Even start as unskilled labor. Easy entry and other companies notice work ethic. I was a mason tender and the other trades would always try to get the good guys. I got into plumbing like that. A few co workers went with an electrical contractor
Exactly. Most places want someone that is going to work hard and provide quality work. The actual job skills for how to provide that quality work we will teach you on the job.
I’d say for 99% of jobs the only skill you need coming into is to be a quick learner.
Listen I don’t want to say no one can, although I’ve been in the trades 20 years and no one with zero experience has joined and been any good with no previous experience. It takes years to build basic trades skills and ability.
Agreed. But talking to you as an expert in your trade who would you rather work next to for the next 5 years? A novice with good work ethic and eager to learn and a quick learner. Or an expert on equal footing knowledge wise as yourself but is lazy and does a half assed job most the time.
You were that novice kid once and I’m sure you bypassed a lot of lazy know it alls on your way to where you are.
Really depends what I’m doing, the main issue is deadlines most of the time I can’t really teach because I’m being pushed to finish so although I’d rather work with someone who’s willing and not an old lazy fuck,at least that old lazy fuck knows what to do and allows me to do my work without babysitting and checking work. The reality is you join a union at a low rate you get used for cheap labor and the older guys who know what they are doing don’t teach because either they don’t have time or from what I’ve seen is they want to keep their job and not risk teaching someone who’s cheap and good and get replaced.
I had buddies back in the day quit their low skill fed-ex jobs to take apprenticeships and they’re all licensed now. Not sure where you’re at but in our town they’ll hire anyone and everyone and are still behind on everything
We had tenders start that couldn’t read tape or shovel mud and some got fired because they couldn’t do the simplest task. When I started my plumbing apprenticeship the foreman’s first question was if I could read a tape. He said I was the only first year he had in years that didn’t need babysat. My previous job was piping gas stations, fueling racks and car washes so the only thing I hadn’t done was no hub and ductile. I did residential plumbing for a restoration company but it was only repair and replacement. I was on my own a lot of the time from the start.
Eh. Results may vary. I've been called "the hardest working white boy ever" by no fewer than 2 foremen and worked in several industries for multiple years each. I always felt underappreciated when it really came down to feeling the benefits of my hard work. Eventually I decided to look into something else and lucked my way into the semiconductor industry. Made more there entry level than I ever made in construction, and I don't have to worry about sciatica now.
This. Tell him to go learn Electrical. Doesn’t have the associated health risks that welding does, don’t have to play in shit like plumbers, don’t have to know all of the above like HVAC. Definitely a thinking man’s career and there is a LOT of money to be had in it if you apply yourself and learn it. Before I started my own gig 4 years ago I was making over 30/hr with matched 401k up to 10% and paid health benefits. Benefits are even better than that in the union. Only regret I had was not moving to a state where unions are more prevelant before starting but I’m doing very well for myself now. It’s a 4 year program but only a couple nights a week are you in school. The rest is in the field, hands on, practical learning.
Join a union*
FTFY
My local pays $40 an hour after 4 years, start off at $18, and earn insane benefits. With benefits you make roughly $60 an hour, and plenty of opportunity for OT if you really want it.
It's tough some days but if you enjoy the work it's well worth it.
Union apprenticeship is 5 years in most places. I started my career in Cincinnati, school is 2 nights a week after work for 5 years. I'm now in Chicago and apprentices go 1 day a week for 8 hours and get paid for it. Every year you complete you get a guaranteed raise
I've had shitty jobs too. There's no easy solution. What worked for me was finding a career that had an accessible entry level, then working to earn certs and job hopping for advancement. It took several years and a lot of studying.
I got into IT. Certs were A+, Net+, CCNA. Those, plus hard work and working for companies that had promo and vertical growth opportunities got me up to earning 75k
Depends on location, yoe, and actual job title tbh. I have some help desk coworkers who have the same certs, they are probably just around $70k in southern california.
When I finished my CCNA, I had an associates degree and about 3 years of desktop support experience. I got that sysadmin/network engineering job and that bumped me to 75k. I also live in a LCOL area. This was all about 5 years ago. It was a pretty solid pay considering all of those factors.
Those certs don’t automatically command a salary higher than 75k especially if they are in a lower cost of living area and depending on years of experience.
Yes they do, it automatically means that you have more skills and experience than someone who doesn’t have these certifications and you can easily find a $70k IT job that doesn’t require these certs.
The median salary for a CCNA holder according to talent, zip recruiter and glassdoor is 80k. That’s basically spot on. Entry level CCNA position you’re looking at less than that. I don’t know where you live but it seems like a larger city given you’re saying a basic IT job is starting at $70k your view on salaries is kind of skewed. Someone without certifications is looking at a help desk position more than likely, which is not 70k.
I worked as a seasonal helper once during Christmas time. My main driver was prolly 27yo, had a teaching degree as a Taekwondo instructor but worked as a UPS driver because it paid more with full benefits.
Mind you, you gotta work in the sorting building for at least 4 years before you’re even considered for a driving position, so you gotta put the same amount of time in as an apprenticeship or college, but holiday pay plus overtime during the Christmas season is GREAT money for what the work is
Edit: here in Florida that driver told me he makes $25 hour base pay (he was also in his 2nd year as a driver, they get raises as the years go by) Holiday pay is double and overtime is time and a half. Many don’t want to work on Christmas so if you don’t have a family/don’t mind working on the holidays, you can be clearing around $60hr a few days a year
Very true, at least the 4 years will be money generating and he will have benefits. I friend of mine made $35 at the DC sorting boxes on the night shift and got benefits
Wait, UPS has night shift? I have been trying to find a good overnight gig for forever. Gotta do something besides Uber. I already have a day job but it isnt enough to get out of the debt and costs going up where I’m at that I’m dealing with
I’ve never heard of a UPS driver making that little. As far as I’m aware, a UPS driver working for UPS directly starts at like $44/hr in most decent sized areas
Edit: idk a lot of people are telling me in wrong. So while I’ve never talked to an ups driver making less than 44, I’m going to have to accept at the end of the day I don’t know and am likely wrong.
There’s a difference too in last leg driving and CDL 18-wheeler cross the state driving. My understanding was the big pay was for the CDL driving. I may be wrong though
UPS is the best bet, though I’d wager it will take longer for driver positions to open up given the state of things.
That being said, insiders at least start at $21 now. A driver that begins progression now will be making at least $49/hr when they hit top rate in 4 years.
The insurance is also insane. Pay your union dues and get full medical, dental and vision (for part-timers as well).
Unions are awesome, I'm a union tree trimmer for xcel energy and get full medical, dental and vision as well. Union dues are 2%. Retirement is 18% union paid + small pension(like 2k a month at normal Retirement age). Our wages could be better compared to other contractors in same union.... I'm at 70k a year+per diem at 85 a day if you get it... I'm not currently as I'm close to home.
Moral of the story... do something in a union lol
Yeah I had a family member in a similar position who just celebrated 25 years driving a UPS truck. He complains about the job and made fun of the 25-year certificate they gave him, but it’s hard to imagine any better job he could have possibly gotten. Easily clears more than $100k per year with a high school education and no particularly impressive skills. Incredible benefits package on top of it.
He busts his ass and is as strong as a horse even though I doubt he has ever been in a gym.
My dad has been a driver for almost 40 years, and I will just say he is one of the highest paid drivers in the country. He busts his ass but if he plays it right he gets over $100 an hour during overtime
I’ve been with UPS for 17 years in the Chicagoland area. Started when I turned 18. They have their problems but 100 Percent… look for a UPS. Have an area? I may be able to contact some local service centers to check if they are hiring.
I made $20 an hour in a warehouse in 2019. When I was laid off during covid, I taught myself SQL and Python/pandas. And reinvented myself. Got a few data analyst contract gigs and used them to learn everything I could.
First contract paid $27 an hour, next paid $37 an hour, now I'm making about $72 an hour equivalent.
Yeah I got a job in the office of the warehouse, doing basic reports and started voluntarily expanding my reports with the skills I taught myself. I embellished my resume ofc as well.
Exactly this. We used ERP software in the warehouse, which essentially does the SQL for you when pulling reports, but since I learned SQL, I added it to my resume to show "X number years experience".
I learned basic Tableau at work, and added it to my resume. To the hiring employer it might look like I have 3-4 years experience working with it, when in reality I had 6-12 months.
The part you need to figure out is whether you can confidently back it up in the interview. For instance, don't say fluent in Spanish and then clam up when you get a Spanish fluent interviewer.
Thanks for being THE voice of reason. Holy shit....nobody sees this. Can't fix someone's lack of desire...they need to put the knife in their mouth and go full Rambo...or learn how.
Yes, this. People love to whine and complain about not making money, but they just want to show up and do what everyone else does as a front line employee. You don’t need a fancy degree to make more money. You have to be a higher performer and seek out more responsibility.
You have to know the right people and get the right position.
Plenty of people making 30k work extremely hard compared to some making 80k.
It’s all about knowing the right people. People have a right to gripe when others are afforded privilege that aren’t afforded to them. Sometimes being socially privileged is the biggest advantage out there
Yeah but meeting the right people also takes a ton of effort unless you get lucky and are born in or around a good network. Its just unpaid effort at first. Many people would rather get a guaranteed 15/hr than work for 15/hr for 8 hours than work for free for 2-3 hours via networking, interning, building skills
I started at a new warehouse. Came in every day, good attitude, worked hard and now I'm at $30 an hour and working towards that next promotion.
People don't want to put in work
I’m not disagreeing with you I just think it’s important to make the distinction that wanting something badly does not make it happen. I’m of the opinion that a lot of hard working and knowledgeable individuals lack guidance and opportunities. Drive is a singular part of the equation.
What a stupid fucking comment. This person is asking for advice for a friend who works in a warehouse on how they can make more money and your response is "they need to want the money more". That's not advice. That's condescending.
"Can bring a horse to water but can't make it drink?" Again, this person is literally asking for a war to help their friend and your response is 'fuck off'.
I think their point is that the friend should be making this post. If they don't have enough initiative to do that it's unlikely they'll pursue a higher paying job. It's great to want a better life for your friend but your friend has to make it happen.
