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I want to be a photo journalist and work for - the only channel that matters - CSPAN.
I'm loving this segment. They are playing the english language state-sponsorred coverage of the Obama election victory coming from other countries. Basically the npr of other countries. So far, news coverage from china, russia, iran, germany, al jazeera, venezuela I mean this is fucking incredible viewing. Really an educational public service. You get a clear picture of how the world sees this issue from many POV. Venezuela needs to improve the quality of their news cast. I wonder if this is their actual translator or one that - the only channel that matters - CSPAN provided cause He sucks.
In short, I want to work for the only channel that matters. CSPAN.
i want to be a character on sesame street and promote diversity, normalize rather than stigmatize disabilities and sickness, sing songs, act silly, and hang out on the street all day.
a writer/school teacher in nicaragua or any other small, still not super industrialized country, teaching english and other subject matter while living by the beach.
Always had the romantic notion of a career in the armed forces, but the army is not what it used to be.
Then i wanted to become a politician to represent the people. I never knew why most politicans are lawyers, you need to know econ, anthro, socio, phsyc, and all the other natural history/sciences. You need to know and understand your constituency. But politics is too corrupt and people are too stupid,
Dream career is a work in progress, and it involves being a ninja with a notepad and finding the ultimate photo/video partner to join me on my perilous escapades and poke me when I fall asleep toiling through research...aka investigative (shhh) journalist. Good ol' muckraking!
racquel=tattoo artist...wtf i have been wanting to get inked for the longest...i want a crescent(moon) on my left tricep and sun on my right tricep...doable?
My ultimate dream job would be Owner of the Most Respected and Talented Professional Bike Polo Franchises in the World, as well as Hall Of Fame Player/Coach... oh wait I already got all that I guess I can retire now
Dream Job:
Information design for a major city's public transit system... designing system maps, signage, and overseeing all promotional campaigns (print & television). Yup.
OH! and 9am to 5pm... for the love of god...
I try never to be serious in public, especially when talking about myself, but my real goal was always to be conflict photographer. I guess photographing drunken kids is like that... in a way.
RBI
Killradio
LA Talk Radio
They both take people you maybe you would be a good radio naysayer.
I wouldn't mind being a bicycle framebuilder, I think.
But really, I'd like to be independently wealthy so that I could pursue various philanthropic and technology projects without concern for the bottom line.
To reiterate to all those people that think a university-level, or higher education is good for me, here's a more simpler reason to why I'm not actively pursuing that path.
I like getting my hands dirty and risking my literal self in daily work.
I need a rush, not a/c and a well-lit office on a 9-5.
If it involves driving through sketchy areas, saving someones life, or preventing someone from taking that of another, then that's the field for me!!!
Adam, have you ever thought of being a firefighter? they help more people than a cop ever will.
Anyway, I think my dream career is teaching university level art / theory.
As some of you know, I've been trying to get a book started, but it's taking a while, what with all my research (yes, CRANK MOB is research). I feel like I'm close to what I want to say, but there's still something missing, maybe I just need to re-read my notes, again.
Well, fuzz, I've actually got fire-fighter/paramedic down as an alternative should the psych tests fuck me over with other law-enforcement agencies.
Last I checked, San Bernardino County Fire requires you to have your Firefighter-I certification along with at least an EMT-I to back it up.
But, I'll most likely end up getting a paramedic cert as well anyway.
As far as the employment process goes, a simple background, physical agility test, and fingerprinting is all that's required.
Cool thing about these certifications is that it's more of a "technical-aimed" schooling as opposed to writing reports and preparing big-ass, projects.
Two things that I dreaded while in high school, and somewhat scared me from taking a full-on, academic major in a college.
Well, seeing as 1/2 of being a cop is writing reports, I think you'd have more fun being a firefighter.
Plus you could be the figherfighter on a bike, like that dude from I <3 Huckabees, the one played by that Wahlberg...
I just finished an EMT class at UCLA. It was 3 intense weeks. 4 hours a day of lecture on everything you need to know and 4 hours a day of hands on training on the stuff. I still have to do my clinical ride-along and then I get the opportunity to take the national exam--all for the possiblity of making $8.50 an hour driving aound in an ambulance! It was rather educational and enjoyable.
For UCLA's paramedic class, you need to have worked as an EMT for at least 6 months, and its a 6 month long intense class. As in 8 hour a day, 5 days a week for 6 months. Plus it costs around $10,000.
I am hoping to become a firefighter, though it seems rather difficult. Half of the people in the EMT class also were planning on it.
