Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Money and jobs

Need Instant Good Money, Who Doesn't?

VC Drake — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:39:22 -0800

Is there anything similar to Mechanical Turk on the Internet? When I say similar I am referring to being instant work and not like the freelance sites where you have to bid for work and wait around to see if you got accepted or someone else did.

Also, it would be nice if there was a site with instant work that was better-paying too.

Any other options out there, folks?

When is that tiny paycheck worth it?

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:57:02 -0800

My yearly take-home income at my day job is about 17K. I'm starting to reevaluate exactly how long I can live on something like that, and I'd like some advice. Is it foolish to leave a steady paycheck in a bad economy, even if that paycheck is peanuts, for a "possibly" more lucrative option? For those of you who have left a job you were unhappy with when times were rough, do you regret it? I'll try to keep this concise.

I'm a 26-year-old woman, unmarried, no children. I'm in Ohio where the cost of living is low, but I still make very little money compared to people with similar experience. I got a bachelors degree in my chosen profession and have been working in it for several years at different companies and for different people. I'm pretty good with money--my only debt is my student loans and I rarely use credit cards. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot saved up. I pay for health insurance through this job and contribute to a 401(k).

I've been at this current job in my field for about 2 and a half years, where I work part-time, 32 hours a week. When I took this job, I didn't think working part-time would be a big deal, but now I'm getting worried that I won't be able to meet any of my long-term financial goals (buying a house, getting a better car) on the income I have now. I do freelance every once in a while, and when I do it, I make more in two hours than I do in an entire week at my day job, but I currently do not freelance enough to have it support me fully.

I've talked to the higher-ups about being a full time employee. They've basically told me that I could not get a promotion based on my own merits--I'd have to wait for one of my colleagues to quit (when the hell would that happen?! This isn't a job with a high turnover rate). When my immediate boss quit his job and they decided not to replace him, I asked again if I could be made full time and they said no.

I don't love this job. I enjoy my colleagues and every once in a while I have fun, exciting days, but out of all the jobs I've had in my field, this one is the worst. I don't want to change careers completely--I'm just looking for a workable solution so I can continue doing what I love in a better environment. I realize that building up a freelance business while I work probably makes the most sense, but my job requires me to work on Saturdays which cuts into a lot of freelance opportunities. (Perhaps I'm just making excuses.)

As time goes on, I get more and more depressed about this job because I don't see a future here. My ideal solution would be to quit this job and freelance full time, but part of me is scared to do that. All conventional wisdom says quitting a job, any job, in this economy is madness, especially when you don't have anything steady lined up waiting for you, and that it's getting harder and harder to freelance anyway. I'm told I should be grateful that I even have a job, but that doesn't make me feel any better. But I'm also not receiving any indication from my company that things will improve with the economy, and I keep asking myself how long I should wait for an improvement in the first place?

I'm having trouble coping with it all and I'm looking for info/anecdotes/advice for others who have been through this. Thank you.

Where can I make money online?

ptsampras14 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:03:01 -0800

Where, oh where, can I make money online? I have a great computer expertise! Help! Where can I make money online? I have excellent computer expertise (not programing) but am quick to learn anything with a computer.
I am also a good writer, and am good at helping others with computers. I am not opposed to doing mundane tasks such as moderating web boards, or customer service..
I have tried online surveys with Pinecone Research but I have made $18 in two months and I am looking for something more,

What do you do, aside from your regular day job, to bring in extra streams of revenue?

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:25:28 -0800

What do you do, aside from your regular day job, to bring in extra streams of revenue? It's my goal to eventually have enough streams of income coming through so that the money from my full-time job is irrelevant. I work from home, which doesn't necessarily mean I have a ton of free time, but does mean that I do have more breathing room than I would if had an office job. Therefore, these streams of income would most likely require time to initially setup -- which is fine -- but would not require mass amounts of time to maintain. "Get a second job," is not what I'm looking for here.

