Security Guard - What should I study in my downtime?

Day trading

So here goes:

Below are all the pros and cons I can think of for coding. It seems like the most suggested spare time activity to go for so I’m giving it real consideration. If I go for it I’ll start a thread here and keep everyone updated as to my progress.

Actually know nothing about the industry so I may be wayyyy off on some of these and would love some input from those actually in the know.

Pros

1 - Platform to express my creativity. I’ve always liked the idea of building websites and I think it would be fun while learning to put a couple of my ideas “on screen”. I feel making ‘prototypes’ of some of these ideas could not only be fun but look good in a portfolio down the road. I like the idea of “making” but don’t know enough about coding to know if I’ll be actively engaged in this or just doing mundane tasks.

2 – Mobility. I feel if you get good enough you can get hired anywhere (like an engineer/doctor) barring that you can at least work from home etc. You have more opportunity to determine your destiny.

3 – education free and accessible. Since it’s done on a computer there seems to be unlimited resources online. Seems way better ROI on an engineering/law degree etc. with similar pay

4 – Industry is fun. I’m an entrepreneur at heart and would get a kick out of helping a startup and getting involved in something growing, dynamic etc. Can work for a range of companies.

5 – Looks good on resume. Just a basic understanding will more and more supplement any business type job. Even if you don’t use it you can better understand product development (as more and more companies go tech)

6 – Autonomous. You have a job and you go at it. Better yet you have a client with a project and you take care of it start to finish.

7 – Ongoing learning. It seems to have that challenging/competitive aspect to it where you can always get better. Seems far better measured than trying to become “the best lawyer, doctor, teacher” etc. with real results. Something that can keep the mind active – develop new synapses!

8 – Building something real. Rather than accounting, finance etc where you are just counting rich people’s money in tech you are actually building something.

Cons

1 – Staring at a computer all day. This is a big one for me – I’ve been attracted in the past to jobs in education/tourism etc. as I like multitasking and running around at work. Although I’m not averse to careers like law where you look at paper all day long – just something about staring at a screen…

2 – A dime a dozen (for developers). I couldn’t see myself doing any more than web development using things like javascript, html, css. Although the only reason why is because I assume it take many years to learn the backend stuff. Since it’s so easy to learn (according to above poster getting work after 2-3 months of practice) wouldn’t this create a high supply market? Couldn’t a high school kid pick this up over a summer?

3 – Industry is ageist. I feel everyone I know who is in marketing or sales or coding in tech is in their mid 20s (I’m 34) . I keep hearing it’s a young persons game.

4 – Your current skills are useless after a few years. This one is scary as it seems that wordpress etc. templates have made CSS/HTML redundant in some cases. Seems like there is a constant need to stay current that keeps accelerating.

5 – Frustration. Seems like getting caught up in a problem in code could be frustrating / annoying and take days to solve while you aren’t getting paid.

6 – Insanely detailed. I feel I’m more of a big picture guy. Although I always did well at math in high school and uni it’s been a while and I’m certainly not that detail oriented.

7 – Outsourcing. With internet/computers now mainstream in China & India they can also learn from all the same resources and it seems the motivation for 3rd world workers would be much higher as they NEED the work and can do it on the cheap.

In the end though I’m sitting around 6 hours a day so need to do something and ANYTHING is better than facebook/tv/boredom

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7485368#ixzz4EV3tGCHx

[quote]guardyourlife wrote:

Against the law but obviously very hard to prove. Sounds promising though that at your company they were OK hiring mature candidates.

How do you feel about sitting at a computer all day though? Is there a lot of downside to that?

Thanks again for the advice and insight.

[quote]

A lot of our programmers would alternate between sitting and standing desks. I even use a standing desk myself, alternating between sitting and standing when needed. I just got an adjustable desk, a padded mat under my feet, and a chair to the side if I need it. Helps with the monotony of sitting around all day. Also, programming does make time pass by quicker. Since you often get that sense of instant gratification when a line of code works, it won't seem as if you're just slaving away behind a computer all day. Also, it is not as if you have piles upon piles of coding/programming to do. Some down time to relax, walk around, or talk to other coworkers.

I worked security for many years. Way too many to be exact. For your own good get out as quickly as possible. I sort of fell into and it and got stuck. I then went back to school and thought it was great because I could study and do my hw on the job. Reality is I picked up a lot of bad habits doing security that I am now trying to get rid of since I go out of it.

Defense Tactics: Modern Control Techniques for Mall Loiterers by P. Blart

General Relativity with Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler's Gravitation text.

Sounds OK. Do many of the programmers have side gigs? (designing sites outside of work, consulting etc.)?

