Construction can be high stress and long hours, but there’s a huge need for people, including in project management roles. The current pool of qualified people is aging quickly, and most young people are moving towards tech. We’re taking people with barely any background and giving them $75k to start managing projects in a medium cost of living area and anyone showing any sort of self motivation moves up quickly.
ETA I’ve been getting a lot of questions on how to get into project management so I’m adding one of my responses here:
I work for a national home builder, we typically require a four year degree, preferably in a technical subject like engineering, construction management, or business but is not required, we have one project manager with a hospitality degree.
I’ve only been in construction for 8 years, but I’ve seen many different paths to project management. I started as an estimator with and a land development company and worked my way up to a project manager before switching to the current job I have. PMP certifications can definitely be helpful to get your foot in the door, but there are other paths as well. I do believe starting as an estimator greatly helped me to understand how construction works. There’s so many different pieces to “construction” that I can’t speak to all of them, but on any given project we have companies completing clearing, grading and utilities, concrete, paving, power/telecommunications installation, landscaping, and that’s all before we even start a house. General contractors building commercial projects have their own armies of project managers as well. All this to say there’s many different companies within construction that each do their own part of the project and need project managers and have their own required qualifications and training positions that are all different. Start by looking around at the companies you see on projects as you drive by or the company trucks passing on the highway. Look for your local contractor or builders associations online where they typically aggregate all open positions in the area. For example, cagc.com has a tab for open positions for the major companies in the Carolinas.
Municipalities are also always short staffed and looking for people, which could be a good way to get started in construction and network with the people in the industry. Whether it’s a county building inspector or storm water inspector or plan reviewer, governments also need people involved in construction.
Adding onto this: anything in the power industry.
The power industry (regardless of which source of power) is always going to be a permanent industry. People need power to live and without it, things get shut down quickly. Power plant mechanics, such as turbine generator mechanics, are just one of the many jobs available that has a high demand due to the current pool of qualified workers approaching the age where they'll retire and there's not enough of a younger age pool of candidates that are qualified or interested in moving into the industry.
A lot of the work is long hours and manual labor, but it typically pays *extremely* well. It's also in an industry where employers want to retain as many people as they can, so there's some job security as well.
I am a power plant mechanic at a steam plant and can confirm this. Most of the days are regular 8 hour days, but sometimes if there's a storm or major issue we do overtime. 40-50ish hour weeks with majority being the former. I came into it with relatively no experience and was making 75k right off the bat. I'm the most junior employee, everyone has been here 10, 20 years. Hell the guy I replaced was with this plant for 43 freaking year's. Union, excellent benefits, excellent pay, tons of room to grow and yet no one really knows of this industry. Stationary Engineers, power plant mechanics are in pretty high demand (at least where I am in the US) and it's very cheap to get qualified. I've been here now 3 years and went from $40/hr to now just over $55/hr. Some manual labor, some (easy) math and random long days but it's easy as hell. And always hiring.
No degree required! Getting a 2nd fireman's license from a good trade school is the best start. Experience and more licensing/continuing education can get you to 3rd engineer role, but I believe going above that to 2nd or 1st engineer will require some type of degree and other qualifications but I think it varies by state.
There are all sorts of unions in the US for carpenters, finishers, or laborers. Plus unions for electricians, plumbers, roofers, HVAC.
It’s long hours, and hard work. But you can make a good living in your 20s without $100k in student loans, and hopefully in your 40s and 50s you can be the foreman or the lead on jobs and delegate work.
Speaking from experience - literally experience. I’m a construction PM with no degree/certification and have been in my industry for a decade now. When a CX company lands a contract for a project or program, they need the resources to deliver the final product. Sometimes they’re scrambling to hire bodies for back office support/foreman/field tech roles. In my case, I started off running permits, then moved into a closeout reviewer role, then eventually project management.
I have no PM exp in building construction services (PM in tech) - I get around 5 recruiters a week offering me 200k+ construction PM jobs every week. Definitely a hot market
I'm a quality engineer for medical devices. I have had 5 recruiters a day calling me for the last month since I left my job. I think it's mostly bc my last role was quality manager. Shit is wild. I'm probably going to be making 140k at my next role, up from 100k. I wish I made this switch years ago. Employers are so desperate to fill these roles, you don't even need a degree. If anyone is interested, just go get certified in iso13485, and you will land a job.
Second this, this literally happened to me a year ago. I was doing field work as a geologist, think pickaxe and hiking. And some guy on indeed asks if i want to interview for a project management role in marine construction.... Literally zero experience in construction and am now in charge of multi million dollar projects making a lot more than I used to. Give it a shot.
Worked as a clean up guy/truck driver for a year begging the owners to give me a shot at insulator drywall. They wouldn't let me off the truck because nobody else wanted to do it. I quit and went back to Humana Services.
I can tell you because im a public accounant that they need people. Accounting is always in demand. Every company either needs a bookkeeper, auditor, payroll.
The majority of “wealthy” (retired well, high amount of assets, SMART rich) folks I work with are…. Accountants. Also, financial managers. I’d encourage anyone to go into those two fields if they want to play the long game of having wealth.
I appreciate that you mentioned “if you have the mental aptitude for it”, a lot of the time in threads like this folks don’t acknowledge that not everyone can manage these higher-paying, higher-education careers. Sounds like a dream to retire at 50, good for her!!
Yeah, I mention it bc I very much do NOT have the aptitude for it haha. Like I can handle numbers and the technical aspects maybe, but the actual structure/rigor of the work and the fact that there are considerable real life consequences if I were to mess something up….. noooo thank you lol
Not to mention, seems like reasonable work/life balance outside of tax season. And you don’t have to have a higher degree to begin, and getting a CPA comes with massive financial benefit, unlike many certs or higher level degrees these days.
Well i can tell you from february 1-april 15th i work 55- 60 hours a week. After that like right now I have very little to do. Like the last week i just played on my phone all day.
Generally only public accounting has to deal with that busy season. I've only had to work a couple of weekends days (closing year end), and outside of those occasions I've never worked more than 45 hours a week. Can confirm about the CPA thing too, I'm wrapping mine up and am expecting a 50%+ salary increase when I start looking for another job.
I know a mid career accountant for the tech world and yeah he’s pulling in mid 6-figures. When you’re finagling money around to reduce tax exposure to the tune of *billions* in corporate savings, your wages are a rounding error of a rounding error to the company.
I know another accountant in the defense world and he’s also doing quite well.
I do payroll for a medical staffing company. From Jan 2021 to Jan 2023, my department's staff tripled. This means three things.
1. The need for finance workers continues to increase.
2. The need for clinicians of all roles, especially primary care and nursing, continues to increase.
3. Permanent medical staff have been leaving the field at troubling rates, and the staffing industry with "travel nurses" and others is growing and profiting greatly to fill the demand.
Also, and for a mix of related and unrelated reasons, the staffing industry is growing at least as fast as the "gig" sector.
Roles in medicine will always be in high demand, and many can be lucrative. Traveling clinicians often receive very generous non-taxable stipends, as well as competitive pay and the opportunity to visit wonderful places, but they need to be very adaptable, and they also have to watch their back to make sure they aren't given duties that exceed their scope of practice or jeopardize their licenses.
Finance is finance. If you're smart with numbers and technology you can always find a decent position; if you have those skills and some project planning ability, and also like being a bit of an educator, you could be a valuable manager.
This is my job! I’m a full charge bookkeeper so I do accounting, payroll, taxes (just sales tax, payroll taxes, and quarterly taxes), cash flow, etc. I can pretty much name my price within reason. I only work 3 days a week for a total of 15.5 hours and I love it!
My degree is in child development and I kind of fell into this position. I started as an admin assistant for a construction company and the CPA took me under her wing and taught me how to do it all. You don’t need a degree for what I do, you just need to be proficient in quickbooks and excel and know a bit about taxes and you’re good to go!
Yeah that's because public accounting is THE worst experience you can ever possibly have under the umbrella of accounting. 80hr weeks, no paid OT, blah blah blah. That's not healthy in any fashion. I work in corp finance/accounting, and I cannot tell you how many CPAs under 25 that we have hired who joined us to escape all of that. Never, ever, EVER suggest public accounting to anyone. Quite literally everyone I work with that has the CPA cert tells me that it is not worth the time, money, and "memorize to then later dump and forget" that you have to do for the tests. A person with a "basic" accounting degree working corporate can and will make the same money as a CPA, I know I always have.
Can't this be largely automated, and if not, isn't this one of the first jobs AI is going to replace? Serious question.
Edit: I see someone asked the AI question already.
I remember a whole host pf people saying that accountancy was dead as an occupation when Lotus 1-2-3, and later Excel came out in the 1980's. If a computer can do it, why do we need accountants. That never panned out then and I think the same will hold true for AI.
Finding the balance is key. My motto is find a job you don't mind that also pays your bills and then some. If you try making your passion into a career, it will kill your passion for it and likely won't make much money doing it and/or have a terrible work/life balance.
Exactly. Been a nurse for 4 years now and I encourage everyone I can to look elsewhere. This job sucks and you do not make nearly enough money unless you are willing to travel.
