Author Topic: Help, Please.  (Read 5580 times)

Tripcode

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Help, Please.
« on: February 26, 2013, 07:12:53 PM »
I make 24k a year working 60 hour weeks before tax. What sort of side business can I do to increase my earnings?

How do I even save money at this earning level? I'm projecting a negative until end of next year at least(17k OSAP left)

Toronto jobs r pretty crap for general grads...

I'm spending roughly 16k for living expenses total.. Which is pretty much bottom of the rung as is.

NestEggChick (formerly PFgal)

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2013, 07:51:40 PM »
What skills do you have? What are your hobbies? Could you turn any of your hobbies into side jobs? Would you be willing to move? Share some more info and hopefully we can help!

gooki

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2013, 11:48:20 PM »
I'd be spending my free time trying to find a higher paid position.

directionseeker

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 12:21:32 AM »
For me, I spent 1 year taking a short term diploma course and managed to boost my annual income from 20K ++ to 30K ++.

DoubleDown

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 08:44:33 AM »
I'd be spending my free time trying to find a higher paid position.

+1

By my math, you are earning approximately $8/hr. You could presumably earn that at an entry-level position in a fast food restaurant. Rather than seeking a second job, you need to re-think the first one.

Togoshiman

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2013, 08:55:19 AM »
What is your skill set, education and work history?  Agreed that raising primary income should be your main goal financially, bar none.  I'd focus on getting to a place where you can live on the same money while banking a lot more.  If you have formal education, there should be work out there that pays more.  If you don't, there are skilled trades and other trained positions (e.g. hydro company) that pay very, very well that you could start working towards.  Even general labour construction or landscaping should pay more than that and you can work your way up. 

Sincere apologies if I've mis-read your post in any way - perhaps you love what you do already or have other constraints which make some of these ideas not realisitc.

Tell us more and we'll help out!  Good luck!

Matt K

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2013, 09:14:46 AM »
At 60 hours a week, when do you plan on doing your side-gig?

How important is living in Toronto for you? How willing are you to investigate other job markets? Depending on your skill set, you could make considerable money for a short term by moving to Alberta, working a year or two, but continuing to live like you do (not buying the big trucks, the fancy cow-town house, or the expensive white powder mustache). This isn't an option for everyone, but you've said nothing about your position other than you are a general grad (I'm not used to that term, it means what? High school diploma, one year college program, liberal arts degree?) and you are 'projecting negative'; which I assume you mean net-worth, not cashflow - if you are projecting a negative cashflow things are serious and you should give serious though to things that take you outside of your comfort zone.

Other ideas, look at 'unskilled' but unpopular jobs. Garbage collectors make a fair sum, because you couldn't pay most people to do the work. If you have a heavy truck license there are plenty of in-city delivery and pick-up types jobs available.

Tripcode

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2013, 07:00:49 PM »
I'm working as in the digital advertising industry for a publisher- making sure banners go to people that want to see them.
Can't really disclose more than that, i've got an nda signed.

living in Toronto isn't that important, but I don't know where to even start if I move

Grad- uni hence osap( student loans)

Cash flow wise, I've got about 800 in the bank at any given time- enough for a month of rent , food and around 1/2 of my student loans

Constraints- time and money mainly, I'm open to taking a heavy truck driving license, or even garbage delivery, but those what sort of skills would those be able to net me later down the road?

I'm honestly just considering joining the military at this point.


Hobbies- I draw and know a bloody lot about fitness(been training in many many forms of combat sports for half a decade)but I'm not certified/ work references for that. I could tell you what exercises, what forms, diets, for your specific health goals( weight gain, loss, cardio endurance, explosive power etc) Just don't really have industry people for that- I 'll start to ask around though..

I'm still training- about 10-15 hours a week at the old school muay Thai gym on Richmond st. Great place to learn and get fit btw!

I've made banner ads and whatnot, but i don't have any contacts for graphic design I could use to market my abilities, which aren't really that spectacular compared to someone who has had formal training. I guess my next step would be to expand my portfolio and just put it on fiver or get attention to it.

Any free time after all of that and regular food, sleep and life etc time Im usually either drawing or reading various works of nietzsche and science fiction / cyberpunk novels(Shadowrun anyone?)
« Last Edit: February 28, 2013, 07:59:09 PM by Tripcode »

marty998

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2013, 12:28:36 AM »
Could you become a PE teacher? Could you become a personal trainer? Could you work for the gym that you go to?

If you're that passionate about fitness then why not? Sounds like you really want to make a go of it but are torn in two minds about it.

N.

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2013, 07:21:51 AM »
Agree about heading west. Once you're past Oakville and Burlington (west along the QE) and Guelph (west along the 401 corridor), your cost of living will improve dramatically.

Without knowing too many details of what you're currently doing, it sounds like you'd be perfect for (at least) an entry-level marketing position, especially with your graphic skills. I'd cast your net far and wide... marketing is needed in just about every industry, and if you don't have anyone tying you to a particular locale, you have the freedom to follow the money.


Togoshiman

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2013, 07:34:37 AM »
You've got tons of options!  With university training and an e-marketing job, there must be all sorts of business, marketing and advertising work to do.  Surely there are people above you in your organization you can emulate?  Or other companies/sectors which will pay better utilizing the same skill set?  A few industry certifications and a little experience under your belt and surely you will have a ton of upside in your career.  I don't know your industry, but I would really spend some time identifying some reasonable goals and then mapping a plan to reach them backwards.  E.g. Marketing Director earning $100k+ within 7 years --> find some folks in this role and check their qualifications, experiences, where they worked, etc. --> cover the same ground and be sure to excel at every step.  This is all if you enjoy your industry despite the low pay.

If you really do enjoy martial arts and fitness, are there folks doing a reasonably well-paying job in that field that you would also enjoy?  If you really know that much, surely it can't be that hard to get a trainer or manager certification of some kind.  Would you be happy running a dojo or health club?  As above, it's a matter of goal-setting and working backwards.

If you really are at the 'screw it, I'll join the army' point, then surely the whole world is open to you (for work, not armies, though I hear the French Foreign Legion is always hiring...)  What I mean is, if I were not constrained by family considerations and were otherwise open to the entire world simply to make money, the entire world is where I would look, and not only Toronto.  Teaching ESL in Asia, being a ski instructor in BC, joining a logging crew, doing any damn thing with a high paycheque in the oil and gas industry, a few financial certifications and working for a financial institution in Dubai, Cayman, etc.  I know these are not immediately realistic, but the simple point is that there is literally a world of work and opportunity.  And most of it pays more than you make now.

Finally, you're young and have an undergrad degree.  If money and a comfortable life in Toronto are your goals, there are many ways to do that as well if your current path is not panning out.  Major financial institutions will hire folks like you as banking or mutual fund officers.  A few years and industry qualifications and you will have a decent middle-class income.  Or go top shelf into one of the standard professions (engineering, law, graduate business training) etc. provided you have a sense of which parts of those sectors are still likely to have jobs when you graduate.

To end a long post, I almost envy your total freedom.  Assuming you still want some input, can you identify a few concrete goals you might aspire to, say, within 10 years?  Then walk back how you might get there and test it in the fire of the MMM community for how realistic it might seem to the rest of us?

mamaof4

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Re: Help, Please.
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2013, 07:49:44 AM »
I live in western North Dakota, and many many men come here from other countries to work in the oil industry.  They work their asses off but almost any job in the oil patch will pay 100k per year.  Men live cheaply in mancamps, most living expenses are paid by their employer.  They provide a small apartment like trailer and a food cafeteria for all the meals.