM8217s article), and also dog walking, in-home computer setupdebugging, AV installation, interior decorating, party catering, nannying (better than babysitting since you can watch multiple kids at once, more like the dog walking business model), etc. Or doing something for starupssmall businesses that don8217t have dedicated businessaccounting people, like keeping their bookspaying their billsmanaging their accounts, developing their web presence, designing logosslogansads, 8230 Or doing the same things you8217d do for a wedding for a mediumlarge business for their Christmaswhatever parties. Small, unglamorous jobs that people take for granted need to be done by someon. And a lot of these jobs are compatible with most people8217s 9-5 schedules. Matt August 15, 2013, 3:33 pm This is essentially what I am doing more and more of right now. A friend of mine is the race director for an 8220extreme8221 racing company in the upper midwest, and we started working together to plan some races. The thing is, I8217m a little more able to get computer things done in a timely manner than he is, and I don8217t find it that difficult. Now I8217m making several hundred dollars a year being his support8211answering racer emails, dealing with registration problems, and building and updating the online content, all on my own schedule for the most part. It could be secretarial work, but I8217m cheap, I know his style of race direction, and I8217m actually interested in racing, so it8217s enjoyable. He. I was trying to become an airline pilot in Aeronautical Science, right out of high school, and was too stubborn to quit when life kept throwing hurdle after hurdle at me. I ended up not being able to complete the flight portion of the program, swapped my major from that to Aeronautics, and instead of a single Aviation Safety minor, I wound up with those specialized classes becoming a second minor in Aeronautical Studies. Basically that8217s a detailed way of saying I failed at life. I DID get the Bachelor8217s Degree, but I had no idea what to do with it. Now I8217m something like 287k in debt. I drive a school bus, now. I8217m happy doing this (I love it, actually), but it will never be able to cover all the bills, much less even begin to pay any of that back8230 It depends on where you live but if your in a major urban centre where day care costs can reach 1,000 a month per kid a stay at home parent could bring in a good chunk of change with 4 kids a day. Of course this all depends on what the price of child care in your area is. Josh July 25, 2013, 11:48 am First, a suggestion for a 50,000 job 8211 programming. I know programming is typically considered a job for college grads, but more and more I8217m seeing businesses who value experience far more than education in this field. They8217ll hire someone who8217s been doing it as a hobby or freelance worker for a couple of years over someone with a four year degree any day of the week. And as you well know, programming can pay quite well. Second, a word of caution on the writing option. The vast majority of independent authors are either barely scraping by or are doing it just for fun and maybe to make a little on the side. (I8217m part of the second group 8211 you can see more about my work on my website, click my name for the link) VERY few people become popular enough to make a living off of it, let alone a 50,000 living. Those that do typically make a ton, though. (Think 50 Shades of Grey) If you try this route, don8217t quit your day job. Wait until you have evidence of your success to take that leap. Brenton July 25, 2013, 2:21 pm While its true you can learn programming without a degree, its tough to make much working for yourself unless you find the right obscure technology. Unix, sharepoint(as someone mentioned earlier), etc8230 Or unless you happen to have good connections and can run a pseudo-consulting service for advanced but short-term project needs. Unless you are a genius, you probably wont get many gigs without experience or a degree. Another idea is owneroperator of a delivery route. Basically a company will pay you to deliver to obscure locations that they dont want to hire a regular driver to go to. Because its remoteobscure you can usually charge a higher than normal rate. Over time you could build a successful business. That8217s a mighty pre-defeated attitude you have there about programming. The great thing about it is that all you need is a computer and an internet connection to make something from scratch 8211 and that IS experience. If you did a good job and made something of value, that8217s your ticket in. Jamesqf July 25, 2013, 3:41 pm This all depends on what sortlevel of programming you8217re doing. Simple businessphone apps, where most of the effort goes into designing amp testing a UI, maybe doing some database lookup or displaying info from web mashups8230 Yes, you probably could do that without degree-level learning. Stuff that for instance is maybe computationally-intensive, so that knowing about underlying mechanisms amp algorithms means the difference between getting a result in hours, or in months, The problem here is that you need to learn enough to know what you don8217t know. GP July 26, 2013, 6:24 am The point is you don8217t need to blow a ton of money on a degree to get 8216degree-level learning8217. Everything you8217re going to need to learn is out there on youtubeudacitycoursera etc. Ticktock February 12, 2015, 8:15 am My daughter was slogging through community college and not really enjoying it. She couldn8217t believe I had to pay 500.00 for an elective class like piano. She interned at a local tech firm and they pointed her to our local coding school. The schooling was 2 months. Two months after graduation she was offered a position in a local tech firm for 50k, great benefits and tuition reimbursement. School debt: 10,000. It was definitely worth it. She is 19. I am pushing her to this site so she can retire at 35. win February 12, 2015, 7:45 pm What is the website of your local coding school I8217d like to see their curriculum. Ticktock February 13, 2015, 10:38 am Brenton July 29, 2013, 2:01 pm The problem is the level of competition from outside the United States. Anyone doing anything other than top quality professional work is going to be undercut in price. A company would hire you if you are local and can produce better quality than what they could find via one of the multitude of freelance site. However, convincing some company to hire you when you have no programming experience and no degree is going to be difficult. Its not impossible, but the competition for short term programming gigs is pretty intense. You cant be just OK at programming to make 50K doing freelance stuff, you have to be very, very good with the ability to prove it to clients. Evan July 28, 2013, 11:32 am I couldn8217t disagree with you more when it comes to programming. I had done some programming back in high school 15 years ago but not that much really. When I decided to get back into it I spent 3-4 months self-studying web development and landed a job making 62,000 for a 32-35 hour work week. The demand is so high for tech workers right now that I see people getting hired mostly on potential8230 Some of these jobs on the list seem a bit out there in terms of probability of success but to me tech is one area where you really don8217t need a degree to get a decent job8230 prosaic July 26, 2013, 5:12 pm Yes on the writing. I8217ve already hit 6 figures from novel writing in 2013. Like anything, you have to research it and find your market, but with self-publishing (like blogging), if you combine research, creativity, and luck, you can really hit it big. La July 25, 2013, 11:50 am New to the Honey Badger video thanks very much for the hilarious short. Some of my friends and I make money singing and playing music. If you find the right gig it can be very lucrative (60s Pop, weddings, tributeparty band for example). In the past I8217ve made quite a bit of cash (on the down low) watching dogs in my home. Tax free, of course, is best if you can swing it :) Stephanie July 25, 2013, 11:53 am My hairstylist regularly cracks 100K, you can 8216rent8217 a booth for 200week (more or less depending on region) and that8217s your first cut and color (yes, at a high end salon) that pays your rent. The rest is to you and taxes. AND everyone not ninja enough to cut their own hair is a potential client. Carolina on My Mind July 25, 2013, 8:29 pm Having just come from getting my hair cut, this was my very first thought: I8217m sure the woman who cuts my hair must make close to six figures. Hairstylists, beauticians, masseuses can all clear more than 50K a year if they8217re good. Alicia July 26, 2013, 6:44 am My hairdresser used to work at a high-end salon and I was paying big bucks for it (this was in the pre-budgeting days). After she worked there a few years, she opened her own salon in her basement (very nice, didn8217t feel basement-like) and charged half of what she did at the salon We talked about it a few times and she said she was still coming out much farther ahead even with the cheaper prices because the salon owner wasn8217t taking a huge chunk off the top and charging for renting a chair, etc. We never got into the exact numbers, but I know she is doing very well, just by doing a little bit of quick math. Dom July 25, 2013, 11:54 am There8217s always the unpopular but incredibly effective decision to move away from where you were born. I moved across the country and more than doubled my comfortable engineering salary by working an industrial site job. Company pays for my living expenses and flights home on top of inflating my salary. Per Diem July 25, 2013, 12:06 pm Gotta love Per Diem tori July 25, 2013, 12:00 pm My husband