[geeks] Re: [rescue] It's official, the U.S. is screwed for

[velociraptor]

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 08:16:00 -0600, Mike Parson <mparson at bl.org> wrote:
> I could go back to school and maybe finish it this time, but the idea of
> sitting in a classroom just makes me ill any more.  Maybe a trade-school
> and i could repair appliances or something.

Seriously, consider a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing.  You pay for
the school up front, but it's very easy to find a program to pay off
your student loans for you.  Most hospitals and eldercare facilities
are considered high-need locations, so if you get a job in one, you
can get the majority of your student loans forgiven (this is a federal
program).  Some schools also have programs whereby if you agree to
work in their university medical center for some period of time after
graduation, they will pay off your loans.

If you already have a Bachelor's in any field, you can take about 1
year of jr. college "leveling classes" (microbiology, anatomy, etc)
and then go into an "accellerated" BSN program and graduate in 12-18
months.  The only downside is that the accellerated programs combine
clinical and classroom, it's very difficult to hold down even a
part-time job while you are in the program (and all the schools
discourage students from it).

A large number of RNs are getting close to retirement age, so the
demand is going to be there for a while.

Other things to consider: 
* building inspector certification if you are in or close to a large
urban area.  For instance in SF area, an architect friend told me that
it usually takes between 2 and 4 weeks to schedule a residential
building inspection, and even longer for commercial building
inspections.  I'm not sure how long the schooling takes for this,
though.

* residential/commercial real estate appraiser -- this is something
you can learn fairly quickly and cheaply, and do it part time to
augment your income until you get enough of a client base to go full
time; specializing in niche markets can be very lucrative once you get
a decent network going

* a lot of the trades are undermanned, but require lengthy
apprenticeships which don't pay that well (at least vs. IT), such as
electrician (5 yrs), pipefitters (3-4 yrs, can specialize in plumbing,
gas pipelines (factory as well as outdoor), etc), or HVAC
(apprenticing not necessary across the board).

If you are interested in the trades, I'd suggest going down to your
library or your Workforce Investment Board center and checking out the
burea of labor statistics publications to find out what kind of jobs
will have continued demand.  I looked into a lot of different things
when I was still trying to find a job out in Silicon Valley.  If I'd
have lived in any city than San Jose at that time, I would likely be
in a different career or at school right now.  Unfortunately, not all
Workforce Investment Boards are dedicated to assisting the
un-/under-employed as much as they should be. :-/

=Nadine=