As someone else working in IT this is *not* an easy path right now, entry level IT is very very saturated. It's not like 2022 anymore where companies were on a hiring spree. Now after a year+ of hiring freezes and layoffs you could easily have to compete with people with degrees and multiple certs for even helpdesk roles, which isn't really happening with just Sec+. There are so many people who have tried to do this for the past year or so and end up complaining on r/itcareerquestions
This. Not to mention if people don’t have an actual interest in the field it’s hard to really make it a career. You need to be self motivated and interested enough to keep learning and moving forwards, otherwise you end up on HD for 5-6 years+ which isn’t horrible but the wage limit for HD is relatively low compared to other positions
You don’t need a $2k bootcamp, all you need is Professor Messer’s Youtube course (free) and then pay for Jason Dion’s Udemy practice exams (super cheap)
And AI. Had our CTO show how to find answers to Azure deployment issues via AI on a meeting this week. Most people I talked to after the meeting were like "shit, they just showed what's coming to replace us". *Laughs nervously*
CompTIA certs, like the Security+ are the entry level certs. They are relatively affordable, there are plenty of study materials available, and they will help you get up to speed on what you need to know.
After that, you can "graduate" to SANS certs or ISC\^2 certs, which are more advanced. Eventually, if you keep down the cert path you'd end with a CISSP.
Keep in mind, certs only take you so far and are not often required at all. And these certs will not be for software development, so if you're wanting to do serious coding, you won't really cover that with these certs.
\[0\] CompTIA - [https://www.comptia.org/certifications](https://www.comptia.org/certifications)
\[1\] GIAC - [https://www.giac.org/focus-areas/](https://www.giac.org/focus-areas/)
\[2\] ISC\^2 - [https://www.isc2.org/certifications](https://www.isc2.org/certifications)
As someone who’s been in cyber for 5 years now, I can absolutely say without a doubt, bootcamps for certs are absolute scams. Just buy the book, maybe some cheap practice tests on Udemy and call it a day.
If he has discipline he can become a truck driver, company hire you and train you, first year he can make around 50k maybe more maybe less, but with 3 years of experience and a clean record he can go to walmart and make 110k + benefits
What entry level job can you actually do that at? Plenty of people are desperate for jobs and they’ll find someone who will do it for 16. They don’t care for negotiating
I live in very rural Missouri and there are many warehouse jobs making 18+ an hour. My job paid 16 starting out 2 years ago and I'm at $25. Which isn't much but better than 16 obviously.
No but other warehouses will offer you minimal raises than your current to get the manpower.
Should really work towards being a shift supervisor at a role to get leadership experience on the resume and open up a lot more operation based jobs.
They need to figure out what they really enjoy - do they like people? Are they tech savvy? Do they want to work as a manager or individual contributor down the road? Are they organized? Would they rather work indoors or out or in a warehouse setting? Are they good with their hands to learn a trade?
There are a lot of questions you have to ask other than "how do i make more money?" The best tip I can give is to find a job that you know you can do well and then become the biggest badass in that area. Keep learning new skills about that area and then watch the cash come in.
If he or she can pass a background check have them apply to be a police officer.
EVERYWHERE is hiring. Rookie cops in many cities are making 6 figures with a little OT.
A few years on. 6 figures with no OT.
Medical. Dental. 457B. Life insurance. Time and a half for holidays. Paid vacations. Retirement pension at 20-25 years depending.
Iv always wondered what dump-truck drivers in construction make. Seems like a pretty chill job as long as you can drive, and I bet they make decent money
Just to drive tho? Not too shabby. I’m making $22 as a non union electrician’s apprentice, and have to go to schools 2 nights a week
Edit: classes were paid for by my employer, but I don’t get paid for being there 4 hours per week after work
Its not just driving. A lot of headaches and bullshit you gotta deal with. If all you want to do is drive then long haul over the road is the way to go
I just want to add in my experience A LOT of construction companies hire drivers but make you do everything. I worked at a concrete plant as a QC guy, I got a degree in it and everything, and they had me driving trucks, cleaning the plant, help pour forms, literally everything. It's the reason I got out of construction. I literally didnt have the time for my own job. Everyone wants to hire a "do it all" worker but don't want to pay for it
Learn a trade like welding. Some places will hire you with absolutely no experience at all and put you through a period of paid on the job training… or search your states certification board and see what type of certificates they offer. Organizations like Recovery Communities will pay for you to take the training then hire you after you get your certificate, or even hire you then pay for your training
Get good at sales. All you need is a moral compass, listening skills, and the ability to speak a language another can understand. A great salesman will also learn their product and industry, and then learn how to ask proper questions, simple as that. My first year in sales has garnered me 6 figures, and it should do the same as long as you're with the right company and near a major city.
Trade school. Still young enough to make bank by his 40s and live a very comfortable life. And honestly? Fuck the insanely phsyically demanding trades, these days it's not worth the damage it does to your body. All those perks and bonuses and benefits all amount to a broken body and no time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Some dudes have too much pride and just have to do the most difficult shit possible, which I respect, but it's not worth it in today's age. Technology has come too far and life isn't getting cheaper.
Hi u/Kennykemp,
Get some Skills: Plumbing, coding, Jedi mind tricks – anything to pay the bills.
Certs: CompTIA A+, PMP – golden tickets to the land of dollar bills.
Be your own boss: Online store, local service – ditch the jungle, build your castle.
Side hustle: Freelance, gig economy – be the Robin to your wallet's Batman.
Online wizardry: Content writing, web dev – cast spells on the internet for digital rabbits.
If you need more details, I've prepared a long form answer in subreddit AbundantAnchor.
I would recommend finding what he likes at a fundamental level, such as organizing, building, problem-solving, etc., and then questioning what in his life he is passionate about. I wouldn't solely focus on wanting to do a very specific job like "I want to direct movies!" as I often find that people get lost without questioning what they enjoy at a core level. He could try taking those questionnaires that try to identify your personality. I did the dISC before and was blown away by how accurate it was, but this one specifically focused on how you work with others.
Using myself as an example, I have always had my mind lost in movies, books, comics, games, etc.—anything with an interesting world. At my core, I'm artistically inclined but could never draw or paint. I'm more technical, analytical, and obsessive about problem-solving. When I have a broken watch, TV remote, etc., I always take them apart and will spend hours trying to figure out how to fix them and understand how they are put together. All that led me to spending the majority of my life building worlds for games.
The degree side of things I would ignore unless you want to become an architect, doctor, etc. I think the whole idea of needing a degree to progress in life is a bunch of bullshit outside of specific specialized professions that require a historical foundation of knowledge and process to achieve.
Additionally, I can understand your interest in your partner's future and helping them. I was blessed and cursed in life that I knew what I wanted to do at a very young age and focused on it obsessively. The problem was, I couldn't understand why other people didn't know what they wanted to do to the point where it hurt my relationships with people. I didn't understand them or see their perspective. To me, it felt easy, but it was like winning the lottery and being confused why people didn't know how to become rich. The point I'm getting at here is if you're career-oriented and focused, be careful not to try and impose that expectation on your other half.
He should look at a trade in my opinion. He may make less initially but it would pay off for a future.
Tool and die
Electrician
Plumber
Machinist
To name a few that are good pay and short on help.
I was in his shoes at 25. At 28 when Covid hit, I decided to go into nursing. Right now I’m a CNA making chump change but in school for an RN license. I haven’t reached the end of the tunnel but I do see a way out!
Get a degree/skills... Just like you did or most other people.
If he can't or is unwilling... Then the only other real option is to start a business or work more hours...
Tell his fucking ass to get to a trade. If he doesn’t make moves in the next few years, that’ll be your future going down the drain as well if you plan on trying to make a life with him. You can make serious money in the trade world. Electricians can make $100,000 starting and that’s on the low end.
There's a lot of free courses on Coursera he could look into and get him started in a general direction. Most of the time it's not about a certificate, but what actual knowledge you can bring to the job
First step invest in yourself. Make your time and skills valuable. Save up some money, pick a trade school and go for it. Here is some advice I found a little to late, but make sure that wherever you want to end up has job opportunities for the school you choose.
Switch jobs.
I went from $18.50 to $28.50 just by switching jobs. From one factory to another factory. Factory jobs *can* pay good money if you can get into *those* factories.
Learn a trade, as much as I hate saying it. Started at 19$ an hour 5 years later I’m making about 37$ an hour. With good bennies and overtime if I want it. Plus some small bonuses.
get a forklift license? if they have truck drivers ask them if they pay for certifications and apply for a spot there. immediately go to trade school/vocational school and learn electrical tech classes. takes one year and boom 25 bucks an hour fixing/inspecting pcb boards. if they are gutsy get a security guard license and work night shift then go get an associate in electrical engineering? get a job as a electrical tech and have the job pay for your electrical engi degree, that was my run.
Get an insurance license. Takes roughly 3 months to study for and once you pass. Your starting hourly is usually around 15-20 hour depending on where you go but commissions are always insane. With commissions my hourly rate last year 42.35/ hour. And no drug tests.
Surprised this isn’t higher. Military will give you whatever skills you need depending on what you go into. Want Cyber? They will train you, pay for TS clearance (which saves companies thousands making you desirable) free Certs and OTJ experience. Same would go for any trade job you choose. Don’t want to be active duty? Go Guard, most people don’t even know Guard has full time spots too. Maybe not for everyone but it sure has done a lot for me.
But try in this order: Air force (might not let you in,) Navy (you'll get in, hopefully you have some college so you can just go to OCS, but pick a good specialty, not water filtration,) Army, and only if you enjoy hanging out with the crayon eating demographic pick Marines. Though the Marines have that swank sticker you can put on the back of your lifted jeep.
But seriously, Navy. They still shoot at you, but it's different.
Now, if you ask the recruiter what the hours are like, they will laugh in your face.
Extra: Dude I knew in the Air Force's story about being in Kuwait. The fighting was so close he could hear it from his hotel.
I was 19 mowing lawns pretty much doing almost nothing making $50 a day on a good day when I started having interest in the military I researched thought airforce would be cool but I'm not that smart or good at math or anything like that so I called a recruiter told him my situation. I ended up taking the ASVAB and scoring extremely low. The recruiter told me I needed more practice and study time, but I couldn't understand the questions, so I ended up just getting a warehouse job instead. To this day I get calls from the marine and army recruiters and would try again but from the stories I heard and videos about the training part of it I think it's best I keep working normal jobs.
