Odd jobs in the middle of nowhere to get rich quick, even if conditions are appaling

[Tonal Architect]

Quick rundown of the situation:

No family outside parents, and they do well without me. All my friends "live" on the internet, so contact with them is a non-issue, and honestly, it I had to go a decade without them, so be it. I have no social ties, in short. I don't really care about a house, I've been travelling a lot and I'm considering moving to an RV, btw.

So, I'm considering going where the big bucks are. Working as a mercenary? Cool, hand me my paycheck, then my rifle. Spending three years on the arctics, with little to no socialization? As long as it pays way above the average, no problems, gotta love six-month long nights. Working in a jungle in the middle of nowhere? Show me the money, and I'm there. Deep-sea work? As long as I get knee-deep in dough, I'm more than willing. Blood diamonds? Maybe I'd have second thoughts, but I'd consider, I'm willing to forego morals for cash. Cleaning toilets for Oil Sultans? As long as they pay me in gold, screw my education, I'm in.

So, what would you recommend for a job that makes me boldly go where few nerds have been before, and get me rich in the process? Also, if it requires specialized training, I'm game... As long as it gets me rich, or very close to that, along the way.

[Mauve Shirt]

Do you have a degree? Most of those jobs require more than one certification at least.

[Anarion]

So, what would you recommend for a job that makes me boldly go where few nerds have been before, and get me rich in the process? Also, if it requires specialized training, I'm game... As long as it gets me rich, or very close to that, along the way.

We definitely need more context. I mean, if you're willing to go all out, you could go spend a few years becoming fluent in several arabic dialects and take a diplomatic or corporate position in the Middle East. If you feel like being crazy, you can easily make $200,000+ a year if you get both a law degree and a PHD in a hard science such as chemistry or physics, and after 7-10 years of working, that can jump up to around $2,000,000.

The best way to actually get rich, however, is to have a good idea and market it successfully. Labor is never going to be worth as much as capital or a good idea.

[Karoht]

Mercenaries really aren't what everyone thinks they are.
Also, most foreign powers tend to recruit from within.
Personally I would avoid anything para-military. Either go full military, or don't bother. Para-military has a tendancy to be headed up by people who have no experience or credentials. Training and proper tactics will keep you alive, trust me. There is an airsoft enthusiast up near here, lead by a guy who claims to have been part of Canadian Special Forces. Meanwhile several people in the club (who were actually IN the military with him) all claim that he was a nobody. Would you want to go into a combat zone with that guy as your leader? A smart merc would say no.

That said, if you are willing to go up north, look at the oil projects occuring in Northern Alberta, particularly the Oil Sands.
Warning, it is bloody cold, it's dangerous to get there, it's dangerous to get out, the oil rigs and machinery are extremely dangerous as well.
You know that film "the Grey" with Liam Neeson? That is where you are going.

Logging in British Columbia is a bit better. Weather can be good. Dangerous IF you don't have a brain, or if the guy next to you doesn't have one either. Operate with a Safety First mentality and you'll probably be fine.

Fruit picking in British Columbia is pretty good, but it's seasonal. Still, eat all the fruit you want, decent pay (usually cash daily), outdoors and lots of sun (they don't harvest during rain, too dangerous and bad for the fruit anyway), I spent a summer doing that in the Okanagan Valley and it was great.

That is about all the advice I can muster without violating forum rules.
Good luck out there.

[Chen]

Quick rundown of the situation:

No family outside parents, and they do well without me. All my friends "live" on the internet, so contact with them is a non-issue, and honestly, it I had to go a decade without them, so be it. I have no social ties, in short. I don't really care about a house, I've been travelling a lot and I'm considering moving to an RV, btw.

So, I'm considering going where the big bucks are. Working as a mercenary? Cool, hand me my paycheck, then my rifle. Spending three years on the arctics, with little to no socialization? As long as it pays way above the average, no problems, gotta love six-month long nights. Working in a jungle in the middle of nowhere? Show me the money, and I'm there. Deep-sea work? As long as I get knee-deep in dough, I'm more than willing. Blood diamonds? Maybe I'd have second thoughts, but I'd consider, I'm willing to forego morals for cash. Cleaning toilets for Oil Sultans? As long as they pay me in gold, screw my education, I'm in.

So, what would you recommend for a job that makes me boldly go where few nerds have been before, and get me rich in the process? Also, if it requires specialized training, I'm game... As long as it gets me rich, or very close to that, along the way.

Working at oil drilling and the like is probably the best you'll get with no previous experience. Its dirty and dangerous but the pay is decent (~$20-30/hour depending on experience I believe).