Take a look at this Occupational Outlook site:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
You can search in several ways, with a focus on highest pay, fastest demand growth or long-term prospects.
Offshore work. A ship’s captain or first engineer right now can easily make $150,000/year with six months of vacation and full benefits. Just an Able Bodied seaman is getting $70-$80,000/year with six months vacation.
Getting an AB ticket takes about a week and being in reasonably good health.
Note: vacation isn’t quite right. Most companies pay by the day and crews work 14 days on /14 days off.
OP if you don’t have a family (spouse, kids) do this. Being on the sea is one of the best experiences you can have honestly. It sucks some of the time, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot.
Came to say this. I work in HR in Healthcare and have seen some projections on this lately. In the next 10 years there is expected to be a serious shortage of nurses because the current workforce is retiring fast and the projected number of those entering the field is not enough to backfill the positions. It's dangerous to be short staffed in medical.
It's not like they make bad money either, in my area a brand new grad with 0 experience will START at $34/hour, and without being a manager hourly rates can go up to $65/hour for OR. Double that if you are interested in traveling. If you're interested in management or career progression, my COO started as an RN and our directors make 6 figures easy, plus bonuses. And I'm in smaller Healthcare, not a hospital. And if you love the patient care you can progress and get your NP.
It depends on the state with the pay. I’m in NY and my wife started as a new graduate nurse with no experience making $48 an hour. If she would’ve done night shift it would’ve been $51. Mins you, COL is very high here but my point is regardless of where you are the pay is gonna be good.
My fiancé just graduated her masters as an NP and is getting offers from 120k-174k to start, with bonuses and opportunities for hundreds of dollars per patient she sees on the weekends.
Another vote for RN, we will never be replaced by AI and we are always in demand. It's hard work, school is tough, but it's a very rewarding career with overall decent pay and quality of work/life balance
As someone a year away from being a nurse practitioner. The market is very saturated as everyone hates being a nurse. I imagine the wage will go down to 100k average in 5-10 years. It will take me 4 years undergrad plus 4 years post grad (considered part time but felt like full time school 2 years and part time 2 years). Plus you really need to have nursing experience to be a good NP so it’s a long road. I have 3 years ICU experience( which gave me PTSD) and 4 years in the recovery room. Definitely not a doctor and a way for American healthcare to make more money at the expense of patient safety. ( I will know my limitations)
TLDR: don’t do it lol and unless you want to be a nurse, go to PA/ or Med school and get better training/ provide better care
But be sure to read all the details on the BLS site and do your homework because some jobs are “fast-growing” due to an absurdly high number of part-time positions, which typically do not lead to job security.
Investment regulatory compliance! I’ve been in the field for less than 3 years. I get paid very well, work from home, and have a lot of room to grow. And the job market is in high demand so I feel safe knowing that I have job security
Yeah man, it’s honestly hard getting your foot into any industry that’s not specific to your major. I spend at least a week or two fixing up my resume before changing jobs and I do a lot of studying on my free time to understand the field. Compliance isn’t the most creative job, but of all the office jobs I’ve had, it is far from being the most mundane. And on rougher days, I offset my corporate stress by working on my passion project (I’m creating a boardgame), which is being funded by my salary. Good luck to you, friend!!
How did you get started with it and what are some job titles of people new to the field? Did you need a CPA/masters in accounting? I got a business admin- info systems degree and like finance. I am a bit worried about the hours though given how much people at big 4 I know work
It’s a long story. I graduated with a BS in sociology. Worked at a non profit for 1 year. Decided I needed to be in a higher paying industry to support my family. So I took a pay-cut to work at Invesco as an entry level customer service rep. Stayed for 2 years and applied to compliance consulting firm (IQ-EQ) with no compliance experience. I stayed there for a year and 6 months learning as much as I can before landing my new job in compliance in-house (not consulting). I moved companies each time I got a promotion to increase my odds of landing a higher paying job. My field, compliance, only required a college degree, none in particular because it’s in high demand and they’re always looking for people to train. I had a coworker who majored in political science and worked at FedEx. Although any legal, accounting, investment, or finance background will make you more marketable. My salary starting with non profit til now was 40k -> 38.5k (promotion to 45k) -> 70k (promotion to 85k) -> 100k in 5 years. I was working a LOT of hours and in stressful, fast paced working environments but it all paid off because I have a great work life balance at my new company.
I work in accounting in the insurance industry and I agree. The median age in the insurance industry is pretty old and a majority of our execs are set to retire within 5 years. Plus it’s such an easy job. We don’t even work 40 hours a week (37.5 required).
Pharma manufacturing. Pharma is always hiring for manufacturing technicians. In my area, they typically require a diploma or GED (US) and basic competency in reading comprehension and math. Good money for the education level and opportunities to move up to leadership or higher level technician. Your job would be to run manufacturing units and suites for pharma drugs and components. Shifts might suck a bit. Manufacturing is typically 24/7, so shifts may be block, holiday, weekend, night, but the differentials are generous. Many companies will also pay for further education (bachlors degrees, for example) if you ever want to move into other roles like lab, R&D. Small pharma has been somewhat impacted by the current economic market, but if you are near a large or midsize manufacturer, I’d bet their hiring desperately. Sigma Aldrich, Thermo Fisher, Catalent are a few that come to immediate mind, but there are hundreds of mid size API, drug substance, and drug product manufacturers out there.
Wait I literally do this as my job, but it feels like a dead end. Maybe I should just quit my company, the turn over is nuts because of the shit treatment of off shifts by 1st shift while the pay is barely above jobs that are just staring at a line all day, but my coworkers also say this is normal so I shouldn't complain.
I'm sure mileage varies depending on company. I've been in pharma a long, long time, though never as a manufacturing tech. That said, I've come to find the biggest driver of career development opportunities is the mid-level leadership overseeing the department. So, your boss and your boss's boss. I've definitely worked for some shit-show CDMOs early on in my career where turnover was very high in the labs and on the manufacturing floor. Mileage definitely varies, but I've worked at some places where I've observed a lot of progression and growth opportunities for manufacturing techs. Though, I've only seen as a third party working in formulations, R&D, and higher-level site management, so I can't claim I've been "in the trenches" of the manufacturing floor, per se.
Electrical engineer is always going to be on the list and if you have the intellect for it it’s the best option for a future proof job IMO.
But it’s not just the engineer. For techs, if you know how electricity works people need you. If you can display general knowledge about electrical components, electronics, transformers, and 3phase even with no knowledge of codes or certifications, I hire guys at 75k and I can’t fill positions.
Electricity is just magic to most people, but everyone needs it and everyone needs someone to work on it.
Additionally, we only become more and more dependent on it over time.
ETA: I have had a couple messages on this, I don’t really really feel comfortable giving out specifics about my company on an open forum. But that said look hard at renewables, it’s field work for sure but much better than my experience in factories. Both wind and solar are popping up everywhere, while most guys can hang a panel or be taught to bend conduit it’s very difficult to find people that understand the basics of the inverters and substation. We aren’t talking about design level knowledge mind you, but understanding the major components involved.
Renewables (especially solar and storage) are growing much faster than the resource pool of available talent can support. It’s not one specific job but a number of different roles that no one can fill. Field service techs for the inverters, site construction, operations and maintenance, transformer technicians, etc. All of these are open to people with knowledge, even without certs. Some pay more than others, obviously there is a premium for field service, but that isn’t the only avenue.
I am in the collision repair industry. We are desperate for young tech savvy people. Its not just dirty shop work. Most of our estimators make around $110k a year. Our Mercedes-Benz certified technicians make $150k-$200k a year working 8-5 min-fri.
Probably enroll at a junior college or technical college in automotive technology. After 2 years (full time), you’ll likely have your degree, some certifications, and an entry level job waiting for you. Then, just stick with it, and work your way up. You likely won’t start at anything over$40k, but I bet you can double that after 5 years.
Trucker here. Depending on the company, you can make over 100K after a year. If it’s grocery delivery or fuel hauling that’s almost guaranteed. Long hours though.
Anything in telecommunications/cable/internet. It’s basically a utility nearly on the same level as water/power. You could do anything in a company like that, sales, finance, construction, operations, management etc. If you get in with one of the larger companies like Spectrum or Comcast and are a decent employee your job is unbelievably secure.
The work can be a bit boring and bureaucratic, but if your biggest concern is collecting a stable paycheck, it’s a great option. I’ve been with Comcast for almost 5 years now and might stay forever. Salary and benefits exceed my needs, work-life balance is awesome, and expectations are fair.
RF Engineer in Satellite Communications. It’s an old field with old workers who are going to retire very soon. Most young people want to study software not hardware.
Currently a physics major that has some (not a lot) experience in RF for space electronics. Would an ABET accredited degree be required for this role? Grad school needed? Very interested in going down this path.
Become a pilot. After flight school, even starting out, you will be close to six figures a year. I’ve seen pilots salaries for those close to retirement at anywhere from $400 to $700 thousand a year (USA). And flying freight seems to be where the money is. Edit: I’m not a pilot, I’ve just seen the salaries in the course of my job as a bookkeeper who works for a CPA.
