I have a friend it Texas, he make 80k plus a year as a welder. Good chance college may have been a waste.
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Where did I go wrong?
- Thread starter madmarinehays
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I have a friend it Texas, he make 80k plus a year as a welder. Good chance college may have been a waste.
I understand your frustration but you are only 30. There is plenty of time to get to where you want to be. Don't give up on the basic sound principles you have lived by they will still serve you well. These are not prosperous times for our country but that will change with the ebb and flow of economics and there will be opportunities for those who are ready to take them.
I was in my mid 30's before I got on the career path I am on now and I have done alright for myself considering I have no college degree. You are already ahead of me there. Many is the time I have thought I was in over my head but I just put my head down and worked as hard as I could. I told myself I might be fired for not being able to do a job but it would never be because I wasn't working as hard as I could trying to do it. You have not gone wrong.
I was in my mid 30's before I got on the career path I am on now and I have done alright for myself considering I have no college degree. You are already ahead of me there. Many is the time I have thought I was in over my head but I just put my head down and worked as hard as I could. I told myself I might be fired for not being able to do a job but it would never be because I wasn't working as hard as I could trying to do it. You have not gone wrong.
Yeah, no law school for me. I took a few law class in college, I hated writing case briefs, and thought I would enjoy Constitutional law, but just learn how screwed we are with commerce clause, and how they can twist things to get there political agenda done.
My interest are investigations, intelligence, national security, security studies, maybe international relations.
Could not agree more. If I knew then what I know now...
Hey Marine, what did the man say? Retreat? Hell no, advance....
People are afraid of us. We have to back down a bit in public. Play up the education and widen your search. Despite the propaganda, vets have to work to get accepted. Go to individual company websites. Talk to everyone, I mean everyone. Be positive, nobody likes a downer. Go to the library and research different local businesses. Identify the decision makers and contact them. if a job is on a website and you are qualified, appy right then, and don't leave any spaces blank. Dress like someone serious about details. I know you can do it from home, but use the library to make contacts. Impress a wife, and maybe she'll tell her husband. Good luck.
People are afraid of us. We have to back down a bit in public. Play up the education and widen your search. Despite the propaganda, vets have to work to get accepted. Go to individual company websites. Talk to everyone, I mean everyone. Be positive, nobody likes a downer. Go to the library and research different local businesses. Identify the decision makers and contact them. if a job is on a website and you are qualified, appy right then, and don't leave any spaces blank. Dress like someone serious about details. I know you can do it from home, but use the library to make contacts. Impress a wife, and maybe she'll tell her husband. Good luck.
Let me start this by saying that this is NOT a riff on military guys AT ALL!! BUT, I have known several ex-military folks who can come off as too aggressive, harsh, abrasive, brash, etc. to those who have not been through the training or had to learn and adopt the mindset required of a soldier. These folks definitely respect our folks in uniform, but they are sometimes intimidated or feel like they are being intimidated by people who have that mindset.
Make it work for you. Improvise, adapt and overcome. Mirror what the bosses are projecting. When in an interview, you want to appear confident and competent, but you also have to be mindful of letting the interviewer know that you realize they are in charge.
And I have never met you, so none of this may apply to you, but it is something I have noticed in a few folks I have met.
As for the areas that you are looking for, from what I understand, they take two kinds of people - brainiacs that knock the top out of the tests and people with experience. Look into getting into local LE and furthering your education while there.
Not all degrees are marketable and unfortunately you have discovered this. When I decided to go back to college (when I was 45) I chose Accounting as there are always jobs out there. Your background fits a government job but sadly it's near impossible to get one as all the agencies are either frozen or cutting back. Check on USAJOBS anyway though as security jobs are still generally being filled. The problem is that you will likely have to relocate to get something unless you get incredibly lucky. With your military service and if you have a VA disability percentage, you do get a leg up on "regular" applicants - it is a slow process though as it can take a year after applying to actually go to work...
I think skills is worth more than Knowledge but the american way don't think so. You must have a school degree for the high paying jobs but those high paying jobs require experience. LOLZ
Nowadays, its who you know. I never went to college but I make average. I figured if I started making average since age 18, I would make just as much as someone who went to school for 5-6 years and start making 45k to 55k a year at age 24. The school loans that you take out to go to college, isn't worth making 45k a year starting after college. If you calculate taxes and all that good stuff. Someone making 32k a year is better off than someone making 40k a year. The more you make, the more taxes you pay.
