Hida Bukkorosu said:
what is a good career field to look into for someone who doesn't really care about promotion or advancement, who just wants to make enough money to cover rent, bills, food, and entertainment (gaming) -- but doesn't ever plan on raising a family or sending kids to college or saving for retirement in old age?
Temp work is good for this. Depending on the exact type of work, you'll almost never work over 40 hours a week and you'll be subbing for people who are on maternity leave or doing temporary projects. You might or might not be covered under a good health plan (or any at all), so try not to accept jobs doing things like, say, stripping insulation. Advantages: doing a lot of things for a short period of time means that you'll rarely be in one place long enough to get bored or make enemies. Downside: doing a good enough job that they want you full time.
Generic Government Office Work. And to think you bothered with a BA (What's it in, by the way?) when you could have been working for those four years! Federal Government or State Government is always looking for generic typists who can turn a computer on without killing themselves. You type letters, you file, you sit in on meetings, you do a little database work, etc. Once in a while you might be called on to do some Powerpoint. Depending on the system, you'll never be promoted unless you actually take a test for it. Health care is OK to Good and you usually get extra holidays, including some most people have never heard of, so be sure to go to the mall and rub your buds noses in it while they slave over a burger station. It generally takes an Act of God to go over 40 hours a week. Your state will almost always have all the state jobs listed along with salary range (something you will almost always negotiate in the private sector - not here). You'll get raises until you hit that ceiling, then stop. Forever. Unless they raise the ceiling. Depending on the financial condition of your agency or your state, that might happen even before you cap out.
Generic Mall Retail Worker. Perks: Employee Discount. Rarely works more than 30 hours a week except during Xmas or some other seasonal blip depending on just what you're doing. Little chance for promotion. Downside: Customers, and dealing with them. Pay; you might not make enough to make rent, depending on where you're living. Unless you're working in a game store, you're probably going to have to dress up, too. Tie is probable, depending on the exact business. Department Store Employee is better pay, but with more supervision.
A subtype of this is
Generic Food Retail. Perks: Free lunch. Rarely work more than 30 hours a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. Disadvantages: really surly customers and the occassional dangerous freak. Uniform. Some places can be good to work at, some can be real pits.
Waiter. You'll work 40 hours and maybe more, depending on the season and unforseen shift changes. The more you work, the more you get. You'll live off tips; I've known waiters who never bothered to ever cash their actual paychecks until the end of a reporting quarter. The personality thing might have to change; people pay for smiles and speed. You may or may not be unionized. You may or may not be able to eat where you work. You may or may not work like a stinking dog. Quality of tips can vary tremendously, depending on location, clientele, etc. A subtype is
Busboy or
Dishwasher but there's no way you can make rent on that unless you live in a box.
Grocery Store Worker. Unionized! You'll work swing shifts, and might be over 40 hours a week, depending on the season and whether or not one of your co-workers bothers to come in or not, but maybe not. Depends on your exact contract, I think, as to your time and pay. Not too familiar with this, but I've known some slackers who did well at it.
Grass Cutting. Seasonal (depending on where you live), but you make your own hours. You'll sweat like a pig in a sauna, but you'll be your own boss. No advancement, no promotions, no savings, no insurance, no health care but lots of fresh air and exercise, no suit, no tie, no boss. You might be able to make rent at least in a single weekend, depending on what you charge. Itemize, and offer branch cutting and pine straw baling extra. Pine straw, depending on where you live, is free and you can sell it to suburbanites for $40 a bale or more, plus spreading. You'll need to eventually invest in a pickup truck, a small trailer, and one of those nice lawnmowers so you can do a typical lawn in about 20 minutes or less, and do a large (ie rich persons) yard without dying in the process. Depending on the neighborhoods and your rep, you can also get a good side gig in 'Feed the dog while we're away' pay as well. Side gigs also include pool maintenance and dog poop removal. If you can flip quarters with your stomach muscles, husband/wife seduction opens more career doors, closes some others.