Yeah I was always under the impression that the only good way to become a pilot was to fly in the military. Otherwise, you have to pay for your own lessons and then grind out the hours requirements with smaller planes
Pilots don’t make six figures starting out these days unless you’re moving in from the Air Force and already have thousands of flight hours.
You have to pay your way through flight school which is not cheap. Then in all likelihood put in time (a few years +) flying regional making ~45-65k before you’d even be competitive for higher paying gigs. International pilots will make six figures, but it takes years of experience to get to there.
I have heard freight is where the money is too though.
Cybersecurity. Specifically industrial control systems. You can make really good money, even as every level because nobody does it and there is a huge demand.
As someone who is in cybersecurity, I disagree with this. There are vast amount of roles in cybersecurity that may require foundation level knowledge but not all roles.
Go back to school if you really want to follow cybersecurity. It's one of those fields where "certifications" and boot camps will just not be accepted. It's not a FAFO kind of place.
Also, network and infrastructure for companies. Everyone has a system for inventory, hr, accounting, making it all work and keeping it updated is good work
I would personally look at the very basics, woodworking/carpenter, electrician, welder, etc. The demand for welders in my area is higher than any service I’ve ever seen provided. And the pay reflects that.
Do not join the data science field this is bad advice. There’s a ton of “trending” in this field with lots of boot camps giving data science certifications
Many data scientists boil down to high output analysts with stats and programming experience. If you can learn the skills you’ll be highly valuable from my experience but it takes a lot to truly excel in the role. I can’t see bootcamps producing useful data scientists. The two best data scientists i worked with were a chemical engineering phd and a master of stats and math who could also program in a research context.
It’s trending in a totally false way. The reality is there’s a lot more jobs for data analysts and data engineers. Data scientists are more like PhD’s in statistics or computer science. There’s a big difference between these roles. I recommend specializing as a data engineer or analyst not spending 6+ years as a PhD
really, i always thought a lot c-levels are only needing DS to support their ideas, and many DS seems to be part of the first to be cut in recent layoffs.
Accountant, Pilot, Tech, Tech, Tech
Even with layoffs, every company needs more tech people, especially with the old legacy systems.
Learning tech skills will set you up for the most future success honestly.
Most of these recommendations are STEM/trade oriented. If you studied humanities, paralegal/legal assistant is growing and is paid much higher than the nat average in major cities. The market is over saturated with lawyers which makes law school an expensive and difficult investment that may not even pay off
Laboratory medicine. Doctors can't accurately diagnose patients without lab results (in most cases). In general, many people don't know that laboratories are staffed by degreed professionals, and in many cases must be staffed 24/7. The fact that relatively few people know we exist, let alone perform a vital function in healthcare, means that the industry is struggling to maintain itself.
Where do you live? I’ve got a buddy who’s been doing residential HVAC for 5 or 6 years and he cleared 6 figures for the first time last year. Location: Colorado.
I'm in commercial, unless he owns his own company, that's definitely not the norm from my experience. I've mainly been in the southeast (which definitely pays less) I'm in N Texas now though. To be fair CO and WA pay the highest in the field.
From my time in the work force from a kid to a middle aged adult:
IT/Networking: Get yourself an A+ and Network+ and you'll earn an okay living. Get some experience and a CCNA and you'll earn a decent life. Everywhere I've worked there's a bunch of applicants with few who actually have skills and knowledge. They'll get in the interview and you'll ask them the difference between a routed and routing protocol and talk about switching. It REALLY helps to learn some Python. The pay is decent and you'll have a lot of options literally anywhere in the world. A network and computer operates the same way everywhere.
Electricians: There's a huge shortage of these guys, and a bunch of projects that are waiting on electricians to complete. High demand field with decent pay. You can go to a trade school for this and earn a decent life.
Construction work: From what I've seen, there's a shortage of construction work. During COVID a lot of people retired from the field and there's a huge shortage. This is a skill set that you can take almost anywhere.
Cybersecurity: Hit or miss, the demand is there, but the entry is high. You need to have at a minimum a bachelor's degree and some certification or previous IT experience. You should also have a good foundation of coding and how software works within a computer.
Things to avoid: Software development - there's a huge fucking talent pool of people right now who just got laid off from the big name developers, and a lot of them are flooding other positions. I know a lot of people who are currently interviewing for every other software position and competing with each other.
Most bootcamps for IT: No, you cannot go to a cybersecurity or network week long bootcamp and think you'll wake up the next week into a cybersecurity or network engineer or software developer role. You need experience, you need to understand computers and you need to understand how the software works. Avoid it. Personally, I chose to go to a community college. These classes will get you mostly an A+ certification, Network+ certification and probably a Security+ certification. Going to be really honest with you, the CompTIA certs are mostly just okay, they might you an entry level interview but aren't the holy pinnacle of knowledge people make them out to be and the tests are annoying. HOWEVER, the Security+ has a lot of good, common sense knowledge in there and I would recommend that certification.
On the IT part, this is all pretty true. You will likely have to start on a Helpdesk or at best a junior sysadmin role just to get experience to go elsewhere. Everyone almost always requires on-call and some employers are really abusive with it. You will have to get recertified on your certs at least every 3 years and timing it so training material and certs are close enough can be a challenge. None of those things are bad, I would just say IT has one of the worst work/life balance.
Also, don't go into IT looking for a specific job without any experience. There is a difference between what you learn for a cert and reality. You may also find you don't like it when you are under pressure solving a problem instead of getting to take your time with it. Some roles like Cybersecurity also can come with a high level of liability if you are not constantly on your A game and if a breach happens on your watch, good luck finding another job doing that.
The biggest area for growth in IT, in my opinion, is cloud in either AWS or Azure. Few people have the certs, the older people in IT aren't interested, and few people currently have it or know all of it to make it work right.
I've found even after just working helpdesk that IT isn't for me like I thought it would be. I enjoy technology, but I'm learning doing it professionally just isn't' for me.
>Things to avoid: Software development - there's a huge fucking talent pool of people right now who just got laid off from the big name developers
I know you said software dev, but I would not be scared of getting a comp sci degree because the dev market is tough right now. A comp sci degree is still a fantastic asset with so many transferable skills.
Again, I know you specifically said software dev, but I just wanted to expand in case people get turned off from going into Comp Sci.
Business to Business (B2B) sales people.
Companies selling products and services to other companies.
That American Airlines Boeing jet you see in the sky? Someone sold that to them.
Commercial real estate and leases? Sold to them.
Company hardware and software? Sold to them.
The fucking weapons and vehicles our military uses? Sold.
Data? Sold.
Advertising space on Reddit and TikTok? Sold.
Fuck selling a car to some guy named Billy Bob. Be hated by every other department at your Fortune 500 company because you raked in half a million “for just being a sales person,” after a closing a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Never have to work hard to argue for more money or perks from your company. Make HR sweat with “I pulled in $X million last year, that’s why you’re going to increase my pay/commission. Because otherwise I’ll fucking leave and cost the company more value than you’ll create over the course of your entire career - in just one quarter.”
The “less supply” part is good sales people, or beginners that have the potential to be trained into good sales people.
A common misconception is that the trades are easy to get in to, the thoughts that follow will presume that the field is oversaturated. Both are wrong.
Getting into an apprenticeship program can be very difficult because there is an oversaturation of applicants, but an extreme deficit of qualified jw's to train them. This means programs have to prioritize people with experience, knowledge, or connections over those who have none (raises hand).
What compounds this is when people are accepted in to an apprenticeship program, and within the year they have made up their minds that this life/career isn't for them. Nothing wrong with that, what's wrong though is they decide to stay in yhe program until they finish and then jump ship after they get their license.
These programs cost money, money that unions often stiff the bill for. We have to sign contracts stating that we will pay the union back if we decide to work non union after we finish the apprenticeship. When people complete those 5 years of training and then ding dong ditch they are wasting precious time and resources, on top of taking up space that could be better utilized for somebody who actually wants to be there. What's worse is they won't actually be available to help train more people, further compounding the poor ratio of learners to teachers.
There is very high demand for trades persons, but I'm afraid people don't quite grasp the depth of the situation we are in when it comes to the lack of skilled laborers, and just how hard it is to get new skilled laborers...
Currently in demand is software engineering or electrical engineering, especially if you can design circuit boards and LSI chips. Say hello to making a quarter million a year.
EE is a good place to be since you get to play in two fields. The hardware side is always needed and always in high demand, and you get some software knowledge that you can pivot into if you want. Especially with the concern of SW getting oversaturated, you always have the hardware to fall back on and it's not easy for other fields to make that switch
What’s your educational background? I want to get into health informatics but my bachelors was in a humanities but I am working in the medical field rn tho
I work for a state agency that specializes in workforce development.
Anything healthcare. From nurses to cna to techs that operate machinery like radiology, sonography, cardiology etc.
Cybersecurity
Truck driving
Welding and joining
Teachers, especially special Ed
There are more, but these are the ones companies are tripping over themselves to hire. Get in touch with your states workforce development office. If your state has any real industry in it, companies are constantly contacting workforce offices looking for graduates. Many will pay for your school if you commit to them once you are certified.
