Reply #17: Get a paramedic license [View All]

[dcfirefighter]

and get hired as a firefighter / paramedic. With the license, you have a much easier chance of getting hired, and you'll earn a pay premium. In the northeast, you could expect between $40 & $65K for a ff/paramedic. Internal advancement through the officer ranks would put you in the 6 figures in 10 years. There's almost always overtime available. You'll be unionized, and, in most places, never have a chance of getting laid off. You'll probably work shift work (which is a positive thing). You'll almost never take your work home with you, and your job will never be shipped overseas. You'll probably be friends with the people you work with, and enjoy just about every day you go to work.

And FWIW, quite a few of us have bachelor's and master's degrees. If you ever want to go into business for yourself, it's a great way to have a stable income and benefits while having plenty of time during the week to work on your business (due to the shiftwork). The best schedules are 42h a week, many are 48h, some are 56h.

From the BLS the top jobs in the future will be:
Education and Health Services
Professional and Business Services
Information
Leisure and Hospitality
Trade, Transportation, and utilities (if you get an Electrical Engineering degree, you might work here)
Financial
Government