Do-over - what career would you pick?

[bethanyneedsajob]

Okay wise ones. I know some of you are pretty well aware of who is getting good jobs and what field. Let’s pretend you get a free career choice do-over and funding isn’t a problem. Say you have up to 10+ years to leisurely get a degree in anything, what would you do? 

Also, any ideas on niche jobs that are cool sounding, that maybe you would encourage someone else to do? Like, “hey that sounds like an awesome job for someone, just not me”. 

Okay Go! Name your dream job. 

I’ve read a good share of magazine, BLS and O’net studies, let’s hear it from real people.

[sanantone]

So, this is for you? I'm assuming that's why you want us to leave the gross stuff out. Some people are okay with the gross stuff.

Pharmacists and optometrists can make over six figures, and their jobs are probably two of the least gross in the healthcare field. However, their work seems repetitive, simple, and boring.

Genetic counselors are growing in popularity, and states are starting to license them. Several months ago, I started a thread on little-known careers. Other occupations that are growing so much that states are starting to regulate them are behavior analysts and anesthiology assistants. Occupational and physical therapy are mostly clean jobs, are well-established, and have good job prospects.

I mentioned pathologist assistants in that thread, but that's the grossest of the gross. They make good money, though. Medical science liaisons are sort of sales people, but they're focused on finding what kind of products practitioners want companies to develop and educating practitioners about new technologies, procedures, and medications. They usually need a PhD in a science, MD/DO, or PharmD. Some companies will hire NPs and PAs. I'll come back in the morning to list more healthcare occupations that aren't gross. BLS is a good and accurate place to get stats, but some occupations are so obscure, they aren't listed.

The problem with getting anecdotes from individuals is that their experiences are unique and often not generalizable to others. I work in taxation without an accounting or law degree, and I have the potential to make close to six figures in a few years. That doesn't mean everyone can do this. Not even 1% of the population can do this because there are a limited number of jobs with this agency.

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It sounds like you aren't asking people about their dream jobs. You're asking them to list high-paying jobs that few know about, and they can't be "gross."

Many people's dream jobs are gross. My dream job would be as a nurse practitioner. That's gross, and everyone knows about it.

Another dream job of mine would be wildlife biology. Once again, everyone's heard of it, but this job also doesn't pay six figures, and I would be okay with that.

The problem with this grapevine requirement is that this would involve small fields. That would mean that there likely aren't many openings. It would be irresponsible for admissions offices, academic counselors, and career counselors to tell a bunch of students to earn a degree in pursuit of a career that's hard to obtain. That's not to say that they don't give bad advice, but the advice is usually bad because they're not doing their research.

[bethanyneedsajob]

sanantone, I just came back to reword my question and you had beat me to it! You are so right on all accounts. I’m going to edit my question.

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Pathologist assistant does sound like an interesting job, not on career reports that I’ve seen. On and off, I’ve spent my time since Y2K (didn’t happen) watching career reports, job growth, working with workforce development agencies, talking to people who were interested in career changes and helping guide them, etc and that has left me with the somewhat jaded opinion that job reports really aren’t where the best info is. People is where it’s at. Word of mouth can be quite helpful, some very good jobs don’t require a lot of experience and you just need to know what to look for.

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Sanantone: I found your thread, thanks! Some interesting information to contemplate, just what I needed for mental stimulation. I was getting bored with the same old lists you can find on an internet search.

[sanantone]

A lot of occupations aren't going to be specifically listed; there are too many of them. One should look at what category of jobs they're interested in. I was interested in social services. So, I would search for jobs on government websites and known for-profit agencies in the local area. Indeed now captures a lot of this stuff.

I've told people about social service jobs they didn't know about, but they could have easily found these jobs themselves. Young Millennials and Gen Z are very Internet-savvy, and I've seen them find obscure jobs with ease. I usually end up helping Generation X and some older Millennials with finding jobs. People need to improve their job search skills because the younger people are going to get to these openings first.

Networking is good for finding specific openings, but talking to people is not a good place to gather information for picking a career unless the person is currently in the field and stays up to date on the market. Honestly, I never really trust anyone because I've been given so much bad information. I usually end up doing my own research. Popular places to ask career questions are Student Doctor Forum, AllNurses, and Forum.Officer.com. Half of the people on those websites are idiots, and they pull info out their anuses without doing an ounce of verification.