makes 50 an hour teaching private voice lessons. This can also be achieved for piano, guitar, violin, etc. People seem to be charging a lot for fancy gym classes 8211 so opening a hot yoga studio or a crossfit gym is probably a big money maker. I8217m sure Mrs. MMM will have this covered, but getting a real estate license is another way to make 50k without going to college. Trevor August 5, 2013, 7:20 pm Tutoring can crack 50hr in urban centres, too. Math tutoring is one of my side rackets. Once the first test comes home in September, there8217s more work than I can handle. Ideally, you8217ll have connections in private schools or public schools in upper-middle-class neighbourhoods. I have an obvious one to add to the list that anyone can do. Mowing lawns. I know it doesn8217t sound glamorous and it is hot and dirty, etc, but you can make big money on it with just a trailer load of equipment. Just a small lawn can bring 50 per visit and with a crew of just a few, you can be in an out in 15-20 minutes and onto the next one. This doesn8217t even count the lawns that may being 200visit that only take an hour to complete. Sounds like the place to go for someone who has the work ethic and doesn8217t want to pile up debt hoping they get a corporate office job. (by the way, an office job is not that great) rory July 26, 2013, 7:58 am This would be very location specific. My family owned a lawncarelandscaping business back in the 908217s and early 008217s, and made fat cash on the lawncare end of it. Around 2000 and the tech-bust suddenly people were laid off, mowing their own lawns, andor looking for that 8216side hustle, almost retired8217 job. Lawn care was it. Suddenly every Tom, Dick and Harry had a Reece hitch installed on the back of thier Buick8217s, and were pulling the riding mowers around the neighborhood, undercutting the competition. I remember vividly a 1.5 acre lawn that I was giving had underbit considerably, and by my cost accounting was actually a net money loser. After mowing for 3 years I went to renew the contract one spring he said he appreciated my attention to detail over the years, and that I always did a great job, but that he was going to go with a new company for half the price. We shut the business down the next year couldn8217t justify prices. It was good while it lasted, paid my college, but the dream is over. Joe Average March 17, 2015, 3:56 pm I did this for several years during college. Did the low cost version that you described during the late 90searly 2000s. Our faithful CR-V did all the towing duties and thus the source of my admiration of the clutch life. By the fourth year it had grown so much I needed a helper but didn8217t want to get that far invested in it. I was turning away excessively picky customers though and a couple of customers who liked to let the grass get six inches deep before they called me. The first guy wanted me to mow his yard with a 22 inch push mower, the second variety wanted me to rake the yard by hand for the same money as the mowing price. Uh no, that8217s extra ma8217am. My Briggs amp Stratton powered Sears tractor was a mess after three seasons. The engine and transmission lived on happily but the steering and the mower deck needed constant repair 8211 lots of welding too as the steel cracked. Did all that work myself. Gave it to a friend afterwards. I think he patched it up and mowed his own yard for several years. It was just too light duty for the level of work I was using it for. (Buy quality). No quality in the deck hangers and steering joints was the main problem. Mowing a single suburban yard It would last for years. On the yard mowing circuit Like I said 8211 maybe three years. Seriously considered adding greasable heim joints all over the tractor but that was about the time I was moving on to greener pastures that would help me flush out my professional resume. Dan July 25, 2013, 12:01 pm For the person that enjoys extreme flexibility and learning to fix just about anything I legitimately think you could make 50k plus with the following methods 1. Buying high end broken durable goods on craigslist (Tools, Lawnmowers, boat motors, vehicles) Generally anything that is A. High quality B. Repairable (which high quality goods generally are) C. With a large potential customer base. Fixing them and selling them back on craigslist, or if conveniently shipped on ebay or amazon. 2. Selling other peoples stuff and taking a commission. I started doing this a year or so ago for people that just do not understand that craiglist is full of normal people and am now turning people away because I just do not have time to deal with all of the volume. JessicaG July 25, 2013, 12:05 pm I actually pick up free stuff off Kijiji (Canada Craigslist) every week and resell it. People are always just throwing away things you clean up and sell Lucas July 25, 2013, 12:02 pm A couple jobs that i have seen in my area that seem to pay decently well: 1) Cable FIOS internet installer 8211 Talking with the guy who installed ours when we moved back they make pretty good money, and can get a lot of overtime. 2) Salesmen jobs 8211 mostly commission based but can make way over 50k if you are good at it. 3) Realestate 8211 this one take some time to get into (as you and Mrs. MMM know) and it helps if the homes in your area are expensive. But in DC area you would only need to do 5 houses a year to break the 50k boundry. 4) Semi Driver 8211 the average for these guys is right around 50k. The further you go from home the more you make though. David July 25, 2013, 12:07 pm Be careful with the mechanic thing. In most US cities, it8217s illegal to work on cars that don8217t belong to you in your own garage. That8217s to prevent exactly what you8217re talking about 8211 a start-up mechanic doing business out of his house, with all the corresponding noise and traffic that would entail. I do love the list of hands-on jobs that make good money, though. It8217s got me and every office worker daydreaming about leaving the desk job behind. lecodecivil July 25, 2013, 8:52 pm Not to mention the liability issues if you screw up the work. Professional mechanics have loads of insurance. Screw up someone8217s brakes working out of your garage and you just might lose the whole house. Not saying you can8217t do this, just that you really need to know what you8217re doing AND be adequately protected. My soon-to-be brother in law has made substantial money as an over-the-phone debt collector. Granted, it8217s not for everyone. It8217s highly commission-based, can require long weeks and working weekends, you have to deal with more than the usual share of idiot coworkers, and of course, you have to hassle (often angry) people for money over the phone. However, it doesn8217t require a degree - my BIL holds a GED, and has completed a few unrelated courses at the local community college. He was great at his job, and was rewarded with mountains of gift cards to area retailers at work, plus staggering bonuses that put his annual pay in the 70K range, if not higher. He made more as a debt collector with no degree than I do as a software engineer with a 4-year computer engineering degree from a selective private school, working for one of the best companies in my area. Now granted, he had one of the worst spending habits I have ever seen, but that8217s another story. He has since moved from being a rank-and-file collector into management at the agency - his salary is slightly lower, but much more stable and less commission-based, and still probably higher than mine. Alicia July 26, 2013, 6:46 am you would think as a debt collector he would be very aware of how not to spend his money. I think my favorite is the ole craigslistebay flipper. If you combine that with a little bit of repair knowledge (learned on YouTube) it is not extremely difficult to make 1k a week (if you have the time). It is pretty easy to score cheap simi-broken things on craigslist without too much hassle. Especially if you buysell smaller, shipable items like cell phones, or computers. I8217ve been doing this part time for fun for years and used the income to pay for about 14 of our house. win July 26, 2013, 2:41 pm Can you tell us some details What are common repairs for phones and computers Do you have an ad that requests broken equipment CincyCat July 25, 2013, 12:08 pm In the Creative category: Cake or cupcake decorating. A friend of mine was able to quit her day job after a couple of years of making birthday amp special occasion treats for friends amp family. Word got around, and now she has to turn customers away. You don8217t have a consulting category, but you really don8217t need a fancy degree to be a consultant. Companies large amp small routinely bring in people to tell them how to do something that they don8217t know how to do. Non-profit consulting in particular is huge right now. This is because most non-profit boards consist of volunteers with a passion for the mission, who may or may not have had any experience with organizational management or strategic planning. If you have real-world experience with this, believe me, there is a non-profit organization who is ready to hire you. Aaron July 26, 2013, 3:34 pm I8217m curious about the cakecupcake decorating and how it turned out so profitable for her. My wife had a baking business for two years and got rid of it at the end of 2012 because it simply wasn8217t making enough money. There was so much competition out there. Some customers would find it worth it, but many were expecting her to do it for the price of what a Sam8217s club cake would cost them. Not to mention the strain on her arms and how long it takes to make the flowers and everything that go on a cake. She basically decided that while she loved the creative side of things, she didn8217t like becoming the cookiecake factory that it was turning into (always making the same stuff over and over). Abby July 27, 2013, 6:39 am One option for these 8220creative8221 type service jobs is to jack your prices way up. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but for the cake baking, you can move from the folks whose alternative is a Sam8217s club cake to folks who want a cake that is specialexclusiveelite and have no way of telling the difference except for price. Of course, you want everything to conform to that image 8212 you need a classy website, professional looking invoices, etc 8212 but it can keep the volume manageable, creativity high, and income flowing in. Nedwin July 25, 2013, 12:11 pm One that was not under the manual labor section 8211 Oil and gas laborer. From roughneck to truck driver to whatever else, these generally pay a good wage. I personally know of one man earning 120kyear doing cement work for oilgas wells. I am quite sure he does not have beyond a high school education, other than any training provided by his employer. The work is very hard, may be in inhospitable areas, and may have odd work schedules (like two weeks ontwo off), but the pay can be high and the benefits good. Matt August 16, 2013, 9:25 am It8217s good to keep in mind that in the boom areas like western North Dakota right now, price of living is going up as well. So if your employer isn8217t covering food andor lodging, you need to take that into account. Flofli July 25, 2013, 12:11 pm My husband learned title insurance from helping his dad during high school. Once he graduated 1980 he started working for a law firm instead of going to college. In 1986 he started working for a national title insurance company at 30K per year. That is how much some people with degrees were making at the call center I worked in because they could not find other work. You do have to be licensed and take a few hours of continuing education courses every other year which his company pays for. After 25 years with the same company he has specialized and just now squeaked over 100K. Not bad for someone with no degree :) No Waste July 25, 2013, 12:22 pm If you can handle it, you can make a boatload of cash working in oil fields, or out on offshore oil platforms. You put in a whole lot of time but then typically take a couple weeks off in between stints. A whole lot of hidden wealth was built this way. ABC July 25, 2013, 12:48 pm It8217s not just about 8220If you can handle it8221. You need to know that secret handshake. Just look at Norway and Brazil. Thousands of workers would love to do that. Pays great, but getting your foot in the door in that area is very, very, very tough. Alicia July 26, 2013, 6:52 am Depending on where you are, it8217s not hard to get into at all. I8217m thinking of Western Canada, but honestly there are so many positions open in the oil fields that they fly people in from the East Coast for three weeks (five hour flight if direct) and then send them home. there are flights just full of oil workers because there is such a demand and not enough people in Alberta to work the positions. Hard work (and schedule) but great money. Sarah July 25, 2013, 12:23 pm Hey MMM, A couple of thoughts. First a mechanic actually makes about 25 an hour because of the cost of buying all his tools. Over 50 of his income goes into tools to fix your car. I know it8217s crazy, but since I8217m married to the Tool Dealer I happen to know this is true. You might be able to do basic car repairs, but all those cars are built to need a computer to read them, and the computers need 1000 updates once a year. True, you could use a cheap tool 8211 but when that puppy breaks in the middle of the bid job, and you have to go buy another one 8211 all your profit is gone in time. That brings me to one job you don8217t know about that makes big bucks. Sales. Most people cringe. This job is so easy. First off, a Tool Dealer is a sales guy. He shows up to shops where the guys need to buy his tools (best on the market). It8217s not like Cold Calling. Think of it this way 8211 when you walk into Walmart you are there because you want their crap 8211 but they still 8220sell to you8221. The guys come out to the truck because they need the tools 8211 just some times they don8217t know they needed the tools. Ha ha. If you are a crappy tool rep you should clear about 50k a year. The Food industry. Before my husband became a Tool Dealer, he was paid good money to hold people8217s hands. La meg forklare. First there are two main food suppliers for restaurants. You don8217t need a degree to be a rep (in fact I8217ll tell you when you do need one). You are going into restaurants that need food and selling them food. Lett. This averages around 60k a year. If you suck at your job. Feels too much like cold calling Ok, be the middle guy. After the first guy goes in and the resturant confirms they want orange juice he calls the juice rep 8211 now the second guy goes in and finds out exactly what kind of orange juice (yep there are different kinds), orders what they need and basically keeps them calm (yes, buying juice is stressful). My husband made about 65k a year. That was the low pay because he had no experiance. A person with experiance makes around 80k a year PLUS bonuses. There is the last person in this chain of sales. They work directly for the manager and try to keep the second person pushing their juice onto the customer. So they will go into the resturant to offer special deals, or insentives for the second guy. This guy needs a collage education and works for the big wigs like Nestle, Coke a Cola, Smuckers8230ect. Oh wait, if you have the experiance they will over look a collage degree8230 but your base pay will suck at 70k starting instead of 90k. Rats. What do you need a collage degree in What ever. They don8217t care. Food not your thing These reps exsist for anything you buy. Just thought I would mention it. Now, you8217ll get lots of food reps tool dealers complaining they don8217t make that much. Tell them to be better at their jobs. ) There is no reason you should make less than 50k 8211 even if you suck. I like your sales idea, but disagree about the cost of mechanic tools. These are dirt-cheap these days, last many years, are often available used, and you don8217t nee that many of them (and you can always specialize in repairs that work with the tools you do have 8211 how about brakes). My description of the craft is based on real friends who own garages of their own. There8217s no way you 8220consume8221 50.00 of tools per hour and shrink your 75 to 25, unless you only do one job. I have more expensive stuff for my carpentry business than some mechanics have for the cars, and even then tools are a negligible line item for me over time. I8217ve been able to do about 80 of car maintenance and repair over the last 10 years with the tools listed in one of the DIY articles on my site: insourceliferecommended-tools-for-a-diy-auto-mechanic Besides those, I did have to buy a couple of specialized tools but that8217s rare. An example would be a rear trailing arm bushing puller. Here is the cool part 8211 I bought it for 100 and since then rented it out several times to people who needed the tool but did not want to buy it for what is usually a one time job. I actually made money on this puller now. As far as the special tools that deal with complicated electronics 8211 I bought cables and software on eBay for different electronic-filled cars (BMW, MB, Mini8230) and used my netbook to troubleshoot issues, reset engine lights, turn onoff features on these cars with very little hassle. I spent probably less than 200 on that equipment and was able to save thousands off what a dealer would charge if they were going to use their 10,000 shop computers to do the same work. And don8217t forget that I can sellrent these tools to recoup the costs. Sid Zorbo July 26, 2013, 9:47 pm Being a food rep usually is the next step for burnt out chefs, which is basically a travelling salesman to the Food Services Industry. They make decent money 50 to 100K. But, I wouldn8217t sell my soul to sling low quality Sysco pre-made, pre-processed crap which takes the fun of the job of the chef away in the first place, which is making the food. Each week these guys come in with somebody who has a product that is going to make my restaurant extremely more profitable, and is usually some sort of cannibalized chicken nugget product, or new wing sauce with 80 ingredients. I know a lot of these guys personally, and are typically men who try to befriend the debauched chefs with alcohol and other kickbacks to buy more of their product to raise their commission or standing as salesman within the company(at least the restaurants, not sure exactly how it works for large cafeteria operation sales). I don8217t view these positions as important to the greater goal of Mustachianism. Add to that the ever-encroaching automated buying systems that the larger suppliers have switched to which are eliminating rep positions (ex. tracsdirect from Reinhart). However, I would suggest a different growing trend regarding the food services industry. Pop-up dinners, when done well and marketed to the right clientele base in heavily populated areas can be extremely profitable. You can make 1K per night with probably 8 to 10 hours prep time. I made 300 last one I did, which was an in-home dinner celebration. Basically, it is a catering gig. If you do in-home ones for 10 to 20 ppl three to five days a week, 50K is doable. Add a couple weddings or bah mitzvahs and you got yourself a decent paying job. The downside is working most weekends, learning health code laws, and the general rigamarole of running a biz that follows governmental guidelines while being a good