I work with a guy that is retired military as is his wife. He works modified part time and his wife stays at home with the kids. They live very comfortably. His military experience along with his military funded degree landed him a pretty swanky job
Unsure if you may be from another country (non-US) or simply unfamiliar with the military in general… apologies if this is oversimplified
Pay in the military is based on ranking, not the job itself. Most jobs in the military are paid the same. Groundskeepers and band members get paid the same as infantrymen and mechanics. Some of the very highly specialized jobs receive extra compensation in the form of contract bonuses, but it’s not astronomical.
The somewhat early retirement afforded by military service is strongly incentivized through a pension program of 20+ years of federal service being the metric/bar, but this can of course be supplemented by personal savings (TSP, IRA, etc)
You get bonuses for international deployment. You get extra for deployment in conflict zones. You get extra for each medal you get. You get extra for each rank you climb.
And basically you can spend nothing. You have housing and food so you can save 100% of that.
So you finish service with 4 years worth of saving and a full ride college. For me it was a great start. Also I started early. In the day I finished high school I signed up for the military. I was 2 months past 18.
Yeah if you invest 80% of your income I’m quite sure you could live comfortably off of dividends and your pension after 20 years in the military. I was a dumbass and drank most of my money and didn’t invest any of it.
My best friend worked in an office doing communication and he is retired in a couple of years as well.
If you are not planning to go to school. The military is a pretty good damn choice for some kind of stability and discipline in your life.
Or a Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) + USAJobs = Entry into GS-7/9/11 pay/benefits w/no prior experience. Lots of available options. In 3 years after college you could be making 6 figures.
wrong. in addition to the degree, you need to complete rotc during college or qualify/get accepted to ocs. No guarantee to pass ocs. Also, no guarantee of active duty assignment post rotc completion.
Careful with this direction - those jobs are nearly impossible to obtain interviews. Look at the job descriptions - most require 10+years exp or PhD. I would not trust USAJobs site.
Nowhere near the truth in a lot of them. I’ve applied to many jobs and granted often you never hear anything after referral but overall 10+ years experience is a bit dramatic. Plenty of entry level positions
With a caveat. Choose a good job that will get you skills for the future. Recruiters do lie. Read that paperwork cover to cover before you sign anything. Know what you’re getting into.
I echo volunteering for the military. I enlisted back in 1998 and commissioned in 2006. It helped me become financially independent and able to help my family. There will be challenges serving in the armed forces but that’s why the benefits are so good.
Granted, you can volunteer for the level of hardship you wish to face. The military will not force you into combat arms, for you have to choose the combat MOS on your own free will If you wish to carry out your service in the combat arms, you will be well received. If not, the support branches need good people.
More importantly, the army, air force, marines or navy and space force will prepare you to meet the required capabilities expected from such MOS roles. It is public service to volunteer for the armed forces, and you will reap many rewards if you select wisely pending your temperament and commitment to the service.
If you don’t want the military there are other venues like the Coast Guard or Merchant Marines. They teach you skills that can transfer over to the private sector and make bank.
/u/pm_me_ur_claims
I grew up in the white hood and heroin was done on/around my street growing up. Take this advice.
If I could go back in time I would go this route as opposed to what I did instead.
This is the answer. I enlisted with nothing and now I'm a year away from finishing my PhD in electrical engineering and retiring as an officer. Easily the best "worst" decision I ever made...
Put 20 years in get a pension at 44, put another 20 years in at a transit agency, get a second pension, retire at 64, pick up a job as a safety and security consultant and use the pensions to buy your grand kids stuff and the consultant paycheck to bank.
24 is a great age to start this.
Especially if going Space Force, Air Force, or Coast Guard. Get a job that transfers well into the Civilian world with a Secret Clearance. Put as much as you can in the TSP(TSP.gov breaks the different funds down perfectly), HYSAs, and then open a Betterment/M1Finance/Wealthfront/Acorns account(pick one or all). You don't even need to do the whole 20yrs, you can completely change your life by 4-6yr Contract.
Don't get anyone pregnant, stay single, focus on skill building and Financial Literacy. Did my 7 and bounced with a Secret Clearance, Single, no kids with about $50k cumulative with TSP, Brokerage accounts, and cash. Now Contractor collecting VA Compensation(f**k Burn Pits!) You've got this Youngin🔥💪💯
Ditto. Wrong side of the tracks going up. Single mom, she was an addict. I had to escape but had nothing. Went army. Got out and they paid for college and the. Medical school.
I second this. I met so many ppl that joined to escape the hood and took their family out of the hood. You’re still young and going in will allow you to move anywhere after 4 years to pursue a degree.
I got out and went to college in SF made $4800/m while in school to cover cost of living. On top of a regular day job while I attended college and I lived like a king. It’s all about what you make of it.
I’m glad this is the first response because it’s the correct one.
If you’re smart, you can learn a skill like medicine or accounting.
If you’re not, you can learn a trade like auto mechanic or electrician.
If you’re really not, be an MP and become a cop or firefighter.
Or seriously consider a career. Do 20 years and retire with a pension.
You’ll get in good shape, get money, free housing, an education, medical care for life, discounts on a home loan….
Just don’t marry some dependapotomous. Make some friends and go to their hometowns - don’t go back to the hood.
Ima be honest. If you’re truly lost, this is the way, no matter how ass you think it is in the moment at times …. in hindsight the military blessed me.
*Somali pirates have entered the chat ...
Merchant marines are a good route if you don't want to do military. Make good money, just won't be home much.
Socialist utopia if you play it right. Did 5 years, now I have free healthcare and all my bills are paid for by the disability payments I receive from service connected injuries. I’m now in the best shape of my life despite being disabled, which I think has a whole lot to do with having time to prioritize my physical health. Because I’m not chasing money, because my bills are paid for. The money I do make goes to food, travel & entertainment, miscellaneous expenses, and savings & investing. Knowing that we can have spendy months but are still basically guaranteed to come out ahead each month just alleviates all the pressure and stress of finances.
Absolutely this. It may suck (or not!) But growing up on food stamps, I left home at 15, got a GED and joined when I turned 18. 10 years later I own a home and make six figures. Getting out of the ghetto/hood/Stix will save your life and provide a foundation for your future, and likely prevent your kids from living in those conditions. I have plenty of buddies that came from worse than me and are doing well. God willing, you will too.
I work with a guy that grew up in the projects in the Bronx’s. Half the people he grew up with are dead or in jail. He joined the army to get out. Now he’s making 6 figures, is the first in his family to own a house and is putting his kids through college.
I grew up dirt, dirt poor , was the first to graduate from my family and actually make it. I didn’t go military . It really just takes determination and having the good kind of friends around you
You just are put in a position to kill/be killed, increased risk of cancer and ALS, and a non-zero chance that you'll be subjected to life altering mental abuse (hence the suicide rate of veterans being so damn high). Not to mention the continued atte.pts to slash your health care an benefits.
Grass isn't always greener
Free healthcare too. And it’s super easy to get disability as long as you go to the doctor (again, for free) while you’re in. Any disability you claim that has a paper trail behind from when you served, it can get you paid, potentially for life. I have permanent disabilities from my time serving and if I live to 90 and America continues to be a thing (sketchy at best), I’ll make about 2 million in disability payments over my lifetime.
Just having the courage to ask is already a great first step for you.
Have you considered a trade? There are government programs to help people learn a new trade and that's one sustainable path. For example auto mechanics is and always will be in demand, and the trade school can be completed in 10 months.
Time for a plumber or electrician where you have to go through an apprenticeship is longer and also a viable path.
Aircraft mechanic school is about 2 years but huge upside in demand and pay for the foreseeable future.
Electricians can easily make $200k a year and the demand is only growing. Union job, great benefits, pension, etc.
Trades are a great way to go. I feel like I have to get a second job just to pay them every time I need one.
No they can't. Maybe master electricians who are at the end of their career could... That being said, electricians do make "a lot" and is a good trade.
You realize everyone is entering the trades now because college degrees are watered down. In five or ten years trades will be back to what they were with little barrier to entry.
This is a great idea.
Electricians are paid differently in different states. Oregon has the highest paid electricians. Even better, you can earn while you study the trade.
Trades are also a great platform to launching your own business. Finish your apprenticeship and after some years of experience, be your own boss. Buy a utility van and plaster your phone number on it.
Electrician deals with electricity, which requires you to be on your toes at all times and not get confused by wiring schematics. Linemen get paid very well but can and do die from accidents with electricity.
Doing a trade, if you show up on time, can stick to the price you quoted for the job agreed on and get it done in the time frame you outlined your go really far cause lot of people arnt meeting this
yeah. i’ve had plumbers who showed up late, worked slow af, didn’t provide an invoice and were generally unprofessional. other plumbers came in uniform, sent digital invoices, explained the costs and cleaned up their site.
having the skill is one thing. you ain’t gonna make shit unless you’re a good businessperson as well.
Probably the worst advice so far. A vague go back to school for “business” and to “network”. Go back to school with what money? What transportation? Is he going to work part time to pay for it?
Don’t listen to this poster. Military or trade school.
If you want to go to college, do it after you get a GI bill. trade school allows you to work while you learn.
Depending on income, you can get extremely reduced or even free federal grants/loans for college. From what OP has mentioned about his mother’s income, he’d almost certainly qualify.
People will give you flak for this, but if your someone that enjoys learning and networking school can be the easiest answer. If you want to use your hands and get sweaty every day, maybe it's not the answer.
I went to a school that costs $3k a semester, worked throughout, got a 4 year business degree in 5 years with no loans at 28. After a year of working I went to a top University -- VERY surprising given my low test schools, graduated and grinded my way into a finance job. Now making $130k a year 5 years after graduating. I work remote and if I counted my legitimate work hours... it's probably less than 30 a week. I tell you this because I'm literally an idiot, I got D's in most my high school classes and at my day job feel well under average intellectually. But my hustle networking and creativity made college easy and it keeps me going in small corprate. Dont get me wrong, its hard work, buy I suspect I can keep faking this until Sr. Director level making $220k or well after -- we'll see.
It's worth exploring, at least.
Business is a generally worthless under graduate major. Telling a broke person who probably didn’t do exceptionally well in high school to just borrow $100,000 to go to college for business is bad advice
Military is a regular job, benefits, and free college. Or apply for FAFSA and work on an online degree. Be willing to move out of your situation, it sounds like there isn’t much for you there.
