[350Rocket]

Hey guys, hope I can get some good advice on here since I know there are a lot of smart people frequenting these forums. I just recently quit my job after being there over 2 yrs and unhappy most of that time. I was counter sales at an electrical supplies wholesaler (contractor type supplies). I started there as shipper/receiver and was promoted to counter and given 4 raises since I started due to my hard work and almost leaving for another job offer at the start. At the time of leaving I was making $32,500/yr salary (Cnd. $) which was acceptable to me if I had not been required to work more than the 40hrs/week and working through my lunch regularly and running my arse off all day long to keep up with the workload. We were also expected to stay late for pre inventory at no extra pay and during inventory they expect us to stay late friday night until as late as 11:00 (so 7am until 11pm at night) then back in at 8am and go until 11pm again, then possibly back in on sunday. They only give us time off in lieu of the hours we put in (not time and a half) and usually try to cheap out on the extra hours we put in. Anyways this and many other reasons caused me to get to the breaking point, so enough ranting about that.

I'm currently on a job search but if I don't find anything I'm considering going back to school and looking for advice on what to take. I'm 26 years old and I took electronics engineering technician at a local college close to 8 years ago when I was out of highschool, but I didn't do well and never finished due to issues I had at that time. I'm considering going back and retaking that course since I will remember some of the material and I'm much more ready to learn now.

My experience at the time is warehouse shipping/receiving, automotive parts, automotive service advisor, I have enough knowledge of all of those to possibly be management. Not sure anyone would hire me for management due to my age especially since I look much younger than 26.

My hobbies and interests are automotive (mostly older cars and trucks), bikes, electronics, stereo equipment, computers, bicycles, other outdoors stuff, etc. Only problem is I don't have extensive enough knowledge of any of those things to be able to actually work on them as a career.

I hope this gives enough information about my situation to help me get some advice. Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[Kirosia]

Considering your background, how bout majoring in Operations and Decisions Sciences, Supply Chain Management, or Operations Management? (They may be classified under the same umbrella, I don't know) My Operations professor said he's had ODS grads who now work at car dealerships and make 100K a year (supposedly). With your work experience, a degree would probably help open doors into management.

 

[TheAudioDude]

I'd recommend sticking with some type of engineering if you really like it/have the mindset for it. Since you like cars/bikes/etc. have you ever thought about mechanical engineering? You don't need to have a background in anything to study what you want. I had no experience with electronics before I went to college (other than the fact that I liked them), but now I'm a Product Engineer at a private company that makes power converters and I do well for myself.

There is good money in engineering but it is true what people say; you have to love what you do. I love electronics but power converters are boring for me. I don't dislike my job but I know I could find something better... but I'm sticking it out there for a while longer until something really great comes along.

I wouldn't completely turn away from the management route. Sure, you look young but if you can talk smoothly and make a good impression, your looks won't matter. Plus having a management degree/knowing things would help too

 

[350Rocket]

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like my parents are going to help me go back to school next September, possibly for civil engineering or construction engineering. I would like something where I get to be outside a lot. For now I'm going to apply everywhere and hopefully get something to hold me over until then.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Education is all well and good (I put in nine years and three degrees beyond high school), but have you considered becoming a mechanic? You could eventually work for yourself and set your own hours. There is good money to be made, especially working as an independent on cars and bikes. You could also open yourself to interesting trades of parts/cars/bikes in exchange for work. And you'll never get outsourced, either.

There are schools that will train you, but you could also consider the military. They always need skilled mechanics and they'll feed and house you, too.

There is prestige in the academic route, but highly skilled blue collar (as opposed to ditch digging and burger slinging) is nothing to be ashamed of. You can do quite well for yourself and get a chance to work on what you love most.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Education is all well and good (I put in nine years and three degrees beyond high school), but have you considered becoming a mechanic? You could eventually work for yourself and set your own hours. There is good money to be made, especially working as an independent on cars and bikes. You could also open yourself to interesting trades of parts/cars/bikes in exchange for work. And you'll never get outsourced, either. There are schools that will train you, but you could also consider the military. They always need skilled mechanics and they'll feed and house you, too. There is prestige in the academic route, but highly skilled blue collar (as opposed to ditch digging and burger slinging) is nothing to be ashamed of. You can do quite well for yourself and get a chance to work on what you love most.

no, blue collar jobs will not get outsourced; but with our fabulous immigration policy, it could be a race to the bottom.

UE, I like how you encourage ppl (w/o actually knowing their potential) to go with the trades/blue collar jobs. This will ensure that there will be an eventual oversupply of auto mechanics, which means when we are all out of jobs (at the current rate of decline) at least we can get cheap auto services

I see you have a distaste for prestige. But prestige, power and greed are the driving force behind much of our success in the past. The force is strong with the dark side

oh, military can be very prestigious: graduating top 10% at West Point or get into one of those prestigious JAG programs (not all JAG are prestigious e.g. air force >> army)

 

[Omega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 350Rocket /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like my parents are going to help me go back to school next September, possibly for civil engineering or construction engineering. I would like something where I get to be outside a lot. For now I'm going to apply everywhere and hopefully get something to hold me over until then.

Even if you break even monetarily, education is the best investment a person can make. I hear you saying that your previous job was not satisfying. I'd focus on that first...there are many ways to make money, but then, you obviously know this.

It sounds like community college could be a great option. They are extremely affordable, and they are used to seeing people who have been away from school for a while. If/when you do well and enjoy the classwork, you can transfer to a university quite smoothly (provided you plan ahead a little and choose compatible classes/degree program). Honestly, the fancy universities in the US get all the attention, but the community colleges are the backbone of the system, and clearly the best bang for the buck.

 

[350Rocket]

Uncle Erik, my love for cars is basically a hobby that only includes older cars. I'm not into the newer cars and would never want to have to work on them (they're built to be almost impossible to work on). My newest vehicle is a 1989 which is my winter beater.

Omega, the community college is the option I'm most likely going to take. If I take civil engineering I do have the option to upgrade to university if I decide I want to later on.

 

[arnesto]

I think you need to figure out what you want to do first before we can give you good advise on how to get there.

If you go back to school, it will give you some time to think about what you want to do.

 

[Huckster]

Good advice all around. One word of caution though- sometimes people float around in Community Colleges too long. They start taking various classes and get lost in all the different things local colleges have. If you choose this route, figure out a clear path after 1 or 2 semesters and follow it to your goal (I know this from experiences with community and university life). If you do go to a university, community college is a great way/cheaper way to get through the core classes, but make sure you know which ones translate to the University. Very important. Good luck!

 

[redshifter]

you can make up to $300,000 a year as a professional smeller

 

[120717]

*tries to resist typing "DO A BARREL ROLL!"*
x2 On hucksters point. Don't get caught in the cycle of continuous education, working to get to the next step up reaches a certain level of redundancy if you don't have experience in a paid work environment in that field.

 

[350Rocket]

My parents and I can't afford to get caught up in continuous education, so my plan is definately to take the courses I need to be done with it. I was sort of looking for ideas as far as different careers or line of work that I could get into after taking the required schooling for whatever it may be, in which I would have a good chance at finding a well paying job. Since I'm considering civil engineering or construction engineering, maybe something similar or along the same lines as these that I'm not thinking of? Thanks guys, I appreciate all the advice I've gotten so far.