enough cook to pull it off. Joe Average March 18, 2015, 8:21 am Nah, I have a garage full of tools and a machine shop that I manage at work full of tools. Treated well, some tools last decades. Many of my tools are very cheap tools and pushing 30 years old. And if a person did have a tool failure, he or she could pick up a replacement quickly and in town. Might not be the quality of the tool truck tools but it would last a long time. Yes there would be some technology to keep up to date but your shop rate ought to cover that. Ms. Must-stash July 25, 2013, 12:24 pm A friend of mine gets Paleo prepared lunches amp dinners (10 per week, 5 lunches and 5 dinners, for around 100). He picks them up at his local Crossfit gym. If you get a good customer base that is easily 50k a year. I was just talking about this to my carpool buddy this morning. There are so many alternatives and skills that are available to everyone that anyone can learn and make good money too. My hubby worked construction when he first got to this country and he was paid 20hour by a mate of his for carpentry work. Another one of my friends has started her own business through motivational speeches for sexually traumatized civilians and vets after she suffered through a sexual assault when she was in the military. She also puts together travel retreats and gets her trip paid for and is paid for each person she brings. There are so many opportunities outside the box but you just have to have the courage to step out of it Motivational speaking. This is what I8217m just starting out in. It is possible to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even millions, if you are an entertaining and inspiring teacher. I personally am focusing on the youth market. I will be speaking at various conferences and school assemblies, sometimes making as much as 5,000 for a single one hour speech. Do one of those a week and you are set. And it definitely doesn8217t require a degree, just talent and hard work. For a few examples, look up Josh Shipp and Grant Baldwin. Shipp runs a 7 figure business off of his speaking. Yeah I forgot about that one. One of my old rental house tenants did this, and was making loads of cash at it. Public speaking is a rare skill, hard to learn, and highly paid once you are good at it. (Hell, I8217d like to get good at it, even putting aside the money issue). Geek July 25, 2013, 6:42 pm That would be so cool. I would like to get into public speakingmotivational speaking it seems kind of fun. Debbie M July 25, 2013, 6:47 pm One word: Toastmasters. I8217m going to disagree with you on this. Toastmasters teaches you how to be a robotic speaker and do things like wedding toasts, but to be a motivational speaker you have to be extremely authentic. Audiences get bored if you just stand up there and talk while taking exactly three steps to the left followed by three steps to the right. Karen Pickles May 11, 2016, 11:41 am I tried Toastmasters8230..big YUCK Not the kind of speaking to the public I was looking for It8217s definitely something that takes practice to get good at, but once you are, it8217s one of the best jobs out there Margarita August 4, 2013, 11:08 pm Hi. Can you explain how you get into that industry How do you sell yourself as a motivational speaker In our church we have lots of opportunities for public speaking, and it is something I love and have dreamed about doing more often, whether in church or out, but I wonder how you are going about selling yourself. I would love any advice you can offer. Thanks Albert July 25, 2013, 12:37 pm Some manual trades related to gas and oil industry, shipping and mining make great money. I know a guy who is a trained mechanic, worked with ships on shore for couple of years and now works on oil exploration platforms. He is in his 30-ties and makes up to 12,000 per month doing it. He can live anywhere he wants while doing it. Of course there are downsides as well (dangerous, 3 month stints on the job without seeing family, only paid while on the platform). By the way most of the non-degree jobs mentioned so far are typical male occupations. I wonder what would MMM recommend for our female readers IAmNotABartender June 20, 2016, 2:24 pm I8217m not MMM, but I would recommend women readers use the optimism gun to remind themselves that they can do anything that men can do (and, as readers of this blog, better than 95 of the men out there). I think the key criterion here is 8220run your own business82218221be famous in your niche8221 However, those capable of running their own business would very likely also reach 50k being quickly promoted into managementsales working for corporate in the time (3-5 years) it takes to get a business up and running fast enough to work 2000 hoursyear8230 similarly, employees who are smarthard working enough to dominate a niche (being known outside their company) will be able to quickly rise above 50k in compensation inside of 5 years or so. Granted, not in all fields, but in many. So the salary cap is not so much due to being in the wrong field (white vs blue) but in lacking leadership or specialist potential. To wit, someone who is a white collar employee who shows up on time but doesn8217t demonstrate any leadership potential will probably turn out to be a carpenter employee making 13 of the boss should the switch. Being well-known is an even worse proposal since things like bloggingyoutubing, etc. is a winner-takes-all. By far the most bloggerse-book sellersyoutubersetc. make less than 100month. Your points are well taken Jacob, and I actually had an imaginary YOU in my head when I was writing this, cautioning me not to be overly optimistic in my portrayal. But here8217s where I8217d differ with you a bit: Sure, a competent office worker may often get promoted nicely 8211 unless heshe is in the wrong field, where salaries are just plain low. These people need to realize that 8220organized, conscientious person8221 is a universal skill compatible with all industries and rare in all of them. So go do it where it pays well Self-employment is one place where you can do it with no degree. As for bloggingYouTube 8211 it8217s not nearly as winner-takes-all as you might think. How many bloggers or small-time product sellers make 50k from their sites Thousands, at least. At Fincon, I was shocked to hear that many bloggers with traffic one tenth that of this site were making more than that amount (even while I chose to make less). It was supposedly winner-take all when I started this site, but then this one slowly grew, the winners shuffled aside slightly to make room, and the audience for everyone continued to grow. And even now, more of these not-so-rare blogs are moving up and joining the crowd like a bunch of helium balloons at a party. As for the Tube 8211 you don8217t have to make the honeybadger or the dubstep moves 8211 you can also build up a good, solid training course that slowly gets reasonable viewership. I8217ve heard from people who do this with Minecraft and Ableton instructional videos, then there8217s Eric the Car Guy, guitar instructors, and zillions of other categories. (Just updated the article to add those ideas - thanks for the prompt). So it8217s not so much 8220winner takes all8221 as 8220thousands of mini-winners take a reasonable amount in each of their tiny niches8221. Moral of the story: Be competent. In whatever you do I8217ve got a measly 2 year generic degree. Currently, I make lots in IT. Go me I8217m not even a geek. i just play one at work. I8217ve also made sub 50k in something I like a bunch more, with a much lower over all earning potential. Because I had basic communication skills, showed up for work, gave a shit and was generally likeable, even that industry treated me well. I left because I8217d never make as much a I did in IT, for much harder work. That8217s not to say I didn8217t have opportunities to rise to the top of the heap and quickly. I dont doubt my ability to push 50k in an industry and even position that doesnt usually go there. In my experience, there is such a lack of 8220good employees8221 in any field, if you are the shining star, doors open. Perhaps doors that don8217t even traditionally exist. Mr. Minsc July 30, 2013, 7:55 am My plan currently is to make dairy farming my main source of income with plumbing as a secondary income. Once receiving my red seal I jumped in to world of business ownership nearly blind. There was no plan, it has been learn as I go, and in hindsight money was spent which didn8217t need to be. Too many times I8217ve been on the brink of quitting. Here8217s the kind of things which would roll through my head. - I don8217t want to put in the effort required to make this work. - I don8217t have the time to balance this, farming, and having a life. - I sinking money in with no return. - I should go back working with another plumbing company and gain more experience. - I don8217t have the money to properly advertise. - My truck is not fancy enough, I need a full sized cargo van. - I want to play Minecraft. - And blah, blah, blah, so on and so on. Then there8217s the lack of verbal support from family members. I know they mean well but telling a person they you should wait and gain more experience through another employer isn8217t what a person who is about to give up needs, or wants, to hear. How I8217ve kept myself going is beyond me at times. All it takes is receiving one phone call for a job and I8217m recharged. I get out and do the job and enjoy it. Now my focus is less on what I don8217t know and more on what I can learn. The money I8217ve spent thus far is not a loss, it8217s the cost of education. It8217s an investment towards expanding my skills and knowledge. At the end of the day I8217m still further ahead than the person who is swimming in