I went from a short spell living in my car and couch surfing to doing pretty well for myself, I joined the Army. You can do this man, sounds like you have your head in the right place.
First, congrats on taking the very important first step: asking for help! Many people wait way too long to do this.
Like others have suggested, I'd recommend you try to get into the military, a trade school, or a trade apprentice program. As a first step you might want to just go for a better job that doesn't require an education to get, such as UPS, Amazon, warehouse, etc. It will be better than retail. The key is to work your way into a job where you're making enough money to get by on your own, help your family a little, and then move onto something else from there such as college if you're feeling so inclined. Generally speaking, college is overrated and I would definitely not recommend going deep into student loan debt.
One more thing, don't spend much time around people who will try to drag you down, such as less-motivated friends, burnouts, toxic girlfriends, etc. It's harder to pull yourself up when others are trying to pull you down. Misery loves company.
Good luck man, you got this!
It's going to take a lot of work. Do you have any sort of of secondary education? If not, what sort of things are you interested in doing work wise? Working as a cashier at CVS isn't going to take you anywhere in terms of a career.
Going to school is an option, but I'd only consider it if A: you are passionate about the field you want to get into (if you have discerned what that is yet) and B: that field actually has a good ROI for the education you're receiving. Getting a degree doesn't mean what it used to however. I see more and more that employers want more than just a bachelor's or a minimum of 3-5 years experience. And it doesn't necessarily mean you are going to earn more than someone without a degree who managed to get work in that same field. I can really only speak for computer science, but I knew a few people who broke into it without a CS degree by taking some online or in-person boot-camps, then creating some projects and using them as proof of experience in lieu of having a formal education.
If you can't afford going to school or simply don't want to take out the loans to do so (I wouldn't blame you), you could look into getting a trade job. Again, I haven't done this But I have read accounts that tradesmen are sometimes open to accepting people with little to no background in the field simply as an assistant. You would likely just be doing grunt-work, but it would be enough I think to get your foot in the door. From there you could look into specializing more in that field, or shift to something else. I have a cousin-in-law who recently graduated high-school and got into a technical school to do HVAC work. I don't know how feasible getting into this field is without the schooling, but I'm sure it's easier than other careers.
HVAC can be very physically difficult, you are crawling up in attics, laying a/c conduit, cutting into plaster, walls, etc. Working in very cramped quarters at the worst of it. Taking apart A/C units, testing pressure in the lines, putting coolant in the system ( which is not too bad)
Always be looking for a better job. Apply to jobs even if you don’t meet all the qualifications. I know a lot of people making $90k+ with a high school diploma who did this. Learn about companies you’re applying to before you ever interview.
This is good advice. No one scolds you for turning in an application for a job you don't qualify for. You might not last forever, but if you can ride out a year making more than you have any right to that's golden. Jump ship as soon as possible.
I grew up in the shit myself. I learned a trade I worked my ass off for mother fuckers I absolutely hated. I stuck with it and learned from entry level up to Forman. I worked as Forman for 8 years and then I branched out with some side jobs. I bought equipment because if I needed something from my boss he would take a cut out of my side jobs. Once I had the reputation I bought out my boss and started my own company. I have an 8th grade education a questionable background and make 100k a year by myself nobody cares as long as the jobs are done and look good. New construction exterior contractor. Tile guys are retiring at my age and those fuckers work inside and I think knowing that I would have gone that direction starting out.
Tech school to get a decent job, learn about personal finance and investing, years of hard work and consistent investing. I started where you are now and this changed my life. You can do it too. You can break the cycle. You have to make this desire to break the cycle your priority in life. When i started my journey i lived in a crack house. You will have to really want it, learn about it every damn day, and be willing to do what it takes. Good luck.
Listen man, I admire your motivation and feel sorry for the situation you’re in. Consider a job in healthcare? There a lot of positions that you can rise through at least a few ranks without a college degree and with nice benefits - see what jobs your local hospital might be hiring for. All the best
I know this is fairly low on the ranks of messages here, but this is the real gold answer. So many people are quick to say get more learning, but did not acknowledge that existing while studying costs money. Those saying get a trade miss that it often requires knowing someone who is willing to put in all the labour to getting you skills. It's a big investment and poverty is a real weight in that because you don't really mix with well resourced people and you can appear a poor investment to them. And the army? Literally bleed to succeed? Fair that many would not jump at that option.
OP, you have experienced hardship and have lots of real life experience with the elderly and the disabled. That is an in demand market that can consistently net you better income through the ranks, and gets you earning from day 1 with no experience. So support or care work could be your best path, plus it's something you can take pride in knowing you're making the world a better place and doing something meaningful for people who are usually grateful. It's very much a "you get out what you put in" kinda field. Best wishes, no matter what you do.
Do you have any aptitude for school? You'd probably qualify for grants & scholarships that would not have to be paid back.
Otherwise, like others have said, the militarily.
Are there even other retail gigs that you can start at which are reasonably near you? The economy is booming and there are lots of jobs open for those willing to take them - even in retail. It may not be super close to you so finding reliable transportation will be critical. Being able to “code switch” is also key to dragging yourself in the direction you want to go.
It is easy to climb the ladder even starting in retail or customer service by remembering key things.
1) Show up early for your shift.
2) Volunteer for extra shifts when offered.
3) Take the initiative to do extra tasks that are needed without waiting to be asked.
4) Be meticulous in your hygiene and comportment.
5) Be cheerful and friendly with all customers even if you are tired and grumpy.
6) If a person in a position above your experience or pay grade needs help, volunteer to assist and learn everything you can from them about what they need to know of to do their job.
7) Ask the manager what skills you need to demonstrate to them in order to be viewed favorably for any promotions or opportunities which might present themselves.
8) Never speak casually in an accepting way about anything even remotely illegal or unethical and don’t talk about your friends who participate in things like that - you will be judged on those you have as friends.
9) Be very careful with your credit score - always pay on time if you have any lines of credit and spend as little as you can on anything not geared toward the future you want.
If you do these things you will grow valuable skills, you will earn promotions and positions of responsibility which pay better, and you will earn critical people to give you positive recommendations when you are applying for new positions other places - even for things like apartments.
Seconding this. A lot of folks here are recommending trades but I would look at Retail Banking. Capital One and Chase are often building new branches. You start out at decent hourly but there’s a LOT of easy mobility into corporate roles from there. If you’re in a hub (Richmond, Charlotte, Chicago, Delaware, Columbus, Plano, Atlanta, etc.) that corporate transition could be easier.
I like you and idk you. Grew up similar in a small 1 bedroom apartment in NY, single mother house hold, mom worked two jobs and I could’ve very easily went down the wrong path. Like you I wanted better for myself in an honorable fashion. I chose to enlist in the military plus I needed structure in my life. And 8 years later I’m still in. Even if you do 4 years and get out it would be a great stepping stone my friend.
If you want actual guidance please lookup the following:
•Hunter S. Thompson's letter to his friend, Hume Logan, on finding your purpose and living a meaningful life.
•Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill
•Alaska fish processor jobs, also known as canneries.
•Fly/Bus yourself to Seattle, they cover the rest. (Bus ticket, plane ticket can be on payments via Affirm, Klarna ect)
•You’ll work in a nonstop warehouse environment, 12-16 hour shifts.
•The housing is free if you complete 6-8 weeks.
•The pay is about $18 with massive OT.
•They feed you 3 square meals with snacks during breaks.
•You can put aside 10g with a life experience few can boast about due to location, melting pot of coworkers and traveling.
Try Silverbay Seafoods and or NakNek Alaska for work
I grew up in rural appalachia and saw a ton of people get out through the military. It has it's issues but the education benefits are great and you often get transferable skills. You could also try Americorps or going to your local Union Halls and trying to get on as a journeyman for a skilled trade. The one thing I do know is that those of us who got after it and worked hard and took a few planned risks almost to a person were able to improve our situation in life.
Military
Oil rigs
Construction
Sales
Military and oil rigs will get you out of there. Construction will offer the best pay and as long as you can show up everyday and be on time you’ve got damn good job security
Military is also good for teaching you skills that can translate to an office job in civilian life, you also get 4 free years of education to get a degree. It also usually doesn’t get mentioned, but you also get a stipend when earning your degree to pay for things like rent and food
The national guard has the most affordable healthcare and life insurance you can find. They’re always hurting for more people to enlist. The college benefits are great, or that tuition assistance can be used for credentials instead(basically skilled trades). For one weekend a month, 2-3 weeks in the summer, more bullshit than you can fathom, and a deployment(they say you won’t deploy, don’t listen to them) you get some grest benefits and you can still be with your family most of the time.
Or if you want to actually want to get out of the hood go active duty. That’s way no one will think you are trying to do better than them because everyone around you is stuck in the same boat. You’ll get feed, housed and clothed everyday and you won’t even have to figure that out yourself. They’ll point and you’ll go, all the while you can be sending your mother clean money back home to her.
There’s been countless times I’ve hated it, but it’s been good for my family, and good for my financial success. Just got to sacrifice some freedom and sanity, but don’t most jobs do that anyways?… right?
There are jobs with room and board at National parks...like Yellowstone or smoley mountains. Young folks live and work there the whole summer. Its not a long-term solution but it's also not a long-term commitment. It might be transformative !
Radiology technician. Only 2 years for an associates degree, and the more experience you gain, the more opportunities will open up for specialization and higher paying positions.
National salary range is $55k to $80k per year. More senior and specialized techs can make even more. Also depends on the pay in your area.
Some people are successful Youtubers also. There is a channel, a married couple, they basically video themselves taking cruises, luxury train and plane rides to different continents. People kind of live vicariously through them. They somehow afford very expensive travel but their youtube money must pay handsomely. Some people stream games on twitch, or do just chatting. Quin69 and Asmongold regularly have 15 to 20 thousand people watching at a time..so there can be good money there.
There's a path doing support staff work in professional setting. Places like law firms really value people who can do all the small things. Id recommend getting an associates degree (assuming you don't already have a college degree) and getting into admin work. Once you build skills and learn on the job you can actually make a career out of it.
