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It seems like you come from a family of hard-working people, too. I've hit a few industry-specific forum boards populated by truckers, and the consensus seems to be that OTR miles are down, causing a cut in many truckers' incomes, but the jobs remain. Plus, truckers will likely be the first to benefit as the recession ends and more goods are moving again. I understand that earnings are not guaranteed to be the same from one year to the next, so I'd have to plan for that, but overall the pay is decent and jobs don't get cut like in other industries when recession hits. High $30s to low $40s seems to be pretty average for first-year earnings, and many seasoned drivers command $55 K-plus. I understand about the pressure and do realize that it's not a walk-in-the-park with all of the safety concerns, shipping deadlines and regulatory issues. Some, not all, of the company-sponsored training programs have issues, so I need to be careful if I go that route. I'm also checking into a program at a community college about 50 miles from where I live. It's limited to nine students and looks pretty affordable at $432 plus licensing fees. I'm waiting for feedback about waiting lists (if any) and job recruitment rates from that program.
Go to medical school and get a real white collar job, not a cubicle job. You stand on your feet and work with your hands in medicine too. You're guaranteed at least $130k, and if you specialize, you can make more than $300k working 60 hours a week.
If oil prices go up more, I see slaughter in the trucking industry.
Go to medical school and get a real white collar job, not a cubicle job. You stand on your feet and work with your hands in medicine too. You're guaranteed at least $130k, and if you specialize, you can make more than $300k working 60 hours a week.
If oil prices go up more, I see slaughter in the trucking industry.
lol...I'm interested to hear your perspective further on this, and how its a real solution. Your talking about becoming a physician. Thats 1-2 years of prereqs, plus the time to prepare for and take the MCAT, plus 4 years of med school, plus 3-4 years of a low paying residency. So, we're talking a 9-10 year plan here. And thats if the people, to whom you are making your suggestion, have the academic ability to accomplish all of that, which is rare. Also, the residencies required for specializing are very competitive, even for this smart enough to make it through med school. Therefore, most doctors don't become much more than generalists, as is true for any profession. There are fewer people at the top. True, a better job than cubicle work, but a very long term solution and a long shot of of a chance in hell of happening for most people who aren't already naturally inclined. Not to mention the tuition and living expense loans incurred during school.
I mean someone should go for it if thats what they REALLY want to do, but as a "job" solution, its not much of one... Try the rehab professions, PT, OT, SLP, a much more realistic option for a career switcher...
lol...I'm interested to hear your perspective further on this, and how its a real solution. Your talking about becoming a physician. Thats 1-2 years of prereqs, plus the time to prepare for and take the MCAT, plus 4 years of med school, plus 3-4 years of a low paying residency. So, we're talking a 9-10 year plan here. And thats if the people, to whom you are making your suggestion, have the academic ability to accomplish all of that, which is rare. Also, the residencies required for specializing are very competitive, even for this smart enough to make it through med school. Therefore, most doctors don't become much more than generalists, as is true for any profession. There are fewer people at the top. True, a better job than cubicle work, but a very long term solution and a long shot of of a chance in hell of happening for most people who aren't already naturally inclined. Not to mention the tuition and living expense loans incurred during school.
I mean someone should go for it if thats what they REALLY want to do, but as a "job" solution, its not much of one... Try the rehab professions, PT, OT, SLP, a much more realistic option for a career switcher...
I'm just speaking from my own experiences as someone who worked in a cubicle for many years before switching into medicine. It's doable. But of course you are also right about the amount of work required to get there. Perhaps a better path would be going to PA (physician assistant) school, which is shorter and you get paid full salary right after graduation (no residency).
For people who are tired of white collar cubicle jobs and are looking for guaranteed job stability, active job lifestyle and some meaningfulness in a job, then medicine is a great choice. It's a very track-based occupation (like an apprenticeship). Even as a medical student, you're treated as a future doctor, not just some poor chap in a pyramid scheme. It is also more meritocratic than most other professions, as it strongly emphasizes testing throughout the entire process. This makes the name of the med school or your undergrad less important than how well you do. So in this sense, medicine is very different from other career paths. Law and business can't offer this kind of level playing field.
BTW, as medicine becomes increasingly complex, there are now more doctors becoming specialists than generalists.
