amf - have you considered a career in the trades? ...... something to consider.

Antsy

This is bang on the money too. I went through my auto service apprenticeship .......Welding would be fantastic to get into.

Runs With Scissors

These guys are right. (Sorry to edit your quotes guys - trimming for space). Anyhow, they are telling it as it is. A skill is easy to carry.

Besides, in a collapsing or underground economy a skilled trade might mean the difference between putting food on the table or not.

Somebody with the words "facilitator, coordinator, administrator or liason" on their resumes might wind up at the soup kitchen.

In the end it will be the difference between those who actually do or produce something of tangible value... and those that shuffle information or create nebulous concepts then try to sell them. The later will have little if any value in a SHTF world.

Train to become:

-a midwife
-firearms tech
-small engine mechanic
-butcher

Anything to fix or maintain preps or care for people and stock.

This may sound silly depending on your interpretation of shtf, but if you believe in an even that leads to the downfall of society as we know it, basically everything will most likley revert to medieval tech levels. Until infrastructure and technology is able to rebound (if ever), then we will be limited to much simpler machinery and industries. Think about the types of industries that were important during these low tech time periods.

- metal working (and blacksmithing)
- textile industry (weaving, knitting, fabric making, threading, etc)
- weapon smithing (bladed weapons, armor, this could include gunsmithing as well)
- Agriculture (ranching, herding, gardening, natural farming)
- lumber work and carpentry (logging, custom carpentry, etc)
- Candle making and waxing (takes skill to max wax usable)
- masonry and stoneworking
- many other things of this nature.

As stated above, just about any of the trades could apply to this era (with the exeption of electrician... Although these would most likely still be important). If you do not wish to go to school for 4 years and go through your apprenticeship, you could consider starting an at home cottage industry. Things like blacksmithing and carpentry can be learned outside of the red seals trades, and there are already people who make a good living off of things like ammo reloading, custom carpentry, weapon and blade smithing, etc. There is a wealth of knoedge on the internet if you simply google "cottage industry ideas". You may be suprised what comes up.

At the very least, this is still something you could consider doing as a hobby EVEN IF you decide to get a job. When I find a space to work I plan on teaching myself blade smithing (small blades, arrow heads, etc) and ammunition reloading (more to lower the cost of me shooting then anything), for example.

AMF - I've been putting a lot of thought to your query and I think it's about time I asked you what it is you are interested in. I can make recommendations till the cows come home but if you are on the other side of the monitor saying, "nope, nope, naw, uhh-uh, nope" then we are all just spinning wheels. Instead, I am going to give you the same advise that I gave my nephew when he was entering the work force. Instead of looking at the plethora of different "jobs" that are out there and asking where you think you will fit; instead look at the lifestyle and financial goals that you have personally and as a family and find what "jobs" will allow you to realize those goals. I will bet the list shortens considerably. It may not be money, or free time, or flexibility that finally drives your decision but at least you will have a better defined idea of where you want work to take you and your family.
BTW - I spent a couple of months working at Fort Whoop-up as the "black smith". It's a lot harder than it looks. 😉

Cheers,

Antsy

Re: Antsy... Truer words were never spoken. I have the opportunity to return to school when I was 32. I am 60 now. What I did was sit down and ask myself what I wanted to be when I grew up. Not so much in the here and now but really.. when I was a kid... Then I asked the question why? Putting the two together gave me a number of options that were both realistic, personally rewarding and attainable.

Okay, here's me in a nutshell:
Job Experience
- customer service / retail
- museums
- restaurants
- promotions/office work

Basically I have had part-time or summer jobs since graduating high school. I was a student and then I became a mom, both of which never allowed me to get full-time work. I have 95% of a degree in Anthropology, so you can see why I might not be interested in spending the money to finish it when I could take a 2 year diploma for something with an actual job on the other end, though anthropology is interesting stuff.

Hobbies/Interests
- art, music, history
- graphic design, advertising
- surfing the net (sigh, I am lame)
- reading
- hiking, camping
- fashion
- fitness
- social justice / civil rights
- politics

So can you see the problem here? LOL The work environments I have enjoyed the most have been officey ones where I could dress up. Recently I have had even less glamorous jobs in retail and food services. I did work with a woman who was a pipefitter and really enjoyed her job and of course it paid well. I was semi-interested but when I shared that with my partner he just kind of laughed (not in a mean way, just in a "I doubt you'd ever want to actually do that" way). I am very intimidated in pursuing a trade because of the mostly men thing and also I don't have much interest, but I do get the absolute importance. My husband is extremely handy and mechanically inclined and is the first person I'd want at the TEOTWAWKI, but if he gets injured/killed then that's not much help either.