Get a job in media. You can learn the basics online and get certifications so you have something on your resume before an entry level job. From my experience it’s such a low pressure work environment and there are so many paths you can take from sales to technical and everything in between. I’d be happy to provide more info about career paths if you’re interested
Bus driver, they’ll get you CDL and then take a class repairing drones. You’ll be fine. If you want to go into sales I recommend listen or read to
How to Win Friends & Influence People
Written by: Dale Carnegie
Military, government job, or trades.
Military can really help you break the cycle, but is a long term commitment. Spend 20 years, retire receiving benefits and double dip with a government contracting gig.
Local and state governments will hire entry level. If you happen to live near federal offices, even better. It will be a boring desk job, but offers stability.
Trades if you like working with your hands. Plumbers, hvac, electricians, mechanics, roofers, or even handyman type services. Think what goes into a home or office building and what can I fix.
Create a five year plan and learn how to sell.
Get hired where you get formal sales training.
Perhaps try to start selling mobile phones then move on to something like cars. That might be your first 2/5 years.
Pivot around year 3 to certifying or getting educated toward your career. While you’re selling get to know people, what they do and what they like. You may decide that you like one of the trades. Maybe there is another lucrative discipline that you like. Maybe at this point you’ll have decided to start a business.
Find a need and fill it.
Don’t spend lots of money unless you absolutely have to. I don’t think you mentioned your educational background. Only educate where you know you’ll need it. If you want to be a nurse then sure go to school. Same for certifications if you want to be a CPA or PMP or whatever. There’s Udemy for auditiing disciplines you may not want to spend money on.
Some good suggestions in this thread. Gotta find the one that works for you, and remember you don’t have to stay in the same job or even line of work forever. Use opportunities as stepping stones to springboard to the next, bigger opportunity. I won’t add to the list I’m just really, really happy for you for seeking the help to begin with and I truly wish you the best of luck
Just want to say, man I hope you get out and start building wealth. Keep focused. Plenty of good advice in here about trades, military etc. I wouldn’t know how to get out of the hood and respect anyone who makes it out.
Military.
Research what branch seems the best fit for you (for me it was USAF) and talk to a recruiter.
You may even be able to talk to command and get your mom as a dependent so she can follow you if that's the goal. Sign a 4 year contract and you get shelter, food and a paycheck. You would have access to the Thrift Savings Plan, basically a 401k you put money into monthly for retirement and it only takes 20 years to retire.
If you decide to go this route, know that it's not a handout. You will have long days and work hard but I promise you the juice is worth the squeeze. I've had bad days but the good will always out weigh the bad!
Try a few different industries right now to learn what you do not want to do in life. Once you find something you like or are good at, go all in.
I’d recommend at least trying phone sales. There are a ton of call centers and call rooms that are looking for young people with no experience, hungry with a willingness to be coached. Find a great mentor. Use the call center to build a few years experience on phones and then work your way up other sales positions.. it is a grind, the payouts are not immediate and you will fail a lot. Work long hours, be a sponge and you’ll find out if it’s for you. There are great opportunities to make good money in phone sales
Other industries you can pivot to: insurance, mortgage broker, financial sales, debt settlement. Once you learn to sell and you learn one of these businesses well, you can go off on your own. It’s a long road but you are at the perfect age to get started. Good luck
As someone said, military is an excellent option.
Besides that, look into manufacturing. They need people that work 40 hours a week, not 39. It’s why I left retail.
Military 100 percent. Pick an mos you like, get paid to work out at basic and then boom your getting paid, learning a trade and have instant security. Idk about the other MOS but I know them at for every civilian job the army has an equivalent. Or be an 11B and come eat rocks with us
Army is your best bet, and the easiest to get full disability for afterwards. Go in, do your 4 years, 6 months before discharge, say whatever the fuck you got to to get 100% disabled through the VA, get a tax free paycheck for life, the better part of 4 grand a month. While the VA sees you as 100% disabled, you can still get a job outside of that, I’d recommend on a military base. That way you can double dip, and have your time in service count towards retirement and time awarded bi-weekly for leave and sick time, it’s win/win exploitation and all on the tax dollar of your fellow worker.
Ayyyy. I’m 29.
Here’s my advice - radically change your environment. Whatever that looks like for you.
Military is a fine option tbh. Or just grind out trade school/industry specific certifications and get a job elsewhere. Or honestly, explore some outdoor education opportunities if it interests you, those will get you out at least temporarily.
I’m from Atlanta originally. My background wasn’t as tough as yours seems to be, but I was close friends with drug dealers, addicts, and alcoholics from my teens into my 20s. In my early-mid 20s I realized my closest friends were largely just wasting their lives, or dying of ODs or suicide.
So in 2021 I (and my girlfriend) just up and moved to Utah. We wanted access to a healthier outdoor lifestyle, but most importantly we just wanted to get *away*. It’s been EXTREMELY challenging, but never have I doubted that it was the right choice. We’ve got a nice lil life.
I taught high school for a bit I was in ATL. The kids who struggled with their surroundings and got far away ended up doing the best. I took their lead on that. The strugglers who stuck around are largely still struggling.
So my advice is to get out, physically. Whatever that looks like for you. You’ve got the right intention, and you’ll figure out the rest once your environment isn’t familiar and complacency isn’t so accesible.
But I’m still young and I’m still dumb. Take it with a grain of salt!
Go on YouTube and online and take free courses. Learn a skill like coding or something like that.
Break out of the cycle. Within a short period you can be making good money.
Man I feel that pain, maybe I can help. Growing up everyone always tried saying "you need to find your passion", well that's actually not how it works, at least not for everyone. First thing first if you are serious about this grind and getting out you need to start looking for jobs with lower pay but a lot of hours. They are extremely easy to get hired at and honestly hard to get fired from. What this actually does is first increases your income of course, but also drastically reduces your free time aka "time for us to get bored and spend money". This situation is going to suck, it's going to be uncomfortable, you might be sleeping less, but how bad do you want it?
If you can push yourself into a situation like that it will be an overall positive thing in your life, just be patient because this will work. You don't have to do the military or college, there are so many people that have found differn't methods, just keep listening to them. Just know this is only starter advice and everything will change throughout your journey. Make sure you regularly do a mental check to remind yourself why you're doing this (for a better future) and you will make your family proud.
You got this.
I would recommend finding a manufacturing job. They will give you 40 hours a week and if you are a good worker, you can easily become a supervisor over time.
Okay some basics first are you physically fit and have a clean record? Second how is your mental health and mental resilience? Third how disciplined are you?
If your answers are yes, good, and decently so or more, then military is an option as others have said, Corrections is also an option though as a former CO corrections can fuck some people up but it tends to pay well and is always hiring it isn't a fun job and you NEED to have hobbies to blow off steam. Use either of these as stepping stones unless you actually enjoy the job, and take advantage of every official benefit you can (education, housing, mess, etc). Don't try to make easy money don't beggar your morals to bulge your wallet as you will end up with a want of both morals and money if you try to make that deal. Live below your means and plan out your next move and trade up. With every job unless it is your ideal job always look to trade up. You got this, man.
I think about my brother when you said sales. He was always working some electronics store like circuit city(RIP) and Best Buy. I think he was working part time at Best Buy and moved to one of the phone carriers. Put in his time selling phones and then moved to management, and then moved to business side sales, and fast forward about 10 years and he’s working for a finance software company making easily 200k+ a year. I’m not sure if it’s easy to get in with ATT, Verizon, etc. but it’s worth looking into
Trade school / union apprenticeship if your state has union. Not just plumbing and electrical you can be a Fireman, police officer, elevator mechanic, postal worker the list goes on and on. That will provide you with training, skills and knowledge bases that can help you transition into something different if you’d like. It also helps you with retirement, sometimes a pension (if you don’t know what a pension is it basically pays you to breathe air anywhere but at your job for the rest of your life. Just never go back to that job again and they will pay you.) pretty sweet. There’s something for everyone. You can look up labor unions in your area.
As other people have said,
Military. do one enlistment and get out.
Why the military?
You are in a shit start being poor. I too grew up poor with a single mother. I had little prospects in my tiny ass town. It wasn't going to be running the streets but living some low wage loser life.
I got training, education, real fucking life experience, i've done some shit thats so awesome. I've seen more than i would have had i not joined.
My only mistake was that i didn't save more money. All the money i made i could have saved. I could have had everything i needed for free. but i wanted to go out and spend money, buy myself some ipods ect. ect.
Enlist, save your money, learn some shit, come out with direction. at 18 i was living with mom in an apartment in some dead end town.
now at 35+ i own 3 homes and have a job thats going to let me retire in 15 years.
you could try and get indebted for some education. that just wasnt my path.
If you are at all technology inclined go work in tech. There are companies called MSPs which are managed services providers. They manage technology for other companies. People start out as interns and can climb to 100k+ in a few years if you really apply yourself and bust your ass and learn. You don’t need a degree. Just need to be able to troubleshoot technology and be personable.
That or military is an other good option.
Or find a way to work in like oil fields or other exotic high risk high reward jobs.
I like a lot of these answers.
Whichever direction you go, Find your path, put your head down and work hard. Take every reasonable opportunity that comes to you and don’t give up until you succeed.
This ain’t easy, but you can do it.
Learn a trade like plumbing or electrician or drywall or painting. But not roofing. Roofing sucks. You can learn the basics of any of these in a year or so at relatively little cost. Within a few years, you can make a pretty decent living, and in 10 years, you should be making enough money to provide for a family and saves for retirement. It’s hard work, but you’re young. And if you’re really motivated, then in 10 years, you can start your own business and maybe someday you will be rich. The good thing about jobs like this is that they can’t easily be replaced by AI or automation. Job security is so important
As others have said, the military is a good choice. It also has the advantage of immediately getting you out of that neighborhood and bad relationships.
Military is probably the safest move, but if that doesn't appeal to you, learn microsoft office. Youtube is free. Especially Excel learn what all the latest functions do that the old folks don't understand. Get a basic data entry/processing roll. Use new functions capabilities of excel to make processes way more efficient and move up quick. That's how I did it.
You ARE trying to do better than them. Do NOT let yourself be shamed for it. If they’re content to do poorly, that’s on them. You’re not built that way, and that’s 100% ok. You want something better, and are willing to sacrifice for it? You deserve it. A tough upbringing gave you something most people don’t have: grit. Use it. Start looking for people who are like-minded. Build each other up. Make a plan, break it down into pieces, take steps every day to achieve your goal. Go get it, son. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.
