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moving out on my own, living on minimum wage

^^8)8( Quit clownin. you use the way i talk as a way to discredit the fact that $137 an hour is some damn good pay. come on now thats pretty weak.

Shahab i do not know where you got the idea that those are crappy jobs. they really, truly aint. i dont know what makes you think that but like i said before i dont care what you think is crappy as far as the work goes, cu thats all opinion not fact. but you cant knock the fact that they make bank.
 
Ahh, the memories. A lot of great advice already, so I'll just add:

1. BUDGET. Get a pencil and notepad (or better yet, use your computer if you have one) and keep track of EVERY dime you spend. Every pop and candy bar. Find out where the money is really going and make the hard decisions on what's really worth it.

2. Stay sober. Lay off the alcohol. If you smoke, quit. (A pack-a-day habit will cost over $100 a month most places, and like it or not people do look down on smokers (including employers.)

3. Clean up. Keep your hair short and your face cleanly shaven. Bathe every day and wear clean, respectable clothes (nothing fancy, just don't dress like some skater/druggie...even if you are one. :) The world is always judging you. If you look respectable, people will treat you better and give you more opportunities (including bosses.) (You'd be amazed by the difference a decent pair of shoes (say, something in the way or brown leather casuals) can make in how you're perceived.)
 
If you can stay sober, youll be alright. One of my friends was a pretty bad addict, could never hold a steady job or home. Once he stopped using he joined a union and now makes $37/hr doing masonry.
 
If you're willing to work hard and/or put up with a shitty job, it's not that hard to make more than minimum wage. How about factory/ware house type work? In my area many of those jobs pay 10+ an hour and often give over time. Landscaping often pays 9-10+ an hour as well. In some places you can make pretty good money as a waiter if you get good tips.

I work in human services. I get paid 10 dollars an hour + benifits+ paid Vacation time to hang out with autistic people. Plus I can also eat all the food at work that I want since I do residential work. And that's not stealing, it's considered part of the pay. My company has actually PAID me to take many valuble trainings such as medication certification, first aid/cpr, crisis management/applied non violence intervention and more. I got this job straight out of high school at 18, no training or experience. Some places will hire people under 18 at well.
 
Also Lacey K, you're very articulate and make some good points, but I think reality falls somewhere between what you are saying and those who are saying "YOUR LIFE WILL BE SHIT IF YOU DON"T GET A DEGREE AND AN OFFICE JOB." Living on minimum wage is far from ideal, and this kid really needs to rethink his priorities for a second before he jumps into a mess and needs to come crawling back to his parents. If he goes out into the world on his own with a pre-existing drug problem which he hasn't truly addressed, there's a good chance he's gonna end up on the street.

Not everybody is like your mom, and is able to pull themselves out of poverty. In fact, most people can't. The Horatio Alger story is largely a myth. To a certain degree you seem to be setting up a straw man argument. You seem to be arguing against the necessity of perfect, ideal circumstances. But why not do everything you can to assure that circumstances are as close to ideal as possible? Let's say this kid does want to work construction (which is a perfectly valid and often lucrative proffession). Wouldn't it be better for him to live at home while he gets some training and saves money working his construction job? Maybe this kid should swallow his pride and choose the lesser of two evils.
 
its been a while since i have replied to this thread, but i've been reading it since it's creation. there has been some good advice, thank you all for it. just to let you all know, i dont have any pre-existing drug problems- i havn't used anything other than alcohol (around once a week) for almost 2 months now. i made amends with my parents and im just going to bite the bullet and do my shit while saving up, at least for now. i'm looking into different trades and such and im going to start going to vocational school quite soon. anyways, thanks alot for all the advice. just because i'm not getting thrown out doesnt mean im not going to have to use it fairly soon. have a good one everybody
 
absent minded said:
i dont have any pre-existing drug problems- i havn't used anything other than alcohol (around once a week) for almost 2 months now.
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If you have a legitimate drug addiction (as teenager you may have been forced into rehab because your parents over reacted) than 2 months is NOTHING in the grand scale of sobriety. Most people need some kind of support to stay sober, at least in the beginning. With only two months of sobriety and no support system (assuming a real drug problem exists), the stress and shock of moving would've almost guarenteed a return to using. I am just telling you this so you don't let your guard down.
 
shahab6 said:
lacey k the jobs you listed are crappy, most jobs today require at least a bachelor degree.
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What exactly makes the jobs crappy? Assuming that they are as well-paid as lacey said (I don't know anything about that but it seems perfectly possible), and assuming that the person enjoys what they are doing? Sorry but your post just comes off as really snobbish- not the part about most jobs requiring a bachelor's degree, but saying that the jobs she listed were 'crappy'.
 
