31y/o and struggling to find a prosperous career

Not sure if this is up your alley, but waste water and water treatment operators do pretty well. You can get your first treatment cert without experience to get your foot in the door. I believe we will see more and more reverse osmosis plants being built in the future 

You dont say what ypur skill set is. 

You arent going to jump into any job and earn good money wiyh zero experience.

And even though i am in the UK, i know enough to know that the bay area is an overpriced hell hole, for regular folk. 

So if you cant get money doing what you are good at there, move to where you can.

If I were you, I’d do something like insurance or financial advisor…unlimited earning potential, basically work for yourself, residual income.  Gives you control over your own life.

Real estate and mortgage lending are another option, but don’t have the residual income and as a result are more susceptible to boom/bust cycles (though mortgage has been great for me). 
 

or

Start your own business of some sort.  No way I’d ever work for someone else…

I would get some kind of government job that pays a pension. You are young enough you could also start a new career as a police officer, firefighter or emt. These positions are rapidly expanding in North Texas. And the starting pay is really good.

Because you said technical and computer aptitude (not much to go on) I would say civil engineering in some capacity . Can work private , government or your own thing . Demand is growing everywhere . Infrastructure spending is going to be big in the coming decades . 

Hurry up and settle in to something before it’s too late. Before you turn in to a 53 year old with no marketable skills. 

Learn a trade. You will be broke thru your apprenticeship, but once you get licensed in whichever you chose, you can make damn good money... 

I think part of the problem is you want to make good money right from the start.  Get after your job and build the skill set to earn good money.  Or go start your own business.  Both probably aren't going to make what you want right away.  

Or get in with a road construction/trade union and learn Spanish.  

Based on your posts, I'm still not sure what you want to do and what you like.

Take a personality test like the Disc or the PI.  See who you really are and what makes you tick.  From there, investigate jobs and roles within industries that are in line with your values.

If you like certainty, become an accountant

If you like people, go into the medical field.

If you like freedom and autonomy, get a fully commissioned sales job.

Action begets action. Commit to yourself to take a step forward this week and the right things will start appearing for you.

What is it that you do?

What are your skills?

Is going back to school an option?

What do you like and don't like?

Is relocating a deal breaker? 

Working with your hands or in an office?

The more information you can provide, the better advice you will be able to receive. 

It's never too late to start cooking meth 

Apart from 35 years of life skills. 

One of my best guys , had nothing in the way of skills, on paper, was a driver for an F1 team and got diagnosed as a diabetic and lost his truck license. 

He was the hardest working guy i ever had, ran his own day, and did all the non tech stuff you could ever need. 

It isnt what you do, its how you do it. 

I deal with people not hiring me because I’m over skilled and they know I won’t stay, or I don’t have the certificate, degree, equipment, or experience they desire.

Taught myself how to setup cameras, how to edit, to build a website. 

Just had one of the worst experiences ever, with a company I thought I wanted to work for. Endeavor/PBR. 
 

Auto sales had been my thing for 12 years or so. Then I got this crazy idea about doing video. Can’t believe I’ve wasted three years of my life on it, never receiving a penny in compensation. Boots Southerland, from Hollyweird and Jellystone complimented me on my editing skill. So why am I unable to get paid? 
 

Now, I’m day working on cattle ranches when I can, from sunup to sundown for $100 a day. I’m a bull rider, not a real cowboy, so it’s even hard to find somebody that’ll use an old man that’s a “green hand”. 
 

Worst part is that I’ve pissed away some great opportunities over the years. 

Hey Mutt, the wife and I started our own roofing and construction company a little over a year ago and could use some sales advice or a good sales person if you are interested.   Maybe we could work a new bike into the deal if things go well!  

My wife has a GB98 and I have an EE98 and we primarily focus on roofing because we have a good crew.  Within the year though the plan is to offer roofing and solar packages.
 

Have you considered the military?

Like Mav said we need more info. Do you have schooling or training? 

That’s a pretty sweet offer. I’m about 200 miles from ABQ currently. 
 

Most folks probably think I over share here, but I’m still keeping a litany of the shit I’m dealing with to myself.

Pilot. And no you’re not too old. Many airlines are not requiring a college degree. The industry has so many old timers retiring the movement is rapid. A side gig like you mentioned is ideal to get you through the early lean times, or military reserve.

Pick something recession proof trade wise. 
Military is great if you can handle that type of lifestyle. 
 

Cyber security is picking up, my friend re trained and switched careers. 

Reserve is not a bad idea. My friend was in finance, did reserves for 3 years and went full time reg force as an officer in his early 30’s. He makes well over $100k a year. 

I know a ton of folks that left and took their trade to the public sector and do extremely well. 

My son was a manager of a meat dept at Sprouts Market. Now he is an elevator tech. Was just sworn into the union a  month ago. Big bucks and great benies. Took some shit to get where he is though and still taking shit. Glad he is looking down the long road. Be prepared to relocate.

The union is big in California. Join a trade union. I'm an electrician that got in the apprenticeship at 30 years old. They will teach you everything you need to know. Good pay and benefits, I'm well taken care of. Some locals in CA pay over $75/hr.

Get some security certs for IT work, it pays good off the bat and its pretty easy to obtain high paying certs and jobs after a year but in 3 months after our first Cert you will be starting with good money.

I think the cert you want is CCNA but im a software engineer so im not in this realm but this is what ive gathered reading jobs and talking to IT people when i have to work with them.

Following. I just graduated with my BS in information systems and just started applying for jobs down here in SoCal. As far as IT goes, it doesn't hurt to have a couple certifications (Namely security plus, network plus etc), I have one cert myself. Almost every gig I've applied to so far says a Bachelors is preferred but not required. I think a few did require it, and for higher up positions like project manager it is more common that it's required. I just started applying to places less than two weeks ago and haven't had any interviews or bites yet. Good luck. Since you mentioned computer aptitude, have you applied for any help desk positions? It won't pay a lot, but it could be good experience to see if the IT route is for you or not. What position was the one interview you had this month for? 

Building Automation Service Technician if you wanna work with computers in a trade. I got in at 28 and my only regret is not getting in sooner!

As previously mentioned, look into a trade but, one with an apprenticeship program. I went through five years of school and, as hard as it was and, as tight as was in the beginning, I have zero regrets. I’m a foreman doing commercial plumbing. Anything from hospitals to high rises in Seattle. A cool thing that was offered while in school was, a med gas endorsement. I do a lot of cryogenics when I’m not running a crew because of that license.  

It’s tough work but, the paychecks are decent. 
My only other advise is if it’s avoidable, stay away from residential plumbing. You’ll find yourself crawling under houses tearing up your back and, knees like I did when I first started. 

I have 5 years of residential, and come February, I’ll hit 20 years of commercial experience. 
 

Best of luck to you. 

 

The best way to accomplish just about anything is reverse engineering it. What is your preferred lifestyle and end goal in life and work back. Do you want to retire at 45 and don't care if you work like a dog until then? Maybe something that gives you residuals. Do you want a job with lots of flexibility? Maybe be a traveling nurse. Do you want to know you have a consistent paycheck and pension and don't care if you leave some money on the table, government work may be for you. 31 years old is the perfect time to start a career. You should know yourself by then and you are still young enough to attack anything with gusto.