Job Thread

[Soxbadger]

20 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Part of having a good credit score is having a high income. You could be really good at paying your bills, but if you don't have a high income your credit still generally stinks. 

Not true. Credit score is based on a bunch of factors, some of them are idiotic (you get dinged if you close a CC even if its a high interest rate and replace it with a lower one), but its not based directly on your income.

 

[The Sir]

25 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Part of having a good credit score is having a high income. You could be really good at paying your bills, but if you don't have a high income your credit still generally stinks. 

Jack, that isn't true. You might have a hard time getting approved for a credit card if you report your income as zero (how are you gonna pay that balance off?) but that doesn't affect your credit. Seriously, just try it. This is heartfelt advice that might open a new door for you, and it won't hurt to try AT ALL. Rather than being pessimistic and dismissing it out of hand, give it a shot. The absolute worst case scenario is that you are still stationary at the same place you are now.

[Iwritecode]

12 hours ago, The Sir said:

Check it! It doesn’t seem like it’d be bad, and if it is, then it’s not like you’re any worse for the wear. You can check it free through Credit Karma (I’m pretty sure that’s the case and not something I got pro bono through the military). But it’s worth knowing and if it’s decent, it could open up new avenues for you.

IIRC, everyone is entitled to one free credit check per year from each of the 3 major companies. If you ever have to pay to check your credit, you're doing it wrong.

 

https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/get-my-free-credit-report

Edited September 12, 2019 by Iwritecode

[raBBit]

18 hours ago, Jack Parkman said:

Part of having a good credit score is having a high income. You could be really good at paying your bills, but if you don't have a high income your credit still generally stinks. 

This is totally wrong. 

[The Beast]

On 9/11/2019 at 10:01 AM, Jack Parkman said:

I have things to offer. I'm actually really good at a lot of things. Ideas of jobs that I'd like and I'm good at: internet network technician, any sort of handyman/home installer work. I'm really good at computers and building things.

I was actually good at software QA, but found it incredibly boring and unfulfilling. If I wasn't an idiot and dated a co-worker there that went south horribly, I probably would have stuck it out at that company and tried to make the best of it. Unfortunately, it was a hostile environment. There were other issues going on there. 

My boss told me the following at my software QA job: When you're on focus, you're near the top of my best employees. The problem is that you're incredibly inconsistent on focus. I never know what I'm getting when you come into work each day. 

This is because of my executive dysfunction. It's awful. And I was bored. I have a feeling that if I started working there today, things would go differently. I also never took that job seriously as a career, mostly because I didn't think that I'd be there forever. 

I have plenty of things to offer. I have plenty of skills. If I don't have them, I can obtain them. 

I spent my money on College, unwisely. Part of that was lack of access to information. Things have happened in a way I couldn't have anticipated. 

There are these jobs available, but I don't have quite the skills that they want for them. Going back to college isn't an option, unless it's free. The risk is MUCH higher for a person on the spectrum not ever finding a job and being saddled with debt than for a neurotypical(random person) I've done research on the subject. NTs struggle with it too. 

What if you tried a trade? I had a friend who was an apprentice for a carpenter for a while and he didn’t stick with it, but there have to be apprenticeships or inexpensive programs in the trades for you to pick up?

[The Beast]

22 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I will never live to work and I don't judge people who judge themselves based on their jobs and dedicate their lives to them, but I'll never understand it.

I don't hate my job, and I'm humbly good at it, but if I never had to work another day in my life I wouldnt.

We live one life and have a finite amount of hours on this earth... no ones whispering into their families ears in their death bed saying "I wish I worked more."

So many things I want to experience, see and do and so little time in life to do them. I work to support those dreams and bucket list items, as well as to give my wife, and hopefully soon family, a comfortable life. 

I spent my first 8 years of my career working 60 hour weeks. You could never get me to do that every week today. I guess I paid my dues and Jack, as shitty as it is that's how you move up. If it never ends and you never progress the f your job and employer.

What do you do and what did you do in last lives?