D1onstreetD3insheets wrote:

[quote]

A lot of our programmers would alternate between sitting and standing desks. I even use a standing desk myself, alternating between sitting and standing when needed. I just got an adjustable desk, a padded mat under my feet, and a chair to the side if I need it. Helps with the monotony of sitting around all day. Also, programming does make time pass by quicker. Since you often get that sense of instant gratification when a line of code works, it won't seem as if you're just slaving away behind a computer all day. Also, it is not as if you have piles upon piles of coding/programming to do. Some down time to relax, walk around, or talk to other coworkers.

A good community college near you might have good career options. Things that aren't thought of very much like hydroelectric operator or air traffic controller. These jobs are high paying and you'll get a pension. I think that at your age and with your experience it's a possibility that you'll be shut out of white collar jobs.

Why would I be shut out of white collar jobs at 35?

Age discrimination. Many employers will not give you an honest consideration because you are old with no experience. They want fresh, young meat. It won't be impossible, but it will be difficult to get hired, much more difficult than if you were early 20s freshly graduated with a Bachelor's or Master's.

Well I do have a BA with a double major (Econ) but no real technical work as a part of that. I feel as an older person I would need to really build a nice portfolio of work and market myself well. However career consideration is only 1 part of why I need something to do. The initial intention was just to make best of of my time while I'm here for the next 2 years.

sadbuttrue wrote:

Age discrimination. Many employers will not give you an honest consideration because you are old with no experience. They want fresh, young meat. It won't be impossible, but it will be difficult to get hired, much more difficult than if you were early 20s freshly graduated with a Bachelor's or Master's.

guardyourlife wrote:

Well I do have a BA with a double major (Econ) but no real technical work as a part of that.

I feel as an older person I would need to really build a nice portfolio of work and market myself well.

However career consideration is only 1 part of why I need something to do. The initial intention was just to make best of of my time while I'm here for the next 2 years.

I also had an econ major. I taught English abroad for a few years and when I got back I thought I could do a white collar job so I took the prerequisites for a master's in accounting. I did some interviews and I felt like nobody was interested, so I dropped the idea of doing the master's. I went back to a CC to get a degree in a field that's a mix of science and a trade that will get me a job with a city or county. And it's mostly online. Somebody that I talked to today had a biochemistry degree and went back for a medical technology degree at a community college when he was in his 30s.

If programming is what really interests you, then go for it. But you might have more luck doing a career that is more of a trade. Nursing, rad tech, med tech, water operator, hydroelectric operator, etc. Some of these trades will not have the foreign competition that other careers have lately. Changing careers I would say is easier in America than most countries. But for things like corporate jobs, they will think that you're a screw off if you don't follow a certain path.

So I'll probably start tomorrow - the plan is to combine web dvlp with digital marketing - figure my business degree will come in a little handier this way and it's a more marketable combo.

Plus I can get cracking on some side projects ASAP to build a portfolio.

Should I blog about it here or would anyone care.

Ted Underhill wrote:

Defense Tactics: Modern Control Techniques for Mall Loiterers by P. Blart

Hardest I have laughed all day. Thanks for that.

From a practicality point of view that seems like a decent option however none of those jobs interest me - and also not something I could do as a challenge on my own (ie. see how operate a hydroelectric pump or change a bedpan). I think coding could be a fun challenge and done anywhere so that's the attraction. And a bonus is it seems to be a solid in demand career should I follow through and get good (and add some digital marketing chops and a glowing personality ;-) )

I've been working as a security and bodyguard for many years and I want to tell you that work is really boring but I only got bored when I wasn't really interested in details, and that starts to make your life complicated. As a security, you have to remember the people you interact with, what they are dressed in, what gestures they made? It is advisable to focus on these details and you will see that you will not get bored at all. You can access https://pivotalprotection.com they are a good team!

You could study Chinese language specifically Mandarin and learn the writing system on your own by learning the Chinese characters. You can order Chinese character flashcards online and you could start with that. If you know Chinese language and particularly Mandarin and even better still if you know how to read and write Chinese, trust me that will serve you well in the future. Big payoff. Learning Chinese characters may seem daunting in the beginning but if you use a systematic method of learning a few each day it gets progressively easier and within about a year you will easily have mastered around 1000 to 1500 Chinese characters well on the way to becoming literate in Chinese which needs about mastery of 3000 characters. Learning Chinese characters may seem daunting in the beginning but if you use a systematic method of learning a few each day it gets progressively easier and within about a year you will easily have mastered around 1000 to 1500 Chinese characters well on the way to becoming literate in Chinese which needs about mastery of 3000 characters

Dude, could you please give me some more details about them? Waiting in dm

AdCornish65 wrote:

I've been working as a security and bodyguard for many years and I want to tell you that work is really boring but I only got bored when I wasn't really interested in details, and that starts to make your life complicated. As a security, you have to remember the people you interact with, what they are dressed in, what gestures they made? It is advisable to focus on these details and you will see that you will not get bored at all. You can access

https://pivotalprotection.com

they are a good team!

Man, could we please talk a little about your job in pm?