So young...

[DubMonkey]

Hi everyone! My name is Tyler Johnson. I am only 20 years old. I am looking into doing Overseas jobs. I just don't know where to start, I haven't done all the research I can but I have just really began searching recently. I found this site and I know so many have been helped, maybe I can too? I have been talking a lot with some people I know about Civilian contracting, and just how great it is. I just don't know where to start. I didn't finish high school. I have only had 2 jobs, and both of them as a waiter. I'm a really hard worker, I am smart and learn fast. I am a people person and have been told I am very easy and delightful to work with. So.. my question is. Where do I start? Since I have no experience in any job other than getting refills.. heh.. does that completely ruin my chance at working overseas?

[well-informed]

What's up DubMonkey i'm 20 too. You're going to be stuck here for a long time if you don't even have a HS diploma

[Think Different]

If you go overseas without a HS diploma at a minimum, plus no work experience, you will frankly end up on the street or sweeping floors. Sorry, but it's the truth. Get your GED and perhaps some community college under your belt. Stick it out in the US for another 4-5 years first and save some money, too. Perhaps consider a trade school and learn a useful skill, such as electrician, plumber, etc., if college isn't your thing. The world outside the US isn't going to disappear before you leave. Just use your remaining years there as a goal for getting out. Anxiety and urgency will get you into a LOT of trouble (speaking from experience here...!), so take a deep breath and think things through before you do something rash. Re-read what I wrote in the preceding paragraph several times. Good luck!

[odbo]

What's up DubMonkey i'm 20 too. You're going to be stuck here for a long time if you don't even have a HS diploma

a HS diploma is f***ing worthless. A smart person drops out around 16, gets his GED, and goes to community college a year or two early. Then gets his associates or some qualifications a la tradeschool (i.e. doing smog tests or fixing a/c's or welding or something on the computer) or transfers to a 4-year if he has the money, eventually getting a bachelors. Since we're not smart people I recommend you sell everything you have, buy some lottery tickets, and join the Peace Corps to be abroad.

[Jackal]

If you go overseas without a HS diploma at a minimum, plus no work experience, you will frankly end up on the street or sweeping floors. Sorry, but it's the truth. Get your GED and perhaps some community college under your belt. Stick it out in the US for another 4-5 years first and save some money, too. Perhaps consider a trade school and learn a useful skill, such as electrician, plumber, etc., if college isn't your thing. The world outside the US isn't going to disappear before you leave. Just use your remaining years there as a goal for getting out. Anxiety and urgency will get you into a LOT of trouble (speaking from experience here...!), so take a deep breath and think things through before you do something rash. Re-read what I wrote in the preceding paragraph several times. Good luck!

^I agree with Think Different.

Getting your GED and then taking some courses at a community college and doing well in them is the key to re-establishing your academic credibility if you want to get a college degree at some point. Also, if you're a minority, you can apply for all kinds of minority scholarships in the US. Once you're at a four-year college, there are probably some study abroad options you could choose from. Or if you do well enough at a community college and maybe earn an associate degree, you might be able to study for your bachelor's degree at a foreign university for much less money--this might well be the most intelligent way to do things, but it would freak out most Americans because they are so uncomfortable in foreign cultures.

If you don't mind the ocean, you might also consider joining the merchant marines or the Coast Guard at some point and continue your education/job training with them if you don't want to go to college.

Not all the people outside the US are geniuses, but a lot of them have gone through the paces of getting a decent education.


***Somebody should post a sticky note with an FAQ containing these standard answers sometime.***

[Jackal]

a HS diploma is f***ing worthless. A smart person drops out around 16, gets his GED, and goes to community college a year or two early. Then gets his associates or some qualifications a la tradeschool (i.e. doing smog tests or fixing a/c's or welding or something on the computer) or transfers to a 4-year if he has the money, eventually getting a bachelors.

HS diploma is not worthless because it is one of the requirements to attend college. It is also not worthless because it signals that you didn't drop out, which is stigmatized in American society and which looks worse to college admissions officers. And if you went to a HS with a good reputation, you can also benefit from that reputation when you apply to college.

But yes, a HS diploma doesn't mean much if you don't continue. The plan you outlined above sounds intelligent, but unfortunately, most kids don't have such a focused plan and just end up wandering aimlessly.