[The Beast]

On 9/11/2019 at 11:06 AM, Jack Parkman said:

This is the issue. I'm as shitty of a salesman as one could possibly be. It's really hard for me to sell myself. I feel like a liar trying to sell myself. It's not gaining a full and accurate picture. 

Also, even though I like those things, I haven't done them at a high enough level. 

If I could be a car mechanic I'd love to. I love to build and fix things. 

Jack, I have found myself using these words before, “if I could, then I would...” I have learned it is not productive to just say that, you have to go out and act in some way. The lessons I’ve learned from failure have propelled me into something better. And this is coming from someone who is trying to overcome negativity. It doesn’t hurt to go out with a plan, evaluate from it and if that doesn’t work, try something else.

[Jerksticks]

21 hours ago, Jack Parkman said:

The car mechanic stuff, I can't do. I don't know how to do it, but I'd love to learn. I feel horrible because I have a neighbor who is a gearhead, he likes me, has a son close to my age and I could've been in his garage as a teenager learning this shit. Because I live at home, I've asked my parents repeatedly to let me fix my own car. I have youtube and a reference book 3 doors down the street. They won't let me because they want me to be safe. I don't appreciate them treating me like a child. 

With the other stuff, I know how to do it to a certain extent, but not nearly well enough to actually do it. I know a lot of how to do that stuff in theory but not in practice. I can read all of the books I want and watch all of the videos I want but unless I actually have the hardware to do it, I can't honestly sell myself to someone as an expert.  Some of this stuff I've done a little bit with my cousin but not enough to have confidence in myself to feel like an expert. 

 

Forget fine-tuning the skills yourself- you just need a good enough knowledge to sell it. Find the people who spent all the time learning, getting certified etc.  and subcontract them to complete the work.  You want independence right, so you need to spend your time finding the jobs for the guys to complete.  You’re too valuable to be in the field doing the work.  You need to be driving around all day finding work for the IT guys, flooring crew, painters etc.  whatever you decide to get into.   All it costs is $300 bucks depending on the state   Get your insurance AFTER you sell the first job- no reason to start your annual clock before you need it.   

Id do painting to get your feet wet in business.  Everybody needs it and plenty of local crews doing it.  Sell an exterior paint job for 5k to somebody and get it done for less.  Then do the IT stuff or whatever it is that sounds like it takes a bit more overhead once you have painting cash flowing for you.  

Now get off your ass and go the secretary of states office tmrw so you can thank me in a month. 

 

[The Sir]

4 hours ago, The Beast said:

Jack, I have found myself using these words before, “if I could, then I would...” I have learned it is not productive to just say that, you have to go out and act in some way. The lessons I’ve learned from failure have propelled me into something better. And this is coming from someone who is trying to overcome negativity. It doesn’t hurt to go out with a plan, evaluate from it and if that doesn’t work, try something else.

I can't like this enough.

I've spent so much time thinking about all the luxuries that could be mine if I started my business or flipped houses on a larger scale or whatever. It was all dreams until I took some risk and actually did something. Now I'm on an official trip for an investment opportunity that I've actually invested in, and everything I do from now on out will work towards making those dreams into reality.

[The Beast]

50 minutes ago, The Sir said:

I can't like this enough.

I've spent so much time thinking about all the luxuries that could be mine if I started my business or flipped houses on a larger scale or whatever. It was all dreams until I took some risk and actually did something. Now I'm on an official trip for an investment opportunity that I've actually invested in, and everything I do from now on out will work towards making those dreams into reality.

I would be curious to see what you would have to say about some of my previous posts about my career dilemmas. And I want to hear more about your investment to make your dreams a reality. Giving life to our dreams gives us a positive mindset, freedom and dignity.

[The Sir]

12 minutes ago, The Beast said:

I would be curious to see what you would have to say about some of my previous posts about my career dilemmas. And I want to hear more about your investment to make your dreams a reality. Giving life to our dreams gives us a positive mindset, freedom and dignity.

