If you could get paid to study, what would you study?

Having worked in my industry for 14 years im seriously considering a change.

6 months ago i signed up to the army to do electronics and the airforce to do IT (having worked in this field)

It looks like a potential 18 month wait - with the caveat it might never happen. I believe in fate so what happens happens

But it leaves me in limbo... so im looking at uni courses... i figure if i study and get accepted then no big deal... if i study and dont get accepted i win either way

My current job pays well, is 9-5 and ive been with the firm for 5 yrs
I have no boss in my country and i am the only person who does what i do in the southern hemisphere (for my firm) but im not learning/challenged any more and would like to try something new.

This means every day i have about 3-4 hours spare ...

So i put the question to you

If you had 4 hours every day to get paid and study... what would you study and why?

Well if you become a criminal defense lawyer you can lose virtually all of your cases and still get paid handsomely. You will also have a steady stream of people hiring you that don't know anything about your past history of losing every single case you ever touched.

And although it may seem like you could face retribution from unhappy clientele, it's unlikely because they will all be behind bars for a long time thanks to you.

Hahahahaha

a reply to: Agit8dChop

In terms of career, I would study electronics and IT. Wish I could go back and do it all over again.

As a dream, I would love to study cultural anthro and archaeology.




Since I shall have neither, I try to enrich my education in other ways. I don't expect to get paid appropriately anymore.

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Female orgasms, I hear the pay is good?

originally posted by: slatesteam
a reply to: Agit8dChop

Female orgasms, I hear the pay is good?

I already do that on pro bono when ever i can!

I would highly consider electronics (engineering especially). It is so useful in every day life if you know how to apply it. I've done the IT route and I can tell you it has it's appeal at first but it looses the luster pretty quick when it is something you HAVE to do, especially if there are deadlines to be met (or quotas). There is nothing worse than trying to fix something that is broken one minute and not the next (faulty hardware that is in a limbo state - not quite dead all the time - could be a bad solder joint, temp related, etc - but this happens in electronics as well, but with computers you have code to deal with more often than not).

I might give chemistry a shot, it is very interesting and also has everyday applications.

Are you asking what to study to later make $$ with this skill, or to learn a skill that is fun and or usable/valuable?

Metal working (lathe/milling) or glass blowing - both great crafts where you can really make something from a blank slate and use the piece everyday.

Music is also great - maybe find an instrument you like (don't know if that would work in your situation).

Lake

Shore

Drive

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Agreed. He wanted a reason why. I humored him

I love what I do !

Got my electronics degree in 1987.

Got into working on elevators after that.

31 years later, still going strong !

Good union benefits to boot.

Also, we have a helmets to hard hats program.

www.iuec.org...

Cool thread subject

I wanna study university local peer culture vs. pseudo intellectual professors and how to manage wasted materials and consumer goods....idky

Philosophy, cause I ain't getting paid when I'm done with those studies

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Go straight to the Bakken oilfield in North Dakota.

Take a job that will pay you 90k a year to start with no experience. Within a year you will be at 120k with other companies begging for you.

Usually included is a gold medical health insurance policy, a company rig, free company housing and perks.

Do the job for 15 years and retire, if you save your money and not go crazy buying a new truck and boat every year.

If you are single and just live there, your only actual bill every month will be food. Everything else is paid for. I get paid 150 a month by my company to have a cell phone, for instance. Because it is part of the job.

Then study for what you want to do in life.

like all beauty queens.."world peace"

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Gynocology. Study till I had full qualifications. I'd have a practice where the admins were all men.

They can decide which patients I see.

Oh, and I'd have very thin doors and no ramps. Just steep steps.

I would also tell my wife I love her each day.

Crikey! I posted this.

Bally

a reply to: Groot

Otis Elevators! I bet.

"Baby I have my ups and downs"

Great theme.

Bally

a reply to: Agit8dChop

No question I would formally study music theory and composition at Oberlin conservatory.

Thats my favorite place

a reply to: Agit8dChop

That's a really interesting question. I guess the answer depends on your perspective.

If I were young again and looking for something to study for a career, I'd do what my Dad suggested back in the 70's. I'd study Mechanical Engineering, specifically HVAC. IT and Computer tech is all fine and good, but no matter what people are always going to need air. With the advent of computers the need for HVAC has steadily increased over the years and will continue to do so for effectively...forever. Demand is high and always will be. It's a trade and a discipline which will keep you employed for a lifetime.

If I guy was really bent on going into IT related things (read: hard headed) the place to be is in one of two areas: Networks and Cyber Security. That's where the BIG money is. When I say 'networks', I'm talking about high end network design; things like CCIE/CCDE (Cisco certs). Those guys are pulling down $300/hour on an easy day, and up to $500/hour in an emergency. Plan on being married to a keyboard, but the skillset will never go out of demand. High-end Cyber Security is another field where you can pretty much name your price. Get into the banking / securities world and high 6 figures to low 7 figures are not uncommon salaries at all. In fact, I have a couple guys working for me in these areas who make about 4x what I make, and I make good money!

If I were going to do it all again (based on my life to date), I'd probably go into Law. I've found, in my life, I'm very much attracted to the concepts of reasonability, justice and balance. Probably one of my bigger career regrets not becoming a Lawyer.

Medicine is another field where demand exceeds supply (by a huge margin too). Brutal field to work in, but the pay is pretty good if you can stand it.

Lastly, on the career side...probably the single highest demand area I see right now is, not so surprisingly, skilled trades. We just can't find them. Right now, demand exceeds supply by about 10,000%. It's incredible. Skills such as Ironworkers, Pipefitters, Carpenters, Electricians, Tin-knockers, etc. There are millions of openings right now. There's millions of guys who will pour concrete or hang sheetrock, but I'm talking about higher skilled trades.

As for me personally, if I could spend 4 hours a day (at my age right now) studying something I think I would study two subjects:
1. American History (from about 1650 to present)
2. World History (from about the 5th Century to the 20th Century, with a strong emphasis on the 5th-15th Centuries and the 19th Century. 16th to 18th is really just a bunch of noise IMHO.)

Hope this helps.

a reply to: Lumenari

Yeah, but then there's the...North Dakota part!

Talk about a place which will make just about anyone go completely insane, I can't hardly picture a place better than ND!

Physics!!

I have a double major in Biology and Chemistry and continued on in Environmental Chem after my undergrad school but now I realize i really love Physics.