I think you overlook that you can always lateral out of a small local department. I worked with officers who had been local, lateraled to the federal level, and then came back to work local. Many federal agencies won't take you unless you have prior law enforcement experience at a smaller state/county/city level.
Not to mention I would stay the hell away from Corrections. Unless of course you don't mind having piss and shit thrown at you. Not to mention the other problems you'll endure (family, mental, physical). Being a cop is bad enough. Doing corrections only gets you paid more to kick it with the homies the cops only get to fight with for 3 minutes. You'll get to fight them for years.
I know guys who applied at many many departments and didn't get hired. Some put themselves through academy (not recommended) and got picked up along the way. Some weren't so lucky.
If worst comes to worst...apply at a third tier local department and lateral when you can. It will get you the experience out on the street that you'll need to impress the big boys. I'd rather be a cop in the shittiest neighborhood in the nation than be a cop in Manhattan Beach. Everyone knows there ain't shit to do in Manhattan beach.
Well, I decided to apply to corrections first because I always thought that was the bottom of the rung.
But, after that failure I had with CDCR, I'm still convinced all departments in California are under the same guidelines that led to my failing that psych test.
Perhaps it's just fear of history repeating itself, but as said earlier, I'm focusing on out-of-state, particularly Arizona, departments.
Aside from ADC; DPS, Coconino, Maricopa, and Apache County sheriffs, along with Phoenix PD, all look pretty enticing.
Yeah, it's hot out there, but not for me, I like ovens!!!
Seeing all the doom'n'gloom threads wants me to keep bumping this thread for hope and ideas.
Not only for myself, but for the rest of us that are still trying to grab a cookie from that jar.
Anywho, another idea that shifted into my head was to become an RN, and then get an officer's commission in either the Army or Air Force.
Cool thing about being an armed-forces nurse is the fact that you're exposed to real-danger and the rush is always there, along with the usual duties of an RN.
Anyways, I recently tried to get a counselor at the local JC to approve my ed-plan.
Instead, she shoves a bunch of other ideas down my throat that I know will not have as many future hiring opportunities as that of either RN, or paramedic.
Essentially, just another one of those people that suggested I work in an office.
So, in line with that "paying for college" thread I started someplace, does anyone know of any other schools that have staff that will actually listen and foster "future choices".
If you want to join the military it's definitely best to go to college first. You'd be much happier (and better paid) as an officer than as a poor enlisted schmo. You'd also be much happier as a paramedic than as a prison guard. My dive buddy used to be a paramedic in NYC, and he has fun stories about driving the ambulance on the sidewalk through Times Square. Good times. At least in that line of work you get out and see the world, saving lives and shit whereas when you're a prison guard you sit in a locked building and hope that the job is boring.
If you're going into health care, the job to go for is Nurse Anesthetist. You're essentially a junior Anesthesiologist, without the medical school and residency, and with a really good pay scale. As a bonus, Nurse Anesthetists don't get bossed around by the doctors. And they get unfettered access to hippie crack N2O.
I mean, yeah, you could spend 20 as an enlisted and get the retirement pay, but the officer route was always more appealing to me.
Combat as an officer is always a likely possibility in this day and age, but if I go that route, I'm prepared to take the trash that comes along with it.
As far as the paramedic-route, I'll most likely add a Firefighter-I cert to it.
I just think it's better to be part of some government-run, EMS-authority as opposed to a private company like AMR.
Nurse Anesthesiologist sounds okay as it is.
I may hang out and tolerate hippies to the full extent, but I'll leave the inhaling to y'all.
my DREAM career: to be a comedy writer for a show and/or movies.
but i don't like to work alone and the person i used to write with lives far away and is now a buddhist. i'm not sure you can be very funny when you are trying to be peaceful.
if anyone wants to get together sometime and brainstorm i'm down.
but realistically, to make money, right now i want to go back to school and study to become a psychical therapist.
In regards to being a doctor, I received a brochure from the Air Force relating to med-school pay-off if you serve four years as an officer.
I don't have very little school underneath me, and not a whole lot of debt.
But for those that have obtained their MD's, this would be a pretty good option.
emt school is not what its all cracked up to be. its the next thing i can get certified for, but i dont know if i will ever actually go back to try again.
With a First Aid/CPR cert,(which you already have) you could easily get into an EMT-Basic class at the local JC.
Then after that, it's six months required in an ambulance before they let you onto the EMT-Paramedic programs.
