Author Topic: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It  (Read 6438 times)

uppy

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Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« on: February 13, 2014, 09:06:06 AM »
This is not a traditional case study, just thought I'd get some ideas from all you smarty-pants on here. Basically, I need to change careers (or "get" a career, as what I'm doing now is more of just a "job".) To be honest I'd like to shorten my time to FI as fast as possible, but since it's going to probably be at least 10 years...

I saw a post somewhere on here about career-changes and the "What Color is your Parachute" book. The poster defined the main questions to ask yourself in the book to be as follows: What do you like, what are you good at, and what are your preferences? Finally, how can you make money at your narrowed-down choices? I'll add more info as I go.

I'll try to find a cheap copy of the book but in the meantime, what kinds of careers do these answers suggest to you? I'll try to be really honest at the risk of sounding picky. I can't really afford a higher degree but I might be able to swing certifications or something.

Like: sitting on ass

(ok, I also like being creative. In my free time I am pretty active, so job doesn't have to be.)

Good at (grouped into related sets):
organizing, streamlining, logistics, planning, communication, writing, spreadsheets, strategy

manual dexterity, outdoors skills

art + drawing

Hate: tedious/brainless jobs, small talk

Education: B.L.A.

Best-case-scenario Preferences:
Be my own boss
Hours: ~30/week OR long stints on, then off (like fireman’s schedule)
Early mornings/late nights off

How to make money at it: This is the big question and where you come in!

Any ideas? Thanks.

Fuzz

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2014, 05:46:14 PM »
Cop. You could probably get FI in 10 years, good pension too. Interesting work.

uppy

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2014, 05:48:54 AM »
Cop. You could probably get FI in 10 years, good pension too. Interesting work.

Interesting idea, Fuzz. I have daydreamed about being a cop but my idea of it is probably very different from the reality. I'm not sure I would fit in with much macho stuff, if that's what's involved. Although I do like solving puzzles.

Maybe I should go on a "ride along," which is what they do in the movies to learn about cops' jobs :)

SunshineGirl

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2014, 07:08:55 AM »
Accountant or Tax Preparer?

the lorax

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2014, 04:45:47 PM »
Logistics/planning manager, operational manager

uppy

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2014, 06:35:13 PM »
Accountant or Tax Preparer?

Will have to work on my math skills for that one.

Logistics/planning manager, operational manager

A cursory Google look at this job sounds...really cool. Do you know more about what kind of qualifications or experience are required? It looks kind of all over the place.

Weedy Acres

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2014, 05:41:57 PM »
What about purchasing or supply chain management?

golfer44

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2014, 06:12:23 PM »
Cop. You could probably get FI in 10 years, good pension too. Interesting work.

Interesting idea, Fuzz. I have daydreamed about being a cop but my idea of it is probably very different from the reality. I'm not sure I would fit in with much macho stuff, if that's what's involved. Although I do like solving puzzles.

Maybe I should go on a "ride along," which is what they do in the movies to learn about cops' jobs :)

I would watch a few episodes of Cops and see if the 'customers' featured are the types of people you want to spend thousands and thousands of hours interacting with.

uppy

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2014, 07:28:02 PM »
Cop. You could probably get FI in 10 years, good pension too. Interesting work.

Interesting idea, Fuzz. I have daydreamed about being a cop but my idea of it is probably very different from the reality. I'm not sure I would fit in with much macho stuff, if that's what's involved. Although I do like solving puzzles.

Maybe I should go on a "ride along," which is what they do in the movies to learn about cops' jobs :)

I would watch a few episodes of Cops and see if the 'customers' featured are the types of people you want to spend thousands and thousands of hours interacting with.

Strangely enough, I met a guy today who works in the Secret Service. His job sounded demanding, but awesome. He said most guys he works with are ex-military, but some are just computer nerds. I'm neither of those...hmm...

But I see what you mean about the 'customers' golfer44. However I am mostly disgusted by the cops on 'Cops'. It gives me a "if I was that guy I'd do it better" kind of feeling.

What about purchasing or supply chain management?

I have no idea what that job entails, but it is encouraging that multiple people have mentioned "management" positions when in fact I have never been anyone's boss (except my own, when I ran a *very* small business for a time. Needless to say, I loved that aspect of the job.)

the lorax

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2014, 11:26:09 PM »
Accountant or Tax Preparer?

Will have to work on my math skills for that one.

Logistics/planning manager, operational manager

A cursory Google look at this job sounds...really cool. Do you know more about what kind of qualifications or experience are required? It looks kind of all over the place.

Hi
The qualifications and experience required would depend on the size of the company I think. I suggested these based on what you list as your strengths in the OP. Any kinds of operational/logistics etc manager needs to be able to manage data e.g., stock inventory and being able to identify efficiencies is very important in supply chain management.
I've worked with logistics/planning/purchasing managers (tend to be the same person in small companies) who would have started out as the store manager and worked up once they knew the inventory, got to grips with the computer system and understood the manufacturing processes. Large companies might want some kind of qualification (no idea what sorry, only dealt with SMEs and I'm not in US). Plus side is they tend to become effectively their own boss within their domain in smaller companies at least.
Operations manager - sorry that was a really broad term! I kind of do this although in the government sector and in environmental management but I basically have a bunch of stuff I'm expected to deliver and have staff and goods and services budget to make that happen so I manage people and finances. I got into my current area on the back of having a small amount of people management experience and quite a lot of experience in the rural sector. Depends where you're at skills and experience-wise as to what would be your most successful area to target.

Bbqmustache

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Re: Cast Study: How to Make Money At It
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2014, 04:01:34 AM »
Look into Forestry police, or DNR police.  Very lucrative pay, not dealing with scum all the time, and get to spend a lot of time out of doors, in the woods or on the water.  Tough to get into a cadet class, but if you can get in, you can make a rewarding career out of this service.