Just from looking at your long-ish post on the last page, where you talk about being stuck, I really agree. I've been there too. I came home from Afghanistan six years ago last Saturday. I didn't really want to be full-time in a peacetime army, so I decided to get out and remain in the National Guard in case any action came along again. I didn't know what to do at that point- I majored in criminal justice in undergrad so I thought about being a cop, but I also considered firefighting and air traffic control and teaching. I was truly all over the place! I eventually settled on teaching. I did that for a few years and even got a master's in educational leadership. I then spent a year and a half doing a stateside mission for the guard, and now that is ending. I am freaking out about going back to teaching but my optimism about this business assuages me a bit. I know I can build it up on the side, until it becomes my primary focus, and then I can phase out teaching (and all "normal employment") entirely.

It's a little strange knowing that, once I succeed in business (there is no if, only when), my educational pursuits will prove to have been mostly pointless. My wife and I fumbled along, mostly paycheck to paycheck with a little padding in a savings account and nothing going for our retirement, until we sold our house for a massive profit last year. I don't think we even realized what an asset we were sitting on until the check was deposited in our bank account. We had bought that house easy because we didn't need to put any money down because of the VA loan. So we paid off debts, poured money into savings, started IRAs for both of us, and made our current investment based on that. I could have enlisted with no college degree and never have gotten a master's and found more or less the same benefit. My parents pretty much expected me to go to college, and while I enjoyed it, I think it's a valuable teaching point for my own young children that it's not absolutely mandatory for success. Hell, it's a decent lesson for as long as I teach, too. We need to get away from the four-year-college mindset and encourage people to do what suits them. There are multiple pathways to success.

I didn't mean for this to be some sort of bio, but the point of all of this is that you can't get too set on any one path. It is OK to walk a certain direction for some distance, then turn around, retrace your steps, and sprint off down another path. I don't want to make assumptions about anyone else's position, but I know this is something I've struggled with in my career confusion. I've got a master's in educational leadership, I need to be an educational leader! That's what I'm working towards! Well, bro, that degree isn't going anywhere- you can come on back if you want later. This other thing might be so much bigger, go and give it a damn shot already. If tearing down the canvas that you already have is what leads to your true masterpiece, then fucking do it. Don't be afraid.

Another thing- it is never too late. Personally, I am a big admirer of Winston Churchill. I'm currently reading his biography, The Last Lion. It consists of three volumes, and volume 3 is subtitled Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. At the end of volume 2, it's May 10th, 1940, and he finally gets the call to become Prime Minister. Up to that point, he was known mostly for conceiving the disastrous Gallipoli campaign and really, really hating Nazis. If he had up and died on May 9th of that year, he'd be known by serious students of British history and no one else. He was 65 years old at that point. His entire legacy centers around things he did after an age that you or I or Jack won't hit for another three decades. So if you want to scribble everything out and start over, get started! There is no such thing as stuck or too late, unless you allow it.

Last point I'll make, lest I sound rambling- a few months ago, a guy we reached out to on Craigslist came over to my house to pick up some old furniture that was clogging our garage. I wasn't there but he made some comments to my wife about my Jeep, which I'm trying to sell, and he asked my wife if he could contact me. I figured he was interested in the car so I said yes. The next day, he called me and started talking about his great business opportunity. I asked what his business was, and he immediately ranted to me about the employee mindset that was destroying all of our dreams. Now I feel sorry for a guy who has to cold-call other guys who gave him a free dresser via the internet to lure them into shitty MLMs, and I let him down promptly and politely, but his point wasn't all that bad. The timing was terrible, and you really shouldn't go into philosophical diatribes in response to simple inquiries about what your business sells, but he was technically right- you don't need to work for anyone else.

Jack is, by his own words, highly intelligent. You, Beast, seem like a talented individual. I know damn well that I am gifted. Why should my efforts primarily reward other people? I made that exact point when I introduced myself at this meeting today and they asked why I got into this investment- I said that after years of service to others, it was time for my talents to work for me, my wife, my kids. It's terrifying in a way- if you think job applications are tedious or interviews are nerve-wracking, then dumping thousands of dollars of your own money or obtaining financing is infinitely more so. But it gives you freedom and dignity in a way that working for a fixed wage and needing a union to protect your right to take a shit on the clock could never hope to do. The optimism I'm feeling these days as my plan increasingly comes together is one that I don't think I've yet felt as an adult.