So, hivemind, what are you doing to bring in money outside of your main day job?

Yeah, great timing, I know.

divabat — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:11:45 -0800

I'm an artsworker trainee who's also in the early stages of starting a new small business. I've been jobhunting like crazy but nothing's happened yet. I need to cover my living expenses. What can I do? I graduated uni a couple of weeks ago (in the Creative Industries) and have just started a circus artsworker traineeship, with the goal of having enough skills & experience to train others by the end of the year. I've also been performing every so often, and training in performance, and I'm working on a small events/production assistance business.

So far I only have enough money to last me a month or so. I'm applying for permanent residency (I'm in Australia) and that eats up a LOT of money. I've been looking for jobs everywhere, in anything I could vaguely qualify for, but no luck - apparently in Australia every job has had 10 times more applicants than usual, so the job search has been more challenging for everybody.

The money I have is on loan from my parents, through a shared agreement (I didn't want to freeload off them but I do still want to eat). It's only enough for the next month because I'm going away from mid-May to end-July for my sister's wedding in Bristol. I was hoping to get a job that I could do now till May, take leave, and then start the job again when I return. I have casual jobs but they're infrequent and are hardly enough to let me do anything.

What can I do so that I can still afford rent, food, meds, sustenance? At least my creative training is free, but it's not earning me big bucks either. It kinda annoys me that the things that would let me have a better chance at jobhunting - such as getting RSA, RSG, First Aid, driving lessons - or things that improve my small business & arts skills, cost money...which requires getting a job!

I'm not eligible for Centrelink just yet. Once my PR app is lodged I can go on Medicare, which helps. Where else could I get some work to get money to live? (I did see an ad for a boarding school that provided rent & board in return for being an RA of sorts, but it was a Catholic one and they'd probably look down on my Pagan burlesque self).

Are there grants or sponsorships available for emerging artsworkers that don't require Aussie citizenship? Where can I get jobs that'll help me get some money? (I've looked at Seek, Careerone, Hippo, Artshub, Ployme - and some freelance sites like eLance and Guru which seem dodgy). What are some creative and effective ways of making enough to live on?

What types of menial, yet time-flexible jobs might a skilled vfx professional consider when he wants to leave his industry.

jnnla — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:57:14 -0800

I am a visual effects artist / supervisor looking to leave the industry to pursue acting. In the meantime I need a job that pays me enough to cover life expenses, but time enough to pursue my passion. Please help me brainstorm creative job possibilities beyond the typical "waiter" or "barista." :::THE BACKGROUND:::

For the last few years I have worked as a 3d Graphics artist and CG supervisor working on both commercial and theatrical projects at both big and small studios in the Los Angeles area. My passion growing up was acting and theatrics - whereas computer graphics / vfx was a hobby of mine that eventually turned into a career. Prior to VFX, I did improv comedy around los angeles and flirted with the idea of chasing my dream to be a struggling actor. I gave up the acting dream for vfx mainly due to the 6-figure income and the status I felt associated with it. The ludicrous hours of the vfx world forced me to give up my weekly improv, my sketch comedy troupe and local theater productions that I was involved in.

In essence, I traded my time for money, and with that I also gave away my passion. Three years later I was depressed and unfulfilled, and growing more and more apathetic to clients and deadlines in a field I could really care less about. I subsequently quit my job and have spent the last three months unwinding and sorting out my life.

As far as acting is concerned, I do consider myself to have skill, and that assessment has been reinforced by people, both friends and strangers, throughout my life. I am attractive and very physically fit, and now seems to be the time to try. That being said, I make no illusions about my chances for success, and as a student of data and statistics I understand that it is more likely than not that I will not succeed to the standards that I hold for myself...so please, no comments on the difficulty of making it as an actor - I am all to cognizant of this reality.

What I do want, however, is input as to what type of job I can take in the meantime that will give me the time I need to pursue this.