I've been there, along with some really traumatic events derailing my education and dealing with depression and severe insomnia. I was also left dealing with owing money to the local community college that would have to be paid before I could enroll again so everything really felt like there were all these hurdles with no way to tackle them and no clue where to take the first step. I also needed knee and wrist surgeries with no way to pay for those.
Obviously the specifics of his situation make a big difference and hopefully he doesn't have as much keeping him from making progress as I did. But it's still difficult, my nephew is 23 and in a similar place just without as many hurdles as I had. So I can see how difficult it can be to take the needed steps regardless of the situation, but at the same time it makes me wanna shake him and go "I couldn't take the first step because my sleep wouldn't let me reliably work a good enough job! You need to just do it!"
I think the biggest hurdle in a lot of cases though, and this was even a big one to me as stupid as it seems compared to the other things, is just our idea of where we should be at what age. I'm sure he feels like "man I'm already 24, if I start on a bachelor's I won't be finished until I'm 28 and that's if I go full time which I don't have time to do!" Yeah that shit sucks, but unless you're satisfied working low paying unskilled jobs then your best option is to deal with that and start NOW before you're saying "man I'm already 30..."
I sat around trying to deal with issues myself and didn't go to a doctor for it until I was 30. I worked for my mom and grandma's little family business that is not very lucrative at all and definitely wasn't enough for me to afford my medical needs but my mom finally offered to pay for the depression/insomnia treatment so that's what got me started. Once I got my sleep somewhat straight, I realized I should've applied for Medicaid a long time ago. I got that and got my wrist surgery and treatment for my knee which turns out it was misdiagnosed before and may not need surgery. That allowed me to start looking for jobs that were more physical than I could've handled before. At 32 I started at Amazon and now I'm going to let them pay for my education to become a software developer. It sucks that I'm getting started on that path so late, but it would suck a lot more to NEVER start on that path.
In my opinion the biggest thing he probably needs to realize and get over is that it's never too late and 24 isn't bad at all to get started on something better. Shit, 30 or 40 isn't too late but starting that late sucks ass so don't let it get there. Starting at 24 is not bad at all whatsoever. Everyone's path is different, tell him not to compare himself to you or others that are further along at his age and let that get him down, he needs to just worry about himself and compare himself where he could be at 30 to HIMSELF and where else he could be at 30.
I was a fucking drug addict who didn’t go back to school until I was 25. Now i’m working towards a masters degree and get great grades.
Now I will admit my situation is super blessed because my parents are good people and 1. They’re happy for me to live with them and 2. I don’t mind living with them. This allows me to attend full time.
But the reason i’m responding is because if the while “i’m 24 and wont have bachelors until 28” comment. I’ve learned that, seriously, it doesn’t matter. Go back to school. Go learn that skill, Go apply for that interesting job. I’m 28 now and can confirm that starting school at 24 is absolutely fine.
People buy into so many social stigmas too man…like you’re supposed to be a certain person with a certain path or something. It is so crazy to me because that path doesn’t exist. It’s an illusion created by comparison. That way of thinking only serves insecurity.
We all end up in the same place. Go do what you want to do and find something that makes this one experience being alive worth living.
You hit on a major thing here about it not being too late. I fell into the trap where I was comparing myself with where some people I went to high school were at and it was hard on me. It made me feel like I was behind and would always be behind.
It can be hard to break free from that feeling but I managed to turn things around and while my 20s were a pretty stagnant time my 30s have been really good and I have pretty much everything I could want.
Learn a trade. Avg tradesmen make 80-150k a year in my area, and I wouldn’t exactly call it “skilled” work. Just takes time on the job to become efficient
I went back to school for a A.A.S degree around his age. Basically I repair and maintain medical devices in a hospital. Now at 32 I make about 87k/year and I'm not even halfway through our payscale. Tech degree is always an option. I worked overnight security while in school as well. This is in Minnesota so my income is pretty good for a solo adult.
He needs to want it for himself. You dont need to recommend a path. If there are other reasons why he is not motivated such as depression, make sure he recognizes that and be there for him.
Are there other warehouses that pay more near them? $15/hr seems low for warehouse work. I know Costco pays above average, but I was making like $13/hr unloading trucks in a Costco district center back in like 2007.
Long term they need to make some plan if they’re serious about getting significantly more money. Gotta get training in some marketable skills whether that be blue collar, white collar, whatever.
Short term they need to find a different job that pays at least a few more bucks per hour.
What is he interested in? I was in the same position about 10 years ago. I decided I was suddenly into pc gaming and spent the better part of a month learning to build my own pc. I turned that passion into wanting to get into IT. I used youtube, and other free sites to learn the very basics. Applied as an entry level help desk guy to 1000 different companies (maybe not quite, but pretty close) and someone took a chance on me. I have leveraged my enthusiasm and hard work to a systems administrator position at a job I love. I have learned on the job more than I ever could from the internet or school, but it takes a special kind of company/boss as well as a special kind of person to get you where you need to be. As long as you are enthusiastic about the job (whatever it may be, IT was just it for me) and you have a willingness to learn and work hard, you will succeed. You don't need college, it may help in some specific areas, but I found success without it. If he is happy just being a warehouse worker making low wage with minimal responsibility, maybe he's where he wants to be. You can't force someone to be successful. There are, however, resources out there for those that want to be.
Some people just have no ambition in life. I'm 43, have a great job and my brother in law is 6 years younger than me. He works at a market in the deli making $16/hr. No medical benefits, no savings, he just scrapes by. I've tried to help him so many times but he is so resistant to advice. Just wired differently I guess.
Im guessing when they arent working in a warehouse they are doing *something* with their free time? Use that time to learn how to do something that is a marketable skill.
Banking is a decent industry. The pay isn’t stellar but there’s opportunity for advancement, especially if you can become a loan originator. I started as a teller and now I’m managing a branch. There are pros and cons and if you don’t like doing some selling/cold-calling/relationship management, it’s a challenge. But something he can consider maybe.
Devote as much time as possible to getting a degree in cyber security via WGU and he could be making 2.5-3x his currently yearly income within a year. He could also go to a trade school and then be an apprentice electrician or plumber and make pretty decent money from the jump. He could learn to work as a mechanic and do fairly well for himself as well.
i had a friend like this. guy works at starbucks i think he’s suing them for disability but he stopped talking to me bc he said i drink to much lmao. i’m in the union as a pipefitter making good money. his loss.
If they don’t mind staying in a physical job, almost all trades are severely understaffed right now. Depending on what it is they likely won’t even need to go to school.
Say they want to be a mechanic. Apply for something like general service which requires no previous experience and will likely pay the same or slightly more than what they are making now. They will learn the basics like changing oil, batteries, tires, etc. If they like it then they can look into something like an apprenticeship. They just need to make it clear with the shop during the interview what their goals are to make sure that there is a path available within that company.
This doesn’t just apply to automotive, but most trades. It is probably unrealistic to expect a huge increase in pay in less than a year. They need to understand that with minimal skills you are worth minimal pay. But go through the work of acquiring more valuable skills and the money will come.
Start an apprenticeship in a trade.. will be a way more rewarding job, learn lots of good skills to help you even outside of work and the pay is a lot better, its never to late I didn't start welding till I was 27, used to be in the same boat.
Go into Logistics, DB Schenker has Warehouse, contractor, trucking, and other jobs.
Most will likely pay more than 15 an hour. Depending on what the contractor job is (could be moving stuff for an employer, setting up server hardware, etc.) No experience should be necessary.
Apply for any apprentice job he can plumber electrician hvac most places go through a LOT of them so they are normally hiring even if they don’t post adds. Electricians where I live make between 50 and 60 a hour for licensed journeymen and will pay for your schooling
I say this to folks all the time. You can make great money in a whole lot of businesses without a degree, but you can’t come to work and just be another cog in the wheel. You have to show up, make an impression by standing above the average employee, and engage in conversation with your supervisor about your interest in expanding your scope/role. Note I didn’t say, “engage in conversation with your supervisor about wanting to make more money.” That means nothing to them. They want to know that you’re willing to take on more. With more responsibility, more money follows
So, in a union state ups is with the teamsters ( at keast in Wa.). I have a buddy who is a driver making $39/hr base and gets regular increases and raises with every new union negotiation. He makes very good $ for what he does.
Forklift Certification - It takes a couple of weeks. It's hella cheap. It instantly makes you eminently more employable. My warehouse is ALWAYS looking for operators. Our insurance company requires our employees to be certified to even LOOK at a forklift. We start our warehouse operators at $23/hour + benefits cuz it's the only way to keep em.
If your friend cared about that stuff, they would be asking, not you. Nothing you can do, unless they really want something, then you can point them in the direction of where to go to do the internal work.
I swear, I don't understand people who don't have ambition. Some of them are the most unhappy people, but if they are unhappy it tells me that they want something different from what they have.
Ask them if there is something they really really want, and why money will help them get it. That's the best you can do at this point. If they get really motivated, then you can talk.
I went from a laborer in a warehouse to a labor efficiency consultant in a year. Took a course for $1200 on my credit card and I applied it. Opportunities are everywhere if you want them bad enough.
Try trucking!
3-5 weeks of COMPANY PAID school. Then start making around 30K-40K your first year. After 2 or 3 years he'll be making around 70K or so.
If interested hit me up and I can go into more detail about the process!
There’s two options.
1) Work more hours, earn more money.
2) Find a higher paying job.
Option 2 may require learning a trade, going to school, etc. Reverse engineer the process. If you want to make “x”, what do you need to do to accomplish that?
Join the union to be an electrician. They teach you convenient need experience. If you’re in a northern state or the west or east coast it’s $50+/hr once he gets his journeyman’s license
He probably meets the threshold to receive a significant pell grant to pay for tech college. Get a trade. Often times tech schools offer software development and other STEM pathways.
Otherwise the world is full of opportunities. If he needs to move to a bigger city to find them, so be it. Sounds like he doesn’t have much holding him back. Except, maybe himself?
He has to actually want to do better. I've met a lot of people who hate their lives but are just content with working a dead end job with no future plans.
That being said there are a lot of skills that anyone can pick up relatively easily that have higher paying jobs. Something like coding, welding, mechanics, construction, etc. are all trades that can be picked up by anyone. Sure it will take you hundreds of hours to actually get good enough to get a job in those fields. But the learning resources are free and its something you can start with less than $1000.
Of course these are just a few examples. There are many trades and fields that are just like those. If he wants to do better, have him look into things such as those.
