New job or career ideas

[Vernal]

So I am in the midst of a change in careers and jobs and would like to ask the Playgrounders for their ideas.

I've been thinking about what I'd enjoy as my next step and am having difficulties getting beyond "I would a job I would enjoy".

The closest I've gotten is last night I spoke to my wife and realized that I might enjoy being an car mechanic. I thought about WHY and came up with the following:

- it's problem solving with a set limitation to the origins of the trouble
- it's orderly and methodical (I recognize that sometimes things go boom :smallsmile:)
- it is hands on

Now, my background and limitations....

I have a Bachelor's of Architecture and have worked with three different firms.
HOWEVER, my wife works with the US Department of State (diplomat) and we have been working overseas for the last several years.
Therefore, I am trying to find a job or career that would be very portable to allow me to readily find work after moving every two years or so.

I'm sure I'm overlooking some important piece of information that would help me and you figure out what my next move should be, but there you are.

Thank you all!!

Vernal

[Mauve Shirt]

Wow, you're inside the beltway. I wish I could afford the beltway.
I'd imagine you've tried to get a fed job?

[GnomeFighter]

How about something like plumber or electrician? They are portable skills and well paid, as long as you can do the training. Or how about carpentry? You could put your current skills together with it and start doing something like building wood framed houses.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I second the mechanic idea (if, of course, you're fine with it). Not so much plumber/electrician - for upper end trades you generally have to be licensed in the area you work in. Sometimes it's a single state/province although I'd imagine it's more likely licensing on a federal level. Which still might not carry over to, say, England, or even less likely to some place like Egypt or Korea. Car shops generally have more leeway and are more likely to hire you. Heck, you might even have an advantage as an American, provided you speak the local language.

Carpentry.. it's fun, I used to love building stuff back when I was in high school (both in shop class and outside for myself), but it doesn't involve very much problem solving so might not be what you're looking for.

Also, I'd suggest looking up the IT industry. It might take you a bit to figure out what you'd like to do and get the right certifications for it (i.e. CCNA for Cisco Networking or the like), but it's extremely portable as long as you know what you're doing. In some cases, like programming, you might even be able to work with a company back in the US while being overseas. VPN's are cool like that. It is, however, difficult to get a lower-end entry level job because everyone and their granny applies for one.

[rakkoon]

Indeed, IT jobs are extremely portable, you can focus on a programming language or a system.
You can also work on websites from any location.
Landscape architecture is also quite popular around here so if you can design a great garden and help make it you should be able to do that in any country.

[Chen]

Do you have any experience working on cars? Are you going to go take courses and the like? Having worked in an auto shop it is pretty daunting if you don't have experience with it. Skills like welding and soldering tend to be required. And not minding being dirty all day is certainly part of it.

[pendell]

- it's problem solving with a set limitation to the origins of the trouble
- it's orderly and methodical (I recognize that sometimes things go boom )
- it is hands on


If we had any openings I'd refer you to my company's technical support department. Their job is to troubleshoot hotel problems either remotely or on-site. They also go to the hotels to install new hardware/firmware/software.

Problem solving? Check. That's almost the entirety of the job.
Orderly and methodical: It's hard to do this job without set procedures, but with a great deal of flexibility for unusual circumstances.

Hands on: Oh, IS IT EVER.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Vernal]

Thank you all for your ideas and thoughts!
In no particular order (and without quoting extensively), my thoughts on your thoughts.

I've not worked much on vehicles in a technical sense (don't think I've even changed the oil on my own car). I used car mechanic more as an example of the type of work that I might enjoy. That said, I have done some welding but in an artistic sculptural way, and I am NOT worried about getting dirty or even filthy if needs be.

I would look at US Federal jobs, but then the job would need to allow me to move with my wife as her job dictates that she work overseas years at a time. One option that does exist, but I am not currently keen on, is to join the Department of State also. This would allow me to work overseas, but it would limit both my and my wife's location choices as we both would have to find available openings in the same country. Hence my desire for a job that is mobile that allows HER the flexibility to choose the best location for her (and extension, us).

IT sounds like the best option that I've seen so far. The one downside at the moment is the expansiveness that IT covers. Web design, database management, networking management, programing, etc. Where do I start, which path should I follow, which allows the best opportunity for either mobile work or world-wide demand? You don't have to answer these - this is me feeling daunted.

The building trades are a good option for me in the sense that with my training in architecture I am theoretically familiar with the scope of these trades. But, as was pointed out, not all are licensed equally between countries. But it maybe worthwhile to get SOME training because, if nothing else, I could always work within the Embassies as building maintainence.

Again, thank you all for your thoughts this has been very helpful as I move from the traditional career path to one that requires more flexibility, uncertainty, and change.

Ever grateful,
Vernal

[akma]

What do you do in your spare time?