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JustCathy

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:D So I recently got the Flu, I'm coming out of it now as I write. The super cool thing about getting this flu is that the Universe sent me to Bob's Videos for great entertainment! That was about 4 days and 5k YouTube hours ago :D . I toured and listened and laughed and ah-haa'd to those whom Bob introduced us too Thanks Bob.

So I have a question and ask you all to pipe in, there are no wrong answers. I'm 54 years amazing, a woman, solo. I'm currently excited to begin saving the money needed and in doing the Math I see myself possibly ready to move to Mars the boondocking life in a few years. (I'm worth the wait- fresh jokes and I'll laugh at your old ones!) .

:idea: My question: Are/Is there any particular service(s)/trade/talent you have thought or found to be wanted/needed out there in your rv community world that would be an awesome addition? I ask because I also have these years to train in something needed/wanted. If I am not being clear, an example might be 'welder' or 'mechanic' ...?

Thanks so much for your courage, your exposure on YouTube and your gentle awakenings to the masses and me,
Cathy
 
Hi Cathy, welcome to the forum. I think medic would do nicely.
 
Welcome Cathy, I would think anything in the building trades such as cabinetry, plumbing and such would help, especially if you intended to work on your own unit.

RTR if you had the chance to see what sort of skills are being offered would be good.

Be safe, Rob.
 
Hi Cathy! Welcome to the CRVL forums! Most of the people I know who actually work on the road are working remotely or as consultants.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.
 
Welcome Cathy to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. Dang, Cyndi beat me to the welcome. anyhoo I still welcome you. any of the RV systems will always have work available. what are your interests or strong areas? highdesertranger
 
Welcome aboard Cathy !
Maybe something you're already good at ?
 
There are some things that would lend themselves to the mobile life.  Several have been mentioned already.  Medical skills would always work as you could use them on  the road or if you found jobs along the way as an EMS tech where you could live out of your rig and work a job for awhile. 

Culinary is always good as you could cook for groups (like at meet ups)  or find jobs and again live out of your rig and work in a commercial kitchen.  Here you only need carry your knife kit as most of the other utensils are
already there and you only need your skill sets.

Photo Journalism would not require much baggage to be toted along.  Here you may get in with some magazines to report on outdoor recreation and work remotely as you travel around various places of interest
for travel magazines.  You may even publish your own magazine in such sources as ISSUUcom or others like it.

There are certification schools where for a nominal fee and a few weeks of training you could become certified in various skills.  Fiber Optic is one where you can travel far and wide and make considerable money working for contracting businesses.  Again live out of your rig.  Requires little in the way of tools and equipment to pack along.  Another similar endeavor is Central Office Telecom. (some people do both and a lot of women work in these fields)   

If you like driving,  you could get some level of commercial drivers license and drive point to point courier driver.   This may be a night shift job for overnight delivery where you drive from one terminal to another to deliver.  (no house to house or business to business delivery)   Even a relief driver who floats on several routes could give 3 or 4 days of lucrative pay, and still have you living out of our rig.

If you worked in construction trades there are equipment operators who work out of Union Halls who operate
on the spot Generators,  Air Compressors,  Pumps,  etc.   Not a lot of training required.  Just need someone as an operating engineer who can monitor or if phoned to adjust the output settings can perform those duties.  You could live out of your rig near the job site and probably have free shore power there too. 

COMP-AIR-LeROI-HH900-04.jpg



It may not be the most comfortable work but it would pay well enough to save up enough for a new rig.

Some jobs require a couple of years of training and certification.   I know one girl who repairs medical equipment and has no problem finding work.  She has a Nurse Recruiter she uses to find jobs for her.  Although the Recruiter specializes in finding Nurses for Hospitals,  having equipment repair people she can
offer is seen as a valuable "extra" when the Recruiter calls on the Hospitals.   She started out repairing Respiration Therapy equipment.   She has to carry no tools and could live out of a rig if she wanted to.
She usually finds a small apartment and lives "lite" like out of suit cases and her car.   She is living around
all the larger cities in the USA she wants to see and experience the life there. 

Agri Business (or Farm Worker)  If you want to operate a large piece of equipment,  a lot of Farm Jobs are begging for workers.   You could live out of your rig for if the weather was too cold there may be housing for the workers.  Good pay and steady work.

Combine.jpg


You can watch the Farm Report each day on your computer and learn of jobs here.

http://www.agweb.com/agday/

http://www.agweb.com/article/where_the_jobs_are/


Working in Commercial Transportation.  Depending on what you are going to be doing, whether Maritime,
Air Freight,  Railway services etc.   You may want to park your rig in a private (perhaps a senior) Trailer Park where it will be monitored while you are away on a job.   As an example River Boat Jobs offer different schedules.  On 28 and off 28.  You make a good yearly wage and have 6 months off to travel and spend your money.  One thing that you could have that would make your being hired easier would be a TWIC certificate.
This would cost you about $130 dollars,  require you to have a couple of birth certificates with the raised embossed seal (not photo copies)  and to go on line and set up an appointment and answer the questionnaire.  You will have to have a clean record with the Law, and be finger printed.  But many transportation industries work within the regions Homeland Security monitors.  Thus a TWIC certificate will be a requirement to be hired.  Even if you found work at a port freight harbor.  Again, good pay, steady work or part time,  and you could live out of your rig. 

http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html   .......   http://www.boat-links.com/linklists/boatlink-10.html#ads


IMG_1777.jpg


A lot of women as well as men cook on these boats.  If you have experience with equipment you may be able to find work in the engine room as a mate.  Many Towing Companies still train on the job.