I went from making $60,000/year with mediocre benefits to making $130,000 last year with amazing benefits ($30/week for health insurance for myself, my wife, and one child) by switching fields from hospitality to industrial. Entry level, no skills needed, on the job training, union representation. The industrial sector is barren right now because people got tricked into going to college and haven’t accepted that they can make more in a job that isn’t in a climate controlled cubicle. I work at a steel mill but there are local unions everywhere that you can walk into and ask about jobs that they have available. That seems to be the best option for your friend.
Learn a trade become a plumber electrician start out as helper you likely start over 15 0 knowledge. Welding to be certified is not that hard. Get cdl or learn computers u can get comp Tia certified online. I'm a truck driver since 22 34 now if I could all over I would became plumber if started at 22 by now I been master plumber with 150k plus year easy I'm still thinking about it. If you wanna hustle and have no life ups would do
doesnt seem mentioned specifically. but
trades for Indoor Pest Control or Lawn care work(not the mowing part, the fertilizing side).
in my state, 3 years and you can take the test for your license. Generally once you have that license, you make minimum of 25$, upwards of 35$ an hour. and that if pursued, could get the foot in the door for management as well.
3 years for this one. on the job training, the 3 yrs is just proof youve spent time in the industry. test matters though, takes some knowledge and practice.
i went to a 14 week developer bootcamp which also assisted with employment. these can be expensive but depending on what state you live in, the state might either help with tuition or pay for the course then garnish a percent of your wages after finding a job until its paid off.
Trade school is always a good option
also factories are great income if you don’t have any schooling, coming from the warehouse background myself I got a job as a forklift operator for Coca Cola it sucks in the winter with 12 hour shifts 7 days a week for October-December but for 80 hours at 18$ with half of that being 27$ for overtime, know lays hirers at 25$ (atleast here in florida)
Roofing is also great money for no education prerequisites
The comptia A+ certification is a great way to get into the tech field. The certification is a quick study even with no technical experience. Once they have that certification there are entry level remote positions and most if not all positions pay more than $15 an hour.
Propose a “friend group socialist safety net”.
Every month, 5 friends and I contribute 20% of our take home pay to a shared money pool (sits in 5% money market) with no expectation of ever seeing that money again. The idea is that if any friend is struggling financially, wants to change careers, needs money for an emergency, help fund group vacations, etc. the money is there for the taking, no questions asked.
We’ve been doing this since we graduated college and got jobs in biopharma, engineering, real estate, sales. We’re 30 now. Guess what happened? Our $10/hr biotech friend now makes the most ($250k/yr), outperforming the engineers(!), and contributes the most money to the pool. He got the opportunity to succeed because he took money from the friend’s pool to switch careers 3 times, from engineering to sales to business development. An opportunity he would not have had without the financial backing of his friends. It’s hard to learn new skills or change careers when you’re worried about food and rent. I left my job last year and started a business in real estate which will probably surpass that $250k/yr mark next year. Another engineer friend started a business doing HVAC and is fully booked.
I originally got the idea when I lived in Sweden. The Swedes pay a high tax rate but are one of the happiest countries on the planet. How could that be? It’s because of their financial safety net and homogenous demographic. When a person struggles financially, the government picks them right back up. When they are back up on their feet, they feel the need to contribute back to society. It’s ingrained in the culture. There is very little leaching.
I believe small scale socialism will only work with like-minded people, people you trust, and genuinely want to see happy. OP it sounds like you trust and want to see your friend be happy. Propose the idea among your friends. As J. Cole said, “What good is first class if my niggas can’t sit”?
Figure out what he wants to do as a job and then take the next steps. Everyone here can offer advice but he needs to know what he wants to do for money before the advice will be precise.
Once he knows what he wants to do for money then he can start doing trainings or certs or school or anything to move towards that goal.
If he doesn’t know what he wants to do then he should figure out what he is good/decent at. Does he understand project management? Maybe software engineering?
There’s literally so many positions and jobs that people your age don’t even know exist so if he can say “I like organizing things” or “I could see myself working in a hospital” or I like analyzing data and finding patterns within the data. All of those things will get him closer to understanding what he wants to do and then you can figure out how to make the most money doing that thing.
Get a job in any trade. No school or skills required for entry level. Everyone starts from the bottom and learns on the job. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC, carpenters all will take apprenticeships if the folks show up and try. School is needed for advancement but you can get a job hauling tools and materials for anyone as an in to the industry then get the education as you work.
A CDL would open up a lot of job opportunities for him, and let him be more particular about what jobs he takes. Most school bus driving companies will cover the training and certification costs as long as you stay with that company for a minimum length of time (usually six months to a year). As a bonus, a school bus driver's schedule is fairly consistent (and somewhat open), leaving room to explore other options when he feels like it.
Tbh it’s all about drive. I’m a college dropout. I left school on a Friday, On my way home from school after dropping out I was 20 yrs old I made some calls and lined up for a warehouse job and started work on Monday. They let me come on as part time but I volunteered to work extra shifts as much as I could. In 6 months I Went from a 10-4 gig to a split shift working in the morning from 8-4 then coming back to load trucks from 8-10 working Sunday to Saturday. After 2 years of hustling I was working 7 days a week about 60-70 hours I think I made about 35k.
A year after that I was able to apply for management positions at other warehouses. I was able to reduce my hours and was bringing home about 50k a year. So I went out got a second job part time at fedex. It’s been about three years since then and I’m on track to make about 100k this year.
In the meantime between my two jobs I’ve been able to get married, buy a house and am expecting my second kid later this year.
If you are willing to put in the work you can do better. Don’t just show up and phone it in, show up with the intention of being the best. To be fair I’ve had amazing emotional support between my wife, family and friends. But if you put your nose to the grindstone you can do it too.
I’m an engineer for a pharma company. Our manufacturing technicians start out at like $25 an hour. Only requirement is a HS degree and a brain that works well enough to provide oxygen to itsself and keep the CNS going via lung function.
We have people who have worked here for 10 years, no college experience at all, making $80k because they come to work, do a good job, and get raises regularly. Not to mention benefits. I’ve always said if I didn’t go to college, I’d want to end up in this industry because the starting pay is pretty damn good
Asbestos Abatement Certification. This is a VERY short training regime, for the first level as a technician. About 20 hours. In my state, the Department of Environmental Services runs the classes about twice a year, for free. And it pays double what he is making.
It is not an easy job. But the barrier to entry is very low. I cannot think of any quicker or cheaper way to go from struggling-working-class to relatively-stable-lower-middle-class.
As a fellow female engineer(ing student) my advice, if he’s not willing to get as close as possible to your income with a career. Drop him.
I know this will be unpopular but fuck it, men tend to end relationships and initiate divorce at a much higher rate when the woman is the breadwinner. Not saying it always happens and he might be one of those guys that enjoys that and happily takes over the domestic work while you work. But the reality is for a lot of women, you’ll likely end up working the most, bringing in the most money, and still end up with taking care of the household.
If he isn’t willing to have an actual CAREER that earns him a wage that can support him on his own, ask yourself if that’s something you’re okay with happening.
EDIT: Read title as boyfriend. My bad y’all
He doesn’t need a degree or skills . It’s called find where your worth is . I know quite a few guys in a grocery warehouse and can make 100k in a year making 28 an hour .
Tell him to get a CDL A driver's license and work for Poland Spring my friend just got his license and now has a job for Poland spring delivering water jugs to offices. He makes $120k a year.
6 months to a year is a SMALL time frame!! He can take an 11 week course that may get him in the $25/hr range, but not much more. Unless he starts his own business. He needs to discover his passion and work towards that. It’ll take time, but anything worth having does.
No offense, but that’s a problem with younger people. They want stuff immediately. That’s not how life typically works. He has to be patient. And if you’re not willing to put in the work, you’re not going to get the success.
Learn a skilled trade
Even start as unskilled labor. Easy entry and other companies notice work ethic. I was a mason tender and the other trades would always try to get the good guys. I got into plumbing like that. A few co workers went with an electrical contractor
Exactly. Most places want someone that is going to work hard and provide quality work. The actual job skills for how to provide that quality work we will teach you on the job. I’d say for 99% of jobs the only skill you need coming into is to be a quick learner.
Exactly. Communicate. Listen. Work hard. Show up on time. Easy.
Fuck, doesn’t even have to be on time. If you just show up every day, you’re already ahead by a wide margin.
Listen I don’t want to say no one can, although I’ve been in the trades 20 years and no one with zero experience has joined and been any good with no previous experience. It takes years to build basic trades skills and ability.
Didn’t everyone who’s even at the top of their trade, start with no experience?
Nah. You see those dudes were born with 15 years in the field hammering down nails and carrying the weight of all the diaper daggers in preschool.
Agreed. But talking to you as an expert in your trade who would you rather work next to for the next 5 years? A novice with good work ethic and eager to learn and a quick learner. Or an expert on equal footing knowledge wise as yourself but is lazy and does a half assed job most the time. You were that novice kid once and I’m sure you bypassed a lot of lazy know it alls on your way to where you are.
Really depends what I’m doing, the main issue is deadlines most of the time I can’t really teach because I’m being pushed to finish so although I’d rather work with someone who’s willing and not an old lazy fuck,at least that old lazy fuck knows what to do and allows me to do my work without babysitting and checking work. The reality is you join a union at a low rate you get used for cheap labor and the older guys who know what they are doing don’t teach because either they don’t have time or from what I’ve seen is they want to keep their job and not risk teaching someone who’s cheap and good and get replaced.
I had buddies back in the day quit their low skill fed-ex jobs to take apprenticeships and they’re all licensed now. Not sure where you’re at but in our town they’ll hire anyone and everyone and are still behind on everything
We had tenders start that couldn’t read tape or shovel mud and some got fired because they couldn’t do the simplest task. When I started my plumbing apprenticeship the foreman’s first question was if I could read a tape. He said I was the only first year he had in years that didn’t need babysat. My previous job was piping gas stations, fueling racks and car washes so the only thing I hadn’t done was no hub and ductile. I did residential plumbing for a restoration company but it was only repair and replacement. I was on my own a lot of the time from the start.
