Career advice... I need it!

[notus]

Just curious how people find good paying jobs. I have made a few decisions that were good at the time but turned out to be the wrong one. I went to college and became preacher. I got a 4 year degree in 2.5 years. My family and I went to Sri Lanka as missionaries where we ended up losing our faith. We came back to the states and there just is not much you can do with the degree that I have so I became a personal trainer.I make about 60k a year but supporting a wife and three kids in Florida on that income just doesnt cut it. Besides that I work 70+ hours a week and never really get to see my family. I need some advice on career options. I am convined that if I can get an interview I will get the job. I am not having a very good response to my resume (which is decent) I don't even care what I do anymore as long as I can make ends meet and see my family every now and then.

 

[loser]

Just curious how people find good paying jobs. I have made a few decisions that were good at the time but turned out to be the wrong one. I went to college and became preacher. I got a 4 year degree in 2.5 years. My family and I went to Sri Lanka as missionaries where we ended up losing our faith. We came back to the states and there just is not much you can do with the degree that I have so I became a personal trainer.I make about 60k a year but supporting a wife and three kids in Florida on that income just doesnt cut it. Besides that I work 70+ hours a week and never really get to see my family. I need some advice on career options. I am convined that if I can get an interview I will get the job. I am not having a very good response to my resume (which is decent) I don't even care what I do anymore as long as I can make ends meet and see my family every now and then.

i dont mean to bash....but 60K a year isnt bad. i make 32K a year and i am the sole supporter of a family of four. im just above the poverty line and i still can afford to do little stuff like work out and have internet.

sorry i could answer your Q. and i wish you the best!

 

[notus]

i dont mean to bash....but 60K a year isnt bad. i make 32K a year and i am the sole supporter of a family of four. im just above the poverty line and i still can afford to do little stuff like work out and have internet.

sorry i could answer your Q. and i wish you the best!

Yeah but my morgage is $2300. When I lived in Idaho I lived off of $2000 a month without problems. How much do you work? I am gone from at least 7am to 7pm. and I have not had a sat. off in two years.

 

[loser]

Yeah but my morgage is $2300. When I lived in Idaho I lived off of $2000 a month without problems. How much do you work? I am gone from at least 7am to 7pm. and I have not had a sat. off in two years.

2300 dollar mortgage???!!!?? goddamn, man!

to tell you the truth... i gave up my 30K job a month ago to go back to school. now im making less money and working/studying more.

i was sallary so i got used and abused. i was in retail management so therefore my boss could legally do whatever he wanted to with me. last year i lost 80% of my vacation time and would get about an average of 4 days off a month. in the month of january07, i got 1 day off. i left home around 6:30am. and on a good day i would get home at 6pm. i have pulled many, many 16-18 hour shifts. if someone doesnt come in...guess what...loser, youre gonna' hafta' stay.

we lived in a very small, nasty-ass, ghetto, apartment complex with crackheads/and dealers, prostitutes, illegal immigrants (not bad people at all), and child molesters (i looked it up on the web). 3 months before we moved, our neighbor got stabbed to death outside his breezway.

 

[Sassy]

Have you thought about sales? I'm not talking about car or retail. I'm talking about being a salesman for a corporation, distributor or manufacturer. You have the option of being a company man working directly for a corporation or an agent (representative) which means you work for yourself. If you are a rep. then you more than likely will have to take on a couple of manufacturer's lines in order to make more money.

Other pro's & con's to selling is that you will work on commission. There might be time where you're commission are lower or high than others. If you plan and save right, you can over come this.

Every industry needs sales people. My father work in the outdoor advertising. The company I work for is in the floor covering industry. Just think about it... every product that is on the market has to get there some how.

 

[notus]

Have you thought about sales? I'm not talking about car or retail. I'm talking about being a salesman for a corporation, distributor or manufacturer. You have the option of being a company man working directly for a corporation or an agent (representative) which means you work for yourself. If you are a rep. then you more than likely will have to take on a couple of manufacturer's lines in order to make more money.

Other pro's & con's to selling is that you will work on commission. There might be time where you're commission are lower or high than others. If you plan and save right, you can over come this.

Every industry needs sales people. My father work in the outdoor advertising. The company I work for is in the floor covering industry. Just think about it... every product that is on the market has to get there some how.