I hope this reads as helpfully to you and anyone else as it does in my head. If you want precise details on what I'm investing in, I'm happy to share via PM.

[The Beast]

7 hours ago, The Sir said:

Just from looking at your long-ish post on the last page, where you talk about being stuck, I really agree. I've been there too. I came home from Afghanistan six years ago last Saturday. I didn't really want to be full-time in a peacetime army, so I decided to get out and remain in the National Guard in case any action came along again. I didn't know what to do at that point- I majored in criminal justice in undergrad so I thought about being a cop, but I also considered firefighting and air traffic control and teaching. I was truly all over the place! I eventually settled on teaching. I did that for a few years and even got a master's in educational leadership. I then spent a year and a half doing a stateside mission for the guard, and now that is ending. I am freaking out about going back to teaching but my optimism about this business assuages me a bit. I know I can build it up on the side, until it becomes my primary focus, and then I can phase out teaching (and all "normal employment") entirely.

It's a little strange knowing that, once I succeed in business (there is no if, only when), my educational pursuits will prove to have been mostly pointless. My wife and I fumbled along, mostly paycheck to paycheck with a little padding in a savings account and nothing going for our retirement, until we sold our house for a massive profit last year. I don't think we even realized what an asset we were sitting on until the check was deposited in our bank account. We had bought that house easy because we didn't need to put any money down because of the VA loan. So we paid off debts, poured money into savings, started IRAs for both of us, and made our current investment based on that. I could have enlisted with no college degree and never have gotten a master's and found more or less the same benefit. My parents pretty much expected me to go to college, and while I enjoyed it, I think it's a valuable teaching point for my own young children that it's not absolutely mandatory for success. Hell, it's a decent lesson for as long as I teach, too. We need to get away from the four-year-college mindset and encourage people to do what suits them. There are multiple pathways to success.

I didn't mean for this to be some sort of bio, but the point of all of this is that you can't get too set on any one path. It is OK to walk a certain direction for some distance, then turn around, retrace your steps, and sprint off down another path. I don't want to make assumptions about anyone else's position, but I know this is something I've struggled with in my career confusion. I've got a master's in educational leadership, I need to be an educational leader! That's what I'm working towards! Well, bro, that degree isn't going anywhere- you can come on back if you want later. This other thing might be so much bigger, go and give it a damn shot already. If tearing down the canvas that you already have is what leads to your true masterpiece, then fucking do it. Don't be afraid.

Another thing- it is never too late. Personally, I am a big admirer of Winston Churchill. I'm currently reading his biography, The Last Lion. It consists of three volumes, and volume 3 is subtitled Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. At the end of volume 2, it's May 10th, 1940, and he finally gets the call to become Prime Minister. Up to that point, he was known mostly for conceiving the disastrous Gallipoli campaign and really, really hating Nazis. If he had up and died on May 9th of that year, he'd be known by serious students of British history and no one else. He was 65 years old at that point. His entire legacy centers around things he did after an age that you or I or Jack won't hit for another three decades. So if you want to scribble everything out and start over, get started! There is no such thing as stuck or too late, unless you allow it.

Last point I'll make, lest I sound rambling- a few months ago, a guy we reached out to on Craigslist came over to my house to pick up some old furniture that was clogging our garage. I wasn't there but he made some comments to my wife about my Jeep, which I'm trying to sell, and he asked my wife if he could contact me. I figured he was interested in the car so I said yes. The next day, he called me and started talking about his great business opportunity. I asked what his business was, and he immediately ranted to me about the employee mindset that was destroying all of our dreams. Now I feel sorry for a guy who has to cold-call other guys who gave him a free dresser via the internet to lure them into shitty MLMs, and I let him down promptly and politely, but his point wasn't all that bad. The timing was terrible, and you really shouldn't go into philosophical diatribes in response to simple inquiries about what your business sells, but he was technically right- you don't need to work for anyone else.