I have no sort of "dreams" in terms of careers. When I was young I wanted to be a marine biologist, a journalist or an editor of a magazine. Frankly, I'm happy being a mom (how 1950s of me) and I do it (parenting and home management) fairly well. In our neighborhood we are surrounded by affluent, well-educated professionals and my husband is finishing his Civ Eng degree soon, moving him soon from blue-collar construction worker to white collar office guy, so I must admit I feel more pressure (my own) to get a professional, well paying job. I would however pursue something no matter what if that is what I wanted to do.

This is kinda lame, but the occupations that appealed to me most that y'all listed were midwife, horticulture, seamstress, etc. Though small engine mechanic sounds kinda cool too.

Sorry this was long.
Liss

p.s. I am not sure we would revert to medieval technologies in my lifetime should there be a complete collapse of society. Surely there are enough shirts, forks, tables, and candles sitting in houses, stores, buildings, and landfills to suffice our needs at least in the span of our lives? Maybe my kids though ... I'll break out the anvil and show them a thing or two. 🙂

p.s. I am not sure we would revert to medieval technologies in my lifetime should there be a complete collapse of society. Surely there are enough shirts, forks, tables, and candles sitting in houses, stores, buildings, and landfills to suffice our needs at least in the span of our lives? Maybe my kids though ... I'll break out the anvil and show them a thing or two. 🙂

lol I was thinking more along the lines of things like metal fabrication. you never know what you might need in a year or two! little things that you dont thing of, like nails, horseshoes, home made tools, etc. The true skill of blacksmithing is pretty well dead and gone, with the majority of our metal works coming through computer programs and machines. Im just thinking long term. like... really long term. And how cool would it be to be able to take something like an old scrap car door that you salvaged, and turn it into something useful, like an axe or a hammer! doesnt sound like its up your alley, but maybe for others out there who have more free time then they know what to do with. Blacksmiths have always had food to eat, a roof over their heads, and customers to please... because THEY WERE IMPORTANT! since the begining of metal working, these people have always had their place. It wasnt until the early 20th century that they have pretty much been replaced by machines. If the grid goes down... no more machines. no more new nails. no more new japanese cutting knives. no more horseshoes... etc etc. Thats my point in all this lol. the same could be said for many job fields.

AMF - Okay then, one last suggestion. If you are in Calgary, SAIT has an oil and gas program in Well Asset Management which is well subscribed by Calgary's energy companies. These skills will not make you an uber-survivalist post TEOTWAWKI but it's well paying administrative work in an industry which drives this province's economy. I will just put this out there; what if TEOTWAWKI doesn't come for one, two, five hundred more years? Let's try to make good money and provide for our families! If the S does HTF... we can all prepare for it when we are not at our day jobs.

Just sayin'

Buggie and Antsy - I totally agree on all counts.
For now I''ll continue to explore/master related hobbies (camping, survivalism, growing food, canning, etc) and since I still have a few years to decide on career maybe I can explore some of the ideas in more depth.
Thanks!
amf

I will just put this out there; what if TEOTWAWKI doesn't come for one, two, five hundred more years? Let's try to make good money and provide for our families! If the S does HTF... we can all prepare for it when we are not at our day jobs.

Just sayin'

What if it happens tommorrow?

@ AMF - there is lots to learn and hobbies are great. Good luck with what ever you ultimately decide to do.

@ Buggie - If "it" is going to happen tomorrow, you and I had better have a head-to-head at a pub tonight. 😉 I've got a few ideas about what the "end of the world as we know it" might look like but this string probably isn't the place for it. In any event, were the end of times to come, i personally think we would see it on the horizon for some time. Much like the poor folk trying to weather the storms in Syria. Again, even the "end of times" can be localized.

Cheers,

Antsy

.

For now I''ll continue to explore/master related hobbies (camping, survivalism, growing food, canning, etc) and since I still have a few years to decide on career maybe I can explore some of the ideas in more depth.
Thanks! amf

Just my 2 cents - over the years I have started and closed a number of "businesses". Meaning I took a hobby and made money on it. Some of the things that I have done over the years are: gardening/landscaping, sewing, selling produce that I grew, selling my jams & jellies. Most of the items that you have noted are seasonal so I would consider adding a hobby to explore that is available to do all year round.

You mentioned you enjoy art, maybe something in the "arts" type field - knitting, woodworking and metal work is all that comes to mind at the moment. I know the local art center here has guilds that a person can join as well as classes on various "arts". You may find by taking a class or two that it may help you decide on a career down the road at a lower cost and less time as it would give you an idea if its something that you would be interested in.

Thank you for the reply, oldschool. My mother-in-law suggests I would be a good entrepreneur in similar areas and she was a market gardener and sold baked goods for a number of years. I have pondered it, but I wonder this ... is the time and energy spent doing the activity, as enjoyable as it is (at first?), greater than the profit? If there was no great emergency in my life or even in the next 10 years, I'm not sure I want to spend it at the farmer's market etc. What was your experience? Was it an enjoyable hobby even when it was a business?