student loan debt. Any debt I do have is on the way down. Learning to run a business is becoming easier, the fear of the unknown continues to slip away. I may not be where I want to be with the business yet I haven8217t given up. As I keep taking steps forward my goal becomes ever more clearer. Plumbing is a traditional and accepted form of job. Any of my elders who have achieved what I plan to will no doubt see a greener version of themselves in my posting. Blogging on the other hand is only in it8217s in it8217s infancy yet people are already saying the market is too over saturated to get a foot in the door. If that were the case wouldn8217t the same be true for plumbing This trade is much older and could be called saturated yet it doesn8217t keep people like me from walking down the path to self employment. La Toya November 29, 2016, 2:15 pm Hi. I love this article. I think everything you said is very realistic. My question is, how do you make money off of these niche sites like yours that you posted I see them all the time on Pinterest, but can8217t really figure out how to warm an income with them. chris July 27, 2013, 6:23 am Very well put. Sometimes the best way to make more money is to do avery good job of whatever you are doing and either advance where you are or look for a position with more advancement potential. WageSlave July 25, 2013, 12:40 pm I love this post because I8217m nearing FI and already daydreaming about what I8217ll do when I leave my office job. So that8217s another spin on this article: even if you have a college degree andor are a burned-out from the standard workaday officecorporate job, this list is literally a goldmine. These ideas are not just for people who need work, but also for people who either want a change or a post-FI 8220hobby job8221. I suppose the key is their accessibility. Since a number of these jobs are of the manual labor sort, many readers might be interested in Matthew Crawford8217s book 8220Shopcraft as Soulcraft8221. Or, he has a very condensed article version, 8220The Case for Working With Your Hands8221, on NYT: nytimes20090524magazine24labor-t. htmlpagewantedall WageSlave July 25, 2013, 12:49 pm Another random idea, although it requires some start-up capital: tax lien investing. The idea is this: property tax delinquencies are generally auctioned by interest rate. So as an investor, you effectively pay someone8217s taxes, and now they owe you that amount plus whatever interest rate you 8220won8221 at auction. If they still don8217t pay, you may have a claim to their property. Big disclaimer: I8217ve never done this, only read about it. I just thought it sounded kind of fun. The challenge is researching which properties to bid on: you obviously don8217t want something in the ghetto or that is falling apart or has too big of a mortgage (if you become the owner of the property, you also inherit the mortgage). Also, the rules and procedures vary state to state. But apparently, something like 95 of delinquents pay, so typically all you do is collect interest on short-term loans. Elkbark July 25, 2013, 2:37 pm I8217m not aware of any county where the mortgage holder still has a claim on the property if they are foolish enough to allow a tax lien certificate holder to take possession. Saving mom July 26, 2013, 6:22 pm Depends on the jurisdiction and the redemption process provided by statute. Most of the time the mortgage holder will cure the delinquent taxes and the purchaser at the certificate sale will get a nice return. elkbark July 30, 2013, 7:54 pm I agree, that is the reason a certificate buyer rarely takes ownership of a property8230 It is almost always favorable for the property owner or one of their lesser lien-holders(mortgage holder) to cure the tax lien within a couple years, else they risk a total loss on their investment. Likewise, since most mortgage holders require an escrow arrangement for tax payments, it shouldn8217t be a surprise if the taxes aren8217t paid. ABC July 25, 2013, 12:52 pm Regarding 8220Good Old-Fashioned Manual Labor8221 add prostitution. Once you have a good reputation in an area with nice houses and good incomes, it is easy to earn over 1000 per session. Eliot Spitzer payed more than 10k. No formal training required, but it helps to work alongside another good sex worker for a year or two.. There have been some neat books and NYT articles on this subject recently. I was surprised to learn that it8217s not a universally unpleasant and demeaning job, to those who go into it willingly. CL July 25, 2013, 5:09 pm Yeah, it8217s a mixed bag. Your caveat at the end is spot-on 8211 it8217s totally fine for people who go into it willingly. With the way that our laws are set up, prostitutes who are unwilling and willing alike are reluctant to get some sunshine on what they are doing. Nick Kristof, one of my heroes and a great writer at the NYT, totally made a crazy argument about prostitution. He said that legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands resulted in black markets with the stuff that would never be legal, like child prostitutes and other taboo areas. I think that he got the cause-effect wrong. Those areas always exist and by legalizing prostitution, you can shine some light on what is ACTUALLY happening. There are some sex workers who are happy doing what they are doing and I8217ve read a bit from a sex worker who is in the ERE forums and she sounds totally fine. The stuff in the media tends to be about the awful times. Jamesqf July 25, 2013, 11:52 pm The basic problem here (as with some some other suggestions, but even more so) is that it8217s not something just anyone can go into with an expectation of success. Your earning potential is going to depend on your physical attractiveness, so you are not likely to get that 1Ksession unless you are in the upper few percent in that respect. And of course the opportunities for straight males are really limited :-) Kenoryn July 26, 2013, 8:23 am I remember reading an article a few years ago about a male escort company in Montreal. They had a staff of good looking, friendly, well-spoken men, reputable people backed by a company, not hired for sex, but as dates 8211 for the executive to bring to the company party, weddings, etc. I think they were mostly guys with a day job who did this on the side. No idea how much they made, but the woman running the company said there was a lot of demand. WageSlave July 25, 2013, 1:01 pm Regarding 13: Passive Income Guru. Technology blogger Robert X Cringely wrote a whole article about this back in 2009, 8220Parrot Secrets8221: cringely20090314parrot-secrets The teaser: guy writes simple ebook, pulls in over 400kyear. I think your life starts to change when you realize that a dollar is a dollar, and they all spend equally. I8217ve honestly encountered people who are more 8220impressed8221 because relative X is a doctor making 75,000 compared to relative Y who is a plumber making 125,000 per year. That is nuts Additionally, the one who is a plumber owns his own business, which means when he is ready to retire, he8217ll be able to sell his plumbing business for about 5x annual pre-tax profits as a nice little farewell present when he is done doing his work. When the doctor stops working, the income stream is over. There8217s no capitalized earnings there. Yet because of bullshit judgment standards, 8220society8221 is more impressed by the doctor. Screw that. We see it with stockpicking, too. People would rather make 100 owning something sexy like Apple compared to a company like Waste Management. Guess what8211a 5,000 investment that turns into 10,000 spends the same way. Money is amoral. If you buy a 150,000 house in cash, it doesn8217t matter whether that money came from selling dishwashers door to door or comes from working at a white-shoe law firm. A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. When you try to dress some of them up and begin to think that some dollars are more sexy than others, you8217re setting yourself up for disappointment because it is, by definition, irrational. That8217s my long way of saying, 8220Great Job, MMM, you nailed it.8221 CincyCat July 25, 2013, 3:31 pm Hear, hear If you make 50K plunging toilets, that is still 50K lining your pockets Personally, whenever I see a cabling or electrician8217s bill cross my desk at work, I am reminded that I8217m in the wrong line of work8230 Mariana July 25, 2013, 6:26 pm If money is the only thing that impresses you then, yes, someone working as a plumber making more than someone working as a doctor should be more impressive. Though I am super impressed at the hard work and commitment doctors have to apply to their schooling and residency8211it takes years and is no walk in the park. Interestingly enough, though, a plumber probably does more to maintain good health than most doctors. Imagine the illnesses we8217d all have if we had no functioning sewage system Joe Bleaux July 27, 2013, 8:54 pm Doctors can also sell their practices for millions, so don8217t think that their income just disappears when they retire. Some of them also own the real estate in which they practice, which also gives them good ROI. I8217m actually pretty surprised how many people think that the only way to make good money is to get a degree. In their line of thinking even if someone worked really hard learning all the same knowledge of programming but never got a degree, they do not deserve to get paid like some who went to University. It8217s very elitist and I do not agree with it. And if trades pays. well trades pay Who cares A dollar is a dollar Our economy needs it. You need to pay attention to what the economy needs and fill the need. Good for those that listened and went into trades I know people who complain about how they have a degree