There are some schools that operate a week long training course that teaches you about these boats and how to be safe on them.  Then they help you find work.  This may cost around $700 but it is a ticket to a job
on such a vessel.  In some cases they teach courses for working in a Port facility. 

This Academy is in my town:

http://www.mctc.edu/workforce-development/inland-waterways-academy/


Tour Guide jobs may appeal to some.  Generally the Tour company has a program the Guide learns to conduct the tour from.   Here a person could migrate with he weather and travel.  Once into this circuit
of work you would learn of other jobs and agents who hook you up with jobs.  You could live out of your
rig in this type of work. 

Convention Center jobs with companies that advertise in these environments.   Convention workers if you like.   You may set up displays your company owns at convention centers,  present the companies literature and answer questions,  hand out advertising materials,  and pack up when the convention is over and move
the display to the next venue.   The company may provide motel lodging etc while you are on the road so you wouldn't have to necessarily live out of your rig.   But if you do this six months of the year and make a living with it, then you could live quite comfortably out of your rig during your free time.

Those would be some of my picks.


And lastly,  I know a guy who wanted to be an airplane pilot.  He has a disability that limits his viability in the commercial realm however.  So,  he flies a Cessna Sky Wagon for a Mortuary Shuttle service. (he transports dead people) from where ever they passed away back to their final resting city.  He got his VFR and IFR ratings and works a few days a week an lives in a Class C that he keeps at the airport.  (has shore power there
and uses the courtesy car when the airport is closed in the evening)   It's his base of operations and is on call
much of the time but gets generous free time days.

300px-Cessna.206h.stationair2.arp.jpg


His plane has a hatch door on the right side where a coffin is loaded into it.  He simply flies the plane from destination to destination.  He says he's happily single and laugh when he says, "I'd rather be flying".  LOL

Hearses meet him at each airport to load or unload the coffin.  If the weather doesn't permit flying to the area he is to go to, then he lays over in a motel room until the air is clear again.   It gives him time to go look about he town where he is.  He belongs to some Fraternal Lodges and visits them when laid over. 

These are a few well paying jobs I would mention.  There are always the work-camping or easy to get low paying jobs where you can make some bucks to travel on before moving on.   But in time most people will want to get into a newer solid dependable rig.
 
This has been a great thread for ideas. A lot depends on how much you want to work, (As in 20 hours a week), and how long you want to stay in one area.

Starting a job at 60, I don't think I would recommend welder, mechanic or any building trades. The jobs are not physically fun. I would go for something like natural gas line inspector. Many places homes are heated with natural gas. The lines and meters that feed these homes and businesses need to be inspected on a regular basis. Do a search on this forum for it. This has been discussed before.

Some put flashing yellow lights on their van and escort oversized loads. Some deliver commercial trucks and RV's across the country. You can find jobs here as well https://www.workamper.com/ or Craigslist. I don't like temp agencies, but you might try them as well.
 
You're welcome !  

Those are just some thoughts regarding jobs that a lot of younger folks wouldn't think of.  

Some while back I got to investigating unusual jobs.  (you may remember Mike Rowe and "Dirtiest Jobs" TV show)  That's where I got the idea for "unusual jobs".    I met a girl Saturday Night at a Party who was wanting to go to a school for underwater welding.  She explained it paid very well and she would be working on Bridges.  

One of job that paid quite well that I wouldn't have dreamed of was for a "Banana Gasser".   The job
has an employee overseeing stalks of green banana's, right off the boat, being hung up in a sealed warehouse.
When all is ready he/she will open the valves to "ethylene gas" to flood the warehouse full of bananas with the gas.  This will quickly turn them to the yellow color we are used to seeing them in the grocery store.   It will also
kill off any insects etc that may be hiding deep in the stalks.

Tomatoes and some other fruits lend themselves to longer shelf lives if they are picked before they are ripe and
subjected to ethylene gas to make them appear ripe.   The reason this job pays so well is that it can be dangerous.  If the ethylene reaches too high of a concentration it can explode.   But for a "risk taker" who
wants to make the big bucks and live/drive around in a new RV......this could be a job to consider.
 
akrvbob said:
it would be hard to beat RV Tech.

"RV Tech" ! I didn't know there was such a thing and that sure would be a handy gift to my neighbors in need as well as awesome training for me. I'll look into thank you akrvbob!
 
JustCathy said:
"RV Tech" ! I didn't know there was such a thing and that sure would be a handy gift to my neighbors in need as well as awesome training for me.  I'll look into thank you akrvbob!