To those knowledgeable about the industry, I have considered freelancing here and there to make good money (alternating a 6 week gig with time off for 6 weeks etc) but it is almost impossible to find a company that would let me out early enough to make my improv classes / performances that I have at 7:30 in hollywood 3 nights a week. The VFX industry simply doesn't allow for an outside life.

That leaves me considering more "menial" types of jobs...of which I am hopelessly naive. The cliches that come to mind are "waiter" or "barista" - but I have never had any type of service experience. I'd be more interested in a slightly more creative solution.

SO....

:::THE QUESTION (S):::

What types of jobs, along the lines of "waiter" or "barista" that are low in money but high in time might an ex-professional try a hand at to float me while I chase the dream?

Here are my criteria (obviously these can't all be met):

** Preferably does NOT involve sitting for long periods of time. I want something where I am active / on my feet / changing scenery.

** Preferably working with people. I am very, very social and playful, a job that would allow me to exercise this would be preferable.

** Flexible or even part-time.

**Atmosphere that is more light hearted, fun.

Options I have considered off the top of my head (without thinking about whether they are realistic):

-Barista
-Tutor
-Car Rental place
-Something at a museum
-Something at a state park
-Extra work
-Personal trainer

Some of these seem too much like new career paths to me...I just want a source of income without too much responsibility and without feeling like I'm a total failure.

Can't wait for the input.

Ways to insulate oneself from the economic downturn?

mintchip — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:38:21 -0800

Ways to make extra cash during the economic downturn? The thing about this economic downturn is that it's harder to do the usual things people used to do when they were worried about finances. In the past, maybe you'd get a part-time job in addition to your regular job...but many of these are in short supply. Maybe you'd sell things on Ebay...but who's buying nowadays?

I'm wondering if you guys would be willing to share all of your money-making ideas for the economic downturn--creative way to make extra cash on a part-time basis. Things that people may not have thought of.

How do I best arm myself for an upcoming salary/bonus review in this economic climate?

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:46:18 -0800

How do I best arm myself for an upcoming salary/bonus review in this economic climate? I guess I'm what you might call "upper-management" at a small tech company. Like many others, our company is looking to cut costs and we will likely have a few layoffs later this month. I, and others, have already been informed that any raise in our base salary is off the table for now. However it has also been noted that pre-existing bonus clauses (such as the one I have) are still available.

So the thing is, for the last year I have been as busy as ever (actually more so), mainly because I have a skillset that only a few others have, and as a result I've been extremely busy and IMO was a huge part of helping to land a contract with a Fortune 10 company that was worth a lot of money for the company.

So, my bonus isn't particularly huge by any standards, it's capped at $5k. However, I know from past experience that my bosses treat all of these situations as bargaining sessions. So last year I walked out of the review with a $3k bonus. However, this year, based on the revenue I feel I helped bring in, plus other criteria such as hitting or beating project deadlines, I feel I deserve the entire bonus.(Especially since there will be no change in my base salary).

So I need strategies for this upcoming session. There have already been comments such as "Well, we're all lucky we even have jobs" and other signs that this will not go my way. In addition to this not quite being rooted in reality, I have realized my bonus structure is not based on objective facts, but is incredibly subjective. This was a mistake on my part when I arranged the terms of my employment, however this is my situation.

How does one convert idleness into currency, sans boss?

AAAA — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:37:54 -0800

What are some interesting ways people have used to make money, without having a job, per se? (Legally, I mean.) I'm a student in an urban area. I'm relatively broke right now and the thought of asking Mom and Dad for (more) money is really getting me down.

I could go bus tables or wash dishes, but I don't want to. I need some way of selling my time that will make me proud. Experience has taught me that being elbow-deep in suds and other people's food scraps is generally bad for my spirit.

I'm applying for jobs that are more to my liking, but it's looking like it might be a little while before I'm able to land one. Now I'm thinking, as a survival strategy for the next little while, it might be best to make up my own job, and just hire myself.

Has anybody ever successfully made money using nothing but their wits? What, specifically, did you do? How much did it make you?

