s/o What about a man taking a blue collar job because the market is so bad?

[Anonymous]

I know OP said he wanted a blue-collar job but why? Feels like he could be an administrative assistant, paralegal, or HR professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Inspired by the woman who took a job driving a bread truck...

What about a man in his 50s, an ivy-trained and much-experienced journalist who can't find a job in journalism, communications, or PR? Journalism is dying; comms is dominated by 29 year old women who hire their own; PR is being taken over by AI.

What can he do that isn't too physically taxing, and doesn't involve much interaction with the public? And maybe, just maybe, allows him to retain some of his dignity in a tough emotional time?

I know it probably won't bring immediate money, and could be risky, but has he considered spending some time to sit down to write a life-time story of his own life? Any one in one's 50's has some great story to tell if you find the right angle and words. Of course, this depends on your family's finance and you need to be careful it needs to be real writing other than wondering around and calling it a "writing" day.

[Anonymous]

My dad quit his white collar job at 50 and painted houses (interior) got a small contract with some apartment complexes and played golf most days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know OP said he wanted a blue-collar job but why? Feels like he could be an administrative assistant, paralegal, or HR professional.

Agreed, I thought that was weird. Could do so many things with that background. Technical writing, college essay consultant, teach English (especially composition), SAT verbal tutor, etc.

[Anonymous]

You people have never been unemployed.

[Anonymous]

Try to get a job at Costco. They have good benefits and they are always rated highly as a great place to work. Another one would be Trader Joe’s.

You could also consider teaching. I know it’s not ideal, but you have a lot to offer students.

[Anonymous]

You know, many of the men in our neighborhood, including my spouse, say their dream job is working at home depot. All white collar men who like to dabble in their own home improvement project.

I think that if you did that, even temporarily, that the men in your circle would openly envy you.

I think working at Home Depot carries the same man cred as being a fireman or spending a week csmping in the wilderness and catching your own food.

[Anonymous]

Not teaching. Too much interaction with crazy parents and their (usually) crazy kids. My colleagues wonder why I don’t teach summer school. I want a quiet job where I get paid to do my job and nobody bothers me. For years, I worked stocking shelves at a grocery store in the summer. It was lovely.

[Anonymous]

Crime analyst with local police department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read semi truck drivers are clearing $300K with overtime now. Even if you’re at 50% of that, it’s still $150K. UPS / similar are great recommendations too.

But honestly - teaching sounds like the best fit based on background. Maybe an English or History teacher, or AP Gov or similar? If you’re at a charter or private, you might not need to be certified (not sure what the laws are around here). Worth exploring and tons of dignity in that - lots of people have second careers as teachers.

I rather flip burgers than be a teacher again..I was a math teacher for 3 years and I couldn't wait to quit. I changed career and became an actuary. People casually recommend teaching. Teaching is not easing. Most people cannot do it and the quitting rate is very very high.

I have no inside knowledge here but with all the shortages I wonder if they would fire you even if you were a subpar performer. I am not talking about outliers like coming in drunk or hitting kids.

DP. There really isn't a shortage anymore except in SPED. FCPS admin were gloating this year about the fact that they've had the easiest and most successful staffing season in a long long time.
And yes on the whole it's a terrible job and getting worse by the year. Very low morale among teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know, many of the men in our neighborhood, including my spouse, say their dream job is working at home depot. All white collar men who like to dabble in their own home improvement project.

I think that if you did that, even temporarily, that the men in your circle would openly envy you.

I think working at Home Depot carries the same man cred as being a fireman or spending a week csmping in the wilderness and catching your own food.

Home Depot is where my early 50s brother is working after being laid off from one too many tech startups (he was in a business function, not a programmer). It's somewhat physically demanding in that he is on his feet all day and getting a ton of steps in. He also deals with the public. Not sure if this will tide him over until retirement.

[Anonymous]

Uber Driver, Substitute Teacher, Golf Caddy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try to get a job at Costco. They have good benefits and they are always rated highly as a great place to work. Another one would be Trader Joe’s.

You could also consider teaching. I know it’s not ideal, but you have a lot to offer students.

Costco is actually a great idea. They like to promote from within and just a single location manager can make $300k+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know OP said he wanted a blue-collar job but why? Feels like he could be an administrative assistant, paralegal, or HR professional.

Those all require training and education too. I know you think that anyone can be a paralegal or HR, but that's pre-90s mindset. Our paralegals have masters degrees, as do most of our HR staff. A truly entry level paralegal takes a lot of time to train, and makes far less than 70k.

The DC area is very educated and usually comes with a lot of work experience as well. It's hard to compete in that market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UPS comes to mind for me too. They are firing 20k people this year but maybe you live near-ish a building that is still hiring. The warehouse work isn't with customers so you can keep to yourself or be with coworkers.

It's a good workout. If you stay long enough the instance through union is excellent.

UPS warehouse work is extremely physical.

And they purposefully keep you around 20-30 hours so that you aren't considered full-time