but they don8217t get paid enough for it. Yet they never enhance their skill set and push paper all day. I also know those that have no degree and keep working on different projects, sharpening their skill set. They get great job offers and get to move to the States to work for top companies. Should what you did for 4 years dictate your wage for the rest of your life Especially in a fast moving industry where skills need to be updated constantly I never went to college but have worked in the software industry for 10 years. I make 85k a year now, still no degree. Could I be making more if I had a degree Maybe, who knows I8217m going to be FI before any of my coworkers, then I might think about a degree, or maybe some alternatives, but not in software. Andrew July 25, 2013, 1:06 pm I have been doing private-tutoring on the side just to bring in extra income. It has come to a halt during the summer as I8217ve mostly been tutoring high school math subjects (Algebra, Geometry, etc.). I was only making about 20 an hour at it (I know that8217s WAY low for a private tutor but I was building my client base). At my busiest I pulled in about 300 a month. That8217s AFTER I got home from my day job as a Civil Engineer. I was nowhere near full schedule though. I easily could have taken on 5 or 6 more clients. I quit trying to find new clients because they kept finding me. I also built a sweet sandbox for my little guy w a lid that folds out into seats. I got so many positive comments on it that I decided to build and sell them. I8217ve now sold 4 for 200 each. They cost around 100 and 3-4 hours of time to build and make the sale by myself. (About 25 an hour) I got a buddy to help last time. We split the profit and spent 2 hours building it (I was teaching him. With practice, we could probably do it in an hour.), I made the sale and he delivered it. Still 25 an hour, but could be as much as 50 with practice. Alicia July 26, 2013, 7:29 am I8217ve gone the tutoring route as well. Made 25hr, but could have easily charged double than that (there are many who do), but I felt that 25 was decent enough as it was. Kenoryn July 26, 2013, 8:32 am Tutoring helped me to pay my expenses in university. I only charged 15 which seemed pretty good to me at the time I found it rewarding to see a student 8216get it8217 and their grades start to go up. Abby July 27, 2013, 6:51 am I do test prep tutoring on the side (for grad school level standardized exams 8212 GMAT, LSAT, GRE). I charge 150hr, which is probably too low for the market. The big companies bill out 3 or 4 times that much to students, but pass on less to their teachers. I work as a production assistant on films and tv shows. The work is not always consistent and the pay is low (and the hours are nuts 8212 at least 70week), but PAs work to become assistant directors. ADs average between 150k and 500kyear. Right now, I supplement my income with freelance writing on a site called Squidoo, which is an awesome source of passive income once my pages start bringing in traffic and affiliate sales. win July 29, 2013, 10:24 am How did you become a production assistant Are you in Los Angeles I went to college (associate8217s for Americans) for Advertising and took one class which taught me Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc. I then became interested in web design and did a 1 year course in it. Web design has now evolved to web development. I largely taught myself all these skills at home. To make good money you need to figure out which skills are most in demand (hint: check job postings with big salaries). Then pick up a book, or find a web tutorial and keep at it I also create websites other people can use like: mybestapartments. ca Which is an apartment rentals website in Canada. My husband does IT support for a mining company and that pays well too. 80K salaries in web design and development are attainable in Toronto area. They are higher in some states, like San Francisco, Colorado, etc. And lower in others like Florida. Hilda July 25, 2013, 1:34 pm During the university I used to teach english (does not require a degree if you are a private tutor). It is possible for engineers to teach math, for example. People with manual skill like sewing and knitting can sell what they make in Etsy. I myself sew and knit when I have to give a gift to a friend or relative. It does not create money, but it saves me some money as a present bought at a store would be much more expensive. People can also sell these things in local markets. There are people who pay you to walk with their dogs (they do not have the time). Here in Brazil we have something called 8220taxi dog8221, in case you need someone to pick up your pet for you at the vet, or if you need to send them to some place for any reason. Taxi dogs charge A LOT. Another option is to take care of elderly people, or children. It is possible to charge a lot of money for the service if you work for rich customers. One more option: be a hairdresser. It does not require an university degree, just the course and some training, and it is possible to make good money. The hours are flexible and one can work on weekends. Here in Brazil there is a service of going to somebody8217s house or office for manicure, so the person does not have to drive to the beauty parlor. Tons of money to provide this service. I8217d say the western world is getting better for people who want to take the path less travelled. People are getting worse at things and losing what used to be basic knowledge (this plant is dying8230what do I do). There8217s so much room for people to create a niche solving tiny problems that have developed from this ignorance. I8217ve taken a different route, I graduated from Engineering, got a job, left the job and am now working on a startup. Going for the moonshot Johnny Aloha July 25, 2013, 1:39 pm I have 2 friends who are carpenters builders. I think they earn well over 50hr since they are under 40 and quite successful. One has a paid off house (value 750k) and enjoys nice long, frequent vacations. They have done well by following a couple VERY simple rules: communicate well with the client even when there are delays and problems, and do quality work even if it takes longer. They have built good reputations and have a 1 year backlog for work They also pick clients and only work in exclusive neighborhoods. Dave July 25, 2013, 2:57 pm I concur on the customer service aspect of all service businesses. Having attempted to hire some work done recently: 2 contractors didn8217t return the initial voice messages, 1 gave a quote for the wrong thing and then disappeared, and 1 didn8217t give the quote after having a look around. Susan July 30, 2013, 11:20 am I have to agree with this, too. There is a dearth of skilled, hard-working, available carpenters, roofers, handy-people in my area. I had to call around to several places just to get someone to provide an estimate for work I needed done, and in the end, only two people actually showed up to do the estimate. Ryan July 25, 2013, 2:00 pm I8217ll add one to this list: IT System Administrator. Me and a friend of mine are both in the same field, I started ahead of him but was slowed down in college. He didn8217t go to college (barely graduated HS), and accelerated in the field faster than me and is now making 130k. I8217m catching up but it definitely makes me second guess my decision to go to college. CincyCat July 25, 2013, 3:42 pm I agree completely All you have to do is get the certificate, and you can hang up a shingle as a 8220certified8221 system administrator for XYZ piece of technology. I agree with this one too. I had a friend who took less than a year of school and then went into IT admin to make 80K in 1 or 2 years. My husband did all the certificates and is now starting with that salary. Granted I8217ve also heard of people making lower than this as an IT admin too. So not all people make this money. But you can make great money with very little education. I am a web developer and it took more years to get up to that level. Eldred December 20, 2013, 11:14 pm Does your friend work for someone else, or run his own business I do desktop support, but I got laid off in 2012 from a 74K position. After being unemployed for 13 months, I finally got another job, but had to take a cut down to 55K, and now I see a way to increase that anytime soon. I8217d love to make 100K(even if only for a few years), but I don8217t know how to do that yet8230 Leave a Reply To keep things non-promotional, please use a real name or nickname (not Blogger My Blog Name) The most useful comments are those written with the goal of learning from or helping out other readers 8211 after reading the whole article and all the earlier comments. Complaints and insults generally won8217t make the cut here, but by all means write them on your own blogReviving Blue Collar Work: 4 Myths About the Skilled Trades Consider the reality of todays job market. We have a massive skills gap. Even with record unemployment, millions of skilled jobs are unfilled because no one is trained or willing to do them. Meanwhile unemployment among college graduates is at an all-time high, and the majority of those graduates with jobs are not even working in their field of study. Plus, they owe a trillion dollars in student loans. A trillion And still, we push a four-year college degree as the best way for the most people to find a successful career - Mike Rowe For better or for worse, what we do for a living often defines us. Its one of the first questions we ask people when we meet them for the first time. Its where we will end up spending 90,000 hours of our life, over the course of 40-some years. Unfortunately, most people count themselves as unhappy with their work (by two to one worldwide). Pop