I have the following assets:

-I can write PRETTY well, though I might not be a good enough copy editor to do the I-will-edit-your-essay-for-$$$ thing.

-I can perform repetitive work for a few hours at a stretch, quickly.

-I have a house located centrally in my city and a bike to get around on, though I am definitely not cut out for bike-messengerhood.

-I have 20 to 30 hours per week to devote.

Is it becoming the norm for people to work more than one (or even two) jobs just to stay afloat?

msposner — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:21:57 -0800

Is it becoming a more acceptable trend for individuals to work more than one job just to maintain a certain standard of living? I work three jobs (my wife also works full-time) and yet it seems as if we barely can keep ourselves afloat on a monthly basis. Help me from going crazy here! Background information: I work three jobs. Job number one is a state employee (CT) for a position that requires a master's degree (I actually will be finishing up my second one in a few months). Job number two is working as an independent contractor for a technology company (10-15 hours/week). Job number three is a teacher for an adult education program (5 hours/week).

My wife is a full-time teacher.

Together, we have little debt (<$5k) and we are hardly reckless with our spendings. Most of our purchases are related to the upkeep of our home and cars (2). We rarely eat out but we do have a house and all the associated bills. With me working all these hours, we've been able to be afloat in terms of our bills and expenses.

However, I am seeing more and more people, including colleagues in state employment looking for second (and sometimes, third) jobs just to "stay afloat." They too, claim that they don't have any really "out of the world" bills.

I am wondering what other people are experiencing, especially in the state of today's economy and whether this trend is related to the fact that I live in CT (a very, very expensive state) or if this is something we need to expect to become the norm just to maintain normal, decent standard of living.

Or it could be that I don't make enough money with my primary job ($50k/year)...

Any thoughts? Feedback? Insights? All would be greatly appreciated.

Will shoot for money!

sixcolors — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:52:35 -0800

Tips for finding well-paying photography gigs? I started photography as a hobby in 2002. I've been taking a lot of pictures with my point-and-shoot digital and film SLR camera. I got a digital SLR last May. Since then, I've been taking tons of pictures, sometimes over a 100 a day. My confidence has been increasing, and I'm now interested in taking some paid photo gigs.

The problem is that I don't even know how to start. What kind of businesses should I contact? What kind of individuals should I contact? How? Email? Phone? Craigslist? Word of mouth?

Managing an Anothology Project

divabat — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:16:08 -0800

What should I take into consideration when spearheading an anthology project? What resources are out there for us? I'm organizing a book project to collect real-life stories related to the Others (non-Malay/Chinese/Indian, classified as "Other" on all official documentation) in Malaysia. This only started a few days ago, so it's all planning at this stage, but currently I've built up a great team and we're discussing issues on content, definitions, research, publication, and publicity.

While some of us in the group have some experience with publishing (as a writer, editor, or just part of the process somehow), none of us really have that much experience in starting, organizing, and managing such a project. I'm doing quite a bit of brainstorming to work out what we need to consider, but would like some ideas and tips in case I left anything out.

1. Publication - I've contacted a well-known socially-conscious (and somewhat alternative, but great for our target audience) local publisher, who is interested in looking at our manuscript when we're done. Their advice was to "just do it". This is great, but I'd also like Plans B, C, D, Etc.

How else can we find possible publishers, what should we look for in a publisher, and what should we ask them? Some in our group have suggested self-publishing - what should we take into consideration about this option? What other alternative options are there? (Malaysians, particularly our target readers, are quite web-savvy, but it is a bit difficult to purchase online due to Paypal/bank restrictions.)

2. Rights - how do we manage rights and contracts with contributors? I would like the contributors to keep the copyright to their works (and give an option for a Creative Commons license), but would this be a good idea overall? We're planning on field interviews (to get stories from people who won't necessarily write their own tales, such as older folk) and may possibly deal with translations - who gets the rights to those?

