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Originally Posted by Fairygdmther
Mory, 18 is too young to be making the kind of decisions that will affect you the rest of your life. You are just on the threshhold of being an adult. If you're not quite ready to decide, then work at a job you can stand for a while, even part-time, to show that you are capable of doing this - trust me, working is easier than school. Talk to as many people your own age as you can, and find out what they will be doing to get some ideas, and what is available where you live.
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What she said! You made it through your Bar Mitzvah, you'll make it through turning 18. At least for this you don't have to learn anything in Hebrew, nor do you have to recite anything in front of a room full of people.
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Originally Posted by Fairygdmther
There are many kinds of work that don't require college, like carpentry, plumbing, landscaping, laying floor tiles and rugs, heating and A/C, auto mechanic (talk to Scott), etc. These are the hands-on kinds of things and can be very rewarding to see your work when it's done. Making games requires college and is a very tough course, as well as very tough work, with a great deal of pressure on you to put out in long hours and not a great deal of pay.
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Of the careers FGM listed, plumbing and heating & A/C (which are very similar disciplines and are usually considered one and the same) has the highest earning potential, plus you'd normally be working indoors. Very little creativity is required, but a certificate from a technical school usually is. Of course, you can always try working for a summer with a plumbing/HVAC guy to see if you like it.
Carpentry is a wide field that covers many specialties, from framing houses to building and installing cabinets to creating beautiful and useful furniture. Pay scales and the comfort level of the work environment vary accordingly, but cabinet maker is generally the best compromise.
Laying tile can be great if you have a creative bent. Top tile guys command absurd fees for their work, but an anal-retentive perfectionist streak is necessary to be tops in this field. If you're good at creating mosaics, then the world could be your oyster.
Auto mechanics are the Rodney Dangerfields of the trade community...we get no respect! Lots of guys with no mechanical aptitude whatsoever think this specialty will be a walk, and they soon find out otherwise. It's filthy work that doesn't pay very well, so unless you're really into cars I don't recommend it.
Landscaping demands very strong people skills, as Mrs. Nit-Pick will expect you to remove every single leaf from her lawn, place pine straw (not leaves) in her flower beds, and maintain healthy plants in environments for which those plants are wildly unsuited (think palm trees in Minnesota), all the while doing so with a smile and a "Yes Ma'am".
Laying carpet is just a job, is very physically demanding, and unless you own the carpet store doesn't pay very well.