There's no job that requires absolutely no experience that is get rich quick. At least none that are legal. Any job with no experience requirements is going to have a TON of applicants. This drives wages down unless the job is also extremely ****ty. Even then, in the current economic situation, people are more than willing to do terrible jobs if they make some money so that further doesn't help things.

[nedz]

In general more education = more income.

There are exceptions, but they require luck.

[Gorgondantess]

One word: trucker. Truckers make a lot of money because they're on the road all the time. It requires little training, and basically anyone can do it. If you don't take a lot of vacations, you can usually retire at 35-40.

[Karoht]

Train Conductor and Pilot take more training than Trucker. Train Conductor takes something like 2 years of schooling, or so I hear tell.

Pilot only really makes good coin if you are a commercial pilot. Get hooked up with a private jet company, make friends with a big wig CEO and basically become his air chauffer.
Helicopter pilot pays good, but flying a helicopter is complex and probably more dangerous than flying a plane.

[Kindablue]

I was under the impression that commercial airline pilots were criminally underpaid, but I could be misinformed. Also I think this is the first time in my life I've ever considered that I can drive a train for a living if I want. That sounds amazing.


Working at oil drilling and the like is probably the best you'll get with no previous experience. Its dirty and dangerous but the pay is decent (~$20-30/hour depending on experience I believe).

I was going to suggest that. It's a popular route for restless kids and future Presidents to take here in Texas—at least the ones who aren't too attached to having all their fingers.

[Morbis Meh]

I will second Karoht, my fellow albertan in his suggestion; however, I suggest instead of working on a rigs, become one of the machine operators (the massive trucks) it requires a little training but they make 200,000+ per year no problem. The only downside is you have to live in Ft. McMurray which is really expensive.

[Dr.Epic]

Quick rundown of the situation:

No family outside parents, and they do well without me. All my friends "live" on the internet, so contact with them is a non-issue, and honestly, it I had to go a decade without them, so be it. I have no social ties, in short. I don't really care about a house, I've been travelling a lot and I'm considering moving to an RV, btw.

So, I'm considering going where the big bucks are. Working as a mercenary? Cool, hand me my paycheck, then my rifle. Spending three years on the arctics, with little to no socialization? As long as it pays way above the average, no problems, gotta love six-month long nights. Working in a jungle in the middle of nowhere? Show me the money, and I'm there. Deep-sea work? As long as I get knee-deep in dough, I'm more than willing. Blood diamonds? Maybe I'd have second thoughts, but I'd consider, I'm willing to forego morals for cash. Cleaning toilets for Oil Sultans? As long as they pay me in gold, screw my education, I'm in.

So, what would you recommend for a job that makes me boldly go where few nerds have been before, and get me rich in the process? Also, if it requires specialized training, I'm game... As long as it gets me rich, or very close to that, along the way.

Catch a leprechaun. It's the only sure fire way to get rich.:smallwink:

Really, can I sound a little tough and say stop fantasizing about making it rich? Because it's probably not going to happen. Very few people become rich. You should really just try and concentrate on something more realistic and just (or perhaps more) fulfilling. I'm not trying to sound mean. I'm just saying the goal you want to attain is very unrealistic.

[Serpentine]

Mining in outback Australia's meant to be good. I suspect that the further past the black stump you go the more you'll be paid, and it goes a loooooong way out. I think Death works in the industry, you could try asking him about it. You'll need a visa, though.

edit: also, you'd get paid here better than in the US, where I assume you are. Our minimum wage is about $17, and mining pays better I'm pretty sure. Living here's also more expensive, but I think a lot of the time the mines cover your accommodation and possibly your food, and you'll be too far away from anywhere to splurg your earnings.

[Erloas]

I was under the impression that commercial airline pilots were criminally underpaid, but I could be misinformed. Also I think this is the first time in my life I've ever considered that I can drive a train for a living if I want. That sounds amazing.
I think this is one of those things where they think they should be paid a lot more then they are, rather then that they aren't making enough. It does take a lot of time to become a pilot, so they might expect to be paid as much as doctors. I'm pretty sure the other people on the plane don't make that much.


Working at oil drilling and the like is probably the best you'll get with no previous experience. Its dirty and dangerous but the pay is decent (~$20-30/hour depending on experience I believe).
Actually the oil rigs require virtually no experience, just being in shape and willing to work in really bad conditions (and from what I've heard, most of the worst part of the conditions are coworkers). My brother did it for a month or two and he thinks he was the only one on the crew that didn't have a criminal record and a lot of the work could be done easier and safer if the people he had to work with could think their way out of a simple door.