I'm going to look more into it, but I'm going to see if utilizing my potential EMT-Basic will satisfy the 6 month-thing should I work as a paid-call firefighter for San Bernardino Co.
Well, this may have to become a reality alot quicker than I hoped it would.
Swift gave me a call today in regards to being rehired and told me that while I will have met the requirements to be reinstated, they're not %100 sure if that will exactly happen at the end of this year, or next.
With the economy in such a shit-hole of a state, it looks like a "forced-career change" for my ass.
Which now means I'm going to have to see if I could part-time with my current company, or switch to something else in the part-time capacity as a whole.
As far as getting a grant for all of this, I've got a shit GPA to bring up first, the income-requirement, and the fact that a FAFSA will be used as an extreme, last-resort option.
i wrote a ton of plays in high school. my forte was dark sarcasm, dark comedy. Although i have no formal training im pretty sure i can produce some wicked shit with the right support.
"To reiterate to all those people that think a university-level, or higher education is good for me, here's a more simpler reason to why I'm not actively pursuing that path.
I like getting my hands dirty and risking my literal self in daily work.
I need a rush, not a/c and a well-lit office on a 9-5.
If it involves driving through sketchy areas, saving someones life, or preventing someone from taking that of another, then that's the field for me!!! "
damn i thought i was the only one who thought this way...
If I joined the military, I would go enlisted and bust my balls. Thats how you get respect in my opinion...by doing shit the hard way. I'd rather be lead by an old guy with a mess of stripes on his sleeve. Thats just me though. And I wouldn't join the military for money or college. And If I did sign papers, it would be with the understanding that I would most likely get deployed. Have you thought about Air Force SERE?
Remember that getting hired as a fireman these days is not easy. Everyone wants to be a fireman. They don't do shit. And they get paid very well for not doing shit. I would go the CDF or Forest Service route.
And I think you've given up on applying for LEO in California way too easily. CDC is NOT the bottom rung. TRUST ME. I would tell you what the bottom rung is. And if you applied, you'd probably get hired...FAST. Most of the shrinks at THOSE departments are crazier than the applicants...I've heard stories. Problem is, a lot of these departments carry stigmas. You don't want a stigma, because when the day comes and you want to lateral out...no one will want you no matter how good your folder looks. You can get hired. You just have to have a mindset of , "Any department is a good department". LAPD hires people who I thought would NEVER get hired. Thats all I'm gonna say about that.
And stop stressing the hiring process. The only thing you have to worry about is the interview. Everything else is bullshit aimed at making you sweat a little.
I haven't given up, I just heard LAPD was just about as hard to get into as everything else.
But, now that you mention it, I'll go ahead and give it a try as well.
Firefighting alone won't do, if you haven't read the above, I'm interested in getting the EMT-to-Paramedic training done before the Firefighter-I certification.
Things aren't always going to be on fire, but you could bet your ass that there's always going to be some dumbshit kid trying to reenact their favorite scene from "The Fast And The Furious".
And as far as CDF goes, that's same reason I would plan on getting EMS training done first.
Year-round, as opposed to seasonal, employment.
Now, I'll most likely stop sweating bullets if the news goes from bad to good as far as the "Swift-Agenda" is concerned.
That's when I'll let all of this shit go for awhile and just revert back to the thing I was doing when I first discovered this community, "White line fever, and taking pictures!!"
I want to be an investigator for Mullet Madness, seeking out mullets wherever they appear, classifying new species of mullet as they evolve, and discreetly photographing the specimens for the purpose of scientific collaboration with other mullet investigators on midnightridazz.com.
Well, I would still say it's all about where you look.
I'm not entirely too worried about funding right now.
60-70 units of transferable usually amounts to $3,000-$4,000 of money well-spent after going through some of the info from the local, community college here.
As far as going to a university, I've looked into ones located in New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Kentucky.
They all seem to have ones that offer reasonable tuition rates.
Especially New Mexico Institute of Mines and Technology, where their estimation for the '09-'00 school year was $10,000 for an out-of-state'r!!!
As I said, since going to school might have to become an option for me, I'm going to keep a look-out for places that won't do damage to my pocketbook.
So RBI, did you ever work as an EMT or did you just take the class? Have you ever ued the stuff you learned? Where did you take it? Did you get your national certification? Sorry bout the too many questions. I just got finished with my hospital clinical about an hour ago. I am considering getting a job with an ambulance company. Thanks.
All in all, I'm not trying to force my ideas on anyone, but I really believe everyone should look into a skill/cert/degree that will actually be able to provide somewhat, instantaneous gratification upon completion.