Jack is, by his own words, highly intelligent. You, Beast, seem like a talented individual. I know damn well that I am gifted. Why should my efforts primarily reward other people? I made that exact point when I introduced myself at this meeting today and they asked why I got into this investment- I said that after years of service to others, it was time for my talents to work for me, my wife, my kids. It's terrifying in a way- if you think job applications are tedious or interviews are nerve-wracking, then dumping thousands of dollars of your own money or obtaining financing is infinitely more so. But it gives you freedom and dignity in a way that working for a fixed wage and needing a union to protect your right to take a shit on the clock could never hope to do. The optimism I'm feeling these days as my plan increasingly comes together is one that I don't think I've yet felt as an adult.

I hope this reads as helpfully to you and anyone else as it does in my head. If you want precise details on what I'm investing in, I'm happy to share via PM.

I may have said this before, but first of all, thank you for your service. Thinking back to my years after high school I wish I would have registered for the national guard so I could serve my country. It must have been an honor to serve and one of the things on my bucket list is to make an impact on people’s lives and on the country so that our kids and future generations can have the same opportunities we had.

That being said, your post strikes several chords with me and I think there’s a lot of value for Jack to read here. 

How were you able to settle on teaching with a Criminal Justice degree in undergrad? I suppose it varies by state, but I thought for sure you needed a content area and not any bachelor’s degree to be able to teach, but maybe that is only in Illinois. How did you settle on teaching as a career?

I have felt that way about my pursuits. If the data science program doesn’t work out, I would have invested two years of my life into something that I put a lot of time and effort into. Luckily I will walk away only paying $5,000 since my employer has picked up the remaining balance of nearly $15,000. Now I just need my next employer to pick up the remaining tab. The challenging thing is that I need to finish the program soon in case my wife gets pregnant next year and I hope to be in a job where I can use the skills I have learned rather than just do the day to day work I do and try out the work when I have time with teams in different offices nationwide. But at least I have an opportunity elsewhere to use data and reporting and eventually try data science.

You are correct about college degrees. I think the four year college mindset works for some but not for every student. There are two year degrees that make more than liberal arts majors and can provide a comfortable lifestyle. I also maintain that not everyone knows what they want at ages 18-22, so I find value in working and going to a community college for a short time while doing informational interviews and observing different careers is an excellent and more efficient way of figuring out what to do as long as people don’t suffer from analysis paralysis and slim their list down.

The fear that I am just going to have to overcome is the financial resources to make a change at any point in life. My concern about having kids is that if I want to make a change, I am not sure about how to make it in another educational program while being a parent, paying a mortgage and going to school. I need to tell myself that it can be done, even if sacrifices must be made. But again, there is no such thing about being stuck or it being too late, right?

I can certainly see the freedom that you feel in your pursuit of this investment and would love to know more. (Not to get political but I heard one of the presidential candidates talk about economic freedom and high job satisfaction that comes from being in the right career. The challenge is being able to have the means to do so.) Anyway, please do send me a PM about your pursuit and best of luck.

[BackDoorBreach]

Credit Karma app is free but is generally a little lower than what your score actually is.  It does give you a good ballpark though.

[The Sir]

13 hours ago, The Beast said:

I may have said this before, but first of all, thank you for your service. Thinking back to my years after high school I wish I would have registered for the national guard so I could serve my country. It must have been an honor to serve and one of the things on my bucket list is to make an impact on people’s lives and on the country so that our kids and future generations can have the same opportunities we had.

That being said, your post strikes several chords with me and I think there’s a lot of value for Jack to read here. 

How were you able to settle on teaching with a Criminal Justice degree in undergrad? I suppose it varies by state, but I thought for sure you needed a content area and not any bachelor’s degree to be able to teach, but maybe that is only in Illinois. How did you settle on teaching as a career?

I have felt that way about my pursuits. If the data science program doesn’t work out, I would have invested two years of my life into something that I put a lot of time and effort into. Luckily I will walk away only paying $5,000 since my employer has picked up the remaining balance of nearly $15,000. Now I just need my next employer to pick up the remaining tab. The challenging thing is that I need to finish the program soon in case my wife gets pregnant next year and I hope to be in a job where I can use the skills I have learned rather than just do the day to day work I do and try out the work when I have time with teams in different offices nationwide. But at least I have an opportunity elsewhere to use data and reporting and eventually try data science.