As for the pay, the hourly rates generally aren't amazing ($30/hr is fairly common where I live), but there are a lot of other things that add on that make it worth while. For starters, working 80+ hour work weeks makes a huge difference, most places have per-diem pay and differentials paid depending on what exact job you are doing and where you are doing it. The other thing that helps is that you are working for, generally, 2 weeks straight with no time off and then having 1 week off. You live at a man camp (or much more rarely hotels) that someone else is paying for as well as paying for all of your food, so for that 2 weeks you have virtually no living expenses. You also have approximately 0 time to spend any of the money you are making while you work. And that week off, you spend 2 of those days driving to and from the man camp, you spend another 2 of those days sleeping off the long days of working, and you don't have enough time to use any of those expensive toys you can now afford to buy. Which is a common complaint I've heard, they make a lot of money, but simply do not have enough time to actually go out and do anything with that money.

Its not going to get you rich either, but its not hard to earn probably 150k+ a year, which works out to seem like a lot more when you can't spend a lot of it. Not that $150k isn't a good amount, but at least the politicians are wanting to call anything less then $250k middle class, even if 150k is 3 times the median income level.


In general more education = more income.

There are exceptions, but they require luck.
The right education is worth a lot more then more of it. A normal petroleum engineer is probably going to make a lot more then someone with a doctorate in literature. There are also a lot more skilled labor/technical sorts of jobs then people realize that pay well above "average" and the majority of them require on-the-job training or certifications rather then degrees. They aren't "rich" types of jobs, but they are well off and stable types of jobs and they can be found all over the place. So you can live somewhere where the cost of living isn't so high that you have to make 100k just to live.

[Starwulf]

Go take a course in underwater welding. A buddy of mine is preparing to take a set of courses on that(as he is certified in every other kind of welding), and once he does that, if he chooses to find a job doing exactly that, the pay is about $100 an hour, more if he eventually becomes a supervisor.

[Anarion]

Go take a course in underwater welding. A buddy of mine is preparing to take a set of courses on that(as he is certified in every other kind of welding), and once he does that, if he chooses to find a job doing exactly that, the pay is about $100 an hour, more if he eventually becomes a supervisor.

Are there actually that many of these jobs and for a long enough period to justify them? If you have to drop a bunch of cash on a plane ticket and find housing in some new place, I'm not sure a single construction project would be enough to justify the cost.

[Starwulf]

Are there actually that many of these jobs and for a long enough period to justify them? If you have to drop a bunch of cash on a plane ticket and find housing in some new place, I'm not sure a single construction project would be enough to justify the cost.

My buddies plan is to find a place where such jobs pop up more often then not(he's been doing research), and when that kind of job isn't available, due to his certifications in all other types of welding, he'll just get a job elsewhere, likely as a free-lancer.

[ForzaFiori]

Go take a course in underwater welding. A buddy of mine is preparing to take a set of courses on that(as he is certified in every other kind of welding), and once he does that, if he chooses to find a job doing exactly that, the pay is about $100 an hour, more if he eventually becomes a supervisor.

This. You don't even have to be an underwater welder. If you have the other major welding certificates (pipe welding, structural, etc) you can take odd jobs across the world and get paid good money. One of my best friends is a welder, and goes all over the country (and even outside of it some times) doing welding jobs - pipe-lines, oil rigs, building fabrication, etc. He'll go off for 8 months, work 16 hour days for like $60/hour, then come back and blow it all before doing it again the next year.

[Kindablue]

I think this is one of those things where they think they should be paid a lot more then they are, rather then that they aren't making enough. It does take a lot of time to become a pilot, so they might expect to be paid as much as doctors. I'm pretty sure the other people on the plane don't make that much.

I remember from a controversy a few years ago following an airplane crash in New York. From The Wall Street Journal (http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2009/06/16/pilot-pay-want-to-know-how-much-your-captain-earns/):

... regional airline pilots are essentially paid in hours of experience, not cash. They build jet flight time that gets them higher-paying positions as captains, and eventually, they hope, jobs at major airlines. They accept low pay in order to get a big payday later in their flying careers. Right or wrong, that’s how the industry has worked.

...

On average, starting pay at major airlines is $36,283 –- about double where many regional airlines start pilots, but darn low for mid-career professionals who likely take a pay cut from regional airlines to latch on to a major carrier.

Doesn't really seem like a good get-rich-quick option.

[scurv]

KBR
haliburton

Start looking there,

[Tonal Architect]

Do you have a degree? Most of those jobs require more than one certification at least.

Yep. It pays the bills, but won't get me to live like Indiana Jones. Degrees usually get you going locally, but not out there.


We definitely need more context. (snip) The best way to actually get rich, however, is to have a good idea and market it successfully. Labor is never going to be worth as much as capital or a good idea.

