Rewarding careers not on the radar for most.

[pavulon]

All things equal, if asked and knowing what you know, what paths might you recommend to a capable early high-schooler today?

[Bill Douglas]

An engineering degree makes a lot of options available at a later date. Get the degree and then decide what you like in other words.

[Scott R]

Yes, engineering.

[ckelly78z]

To stay out of a factory....good money, but mandatory weekends, non-stop body wearing work, and un-inteligent non Porsche driving hillbillies.

[Embraer]

speaking of radar...air traffic control is rewarding. excellent salary and benefits. early retirement. i love it. best choice i made.

[jyl]

The question is so broad, it is impossible to answer.

There are lots of people making good money in rewarding jobs who are not engineers. Engineers only have a place in a small portion of the world's companies. And in those companies they may work under superiors who are not engineers.

[look 171]

Drug sales, medical equip. sales.

[AFC-911]

Engineering sucks. My brain would have exploded by the age of 22...

But I'm a creative, I love my job writing & producing for TV. I'd say it's pretty rewarding when you know your work is seen by millions.

If I had to give advice? Don't follow the relatively safe path of majors like engineering or law. Do something you REALLY, REALLY want.

[LWJ]

Actuary. Wife's family is full of them. It takes a certain type however.

[atcjorg]

what does he love to do, interests? start there. Is he a chess player that can think on his feet and adapt to ever changing situations? Air traffic control is pretty unique, pay is pretty good, and if you survive it the retirement isn't bad.
Embraer didn't see your post first but agree totally +1,

[Rick V]

Stay away from any and all facets of the auto industry.

[mreid]

Human resources and I'm not kidding.

[David McLaughlin]

My 15 year old and I are having this conversation lately. Because he's not a book student and works well with problem solving and his hands, we're comming up with things like construction, artisen work of some sort, etc.

[JTO]

Chemistry. I've never had trouble finding a job
It's such a broad field that the days of sitting in a lab with a bunch test tubes are a minor risk
Troy

[Chocaholic]

Drug sales, medical equip. sales.

Might disagree on this one. It's a bloodbath these days with high turnover, declining incomes and intensive regulation and oversight (MITA, Sunshine laws, etc.). A few make good money but that's 1 out of 20. Have a bad quarter...fired. Reason doesn't matter and those decisions are often made many levels up. Not a low stress gig by any measure. Ask how I know.

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by David McLaughlin

My 15 year old and I are having this conversation lately. Because he's not a book student and works well with problem solving and his hands, we're comming up with things like construction, artisen work of some sort, etc.

electrician


touches just about everything we do in the modern world and is a mobile trade

[URY914]

Read this....

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/opinion/sunday/friedman-need-a-job-invent-it.html?_r=0

"This is dangerous at a time when there is increasingly no such thing as a high-wage, middle-skilled job — the thing that sustained the middle class in the last generation. Now there is only a high-wage, high-skilled job. Every middle-class job today is being pulled up, out or down faster than ever. That is, it either requires more skill or can be done by more people around the world or is being buried — made obsolete — faster than ever. Which is why the goal of education today, argues Wagner, should not be to make every child “college ready” but “innovation ready” — ready to add value to whatever they do."

[romad]

Originally Posted by Embraer

speaking of radar...air traffic control is rewarding. excellent salary and benefits. early retirement. i love it. best choice i made.

over 20 years agos I took the test on a whim and scored a 96, they were only taking 98 and above..........

[romad]

This is corny but you got to have a high level of interest in what ever,its just not about money......there are some high paying jobs I think I would kill myself if I had to do them for the rest of my life.

Design, cad is a open field without alot of college. For the medical field, sonography is a good two year degree that pays well. Plastic proceessing is always open. and maybe selling crap on Ebay for the at home job. The trades are good options but, it gets tough the older you get, humping ladders and materials up and down job sites takes its toll.

[ledhedsymbols]

Aerospace
All facets of it from engineering to manufacturing. Boeing has been kicking out the jams up here for a long time. News reports aside, the 747-8 cargo carrier is a big deal as well as the 767 bodied Air-Force tanker they are tooling up for in Everett. I am trying to get on repairing and maintaining the precision milling machines and other robotics type equipment. They have an aging workforce to boot, great wages and benefits up here in Washington.