culture endlessly makes fun of the drone-like office employee, and yet thats where most of us are. Is there a better way Are there careers that would engage us, provide for us, and make us happier The answer is a resounding yes, but with an important caveat: young men should expand their search for such a career beyond the white collar gigs that are pitched to most of us from our first day of secondary ed. For modern high school students, the default path is graduating from high school, going on to a four-year college, and then finding work in an office (in fact, there are nearly twice as many business degrees handed out as any other single degree). But college simply isnt for everyone. And neither is a lifetime of sitting at a desk. Luckily, theres a world of satisfying, good paying jobs beyond the cubicle wall. Today we will begin a 3-part series encouraging young men (or older men looking for a career change) to consider learning a trade. In this first article, Ill point out four of the common myths and stereotypes surrounding the trades. In the second article, Ill get into the benefits of being in the trades (of which there are many). After that, well get into the nitty-gritty about how to find careers in skilled labor. Then once the series is done, well do a bunch of So You Want My Job interviews with skilled laborers in order to get a personal, inside look at what its really like to work as a tradesman. Lets get started by exploring the myths that have made the path of blue collar work something most young men dont even contemplate taking. The 4 Myths of Skilled Labor Welders, plumbers, electricians, machinists 8212 theyre in higher demand now, and have greater benefits, than they ever have. While our nation endures record unemployment for young people, there are literally thousands upon thousands of trades jobs available (very good jobs, mind you) that go untaken because there arent skilled laborers to take them. This wasnt always the case, though. A century ago, the nations workforce looked much different. In 1900, 38 of all workers were farmers, with another 31 in other trades such as mining, manufacturing, construction, etc. Only about 30 of the workforce labored in service industries (defined as providing intangible goods). Fast forward 100 years, and you see almost the exact reverse. In 1999, over 75 of the labor pool worked in the service industry (most often in an office), and farming saw a precipitous decline to a mere 3, and other trades down to 19. While the number of laborers in the skilled trades has sharply declined, theres still a great need for this type of work. These blue collar men and women literally keep our nations infrastructure intact from our electrical systems, to our plumbing, and even the nuts and bolts that keep our buildings together. There is an ever-widening skills gap occurring in our nation because of the fact that young people arent considering those careers. This means there are good jobs available, but no talent to fill them. Its for this reason that Mike Rowe, former host of the popular show Dirty Jobs . is advocating for a return to blue collar work through his foundation and scholarship fund. And its not just him high schools across the country have begun to recognize the need for skilled work, and are becoming career training centers rather than simply liberal arts institutions that exist solely to prepare students for college. State politicians are campaigning and recruiting on behalf of construction companies, because state-funded projects simply cant find tradesmen to weld or to install elevators. There is good work and good money to be had in the trades, so why arent more young people picking up their hard hats I talked with Kevin Simpson from Pickens Technical College. as well as a couple folks from Emily Griffith Technical College (both here in the Denver area), to find out their take. What do these colleges see as the main culprit Stereotypes. Our nations workers are holding on to stereotypes about blue collar work and about trades that may have been true fifty years ago, but simply arent the case anymore. There are a number of myths that folks hold about skilled trades careers lets take a look and get to work dismantling them: Myth 1: Blue-collar work is beneath white-collar work. My plea, then, is that the country school should make farm labor and all labor honorable should dignify it should show that the environment of the country furnishes inexhaustible resources for intellectual life. - Francis Parker, The Country School Problem . 1897 Blue collar and white collar are two sides of the same coin, and as soon as we view one as more valuable than the other, well have infrastructure that falls down, well have a skills gap. - Mike Rowe Since ancient times, manual labor has been looked upon as a job for slaves for the lesser. The upper classes did their work with their minds 8212 philosophized, ran cities and nations, sold goods (though for a long time even merchants were looked down upon, since in handling money they were inferior to those who made their living purely through cognition). Egyptians, Greeks, white Americans in the 1800s 8212 these groups of people spurned physical labor, and forced others to do it for them. It was hard . and as our human tendency is to seek comfort where we can, it was a mark of status to be above it. During the industrialization period at the turn of the 20 th century, manual labor lost some of its stigma. It was where the economy was going, it was where most of the jobs were, and there was the sense of it being absolutely essential to the building up of the countrys quickly expanding roads and cities. As learning a trade was a definite step up from being a cog in the factory system that had arisen in the 1800s, skilled craftsmen gained a greater measure of respect. After WWII, however, more and more folks began enrolling in 4-year colleges, spurred on in large part by vets getting their tuition taken care of by the US government through the GI Bill. Virtually unlimited free education Who wouldnt take that deal If you could make a living with your mind and not have to physically work hard, all the better. As the 4-year education trend gained steam, teachers and administrators began to play more of an advisory role towards students, helping them decide where to go, which colleges they could get into, etc. These counselors guided their best and brightest students towards prestigious 4-year institutions, while shuttling poorer performing students towards tech or vocational schools. Learning a trade became thought of as the career track for those who couldnt hack it in college, and no young man wanted to think of himself as second-rate. The increasing number of college graduates coincided with an economy that was shifting from manufacturing and agriculture to a more intellectual and service-oriented market. Today, over three-quarters of Americans work in some kind of white collar position. Thus, with the image of blue collar work diminishing and the market for white collar jobs expanding, it began to be cultural dogma that if a young person wanted a good, respectable, well-paying job, the only option was to go to college. More education was always seen as better, the assumption being that the more education someone has, the smarter they are, and the better job or life theyll have later on. Trades, on the other hand, often require less schooling (by about half, in most cases, but sometimes as little as a third or quarter as much), and so this career path became associated with lesser prospects for success. Thus, by the latter third of the 20 th century, both the respectability and desirability of learning a trade had greatly diminished, while the distance between white and blue collar workers had exponentially grown. Yet this belief that different work means lesser work, is hardly inviolable. And its about time we questioned it, and asked, What defines better anyway, in terms of a career Trades jobs have in many cases become better paying and more stable than most office jobs. In the past, it was a sign of cultural status to be a businessman rather than a lowly factory worker. As our economy shifted to the service sector, the difference between wages and quality of life was great enough that being a businessman really was a better job. But today, in many trades or blue collar professions, those gaps are simply no longer present based on how we define good jobs 8212 largely in terms of pay, stability, autonomy, benefits, work-life balance, etc. Further, learning a trade need not mean that youre not cut out for college, or that your mind is second-rate. You can be quite smart and still choose to make your living with your hands. The idea that you can either be an intelligent white-collar worker, or a dumb blue collar brute, is an extremely false dichotomy. You could easily be an electrician during the day, and a devourer of the great books by night. So too, it simply isnt the case that your day-to-day work in the trades wont engage your mind: Myth 2: Blue-collar work isnt creative or intellectually stimulating. Another barrier to the trades is that there is a false notion that the work is mindless and tedious. Young people today want to be intellectually stimulated by what they do they want to be creative and innovative, like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. The desire to create is a worthy one and is actually a defining marker of maturity. The issue is that we limit ourselves in how we think we can attain those qualities in our workplace. Surely it can only happen in a modern, minimalist office with a Mac and iPhone at hand, a big whiteboard on the wall, and fancy coffee at the ready, right How on earth could creativity happen in a blue uniform with an auger in hand, getting