If I worked (and if the law allowed me to work) as much as my doctors work I'd be making $130K or close to it too, in a job that doesn't even require a college degree. I'd rather have my 16-17 days off a month. My family doctor is worked to the bone, he always looks tired as a dog.
I'm just speaking from my own experiences as someone who worked in a cubicle for many years before switching into medicine. It's doable. But of course you are also right about the amount of work required to get there. Perhaps a better path would be going to PA (physician assistant) school, which is shorter and you get paid full salary right after graduation (no residency).
For people who are tired of white collar cubicle jobs and are looking for guaranteed job stability, active job lifestyle and some meaningfulness in a job, then medicine is a great choice. It's a very track-based occupation (like an apprenticeship). Even as a medical student, you're treated as a future doctor, not just some poor chap in a pyramid scheme. It is also more meritocratic than most other professions, as it strongly emphasizes testing throughout the entire process. This makes the name of the med school or your undergrad less important than how well you do. So in this sense, medicine is very different from other career paths. Law and business can't offer this kind of level playing field.
BTW, as medicine becomes increasingly complex, there are now more doctors becoming specialists than generalists.
I agree with all of your points, and most of them are reasons why I'm going back for one of the rehab professions. Your right in that the health field offers more career advantages than almost any other field can offer. Thats why I am choosing to go back for a rehab career.
Becoming anything other than a physician, while working directly in 'medicine' was unnattractive to me. The rehab professions often offer complete autonomy, less workplace hierarchy BS, the ability to go into private practice, better job security than most medical careers (you can literally pick up and drop temporary jobs at will, all over the country-many of which will pay for housing through tenens locum agencies), much less liability than medicine, less school, and much less stress than most medicine positions.
The downfall is that salaries sometimes aren't high as what ceiling salaries in nursing/NP/PA/medical tech jobs can offer. However, depending on what you do, they can be. And starting salaries are definately more, on average, with the exception of PA/NP. I also know that some medical positions share some of the advantages listed above. However, it eventually came down to a decision between long term job satisfaction/benefit/flexibility and job security vs a little bit more salary at the top end of the scale. The lifestyle, stress, and liability considerations won out for me. In any case, the pay can be made up if one wants to go into private practice. Thats my perspective.
However, I'm extremely jealous of anyone that succeeds at going back to school to be a physician. Many of my friends are doctors though, and they are stressed out individuals for the most part. Insomuch as they find it hard to relate to me, I think.
I did consider becoming a PA, but I think I would always wish that I was a physician, instead, and the lack of autonomy would bother me. Otherwise, that is what I would do.
All jobs suck in one way or the other. If you want to make real money in trucking you need to get into specialized loads or hazardous material hauling. Hauling cars is very lucrative ($80k+) because you are 100% responsible for damage and loading/unloading. Hauling fuel and other hazardous material takes skill and a lot of licensing as well so the pay is considerably higher than box vans.
If you want to make money as white collar you need to get into a technical field like engineering or science. Even then you will be making less than union line workers with 20 years of experience. I work with guys on the line that have MBAs and comp-science degreees that would be taking a pay cut if they switched to white collar. Can't blame them for staying on the line with 4% raises each year and a steady job.
But forget about wasting 4 years on a taffy-pulling liberal arts degree. You might as well work in retail and have some fun with your life instead of staring at a computer screen all day in some cube.
Liine workers here assemble electronic units or test and troubleshoot them. Or at John Deere line workers assembled tractors. ie "assembly line"
Ah..ok, thats what i thought. Its a shame about where manufacturing has gone in this country though. Its good to hear that there are stills some good manufacturing jobs available.
Even then you will be making less than union line workers with 20 years of experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by golgi1
Its good to hear that there are stills some good manufacturing jobs available.
If you are lucky enough to still find the union manufacturing jobs or have the connections to getting them.
That's what I find really unfair about union jobs. Yes, they are great for those in them, but the ones who are laid off or just starting out, they are out of luck.
golgi, I went to medical school, spent a year doing the prereqs and took the MCAT, and another year to apply. Applying is a hell of a nerve-wrecking experience, since my undergrad GPA was still far below average among admitted students (I hadn't considered medical school before, so never worried about my GPA in college). If I hadn't gotten in, I would've wasted two years being Don Quixote.
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