3. Finances - assuming we make money out of this, what would we do with the money? I don't think we'll ever make enough to pay each contributor individually (though that would be great!!). Donating the proceeds to an NGO would be great, but our topic is in-between niche and general and there isn't a specific NGO for Malaysian Others yet.

Also, I've heard a lot about how we shouldn't pay to get something published. If we're getting published through an established publisher, are there any costs we still have to look out for? We're thinking of possibly getting sponsorship - is it worth it? Would we need sponsorship? (Perhaps to cover costs of research and compilation?) Where would be good resources for money?

4. Timelines - what's a typical timeline for this project? I was thinking 6 months - get the Call for Submissions and guidelines ready within 3-4 weeks, get submissions for about 3-4 months, edit and compile and get everything ready for publication by Month 6. Is that realistic, or too short? What's normal?

5. Team needs - currently I'm scouting people for editorials, research/field interviews, publicity/promotions, website management, and logistics/finance/publishing. What other skills and roles would we need for a project like this?

Are there any resources for managing a project like this? I've seen plenty of books and articles on non-fiction writing, but those tend to assume you're the sole writer. Any resources on managing anthologies?

Thanks so much!

Get paid to sleep?!?

the_arbiter — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:45:28 -0800

Should I participate in a 4-week sleep study? I always see these posts on Craigslist from legitimate hospitals looking for people willing to stay at the hospital for weeks at a time, usually for >$1000 a week, as a participant in a sleep study. (For example, this ad promises $5090 in 28 days.)

As a hard-for-cash college student with a part-time, on-campus summer job that I can abandon and return to at pretty much any point, I'm seriously considering doing one of these after finals end. But I need to know more.

Could I say, read a book? Work on pre-thesis research? Write? Watch movies? Work on web development / any random web surfing activity on my laptop?

Or should I expect something more like the eyes-open device from A Clockwork Orange, where despotic researchers refuse to let me sleep for days on end and study my bodily reactions to that, with a zillion sensors attached to my chest and head?
[More realistically,] will all the other participants be cocaine addicts looking for some quick cash? Can I leave the room or building ever? Is food provided and is the cost of that covered? Perhaps most importantly, are there any possible long-term negative consequences (psychological, I'd guess)?

Basically I'm just looking for any details and advice, from people who have been participants (or, even better, researchers). Anyone done this type of thing before? Some hospitals offer "outpatient" sleep studies that pay less — is that a better choice?

FWIW, I found a lot of AskMeFi archives about sleep studies, but they all seem related to people who may have sleep apnea paying for a diagnosis.

Am I too old for the law?

Any Moose In a Storm — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:29:27 -0800

Am I too old to go to law school? I'm 33 and . . . I already have a Masters in one of those liberal arts subjects that does not a career make. (Career 3.5ish gpa haven't taken any test LSATs)

The law sounds like it could be intellectually vigorous and well paying but what kind of jobs do 36 year old Law grads get? Enough to pay back their loans and raise a kid?

I want to be passionate about my work... while working in my pjs

brandnew — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 09:42:22 -0800

Can I make a living coding from home, and where can I find such a job? First, I'm a veteran coder. I've been working in the software industry for 10 years. I'm experienced in all aspects of the software life cycle. I'm an expert in C#, and very experienced in Java. Over the last few years I've been trading time between roles as solution architect and lead programmer. That means I do more requirements analysis and development and system design now, but I still do a lot of coding.

A couple of years ago my spouse started a business, and it has become far more successful than we had expected. However, the problem is that she had started her business in a small city, and that city doesn't have a large software development market. In fact there are only four or five companies that develop software within 50 miles. And, for various reasons, she is unable to relocate her business or us.

So, I currently work for a defense contractor, and I'm making great money for a small city (>$100K). However, I'm yearning to get back to the "real" software market - developing consumer, enterprise, or business-to-business software applications. And, I want to get back to working at a start-up-type environment, and being passionate about the products I'm developing.

