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It's too bad about your driving, because trucking would be perfect for you - very isolated, money can be decent.
Agreed. To the OP, I've known several guys who drove... 2 locally to deliver bread/dairy products to stores, the other a long-distance furniture hauler. You can take a driving class for a few months for a few thousand (just googled it & the average cost now is $6K), since you need a CDL. So, if you're a poor driver, you can be taught how to drive safer & better.
My friend who drove long-distance was trained by his company. They sent him out on the road with a partner who trained him for a few months before he was trusted to drive alone. All did it for a couple of years in their early 30s 'til they figured out which course to take next in life & all made $45K+.
I agree that for only but the select few, writing is a hobby. I knew a well respected, professional writer, who'd written about 6 books... he was a general contractor in his day job. He said he made a total of $10K over the years, after agent, management & publishing fees were paid & he had 2 best selling books. Of course, it could just mean he's a terrible negotiator when it comes to agents & the like, but... if you want to do it, find someone who is successful & making a living at it to ask for advice.
There are jobs for content or technical writers... check on Indeed.com or go to websites/online magazines or stores that focus on subjects of interest to you & check Careers. Of course, you'd need some sort of expertise in the field you'd wish to write about... pay is good, but jobs are scarce. I met a tech writer who made $100K... she said she wrote corporate manuals (rather vague, so I don't know what it entailed), but I don't know the industry. Worked at a software firm in Seattle long ago... we programmers wrote the systems, but the tech writer, who used our documentation to fully document the systems for users made double what we made... could never figure that one out or why I didn't switch to tech writing instead.
And, those above are correct. You can work for yourself, but everyone works for others in some way... & don't forget, you can be the best at anything, but you need customers or clients to purchase your goods or services, so you need to know about marketing/selling yourself or hire someone who can do a bang-up job of it.
My next door neighbor is a 20-something guy, whose passion is fixing antique watches & clocks, where he works alone in his apt at night... but, he does it for others & doesn't earn enough money at it so also works for Honeywell doing some sort of work on hardware. You could work alone doing furniture making or any other creative pursuit, but you still need to get paid & that involves working for/with others.
Good luck. I'm kind of in the same boat... wondering which way to go & what to do. We'll figure it out. Just do something & it will lead to something better.
I am a software engineer and work from home with hands off management. It took me ten years to develop the skills and employer trust to make this work, though.
House flipping is probably not a good way to make money, unless you are very handy & already a contractor.
There is always a boss somewhere, even if you work for yourself, the client will be the boss. Work on your people skills.
I knew a guy who worked painting vacant apartments. He’d get his “assignments” but that was about the extent of “bossing.” He was a real night owl and usually painted all night.
I always thought another good job for him would have been night stocker in a retail store.
I knew a guy who worked painting vacant apartments. He’d get his “assignments” but that was about the extent of “bossing.” He was a real night owl and usually painted all night.
Does he work for an employer, even though his job is fairly hands off or does he work for himself where he initially had to market himself to find a lit of clients to work for?
Yes! Working nights at a decent big box store, like Costco. They pay a living wage, and all they expect you to do, is to do your job well. No customers in the store, minimal interaction with coworkers or bosses as long as you show up on time, and do your work.
You know its funny you mentioned that because I always kind of envied truckers for their freedom especially when working dead end jobs in my 20s.The only problem is Im a notoriously awful driver and am a huge scaredy cat when it comes to being behind a big rig.I have to add I love seeing big rig driving videos on youtube,i cant get enough of those.
Well, you have brokers and dispatchers that put you on a deadline. The notion that they have no boss is absurd. If you do not take the load, you will end up not getting a decent load. You will be passed over for the better paying runs.
I worked my way to a point where there is less supervision. It takes proving myself to be effective. I have deadlines that need to be met. Yes, there is a lot of flexibility. My job is the get the reports and assignments done on time and done right. As long as I know what needs to be done; I’ll do it.
Yes! Working nights at a decent big box store, like Costco. They pay a living wage, and all they expect you to do, is to do your job well. No customers in the store, minimal interaction with coworkers or bosses as long as you show up on time, and do your work.
Yeah. I worked nights at an airport where I was the only one there unless a pilot checked in. It was the best job I ever had, as I like being totally alone too. All I had to do was answer the phone a couple times.
But being an entrepreneur is a huge commitment. We had a printing co. for 8 years and yes, you are SO beholden to your customers as they dictate everything. I cared more about their products than they did! No vacation in 8 years. I will say, the "cachet" if you will, of owning one's own company is pretty grand, though.
House-flipping is tough. We built 3 houses all by ourselves, our own labor, and even at that, we made very little because we lacked a crystal ball as to the economy at the time. Hard labor, while ruining our bodies at that brutal hands-on work.
How? Obvious. Your clientele are your bosses... the OP wanted a job with little people interaction. Driving people around either via taxi, Lyft, bus or Uber has many strange stories & lots of customer interaction. As mentioned before by several, truck driving, mostly long-haul, would have the least people interaction.
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