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Agreed as well. The world is a dog eat dog place. If everyone wanted to pursue their dream careers we would all be authors, actors, travel journalist, etc, or whatever.
The important thing just make sure you don't get into something you don't hate. I have worked as a front desk person for a gym, administrative assistant, magazine editor and researcher and none of those were my dream careers. However, I was very content with those jobs. Believe it or not, the gym job was my favorite. If you have the resources to follow your dream then great, do it! However most people don't so just make sure you do something that you don't hate and at the very least that you will be content with.
Wish I had that mindset when I was 20, felt encouraged to follow my passion but passion doesn't pay the bills if there is no work for you.
Construction: This is probably my number one fall back plan. I worked for my uncle for several years doing construction before I decided to go to college. I could go work for him again and this time have him teach me the business in and out and maybe even I could take it over one day since I know he’s looking to retire this decade. Its not like I’m passionate about that work but I really don’t mind doing it. It’s kind of fun using my hands and being outdoors. But my parents (and wife) hate this idea. They say I’m “too smart” to be a construction guy for the rest of my life.
I have no idea what to do. Please give me your opinions.
The answer is obvious, it's construction for you.
Too smart? I hate people that think that way.
I've written about him before but the most successful man I've known personally was born in West Virginia in the 30's dropping out of 8th grade to work in order to support his family. Real typical West Virginia sad story right down to daddy getting black lung in the coal mines.
So he started out working as a construction laborer in the late 40's, bought a used backhoe, used a beat up pick up truck and started his own one man construction business. But he was good at it, his company grew and he kept adding people. By the early 60's he was winning some very large Interstate highway construction projects and it was his company constructed a number of large sections of Interstate highways through West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
Then he branched into other things and his company was the one that fabricated the tracks for the crawler-transporters used in the moon shots. Crawler-transporter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia That was his claim to fame because about everyone in the world saw a piece of his work.
Another thing he did was buy up a lot of land round Orlando in the 60's. Disney World purchased a lot of it and he did very well buying a ranch in Costa Rica. From what I understood he did better at real estate than construction but the construction money is how he got there.
What tickled me most was when talking to him he'd look like the redneck hillbilly he was, always wore a baseball cap and jean bib overalls. He'd go to a big meeting and walk in wearing bib overalls, a Caterpillar baseball cap and work boots.
He had a brilliant mind. Very sharp.
I met him in the early 70's when I was flight instructing. He always wanted to learn how to fly so he buys an airplane (Cherokee 180), builds a hanger and constructs a private 50'x2,200' concrete runway behind his house. Concrete, not asphalt, because he owned a nearby concrete plant. So I'd meet him at his house leaving from there taking flying lessons to where he had to be. He'd do all the flying but he had to take me to be legal. Only student I ever had with over 100 hours cross country time when he took his check ride.
So he gets his license and promptly goes out and buys two more airplanes as spares one being a Cessna 210. Now that's a man toy!
He had one bad habit. He chewed tobacco and he'd carry this coffee cup with a lid...... but bless his sweet heart, he knew I was poor and always took good care of me tipping me well. We'd be gone for a few days and he'd give me a $100 bill as a tip. In 1974 that was all the money in the world as far as I was concerned.
So a few years ago he's getting up in age and sells out and I heard from a reliable source his net worth was in the nine figure range.
Of anyone I've gotten to know he's among my favorites. No airs, you would never guess at one time he had over 500 people working for him.
He drove a Ford pick up truck.
For someone that works hard and knows what they are doing you can do wonderful things and make a lot of money in construction.
I hear what you're saying, but I think my wife and family do have a point. Basically my wife says that although I might not mind doing construction right now, 10-20 years down the line I'll hate it and regret it. She says "I know you, you'll get bored, you like to read and write and challenge your mind too much. You'll dread laying concrete and installing piping and septic tanks over and over again for the next few decades." She might have a point there.
Also, I'm scared for the lively hood of the small construction business. As I mentioned previously, this economic collapse almost put my uncle completely out of business. He is getting a little bit of work again as things are improving but he's still hurting pretty bad. One could easily say the recession is only temporary and that's just a part of business, but for California I think it might be a different story. It doesn't look like things are going to improve for a very long time, especially in the housing/construction market.
Someone else in the thread mentioned doing construction while going to school for something else like paralegal. I think that might be the best idea (not necesarilly just paralegal but considering any lucrative fields such as health, IT, a skilled trade etc.).
The service/repair trades are what I've always told my two sons to get into. Plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, auto repair, roofing, windows, even lawn care and snow removal. Make every effort to learn as much as you can about the field you've chosen and then make every effort to open your own business.
Think about it, when times are good people will spend on upgrades. When times are bad people will spend on upkeep. In average times you'll have a mix of both. But you will always have something since Joe & Jane Average don't have the skills to replace a light socket.
There's a younger fellow in our area who took to lawn care and snow removal several years ago after turning down a chance to take over a well established auto repair facility. He absolutely busts his behind taking care of lawns during our green months and can pick and choose any new work that comes his way. He takes time off in the fall to gear up for winter snows but does so well in the summer months he's still ahead of the game even if the snow doesn't come, it's gravy work. What started with one old beat up truck, used lawn care equipment and just himself has turned into a half dozen vehicles, a full set of equipment and several full time employees. He'll be off the lawn tractor by 50 and let the employees run the place.
Someone else in the thread mentioned doing construction while going to school for something else like paralegal. I think that might be the best idea (not necesarilly just paralegal but considering any lucrative fields such as health, IT, a skilled trade etc.).
Don't go back to school unless you know what you want to do - it's a waste of time and money otherwise. If you don't have a solid career interest going into it, then 2 years later, you'll only end up with another degree that you don't want to use.
You already mentioned in your first post that health and IT aren't the best fields for you. Paralegal? Maybe a good choice, as you seem to like law, and studying to be a paralegal won't get you law school level debt. But don't go back to school just for the sake of going back to school. Know what you want and have a plan.
I once paid $60 for a pre-interview "prep" course that mimicked the actual interview the next day.
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