You are correct about college degrees. I think the four year college mindset works for some but not for every student. There are two year degrees that make more than liberal arts majors and can provide a comfortable lifestyle. I also maintain that not everyone knows what they want at ages 18-22, so I find value in working and going to a community college for a short time while doing informational interviews and observing different careers is an excellent and more efficient way of figuring out what to do as long as people don’t suffer from analysis paralysis and slim their list down.

The fear that I am just going to have to overcome is the financial resources to make a change at any point in life. My concern about having kids is that if I want to make a change, I am not sure about how to make it in another educational program while being a parent, paying a mortgage and going to school. I need to tell myself that it can be done, even if sacrifices must be made. But again, there is no such thing about being stuck or it being too late, right?

I can certainly see the freedom that you feel in your pursuit of this investment and would love to know more. (Not to get political but I heard one of the presidential candidates talk about economic freedom and high job satisfaction that comes from being in the right career. The challenge is being able to have the means to do so.) Anyway, please do send me a PM about your pursuit and best of luck.

In Texas, I got an alternate certification and that was it. I have a hunch that some principals looked down their noses at alt-certs, but I got hired and then got my master’s at a pretty prestigious school, so that didn’t stop me in the long run. Other states might certainly be tougher to get in the door.

To add on to the stuff about college, we need to rearrange the way we think about class in this country. Socioeconomic class is about money. Period. My friend is a lawyer, and while I love the guy, he makes dick. Yet I feel like a lot of people would put him in some upper echelon of society, higher than, say, a plumber who has several years of experience and makes six figures. Fuck that noise. If you can go to trade school for cheap and make bank, that’s what you need to do.

For what it’s worth, I was teaching, a member of the guard, already had a young son and celebrated my daughter’s birth while owning and often renovating my own house during the year that I was getting a master’s. My wife worked too. Don’t let it freak you out- it was definitely doable.

[soxfan49]

If you bank with Chase and use their mobile app, you can check your credit for free and it updates for you weekly for no cost or hit on your credit report.

[raBBit]

32 minutes ago, soxfan49 said:

If you bank with Chase and use their mobile app, you can check your credit for free and it updates for you weekly for no cost or hit on your credit report.

Indeed. Chase Credit Journey is a pretty nice feature. 

[Iwritecode]

I get my credit score for free with my Discover bill every month.

My wife and I just recently bought a car so we got to see our credit scores then and they seem to match up with what Discover told us, so they are pretty accurate.

[The Beast]

On 9/13/2019 at 8:37 PM, The Sir said:

In Texas, I got an alternate certification and that was it. I have a hunch that some principals looked down their noses at alt-certs, but I got hired and then got my master’s at a pretty prestigious school, so that didn’t stop me in the long run. Other states might certainly be tougher to get in the door.

To add on to the stuff about college, we need to rearrange the way we think about class in this country. Socioeconomic class is about money. Period. My friend is a lawyer, and while I love the guy, he makes dick. Yet I feel like a lot of people would put him in some upper echelon of society, higher than, say, a plumber who has several years of experience and makes six figures. Fuck that noise. If you can go to trade school for cheap and make bank, that’s what you need to do.

For what it’s worth, I was teaching, a member of the guard, already had a young son and celebrated my daughter’s birth while owning and often renovating my own house during the year that I was getting a master’s. My wife worked too. Don’t let it freak you out- it was definitely doable.

I wonder what you and others would say about finishing a degree, finding out from working in a field that it isn’t for you and going back in your late 30s, 40s and 50s to retrain for something else that is in demand. I’m guessing it is possible with some personal sacrifice (like selling a house for a cheaper home elsewhere or not taking vacations and working while in school), even with kids.

Edited September 17, 2019 by The Beast

[soxfan49]

5 hours ago, Iwritecode said:

I get my credit score for free with my Discover bill every month.

My wife and I just recently bought a car so we got to see our credit scores then and they seem to match up with what Discover told us, so they are pretty accurate.