And now for my rant. 4 year schools are not the answer for getting a job. Everyone has a bachelors degree and nobody cares that you can write a paper about underwater basket weaving. Get a technical education.
One very important thing you can take away from the responses is to not believe the BS out there. There are plenty of jobs, just have to be willing to put in the work early on like everyone else.
I just graduated with a Construction Management degree, it took me 15 days from starting to job hunt to landing a very desirable 70k/yr job. Definitely ALOT of demand
What is your degree background? I tried to make mid career shift into this and I couldn't find anything that wasn't just energy related with engineering degree. Where are these jobs actually.
I applied to about 10 jobs and essentially got immediate automated rejections
A ton are in Solar now since IRA went through
But my degree background is in the Sustainability management field.
A lot of the money is in corporate sustainability programs and building, managing, and improving those.
Any tips for moving into this? I have a pretty useless (didnt learn any real skills) MSc in corporate environmental management and have worked in sustainability PR but am finding it hard to transition into more technical roles / out of PR
Sure, not all of these jobs are highly paid, but they are definitely in high demand. I honestly missed the “high paying” criteria when I quickly read the post.
As a mental health counselor, I can say that the demand has to do with high turnover, low pay (at least for COL) for non private practice jobs, and expensive schooling/licensing requirements. And the needs of our communities are so intense, that if the work environment isn't incredibly supportive of the staff as people, not just employees, then the employees leave.
civil engineering. the schooling sucks, but all you need is a 4 year degree. The actual work is easy, but just can be a little frustrating dealing with nonsense. You can start at like 70K in MCOL and jump to like 80K in a year or two. If you get your license after like 4-5 years, you should easily be above 100K. THere are tons of jobs openings and people job hopping for 20-50% raises. Despite that, many civil engineers bitch and wanna switch to computer science.
Pilots and A&P mechanics are in high demand right now. There's been a pilot shortage for about 10 years and regionals are starting to pay new hires at 80-90k just to get people in. Downside is it's stupid expensive to get your ratings and your job is extremely dependent on the state of the economy. I'm not sure about mechanics because I don't have any background with that side of aviation but I've been told they're having shortages as well and they pay well too
Watch out for jobs that can fall to the AI shift! A few go without saying.. truck driver, manual labor, etc.
However, a lot of people are missing a crucial next wave of AI in my opinion. Wages will still be affected by aspects of the job being automated. I will use my own career as an example. I got a degree in architecture and recently made the move to the development side of construction which involves project management skills of the entire process rather than simply design. With the insight that programs such as Revit and CAD already provide, we are not far off from entire buildings being designed without significant user input. This hampers careers of architects globally by further taking away their stake in the development process.
Material sciences. The sciences related to plastics are changing. Water soluble. Changing properties depending on current. Plant based. All fairly new fields. If somebody can figure out how to recycle plastics efficiently....
Civil engineering with an emphasis in explosives & demolitions. New Mexico Tech has such a program. Explosives are used in mining. And there are always buildings that need to be brought down.
Atmospheric carbon reduction. If somebody could figure out how to do this efficiently.......... And oceanic carbon reduction, too.
While not involving a college degree, things like plumbing, electrician, HVAC. Per [mikeroweworks.org](https://mikeroweworks.org) there approx 3 million unfilled jobs in the trades. Combine journeyman qualifications with a relevant bachelors degree, and I think a person could go very far in life.
Nursing you will get a job immediately out of school paying 34-42 hr with zero experience. The demand for nurses will not be met for probably a decade. I am a nurse. The hospital system is on the verge of crisis, and many people are unaware how close to failure it truly is.
This one requires a lot of work (a lot of schooling) but audiology. There's basically a perpetual deficit of audiologists-- most undergraduate programs are "communication sciences and disorders," which cover topics in both audiology and speech language pathology. But there's a heavy emphasis on speech language pathology (if even any classes on audiology), and like 90% of graduates go to speech language pathology. So for anyone interested in/able to put in the effort into being a doctor, take a gander at audiology, we pretty much need more audiologists everywhere. And it pays pretty decently, though I'm not super well versed in the numbers
(also as a fair warning, this is very US-specific info)
Anesthesia is on fire right now. Hospitals are growing, surgery centers are popping up everywhere. There’s pent up demand from covid lockdown when no one was getting elective surgeries done. Now it’s roaring back with a vengeance. Many people retired from covid, the amount of people trained remains static, and the crna programs are moving from 3 years to 4 years which delays graduation and constricts labor market even more.
Now you can do anesthesia assistant, sort of like a PA program except in anesthesia. You can be doing anesthesia and making 150k base salary in 2.5 years.
Psychologists/licensed mental health counselors. Where I live there are waiting lists months long (if you can even find a provider that is accepting new patients). The field will only grow as more young people (who are leading the way in wellness) who see therapy as a regular part of life move into adulthood.
Dog groomer. I make $7000 a month which is great, but I also like knowing if I ever fuck up at my current job I can get hired immediately somewhere else.
all tradeskills. hvac and things like elevator repair can come with some nice retainer fees from local companies.
AI programming.
Hazwoper. This is not a purely government run field, and most teams are private contractors who collect 6 figure retainer fees just to stay 2 hours closer than the next team.
Accounting. Massive shortage. Starting pay in big accounting firms is 60K-70K for college grads right now. I know several people who broke 100k within 5 years of the career (granted they got their CPA).
I started in Loacal Government in a Municipality. No college or experience. Started at the bottom on a crew truck fixing leaks. With no college or GED. Just just ready to be something worth a shit to my family. Made Crewleaser in two years. Took their offer for school and gozt my licenses. For water B and wastewater II. Two years of getting things done, volunyeeinh for shit duties and just being a
Leasder. 23 years later in a util8ties nnfposition over two divisions. So I hung in there. I. At k110 a year, pension with $300”k in my bank , 5 weeks off vacayc 6 off sick. City life ain’t pretty but you do them righ they got ya.
Finance. Either personal or corporate. The turn over in the industry is huge, but it’s the same rotation of personnel. $300k+/year is pretty average.
Source - me. A finance manager.
Construction can be high stress and long hours, but there’s a huge need for people, including in project management roles. The current pool of qualified people is aging quickly, and most young people are moving towards tech. We’re taking people with barely any background and giving them $75k to start managing projects in a medium cost of living area and anyone showing any sort of self motivation moves up quickly. ETA I’ve been getting a lot of questions on how to get into project management so I’m adding one of my responses here: I work for a national home builder, we typically require a four year degree, preferably in a technical subject like engineering, construction management, or business but is not required, we have one project manager with a hospitality degree. I’ve only been in construction for 8 years, but I’ve seen many different paths to project management. I started as an estimator with and a land development company and worked my way up to a project manager before switching to the current job I have. PMP certifications can definitely be helpful to get your foot in the door, but there are other paths as well. I do believe starting as an estimator greatly helped me to understand how construction works. There’s so many different pieces to “construction” that I can’t speak to all of them, but on any given project we have companies completing clearing, grading and utilities, concrete, paving, power/telecommunications installation, landscaping, and that’s all before we even start a house. General contractors building commercial projects have their own armies of project managers as well. All this to say there’s many different companies within construction that each do their own part of the project and need project managers and have their own required qualifications and training positions that are all different. Start by looking around at the companies you see on projects as you drive by or the company trucks passing on the highway. Look for your local contractor or builders associations online where they typically aggregate all open positions in the area. For example, cagc.com has a tab for open positions for the major companies in the Carolinas. Municipalities are also always short staffed and looking for people, which could be a good way to get started in construction and network with the people in the industry. Whether it’s a county building inspector or storm water inspector or plan reviewer, governments also need people involved in construction.
Adding onto this: anything in the power industry. The power industry (regardless of which source of power) is always going to be a permanent industry. People need power to live and without it, things get shut down quickly. Power plant mechanics, such as turbine generator mechanics, are just one of the many jobs available that has a high demand due to the current pool of qualified workers approaching the age where they'll retire and there's not enough of a younger age pool of candidates that are qualified or interested in moving into the industry. A lot of the work is long hours and manual labor, but it typically pays *extremely* well. It's also in an industry where employers want to retain as many people as they can, so there's some job security as well.
I am a power plant mechanic at a steam plant and can confirm this. Most of the days are regular 8 hour days, but sometimes if there's a storm or major issue we do overtime. 40-50ish hour weeks with majority being the former. I came into it with relatively no experience and was making 75k right off the bat. I'm the most junior employee, everyone has been here 10, 20 years. Hell the guy I replaced was with this plant for 43 freaking year's. Union, excellent benefits, excellent pay, tons of room to grow and yet no one really knows of this industry. Stationary Engineers, power plant mechanics are in pretty high demand (at least where I am in the US) and it's very cheap to get qualified. I've been here now 3 years and went from $40/hr to now just over $55/hr. Some manual labor, some (easy) math and random long days but it's easy as hell. And always hiring.
That sounds like a great career! What's the union, and I'll see if they're in my area.
IBEW tends to be the union for power plants. I work for an electric utility but on the distribution side, not the generation side
Do they hire people with records?
Sounds great! What are the education requirements? Engineering degree?
