i've just seen 2 friends who have got chem related bachelor degrees, and one of them is working as a driving test guy, while the other is working at his dad's machine shop. BUT: the road test guy has a higher wage than me - he just started, i've been doing my thing for 7 years, and have the responsibility of carrying through the low-voltage installation on 3 construction sites, with 6 guys under me (though that number will dwindle to probably 2 or 3 once these projects come to a close). the other guy is basically his own boss since his dad doesnt seem to get involved too much with the shop, and buddy just pays himself, pretty much. he doesnt wanna go to work for somebody else anymore. i need to start working for myself. but i dont wanna work hard - let other people do that. i need to seriously startr pursuing my interests with the goal of probably eventually picking out one of them to pursue all the way - it will be one that will guarantee great income, one i will be good at, and one i will like a lot. for a while i've been thinking about translation - i've sorta gotten started on that already - just gotta keep it going. another one would be automation/robotics. then there was the t-shirt/clothing idea. i need to pursue these in parallel to hash out which one will be best. if i cant pursue them all at the same time, i'll have to time-share them - a week or 2 each, in constant rotation.
another friend of mine is working sorta part-time for a great company - he's getting an engineering degree, and when he's got the time, he lets them know and they throw some work his way if they go any. i'm pretty sure they're paying him $40/hr as a contractor or consultant, since he's not actually able to work for them full time at the moment. $40/hr is almost twice what i make. yet there's this girl i know who works for a cancer research institute for something like $8.50/hr - but she's a total humanitarian, so i guess her personal income at the moment is not her greatest priority right now - she's in it for the long run, wants to help, and hopes she'll start getting paid well eventually.