So, how do I find such a job that will allow me to telecommute 75% of the time? Is there a job board that exists specifically for telecommuting jobs? Or, do I just scour the web sites of potentially interesting software company and email them my sales pitch? Plus, would I expect to take a big pay cut if I switch to telecommuting? I may not care, but just curious.

Lookout Europe, here I come

barrakuda — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:20:01 -0800

What are some good job search websites/engines for Europe? I'm interested in jobs in international affairs, public relations, business and finance, advertising and marketing. I'm mostly looking for resources for Germany, Belgium, France and the UK, but pan-European websites are good too.

Need side job advice for lacking income

macsigler — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:04:27 -0800

What can my wife and I do to supplement our lacking income? We're newly married college students and I'm unemployed. She has a job as a tutor but it's still not the greatest pay. My wife and I are trying to think of something that I/she/we can do on the side to maybe earn a bit of extra income at least until I can get a decent full-time job, maybe even after, possibly one day turning it into a sort of small business. We're having trouble thinking of what we could do, though.

I love computers (I plan on studying computer science this upcoming fall semester), although I'm not too terribly skilled at the moment. I am studying up, though, and try to tinker around when I can, and study C++ and some basic web design as much as possible. I also love languages, and learned Tagalog (Filipino) fluently as a missionary living in the Philippines. I also like cooking. I like playing games but that doesn't really help me earn a living so I try to avoid it lately. ;)

She likes doing crochet and knitting as a hobby, but she's not really passionate about anything that I can think of, except maybe reading. She loves to read.

It's not anything that is ultra-crucial to happen right this instant, we're not starving by any means, I just would like some ideas to help us know where to focus our attention and get something going. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Job ideas for 61 yr old Mom?

swiffa — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:44:05 -0800

Job ideas for my 61 y.o. Mom. No college, 7 years in mortgage broker business last year on her own (thus the question). 27 years management experience. Health not so good (heart issues). Any ideas?

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Liosliath — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:36:30 -0800

Should I stay with a sure-thing job, or move to greener grass? I work in IT, mainly network/hardware/software support. I'm currently with a company that consists of just three people - the boss/owner, me, and a co-worker. I have the potential to jump to another job, but there's a few things that have me vacillating.

Current Job Pros:

* great working relationship with both boss and co-worker
* flexibility - if I need to run an errand/get time off, no problem
* more than one major client, so I never get bored
* occasional bonuses up to $500
* boss is very loyal - hired me back after I went overseas for six months

Current Job Cons:

* sporadic hours, never full-time (usually around 25-30 hours per week)
* no health insurance
* lack of organization = lots of miscommunication/frustration

New Job Pros:

* slightly higher pay, full-time
* full benefits
* same job duties

New Job Cons:

* 3rd shift Thursday-Monday (10pm-7am)
* unknown working environment
* 5 month contract, only "potential" for permanent hire

I'm also going back to school in September for a 2nd Bachelor's degree, so I'd like to have a job that

A: Doesn't interfere with a daytime school schedule
B: Will get me a little bit more money, hopefully allowing me to pay more of the tuition up front, instead of loans.

I'd happily stay working for my current employer for the foreseeable future, but I'm to the point where I'm tired of just squeaking by - this new job would result in a net salary increase of about 60%. My reservations are mainly the 3rd shift hours (I've never worked that shift before), and hesitation of leaving a situation where I enjoy working with both my boss and co-worker.

If anyone has any advice/anecdotes, they would be greatly appreciated.

Career in the social services, but my heart isn't in it.

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 07:13:19 -0800

Career in the social services, but my heart isn't in it. I am struggling with a conundrum. I just earned an MSW, but I don't feel that I'm up for the challenges of this career. While I didn't go into the profession to make money, and I do truly wish to help people, I don't feel that I will make a salary that will give me a comfortable standard of living...and the more I have learned about myself and the profession, the more I feel that this is a poor match. I understand that there is a wide range of salaries in the profession but I don't feel that I will be one of the high earners, i.e. those who manage large programs or do policy making or have a private practice.