Since we're not smart people I recommend you sell everything you have, buy some lottery tickets, and join the Peace Corps to be abroad.

I think the Peace Corps is actually quite a snobby and prestigious organization which basically only hires Ivy League college students and sends them somewhere where they don't have the skills to make a real difference and has them spread some American propaganda, and when the students return and become politicians, then they give speeches about how they had "such a wonderful and enriching experience" in the Peace Corps, even though they may have really just been total failures overseas who had diarrhea for six months.

Perhaps other international volunteer organizations might be better choices.

[Think Different]

I think the Peace Corps is actually quite a snobby and prestigious organization which basically only hires Ivy League college students and sends them somewhere where they don't have the skills to make a real difference and has them spread some American propaganda, and when the students return and become politicians, then they give speeches about how they had "such a wonderful and enriching experience" in the Peace Corps, even though they may have really just been total failures overseas who had diarrhea for six months.

Perhaps other international volunteer organizations might be better choices.

That's friggin' hilarious!

[C.J.]

A smart person drops out around 16, gets his GED, and goes to community college a year or two early. Then gets his associates or some qualifications a la tradeschool (i.e. doing smog tests or fixing a/c's or welding or something on the computer) or transfers to a 4-year if he has the money, eventually getting a bachelors. Since we're not smart people I recommend you sell everything you have, buy some lottery tickets, and join the Peace Corps to be abroad.

Thanks for positively reinforcing my life decisions odbo. XD

I started learning a valuable skill in my teen years. Ever since then, I honed my programming skills past HS and started development in C#. Now I make some decent money, and I didn't even need college. But I still wanna go, to learn other skills.

However, learning a marketable skill is key to prosperity in any job market. DubMonkey, I'd suggest you continue to do non-specialist jobs such as waiting, while learning something new that will allow you to work for yourself domestically, as well as abroad. And I'd suggest you work fast, as times do change.

[momopi]

Hi everyone! My name is Tyler Johnson. I am only 20 years old. I am looking into doing Overseas jobs. I just don't know where to start, I haven't done all the research I can but I have just really began searching recently. I found this site and I know so many have been helped, maybe I can too? I have been talking a lot with some people I know about Civilian contracting, and just how great it is. I just don't know where to start. I didn't finish high school. I have only had 2 jobs, and both of them as a waiter. I'm a really hard worker, I am smart and learn fast. I am a people person and have been told I am very easy and delightful to work with. So.. my question is. Where do I start? Since I have no experience in any job other than getting refills.. heh.. does that completely ruin my chance at working overseas?

Like others have already suggested, you should get your GED first.

Now, on subject of jobs abroad, at your age you have a lot of choices. I personally don't recommend the English teacher route, due to eventual age discrmination, lower pay, and strong possibility that the "top dog" position of US will be challenged in upcoming decades. Should America's status decline, it may cause a decline in the status and value of English language. I'm not suggesting that English will fall from its lingua franca status in the near future, but looking at my own extended family in Taiwan, I've already observed a decline in interest in sending their children to English language schools (outside of public education system). There are many English teachers here at this forum who may disagree with me, so you can take their counter-arguements into consideration.

I'd suggest looking into high-paying professional jobs abroad. This will require an investment in education, time, and effort in the US. I'm of the opinion that, if you're going to work, you should be well paid. We know the global consumption of natural resources will increase, so natural resource extraction industry around the world will be looking for specialists to work on oil rigs, mining operations, and so on. I fly to work in Canada often, and Canadians are very protective of their jobs against Americans. Oil and mining is one of few fields where Canadians are very open to foreigners to come and work. You can check sites like http://www.oilcareers.com/worldwide/ for examples (oil/gas jobs aborad). Most positions abroad will require experience, so you'd have to start at home first. This is just one example -- there are many other fields that you can research.

If you're good with computers, programming, business process, management, etc., you can look into becoming a contractor or independent consultant -- this is what I do. There are many computer related jobs that you can do via telecommunting. There are jobs that require travel, and there are jobs that would post you to locations abroad. Some possible careers include PMP/6-sigma trainer, field tech for industrial manufacturing machinery (CNC, robotic systems, etc), telecommunting IT/support tech, business analyst, etc. I'd stay away from sales jobs, eventhough they come with fat expense accounts, they tend to be a bit shady.

