Best job they don't tell you about in school

[Azure Cloud]

For me, it is being an independent sales rep for a manufacture. You basically set your own hours. As long as you reach adequate sales quotas, no one is breathing down your neck. You can take off early whenever you want, just make sure all office calls are forwarded to your cell phone.

If your social like me, talking to and meeting new people as well as cultivating established relationships is a reward in itself. Lunch is a tax write off.

If your products are technical at all in nature, people tend to rely on you as a valued asset to their project team. This is repeat business and money in the bank.

What other jobs rock but are never mentioned in school?

 

[scureto1]

Business analyst, or any similar job whose role lies at the interface between business management and information technology. I got into that area of work through a friend and the skillset necessary to do it is not terribly hard to learn, but I had no idea the niche was there until I was introduced to it. There are loads of opening, good projected growth of positions, good compensation, the work is mentally stimulating, and there is a clear path of advancement there, these jobs are generally not dead-ends or stepping-stone jobs.

 

[Azure Cloud]

I guess I'll add this about being an independent manufacturer's sales rep --> no drug testing! Assuming you're filing 1099 (USA tax code)

 

[Azure Cloud]

Scureto,
Do companies hiring business analysts prefer a certain skill set or degree before hiring, or is this something they teach you after hiring?

I know that manufacturer's reps are expected to have a four year degree. A background in the industry is good but not necessary. A background in sales can be helpful, but for technical or high performance products a background proving you can learn quickly and a having good personality are more important. Any manufacturer of quality will train the reps in all aspects of the product and have a technical team available to the rep for technical questions.

 

[attempt4]

This thread is interesting to me at the age of 23, about to turn 24 as I begin my existential crisis, mainly comprising of questions such as "What the fuck am I doing with my life?" and "Oh God, what do I want to do? I do nothing but minimum wage jobs/landscape gardening and want to better myself and up my game but how the fuck do I do it with no money, no qualifications and nobody to support me financially?"

I don't have family that can help, so I kind of have to just force myself to work shitty jobs so I can remain alive and survive. It's getting pretty old now...so many people from my school have gone on to do great things, and I just became a wreckhead. I am totally sorting myself out, and have cleaned up incredibly well. Excuse the potential for arrogance here, but I'd consider myself a fairly intelligent person, so I don't feel that too many jobs would be too far out of my reach (within logical reason) should I desire them as I pick things up extremely quickly. I just don't know how people get into these great jobs.

Networking, I am aware, is one of the most important things but it isn't too easy when you live in a small Scottish city.

How did the people in this thread get their wonderful-sounding jobs!? More power to them

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

Try to save up enough to move somewhere else with better job opportunities to get a minimum wage job, and slowly build a base from which you can expand. You can research employment rates, what types of industry, what types of positions in said industries, what type of training is required/offered, etc... online/with a telephone if you are fairly intelligent. May not even have to move much at all.

 

[Azure Cloud]

@Attempt, I was unemployed for six months after my boss died tragically and suddenly. I did the network thing to death but the job I finally got had nothing to do with networking. I found the job on an online job board. Luckily a hiring manager, not a human resources baffoon, responded back. From February to early May I stayed in touch with this person. I called him once every two weeks checking on the status of the position or asking questions about the position/company. I got the job, not because of my qualifications (shitty first resume sent out after my old boss passed away), but because I was persistent and showed enthusiasm for the position. When I was finally hired, he said it was because I obviously wanted the job more than anyone else.

Between February and May I networked my ass off, both in real life and on LinkedIn. I applied for a hundred other positions, fine tuning my resume along the way. Had several phone interviews. But nothing progressed the way I had hoped. Thru shear determination I landed a great job.

So it can happen, you just got to stay determined, put the work in and never give up.

...see my posting in TDS if you are interested in what I really went thru while trying to find employment.

 

[Azure Cloud]

Today's job market sucks. At least for the USA. Hiring practices suck, again at least in the USA. No one wants you to come into their place of business seeking employment; if you do that, they will only tell you to check their website and ask you to leave.

Human resources' departments are killing the employment environment. Resumes/CV's are scanned by software for key words before a human ever looks at it. You have to be able to see yourself over the phone to a human resources generalist before a hiring manager will ever consider talking to you.

It's hot out there for a pimp. I feel for anyone looking for a job; i've been there myself. Good luck to all!

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I think it's great that some of you in this thread have found your niche in sales. I was in sales for years. It could be fun and exhilarating closing a deal and it could be nerve-wracking and frustrating hearing No after No.

After my existential crisis I swore off sales. When a company "hires" someone as a 1099 independent contractor, they don't have to pay that person a damn thing until they make a sale. Some companies may offer a draw but depending on the industry, even that is scarce. Typically they do not offer medical benefits either. Sure you can make your own hours....but if you wanna make money, sometimes that means 50+ hours per week.

I just grew tired and cynical. One of the reasons I went to grad school was so I'd never have to work another sales job. I realized money isn't everything. We are only on this earth for a finite period of time and IMHO there are so many other things I would rather do with my time than be pimped out by The Man all with the intentions of attempting to amass wealth.

I'm sure somewhere on the interwebz there is a forum with a thread that states the worst job in the world is independent sales rep

 

[Azure Cloud]

I hear you loud and clear Jerry. I totally understand what you are saying. You got to be super careful about the manufacturer before giving it your soul.

Of the two manufacturers I've worked for as a 1099 independent sales rep, both manufacture high performance technical products. I work with architects and civil engineers as, for all intent and purpose, part of the project design team and provide critical advice during the process of creating construction documents. If I can secure my product in the construction specifications, I'm going to sell my product 5 out of 10 times. That is good enough for me.

Ironically I spent my years from 24-35 in graduate school. Two masters degrees and ABD on the PhD. I don't regret not finishing my PhD dissertation (I will not go into the reasons here). I'll just say that I had my fun and pursuing independent research was one of of the most rewarding endeavors of my life.

I'm not using my degrees - at all. But all that time learning how to learn was the ideal background for making me a great high performance, technical product sales rep. As you know, graduate school doesn't pay great and one day I'll retire or not want to work so hard and one day, when I'm older, I'll need money to be comfortable. Though 1099 sales carries considerable risk, the earning potential is unlimited. I am lucky to have had such an intensely technical background due to my years in school, it makes me uniquely qualified for the job I'm at.