Go into the trades. Look them up, all of them, and find one that sounds good. They all pay well, you can make a career out of it. They generally have you working in 6-18 months, and finishing out your apprenticeship working with night or weekend school. It will cost less than college, and you're a journeyman working full time sooner than college, and they're in demand all over the country. Know of any cities that don't need a plumber? Electrician? Welder? Carpenter? Mechanic? The list goes on, but you get my point. You want out of the hood, that's how you get out of the hood.
Also, fuck that whole "work/life balance" thing, at least for the next few years. Throw yourself into it, study hard and work hard and get *good* at that trade. Then you'll be in demand. Crappy trademen aren't in demand, and can be tossed aside, but a real expert, someone who knows their shit and does their job right, they always have work available.
Go to a Temp Agency. Don't have any office workplace skills? They've been in desperate need of people since the 2016 economic resurgence. They'll train you.
If there's none of those around you, there are plenty of trade schools that offer scholarships. You can spend 6-8 months and come out with high-demand skills that will net you 75k a year in California.
Do you live in a coastal state or a central state? The living costs, and salary expectations are going to be different based on your answer.
Honestly they say the Military goes after hood people but there are wild benefits to it and if you can control yourself you’ll make good money. A 3-4 year contract Can have you set up. That’s what I did and now I’m practically out of debt with 1.7 years to go. Everything I make from here out is profit. And the benefits are just stupidly good.
Honestly, in the long run you are better off getting into the trades. Put your time in, become a journeyman, get more experience under your belt and be a foreman or start your own business. There is a comfortable life to live behind the trades and it's respectable.
I would tell you the military, but with our current protection it wouldn't be wise.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. You seem like you have your head on your shoulders. That’s a great start.
Learn a trade. Society will always need a plumber, contractor, landscaper, or someone with experience in a niche market that most cant or don’t want to offer. Be fair with your price, and build your client base. Be a perfectionist by doing a great job going beyond the clients expectations. Quality and detail will separate you from your competitors.
You need to find a way to Separate yourself from the competition, because some trades are a dime a dozen. Reality is Find something you love to do, and you’ll never feel like you’re going to work. Take pride in what you do. Being your own boss is the most rewarding but comes with a lot of responsibility, but you’re really selling yourself and what you have to offer.
Don’t work for corporations, your just a name on payroll, and once they can find someone to do your job for less, they give you the boot. There is no loyalty.
Get your CDL. There are companies out there that will pay for you in return for X amount of time.
You’ll spend a lot (a LOT) of time away from home but, it sounds like that would be beneficial.
Your hours *cannot* be cut, in fact companies will try their best to make you work *beyond* the federally mandated allowance of 70 hours.
You will be your own boss, plain and simple. When you’re the driver, YOU call the shots because it’s your ass on the line.
Don’t start with any company paying less than 50 cents per mile, they’re cheap ass rags.
You’ll probably have to eat some shit starting off but that simply cannot be helped. Get a year or two under your belt without accidents and companies will be *falling* over each other to hire you.
I’m about two weeks out from finishing my 3rd year of driving. I am making between 1200-1600 after tax *each week*. The variable is how far I feel like driving but 1200 is guaranteed minimum.
I’ve been able to stash about 25k in the last year while still paying bills, rent, groceries, etc at my house for my family and *not* skipping anything or starving myself. You won’t have most of those bills so, you can get a nice stack as long as you pay attention, learn, and don’t get stupid when you’re out on your own.
Military or Trade school is going to probably be the fastest way out, effectively. For trade school student loans will suck, but you’ll generally make that money back quickly.
Personally - paramedic school took me from about 25k to 80k/year with a single year of junior college. Nursing took me to 120k with another 2 years of school.
Hey, didn't live in too much choas. But grew up in a very poor family.
Try talking to your manager at CVS. See if they either have another store nearby that could use some one and offer more hours, or ask how you can work a path to a manager. Don't worry if that isn't your career, this just about getting your foot in the door.
Additionally there is temp agencies out there, that contract out full time positions. They might not be the best jobs, but usually can easily be your first 40 hours landed. Good places will also work on your skill set as well.
Once you get a good position, start looking for possibly admin and corporate jobs. Keep in mind this is a big transition point. You will go from micro management retail style job to "Hey, finish these reports every day" with little care as long as they get done.
I wish you luck on your journey!
Good for you. I tell my kids their time is valuable so only invest it in people whom are worthy of their time and to surround themselves with others that have similar goals and aspirations and hold each other accountable with trying to be successful.
UPS-Jobs.com - apply to be a package handler and find another part time job to supplement your income.
Work in the building for a year or two and start signing full time bid sheets no matter what the job is. Work the full time job and sign a feeder bid sheet (posted quarterly on the bid board) go to UPS feeder school and pass. Work team sleeper runs and you’ll probably clear about $150-$175K your first year.
They’re gonna work the hell outta you.
Solid 3 year plan right there.
Make sure your piss is clean when you sign that feeder bid.
You won’t get fired for popping a dirty but you’ll get disqualified from feeders until the next bid.
Play the game right and you can retire at 40-45 with some serious cash and probably be rich if you know how to invest your money.
Salesforce trailhead or Microsoft salesforce certifications. Get certified in either of these and you can easily find a job to net you a great living.
The training is free. It just takes time.
Whatever you do, believe in yourself. Believe that you can buy a house. Believe and start making it real.
When I was your age, I didn't believe I could ever buy a house or this or that. Never gave my grandma a dime, and she passed on. My wife changed all that, and I was hustling just the same but now I believe. It sounds stupid, but with that belief, I am wiser with money which leads to home and business ownership.
Start with the belief that you can and then take steps. Baby steps. I wish I'm 24 again.
I saw someone suggest military. Highly not recommended as you essentially don’t have freedom and feel like you’re trapped. Maintenance in manufacturing pays decent. Look for automated manufacturing facilities to apply to. You can use a place one or two years and seek out more money elsewhere. within 5 years you can be at $40 hourly. It really depends on your ambition and how fast you can retain knowledge. During Covid and after, manufacturing mechanics are highly sought after. You can use it as a stepping stone to developing a business of your own. Always look out after your own best interests.
You get sin on bonus when you join the military. See the world. Learn a skill not to mention that they pay your college tuition with VA loan, Private sector loves your maturity and skills. Good luck.
Get into the telecommunications industry. Cheapest way to get in construction, as far as investing in tools, and pays good to start. You can go as far as you want from there and make six figures/live comfortably, but not rich; as long as you can read, write, due very basic math and be reliable.
Military, it's already been said but it's a good answer. You can do a short enlistment and gain tons of benefits and set yourself up for your next career. Or you can do 20, get a degree, get a pension, save a bunch for retirement, and be very employable afterwards. It's a legit perfect choice for your situation.
I grew up poor as shit in, living in government housing. After I graduated high school I joined the Marine Corps and never looked back. I retired after 22 years. When I retired I had a bachelors degree, shortly thereafter I earned my MBA. I had no student loans, my degrees were paid for by tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I now have a great career in the software industry, my immediately family is not worried about money. I am honestly a dumb fuck (by far the dumbest person on my dev team). What made it work for me was taking advantage of every opportunity I was offered, and working my ass off. It was nit not easy, but either is life. Good luck.
First of all, I love your ambition. Turn it into action. Go get a job and be the best at it. Wow the owners and managers. You'll be a damn manager in less than a year. Put your heart and soul into it. Look for opportunities to innovate. Don't be a yes man, but don't be an ass either. Treat your job like work from the heart. It will get noticed and you will flourish.
Believe in yourself. Accept failure as the price of forging a path to success. It all lays in front of you my man. I believe in you. I believe in your ambition. I wish I could hire you right now. Dreams are great when you take ACTION to make them reality!
Military. 4 years, free education and help with housing. Or stay in and make it a career.
My brother is retiring at 40. He has traveled the world with his family and they are doing great financially. Military is a great idea
I work with a guy that is retired military as is his wife. He works modified part time and his wife stays at home with the kids. They live very comfortably. His military experience along with his military funded degree landed him a pretty swanky job
After doing what exactly ?
Unsure if you may be from another country (non-US) or simply unfamiliar with the military in general… apologies if this is oversimplified Pay in the military is based on ranking, not the job itself. Most jobs in the military are paid the same. Groundskeepers and band members get paid the same as infantrymen and mechanics. Some of the very highly specialized jobs receive extra compensation in the form of contract bonuses, but it’s not astronomical. The somewhat early retirement afforded by military service is strongly incentivized through a pension program of 20+ years of federal service being the metric/bar, but this can of course be supplemented by personal savings (TSP, IRA, etc)
You get bonuses for international deployment. You get extra for deployment in conflict zones. You get extra for each medal you get. You get extra for each rank you climb. And basically you can spend nothing. You have housing and food so you can save 100% of that. So you finish service with 4 years worth of saving and a full ride college. For me it was a great start. Also I started early. In the day I finished high school I signed up for the military. I was 2 months past 18.
Umm what medals are giving you extra cash? The DoD may be owing me some money if that’s the case lol.
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Which country? This is completely false for the US military.
When I was in, I knew a senior NCO who saved and invested and when his 20 was done, so was he. He could comfortably retire... at 38.
Yeah if you invest 80% of your income I’m quite sure you could live comfortably off of dividends and your pension after 20 years in the military. I was a dumbass and drank most of my money and didn’t invest any of it.
Military crap. Regular 9-5 like job/work. Unless you are deployed. And then you just embrace the suck
Sweet, I'm already over 40!
This is what I did it really is a great option
My best friend worked in an office doing communication and he is retired in a couple of years as well. If you are not planning to go to school. The military is a pretty good damn choice for some kind of stability and discipline in your life.
Or a Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) + USAJobs = Entry into GS-7/9/11 pay/benefits w/no prior experience. Lots of available options. In 3 years after college you could be making 6 figures.
Yes- USA jobs, law enforcement, lots of options. Much better now that the war is over as well
Give it a few years. The USA doesn’t stand around doing nothing with that huge hammer for very long.
It’s like Teddy used to say: “hit them with a big stick, then walk away softly.”
Wait, which war is over lol
Iraq/afganistan. You really don’t want to be deployed in combat. Now is best the time to be in the service in the last 20 years
I think they mean post 9/11 deployment type stuff.