What I meant was those job do not pay enough to live by, at least where I live
 
Well you livin in the wrong spot then homie cuz they pay like AMEN HALLELUJAH here.
 
shahab6 said:
What I meant was those job do not pay enough to live by, at least where I live
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Bull-shit. Welders can earn $25 US an hour where your from (not to mention over-time pay). And that's just one example from the jobs Lacey listed.

http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occup$/ccoiswages/dclaw.cfm?occupation_code=939140
 
Chrissie - cuz its hard to get a new job when you cant drive yet

employers see that shit and be like nope, sorry, you gotta drive and where im at now i got a ride set up so that is where im at for now working on getin my license doe hopefull in a few months i will be straight

good 'nuff reason for ya? =P
 
Bull-shit. Welders can earn $25 US an hour where your from (not to mention over-time pay). And that's just one example from the jobs Lacey listed.
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They CAN earn that much if they CAN find a job in the first place and if it happens to pay well. That doesn't mean you're guaranteed to find a job.

Most of those jobs aren't exactly in high demand, the people who get work in them excel at what they do. Not anyone can be a tattoo artist or welding or roofing, it all requires SKILL that some people simply don't have.

Let's look again...

Construction - Pays well if you work 80 hours a week or have been in it long enough to not get a shitty clean up or manual labor job.

Welding - Like I said, pays well IF you can even get a job, and you have to be good to get one of the better jobs.

Roofing - Again, need to be skilled and make a name for yourself, if you do a shitty job repairing someones roof leaks you can consider your reputation shot and any chance of word of mouth gone.

Tattoo Artist - Do I even need to say anything? Really skilled position, limited demand by FAR.

Custom Auto - And again, you need to be GOOD at what you do before anyone is going to give you money or hire you to work on a customers car.

Airbrushing - One last time, highly skilled position, good luck even finding work.

All of these jobs become profitable because you're such a bad-ass at it that people are like, "Oh shit man, you gotta call this guy Bob.. he's dope!"

Welders can earn $25 US an hour where your from (not to mention over-time pay).
Click to expand...

Honestly, I hate to break it to you but $25 an hour isn't that much anymore. Sure, it's enough to get by and with over-time it's even better but do you want to work 60 hours in shitty conditions to "get by"?

Well you livin in the wrong spot then homie cuz they pay like AMEN HALLELUJAH here.
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The reason jobs like that pay well is because the people working in them BUST THEIR ASSES to make money and they are VERY GOOD at what they do. You don't walk into a custom auto shop as an 18 year old who has never worked with cars before and start making $50 an hour, you start off making minimum wage cleaning up shit and being everyones bitch until you learn enough to actually help and work your way up. It's the same in any job your work in, except by getting training first you get the skip the bullshit minimum wage learn how to anwser phones and clean bathrooms position.

Lacey K, you lectured me about life on the street and how it's all about living the hard life so you become stronger and blah blah blah, but you don't even have a car? Have you even had a job that payed more than minimum wage before?! You talk about welding and other trade positions, have you ever worked in one before? Will you enlighten me as to your experience with work and surviving cause I'm really interested.

My uncle is a carpenter, my other uncle is a glazer, my other uncle is an electrician, my father repaired office equipment before retiring, my grandpa made molds for pouring aluminum, my mother works in human resources, my father also worked in a steel mill, and my other grandpa worked in a lumber mill.

I know a little something about trade jobs, thanks. I've personally worked doing data entry for a collection of private colleges, I worked in a computer lab, I've worked in a warehouse loading semis all day with overtime.