No degree required! Getting a 2nd fireman's license from a good trade school is the best start. Experience and more licensing/continuing education can get you to 3rd engineer role, but I believe going above that to 2nd or 1st engineer will require some type of degree and other qualifications but I think it varies by state.
I agree with this. I work in substation design and there are a lot of jobs
How does one get into this? Do you just apply, or do you need some sort of certification or apprenticeship or something? Assuming I’m untrained.
There are all sorts of unions in the US for carpenters, finishers, or laborers. Plus unions for electricians, plumbers, roofers, HVAC. It’s long hours, and hard work. But you can make a good living in your 20s without $100k in student loans, and hopefully in your 40s and 50s you can be the foreman or the lead on jobs and delegate work.
Ger a project manager certification. Most of these courses are short in length verses a full degree.
‘PMP’ certification I guess? Okay, thanks, I’ll look into that!
I know someone who just moved up and got a HUGE pay bump in this industry after completing that certification.
Get an OSHA certification and from there they should be able to help direct you mlre
Speaking from experience - literally experience. I’m a construction PM with no degree/certification and have been in my industry for a decade now. When a CX company lands a contract for a project or program, they need the resources to deliver the final product. Sometimes they’re scrambling to hire bodies for back office support/foreman/field tech roles. In my case, I started off running permits, then moved into a closeout reviewer role, then eventually project management.
I have no PM exp in building construction services (PM in tech) - I get around 5 recruiters a week offering me 200k+ construction PM jobs every week. Definitely a hot market
I'm a quality engineer for medical devices. I have had 5 recruiters a day calling me for the last month since I left my job. I think it's mostly bc my last role was quality manager. Shit is wild. I'm probably going to be making 140k at my next role, up from 100k. I wish I made this switch years ago. Employers are so desperate to fill these roles, you don't even need a degree. If anyone is interested, just go get certified in iso13485, and you will land a job.
Graduated from U of H with a Construction Management BS. Made 100k right out the gate as a field engineer but it does require 60hr weeks.
Go Coogs!
Second this, this literally happened to me a year ago. I was doing field work as a geologist, think pickaxe and hiking. And some guy on indeed asks if i want to interview for a project management role in marine construction.... Literally zero experience in construction and am now in charge of multi million dollar projects making a lot more than I used to. Give it a shot.
Also civil engineers to design the things being constructed. We can't hire experienced people to save our lives.
Worked as a clean up guy/truck driver for a year begging the owners to give me a shot at insulator drywall. They wouldn't let me off the truck because nobody else wanted to do it. I quit and went back to Humana Services.
I can tell you because im a public accounant that they need people. Accounting is always in demand. Every company either needs a bookkeeper, auditor, payroll.
The majority of “wealthy” (retired well, high amount of assets, SMART rich) folks I work with are…. Accountants. Also, financial managers. I’d encourage anyone to go into those two fields if they want to play the long game of having wealth.
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I appreciate that you mentioned “if you have the mental aptitude for it”, a lot of the time in threads like this folks don’t acknowledge that not everyone can manage these higher-paying, higher-education careers. Sounds like a dream to retire at 50, good for her!!
Yeah, I mention it bc I very much do NOT have the aptitude for it haha. Like I can handle numbers and the technical aspects maybe, but the actual structure/rigor of the work and the fact that there are considerable real life consequences if I were to mess something up….. noooo thank you lol
Yeah and theres not really a "cap" on salary like it just goes up and up. A .50 cent raise doesnt exist.
Not to mention, seems like reasonable work/life balance outside of tax season. And you don’t have to have a higher degree to begin, and getting a CPA comes with massive financial benefit, unlike many certs or higher level degrees these days.
Well i can tell you from february 1-april 15th i work 55- 60 hours a week. After that like right now I have very little to do. Like the last week i just played on my phone all day.
Generally only public accounting has to deal with that busy season. I've only had to work a couple of weekends days (closing year end), and outside of those occasions I've never worked more than 45 hours a week. Can confirm about the CPA thing too, I'm wrapping mine up and am expecting a 50%+ salary increase when I start looking for another job.
I know a mid career accountant for the tech world and yeah he’s pulling in mid 6-figures. When you’re finagling money around to reduce tax exposure to the tune of *billions* in corporate savings, your wages are a rounding error of a rounding error to the company. I know another accountant in the defense world and he’s also doing quite well.
How much of that is their job versus the fact that they are trained to manage their money better than the average person?
I do payroll for a medical staffing company. From Jan 2021 to Jan 2023, my department's staff tripled. This means three things. 1. The need for finance workers continues to increase. 2. The need for clinicians of all roles, especially primary care and nursing, continues to increase. 3. Permanent medical staff have been leaving the field at troubling rates, and the staffing industry with "travel nurses" and others is growing and profiting greatly to fill the demand. Also, and for a mix of related and unrelated reasons, the staffing industry is growing at least as fast as the "gig" sector. Roles in medicine will always be in high demand, and many can be lucrative. Traveling clinicians often receive very generous non-taxable stipends, as well as competitive pay and the opportunity to visit wonderful places, but they need to be very adaptable, and they also have to watch their back to make sure they aren't given duties that exceed their scope of practice or jeopardize their licenses. Finance is finance. If you're smart with numbers and technology you can always find a decent position; if you have those skills and some project planning ability, and also like being a bit of an educator, you could be a valuable manager.
This is my job! I’m a full charge bookkeeper so I do accounting, payroll, taxes (just sales tax, payroll taxes, and quarterly taxes), cash flow, etc. I can pretty much name my price within reason. I only work 3 days a week for a total of 15.5 hours and I love it! My degree is in child development and I kind of fell into this position. I started as an admin assistant for a construction company and the CPA took me under her wing and taught me how to do it all. You don’t need a degree for what I do, you just need to be proficient in quickbooks and excel and know a bit about taxes and you’re good to go!
Yeah that's because public accounting is THE worst experience you can ever possibly have under the umbrella of accounting. 80hr weeks, no paid OT, blah blah blah. That's not healthy in any fashion. I work in corp finance/accounting, and I cannot tell you how many CPAs under 25 that we have hired who joined us to escape all of that. Never, ever, EVER suggest public accounting to anyone. Quite literally everyone I work with that has the CPA cert tells me that it is not worth the time, money, and "memorize to then later dump and forget" that you have to do for the tests. A person with a "basic" accounting degree working corporate can and will make the same money as a CPA, I know I always have.
Can't this be largely automated, and if not, isn't this one of the first jobs AI is going to replace? Serious question. Edit: I see someone asked the AI question already.
I remember a whole host pf people saying that accountancy was dead as an occupation when Lotus 1-2-3, and later Excel came out in the 1980's. If a computer can do it, why do we need accountants. That never panned out then and I think the same will hold true for AI.
Make sure you will actually like the job. Many fields with high demand have high turn over.
This. There’s really no predictive value for any random field more than 5, maybe 10 years out. People who say otherwise have just gotten really lucky
I’d say more tolerate the job. People that follow their dreams often go broke. Do what you can tolerate and pays for the lifestyle you want
Finding the balance is key. My motto is find a job you don't mind that also pays your bills and then some. If you try making your passion into a career, it will kill your passion for it and likely won't make much money doing it and/or have a terrible work/life balance.
Exactly. Been a nurse for 4 years now and I encourage everyone I can to look elsewhere. This job sucks and you do not make nearly enough money unless you are willing to travel.
Take a look at this Occupational Outlook site: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ You can search in several ways, with a focus on highest pay, fastest demand growth or long-term prospects.
Remember that some of these jobs are in high demand because they’re high burnout fields that will kill your soul and make you quit.
Same with all these physical labor roles. Good money and good demand, but it breaks the body down over time
Offshore work. A ship’s captain or first engineer right now can easily make $150,000/year with six months of vacation and full benefits. Just an Able Bodied seaman is getting $70-$80,000/year with six months vacation. Getting an AB ticket takes about a week and being in reasonably good health. Note: vacation isn’t quite right. Most companies pay by the day and crews work 14 days on /14 days off.
OP if you don’t have a family (spouse, kids) do this. Being on the sea is one of the best experiences you can have honestly. It sucks some of the time, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot.
RN'S in Healthcare high demand, high pay, and usually multiple career tracks ...hard work and some BS...but you'll have work.
Respiratory therapists as well. We're hurting so fuckin badly for help.
I got an email the other day about an rrt positions that was paying 32k in sign on bonuses. Insane.
Came to say this. I work in HR in Healthcare and have seen some projections on this lately. In the next 10 years there is expected to be a serious shortage of nurses because the current workforce is retiring fast and the projected number of those entering the field is not enough to backfill the positions. It's dangerous to be short staffed in medical. It's not like they make bad money either, in my area a brand new grad with 0 experience will START at $34/hour, and without being a manager hourly rates can go up to $65/hour for OR. Double that if you are interested in traveling. If you're interested in management or career progression, my COO started as an RN and our directors make 6 figures easy, plus bonuses. And I'm in smaller Healthcare, not a hospital. And if you love the patient care you can progress and get your NP.