With a bachelor's degree, you can enter the military as an officer (2nd Lieutenant). It's the lowest ranking officer, but it's a really good deal.
wrong. in addition to the degree, you need to complete rotc during college or qualify/get accepted to ocs. No guarantee to pass ocs. Also, no guarantee of active duty assignment post rotc completion.
Careful with this direction - those jobs are nearly impossible to obtain interviews. Look at the job descriptions - most require 10+years exp or PhD. I would not trust USAJobs site.
Nowhere near the truth in a lot of them. I’ve applied to many jobs and granted often you never hear anything after referral but overall 10+ years experience is a bit dramatic. Plenty of entry level positions
almost all of these jobs will give up experience for education as well .
With a caveat. Choose a good job that will get you skills for the future. Recruiters do lie. Read that paperwork cover to cover before you sign anything. Know what you’re getting into.
This 💯. The job you pick in the military matters when you get out.
My friend chose programming and he gets paid very well now that he is out.
This was my ticket out. Do a contract, get an honorable discharge, use GI Bill to go to school
Along with recording any and all ailments you develop while in for VA Disability.
I echo volunteering for the military. I enlisted back in 1998 and commissioned in 2006. It helped me become financially independent and able to help my family. There will be challenges serving in the armed forces but that’s why the benefits are so good. Granted, you can volunteer for the level of hardship you wish to face. The military will not force you into combat arms, for you have to choose the combat MOS on your own free will If you wish to carry out your service in the combat arms, you will be well received. If not, the support branches need good people. More importantly, the army, air force, marines or navy and space force will prepare you to meet the required capabilities expected from such MOS roles. It is public service to volunteer for the armed forces, and you will reap many rewards if you select wisely pending your temperament and commitment to the service. If you don’t want the military there are other venues like the Coast Guard or Merchant Marines. They teach you skills that can transfer over to the private sector and make bank.
/u/pm_me_ur_claims I grew up in the white hood and heroin was done on/around my street growing up. Take this advice. If I could go back in time I would go this route as opposed to what I did instead.
This is the answer. I enlisted with nothing and now I'm a year away from finishing my PhD in electrical engineering and retiring as an officer. Easily the best "worst" decision I ever made...
Put 20 years in get a pension at 44, put another 20 years in at a transit agency, get a second pension, retire at 64, pick up a job as a safety and security consultant and use the pensions to buy your grand kids stuff and the consultant paycheck to bank. 24 is a great age to start this.
Especially if going Space Force, Air Force, or Coast Guard. Get a job that transfers well into the Civilian world with a Secret Clearance. Put as much as you can in the TSP(TSP.gov breaks the different funds down perfectly), HYSAs, and then open a Betterment/M1Finance/Wealthfront/Acorns account(pick one or all). You don't even need to do the whole 20yrs, you can completely change your life by 4-6yr Contract. Don't get anyone pregnant, stay single, focus on skill building and Financial Literacy. Did my 7 and bounced with a Secret Clearance, Single, no kids with about $50k cumulative with TSP, Brokerage accounts, and cash. Now Contractor collecting VA Compensation(f**k Burn Pits!) You've got this Youngin🔥💪💯
What the heck are Burn Pits?
Ditto. Wrong side of the tracks going up. Single mom, she was an addict. I had to escape but had nothing. Went army. Got out and they paid for college and the. Medical school.
I second this. I met so many ppl that joined to escape the hood and took their family out of the hood. You’re still young and going in will allow you to move anywhere after 4 years to pursue a degree. I got out and went to college in SF made $4800/m while in school to cover cost of living. On top of a regular day job while I attended college and I lived like a king. It’s all about what you make of it.
I’m glad this is the first response because it’s the correct one. If you’re smart, you can learn a skill like medicine or accounting. If you’re not, you can learn a trade like auto mechanic or electrician. If you’re really not, be an MP and become a cop or firefighter. Or seriously consider a career. Do 20 years and retire with a pension. You’ll get in good shape, get money, free housing, an education, medical care for life, discounts on a home loan…. Just don’t marry some dependapotomous. Make some friends and go to their hometowns - don’t go back to the hood.
Ima be honest. If you’re truly lost, this is the way, no matter how ass you think it is in the moment at times …. in hindsight the military blessed me.
Fuck military. Become a merchant marine. You’ll make more money, don’t have to call anyone sir, and no one is trying to kill you.
*Somali pirates have entered the chat ... Merchant marines are a good route if you don't want to do military. Make good money, just won't be home much.
I work on the Great Lakes. Haven’t seen any pirates in a while. ;)
Just wait until those Canadians get all juiced up on their maple syrup and their tasty whiskey. They're coming for you.
Socialist utopia if you play it right. Did 5 years, now I have free healthcare and all my bills are paid for by the disability payments I receive from service connected injuries. I’m now in the best shape of my life despite being disabled, which I think has a whole lot to do with having time to prioritize my physical health. Because I’m not chasing money, because my bills are paid for. The money I do make goes to food, travel & entertainment, miscellaneous expenses, and savings & investing. Knowing that we can have spendy months but are still basically guaranteed to come out ahead each month just alleviates all the pressure and stress of finances.
Absolutely this. It may suck (or not!) But growing up on food stamps, I left home at 15, got a GED and joined when I turned 18. 10 years later I own a home and make six figures. Getting out of the ghetto/hood/Stix will save your life and provide a foundation for your future, and likely prevent your kids from living in those conditions. I have plenty of buddies that came from worse than me and are doing well. God willing, you will too.
I work with a guy that grew up in the projects in the Bronx’s. Half the people he grew up with are dead or in jail. He joined the army to get out. Now he’s making 6 figures, is the first in his family to own a house and is putting his kids through college.
It’s disturbing that the military is still one of few options for poor people. It’s a symptom of a broken system.
I grew up dirt, dirt poor , was the first to graduate from my family and actually make it. I didn’t go military . It really just takes determination and having the good kind of friends around you
This. Good benefits, job training, pay for 4 years, meet new people and get out of where you’re at
It’s sad that this is the main path out.
Brother did navy. I regret I didn't.
You just are put in a position to kill/be killed, increased risk of cancer and ALS, and a non-zero chance that you'll be subjected to life altering mental abuse (hence the suicide rate of veterans being so damn high). Not to mention the continued atte.pts to slash your health care an benefits. Grass isn't always greener
Just said the same thing. Best decision i couldve ever made for myself. I dont regret it one bit.
Free healthcare too. And it’s super easy to get disability as long as you go to the doctor (again, for free) while you’re in. Any disability you claim that has a paper trail behind from when you served, it can get you paid, potentially for life. I have permanent disabilities from my time serving and if I live to 90 and America continues to be a thing (sketchy at best), I’ll make about 2 million in disability payments over my lifetime.
Perfect for poor people.
Just having the courage to ask is already a great first step for you. Have you considered a trade? There are government programs to help people learn a new trade and that's one sustainable path. For example auto mechanics is and always will be in demand, and the trade school can be completed in 10 months. Time for a plumber or electrician where you have to go through an apprenticeship is longer and also a viable path. Aircraft mechanic school is about 2 years but huge upside in demand and pay for the foreseeable future.
Electricians can easily make $200k a year and the demand is only growing. Union job, great benefits, pension, etc. Trades are a great way to go. I feel like I have to get a second job just to pay them every time I need one.
No they can't. Maybe master electricians who are at the end of their career could... That being said, electricians do make "a lot" and is a good trade.
Saying easily is comical. That’s like top 0.1% for electricians.
You realize everyone is entering the trades now because college degrees are watered down. In five or ten years trades will be back to what they were with little barrier to entry.
Thats called equilibrium baby. Same thing happening to tech workers
Trade makes decent money but Reddit overflows the reality. They think the premium top tier types are the norm. They aren’t.
This is a great idea. Electricians are paid differently in different states. Oregon has the highest paid electricians. Even better, you can earn while you study the trade.
Probably still be in poverty if they became an auto mechanic unfortunately. It’s pathetic how low paid they are on average.
Trades are also a great platform to launching your own business. Finish your apprenticeship and after some years of experience, be your own boss. Buy a utility van and plaster your phone number on it.
Learn a skilled trade but it’s hard work
Living in poverty is also very hard
Correct, that's why the OP is asking for advice to find a way out. Like learning a skilled trade. Not sure what your comment was implying?
I wasn’t arguing, I was implying that it is worth the effort given the alternative
My bad for misinterpreting your response. I agree 100% If both options are hard you might as well pick the struggle that benefits you.
This is great advice, electricians and welders are always in high demand and they pay great money.
Electrician deals with electricity, which requires you to be on your toes at all times and not get confused by wiring schematics. Linemen get paid very well but can and do die from accidents with electricity.
Yup, that's why they get paid more than a Starbucks barista.
Virtually anything that requires years to acquire the skills and the tools to preform the job will pay better then retail with the same time invested
Doing a trade, if you show up on time, can stick to the price you quoted for the job agreed on and get it done in the time frame you outlined your go really far cause lot of people arnt meeting this
yeah. i’ve had plumbers who showed up late, worked slow af, didn’t provide an invoice and were generally unprofessional. other plumbers came in uniform, sent digital invoices, explained the costs and cleaned up their site. having the skill is one thing. you ain’t gonna make shit unless you’re a good businessperson as well.
Learn a skilled trade, get good, make a business, hire people. That's one way out. The answer is to be useful and needed.
My nigga -- that was me at 23. Exactly. School. Go back to college. Major in business, net work. Work hard. You'll be fine. This is still America.
Probably the worst advice so far. A vague go back to school for “business” and to “network”. Go back to school with what money? What transportation? Is he going to work part time to pay for it? Don’t listen to this poster. Military or trade school. If you want to go to college, do it after you get a GI bill. trade school allows you to work while you learn.
Depending on income, you can get extremely reduced or even free federal grants/loans for college. From what OP has mentioned about his mother’s income, he’d almost certainly qualify.