The City-Data forum is another popular place. I would be rich if I got a dollar for every time someone advised someone not to earn a degree online because they think all online degrees are offered by diploma mills or for-profit schools. If they didn't think that, they would believe that "online" would be somewhere on your transcript and employers wouldn't hire you.

I remember this veteran with a federal government job told me that the federal government wouldn't hire me because I earned an online degree at a Podunk State University and that only people with veterans' preference points could get away with attending online schools. That is so bogus. I'm starting a federal government job in a week and a half.

[bluebooger]

podiatrist

[MNomadic]

Spiritual health/nutrition/yoga teacher with a cabin/retreat out in nature.

Maybe not high paying but I think it would be a very fulfilling lifestyle.

[sanantone]

Before being hired by the federal government, I was trying to prepare myself for a career in safety, public health, or emergency management. Environmental health and occupational safety has a lot of overlap with public health. Occupational safety is probably not something high school students think about or know about when applying to colleges. They probably get their first exposure while exploring majors. Occupational health and safety specialists can make about $70k. Those with industrial hygiene or safety professional certifications can make more than $90k.

Medial dosimetrists and medical physicists can be thought of as advanced radiation therapists. These jobs are in the healthcare industry, but there's not gross patient contact. Dosimetrists come up with radiation treatment plans. Medical physicists focus more on the equipment.

[eriehiker]

I have turned this question over in my head a few times. When I was a kid, I kind of dreamed about being a lawyer. However, my mom was a teacher. I am a very curious person and I figured that teaching would give me a chance to learn about a lot of things and also have a good and stable job while doing something that would make the world a better place. I am Catholic and I have a core goal to make the world better.

There have been times when I have questioned the choice. It just so happened that I entered the profession just before the Republican Party decided to make war on teaching, teachers, public education, universities, etc. A study was just released that showed Michigan teachers have had a 16% inflation-adjusted pay cut since 2009 (https://www.eclectablog.com/2019/04/bets...-2009.html). In non-inflation-adjusted dollars, there was still a pay drop for teachers in that time. Also, the traditional pension for new teachers in Michigan has been abolished.

That said, it has been a great job in uncountable ways. I have had the chance to teach history, government, economics, writing, literature and all kinds of other things. I used to count how many different courses I have taught and then I stopped after reaching fifty. I have taught every age of kid from sixth through twelfth grade. I was in the classroom with students at the moment 9/11 happened. I taught the days immediately after the Bush/Gore election, the Obama election and the Trump election. I have taken kids to Japan, Chicago and Mackinac Island and have helped to chase down a runaway llama, called poison control when an ostrich bit a student and caught a kid who fell unconscious in my room - he ended up being okay. I have also attended funerals for three kids who have died or been killed while on my class lists and others who died later. I think of all of these kids frequently because it is not right for a teacher to outlive a student.

I also marched through tear gas in Lansing, Michigan the day that the Republicans passed the right-to-work law in our state. The day itself was beautiful and watching the pipefitters' union march past banging tools on plastic buckets in formation on the way to the state capitol building will always be one of the great moments of my life. I have fought every day of my career to keep teaching a profession rather than a job. My local teachers' association may have died if I didn't step up and become president. We have negotiated two contracts with small pay raises and maintained good health care for members since RTW and our association is respected in the district. We have also kept the educational standards at the school strong despite cratering in terms of teacher numbers from the mid-70's to the mid-40's.

My wife and I have saved like crazy, purchased years in the old pension system that no longer exists and we will retire in three years. We are in good shape financially because we are efficient savers and invest in broadly-diversified index funds. We have been able to stand up for our values and fight for a good society during a major assault on core American values.

Of course, I could have been a lawyer.

[Brownie82]

I wish I attended more career fairs as a kid. As an adult, I meet people in so many occupations and I still go "Woooow, you're an X?!" Or, "You get to do THAT all day?". If I could turn back time I would go with my first dream of being a veterinarian. If not that, a wildlife biologist or even a park ranger, some type of botanist, or electrical engineer. I met a woman who has a Ph.D. and studies crows on Twitter. Sometimes I feel like I've wasted my life, lol.

[burbuja0512]

I LOVE international business. I would do it again 100 times over. BUT I would probably not get married. As much as I love my husband, all the travel is killer to any relationship. I am so lucky to have him but man he puts up with A LOT. Nothing better than watching your wife travel all over the world without you. Poor guy

..But still no change. I love the job too much. It's part of who I am.