to intimately know the inside a toilet The reality is that any job in the world includes mindless and tedious tasks. Thats just how it goes. In fact, a lot of office jobs are more tedious than youd expect. A recent study showed that a staggering 90 of office workers waste time during the day on non-work-related activities 8212 largely, surfing the web. Makes sense, though, doesnt it Nobody can be fully productive over the course of an 8-hour workday. Perhaps whats more surprising is that over 60 are wasting at least an hour at work, and 30 are wasting 2 hours. Why is this The vast majority state that theyre either unchallenged, unsatisfied with their work, or are plain bored . Does that sound like an invigorating, stimulating workplace It could pretty easily be argued that the trades offer more intellectual stimulation than the majority of office or even entrepreneurial jobs out there. Think about the residential plumber or electrician. Hes out and about all day, seeing new places, meeting new people, and grappling with new problems. There could be any number of issues as to why a toilet isnt unclogging or why a particular outlet isnt working. The tradesman will start off testing the standard issues and fixes, and if that doesnt work hell utilize increasingly complex troubleshooting procedures to determine the root cause of a problem. Hes executing problem solving skills and quick thinking in a way that many of us in white collar jobs never have to. The skilled trades simply offer a different type of creative outlet than a job with a startup in a trendy office. Thats what Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft . found to be the case. After going to college and taking a mind-numbing white collar job, he discovered that being a motorcycle mechanic actually provided him far more stimulation and satisfaction than he had ever gotten working behind a desk: The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, because he has no real effect in the world. But the tradesman must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where ones failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away. His well-founded pride is far from the gratuitous self-esteem that educators would impart to students, as though by magic. Myth 3: You have to follow your passion, and welding isnt your passion. Follow your dreams is a phrase that our culture is in love with these days. The idea is that in high school or college youll realize what you love to do, and then get an education that follows so that you can have your dream job. What this actually ends up doing though is simply filling teens and twentysomethings with a whole lot of angst about what to do with their lives. When options are seemingly limitless, we have a really hard time choosing. We end up thinking that our lives are ruined if we dont find that one thing we really love doing. Thankfully, and although this is extremely hard to realize sometimes, your life isnt limitless. The reality is that most people, especially in their late teens and early twenties, have no idea what they actually want to do. But because of the stereotypes that surround blue collar work, they go to business or law school by default, because having an office job is better than being an elevator technician. How could anyone possibly be passionate about fixing elevators The answer to that might surprise you. Theres a lot of work being done to show that passion or fulfillment in your workplace doesnt come through following your dreams, but a whole host of factors that are very different from that outdated advice. In fact, research is finding that passion follows hard work and being good at what you do, rather than precedes it. What this means practically is that if you grease your elbows and master the trade of being a plumber, youll actually come to enjoy your work. The truth is that our passion ends up being a combination of what were good at and what we work hard at. Fulfillment at work is more about mastery and autonomy and balance than about a pre-existing passion. Love for your work rarely springs from fulfilling a built-in burning desire in your heart to do that one thing in the world and that one thing only. In fact, turning a hobby youre passionate about into a job is often a surefire way to kill that burning desire good and dead. To learn more about the myth of finding your passion, I cannot suggest strongly enough that you listen to Bretts podcast with author Cal Newport. Its one of my favorite AoM podcasts of all time, and one I think every teenager and twentysomething (and beyond, really) should listen to. Myth 4: Dirty, hard work is undesirable work. In Mike Rowes new book, Profoundly Disconnected . he tells the story of being in his high school guidance counselors office in the late 1970s and seeing the above poster. Work smart, not hard. While the sentiment may have been more akin to Hard work alone is good, but being smart is important, too the high school student probably read it as, Yes I dont have to work hard if Im smart The students who saw these posters in the late 70s and early 80s are now running companies and passing that belief onto younger generations, even if in subconscious ways. Beyond those CEOs, there are authors, podcasters, lifehackers 8212 all advocating working smarter rather than harder, thereby bypassing the menial, boring stuff. Heck, you can work a 4-hour week and make millions (Or so is claimed.) Thankfully, with Mike Rowes help, that message is being put in its rightful place: the garbage. Hes replacing it with a new message: Work smart AND hard. The truth is that the world belongs to those who hustle. Ambition without elbow grease wont get you anywhere. Even this generations career heroes 8212 the late Steve Jobs, Zuck, Richard Branson 8212 work(ed) insanely hard at their jobs. You only see glitz, but theyve burned more than their fair share of midnight oil. Yeah, you think, but working hard with your brain sounds better than working hard with your brawn. Its true that there are different kinds of hard work, but theyre both hard in their own way. Each type of hard has its own pros and cons, and the hardness of physical labor doesnt automatically make anyone less happy than the difficulty in typing at a computer all day. Over the course of Mike Rowes stint as host of Dirty Jobs . he came to discover something very interesting about hard, dirty work. Before he started that job, when he was in the brainstorming phase of the show, he expected the people he ran into to really hate their work. But one after another, almost without fail, they loved it. He in fact called them the happiest group of people hes ever seen . Ill repeat: passion for your work will follow your working hard at something and achieving mastery in it. Swinging a hammer every day is never going to be as hard as filing TPS reports from 9-5, if youre hating every single minute of it. Beyond hard work, many trades are also simply dirty and grimy. Weve recently highlighted our cultures obsession with being clean. Antibacterial soaps and boiling stuff rule the day. This attitude carries over into how we view work. We want things to be neat and tidy and minimalist, just like that clean and beautiful Apple laptop sitting on your clean desk. When we grow up uber-clean as children, we end up with an aversion to stuff thats dirty or gross. And the reality is that a lot of tradesmen end the day with dirty hands. While there are some trades that dont get grimy, Kevin Simpson estimates that about 90 do. Plumbers, electricians, construction workers 8212 these are jobs where you shower at the end of your day, not the beginning. In a sterile society, dirty jobs become undesirable. Perhaps thats why their pay is increasing and job demand in the trades is higher than ever before. Mike Rowe believes that our culture is heading to a point where an hour of plumbing is going to cost more than an hour with the psychologist. If you can get over your fear of dirt, grime, and sweat, you have the potential to make a far better living than your office-dwelling peers. And you may even discover that it feels good to be using your body and hands every day, that its satisfying to be in touch with the elements, even when those elements are grimy, and that nothing feels better than taking a well-earned shower when you actually have dirt to clean off. Weve now covered the myths of working in the trades. In a couple weeks, well get into the benefits and why every young man, or anyone considering a career move, should look at skilled labor. For now, Ill leave you with a beautiful ode to manual labor in the form of an excerpt from a speech given by Luciano Palogan to the Philippine School of Arts and Trades in 1910: Nothing great or good can be accomplished without labor and toil. The days when manual labor was looked upon as a disgrace and the time when it was considered as the occupation of the degraded man have passed away. The days have disappeared when the student walked a block to call a 8220muchacho8221 to carry his books to school. And the unsoiled, soft, and cushion-like hands, the pride of the young man a few years ago, have gone out of fashion. The Filipino has turned over a new leaf. He now realizes that manual labor is not a disgrace but an honor that it is not manual labor that places the man in a low rank among men in society, but it is manual labor that raises him to a higher standard of life. Manual labor squeezes the sweat out of the muscles and roughens the hands, but in turn it restores strength and increases their size. Roughness of the hands and scorchings of the sun on the face are the truest badge that a man can wear to show that he belongs to the great society of the workers and not of drones. Read the Entire Series Last updated: November 10, 2016