hoangdekiem Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Hi everyone, I am currently a high school student and will come to Australia soon. I am thinking about a career that I will be doing for rest of my life. I do not like a typical 5 day work week. I would like to do either 3 days 12 hours or 4 days 10 hours or any compressed work schedule , for example 1 week on 1 week off (still 3 day-12 hours is the best bet). Nursing comes to mind but I dont really like it. Therefore I would really appreciate if somebody can help me by naming professions that working less than 5 days a week (full time), and have some overtime if possible. Pay should be 40-50k or more entry without overtime and 65-75k or more mid career and potential to earn more if possible, I mean who does not want to earn 6-figure income. I am willing to learn any degree but no physicians (too long) or nursing or mining (because its dangerous). Working in the hospital is ok , just I dont want to be a nurse. I did some research but could not find anything other than nursing or some low-skilled jobs Thanks a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It is a strange decision to choose your life's work based on number of hours. Very few jobs work a compressed work schedule except mining and nursing. The fact is, most people do not like a typical work week but if you want to earn a living, it is what you have to do! I think you are assuming you will hate your job, so you want a long weekend every week. Instead, try to find a job you are interested in, that way you can get some enjoyment from it as well as money, and you won't mind the extra time so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 As above, that's a very peculiar set of criteria. If money and shifts were not an issue, what would you like to do. Start there. As for shifts and hours there are numerous jobs out there that have non standard hours; heavy vehicle mechanics, field geologists, nightclub singers, prostitution... Just depends on what you are inclined to do. Basing your working career on time off is not a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 You should be aware that Australia has a high rate of youth unemployment. There is no guarantee of a young person being employed at all - let alone being able to specify exactly which hours they wish to work. At this stage in your life you should be thinking about areas which interest you and which suit your abilities and personality. Then you should concentrate on getting the best school results you can so that you qualify for post school training for your selected area/s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Work for yourself. If you do a trade or similar then you can work as little or as much as you like. If you are available to customers outside of normal hours then that could be an advantage to you. It's hard work workign for yourself though. But yes, you should first and foremost find something you like doing, then find a way to make it pay enough and/or give you the non-standard hours you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Don't want much do you. Believe me mate we all wanted the same sort of job that you do but in real life you have a couple of choices. 1. Get a job when you leave school which means you get an apprenticeship or just become a labourer or work in a shop or something. You might get better money at the start as a labourer but your career path is going to be limited. If you get an apprenticeship it can't be taken away and you will always have something to fall back on. A lot of tradies end up working for themselves which is often a good option. Might be able to get a job FIFO which is about the only job I can think of where you would be able to earn decent money and have the time off you are asking for. 2. You go to Uni, get a degree and get a job after. Come out with a massive loan, start on pretty low pay but usually end up in a decent job with decent career prospects, if you stick at it and not decide (like a lot do) to have a couple of years off and go travelling.:laugh: Good luck mate, I'm coming to the end of my working life and I've changed jobs/careers more times than you can shake a stick at. Gone are the days when you got a job for life. I'm still looking for what I would really like to do.:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoangdekiem Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks a lot for the input. I really appreciate it. Dont get me wrong, but I am more than happy to work in the field that I am really interested in or at least do not hate it. That's why I dont want to do nursing even though it has pretty much everything I am looking for. On the other hand, It is very difficult to find out what you truly like, I mean you know what you think you like but you never know when you actually do the job and do it every week for the rest of your life. And I dont want to limit my career opportunities to what I think I like, so I need a list of professions which satisfy my personal preferences in terms of days off and pay, then do more detailed research about that particular profession to see if I can stick to it for a long term or not. In addition, I am not a workaholic, but not lazy as well. It is nicer to have an extra day off so that I can pursue my hobby or take care of my family, but I am willing to work hard to fulfill my work, just I prefer the compressed work schedule because of its advantages (more time off, less commuting, etc) and of the fact that many people like it. Last but not least, as I stated, I know that I dont like 8-5 job because I've been there done that, not becauce I dont like the job but just 8-5 is not an ideal setting for me. so I dont want to make a bad decision here. In the U.S, I know a career like that and it is pharmacy, but it is terrible in Australia from my research. Again, Thanks a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saff Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I know a few people who work in labs doing ground sample testing. Quite monotonous but they don't have formal qualifications. Pay is less than $75k though, around 50 until they climb up the ladder. Rather than the hours being an issue, you should concentrate on identifying what you want to work in. From there you work out the how's and why's and if's.. At the end of the day, the only jobs that will pay good money for a 3-4 day working week are the ones that people don't particularly want.. The real world is largely : Good Hours, Good Pay, Job Satisfaction. Pick two. (and for many people it's pick one!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I need a list of professions which satisfy my personal preferences in terms of days off and pay, then do more detailed research about that particular profession to see if I can stick to it for a long term or not. . You are still doing things back to front. The first question is - what are you good at? There is no point deciding to be an interpreter if you are bad at languages, or choosing geology if you are bad at science. So your very first step should be to consider your talents and see what they suit you for. Americans are fond of saying "you can be anything you want to be", but that's absolute nonsense. If you're not analytical you can't be an accountant, if you are not coordinated you can't be a dancer. Besides, Saffy is right. Most jobs that pay high salaries for 3-4 days a week are unpleasant jobs. If they were enjoyable, employers wouldn't have to pay top dollar to recruit people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Hi everyone, I am currently a high school student and will come to Australia soon. I am thinking about a career that I will be doing for rest of my life. I do not like a typical 5 day work week. I would like to do either 3 days 12 hours or 4 days 10 hours or any compressed work schedule , for example 1 week on 1 week off (still 3 day-12 hours is the best bet). Nursing comes to mind but I dont really like it. Therefore I would really appreciate if somebody can help me by naming professions that working less than 5 days a week (full time), and have some overtime if possible. Pay should be 40-50k or more entry without overtime and 65-75k or more mid career and potential to earn more if possible, I mean who does not want to earn 6-figure income. I am willing to learn any degree but no physicians (too long) or nursing or mining (because its dangerous). Working in the hospital is ok , just I dont want to be a nurse. I did some research but could not find anything other than nursing or some low-skilled jobs Thanks a lot I expect you will have a rude awakening when you are ready to enter the world of work. I expect many people will like to work three days a week, but I am afraid employers will normally like the regular five. I expect the only way to avoid it is to go self employed which perhaps means learning a trade. Anyway I do agree with everyone else, focus on what you are good at, what you want to do, not what hours you want.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyraceway Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Hoang, you've taken a fair bit of stick with this post, maybe the way you have come across (unintentionally). I identified a fair bit with what you were saying; I too dislike the Mon-Fri office job type roles and have been a shift worker for almost 20 years. Yes, you have to get used to early starts, late finishes, weekend and public holiday work so shift work is certainly not for everyone. For me the positives (3 or 4 days off at a time, better pay, not travelling during peak hour, etc) outweigh the negatives. Have a look at operational roles in the transport sector (aviation, rail, ports, etc) as these are typically 24hr industries. As the others have mentioned, it is of course important that you find something you enjoy - dragging yourself out of bed at the crack of dawn on a Sunday would be no fun if you disliked your work. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 You can work part-time or compressed hours in most jobs. But generally people have worked hard and have good experience in their profession, before they get to this stage. So maybe you need to work full-time in a job you enjoy (or tolerate), get good at it and then approach your employer about flexible working hours. I'd love to work four days a week (I've worked 20+ yrs and it gets tiring!) but I couldn't afford the pay cut and I've never asked about compressed a working week. Maybe it's time to adopt an open mind, finish school, see a careers counselor and see what's out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.