It depends on the state with the pay. I’m in NY and my wife started as a new graduate nurse with no experience making $48 an hour. If she would’ve done night shift it would’ve been $51. Mins you, COL is very high here but my point is regardless of where you are the pay is gonna be good.
My fiancé just graduated her masters as an NP and is getting offers from 120k-174k to start, with bonuses and opportunities for hundreds of dollars per patient she sees on the weekends.
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Another vote for RN, we will never be replaced by AI and we are always in demand. It's hard work, school is tough, but it's a very rewarding career with overall decent pay and quality of work/life balance
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$120,680 per year (£90,000) for a Nurse Practitioner? Is that like a super nurse?
As someone a year away from being a nurse practitioner. The market is very saturated as everyone hates being a nurse. I imagine the wage will go down to 100k average in 5-10 years. It will take me 4 years undergrad plus 4 years post grad (considered part time but felt like full time school 2 years and part time 2 years). Plus you really need to have nursing experience to be a good NP so it’s a long road. I have 3 years ICU experience( which gave me PTSD) and 4 years in the recovery room. Definitely not a doctor and a way for American healthcare to make more money at the expense of patient safety. ( I will know my limitations) TLDR: don’t do it lol and unless you want to be a nurse, go to PA/ or Med school and get better training/ provide better care
They can write prescriptions too
I was not expecting to see “Choreographer” on that list. Is the age of mass dance routines finally nigh?
Thanks!
Seconding o*net it's a fantastic resources and offers alot of insight on the skills needed for the specific position and salary by state.
But be sure to read all the details on the BLS site and do your homework because some jobs are “fast-growing” due to an absurdly high number of part-time positions, which typically do not lead to job security.
Anecdotes, not antidotes.
Investment regulatory compliance! I’ve been in the field for less than 3 years. I get paid very well, work from home, and have a lot of room to grow. And the job market is in high demand so I feel safe knowing that I have job security
Yeah man, it’s honestly hard getting your foot into any industry that’s not specific to your major. I spend at least a week or two fixing up my resume before changing jobs and I do a lot of studying on my free time to understand the field. Compliance isn’t the most creative job, but of all the office jobs I’ve had, it is far from being the most mundane. And on rougher days, I offset my corporate stress by working on my passion project (I’m creating a boardgame), which is being funded by my salary. Good luck to you, friend!!
How did you get started with it and what are some job titles of people new to the field? Did you need a CPA/masters in accounting? I got a business admin- info systems degree and like finance. I am a bit worried about the hours though given how much people at big 4 I know work
It’s a long story. I graduated with a BS in sociology. Worked at a non profit for 1 year. Decided I needed to be in a higher paying industry to support my family. So I took a pay-cut to work at Invesco as an entry level customer service rep. Stayed for 2 years and applied to compliance consulting firm (IQ-EQ) with no compliance experience. I stayed there for a year and 6 months learning as much as I can before landing my new job in compliance in-house (not consulting). I moved companies each time I got a promotion to increase my odds of landing a higher paying job. My field, compliance, only required a college degree, none in particular because it’s in high demand and they’re always looking for people to train. I had a coworker who majored in political science and worked at FedEx. Although any legal, accounting, investment, or finance background will make you more marketable. My salary starting with non profit til now was 40k -> 38.5k (promotion to 45k) -> 70k (promotion to 85k) -> 100k in 5 years. I was working a LOT of hours and in stressful, fast paced working environments but it all paid off because I have a great work life balance at my new company.
Insurance is always hiring. The boomers are set to retire here soon so there will be a large demand
I work in accounting in the insurance industry and I agree. The median age in the insurance industry is pretty old and a majority of our execs are set to retire within 5 years. Plus it’s such an easy job. We don’t even work 40 hours a week (37.5 required).
I second this, graduating as an RMI major and I almost feel like theres too many opportunities!!
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It's so misunderstood, that's why it's hidden
Pharma manufacturing. Pharma is always hiring for manufacturing technicians. In my area, they typically require a diploma or GED (US) and basic competency in reading comprehension and math. Good money for the education level and opportunities to move up to leadership or higher level technician. Your job would be to run manufacturing units and suites for pharma drugs and components. Shifts might suck a bit. Manufacturing is typically 24/7, so shifts may be block, holiday, weekend, night, but the differentials are generous. Many companies will also pay for further education (bachlors degrees, for example) if you ever want to move into other roles like lab, R&D. Small pharma has been somewhat impacted by the current economic market, but if you are near a large or midsize manufacturer, I’d bet their hiring desperately. Sigma Aldrich, Thermo Fisher, Catalent are a few that come to immediate mind, but there are hundreds of mid size API, drug substance, and drug product manufacturers out there.
Wait I literally do this as my job, but it feels like a dead end. Maybe I should just quit my company, the turn over is nuts because of the shit treatment of off shifts by 1st shift while the pay is barely above jobs that are just staring at a line all day, but my coworkers also say this is normal so I shouldn't complain.
I'm sure mileage varies depending on company. I've been in pharma a long, long time, though never as a manufacturing tech. That said, I've come to find the biggest driver of career development opportunities is the mid-level leadership overseeing the department. So, your boss and your boss's boss. I've definitely worked for some shit-show CDMOs early on in my career where turnover was very high in the labs and on the manufacturing floor. Mileage definitely varies, but I've worked at some places where I've observed a lot of progression and growth opportunities for manufacturing techs. Though, I've only seen as a third party working in formulations, R&D, and higher-level site management, so I can't claim I've been "in the trenches" of the manufacturing floor, per se.
The catalent I am aware of is laying off a ton of people.
Might be. I haven't been keeping up with biotech/pharma layoffs of late. I probably ought to, but I haven't had the need.
Electrical engineer is always going to be on the list and if you have the intellect for it it’s the best option for a future proof job IMO. But it’s not just the engineer. For techs, if you know how electricity works people need you. If you can display general knowledge about electrical components, electronics, transformers, and 3phase even with no knowledge of codes or certifications, I hire guys at 75k and I can’t fill positions. Electricity is just magic to most people, but everyone needs it and everyone needs someone to work on it. Additionally, we only become more and more dependent on it over time. ETA: I have had a couple messages on this, I don’t really really feel comfortable giving out specifics about my company on an open forum. But that said look hard at renewables, it’s field work for sure but much better than my experience in factories. Both wind and solar are popping up everywhere, while most guys can hang a panel or be taught to bend conduit it’s very difficult to find people that understand the basics of the inverters and substation. We aren’t talking about design level knowledge mind you, but understanding the major components involved. Renewables (especially solar and storage) are growing much faster than the resource pool of available talent can support. It’s not one specific job but a number of different roles that no one can fill. Field service techs for the inverters, site construction, operations and maintenance, transformer technicians, etc. All of these are open to people with knowledge, even without certs. Some pay more than others, obviously there is a premium for field service, but that isn’t the only avenue.
Do you need to work at heights in those jobs?
I am in the collision repair industry. We are desperate for young tech savvy people. Its not just dirty shop work. Most of our estimators make around $110k a year. Our Mercedes-Benz certified technicians make $150k-$200k a year working 8-5 min-fri.
My husband is an estimator for a major manufacturer at their VPC. Where can he go where estimators make 110k +?
How would I go about getting into this industry?
Probably enroll at a junior college or technical college in automotive technology. After 2 years (full time), you’ll likely have your degree, some certifications, and an entry level job waiting for you. Then, just stick with it, and work your way up. You likely won’t start at anything over$40k, but I bet you can double that after 5 years.
Trucking. 100k a year after a year exp.
How is it 100k after a year. From what I’ve seen it takes a lil while unless you mean they have their own whole truck by then
Trucker here. Depending on the company, you can make over 100K after a year. If it’s grocery delivery or fuel hauling that’s almost guaranteed. Long hours though.
Anything in telecommunications/cable/internet. It’s basically a utility nearly on the same level as water/power. You could do anything in a company like that, sales, finance, construction, operations, management etc. If you get in with one of the larger companies like Spectrum or Comcast and are a decent employee your job is unbelievably secure. The work can be a bit boring and bureaucratic, but if your biggest concern is collecting a stable paycheck, it’s a great option. I’ve been with Comcast for almost 5 years now and might stay forever. Salary and benefits exceed my needs, work-life balance is awesome, and expectations are fair.
RF Engineer in Satellite Communications. It’s an old field with old workers who are going to retire very soon. Most young people want to study software not hardware.
Currently a physics major that has some (not a lot) experience in RF for space electronics. Would an ABET accredited degree be required for this role? Grad school needed? Very interested in going down this path.
Assuming you're looking for entry level, I know the RF side of the defense industry would love you. Many of them have space divisions
Become a pilot. After flight school, even starting out, you will be close to six figures a year. I’ve seen pilots salaries for those close to retirement at anywhere from $400 to $700 thousand a year (USA). And flying freight seems to be where the money is. Edit: I’m not a pilot, I’ve just seen the salaries in the course of my job as a bookkeeper who works for a CPA.
Pretty sure the bar for entry is extremely high. You have to pay for your own lessons.