So...what on earth else can I do with this degree? What kinds of jobs can I look for that aren't typical social work jobs...or aren't in the field at all? Would it be worthwhile to earn my LICSW and then move into a different field, or can I do something else entirely right out of school? If so, how do I spin my area of study to future employers?

Another option is going back to school. I'm willing to do so but I have no idea what would be a good profession for me.

How can I leverage my potential business partner 's interest and solidify a business idea?

AdInfinitum — Thu, 25 May 2006 07:42:23 -0800

Hello. Here’s the lowdown: I’m the senior sound designer / managing director for a leading international sound library company who’s been successfully running a company that doesn’t belong to me for 6 years. I’ve exhausted this opportunity, as the company is limited in its ability to grow due to the owners methods. In short, although I still have my job (and could have it forever, so to speak), I need to get out. I’m striving to create an opportunity for myself (and potentially for some of the other amazing employees I’ve hired who are looking for better opportunities) by starting a new company, and I must act now as I am not getting any younger.. I’ve been thinking this through for almost 6 months now, and something seeming great has just happened. Can you help me make the most out of it? I rent a house from a very successful business owner / investor who has grown to respect my methods and abilities in many ways. After a long conversation with him a few weeks ago, he became very interested in my situation. After hearing that I was looking to pursue new options, he suggested we consider getting together on a partnership to develop a new enterprise in the ‘digital audio media’ domain. Even though he’s a very well-versed business wiz, he is somewhat limited in his knowledge regarding ‘up to date’ technology, Web 2.0, etc. I’ve been educating him via news clippings and links for a while now to supplement his knowledge.

We met for our first ‘formal’ meeting last week, and the results were confusing. At first, we were speaking about developing a local ‘post production’ audio facility that would utilize our current resource-pool (we have myself an about 5 others who are audio experts all willing to jump in) to get us off the ground. During our meeting, we were going over larger-scale ‘broader’ concepts regarding the future of digital media distribution, user-content models, emerging technologies, etc, and the interest swayed from our initial ‘tried and true’ concept completely. We both decided that we wanted to ‘go bigger’, as he is looking to sell off his current software company and get into ‘the next thing’ anyway, and from our discussion many larger-scale topics were covered. This was great, but actually left me a bit disjointed. He was speaking about getting actual Venture Capital and pursuing financing, even before we had decided on any business strategy or direction. He then suggested that we abandon our initial local post-production audio venture in order to somehow secure our ability to ‘get financing’, as it would somehow ‘look bad’ to potential investors if we were to show a related business pursuit before our larger model was introduced. Firstly, does anyone know anything about this method / strategy so that I can confirm its basis?

Aside from that, I’m…well - confused! I finally have a partner with the resources and know-how to really lift our ‘startup-to-be’ off the ground, but I am totally lost in terms of finding a business idea that suits my skills and satisfies our desire to ‘play in the big game’. All I had initially wanted was to find a way to make enough money without working for my current employer on my own, and now I’m in much deeper then I had expected. I want to make sure I can feed my prospective partner with a concept that he will find worthy of pursuit, but now that we have established a desire to ‘aim higher’ I am getting lost in these larger concept models. How can I come up with a business idea that satisfies my interests and skills while at the same time fulfilling his (and now my own, i think) desire to ‘hit it big’?

Aside from that, can anyone think of a way to maximize my potential within this situation? I want, at minimum, to leverage his resources in terms of business know-how and financing for developing something that will grant my independence from this annoying job. I fear, however, that if I cannot now come up with something lucrative enough to inspire his pursuit I will end up just where I began! I’m looking for advice, ideas, and help. I need to navigate my way out of this (decent) job and into freedom…badly. I feel like I’m right on the edge of having a serious advantage through my ‘almost-mentor’, and I do not want to blow it.

Thanks!

