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  1. #1
    Sea Torques
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    BG Career: Getting out of the sticks

    Well, I've seen multiple medical and law posts but can't really remember seeing one specifically about careers. Since I'm in the market for a new career and every other story on the news is about how crappy the job market/economy is, I figured I'd throw this out there and see what sticks.


    Right now I am fortunate that I have a good job. I've had it for 12 years. It's a desk job. It's in the air conditioning. My employer owns the house I live in. He pays most of the bills as part of my salary. It has a pension plan and health insurance. The salary is more than enough to support a family of 4. The only problem is that it is in Louisiana.

    There are many reasons other than the 107 degree heat for wanting to move away from here.

    1) 48th in roads/49th in education/49th in graduation rate/47th in standard of living/etc doesn't begin to tell the tale (Thank you Mississippi for keeping us out of last). We have a 50% graduation rate. Currently schools are rezoned every year to dilute poor students into good schools so the poor schools can stay just above the 'minimum requirements'. That's not fixing a problem, that's just hiding it until it is a bigger problem.

    2) To see a concert/football game/baseball game/anything we have to pack up and drive 4 hours to Dallas. The only thing we get is a state fair and when the fair comes to Louisiana the workers actually increase our literacy rate.

    3) Living within driving distance of my wife's hick family is not ideal. We are both ready for a change.

    Basically, we are exploring what it would look like to move to a better place. The only problem is that my job doesn't really exist many other places. So basically if we are going to get out of here I'm going to need a new career. Here are the things I have working for and against me:

    For:

    **I have a college and master's degree
    **12 years stable work experience with one company in a supervisory position
    **$50,000ish in savings that can be used for education or a down payment, etc
    **A wife with a master's in counseling (but needs further supervised hours for licensing)
    **A job currently that is flexible and would allow me the time to go to school/training for 1-3 years.
    **No debt with 2 reliable cars that are paid in full.

    Against:

    **My degrees are liberal artsish
    **2 kids which will make a big change a bit tougher
    **36 years old so getting up there in years for considering going back to school etc
    **Do not like blood, needles, etc....basically anything in the medical field is out


    I really think I can learn just about anything in 3 years. I made the MENSA cutoff, and although I didn't set the world on fire with my grades when I was young, I was pretty much 97%+ on just about any standardized test with little or no prep. I know absolutely nothing about computers but would be willing to learn. Basically, what I am looking for is a career that when I am done with training/school I could move to whatever place we thought was best to raise our children and find something in a 30 mile radius. Obviously at 36 doing 3 years of pre-requisites then 7 more years of med/specialist school is out of the question. But even something as involved as pharmacy school is on the table.

    So what career path provides a good living, is in demand both now and for the foreseeable future, and has the ability to take us where we will never see another Stuckey's ever again?


    pre-edit: Oh, and the people I have talked to always seem to mention finding 'what you are passionate about'. Well, I'm passionate about being productive whether that is crunching numbers or laying railroad track. I'm passionate about providing for my family. Really everything is on the table as far as I'm concerned.

  2. #2
    Banned.

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    CPA

  3. #3
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    What the hell is your job? Disaster relief? What is your master's in? Seriously, find a nice job elsewhere, live in an apartment or duplex for a year and hold onto your savings so you have something to fall back on if the risk falls through. It sounds like your biggest issue is failure to just step off the ledge.

    I threw away law school and went to nursing school at 25. Huge risk, and downgrade in pay. However, I'll get my CRNA or DNAP, make 150K+ and have the flexibility to live just about anywhere in the US I want with little issue of finding work. If you don't take risks, you're going to cement yourself where you are.

  4. #4
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    Problem one can be solved with a private school. Problem 2 solves itself because dallas fucking sucks. And I share your pain with problem 3.

  5. #5
    Bagel
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    What are your interests? What kind of job do you want? For what companies would you like to work? In what areas of the country are you interested?

  6. #6
    The Shitlord
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    Become a stripper.

  7. #7

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    Could always do clerical work in the medical field, no needles..no blood, just paperwork.

  8. #8
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    Isn't there a huge surge in demand in technology jobs and they can't find enough people to fill them?
    Why don't you go study computer science? My university has an option for grads to go back and get a bachelor of computer science in 2 years. See if there's any options like that for you?

  9. #9
    It's sooo veiny
    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    Well I too can vouch for the suckage that is living in Louisiana. I had a similar situation about a year and a half ago. Six years at my job making enough money to support a family of six comfortably. (also my younger sister who is finishing her masters) But living here just blows its a 4hr drive to find anything meh to do and an 8hr+ drive to find anything good to do. So I made the leap transferred jobs and moved to Florida. A year later we were back in Louisiana . Florida was great though, within an hour and a half drive from the gulf/atlantic beaches disney world/Universal etc but I found out quick the economy in Florida is horrible, there just wasnt enough work to sustain the lifestyle we wanted so 30k later we moved back.