If and when you do make the big bucks, save and invest wisely so you can retire early and in comfort.

[Winston]

***Somebody should post a sticky note with an FAQ containing these standard answers sometime.***

That's a good idea. We can make this thread a sticky, if you want, and then people can just refer to it.

Or do you know of any other similar threads that you'd like to nominate to be a sticky? I'm sure we have other informative threads that address those same questions as well.

[ErikHeaven]

CLEP CLEP CLEP. I always talk about CLEP. Its a fast way to earn college credits and very cheap only 77 dollars an exam. You can quickly earn 40 credits and obtain your associates degree in a year. I seen something online where a female earned her high school diploma and 2 year degree at the same time using CLEP. Check it out.

[NorthAmericanguy]

What's up DubMonkey i'm 20 too. You're going to be stuck here for a long time if you don't even have a HS diploma

a HS diploma is f***ing worthless. A smart person drops out around 16, gets his GED, and goes to community college a year or two early. Then gets his associates or some qualifications a la tradeschool (i.e. doing smog tests or fixing a/c's or welding or something on the computer) or transfers to a 4-year if he has the money, eventually getting a bachelors. Since we're not smart people I recommend you sell everything you have, buy some lottery tickets, and join the Peace Corps to be abroad.

I agree. A HS diploma is worthless because for the most part all it can do is help you get into college which is even a more F*** up institution.

HS stole 4 years of my youth that could have been used in a more productive manner, and after a while you realize that you're getting scammed so you drop out like I did and start a business. I dropped out in collage, started self study, and opened up for business.

I'm so mad about this, my poor mom paid 3k a year for me to go to a "good" high school and all I have is a worthless piece of paper. And you know what, out in the real world nobody cares what HS/College you went to! I have done business with Disney CEOs, ultra rich foreigners, and American millionaires and none of them asked me for my diploma or anything related to school. All they want to know is, "how much do you charge?".

[E_Irizarry]

If you go overseas without a HS diploma at a minimum, plus no work experience, you will frankly end up on the street or sweeping floors. Sorry, but it's the truth. Get your GED and perhaps some community college under your belt. Stick it out in the US for another 4-5 years first and save some money, too. Perhaps consider a trade school and learn a useful skill, such as electrician, plumber, etc., if college isn't your thing. The world outside the US isn't going to disappear before you leave. Just use your remaining years there as a goal for getting out. Anxiety and urgency will get you into a LOT of trouble (speaking from experience here...!), so take a deep breath and think things through before you do something rash. Re-read what I wrote in the preceding paragraph several times. Good luck!

The world nor America is coming to an end in the next 4-5 years. Yes, America is declining, but it's not going to totally collapse (yet if ever) in the 4-5 years from what I see. So use that time to acquire certs and to take heed to Think Different's advice here. I just had to paraphrase that.

[E_Irizarry]

Hi everyone! My name is Tyler Johnson. I am only 20 years old. I am looking into doing Overseas jobs. I just don't know where to start, I haven't done all the research I can but I have just really began searching recently. I found this site and I know so many have been helped, maybe I can too? I have been talking a lot with some people I know about Civilian contracting, and just how great it is. I just don't know where to start. I didn't finish high school. I have only had 2 jobs, and both of them as a waiter. I'm a really hard worker, I am smart and learn fast. I am a people person and have been told I am very easy and delightful to work with. So.. my question is. Where do I start? Since I have no experience in any job other than getting refills.. heh.. does that completely ruin my chance at working overseas?

... Some possible careers include PMP/6-sigma trainer, field tech for industrial manufacturing machinery (CNC, robotic systems, etc), telecommunting IT/support tech, business analyst, etc. I'd stay away from sales jobs, eventhough they come with fat expense accounts, they tend to be a bit shady.

If and when you do make the big bucks, save and invest wisely so you can retire early and in comfort.

aLTHOUGH I strongly agree with Momopi's post as quoted here, what I have edited out should be taken into very serious consideration, too: do not fcuk with sales jobs (nor customer service jobs) because it's corrupt, and Black American women run that sector with their charlatan assets. Take it from me: I had to work there in order to transition myself from one phase of my repatriated-back-to-America life to another (that epicly failed because I was fired from my last job, which was a customer service rep.-based job).

But now I am on a roll in my life and smiling.