And: where to look for such jobs? What would be the process to find them with any chance of success?
I hope the question in the title is general enough that more people might find it useful, I’m sure I can’t be the only one. I’m going to include some extra details specific to myself below, but you can just ignore them if you want to.
- I have no education beyond high school and no useful skills, although I do have a couple of years worth of work experience at this point. I don’t really have the will to learn anything new for the purpose of getting a job any more.
- I have been unbelievably lucky in that the circumstances allow me to live on minimum wage in humane conditions, and beyond the basic expenses I have nothing to spend money on anyway. So it doesn’t matter to me how much I get paid.
- I spend all of my free time on things like reading, drawing, writing, thinking, occasionally learning something new. If I could spend even just a couple of work hours every day with a pen and paper and an Internet connection, it would make me a bit happier.
If you are interested in cars and live in a state that requires vehicle inspections, you could do that. My son did a two day class to get licensed. Then he easily walked into jobs.
Like the emissions tests?
Yeah. I think the class cost about $100 and two days. His first job was $15/hr plus $1 per car. Over the last 7 years he’s worked in several shops and now makes about $30/hr as a tech/unlicensed mechanic.
Wow thats sounds like a good job to do and always in need.
Yeah, for the first 5 years he was never out of a job for more than one day. There’s a lot of turnover in the industry, which is good and bad. By your second or third job, you’ll know people at a half dozen shops and a quick text that you’re available can have you working immediately. Now he’s become picky (no weekends, etc.) so it takes longer to find something. Also, he’s trying to sustain himself on mobile/shadetree mechanic work and amp building/repair instead of having a boss.