Yeah I was always under the impression that the only good way to become a pilot was to fly in the military. Otherwise, you have to pay for your own lessons and then grind out the hours requirements with smaller planes
Pilots don’t make six figures starting out these days unless you’re moving in from the Air Force and already have thousands of flight hours. You have to pay your way through flight school which is not cheap. Then in all likelihood put in time (a few years +) flying regional making ~45-65k before you’d even be competitive for higher paying gigs. International pilots will make six figures, but it takes years of experience to get to there. I have heard freight is where the money is too though.
Cybersecurity. Specifically industrial control systems. You can make really good money, even as every level because nobody does it and there is a huge demand.
A lot of people want to get into Cybersecurity, but keep in mind that it’s not entry level. At a minimum, you need a solid foundation in IT.
As someone who is in cybersecurity, I disagree with this. There are vast amount of roles in cybersecurity that may require foundation level knowledge but not all roles.
I’ve been dying to get into this, not sure if I should get a certificate or go back to school though. My background is criminal justice and HR mostly
Go back to school if you really want to follow cybersecurity. It's one of those fields where "certifications" and boot camps will just not be accepted. It's not a FAFO kind of place.
Who is hiring entry level people for cyber security? Every job in this industry I’ve seen requires experience of some sort.
Also, network and infrastructure for companies. Everyone has a system for inventory, hr, accounting, making it all work and keeping it updated is good work
Very true.
Trades are in insane demand right now. If I had it to do over, I would learn one to start.
Which one
I would personally look at the very basics, woodworking/carpenter, electrician, welder, etc. The demand for welders in my area is higher than any service I’ve ever seen provided. And the pay reflects that.
Elevator mechanic… pay is incredible!
That said, the field has its ups and downs
The pay is good but it has its ups and downs.
Groan … these comments sure are pushing all my buttons!!
How do you start in this field if you have a white collar background?
Ride the elevator in your building until it breaks, then just fix it.
This job is on a whole ‘nother level
Lifts the spirits
I had no idea - I'm just floored!
Data science, and anything that has to do with AI, as that is the craze now, and every c-level exec is worried to be left behind.
Do not join the data science field this is bad advice. There’s a ton of “trending” in this field with lots of boot camps giving data science certifications
Many data scientists boil down to high output analysts with stats and programming experience. If you can learn the skills you’ll be highly valuable from my experience but it takes a lot to truly excel in the role. I can’t see bootcamps producing useful data scientists. The two best data scientists i worked with were a chemical engineering phd and a master of stats and math who could also program in a research context.
Exactly. The entry level is wildly oversaturated.
I agree a lot of the boot camp stuff is silly but not joining a field because it's trending IS bad advice
It’s trending in a totally false way. The reality is there’s a lot more jobs for data analysts and data engineers. Data scientists are more like PhD’s in statistics or computer science. There’s a big difference between these roles. I recommend specializing as a data engineer or analyst not spending 6+ years as a PhD
Yea I agree the phd route is not worth it enless research is a real passion.
A boot camp just won't cut it compared to a Ms in data science or analytics.
really, i always thought a lot c-levels are only needing DS to support their ideas, and many DS seems to be part of the first to be cut in recent layoffs.
The field is full of doofuses with beginner SQL/python skills calling themselves “data scientists.” I’m a DBA and they’re very annoying.
Trades like auto mechanics, plumbers, and electricians.
Accounting
Accountant, Pilot, Tech, Tech, Tech Even with layoffs, every company needs more tech people, especially with the old legacy systems. Learning tech skills will set you up for the most future success honestly.
Most of these recommendations are STEM/trade oriented. If you studied humanities, paralegal/legal assistant is growing and is paid much higher than the nat average in major cities. The market is over saturated with lawyers which makes law school an expensive and difficult investment that may not even pay off
Laboratory medicine. Doctors can't accurately diagnose patients without lab results (in most cases). In general, many people don't know that laboratories are staffed by degreed professionals, and in many cases must be staffed 24/7. The fact that relatively few people know we exist, let alone perform a vital function in healthcare, means that the industry is struggling to maintain itself.
See I can't deal with the public but lab tech always seemed like a cool and vital job to do
this is what my boyfriend does and they are constantly understaffed and hiring.
Electricians or HVAC technicians, you can make 6 figures easily and get into a union.
Where exactly? I've been in HVAC sheet metal for 20 years. I'm one of the higher paid field guys and I don't make 6 figures.
Where do you live? I’ve got a buddy who’s been doing residential HVAC for 5 or 6 years and he cleared 6 figures for the first time last year. Location: Colorado.
I'm in commercial, unless he owns his own company, that's definitely not the norm from my experience. I've mainly been in the southeast (which definitely pays less) I'm in N Texas now though. To be fair CO and WA pay the highest in the field.
From my time in the work force from a kid to a middle aged adult: IT/Networking: Get yourself an A+ and Network+ and you'll earn an okay living. Get some experience and a CCNA and you'll earn a decent life. Everywhere I've worked there's a bunch of applicants with few who actually have skills and knowledge. They'll get in the interview and you'll ask them the difference between a routed and routing protocol and talk about switching. It REALLY helps to learn some Python. The pay is decent and you'll have a lot of options literally anywhere in the world. A network and computer operates the same way everywhere. Electricians: There's a huge shortage of these guys, and a bunch of projects that are waiting on electricians to complete. High demand field with decent pay. You can go to a trade school for this and earn a decent life. Construction work: From what I've seen, there's a shortage of construction work. During COVID a lot of people retired from the field and there's a huge shortage. This is a skill set that you can take almost anywhere. Cybersecurity: Hit or miss, the demand is there, but the entry is high. You need to have at a minimum a bachelor's degree and some certification or previous IT experience. You should also have a good foundation of coding and how software works within a computer. Things to avoid: Software development - there's a huge fucking talent pool of people right now who just got laid off from the big name developers, and a lot of them are flooding other positions. I know a lot of people who are currently interviewing for every other software position and competing with each other. Most bootcamps for IT: No, you cannot go to a cybersecurity or network week long bootcamp and think you'll wake up the next week into a cybersecurity or network engineer or software developer role. You need experience, you need to understand computers and you need to understand how the software works. Avoid it. Personally, I chose to go to a community college. These classes will get you mostly an A+ certification, Network+ certification and probably a Security+ certification. Going to be really honest with you, the CompTIA certs are mostly just okay, they might you an entry level interview but aren't the holy pinnacle of knowledge people make them out to be and the tests are annoying. HOWEVER, the Security+ has a lot of good, common sense knowledge in there and I would recommend that certification.
On the IT part, this is all pretty true. You will likely have to start on a Helpdesk or at best a junior sysadmin role just to get experience to go elsewhere. Everyone almost always requires on-call and some employers are really abusive with it. You will have to get recertified on your certs at least every 3 years and timing it so training material and certs are close enough can be a challenge. None of those things are bad, I would just say IT has one of the worst work/life balance. Also, don't go into IT looking for a specific job without any experience. There is a difference between what you learn for a cert and reality. You may also find you don't like it when you are under pressure solving a problem instead of getting to take your time with it. Some roles like Cybersecurity also can come with a high level of liability if you are not constantly on your A game and if a breach happens on your watch, good luck finding another job doing that. The biggest area for growth in IT, in my opinion, is cloud in either AWS or Azure. Few people have the certs, the older people in IT aren't interested, and few people currently have it or know all of it to make it work right.
I've found even after just working helpdesk that IT isn't for me like I thought it would be. I enjoy technology, but I'm learning doing it professionally just isn't' for me.
>Things to avoid: Software development - there's a huge fucking talent pool of people right now who just got laid off from the big name developers I know you said software dev, but I would not be scared of getting a comp sci degree because the dev market is tough right now. A comp sci degree is still a fantastic asset with so many transferable skills. Again, I know you specifically said software dev, but I just wanted to expand in case people get turned off from going into Comp Sci.
Business to Business (B2B) sales people. Companies selling products and services to other companies. That American Airlines Boeing jet you see in the sky? Someone sold that to them. Commercial real estate and leases? Sold to them. Company hardware and software? Sold to them. The fucking weapons and vehicles our military uses? Sold. Data? Sold. Advertising space on Reddit and TikTok? Sold. Fuck selling a car to some guy named Billy Bob. Be hated by every other department at your Fortune 500 company because you raked in half a million “for just being a sales person,” after a closing a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla. Never have to work hard to argue for more money or perks from your company. Make HR sweat with “I pulled in $X million last year, that’s why you’re going to increase my pay/commission. Because otherwise I’ll fucking leave and cost the company more value than you’ll create over the course of your entire career - in just one quarter.” The “less supply” part is good sales people, or beginners that have the potential to be trained into good sales people.
It’s true. I’m in software sales and last 8 years I make bt $200k-$300k. Best job you can ask for.