Right now, it seems like anything involving the medical fields, or mechanical-repair sides of things are always going to be hot.
After poking around a bit, it seems like many of these "recession/depression" proof certs/degrees don't even require that much time, or money as one would think.
Hell, a perfect example would be an A/S in Registered Nursing working out just as well as a BSN.
The BSN and anything higher just seems to be the requirement for managerial-work(I could care less about joining the management detail, ech!!).
But, getting back to whole "follow your dreams" thing, stick with it. Just remember to stay in touch with reality and do whatever is minimal to keep yourself from staying with, or joining the ranks of the unemployed any longer than you must.
I mean, work towards getting yourself a secure, working-position now, and then focus on your dream-goal without the headaches of going broke, or house-less.
Only reason I care about staying employed is due to the fact that ever since I started full-time jobs at 20, the longest I was out of work was two weeks.
i wrote a ton of plays in high school. my forte was dark sarcasm, dark comedy. Although i have no formal training im pretty sure i can produce some wicked shit with the right support.
We like dark sarcasm and comedy here. Let this be your practice pad. Spit it if you got it.
So RBI, did you ever work as an EMT or did you just take the class? Have you ever ued the stuff you learned? Where did you take it? Did you get your national certification? Sorry bout the too many questions. I just got finished with my hospital clinical about an hour ago. I am considering getting a job with an ambulance company. Thanks.
i took the class but never finished, so i never got my emt cards. however, i have about seven other red cross certifications (not the same as emt, i know) that i needed to run a public pool. it entails basic first aid stuff, cpr, aeds, water safety instruction, being able to teach lifeguard and cpr/aed recert classes, as well as being trained to give tracheotomies and birth children. while none of that first aid training ever had to be used at my facility (the most we ever had were bee stings), ive had to use most of it taking care of drunk idiots on crank mob. so many broken collar bones.
For those looking to join a FD i'd recommend getting actual firefighting experience after your emt-b. There are plenty of volunteer fd's, you can work forestry, or even bureau of land management. If you get hired on an fd they will pay to send you to medic school there's no real reason to pay for it yourself, it's expensive and the pay sucks. But the most important thing is to keep clean and have a clear record. Fd's have a higher moral standard than pd's, also pd and fd both have psych exams if you don't pass one you probably won't pass the other. 70% of all ff applicants get dropped in the background and psych exam.
It all depends on what department you're aiming for.
LA City and County FD usually have open app's for anyone with no prior, fire-fighting experience or education.
The only requirement before you take the test there is to have taken the CPAT.
San Bernardino Co. Fire and quite a few, other departments have their own requirement of obtaining minimal training before even applying on.
I know to get on with the above mentioned department as a regular Firefighter-I, the department requires you to already have your Firefighter-I and EMT-P certifications.
But, do not require any prior experience on top of that.
And as far as the wildland firefighting goes, the CDF, USDA, and BLM might take open applications for those, but there is a wildland-fire specific community college course that could also make it easier to get on with them.
when the apocalypse hits, the last thing i want to be doing for a living is working for a government institution saving peoples lives or trying to keep the peace.
I just registered myself for that EMT certification course today.
Apparently, Swift has told me that the prospect for rehiring with my record will be somewhat slim until the economy jumps into full-gear.
They told me to check back around mid-January, so I'll do that.
But, in the meantime, I may look into getting back into part-time security work while going through school.
As glamorous as everyone thinks the trucking-lifestyle is, it's really all about who you drive for.
Owner-operators like to talk-down about the larger, mega-carriers like; Swift, JB Hunt, Schneider, US Xpress., etc.
But, O/O's aren't sitting too pretty due to the fact that they've got to pay numerous taxes for the operation of their rig, in addition to insurance, fuel, lumper/loader fees, and broker fees for when a load is located.
Myself, I intend to keep my commercial CDL active and current for whenever things begin to look brighter.
Not to mention that it will look good for ambulance driving, and most of the other mega-carriers will give a shit about my accidents by 2010.
i got it, but spit it? u sound like an underground rapper. ha
but anewaze i had this idea of doing the story of "jesus" but modernized. Of course it would be a dark comedy, along the lines of "Death to Smoochy" type shit. Anybody interested in brainstorming??? possibly getting together and exchanging ideas????
I guess I should also mention that the only reason I had a BS in Engineering in mind was due to an earlier, career prospect I had while in high-school.