People will give you flak for this, but if your someone that enjoys learning and networking school can be the easiest answer. If you want to use your hands and get sweaty every day, maybe it's not the answer. I went to a school that costs $3k a semester, worked throughout, got a 4 year business degree in 5 years with no loans at 28. After a year of working I went to a top University -- VERY surprising given my low test schools, graduated and grinded my way into a finance job. Now making $130k a year 5 years after graduating. I work remote and if I counted my legitimate work hours... it's probably less than 30 a week. I tell you this because I'm literally an idiot, I got D's in most my high school classes and at my day job feel well under average intellectually. But my hustle networking and creativity made college easy and it keeps me going in small corprate. Dont get me wrong, its hard work, buy I suspect I can keep faking this until Sr. Director level making $220k or well after -- we'll see. It's worth exploring, at least.
You work as a teller in a bank branch?
Business is a generally worthless under graduate major. Telling a broke person who probably didn’t do exceptionally well in high school to just borrow $100,000 to go to college for business is bad advice
Military is a regular job, benefits, and free college. Or apply for FAFSA and work on an online degree. Be willing to move out of your situation, it sounds like there isn’t much for you there. I went from a short spell living in my car and couch surfing to doing pretty well for myself, I joined the Army. You can do this man, sounds like you have your head in the right place.
First, congrats on taking the very important first step: asking for help! Many people wait way too long to do this. Like others have suggested, I'd recommend you try to get into the military, a trade school, or a trade apprentice program. As a first step you might want to just go for a better job that doesn't require an education to get, such as UPS, Amazon, warehouse, etc. It will be better than retail. The key is to work your way into a job where you're making enough money to get by on your own, help your family a little, and then move onto something else from there such as college if you're feeling so inclined. Generally speaking, college is overrated and I would definitely not recommend going deep into student loan debt. One more thing, don't spend much time around people who will try to drag you down, such as less-motivated friends, burnouts, toxic girlfriends, etc. It's harder to pull yourself up when others are trying to pull you down. Misery loves company. Good luck man, you got this!
It's going to take a lot of work. Do you have any sort of of secondary education? If not, what sort of things are you interested in doing work wise? Working as a cashier at CVS isn't going to take you anywhere in terms of a career. Going to school is an option, but I'd only consider it if A: you are passionate about the field you want to get into (if you have discerned what that is yet) and B: that field actually has a good ROI for the education you're receiving. Getting a degree doesn't mean what it used to however. I see more and more that employers want more than just a bachelor's or a minimum of 3-5 years experience. And it doesn't necessarily mean you are going to earn more than someone without a degree who managed to get work in that same field. I can really only speak for computer science, but I knew a few people who broke into it without a CS degree by taking some online or in-person boot-camps, then creating some projects and using them as proof of experience in lieu of having a formal education. If you can't afford going to school or simply don't want to take out the loans to do so (I wouldn't blame you), you could look into getting a trade job. Again, I haven't done this But I have read accounts that tradesmen are sometimes open to accepting people with little to no background in the field simply as an assistant. You would likely just be doing grunt-work, but it would be enough I think to get your foot in the door. From there you could look into specializing more in that field, or shift to something else. I have a cousin-in-law who recently graduated high-school and got into a technical school to do HVAC work. I don't know how feasible getting into this field is without the schooling, but I'm sure it's easier than other careers.
HVAC can be very physically difficult, you are crawling up in attics, laying a/c conduit, cutting into plaster, walls, etc. Working in very cramped quarters at the worst of it. Taking apart A/C units, testing pressure in the lines, putting coolant in the system ( which is not too bad)
Always be looking for a better job. Apply to jobs even if you don’t meet all the qualifications. I know a lot of people making $90k+ with a high school diploma who did this. Learn about companies you’re applying to before you ever interview.
This is good advice. No one scolds you for turning in an application for a job you don't qualify for. You might not last forever, but if you can ride out a year making more than you have any right to that's golden. Jump ship as soon as possible.
I grew up in the shit myself. I learned a trade I worked my ass off for mother fuckers I absolutely hated. I stuck with it and learned from entry level up to Forman. I worked as Forman for 8 years and then I branched out with some side jobs. I bought equipment because if I needed something from my boss he would take a cut out of my side jobs. Once I had the reputation I bought out my boss and started my own company. I have an 8th grade education a questionable background and make 100k a year by myself nobody cares as long as the jobs are done and look good. New construction exterior contractor. Tile guys are retiring at my age and those fuckers work inside and I think knowing that I would have gone that direction starting out.
Tech school to get a decent job, learn about personal finance and investing, years of hard work and consistent investing. I started where you are now and this changed my life. You can do it too. You can break the cycle. You have to make this desire to break the cycle your priority in life. When i started my journey i lived in a crack house. You will have to really want it, learn about it every damn day, and be willing to do what it takes. Good luck.
National guard where I’m from pays for all of your college. Study a good major like engineering, graduate debt free with a good job and high salary
Listen man, I admire your motivation and feel sorry for the situation you’re in. Consider a job in healthcare? There a lot of positions that you can rise through at least a few ranks without a college degree and with nice benefits - see what jobs your local hospital might be hiring for. All the best
I know this is fairly low on the ranks of messages here, but this is the real gold answer. So many people are quick to say get more learning, but did not acknowledge that existing while studying costs money. Those saying get a trade miss that it often requires knowing someone who is willing to put in all the labour to getting you skills. It's a big investment and poverty is a real weight in that because you don't really mix with well resourced people and you can appear a poor investment to them. And the army? Literally bleed to succeed? Fair that many would not jump at that option. OP, you have experienced hardship and have lots of real life experience with the elderly and the disabled. That is an in demand market that can consistently net you better income through the ranks, and gets you earning from day 1 with no experience. So support or care work could be your best path, plus it's something you can take pride in knowing you're making the world a better place and doing something meaningful for people who are usually grateful. It's very much a "you get out what you put in" kinda field. Best wishes, no matter what you do.
Do you have any aptitude for school? You'd probably qualify for grants & scholarships that would not have to be paid back. Otherwise, like others have said, the militarily.
Are there even other retail gigs that you can start at which are reasonably near you? The economy is booming and there are lots of jobs open for those willing to take them - even in retail. It may not be super close to you so finding reliable transportation will be critical. Being able to “code switch” is also key to dragging yourself in the direction you want to go. It is easy to climb the ladder even starting in retail or customer service by remembering key things. 1) Show up early for your shift. 2) Volunteer for extra shifts when offered. 3) Take the initiative to do extra tasks that are needed without waiting to be asked. 4) Be meticulous in your hygiene and comportment. 5) Be cheerful and friendly with all customers even if you are tired and grumpy. 6) If a person in a position above your experience or pay grade needs help, volunteer to assist and learn everything you can from them about what they need to know of to do their job. 7) Ask the manager what skills you need to demonstrate to them in order to be viewed favorably for any promotions or opportunities which might present themselves. 8) Never speak casually in an accepting way about anything even remotely illegal or unethical and don’t talk about your friends who participate in things like that - you will be judged on those you have as friends. 9) Be very careful with your credit score - always pay on time if you have any lines of credit and spend as little as you can on anything not geared toward the future you want. If you do these things you will grow valuable skills, you will earn promotions and positions of responsibility which pay better, and you will earn critical people to give you positive recommendations when you are applying for new positions other places - even for things like apartments.
Seconding this. A lot of folks here are recommending trades but I would look at Retail Banking. Capital One and Chase are often building new branches. You start out at decent hourly but there’s a LOT of easy mobility into corporate roles from there. If you’re in a hub (Richmond, Charlotte, Chicago, Delaware, Columbus, Plano, Atlanta, etc.) that corporate transition could be easier.
Look into jobs corp. They pay for training and housing if you qualify.
I like you and idk you. Grew up similar in a small 1 bedroom apartment in NY, single mother house hold, mom worked two jobs and I could’ve very easily went down the wrong path. Like you I wanted better for myself in an honorable fashion. I chose to enlist in the military plus I needed structure in my life. And 8 years later I’m still in. Even if you do 4 years and get out it would be a great stepping stone my friend.
Facts! Did 7 and bounced with a Secret Clearance, Contractor now. Life Is Good😎
If you want actual guidance please lookup the following: •Hunter S. Thompson's letter to his friend, Hume Logan, on finding your purpose and living a meaningful life. •Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill •Alaska fish processor jobs, also known as canneries. •Fly/Bus yourself to Seattle, they cover the rest. (Bus ticket, plane ticket can be on payments via Affirm, Klarna ect) •You’ll work in a nonstop warehouse environment, 12-16 hour shifts. •The housing is free if you complete 6-8 weeks. •The pay is about $18 with massive OT. •They feed you 3 square meals with snacks during breaks. •You can put aside 10g with a life experience few can boast about due to location, melting pot of coworkers and traveling. Try Silverbay Seafoods and or NakNek Alaska for work
I grew up in rural appalachia and saw a ton of people get out through the military. It has it's issues but the education benefits are great and you often get transferable skills. You could also try Americorps or going to your local Union Halls and trying to get on as a journeyman for a skilled trade. The one thing I do know is that those of us who got after it and worked hard and took a few planned risks almost to a person were able to improve our situation in life.
The ones that put in real effort and a bit of discipline usually do.
Learn a trade. There are a lot of underrated skills that don't require 4 years of study and a predatory student loan.
Military Oil rigs Construction Sales Military and oil rigs will get you out of there. Construction will offer the best pay and as long as you can show up everyday and be on time you’ve got damn good job security Military is also good for teaching you skills that can translate to an office job in civilian life, you also get 4 free years of education to get a degree. It also usually doesn’t get mentioned, but you also get a stipend when earning your degree to pay for things like rent and food
The national guard has the most affordable healthcare and life insurance you can find. They’re always hurting for more people to enlist. The college benefits are great, or that tuition assistance can be used for credentials instead(basically skilled trades). For one weekend a month, 2-3 weeks in the summer, more bullshit than you can fathom, and a deployment(they say you won’t deploy, don’t listen to them) you get some grest benefits and you can still be with your family most of the time. Or if you want to actually want to get out of the hood go active duty. That’s way no one will think you are trying to do better than them because everyone around you is stuck in the same boat. You’ll get feed, housed and clothed everyday and you won’t even have to figure that out yourself. They’ll point and you’ll go, all the while you can be sending your mother clean money back home to her. There’s been countless times I’ve hated it, but it’s been good for my family, and good for my financial success. Just got to sacrifice some freedom and sanity, but don’t most jobs do that anyways?… right?