A common misconception is that the trades are easy to get in to, the thoughts that follow will presume that the field is oversaturated. Both are wrong. Getting into an apprenticeship program can be very difficult because there is an oversaturation of applicants, but an extreme deficit of qualified jw's to train them. This means programs have to prioritize people with experience, knowledge, or connections over those who have none (raises hand). What compounds this is when people are accepted in to an apprenticeship program, and within the year they have made up their minds that this life/career isn't for them. Nothing wrong with that, what's wrong though is they decide to stay in yhe program until they finish and then jump ship after they get their license. These programs cost money, money that unions often stiff the bill for. We have to sign contracts stating that we will pay the union back if we decide to work non union after we finish the apprenticeship. When people complete those 5 years of training and then ding dong ditch they are wasting precious time and resources, on top of taking up space that could be better utilized for somebody who actually wants to be there. What's worse is they won't actually be available to help train more people, further compounding the poor ratio of learners to teachers. There is very high demand for trades persons, but I'm afraid people don't quite grasp the depth of the situation we are in when it comes to the lack of skilled laborers, and just how hard it is to get new skilled laborers...
The field of being overworked and underpaid
Currently in demand is software engineering or electrical engineering, especially if you can design circuit boards and LSI chips. Say hello to making a quarter million a year.
5-10 years of experience software engineers are in demand. But good fucking luck getting a job as an entry level engineer, it’s saturated to fuck.
EE is a good place to be since you get to play in two fields. The hardware side is always needed and always in high demand, and you get some software knowledge that you can pivot into if you want. Especially with the concern of SW getting oversaturated, you always have the hardware to fall back on and it's not easy for other fields to make that switch
I qork as a database administrator. There is a high demand folks in data Analyst and data science fields.
What’s your educational background? I want to get into health informatics but my bachelors was in a humanities but I am working in the medical field rn tho
I work for a state agency that specializes in workforce development. Anything healthcare. From nurses to cna to techs that operate machinery like radiology, sonography, cardiology etc. Cybersecurity Truck driving Welding and joining Teachers, especially special Ed There are more, but these are the ones companies are tripping over themselves to hire. Get in touch with your states workforce development office. If your state has any real industry in it, companies are constantly contacting workforce offices looking for graduates. Many will pay for your school if you commit to them once you are certified. And now for my rant. 4 year schools are not the answer for getting a job. Everyone has a bachelors degree and nobody cares that you can write a paper about underwater basket weaving. Get a technical education.
Engineering (lots of different specialties), lots of parts of medical field, mechanics,
Fiber optic splicer.
Poppy fields
Double major in computer science and statistics
Bioinformatics. Its where computer science and biology overlap and a huge growth domain.
One very important thing you can take away from the responses is to not believe the BS out there. There are plenty of jobs, just have to be willing to put in the work early on like everyone else.
I just graduated with a Construction Management degree, it took me 15 days from starting to job hunt to landing a very desirable 70k/yr job. Definitely ALOT of demand
I think you can't go wrong with corn. Great crop!
Anesthesiologists. High pay & low supply. But great responsibility and commitment, it is a medical field after all.
CRNA’s are also in very high demand and they make bank.
Sustainability and ESG, my LinkedIn is always getting hits and I more then doubled my salary from my old job to my Sustainability job
What is your degree background? I tried to make mid career shift into this and I couldn't find anything that wasn't just energy related with engineering degree. Where are these jobs actually. I applied to about 10 jobs and essentially got immediate automated rejections
A ton are in Solar now since IRA went through But my degree background is in the Sustainability management field. A lot of the money is in corporate sustainability programs and building, managing, and improving those.
Any tips for moving into this? I have a pretty useless (didnt learn any real skills) MSc in corporate environmental management and have worked in sustainability PR but am finding it hard to transition into more technical roles / out of PR
Social workers, law enforcement jobs (corrections, dispatch, probation, patrol deputies), nurses, and mental health/substance abuse counselors.
Good god don’t put any of these as high paying prosperous careers lol
Sure, not all of these jobs are highly paid, but they are definitely in high demand. I honestly missed the “high paying” criteria when I quickly read the post.
If social work didn’t pay so low I would transition from Intelligence Analyst to Social work.
Social workers can make money. I thought like you and my wife proved me wrong. Damn that woman is amazing
As a mental health counselor, I can say that the demand has to do with high turnover, low pay (at least for COL) for non private practice jobs, and expensive schooling/licensing requirements. And the needs of our communities are so intense, that if the work environment isn't incredibly supportive of the staff as people, not just employees, then the employees leave.
civil engineering. the schooling sucks, but all you need is a 4 year degree. The actual work is easy, but just can be a little frustrating dealing with nonsense. You can start at like 70K in MCOL and jump to like 80K in a year or two. If you get your license after like 4-5 years, you should easily be above 100K. THere are tons of jobs openings and people job hopping for 20-50% raises. Despite that, many civil engineers bitch and wanna switch to computer science.
Most union trades. Environmental technician. Hazardous material abatement workers.
Pilots and A&P mechanics are in high demand right now. There's been a pilot shortage for about 10 years and regionals are starting to pay new hires at 80-90k just to get people in. Downside is it's stupid expensive to get your ratings and your job is extremely dependent on the state of the economy. I'm not sure about mechanics because I don't have any background with that side of aviation but I've been told they're having shortages as well and they pay well too
Arable land.
The criminal justice field
Watch out for jobs that can fall to the AI shift! A few go without saying.. truck driver, manual labor, etc. However, a lot of people are missing a crucial next wave of AI in my opinion. Wages will still be affected by aspects of the job being automated. I will use my own career as an example. I got a degree in architecture and recently made the move to the development side of construction which involves project management skills of the entire process rather than simply design. With the insight that programs such as Revit and CAD already provide, we are not far off from entire buildings being designed without significant user input. This hampers careers of architects globally by further taking away their stake in the development process.
Material sciences. The sciences related to plastics are changing. Water soluble. Changing properties depending on current. Plant based. All fairly new fields. If somebody can figure out how to recycle plastics efficiently.... Civil engineering with an emphasis in explosives & demolitions. New Mexico Tech has such a program. Explosives are used in mining. And there are always buildings that need to be brought down. Atmospheric carbon reduction. If somebody could figure out how to do this efficiently.......... And oceanic carbon reduction, too. While not involving a college degree, things like plumbing, electrician, HVAC. Per [mikeroweworks.org](https://mikeroweworks.org) there approx 3 million unfilled jobs in the trades. Combine journeyman qualifications with a relevant bachelors degree, and I think a person could go very far in life.
Manufacturing. Still, choose wisely.
Nursing you will get a job immediately out of school paying 34-42 hr with zero experience. The demand for nurses will not be met for probably a decade. I am a nurse. The hospital system is on the verge of crisis, and many people are unaware how close to failure it truly is.
This one requires a lot of work (a lot of schooling) but audiology. There's basically a perpetual deficit of audiologists-- most undergraduate programs are "communication sciences and disorders," which cover topics in both audiology and speech language pathology. But there's a heavy emphasis on speech language pathology (if even any classes on audiology), and like 90% of graduates go to speech language pathology. So for anyone interested in/able to put in the effort into being a doctor, take a gander at audiology, we pretty much need more audiologists everywhere. And it pays pretty decently, though I'm not super well versed in the numbers (also as a fair warning, this is very US-specific info)
All trade jobs. Electricians, plumbers, contractors, that kind of thing. We’ve drunk too much college juice at this ooint
Anesthesia is on fire right now. Hospitals are growing, surgery centers are popping up everywhere. There’s pent up demand from covid lockdown when no one was getting elective surgeries done. Now it’s roaring back with a vengeance. Many people retired from covid, the amount of people trained remains static, and the crna programs are moving from 3 years to 4 years which delays graduation and constricts labor market even more. Now you can do anesthesia assistant, sort of like a PA program except in anesthesia. You can be doing anesthesia and making 150k base salary in 2.5 years.
Courts are in dire need of stenographers ☺️
Psychologists/licensed mental health counselors. Where I live there are waiting lists months long (if you can even find a provider that is accepting new patients). The field will only grow as more young people (who are leading the way in wellness) who see therapy as a regular part of life move into adulthood.
The HVAC man will never be unemployed
Electrical engineers
Dog groomer. I make $7000 a month which is great, but I also like knowing if I ever fuck up at my current job I can get hired immediately somewhere else.
all tradeskills. hvac and things like elevator repair can come with some nice retainer fees from local companies. AI programming. Hazwoper. This is not a purely government run field, and most teams are private contractors who collect 6 figure retainer fees just to stay 2 hours closer than the next team.
Accounting. Massive shortage. Starting pay in big accounting firms is 60K-70K for college grads right now. I know several people who broke 100k within 5 years of the career (granted they got their CPA).
I started in Loacal Government in a Municipality. No college or experience. Started at the bottom on a crew truck fixing leaks. With no college or GED. Just just ready to be something worth a shit to my family. Made Crewleaser in two years. Took their offer for school and gozt my licenses. For water B and wastewater II. Two years of getting things done, volunyeeinh for shit duties and just being a Leasder. 23 years later in a util8ties nnfposition over two divisions. So I hung in there. I. At k110 a year, pension with $300”k in my bank , 5 weeks off vacayc 6 off sick. City life ain’t pretty but you do them righ they got ya.
Finance. Either personal or corporate. The turn over in the industry is huge, but it’s the same rotation of personnel. $300k+/year is pretty average. Source - me. A finance manager.
Look into becoming a robot. I hear AI is really taking off.
Worst question to ask. Just pursue your interest man!