I have some experience in translation, so I've considered learning some middle eastern languages and getting some work done over there, actually. Haven't really run the number the on how profitable it is, but as long as it gets me out there, I'm game.

As for the marketing + idea, I agree with you. On the other hand, even if you have the idea you still need to get the marketing going, and that's the problem, really.

In general more education = more income.

There are exceptions, but they require luck.

Agreed, somewhat. You have to consider, though, the further away from the human cattle pen that civilization became, the better the wages.

This whole post is inspired the H.H.'s, as in Lolita's protagonist, experiences, while working in the arctic. I'm not sure how much that part of the book rings a bell today, but still, I'm hoping for some good idea in the fringes of civilization, even if someone suggests me Woompa Loompa wrangler as an occupation.


Catch a leprechaun. It's the only sure fire way to get rich.:smallwink:

Really, can I sound a little tough and say stop fantasizing about making it rich? Because it's probably not going to happen. Very few people become rich. You should really just try and concentrate on something more realistic and just (or perhaps more) fulfilling. I'm not trying to sound mean. I'm just saying the goal you want to attain is very unrealistic.

You have a point. Still, I don't want to own a ferrari, but given that we've all become a lot richer with the internet, I woudn't mind working over the internet and living in Mali... Confortable living is ok, and so isadventurous living. Getting as rich as Steve Jobs? Well, I think it doesn't really pay off; too much effort. Confortable living is all I want.


Mining in outback Australia's meant to be good. I suspect that the further past the black stump you go the more you'll be paid, and it goes a loooooong way out. I think Death works in the industry, you could try asking him about it. You'll need a visa, though.

edit: also, you'd get paid here better than in the US, where I assume you are. Our minimum wage is about $17, and mining pays better I'm pretty sure. Living here's also more expensive, but I think a lot of the time the mines cover your accommodation and possibly your food, and you'll be too far away from anywhere to splurg your earnings.

Doesn't sound bad, might take a look at it, in spite of australian billionares throwing a fit over mining wages. I'm south american, btw, and bored to death with my country.


This. You don't even have to be an underwater welder. If you have the other major welding certificates (pipe welding, structural, etc) you can take odd jobs across the world and get paid good money. One of my best friends is a welder, and goes all over the country (and even outside of it some times) doing welding jobs - pipe-lines, oil rigs, building fabrication, etc. He'll go off for 8 months, work 16 hour days for like $60/hour, then come back and blow it all before doing it again the next year.

There seems to be an ongoing trend where technical jobs pay better than the ones you get from a fullfledged graduation.

Personally, I gravitate towards a literature or science education, but pay isn't really that great. If I have go to wear diving equipment and fight off sea roaches, while going across the country welding pipes, so be it, I'm sure I can read plenty in my off-work time.

I've been considering saving some money and getting a helicopter jock pilot license; helicopters go where the money is, after all. Maybe that's what I'll do... Although the licenses are ridiculously expensive.

[Anarion]

I've been considering saving some money and getting a helicopter jock pilot license; helicopters go where the money is, after all. Maybe that's what I'll do... Although the licenses are ridiculously expensive.

Are you interested in joining the actual military? They don't pay that well at the beginning but there are several benefits
1) The benefits are really good
2) After you serve, you can get funding to attend almost any school, including some of the better graduate programs without having to take on a ton of debt
3) A significant amount of hiring, especially in expert fields and especially for anything connected with the government, has veteran's hiring preferences, making it much easier to get a high-paying job.

[scurv]

Alot of those jobs are experience based, yes. But you still need some experience. Enlisting for a hitch can easily get you a foundation of experience to build from. But if you are intent. Look at some of the contractors and headhunters.

But if you are a little suicidal. I suggest you look at employment in Africa or the middle east.

If you have a strong tech background. You could do worse then to find a teaching position in a 3rd world country.

[Karoht]

@Piloting
Helicopter pilot is a good move. VTOL aircraft might make a come back in the next 20 years, so keep an eye on that and be ready to pick up some extra training if need be.
When I mentioned the commercial airline industry, I used the wrong wording I think. I was trying to refer to private planes, particularly those owned by CEO's and such.
The good news is, you get standby pay. It's expected that in the downtime, the aircraft is always 100% ready to go at a moment's notice. If the boss of General Motors wants to leave within the hour, you're ready to roll, you just need to pick a course and run the clearance. A friend of a relative does this for a living. You're basically a salaried on-call air-limo. Find a good gig, 100K a year to start.
However, driving a Limo pays pretty good, and doesn't require much in the way of training either. But, that completely depends on territory and clientel. Upscale taxi driving and all that.

@Mining/Logging/The Oil Patch
High injury rates. Very high. You can hurt yourself and be out of work for life. Insure yourself well.