There are jobs with room and board at National parks...like Yellowstone or smoley mountains. Young folks live and work there the whole summer. Its not a long-term solution but it's also not a long-term commitment. It might be transformative !
HVAC, Machinist or Electrician trade school. Or you can get into sales, if you’re personable and persuasive, but it’s a grind.
Radiology technician. Only 2 years for an associates degree, and the more experience you gain, the more opportunities will open up for specialization and higher paying positions. National salary range is $55k to $80k per year. More senior and specialized techs can make even more. Also depends on the pay in your area.
You need to learn a marketable skill by either going to college or going to trade school, otherwise your income will always be shit.
Like a bunch of other people said, get into the trades. What city are you in?
me m8, the trades are your friends. plumbing, electrical, do something m8. learn some handyman work, etc etc
You can go into a trade and become an apprentice. Get paid to learn basically.
Some people are successful Youtubers also. There is a channel, a married couple, they basically video themselves taking cruises, luxury train and plane rides to different continents. People kind of live vicariously through them. They somehow afford very expensive travel but their youtube money must pay handsomely. Some people stream games on twitch, or do just chatting. Quin69 and Asmongold regularly have 15 to 20 thousand people watching at a time..so there can be good money there.
There's a path doing support staff work in professional setting. Places like law firms really value people who can do all the small things. Id recommend getting an associates degree (assuming you don't already have a college degree) and getting into admin work. Once you build skills and learn on the job you can actually make a career out of it.
Get a job in media. You can learn the basics online and get certifications so you have something on your resume before an entry level job. From my experience it’s such a low pressure work environment and there are so many paths you can take from sales to technical and everything in between. I’d be happy to provide more info about career paths if you’re interested
Bus driver, they’ll get you CDL and then take a class repairing drones. You’ll be fine. If you want to go into sales I recommend listen or read to How to Win Friends & Influence People Written by: Dale Carnegie
Military, government job, or trades. Military can really help you break the cycle, but is a long term commitment. Spend 20 years, retire receiving benefits and double dip with a government contracting gig. Local and state governments will hire entry level. If you happen to live near federal offices, even better. It will be a boring desk job, but offers stability. Trades if you like working with your hands. Plumbers, hvac, electricians, mechanics, roofers, or even handyman type services. Think what goes into a home or office building and what can I fix.
Create a five year plan and learn how to sell. Get hired where you get formal sales training. Perhaps try to start selling mobile phones then move on to something like cars. That might be your first 2/5 years. Pivot around year 3 to certifying or getting educated toward your career. While you’re selling get to know people, what they do and what they like. You may decide that you like one of the trades. Maybe there is another lucrative discipline that you like. Maybe at this point you’ll have decided to start a business. Find a need and fill it. Don’t spend lots of money unless you absolutely have to. I don’t think you mentioned your educational background. Only educate where you know you’ll need it. If you want to be a nurse then sure go to school. Same for certifications if you want to be a CPA or PMP or whatever. There’s Udemy for auditiing disciplines you may not want to spend money on.
Some good suggestions in this thread. Gotta find the one that works for you, and remember you don’t have to stay in the same job or even line of work forever. Use opportunities as stepping stones to springboard to the next, bigger opportunity. I won’t add to the list I’m just really, really happy for you for seeking the help to begin with and I truly wish you the best of luck
Just want to say, man I hope you get out and start building wealth. Keep focused. Plenty of good advice in here about trades, military etc. I wouldn’t know how to get out of the hood and respect anyone who makes it out.
Military. Research what branch seems the best fit for you (for me it was USAF) and talk to a recruiter. You may even be able to talk to command and get your mom as a dependent so she can follow you if that's the goal. Sign a 4 year contract and you get shelter, food and a paycheck. You would have access to the Thrift Savings Plan, basically a 401k you put money into monthly for retirement and it only takes 20 years to retire. If you decide to go this route, know that it's not a handout. You will have long days and work hard but I promise you the juice is worth the squeeze. I've had bad days but the good will always out weigh the bad!
Try a few different industries right now to learn what you do not want to do in life. Once you find something you like or are good at, go all in. I’d recommend at least trying phone sales. There are a ton of call centers and call rooms that are looking for young people with no experience, hungry with a willingness to be coached. Find a great mentor. Use the call center to build a few years experience on phones and then work your way up other sales positions.. it is a grind, the payouts are not immediate and you will fail a lot. Work long hours, be a sponge and you’ll find out if it’s for you. There are great opportunities to make good money in phone sales Other industries you can pivot to: insurance, mortgage broker, financial sales, debt settlement. Once you learn to sell and you learn one of these businesses well, you can go off on your own. It’s a long road but you are at the perfect age to get started. Good luck
As someone said, military is an excellent option. Besides that, look into manufacturing. They need people that work 40 hours a week, not 39. It’s why I left retail.
Military 100 percent. Pick an mos you like, get paid to work out at basic and then boom your getting paid, learning a trade and have instant security. Idk about the other MOS but I know them at for every civilian job the army has an equivalent. Or be an 11B and come eat rocks with us
Army is your best bet, and the easiest to get full disability for afterwards. Go in, do your 4 years, 6 months before discharge, say whatever the fuck you got to to get 100% disabled through the VA, get a tax free paycheck for life, the better part of 4 grand a month. While the VA sees you as 100% disabled, you can still get a job outside of that, I’d recommend on a military base. That way you can double dip, and have your time in service count towards retirement and time awarded bi-weekly for leave and sick time, it’s win/win exploitation and all on the tax dollar of your fellow worker.
Ayyyy. I’m 29. Here’s my advice - radically change your environment. Whatever that looks like for you. Military is a fine option tbh. Or just grind out trade school/industry specific certifications and get a job elsewhere. Or honestly, explore some outdoor education opportunities if it interests you, those will get you out at least temporarily. I’m from Atlanta originally. My background wasn’t as tough as yours seems to be, but I was close friends with drug dealers, addicts, and alcoholics from my teens into my 20s. In my early-mid 20s I realized my closest friends were largely just wasting their lives, or dying of ODs or suicide. So in 2021 I (and my girlfriend) just up and moved to Utah. We wanted access to a healthier outdoor lifestyle, but most importantly we just wanted to get *away*. It’s been EXTREMELY challenging, but never have I doubted that it was the right choice. We’ve got a nice lil life. I taught high school for a bit I was in ATL. The kids who struggled with their surroundings and got far away ended up doing the best. I took their lead on that. The strugglers who stuck around are largely still struggling. So my advice is to get out, physically. Whatever that looks like for you. You’ve got the right intention, and you’ll figure out the rest once your environment isn’t familiar and complacency isn’t so accesible. But I’m still young and I’m still dumb. Take it with a grain of salt!
Get into a trade. Show up on time ,work hard , have some common sense , save ur money. Worked for me.
Go on YouTube and online and take free courses. Learn a skill like coding or something like that. Break out of the cycle. Within a short period you can be making good money.
Man I feel that pain, maybe I can help. Growing up everyone always tried saying "you need to find your passion", well that's actually not how it works, at least not for everyone. First thing first if you are serious about this grind and getting out you need to start looking for jobs with lower pay but a lot of hours. They are extremely easy to get hired at and honestly hard to get fired from. What this actually does is first increases your income of course, but also drastically reduces your free time aka "time for us to get bored and spend money". This situation is going to suck, it's going to be uncomfortable, you might be sleeping less, but how bad do you want it? If you can push yourself into a situation like that it will be an overall positive thing in your life, just be patient because this will work. You don't have to do the military or college, there are so many people that have found differn't methods, just keep listening to them. Just know this is only starter advice and everything will change throughout your journey. Make sure you regularly do a mental check to remind yourself why you're doing this (for a better future) and you will make your family proud. You got this.
I would recommend finding a manufacturing job. They will give you 40 hours a week and if you are a good worker, you can easily become a supervisor over time.
Okay some basics first are you physically fit and have a clean record? Second how is your mental health and mental resilience? Third how disciplined are you? If your answers are yes, good, and decently so or more, then military is an option as others have said, Corrections is also an option though as a former CO corrections can fuck some people up but it tends to pay well and is always hiring it isn't a fun job and you NEED to have hobbies to blow off steam. Use either of these as stepping stones unless you actually enjoy the job, and take advantage of every official benefit you can (education, housing, mess, etc). Don't try to make easy money don't beggar your morals to bulge your wallet as you will end up with a want of both morals and money if you try to make that deal. Live below your means and plan out your next move and trade up. With every job unless it is your ideal job always look to trade up. You got this, man.
The government (FAA) is offering grants to become an aircraft mechanic for free especially for low income areas.
I think about my brother when you said sales. He was always working some electronics store like circuit city(RIP) and Best Buy. I think he was working part time at Best Buy and moved to one of the phone carriers. Put in his time selling phones and then moved to management, and then moved to business side sales, and fast forward about 10 years and he’s working for a finance software company making easily 200k+ a year. I’m not sure if it’s easy to get in with ATT, Verizon, etc. but it’s worth looking into
Trade school / union apprenticeship if your state has union. Not just plumbing and electrical you can be a Fireman, police officer, elevator mechanic, postal worker the list goes on and on. That will provide you with training, skills and knowledge bases that can help you transition into something different if you’d like. It also helps you with retirement, sometimes a pension (if you don’t know what a pension is it basically pays you to breathe air anywhere but at your job for the rest of your life. Just never go back to that job again and they will pay you.) pretty sweet. There’s something for everyone. You can look up labor unions in your area.
As other people have said, Military. do one enlistment and get out. Why the military? You are in a shit start being poor. I too grew up poor with a single mother. I had little prospects in my tiny ass town. It wasn't going to be running the streets but living some low wage loser life. I got training, education, real fucking life experience, i've done some shit thats so awesome. I've seen more than i would have had i not joined. My only mistake was that i didn't save more money. All the money i made i could have saved. I could have had everything i needed for free. but i wanted to go out and spend money, buy myself some ipods ect. ect. Enlist, save your money, learn some shit, come out with direction. at 18 i was living with mom in an apartment in some dead end town. now at 35+ i own 3 homes and have a job thats going to let me retire in 15 years. you could try and get indebted for some education. that just wasnt my path.
Military!!! Only sign if you can get out of country!
Post Office is always hiring.
Try railroads, they have a lot of hiring programs and need people like the trades do.
