Any Advice On Career?

[Thefishguy]

Hey all so just as the title says, I am trying to get into a career with fish or saltwater and reefing in general. Right now I am working at Petco as the Companion animal manager, I know there is a lot of hate on Petco and I completely understand why considering they really do not provide the supplies needed or even allow us to hire enough staff to keep up on everything to the degrees it should be with everything else they want us to do. So obviously I really do not want to be here for my career, I have tried starting my own maintenance service, and working at Petco I hope it will help bring in new clients, but so far not much luck.

So I was seeing if any of you guys here had any ideas of anything I could get into for a career? I have always loved animals since I was a kid, my mom always told me to be a vet, but considering I am not the greatest at school 8 years of it including med school just doesnt seem like something I would be great at. That is why I tried starting a maintenance service hoping I could pursue that fulltime and leave Petco and maybe open my own LFS, but if there are other options that I haven't explored or found yet I would love to hear some ideas! I have researched for years about this and nothing has really jumped out at me, maybe I just am not suppose to know what it is yet.

 

[PSLReefer]

Unfortunately everything will pretty much take an advanced degree, i.e. Masters at least and still pay crap, best to go into your own business.

 

[roberthu526]

Key to starting a business today is technology and social media in my mind. Of course you need some capital upfront.
Where are you located?

 

[Thefishguy]

That is what I was thinking was either having to open up my own shop or investing a ton of time and energy and money into school which I am already not the greatest at for mediocre pay that I could probably make staying at Petco. I am located in Baltimore, Maryland, but I would of course be willing to relocate if I really believed I would be able to support myself and truly make a living at it considering I am only 22 I still have a lot of options with any route I choose. I am going to make a facebook page for my maintenance service and hope that will get more attention, at the least it wouldn't hurt anything since it is free. I really don't have much capital unless a bank would be willing to give me a loan with a good business plan.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Go to college, any one you can afford. Get your generals, take business. Don't be afraid to get a C. Just graduate.
The rest of the path will become appearant if you look for it.

Be cautious of snark, despair, and those who use or promote it.

 

[Mikedawg]

+ 1, get a degree with some accounting and IT courses; no matter how difficult they seem you'll learn job-related skills, knowledge and abilities. And keep in mind that you don't work in this industry for the big bucks; fortunately you love aquatic animals and much of your reward will be working with them.

Probably very few on this forum ended up in the same career field they started, so you want to be flexible and ready to take advantage of opportunities as they are discovered. And, be ready to take a chance every now and then.