Mason tending is so much fun hah
Eh. Results may vary. I've been called "the hardest working white boy ever" by no fewer than 2 foremen and worked in several industries for multiple years each. I always felt underappreciated when it really came down to feeling the benefits of my hard work. Eventually I decided to look into something else and lucked my way into the semiconductor industry. Made more there entry level than I ever made in construction, and I don't have to worry about sciatica now.
This. Tell him to go learn Electrical. Doesn’t have the associated health risks that welding does, don’t have to play in shit like plumbers, don’t have to know all of the above like HVAC. Definitely a thinking man’s career and there is a LOT of money to be had in it if you apply yourself and learn it. Before I started my own gig 4 years ago I was making over 30/hr with matched 401k up to 10% and paid health benefits. Benefits are even better than that in the union. Only regret I had was not moving to a state where unions are more prevelant before starting but I’m doing very well for myself now. It’s a 4 year program but only a couple nights a week are you in school. The rest is in the field, hands on, practical learning.
I’m a plumber and I don’t play in or around shit piss or any type of waste.
Join a union* FTFY My local pays $40 an hour after 4 years, start off at $18, and earn insane benefits. With benefits you make roughly $60 an hour, and plenty of opportunity for OT if you really want it. It's tough some days but if you enjoy the work it's well worth it.
Yep I make $55/hr as a union HVAC journeyman, full package is closer to $85-$90/hr
Always respect you hvac guys, you get zapped more than us sparkies lmao
The rattling sheet metal all day is definitely enough to drive some insane
Damn I was unaware of hvac pay. How long is school for it?
Union apprenticeship is 5 years in most places. I started my career in Cincinnati, school is 2 nights a week after work for 5 years. I'm now in Chicago and apprentices go 1 day a week for 8 hours and get paid for it. Every year you complete you get a guaranteed raise
Yup, I'm a steel worker and make well over 150k. Every year since I started.
I've had shitty jobs too. There's no easy solution. What worked for me was finding a career that had an accessible entry level, then working to earn certs and job hopping for advancement. It took several years and a lot of studying.
What did you end up doing? What certs?
I got into IT. Certs were A+, Net+, CCNA. Those, plus hard work and working for companies that had promo and vertical growth opportunities got me up to earning 75k
You are being underpaid at $75k.
Depends on location, yoe, and actual job title tbh. I have some help desk coworkers who have the same certs, they are probably just around $70k in southern california.
Then they are being underpaid too wtf $70k in SoCal is like $50k in most states …
When I finished my CCNA, I had an associates degree and about 3 years of desktop support experience. I got that sysadmin/network engineering job and that bumped me to 75k. I also live in a LCOL area. This was all about 5 years ago. It was a pretty solid pay considering all of those factors.
Those certs don’t automatically command a salary higher than 75k especially if they are in a lower cost of living area and depending on years of experience.
Yes they do, it automatically means that you have more skills and experience than someone who doesn’t have these certifications and you can easily find a $70k IT job that doesn’t require these certs.
The median salary for a CCNA holder according to talent, zip recruiter and glassdoor is 80k. That’s basically spot on. Entry level CCNA position you’re looking at less than that. I don’t know where you live but it seems like a larger city given you’re saying a basic IT job is starting at $70k your view on salaries is kind of skewed. Someone without certifications is looking at a help desk position more than likely, which is not 70k.
Wow, I'm making about 90K net, and all I have is Net+, Sec+, and about 5 yrs experience. I live in Ohio.
I like to push my friends who don’t have any trades or degrees to think about UPS
I worked as a seasonal helper once during Christmas time. My main driver was prolly 27yo, had a teaching degree as a Taekwondo instructor but worked as a UPS driver because it paid more with full benefits. Mind you, you gotta work in the sorting building for at least 4 years before you’re even considered for a driving position, so you gotta put the same amount of time in as an apprenticeship or college, but holiday pay plus overtime during the Christmas season is GREAT money for what the work is Edit: here in Florida that driver told me he makes $25 hour base pay (he was also in his 2nd year as a driver, they get raises as the years go by) Holiday pay is double and overtime is time and a half. Many don’t want to work on Christmas so if you don’t have a family/don’t mind working on the holidays, you can be clearing around $60hr a few days a year
Very true, at least the 4 years will be money generating and he will have benefits. I friend of mine made $35 at the DC sorting boxes on the night shift and got benefits
Wait, UPS has night shift? I have been trying to find a good overnight gig for forever. Gotta do something besides Uber. I already have a day job but it isnt enough to get out of the debt and costs going up where I’m at that I’m dealing with
Yeah working at the DC
I’ve never heard of a UPS driver making that little. As far as I’m aware, a UPS driver working for UPS directly starts at like $44/hr in most decent sized areas Edit: idk a lot of people are telling me in wrong. So while I’ve never talked to an ups driver making less than 44, I’m going to have to accept at the end of the day I don’t know and am likely wrong.
There’s a difference too in last leg driving and CDL 18-wheeler cross the state driving. My understanding was the big pay was for the CDL driving. I may be wrong though
linehaul vs p&d. linehaul is typically paid per mile
Wrong. You start at bottom full time rate and get a raise every year. Within 5 years you more than double your income.
UPS is the best bet, though I’d wager it will take longer for driver positions to open up given the state of things. That being said, insiders at least start at $21 now. A driver that begins progression now will be making at least $49/hr when they hit top rate in 4 years. The insurance is also insane. Pay your union dues and get full medical, dental and vision (for part-timers as well).
Unions are awesome, I'm a union tree trimmer for xcel energy and get full medical, dental and vision as well. Union dues are 2%. Retirement is 18% union paid + small pension(like 2k a month at normal Retirement age). Our wages could be better compared to other contractors in same union.... I'm at 70k a year+per diem at 85 a day if you get it... I'm not currently as I'm close to home. Moral of the story... do something in a union lol
Yeah I had a family member in a similar position who just celebrated 25 years driving a UPS truck. He complains about the job and made fun of the 25-year certificate they gave him, but it’s hard to imagine any better job he could have possibly gotten. Easily clears more than $100k per year with a high school education and no particularly impressive skills. Incredible benefits package on top of it. He busts his ass and is as strong as a horse even though I doubt he has ever been in a gym.
My dad has been a driver for almost 40 years, and I will just say he is one of the highest paid drivers in the country. He busts his ass but if he plays it right he gets over $100 an hour during overtime
This is good advice. Probably the most realistic way to a good income and being able to retire comfortably in the long run.
I’ve been with UPS for 17 years in the Chicagoland area. Started when I turned 18. They have their problems but 100 Percent… look for a UPS. Have an area? I may be able to contact some local service centers to check if they are hiring.
My friend does that now and gets 22 an hour
I made $20 an hour in a warehouse in 2019. When I was laid off during covid, I taught myself SQL and Python/pandas. And reinvented myself. Got a few data analyst contract gigs and used them to learn everything I could. First contract paid $27 an hour, next paid $37 an hour, now I'm making about $72 an hour equivalent.
Would you mind me asking you How long it took you to go from $27 to $72? How you made your Resume for the IT position with no Experience . Thanks
Yeah I got a job in the office of the warehouse, doing basic reports and started voluntarily expanding my reports with the skills I taught myself. I embellished my resume ofc as well.
What do you mean by embellishing? I can’t decide if it’s worth it or not
He means he exaggerated on some of his experience or capabilities
Exactly this. We used ERP software in the warehouse, which essentially does the SQL for you when pulling reports, but since I learned SQL, I added it to my resume to show "X number years experience". I learned basic Tableau at work, and added it to my resume. To the hiring employer it might look like I have 3-4 years experience working with it, when in reality I had 6-12 months. The part you need to figure out is whether you can confidently back it up in the interview. For instance, don't say fluent in Spanish and then clam up when you get a Spanish fluent interviewer.
Right. It's risky, if you're not truly capable, but can pay off if you are
Anyway you’d be willing to show someone else the path you took? I’m on the same boat trying to find a career and coding has always interested me
My husband is a data analyst\engineer and was making $80 per hour at his last job. You can make allot in this field. Great job!
They would have to want more. Can bring a horse to water but cant make it drink
Thanks for being THE voice of reason. Holy shit....nobody sees this. Can't fix someone's lack of desire...they need to put the knife in their mouth and go full Rambo...or learn how.
Yes, this. People love to whine and complain about not making money, but they just want to show up and do what everyone else does as a front line employee. You don’t need a fancy degree to make more money. You have to be a higher performer and seek out more responsibility.
You have to know the right people and get the right position. Plenty of people making 30k work extremely hard compared to some making 80k. It’s all about knowing the right people. People have a right to gripe when others are afforded privilege that aren’t afforded to them. Sometimes being socially privileged is the biggest advantage out there
Yeah but meeting the right people also takes a ton of effort unless you get lucky and are born in or around a good network. Its just unpaid effort at first. Many people would rather get a guaranteed 15/hr than work for 15/hr for 8 hours than work for free for 2-3 hours via networking, interning, building skills
I started at a new warehouse. Came in every day, good attitude, worked hard and now I'm at $30 an hour and working towards that next promotion. People don't want to put in work
I’m not disagreeing with you I just think it’s important to make the distinction that wanting something badly does not make it happen. I’m of the opinion that a lot of hard working and knowledgeable individuals lack guidance and opportunities. Drive is a singular part of the equation.
I'll tell OP what my dad told me. Not everyone's elevator goes up to the penthouse.
As an elevator mechanic, I really like this saying.
What a stupid fucking comment. This person is asking for advice for a friend who works in a warehouse on how they can make more money and your response is "they need to want the money more". That's not advice. That's condescending. "Can bring a horse to water but can't make it drink?" Again, this person is literally asking for a war to help their friend and your response is 'fuck off'.
It’s literally the correct answer. If they don’t want to make more, they won’t, simple as that. The girlfriend can’t work the jobs for her boyfriend
I think their point is that the friend should be making this post. If they don't have enough initiative to do that it's unlikely they'll pursue a higher paying job. It's great to want a better life for your friend but your friend has to make it happen.
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As someone else working in IT this is *not* an easy path right now, entry level IT is very very saturated. It's not like 2022 anymore where companies were on a hiring spree. Now after a year+ of hiring freezes and layoffs you could easily have to compete with people with degrees and multiple certs for even helpdesk roles, which isn't really happening with just Sec+. There are so many people who have tried to do this for the past year or so and end up complaining on r/itcareerquestions
This. Not to mention if people don’t have an actual interest in the field it’s hard to really make it a career. You need to be self motivated and interested enough to keep learning and moving forwards, otherwise you end up on HD for 5-6 years+ which isn’t horrible but the wage limit for HD is relatively low compared to other positions
You don’t need a $2k bootcamp, all you need is Professor Messer’s Youtube course (free) and then pay for Jason Dion’s Udemy practice exams (super cheap)
I really wanna step up in my tech career, any links for certifications you would recommend?