They would all want you to work for free because you are their friend. It would be better to work at a RV shop.
 
.eDJ_ said:
"There are some things that would lend themselves to the mobile life.  Several have been mentioned already.  Medical skills would always work as you could use them on  the road or if you found jobs along the way as an EMS tech where you could live out of your rig and work a job for awhile. 

Culinary is always good as you could cook for groups (like at meet ups)  or find jobs and again live out of your rig and work in a commercial kitchen.  Here you only need carry your knife kit as most of the other utensilsare
already there and you only need your skill sets. ......"
Well that was terrific! Great information for lots of people in that post  :) Thank You eDJ for a fascinating read and worthy of a YouTube video in the series (imho).

I'd like to add to this thread -as well as reply that I have talents in some things that will be of use in community.  medicinal modalities, Cook/culinary skills for large gatherings as you mentioned are among them and I'm in my 26th year as Massage Therapist. I don't feel I'll have any trouble finding and getting work when I want/need it, I'm not afraid of working hard doing whatever if I want to stray from my trades and I enjoy building community through service and exchange when possible. :idea: It is so nice to feel I am of contribution and so I thought part of my preparation would be to train in something that the rv world might be needing out on the road..not necessarily for my income (I don't know, maybe a trade for ice cream, haha) but to contribute to the whole as a neighbor on the road thus the query. Once out there I imagine my budget might be very tight and the thought of sitting in my rig wishing that I did something that I could do now while I have my nose to the grindstone and training time on my hands haunts me.  Thank you again for listening and holding my hand a bit, Cathy
 
eDJ_ said:
WOW!!  :exclamation: Those are terrific 'out of the box' jobs for sure.. I like those weird ones that bring new experiences into my life! I was thinking maybe welding would be a good trade to know on the road, help with repairs to hitches, racks, etc.... thinking
 
Welcome, Cathy!

Keep in mind how much equipment might be involved in some of the trades or services. One member here was offering welding help to anyone who needed it at RTR... but was going to do the work at his Tucson home because trying to haul the tools and tanks would not be a good idea.

There have been lots wonderful and weird ideas offered up here for sure. One long-time member, Reducto, has told us lots about how to train for and get jobs as a poker dealer. That is how he supports himself well and moves around the country as much as he chooses. Others here love sewing so they make room for a machine and have a generator for powering it -- then offer sewing services for free or a fee.

I don't know if you've noticed there is a section called Money Matters with lots of older threads on jobs.

I would recommend you look at what YOU would enjoy learning -- especially if it is some service that you plan to offer for free when possible. The point of being nomadic is to enjoy more of your time on your own schedule and with your own interests.

Since you mentioned cooking (so maybe it is an activity you like a lot), consider that you may not want to have to make room for large pots and other necessities to cook for a crowd. But since you are also in a healing profession now (massage), what if you studied ways for nomads to easily prepare very healthful meals whether they have refrigeration in their rigs or not. I started a fun thread once with people offering ideas for healthful ways to fix meals for one with only a cooler that sometimes (not always) had ice.

Maybe you'd give workshops on recipes or systems or even a line of foods (like freeze dried) that can help a van dweller??? You get the idea.
 
WriterMs said:
There have been lots wonderful and weird ideas offered up here for sure. One long-time member, Reducto, has told us lots about how to train for and get jobs as a poker dealer. That is how he supports himself well and moves around the country as much as he chooses. Others here love sewing so they make room for a machine and have a generator for powering it -- then offer sewing services for free or a fee.
.

Hi WriterMs! Thanks for your response. I'm not looking for work, I have no trouble finding work. I am inquiring about what you might have found YOU needed or what your community has found it needed or wanted when and if anything. I like to contribute and thought it would be fun to spend the rest of my life giving back in ways that are most useful..so in this case, in this new lifestyle on the road I thought I'd ask those of you on the road...
I think you understand now. I'm sorry for my not communicating clearly. The slower life will help me practice that :)... 

Happy travels
 
Yesterday,  I drove by the MCTC Maritime Academy on my way to the Huntington, WV Mall (located in the Ona WV suburb).    I noted my odometer at the school and drove by a Planet Fitness Center 5 miles away.  I've been inside this rather new Planet Fitness and it is large and nice.   An LA Fitness Center is located near there in Barboursville, WV. (about the same distance)

Should any of the younger members want to investigate this so that they could get a job where they work half a year and RV the other half with enough money to get in a rig they could really travel in....here's that link.  Remember,  there are jobs where you can work at the river Port's and not be on a boat.  There are Boat Stores which supply the Tow Boats with Groceries, Fuel, oil etc.   Some tankermen work at Refinery Ports filling or emptying tank barges as well.  This work doesn't require extensive education, it's mostly hands on,  and can pay
very well.  You would just need to find a job where you could save up $1000 to $1500 bucks to pursue this training.  And that's peanuts compared to College or 2 year VOED.  

http://www.mctc.edu/maritime-academy/
 

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