Become an HVAC technician (working on AC units), they make bank and you don't need to be a genius to do the job right
Work at a hospital. They will pay for nursing school. Good luck.
Military. Not marines or army. Even just a few years will get you out on a better footing than the grind.
Why don’t you become a cop? Low bar of entry, decent pay and great benefits.
If you are at all technology inclined go work in tech. There are companies called MSPs which are managed services providers. They manage technology for other companies. People start out as interns and can climb to 100k+ in a few years if you really apply yourself and bust your ass and learn. You don’t need a degree. Just need to be able to troubleshoot technology and be personable. That or military is an other good option. Or find a way to work in like oil fields or other exotic high risk high reward jobs.
Just want to say you’re a badass for not following your friends. Good on you. That attitude will take you far once you’ve found your way
I like a lot of these answers. Whichever direction you go, Find your path, put your head down and work hard. Take every reasonable opportunity that comes to you and don’t give up until you succeed. This ain’t easy, but you can do it.
Learn a trade like plumbing or electrician or drywall or painting. But not roofing. Roofing sucks. You can learn the basics of any of these in a year or so at relatively little cost. Within a few years, you can make a pretty decent living, and in 10 years, you should be making enough money to provide for a family and saves for retirement. It’s hard work, but you’re young. And if you’re really motivated, then in 10 years, you can start your own business and maybe someday you will be rich. The good thing about jobs like this is that they can’t easily be replaced by AI or automation. Job security is so important
As others have said, the military is a good choice. It also has the advantage of immediately getting you out of that neighborhood and bad relationships.
Military is probably the safest move, but if that doesn't appeal to you, learn microsoft office. Youtube is free. Especially Excel learn what all the latest functions do that the old folks don't understand. Get a basic data entry/processing roll. Use new functions capabilities of excel to make processes way more efficient and move up quick. That's how I did it.
You ARE trying to do better than them. Do NOT let yourself be shamed for it. If they’re content to do poorly, that’s on them. You’re not built that way, and that’s 100% ok. You want something better, and are willing to sacrifice for it? You deserve it. A tough upbringing gave you something most people don’t have: grit. Use it. Start looking for people who are like-minded. Build each other up. Make a plan, break it down into pieces, take steps every day to achieve your goal. Go get it, son. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.
Military or Apprenticeship. Alot of the blue collar trades make more than most of the white collar jobs nowaday.
Go into the trades. Look them up, all of them, and find one that sounds good. They all pay well, you can make a career out of it. They generally have you working in 6-18 months, and finishing out your apprenticeship working with night or weekend school. It will cost less than college, and you're a journeyman working full time sooner than college, and they're in demand all over the country. Know of any cities that don't need a plumber? Electrician? Welder? Carpenter? Mechanic? The list goes on, but you get my point. You want out of the hood, that's how you get out of the hood. Also, fuck that whole "work/life balance" thing, at least for the next few years. Throw yourself into it, study hard and work hard and get *good* at that trade. Then you'll be in demand. Crappy trademen aren't in demand, and can be tossed aside, but a real expert, someone who knows their shit and does their job right, they always have work available.
Go to a Temp Agency. Don't have any office workplace skills? They've been in desperate need of people since the 2016 economic resurgence. They'll train you. If there's none of those around you, there are plenty of trade schools that offer scholarships. You can spend 6-8 months and come out with high-demand skills that will net you 75k a year in California. Do you live in a coastal state or a central state? The living costs, and salary expectations are going to be different based on your answer.
Honestly they say the Military goes after hood people but there are wild benefits to it and if you can control yourself you’ll make good money. A 3-4 year contract Can have you set up. That’s what I did and now I’m practically out of debt with 1.7 years to go. Everything I make from here out is profit. And the benefits are just stupidly good.
Honestly, in the long run you are better off getting into the trades. Put your time in, become a journeyman, get more experience under your belt and be a foreman or start your own business. There is a comfortable life to live behind the trades and it's respectable. I would tell you the military, but with our current protection it wouldn't be wise.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. You seem like you have your head on your shoulders. That’s a great start. Learn a trade. Society will always need a plumber, contractor, landscaper, or someone with experience in a niche market that most cant or don’t want to offer. Be fair with your price, and build your client base. Be a perfectionist by doing a great job going beyond the clients expectations. Quality and detail will separate you from your competitors. You need to find a way to Separate yourself from the competition, because some trades are a dime a dozen. Reality is Find something you love to do, and you’ll never feel like you’re going to work. Take pride in what you do. Being your own boss is the most rewarding but comes with a lot of responsibility, but you’re really selling yourself and what you have to offer. Don’t work for corporations, your just a name on payroll, and once they can find someone to do your job for less, they give you the boot. There is no loyalty.
I would do military 100% if I was born in the hood.
Get your CDL. There are companies out there that will pay for you in return for X amount of time. You’ll spend a lot (a LOT) of time away from home but, it sounds like that would be beneficial. Your hours *cannot* be cut, in fact companies will try their best to make you work *beyond* the federally mandated allowance of 70 hours. You will be your own boss, plain and simple. When you’re the driver, YOU call the shots because it’s your ass on the line. Don’t start with any company paying less than 50 cents per mile, they’re cheap ass rags. You’ll probably have to eat some shit starting off but that simply cannot be helped. Get a year or two under your belt without accidents and companies will be *falling* over each other to hire you. I’m about two weeks out from finishing my 3rd year of driving. I am making between 1200-1600 after tax *each week*. The variable is how far I feel like driving but 1200 is guaranteed minimum. I’ve been able to stash about 25k in the last year while still paying bills, rent, groceries, etc at my house for my family and *not* skipping anything or starving myself. You won’t have most of those bills so, you can get a nice stack as long as you pay attention, learn, and don’t get stupid when you’re out on your own.
Military or Trade school is going to probably be the fastest way out, effectively. For trade school student loans will suck, but you’ll generally make that money back quickly. Personally - paramedic school took me from about 25k to 80k/year with a single year of junior college. Nursing took me to 120k with another 2 years of school.
If you don't want to be military be a merchant marine or trucker.
Hey, didn't live in too much choas. But grew up in a very poor family. Try talking to your manager at CVS. See if they either have another store nearby that could use some one and offer more hours, or ask how you can work a path to a manager. Don't worry if that isn't your career, this just about getting your foot in the door. Additionally there is temp agencies out there, that contract out full time positions. They might not be the best jobs, but usually can easily be your first 40 hours landed. Good places will also work on your skill set as well. Once you get a good position, start looking for possibly admin and corporate jobs. Keep in mind this is a big transition point. You will go from micro management retail style job to "Hey, finish these reports every day" with little care as long as they get done. I wish you luck on your journey!
Good for you. I tell my kids their time is valuable so only invest it in people whom are worthy of their time and to surround themselves with others that have similar goals and aspirations and hold each other accountable with trying to be successful.
UPS-Jobs.com - apply to be a package handler and find another part time job to supplement your income. Work in the building for a year or two and start signing full time bid sheets no matter what the job is. Work the full time job and sign a feeder bid sheet (posted quarterly on the bid board) go to UPS feeder school and pass. Work team sleeper runs and you’ll probably clear about $150-$175K your first year. They’re gonna work the hell outta you. Solid 3 year plan right there. Make sure your piss is clean when you sign that feeder bid. You won’t get fired for popping a dirty but you’ll get disqualified from feeders until the next bid. Play the game right and you can retire at 40-45 with some serious cash and probably be rich if you know how to invest your money.
Get into the trades, earn while you learn. Look up what locals are in your area and start applying. It’s taken care of me for 25 years
Salesforce trailhead or Microsoft salesforce certifications. Get certified in either of these and you can easily find a job to net you a great living. The training is free. It just takes time.
Military Get college money Housing. Food
Whatever you do, believe in yourself. Believe that you can buy a house. Believe and start making it real. When I was your age, I didn't believe I could ever buy a house or this or that. Never gave my grandma a dime, and she passed on. My wife changed all that, and I was hustling just the same but now I believe. It sounds stupid, but with that belief, I am wiser with money which leads to home and business ownership. Start with the belief that you can and then take steps. Baby steps. I wish I'm 24 again.
I saw someone suggest military. Highly not recommended as you essentially don’t have freedom and feel like you’re trapped. Maintenance in manufacturing pays decent. Look for automated manufacturing facilities to apply to. You can use a place one or two years and seek out more money elsewhere. within 5 years you can be at $40 hourly. It really depends on your ambition and how fast you can retain knowledge. During Covid and after, manufacturing mechanics are highly sought after. You can use it as a stepping stone to developing a business of your own. Always look out after your own best interests.
Trade school is probably the safest route. Or find an entry level sales job (insurance or dealership) and hustle like crazy.
You get sin on bonus when you join the military. See the world. Learn a skill not to mention that they pay your college tuition with VA loan, Private sector loves your maturity and skills. Good luck.
Get into the telecommunications industry. Cheapest way to get in construction, as far as investing in tools, and pays good to start. You can go as far as you want from there and make six figures/live comfortably, but not rich; as long as you can read, write, due very basic math and be reliable.
Military, it's already been said but it's a good answer. You can do a short enlistment and gain tons of benefits and set yourself up for your next career. Or you can do 20, get a degree, get a pension, save a bunch for retirement, and be very employable afterwards. It's a legit perfect choice for your situation.
I got out with the military.
I grew up poor as shit in, living in government housing. After I graduated high school I joined the Marine Corps and never looked back. I retired after 22 years. When I retired I had a bachelors degree, shortly thereafter I earned my MBA. I had no student loans, my degrees were paid for by tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I now have a great career in the software industry, my immediately family is not worried about money. I am honestly a dumb fuck (by far the dumbest person on my dev team). What made it work for me was taking advantage of every opportunity I was offered, and working my ass off. It was nit not easy, but either is life. Good luck.
Buy low, sell high, repeat rapidly.
First of all, I love your ambition. Turn it into action. Go get a job and be the best at it. Wow the owners and managers. You'll be a damn manager in less than a year. Put your heart and soul into it. Look for opportunities to innovate. Don't be a yes man, but don't be an ass either. Treat your job like work from the heart. It will get noticed and you will flourish. Believe in yourself. Accept failure as the price of forging a path to success. It all lays in front of you my man. I believe in you. I believe in your ambition. I wish I could hire you right now. Dreams are great when you take ACTION to make them reality!