I, too, see my score on my Discover statement. If you have a Slate card with Chase, they give you your score on the statements, too.

[The Sir]

1 hour ago, The Beast said:

I wonder what you and others would say about finishing a degree, finding out from working in a field that it isn’t for you and going back in your late 30s, 40s and 50s to retrain for something else that is in demand. I’m guessing it is possible with some personal sacrifice (like selling a house for a cheaper home elsewhere or not taking vacations and working while in school), even with kids.

I'd support that 100%. Again, I never did anything relating to my undergrad degree (except for the fact that I needed one to get my military commission), and with this business plan in the works, it is unlikely that I'll do anything related to my grad degree either.

The only caveat is that the GI Bill has made it a lot easier for me to do these things. If I had college debt already, it'd be a hell of a thing to tack on some more on a whim. But if you can manage the finances, I would absolutely recommend it. Again, it's never too late.

[ptatc]

2 hours ago, The Beast said:

I wonder what you and others would say about finishing a degree, finding out from working in a field that it isn’t for you and going back in your late 30s, 40s and 50s to retrain for something else that is in demand. I’m guessing it is possible with some personal sacrifice (like selling a house for a cheaper home elsewhere or not taking vacations and working while in school), even with kids.

I've had people in their 30's, 40's and 50's come into our physical therapy program for second careers.

[The Beast]

2 hours ago, The Sir said:

I'd support that 100%. Again, I never did anything relating to my undergrad degree (except for the fact that I needed one to get my military commission), and with this business plan in the works, it is unlikely that I'll do anything related to my grad degree either.

The only caveat is that the GI Bill has made it a lot easier for me to do these things. If I had college debt already, it'd be a hell of a thing to tack on some more on a whim. But if you can manage the finances, I would absolutely recommend it. Again, it's never too late.

If I were to spend on another career path, the cost would be entirely on me. Aside from the mortgage and my wife’s graduate program, along with the kids we would have, we don’t have any debt. We aren’t rich but we aren’t poor either. 

The current job that I have is getting boring and I have kept it to have a secure income and for them to pay for my school. If I can’t find a job before the year is up, I will probably stay there until the middle of next year, when they can pay for the next two classes and I won’t owe them again. I have a class going on right now and I have multiple weddings this fall, so unless my next job started in November, I don’t think I could start a new job right now. But I do find value in interviews and intend on applying for new roles while trying out new projects related to the data science skills I have been learning so that I can practice those skills and keep them fresh. 

[The Beast]

1 hour ago, ptatc said:

I've had people in their 30's, 40's and 50's come into our physical therapy program for second careers.

Do you know if they had kids or what their backgrounds were in? I was average in science in high school and haven’t taken biology or chemistry since then and I never took A&P or physics. But that doesn’t mean trying as an adult wouldn’t work. I think that helping people would be a great thing to do, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be physical therapy and it instead could be nursing, but I am looking for something where I could get more job satisfaction and earn enough to live and provide for a family. (Which is something I didn’t think of when it came to undergrad.)

[ptatc]

4 hours ago, The Beast said:

Do you know if they had kids or what their backgrounds were in? I was average in science in high school and haven’t taken biology or chemistry since then and I never took A&P or physics. But that doesn’t mean trying as an adult wouldn’t work. I think that helping people would be a great thing to do, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be physical therapy and it instead could be nursing, but I am looking for something where I could get more job satisfaction and earn enough to live and provide for a family. (Which is something I didn’t think of when it came to undergrad.)

Some have had kids but it's tough. You are in class from 8 or 9 to 4 daily and then studying in the evenings. Its 3 years long. The prereqs do include biology, chemistry, anatomy, physics, psychology and stats. You are guaranteed a job and it pays pretty well.

[The Beast]

13 hours ago, ptatc said:

Some have had kids but it's tough. You are in class from 8 or 9 to 4 daily and then studying in the evenings. Its 3 years long. The prereqs do include biology, chemistry, anatomy, physics, psychology and stats. You are guaranteed a job and it pays pretty well.

What were there backgrounds, did they already have a science background? What program includes the prerequisites and graduate coursework?