Robin Hood - men 'n' rights

timpollard — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 08:27:54 -0800

UKJobsFilter: So, the medieval banqueting centre I've been playing Robin hood at for the past 16 years just rang me up to say they're selling the building to developers, and at the end of April that's it, all done. I've been self-employed for most of that time and have been invoicing on a 'per gig' basis for years now, but I'm wondering if, as they've easily (by a factor of lots) been my main employer for those sixteen years whether a 'that's your lot, chum' is all I'm getting, or is there a 'self-employed severance' for long term invoicers?

What part time jobs are available if I want to work from home after my full time job?

brokekid — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 13:06:48 -0800

I have a full time job and by the end of the day I am too tired to stand. But I need another source of income as I am getting married soon and need to save for all sorts of things. What type of work can I do from home part time that will actually bring in money...all I seem to find on the internet are get rich quick schemes. I don't want to stuff envelopes or anything like that. I have a communications degree and some graphic design experience, some technical writing experience and am handy with a computer. Any suggestions?

Help me develop my career "plan b"

nanojath — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 09:45:06 -0800

I’ve been chronically underemployed since I graduated from college. At the moment I am at home with my infant son, which will be my primary employment probably for the next 2-3 years. I want to start preparing now to improve my career potential down the line. Right now I’m pursuing creative ambitions, but they aren’t necessarily practical and it seems sensible to keep an eye on the pragmatic. My situation in brief: I got a BA in Chemistry with Honors in 1994. I was never very interested in pursuing a science career though (long story). My work experience is all over the map (from most recent back, considering only longer term jobs): administrative assistant for the dean of an online university, clerical and database administration for public radio, tons of clerical temp work, germination laboratory technician for an orchid nursery, science literature research for a nonprofit think tank. I drifted more and more to the clerical, frankly because the money was better. But I found the work stultifying, and the ceiling for making progress low. I feel like I have the potential to do better than the mid-$30k salaries I had, and I feel like more challenging work would satisfy me more.

But without feeling particularly drawn to a specific career, I’m overwhelmed by options. I’m looking for advice from career changers, particularly those who didn’t know what they wanted to pursue at first. Favorite books or online resources? Do you think consulting with one of these professional career coaches is worthwhile? Do you think my attitude (I’ve given up on finding a “vocation,” I don’t have to love it, I just want tolerable work that I can do well, pays well, and has some growth potential) is a reasonable or poor place to start? I’d like to avoid excessively expensive additional education, but depending on the benefits this is negotiable. How do I start cutting down the pool of options and turning an open-ended period of a few years intentionally out of the job market into a realistic plan for personal development?`

I’m working through prior questions with career and related tags, but most deal with advice on getting into a specific career, and most questioners are currently employed, but feel free to point to particularly relevant previous discussions I may have missed.

Where/how/what do I do to earn big bucks this summer?

geryon — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 23:25:26 -0800

I just got accepted into a graduate school program in Manhattan, which is great, but I'm going to need A LOT of money. I have one summer to earn money before going back to school. Where/how/what do I do to earn big bucks this summer? I just need a short term job to earn a lot of money. I'd prefer something that isn't totally morally reprehensensible, but beggars can't be choosers.

I can't get any money from the school. I have pay for everything for the first year, but the second year they will pay for half my tuition, and the last year is free.
I'll probably end up taking out some loans, and things don't look good in terms of government financial aid. I'll be finishing my undergrad degree this year, and I'll just have this one summer to earn money for grad school.
I'll be graduating my well-regarded small liberal arts school with a degree in American Studies and Theater, and I'm pretty good with computers and my hands. I don't care about hard labor or mind-numbing work, as long as I'll be able to get enough money to help pay for these massive expenses of living in Manhattan.
Location doesn't matter, I'll travel anywhere, I was considering working in Alaska, though my friends tell me that 1 in 10 people die working on the boats, so I'd also prefer a job that will leave me alive and with all my limbs.