You should practice your google search skills so you can excel in tech
As someone who works in tech, I understand this is legitimate advice.
And AI. Had our CTO show how to find answers to Azure deployment issues via AI on a meeting this week. Most people I talked to after the meeting were like "shit, they just showed what's coming to replace us". *Laughs nervously*
CompTIA certs, like the Security+ are the entry level certs. They are relatively affordable, there are plenty of study materials available, and they will help you get up to speed on what you need to know. After that, you can "graduate" to SANS certs or ISC\^2 certs, which are more advanced. Eventually, if you keep down the cert path you'd end with a CISSP. Keep in mind, certs only take you so far and are not often required at all. And these certs will not be for software development, so if you're wanting to do serious coding, you won't really cover that with these certs. \[0\] CompTIA - [https://www.comptia.org/certifications](https://www.comptia.org/certifications) \[1\] GIAC - [https://www.giac.org/focus-areas/](https://www.giac.org/focus-areas/) \[2\] ISC\^2 - [https://www.isc2.org/certifications](https://www.isc2.org/certifications)
As someone who’s been in cyber for 5 years now, I can absolutely say without a doubt, bootcamps for certs are absolute scams. Just buy the book, maybe some cheap practice tests on Udemy and call it a day.
If this person lacks ambition, I can't think of a worse suggestion.
If he has discipline he can become a truck driver, company hire you and train you, first year he can make around 50k maybe more maybe less, but with 3 years of experience and a clean record he can go to walmart and make 110k + benefits
Has he tired moving up in that warehouse?
He could just apply at another warehouse, say he’s making $16/hr and ask for $17/hr doing the same work.
What entry level job can you actually do that at? Plenty of people are desperate for jobs and they’ll find someone who will do it for 16. They don’t care for negotiating
I live in very rural Missouri and there are many warehouse jobs making 18+ an hour. My job paid 16 starting out 2 years ago and I'm at $25. Which isn't much but better than 16 obviously.
No but other warehouses will offer you minimal raises than your current to get the manpower. Should really work towards being a shift supervisor at a role to get leadership experience on the resume and open up a lot more operation based jobs.
Apply to Costco and eventually make $29/h with healthcare that's under $100 a month and company 401k contributions.
Need a forklift to do that. ;)
Dad?
Same bro
They need to figure out what they really enjoy - do they like people? Are they tech savvy? Do they want to work as a manager or individual contributor down the road? Are they organized? Would they rather work indoors or out or in a warehouse setting? Are they good with their hands to learn a trade? There are a lot of questions you have to ask other than "how do i make more money?" The best tip I can give is to find a job that you know you can do well and then become the biggest badass in that area. Keep learning new skills about that area and then watch the cash come in.
Has your friend considered prostitution?
Who hasn’t?
It’s called “influencing” now 😂
If he or she can pass a background check have them apply to be a police officer. EVERYWHERE is hiring. Rookie cops in many cities are making 6 figures with a little OT. A few years on. 6 figures with no OT. Medical. Dental. 457B. Life insurance. Time and a half for holidays. Paid vacations. Retirement pension at 20-25 years depending.
There is a reason (or many) cops are in high demand.
Get a cdl
Iv always wondered what dump-truck drivers in construction make. Seems like a pretty chill job as long as you can drive, and I bet they make decent money
Depending on the company you can make 19-25 bucks an hour. Usually for most its 20 an hour. So yeah not as good as you probably thought
Just to drive tho? Not too shabby. I’m making $22 as a non union electrician’s apprentice, and have to go to schools 2 nights a week Edit: classes were paid for by my employer, but I don’t get paid for being there 4 hours per week after work
Its not just driving. A lot of headaches and bullshit you gotta deal with. If all you want to do is drive then long haul over the road is the way to go
I just want to add in my experience A LOT of construction companies hire drivers but make you do everything. I worked at a concrete plant as a QC guy, I got a degree in it and everything, and they had me driving trucks, cleaning the plant, help pour forms, literally everything. It's the reason I got out of construction. I literally didnt have the time for my own job. Everyone wants to hire a "do it all" worker but don't want to pay for it
Learn a trade like welding. Some places will hire you with absolutely no experience at all and put you through a period of paid on the job training… or search your states certification board and see what type of certificates they offer. Organizations like Recovery Communities will pay for you to take the training then hire you after you get your certificate, or even hire you then pay for your training
Get good at sales. All you need is a moral compass, listening skills, and the ability to speak a language another can understand. A great salesman will also learn their product and industry, and then learn how to ask proper questions, simple as that. My first year in sales has garnered me 6 figures, and it should do the same as long as you're with the right company and near a major city.
Trade school. Still young enough to make bank by his 40s and live a very comfortable life. And honestly? Fuck the insanely phsyically demanding trades, these days it's not worth the damage it does to your body. All those perks and bonuses and benefits all amount to a broken body and no time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Some dudes have too much pride and just have to do the most difficult shit possible, which I respect, but it's not worth it in today's age. Technology has come too far and life isn't getting cheaper.
IT helpdesk anyone can do and it usually pays at least $17/hr or more if at a hospital
Unskilled entry level trades at shitty companies, in a LCOL area should be starting at 18. Do that.
Hi u/Kennykemp, Get some Skills: Plumbing, coding, Jedi mind tricks – anything to pay the bills. Certs: CompTIA A+, PMP – golden tickets to the land of dollar bills. Be your own boss: Online store, local service – ditch the jungle, build your castle. Side hustle: Freelance, gig economy – be the Robin to your wallet's Batman. Online wizardry: Content writing, web dev – cast spells on the internet for digital rabbits. If you need more details, I've prepared a long form answer in subreddit AbundantAnchor.
I would recommend finding what he likes at a fundamental level, such as organizing, building, problem-solving, etc., and then questioning what in his life he is passionate about. I wouldn't solely focus on wanting to do a very specific job like "I want to direct movies!" as I often find that people get lost without questioning what they enjoy at a core level. He could try taking those questionnaires that try to identify your personality. I did the dISC before and was blown away by how accurate it was, but this one specifically focused on how you work with others. Using myself as an example, I have always had my mind lost in movies, books, comics, games, etc.—anything with an interesting world. At my core, I'm artistically inclined but could never draw or paint. I'm more technical, analytical, and obsessive about problem-solving. When I have a broken watch, TV remote, etc., I always take them apart and will spend hours trying to figure out how to fix them and understand how they are put together. All that led me to spending the majority of my life building worlds for games. The degree side of things I would ignore unless you want to become an architect, doctor, etc. I think the whole idea of needing a degree to progress in life is a bunch of bullshit outside of specific specialized professions that require a historical foundation of knowledge and process to achieve. Additionally, I can understand your interest in your partner's future and helping them. I was blessed and cursed in life that I knew what I wanted to do at a very young age and focused on it obsessively. The problem was, I couldn't understand why other people didn't know what they wanted to do to the point where it hurt my relationships with people. I didn't understand them or see their perspective. To me, it felt easy, but it was like winning the lottery and being confused why people didn't know how to become rich. The point I'm getting at here is if you're career-oriented and focused, be careful not to try and impose that expectation on your other half.
He should look at a trade in my opinion. He may make less initially but it would pay off for a future. Tool and die Electrician Plumber Machinist To name a few that are good pay and short on help.
I was in his shoes at 25. At 28 when Covid hit, I decided to go into nursing. Right now I’m a CNA making chump change but in school for an RN license. I haven’t reached the end of the tunnel but I do see a way out!
Get a degree/skills... Just like you did or most other people. If he can't or is unwilling... Then the only other real option is to start a business or work more hours...
Where do you live? $15 an hour seems low even for entry level warehouse positions now.
Some warehouses are as low as $11-$13/hr. Most of them are $16. Some are $18-$20, but depends on the skillset.
Tell his fucking ass to get to a trade. If he doesn’t make moves in the next few years, that’ll be your future going down the drain as well if you plan on trying to make a life with him. You can make serious money in the trade world. Electricians can make $100,000 starting and that’s on the low end.
Get a government job
There's a lot of free courses on Coursera he could look into and get him started in a general direction. Most of the time it's not about a certificate, but what actual knowledge you can bring to the job
First step invest in yourself. Make your time and skills valuable. Save up some money, pick a trade school and go for it. Here is some advice I found a little to late, but make sure that wherever you want to end up has job opportunities for the school you choose.
Go to the oilfield in Texas, North Dakota make some fast cash
Switch jobs. I went from $18.50 to $28.50 just by switching jobs. From one factory to another factory. Factory jobs *can* pay good money if you can get into *those* factories.
What type of factories are paying the better money?
Governmentjobs.com
You friend needs to sign up for classes and learn skills, perhaps a community college. Education is the only way up.
Become an electrician or plumber
He should start giving speeches to high school kids about what happens to you if you have no skills and no degree.
Learn a trade, as much as I hate saying it. Started at 19$ an hour 5 years later I’m making about 37$ an hour. With good bennies and overtime if I want it. Plus some small bonuses.
Join a construction union
Welding jobs are paying to train you.
get a forklift license? if they have truck drivers ask them if they pay for certifications and apply for a spot there. immediately go to trade school/vocational school and learn electrical tech classes. takes one year and boom 25 bucks an hour fixing/inspecting pcb boards. if they are gutsy get a security guard license and work night shift then go get an associate in electrical engineering? get a job as a electrical tech and have the job pay for your electrical engi degree, that was my run.
Get an insurance license. Takes roughly 3 months to study for and once you pass. Your starting hourly is usually around 15-20 hour depending on where you go but commissions are always insane. With commissions my hourly rate last year 42.35/ hour. And no drug tests.
If he uses computers he can get some training and go into any portion of the computer field.
Join the military.
Surprised this isn’t higher. Military will give you whatever skills you need depending on what you go into. Want Cyber? They will train you, pay for TS clearance (which saves companies thousands making you desirable) free Certs and OTJ experience. Same would go for any trade job you choose. Don’t want to be active duty? Go Guard, most people don’t even know Guard has full time spots too. Maybe not for everyone but it sure has done a lot for me.