I was enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program and had this idea of obtaining an engineering degree, receiving an officers commission, then getting into fighter-pilot training.
Five years active, then 15-16 years Air Guard would've kicked ass and gave me a good retirement.
But after spending 9-12th grades stuck in pre-algebra, combined with my sight deteriorating from 20/20 in both eyes to 20/50 in one eye, I became disenchanted and lost touch.
So, while pursing the paramedic cert will get me into a job full of adrenal rush that could somewhat be equal to that of a fighter-pilot, the BS-option has been pretty much placed on back-burner status indefinitely.
I mean, even if I was to commit full-time to the combined refresher math and prereq courses and finish my degree in a crunch-time pattern of 4-5 years, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have a cut-off age of 30.
Beyond that, I'd be lucky enough to get a spot as a radar-officer who sits behind the green-screen, or a missile-silo commander.
Not a rant, just a little story and retrospective on what could've
been.
You know, after all that ranting on the "Reform Law Enforcement Now" thread, it got me to thinking of another field within law-enforcement.
Aside from being into shows like "Law & Order" and such, I've always begun to wonder what it would take to be Medical Examiner with any given agency.
This job doesn't exactly involve me carrying a weapon, but I still get to perform the other vital function of determining the date/cause of death for any particular victim involved in a crime/non-crime.
So, for all you medical-students out there, what do you think of these particular doctors?
And more importantly, do you have to work as a regular doctor first, or is this something you could go directly into?
I don't really care if I'm 25 and end up being 35, or 40 when I'm finished.
If I could get into a career like this as well, then that means I could work until 60-65 and be set for life.
Oh, and the other reason I'm considering this field as well, is due to the atmosphere of "working by ones self".
My math is kind of sucky, but I'm willing to improve it as long as I could run into some college counselors that won't try to make me go down another path due to my history with that subject.
Ever consider driving some big iron for the government?
LA County job opening:
COMBINATION TRUCK DRIVER
Positions allocable to this class are responsible for driving tractor trailer, tractor semi-trailer, and truck trailer units where the vehicle towed is typically over a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 16,000 pounds. This responsibility includes picking up, transporting, and delivering material, supplies, equipment, and work crews between County facilities and other locations. Positions also have responsibility for pulling various trailers to carry light construction equipment such as tractors and skiploaders and check the operation of the trucks to ensure safe operating conditions and maintenance.
US History Teacher & I would like to join the LAPD
Sort of the same path I want to take, but a BA in history could most likely get you some added points in the selection process.
That's what alot of recruiters have told me anyway.
While you're at it, be sure to flush the BIA and the "American Dream Coalition", two of the biggest purveyors of sprawl.
At the same time, I've recently found that recovery/repossession agencies, funerary management operations, and demolition-services could be career-fields that prosper during hard times.
This is in addition to the other, recession-resistant fields of healthcare, law-enforcement, and education.
The way I see it, people are going to be behind on car-payments, housing-tracts/abandoned buildings will go to shit, and as grim as it sounds, people aren't going to stop dying unfortunately.
Just thought I'd throw those around since this thread is still cool and no one's mentioned those yet.
I was an LAPD Explorer for 7yrs made it to the rank of Cpt. Did so much things there that Im well prepared to what the LAPD has to offer and getting in wont be such a difficult task
After diddling around in the Law-Enforcement world, I'm beginning to see investigative branches like US Marshals Service, FBI, BATF, and the various commerce-investigative divisions of state governments as better bets.
The way I'm starting to view it, municipal, county and even state police forces are beginning to seem like they're full of that "Jock-Attitude" that you would expect from a high-school, or college football team.
So, rather than get my hands dirty going after shit crimes like expired registration, or other revenue-builders, I'd much rather prefer being that guy chasing after the one-armed bandit through the dark, scary forest.
Not to mention I seem to enjoy reading through historical archives in relation to some creepy guys life.
Just thought I'd add a little, upbeat tone to this thread that started off kind of rocky.
Oh, and whining aside, I'll most likely be able to drive rigs with a big company again by October 2010.
Three years is what some of these big boys want after an accident as catastrophic as a rollover.
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Ridazz Roulette!
Batman. But with a shorter, purple cape.
I’d like to be a philanthropist and travel the world...I’d also love to have a dance studio in the forest. 
"but the army is not what it used to be."
I want to be a combination of Franz and Matt when I grow up.
WOOF!!!!
I enjoy repairing things. Pretty much anything, really, but I prefer cars.
Just thought I'd share the reason why the CO position with CDCR never went through the first time.
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