Thanks sassy, Yes I have thought about sales that is pretty much what I do now and I use to travel the country preaching raising money for international mission which is pretty much sales. But I have found for the most part you need to know somone in the company to get an interview. I am very interested in pharm. sales or medical device sales but I am not limiting myself to those.

 

[deltaguy]

Hirer a head hunter. Have your resume professionally reviewed. Keep an open mind. There are a lot of good opportunities out there but if you don't know where to look, you will never find them. This is where the head hunter comes in. The higher your salary upon hire, the bigger bonus he gets. Be open to a move. Some companies will pay your moving costs. Practice interviewing. I worked for the largest, most profitable investment bank in the world. We had Harvard Grads come in for interviews and we would turn them away because they couldn't articulate their thoughts. They seemed unmotivated about actually working for their salary, etc, etc.... Your resume will get you in the door, your interview skills will make or break the deal.

 

[hwood]

Maybe you should find a good career development counseler in your area to help you find something you will enjoy and excel at.

60K is a nice salary man - congrads but I know you want to be home more. Almost 50% of your salary is going toward your home payment on a gross basis, probably more like 60-63% on a net basis. That will cause a lot of stress and dishormony in anyone's life that so much effort goes toward paying for basically one thing. I am a very non-judgemental person however you might consider lowering your monthly nut so until you find the career you want.

Kindest regards, hwood

 

[Sassy]

Thanks sassy, Yes I have thought about sales that is pretty much what I do now and I use to travel the country preaching raising money for international mission which is pretty much sales. But I have found for the most part you need to know somone in the company to get an interview. I am very interested in pharm. sales or medical device sales but I am not limiting myself to those.

I'm with you there... "Who you know" is true with any job opportunity. I've been job hunting for over a year now. I think companies are just slow in hiring these days. Hopefully things will get better soon.

There is very good money in Pharm. & Medical sales. Be persistent and you'll land one of those companies. Just don't give up.

 

[notus]

Hirer a head hunter. Have your resume professionally reviewed. Keep an open mind. There are a lot of good opportunities out there but if you don't know where to look, you will never find them. This is where the head hunter comes in. The higher your salary upon hire, the bigger bonus he gets. Be open to a move. Some companies will pay your moving costs. Practice interviewing. I worked for the largest, most profitable investment bank in the world. We had Harvard Grads come in for interviews and we would turn them away because they couldn't articulate their thoughts. They seemed unmotivated about actually working for their salary, etc, etc.... Your resume will get you in the door, your interview skills will make or break the deal.

Thanks. I think that is a great Idea. I am a very strong interviewer probably because I did so much public speaking, have been in a lot of managment positions and was a very tough interviewer!

 

[notus]

I'm with you there... "Who you know" is true with any job opportunity. I've been job hunting for over a year now. I think companies are just slow in hiring these days. Hopefully things will get better soon.

There is very good money in Pharm. & Medical sales. Be persistent and you'll land one of those companies. Just don't give up.

I just started training a man today who is over the usa, uk and asia for medical sales. He sell to cvs, walgreens and ...... I forgot. It could be a great lead in the future though. Thanks for being so positive.

 

[notus]

Maybe you should find a good career development counseler in your area to help you find something you will enjoy and excel at.

60K is a nice salary man - congrads but I know you want to be home more. Almost 50% of your salary is going toward your home payment on a gross basis, probably more like 60-63% on a net basis. That will cause a lot of stress and dishormony in anyone's life that so much effort goes toward paying for basically one thing. I am a very non-judgemental person however you might consider lowering your monthly nut so until you find the career you want.

Kindest regards, hwood

I know but the only way we can get out of our house payment is if we foreclose and I really don't want to do that. We don't have enough equity to refinance. I know the house payment is our major problem but it is a tough one to fix

 

[Curiousity]

.....
I see you just posted about the house payment

It would suck, but you might want to consider renting out a room or two if possible. That would be tough with kids, but you if you have a basement that could become almost a separate living area...

 

[Soulstealer]

I know but the only way we can get out of our house payment is if we foreclose and I really don't want to do that. We don't have enough equity to refinance. I know the house payment is our major problem but it is a tough one to fix

You might beable to workout a short sale-Refi if you can convince the bank your seriously thinking of taking a walk...... kinda hard to do but worth the try...Or if you have family willing to help you... Short sell it to them.... make the bank eat the loss and walk with a lower payment.... Credit will take a hit but worth it in this case...