    As shitty as Louisiana is the job market is actually decent here compared to other places for most job fields. (obviously I cant speak if thats true for everywhere)

    The thing you need to prepare your family for the most is if they are going to be able to handle living somewhere new, where they dont know anyone or anything, this part seemed easy because of how shitty louisiana is but depending on how long you have lived here it is home, and familiar and you know everything and are comfortable. Do you have extended family ties here? If so that can be another hurdle for your family.

    Best advice is to find areas you desire to live do lots of research on the economy and job market in those places for what you want to do and find people who live around those areas and get as much info as you can. Also talk to your wife and kids and make sure they are ready for the adjustment that lies ahead. Goodluck!

  10. #10
    Relic Weapons
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tyche View Post
    I threw away law school and went to nursing school at 25.
    Murse.

  11. #11
    The Anti Miz
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    Quote Originally Posted by solanis View Post
    CPA
    Do it. Then move to DC suburbs, its recession proof as fuck and the big 4 are all in Tysons Corner. Then you can send your kids to UVA or William and Mary or UMD.

  12. #12

    CPA is a pretty reliable path to go down.

    They're needed everywhere, across every major and even nearly all minor cities. Very competitive starting salary, typically good benefits, and lots of potential for salary increases.

    Also, with the big four accounting firms, having 12 years of experience in one job looks particularly good. Job hopping/career-switching can be notorious in this field. Those firms hire for the long-term, and put a lot of money into training and getting people early on and keeping them for as long as possible. As long as you can clearly explain your reasoning for leaving your previous job (don't want to give the impression you're going through a job-hopping/mid-life-crisis type phase), ace whatever additional schooling you opt for, and ace the CPA exam... you'll be more than fine.

    But, it's important to consider the downsides in this career as well.

    Starting in a CPA career, the competition is very high, but again... if you're as intelligent and determined as you say you are, and you can make yourself stand out in the crowd, you'll be fine. As a starter in this field, you also essentially will be 'the bitch' for the first 1-2 years with many companies (especially the larger). It's a very 'climb the corporate ladder' type position. There's also decent probability for you to be asked to travel.

    That stuff aside, one other issue:

    I don't think $50k is quite enough to jump ship yet, at least not while supporting a family. The worst thing you could do is have to quit mid-way through and/or come up short after burning all your money... this is by far the most common mistake with people that try to make some major mid-life career/profession change.

    The way you make it sound you definitely want to move to a more urban area too, which means a much higher standard of living than you're likely not accustomed to out in the sticks. So, keep that in mind.

    I'd seriously consider running the math for a worse-case-scenario in expenses, to ensure you have more than enough. I don't know your finances, so it's tough for me to say what you should shoot for... but I'm certain only $50k to live, educated yourself on, and support a full family with for that time wouldn't really be enough at all.

  13. #13
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timwakefield View Post
    Murse.
    around 50% of anesthetists are male. plus, it's a dump truck of money and job security for life.

  14. #14
    Relic Shield
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    Should just move to Dallas - lots of Louisiana refugees here it seems. Also given your qualifications and savings you could probably land a career pretty quickly. Find groups of professionals similar to the line of work you're looking to get into (give your experience) and get to know some of them. Dallas has people from all over so in general people here are pretty friendly and welcome new people. The housing market is good here as well, just moved out of a nice 3 bedroom home we were renting that was 20 minutes north of Downtown Dallas (Richardson area) for only $1175 a month. Good luck finding value like that so close to everything in a major city on either coast.

  15. #15
    Ifrit's lolCudgel
    QQing is what I do best

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    What is your career/do you enjoy what you do? Look for similar positions in other cities. Inquire with companies while you are still employed, I avoid against just picking up and moving. It's much easier to get a job when you are currently employed.

    Also look to move somewhere you want to spend the next 10 years or so, to minimize the impact on your kids.

  16. #16

    Could try your hand at electrical/plumbing and all that jazz as a handyman and contractor. That's what my father in law has been doing here in MD for 13 odd years, and he's gotten me and my brother in law into it, my brother in law even started his own business out of it. We basically drive around each day, fixing the problems of so called "professional" installations. None of us have a license, but then again from the shit we see even people with the license's don't know shit about what they are doing (lol @ running drain line to an outside wall before going into the basement).

    Granted to do this work you've gotta get in with people and make a name for yourself so it would be hard to start up but well worth it once you get going. Every day we do something new, or have to troubleshoot some new problem, so it's always different and interesting. We don't charge as much as we could, but some charge upwards of 75-100$/hr with a min 4hr price tag even to visit a location.

  17. #17
    New Spam Forum
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    Have you considered starting your own business? You could esentially do it wherever you wanted to live. Sounds like you're a smart person who is financially responsible. Find something you enjoy doing and start working on a business plan.

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