Making more money

Magus`

Any suggestions on some skills I can pick up with the time I'm saving from not driving to work?

My wife's job is getting shittier and shittier but it pays relatively well. If I can pull in some extra money, she could get a less-paying but far less stressful job.

Thank you!

Radiation

What field are you in? Are you looking to stay in the same field, or move to something else? Are you wanting a side job?
What field are you looking to go into? It's hard to make decent suggestions without knowing better where you're at.

Mr.Wangtang

Learning how to spend less is a lot easier than learning how to earn more.

Enc

A second language is always helpful, though which depends on your industry and locality.

Credentialing depends on what you do for a living.

Magus`

I work in social work. Not my choice, per se, but what was available.

I'm looking for a side job that might evolve into a new job.

Also we are living within our means with our current income. We want to continue doing so even if the total home income takes a significant hit.

zepherin

Also how much time are you looking to put into it, and how much money are you making now?

If your making <30k a year (Or are working a physical job you don’t want to work) and want to go to 30k-40k. Medical coding very is the way for you. You can do the cert programs in less than a year. And the US doesn’t look like it’s going to unfuck billing anytime soon.

If you are making 40k-60k a year, then we need to get industry specific. A PMP can be good way to get higher up. For cyber security, security plus CISSP, what field are you in or would you like to be in.

Magus`

I'm in the 40-50k range.

The less money I have to spend to learn it, the better.

My biggest concern is I'm a state employee so chances are that unless something pays significantly better, has good health insurance (thanks, America) and something similar to retirement, whatever it is would have to be part time.

My wife is trying to get into medical coding (almost has her Associate's) but with her work schedule being hyper chaotic, it's made completing school really difficult.

Radiation

Checking out part time stuff on flexjobs might be a good option.
I know a few people who have turned their wood hobby into a hobby that occasionally generates income. This would be a pretty good weekend thing post pandemic, when you can do the farmers markets or whatever. Might be some skillset you have or are interested in that could be in a similar avenue, if woodworking isn't your cup of tea.

ceres

Are you looking to upgrade your current job or hoping to move to a different field?

Kyougu

I have a couple of friends who learned to code on their free time (and did it by taking online courses and what not) and they were able to transition to programming jobs/jobs with a higher ladder.

Maybe something to look into?

Magus`

Yeah, I'm considering something along those lines. My biggest concern is losing retirement and health insurance for myself and my wife.

I hate that that is even a thing.

I'm not big on staying in social work. It's easy enough but I'm unlikely to be promoted give the work culture.

zepherin

Magus` wrote: »

I'm in the 40-50k range.

The less money I have to spend to learn it, the better.

My biggest concern is I'm a state employee so chances are that unless something pays significantly better, has good health insurance (thanks, America) and something similar to retirement, whatever it is would have to be part time.

My wife is trying to get into medical coding (almost has her Associate's) but with her work schedule being hyper chaotic, it's made completing school really difficult.

You can look to hop on the federal ladder. Update your resume on usajobs.gov. Target the quals. If you have specific skill sets that are targeted.

Here are the government wide direct hire authorities

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hire-authority/#url=Governmentwide-Authority

If you have a significant disability, then you can be direct hired for any position on a schedule A hiring authority.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/hiring/

Radiation

Agreed on usajobs.
If you are a state employee though, check with state hr to see if you can transition from one job code to the other. I know some states its harder, but other states encourage it.

As mentioned above, if you are interested in something like cybersecurity or whatever certs exist for that.
Also check your library. Mine has a partnership with lynda to get free elearning going on.

Mugsley

I'm a Fed employee so I can give specific tips if you'd like. For example, the longer your resume the better and it pays to describe specific situations instead of just give bullet points. Also you can tailor the resume to include the specific key words needed so your resume makes it into the 'recommended' pile.

My resume for a recent posting that I interviewed for was 9 pages long (hey, I took stuff out)