You know what I was thinking when I was in that warehouse after working 12 hours and barely being able to drive home cause my legs were so tired I couldn't even drive right? I was thinking.. What the FUCK am I doing here making $8 an hour to literally kill my body lifting heavy shit all day and running all over when I could be making $11 an hour to sit in a chair in an air conditioned office typing on a keyboard? And so I quit that day and never looked back, now I make all kinds of money and don't see any end to it soon. I'd tell you what I do but you'd call me a liar so I'll just say that I make $500,000 a year building UFOs on mars.

So uh.. what is your employment history like?

Anyway....

Those of you saying how some people don't want to go to school to sit in an office all day doing boring work, then why would you choose a major that puts you there?

College educated doesn't mean you're a business lackey, it shows that you're smart enough, focused enough, and care enough to challenge yourself and strive to make yourself better.

In most cases you can have a degree in underwater basket weaving and it will get you a 10x better job no matter what you're applying for because it shows that you can do work that is hard and tedious and boring at times in order to get it done.

Basically, it shows that you're capable of more than picking up a hammer and hitting nails all day, which sounds pretty fucking boring to me.
 
Originally posted by Kul69
They CAN earn that much if they CAN find a job in the first place and if it happens to pay well. That doesn't mean you're guaranteed to find a job.

Most of those jobs aren't exactly in high demand, the people who get work in them excel at what they do. Not anyone can be a tattoo artist or welding or roofing, it all requires SKILL that some people simply don't have.

Let's look again...

Construction - Pays well if you work 80 hours a week or have been in it long enough to not get a shitty clean up or manual labor job.

Welding - Like I said, pays well IF you can even get a job, and you have to be good to get one of the better jobs.

Roofing - Again, need to be skilled and make a name for yourself, if you do a shitty job repairing someones roof leaks you can consider your reputation shot and any chance of word of mouth gone.

Tattoo Artist - Do I even need to say anything? Really skilled position, limited demand by FAR.

Custom Auto - And again, you need to be GOOD at what you do before anyone is going to give you money or hire you to work on a customers car.

Airbrushing - One last time, highly skilled position, good luck even finding work.

All of these jobs become profitable because you're such a bad-ass at it that people are like, "Oh shit man, you gotta call this guy Bob.. he's dope!"



Honestly, I hate to break it to you but $25 an hour isn't that much anymore. Sure, it's enough to get by and with over-time it's even better but do you want to work 60 hours in shitty conditions to "get by"?



The reason jobs like that pay well is because the people working in them BUST THEIR ASSES to make money and they are VERY GOOD at what they do. You don't walk into a custom auto shop as an 18 year old who has never worked with cars before and start making $50 an hour, you start off making minimum wage cleaning up shit and being everyones bitch until you learn enough to actually help and work your way up. It's the same in any job your work in, except by getting training first you get the skip the bullshit minimum wage learn how to anwser phones and clean bathrooms position.
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No shit you don't earn those wages on your first year while your being trained, everyone starts off somewhere. And there are plenty of trades which are in high-demand, for example; chefs, electricians, plumbers, carpenters.
 
^^ Yeah, obviously.. and that's the point there cool guy.. this person isn't going to make it getting minimum wage working as a plumbers apprentice when it's his only source of income and he's on his own, remember the point of this discussion?

It's about someone leaving home at 18 who has no training or real education, it's not about if you can make enough money to survive as a carpenter after a couple years in the industry...

Geez
 
^

absent minded said:
its been a while since i have replied to this thread, but i've been reading it since it's creation. there has been some good advice, thank you all for it. just to let you all know, i dont have any pre-existing drug problems- i havn't used anything other than alcohol (around once a week) for almost 2 months now. i made amends with my parents and im just going to bite the bullet and do my shit while saving up, at least for now. i'm looking into different trades and such and im going to start going to vocational school quite soon. anyways, thanks alot for all the advice. just because i'm not getting thrown out doesnt mean im not going to have to use it fairly soon. have a good one everybody
Click to expand...
 
Just cause the original poster resolved his issue doesn't mean the thread isn't about the situation anymore, if you don't want it to be then fine:

You can make a living without going to college.. I admit it :D
 
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