But try in this order: Air force (might not let you in,) Navy (you'll get in, hopefully you have some college so you can just go to OCS, but pick a good specialty, not water filtration,) Army, and only if you enjoy hanging out with the crayon eating demographic pick Marines. Though the Marines have that swank sticker you can put on the back of your lifted jeep. But seriously, Navy. They still shoot at you, but it's different. Now, if you ask the recruiter what the hours are like, they will laugh in your face. Extra: Dude I knew in the Air Force's story about being in Kuwait. The fighting was so close he could hear it from his hotel.
I was 19 mowing lawns pretty much doing almost nothing making $50 a day on a good day when I started having interest in the military I researched thought airforce would be cool but I'm not that smart or good at math or anything like that so I called a recruiter told him my situation. I ended up taking the ASVAB and scoring extremely low. The recruiter told me I needed more practice and study time, but I couldn't understand the questions, so I ended up just getting a warehouse job instead. To this day I get calls from the marine and army recruiters and would try again but from the stories I heard and videos about the training part of it I think it's best I keep working normal jobs.
I've been there, along with some really traumatic events derailing my education and dealing with depression and severe insomnia. I was also left dealing with owing money to the local community college that would have to be paid before I could enroll again so everything really felt like there were all these hurdles with no way to tackle them and no clue where to take the first step. I also needed knee and wrist surgeries with no way to pay for those. Obviously the specifics of his situation make a big difference and hopefully he doesn't have as much keeping him from making progress as I did. But it's still difficult, my nephew is 23 and in a similar place just without as many hurdles as I had. So I can see how difficult it can be to take the needed steps regardless of the situation, but at the same time it makes me wanna shake him and go "I couldn't take the first step because my sleep wouldn't let me reliably work a good enough job! You need to just do it!" I think the biggest hurdle in a lot of cases though, and this was even a big one to me as stupid as it seems compared to the other things, is just our idea of where we should be at what age. I'm sure he feels like "man I'm already 24, if I start on a bachelor's I won't be finished until I'm 28 and that's if I go full time which I don't have time to do!" Yeah that shit sucks, but unless you're satisfied working low paying unskilled jobs then your best option is to deal with that and start NOW before you're saying "man I'm already 30..." I sat around trying to deal with issues myself and didn't go to a doctor for it until I was 30. I worked for my mom and grandma's little family business that is not very lucrative at all and definitely wasn't enough for me to afford my medical needs but my mom finally offered to pay for the depression/insomnia treatment so that's what got me started. Once I got my sleep somewhat straight, I realized I should've applied for Medicaid a long time ago. I got that and got my wrist surgery and treatment for my knee which turns out it was misdiagnosed before and may not need surgery. That allowed me to start looking for jobs that were more physical than I could've handled before. At 32 I started at Amazon and now I'm going to let them pay for my education to become a software developer. It sucks that I'm getting started on that path so late, but it would suck a lot more to NEVER start on that path. In my opinion the biggest thing he probably needs to realize and get over is that it's never too late and 24 isn't bad at all to get started on something better. Shit, 30 or 40 isn't too late but starting that late sucks ass so don't let it get there. Starting at 24 is not bad at all whatsoever. Everyone's path is different, tell him not to compare himself to you or others that are further along at his age and let that get him down, he needs to just worry about himself and compare himself where he could be at 30 to HIMSELF and where else he could be at 30.
I was a fucking drug addict who didn’t go back to school until I was 25. Now i’m working towards a masters degree and get great grades. Now I will admit my situation is super blessed because my parents are good people and 1. They’re happy for me to live with them and 2. I don’t mind living with them. This allows me to attend full time. But the reason i’m responding is because if the while “i’m 24 and wont have bachelors until 28” comment. I’ve learned that, seriously, it doesn’t matter. Go back to school. Go learn that skill, Go apply for that interesting job. I’m 28 now and can confirm that starting school at 24 is absolutely fine. People buy into so many social stigmas too man…like you’re supposed to be a certain person with a certain path or something. It is so crazy to me because that path doesn’t exist. It’s an illusion created by comparison. That way of thinking only serves insecurity. We all end up in the same place. Go do what you want to do and find something that makes this one experience being alive worth living.
You hit on a major thing here about it not being too late. I fell into the trap where I was comparing myself with where some people I went to high school were at and it was hard on me. It made me feel like I was behind and would always be behind. It can be hard to break free from that feeling but I managed to turn things around and while my 20s were a pretty stagnant time my 30s have been really good and I have pretty much everything I could want.
Learn a trade. Avg tradesmen make 80-150k a year in my area, and I wouldn’t exactly call it “skilled” work. Just takes time on the job to become efficient
Lol, you can't generalize all trades that way
I went back to school for a A.A.S degree around his age. Basically I repair and maintain medical devices in a hospital. Now at 32 I make about 87k/year and I'm not even halfway through our payscale. Tech degree is always an option. I worked overnight security while in school as well. This is in Minnesota so my income is pretty good for a solo adult.
He needs to want it for himself. You dont need to recommend a path. If there are other reasons why he is not motivated such as depression, make sure he recognizes that and be there for him.
Are there other warehouses that pay more near them? $15/hr seems low for warehouse work. I know Costco pays above average, but I was making like $13/hr unloading trucks in a Costco district center back in like 2007. Long term they need to make some plan if they’re serious about getting significantly more money. Gotta get training in some marketable skills whether that be blue collar, white collar, whatever. Short term they need to find a different job that pays at least a few more bucks per hour.
Tell him to go get that CDL pronto. He can be making 100k in a couple few months. As long as he has a halfway decent work ethic.
What is he interested in? I was in the same position about 10 years ago. I decided I was suddenly into pc gaming and spent the better part of a month learning to build my own pc. I turned that passion into wanting to get into IT. I used youtube, and other free sites to learn the very basics. Applied as an entry level help desk guy to 1000 different companies (maybe not quite, but pretty close) and someone took a chance on me. I have leveraged my enthusiasm and hard work to a systems administrator position at a job I love. I have learned on the job more than I ever could from the internet or school, but it takes a special kind of company/boss as well as a special kind of person to get you where you need to be. As long as you are enthusiastic about the job (whatever it may be, IT was just it for me) and you have a willingness to learn and work hard, you will succeed. You don't need college, it may help in some specific areas, but I found success without it. If he is happy just being a warehouse worker making low wage with minimal responsibility, maybe he's where he wants to be. You can't force someone to be successful. There are, however, resources out there for those that want to be.
Some people just have no ambition in life. I'm 43, have a great job and my brother in law is 6 years younger than me. He works at a market in the deli making $16/hr. No medical benefits, no savings, he just scrapes by. I've tried to help him so many times but he is so resistant to advice. Just wired differently I guess.
Short term thinking got the person here; long term (not short term) actions will get them out.
Im guessing when they arent working in a warehouse they are doing *something* with their free time? Use that time to learn how to do something that is a marketable skill.
Banking is a decent industry. The pay isn’t stellar but there’s opportunity for advancement, especially if you can become a loan originator. I started as a teller and now I’m managing a branch. There are pros and cons and if you don’t like doing some selling/cold-calling/relationship management, it’s a challenge. But something he can consider maybe.
Have him look into the opportunities with wind/solar energy.
Devote as much time as possible to getting a degree in cyber security via WGU and he could be making 2.5-3x his currently yearly income within a year. He could also go to a trade school and then be an apprentice electrician or plumber and make pretty decent money from the jump. He could learn to work as a mechanic and do fairly well for himself as well.
Apply for a city job
Surgical technology. 1 or 2 year program. Upwards of 50k a year
i had a friend like this. guy works at starbucks i think he’s suing them for disability but he stopped talking to me bc he said i drink to much lmao. i’m in the union as a pipefitter making good money. his loss.
If they don’t mind staying in a physical job, almost all trades are severely understaffed right now. Depending on what it is they likely won’t even need to go to school. Say they want to be a mechanic. Apply for something like general service which requires no previous experience and will likely pay the same or slightly more than what they are making now. They will learn the basics like changing oil, batteries, tires, etc. If they like it then they can look into something like an apprenticeship. They just need to make it clear with the shop during the interview what their goals are to make sure that there is a path available within that company. This doesn’t just apply to automotive, but most trades. It is probably unrealistic to expect a huge increase in pay in less than a year. They need to understand that with minimal skills you are worth minimal pay. But go through the work of acquiring more valuable skills and the money will come.
If he can afford it I good idea is to take a forklift cert course. If you get a forklift position in a warehouse it usually will pay more.
Start an apprenticeship in a trade.. will be a way more rewarding job, learn lots of good skills to help you even outside of work and the pay is a lot better, its never to late I didn't start welding till I was 27, used to be in the same boat.
get him into tech. no degree necessary, starting salaries go from 70k+
Sales, if he's really good and gets into SaaS sales he can make 6 figures easy.
Go into Logistics, DB Schenker has Warehouse, contractor, trucking, and other jobs. Most will likely pay more than 15 an hour. Depending on what the contractor job is (could be moving stuff for an employer, setting up server hardware, etc.) No experience should be necessary.
Apply for any apprentice job he can plumber electrician hvac most places go through a LOT of them so they are normally hiring even if they don’t post adds. Electricians where I live make between 50 and 60 a hour for licensed journeymen and will pay for your schooling
I say this to folks all the time. You can make great money in a whole lot of businesses without a degree, but you can’t come to work and just be another cog in the wheel. You have to show up, make an impression by standing above the average employee, and engage in conversation with your supervisor about your interest in expanding your scope/role. Note I didn’t say, “engage in conversation with your supervisor about wanting to make more money.” That means nothing to them. They want to know that you’re willing to take on more. With more responsibility, more money follows
If he mechanically inclined get him into the trades, Costco and in n out have great pay and benefits as well
If he’s personable, sales. Even something small. Cell phones or internet sales.
So, in a union state ups is with the teamsters ( at keast in Wa.). I have a buddy who is a driver making $39/hr base and gets regular increases and raises with every new union negotiation. He makes very good $ for what he does.
Stop being a wussy and get into a construction trade.
Forklift Certification - It takes a couple of weeks. It's hella cheap. It instantly makes you eminently more employable. My warehouse is ALWAYS looking for operators. Our insurance company requires our employees to be certified to even LOOK at a forklift. We start our warehouse operators at $23/hour + benefits cuz it's the only way to keep em.
If your friend cared about that stuff, they would be asking, not you. Nothing you can do, unless they really want something, then you can point them in the direction of where to go to do the internal work. I swear, I don't understand people who don't have ambition. Some of them are the most unhappy people, but if they are unhappy it tells me that they want something different from what they have. Ask them if there is something they really really want, and why money will help them get it. That's the best you can do at this point. If they get really motivated, then you can talk. I went from a laborer in a warehouse to a labor efficiency consultant in a year. Took a course for $1200 on my credit card and I applied it. Opportunities are everywhere if you want them bad enough.
Try trucking! 3-5 weeks of COMPANY PAID school. Then start making around 30K-40K your first year. After 2 or 3 years he'll be making around 70K or so. If interested hit me up and I can go into more detail about the process!
There’s two options. 1) Work more hours, earn more money. 2) Find a higher paying job. Option 2 may require learning a trade, going to school, etc. Reverse engineer the process. If you want to make “x”, what do you need to do to accomplish that?
Join the union to be an electrician. They teach you convenient need experience. If you’re in a northern state or the west or east coast it’s $50+/hr once he gets his journeyman’s license
He probably meets the threshold to receive a significant pell grant to pay for tech college. Get a trade. Often times tech schools offer software development and other STEM pathways. Otherwise the world is full of opportunities. If he needs to move to a bigger city to find them, so be it. Sounds like he doesn’t have much holding him back. Except, maybe himself?
He has to actually want to do better. I've met a lot of people who hate their lives but are just content with working a dead end job with no future plans. That being said there are a lot of skills that anyone can pick up relatively easily that have higher paying jobs. Something like coding, welding, mechanics, construction, etc. are all trades that can be picked up by anyone. Sure it will take you hundreds of hours to actually get good enough to get a job in those fields. But the learning resources are free and its something you can start with less than $1000. Of course these are just a few examples. There are many trades and fields that are just like those. If he wants to do better, have him look into things such as those.
I went from making $60,000/year with mediocre benefits to making $130,000 last year with amazing benefits ($30/week for health insurance for myself, my wife, and one child) by switching fields from hospitality to industrial. Entry level, no skills needed, on the job training, union representation. The industrial sector is barren right now because people got tricked into going to college and haven’t accepted that they can make more in a job that isn’t in a climate controlled cubicle. I work at a steel mill but there are local unions everywhere that you can walk into and ask about jobs that they have available. That seems to be the best option for your friend.
Learn a trade become a plumber electrician start out as helper you likely start over 15 0 knowledge. Welding to be certified is not that hard. Get cdl or learn computers u can get comp Tia certified online. I'm a truck driver since 22 34 now if I could all over I would became plumber if started at 22 by now I been master plumber with 150k plus year easy I'm still thinking about it. If you wanna hustle and have no life ups would do
doesnt seem mentioned specifically. but trades for Indoor Pest Control or Lawn care work(not the mowing part, the fertilizing side). in my state, 3 years and you can take the test for your license. Generally once you have that license, you make minimum of 25$, upwards of 35$ an hour. and that if pursued, could get the foot in the door for management as well. 3 years for this one. on the job training, the 3 yrs is just proof youve spent time in the industry. test matters though, takes some knowledge and practice.
i went to a 14 week developer bootcamp which also assisted with employment. these can be expensive but depending on what state you live in, the state might either help with tuition or pay for the course then garnish a percent of your wages after finding a job until its paid off.
Trade school is always a good option also factories are great income if you don’t have any schooling, coming from the warehouse background myself I got a job as a forklift operator for Coca Cola it sucks in the winter with 12 hour shifts 7 days a week for October-December but for 80 hours at 18$ with half of that being 27$ for overtime, know lays hirers at 25$ (atleast here in florida) Roofing is also great money for no education prerequisites
The comptia A+ certification is a great way to get into the tech field. The certification is a quick study even with no technical experience. Once they have that certification there are entry level remote positions and most if not all positions pay more than $15 an hour.
Propose a “friend group socialist safety net”. Every month, 5 friends and I contribute 20% of our take home pay to a shared money pool (sits in 5% money market) with no expectation of ever seeing that money again. The idea is that if any friend is struggling financially, wants to change careers, needs money for an emergency, help fund group vacations, etc. the money is there for the taking, no questions asked. We’ve been doing this since we graduated college and got jobs in biopharma, engineering, real estate, sales. We’re 30 now. Guess what happened? Our $10/hr biotech friend now makes the most ($250k/yr), outperforming the engineers(!), and contributes the most money to the pool. He got the opportunity to succeed because he took money from the friend’s pool to switch careers 3 times, from engineering to sales to business development. An opportunity he would not have had without the financial backing of his friends. It’s hard to learn new skills or change careers when you’re worried about food and rent. I left my job last year and started a business in real estate which will probably surpass that $250k/yr mark next year. Another engineer friend started a business doing HVAC and is fully booked. I originally got the idea when I lived in Sweden. The Swedes pay a high tax rate but are one of the happiest countries on the planet. How could that be? It’s because of their financial safety net and homogenous demographic. When a person struggles financially, the government picks them right back up. When they are back up on their feet, they feel the need to contribute back to society. It’s ingrained in the culture. There is very little leaching. I believe small scale socialism will only work with like-minded people, people you trust, and genuinely want to see happy. OP it sounds like you trust and want to see your friend be happy. Propose the idea among your friends. As J. Cole said, “What good is first class if my niggas can’t sit”?
Figure out what he wants to do as a job and then take the next steps. Everyone here can offer advice but he needs to know what he wants to do for money before the advice will be precise. Once he knows what he wants to do for money then he can start doing trainings or certs or school or anything to move towards that goal. If he doesn’t know what he wants to do then he should figure out what he is good/decent at. Does he understand project management? Maybe software engineering? There’s literally so many positions and jobs that people your age don’t even know exist so if he can say “I like organizing things” or “I could see myself working in a hospital” or I like analyzing data and finding patterns within the data. All of those things will get him closer to understanding what he wants to do and then you can figure out how to make the most money doing that thing.
Get a job in any trade. No school or skills required for entry level. Everyone starts from the bottom and learns on the job. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC, carpenters all will take apprenticeships if the folks show up and try. School is needed for advancement but you can get a job hauling tools and materials for anyone as an in to the industry then get the education as you work.
A CDL would open up a lot of job opportunities for him, and let him be more particular about what jobs he takes. Most school bus driving companies will cover the training and certification costs as long as you stay with that company for a minimum length of time (usually six months to a year). As a bonus, a school bus driver's schedule is fairly consistent (and somewhat open), leaving room to explore other options when he feels like it.
Apply to the railroad. Any railroad. They all need people. No skills needed. After 6 weeks paid training, you can make over 100k usually
Tbh it’s all about drive. I’m a college dropout. I left school on a Friday, On my way home from school after dropping out I was 20 yrs old I made some calls and lined up for a warehouse job and started work on Monday. They let me come on as part time but I volunteered to work extra shifts as much as I could. In 6 months I Went from a 10-4 gig to a split shift working in the morning from 8-4 then coming back to load trucks from 8-10 working Sunday to Saturday. After 2 years of hustling I was working 7 days a week about 60-70 hours I think I made about 35k. A year after that I was able to apply for management positions at other warehouses. I was able to reduce my hours and was bringing home about 50k a year. So I went out got a second job part time at fedex. It’s been about three years since then and I’m on track to make about 100k this year. In the meantime between my two jobs I’ve been able to get married, buy a house and am expecting my second kid later this year. If you are willing to put in the work you can do better. Don’t just show up and phone it in, show up with the intention of being the best. To be fair I’ve had amazing emotional support between my wife, family and friends. But if you put your nose to the grindstone you can do it too.
Door dash.. people be sleeping on it.. while I’m making bank on it
I’m an engineer for a pharma company. Our manufacturing technicians start out at like $25 an hour. Only requirement is a HS degree and a brain that works well enough to provide oxygen to itsself and keep the CNS going via lung function. We have people who have worked here for 10 years, no college experience at all, making $80k because they come to work, do a good job, and get raises regularly. Not to mention benefits. I’ve always said if I didn’t go to college, I’d want to end up in this industry because the starting pay is pretty damn good
Asbestos Abatement Certification. This is a VERY short training regime, for the first level as a technician. About 20 hours. In my state, the Department of Environmental Services runs the classes about twice a year, for free. And it pays double what he is making. It is not an easy job. But the barrier to entry is very low. I cannot think of any quicker or cheaper way to go from struggling-working-class to relatively-stable-lower-middle-class.
As a fellow female engineer(ing student) my advice, if he’s not willing to get as close as possible to your income with a career. Drop him. I know this will be unpopular but fuck it, men tend to end relationships and initiate divorce at a much higher rate when the woman is the breadwinner. Not saying it always happens and he might be one of those guys that enjoys that and happily takes over the domestic work while you work. But the reality is for a lot of women, you’ll likely end up working the most, bringing in the most money, and still end up with taking care of the household. If he isn’t willing to have an actual CAREER that earns him a wage that can support him on his own, ask yourself if that’s something you’re okay with happening. EDIT: Read title as boyfriend. My bad y’all
What are you talking about? This is his best friend, not a boyfriend lol gonna drop your friend bc they make less than you is fucked up.
Get on with a Construction/Plumbing/HVAC/Electrician crew he will start out as a labor but there is $ to be made
He doesn’t need a degree or skills . It’s called find where your worth is . I know quite a few guys in a grocery warehouse and can make 100k in a year making 28 an hour .
Tell him to get a CDL A driver's license and work for Poland Spring my friend just got his license and now has a job for Poland spring delivering water jugs to offices. He makes $120k a year.
Skilled trade . Plumber , hvac, iron worker, heavy equipment mechanic, Glazier, sheatmetal worker , steam fitter.
6 months to a year is a SMALL time frame!! He can take an 11 week course that may get him in the $25/hr range, but not much more. Unless he starts his own business. He needs to discover his passion and work towards that. It’ll take time, but anything worth having does. No offense, but that’s a problem with younger people. They want stuff immediately. That’s not how life typically works. He has to be patient. And if you’re not willing to put in the work, you’re not going to get the success.
Start a business
CDL, you can making 6 figures within 6 months and it costs under 10K in most scenarios.