Quick ways to earn "middle class" incomes?

[ygolo]

I was thinking about this because many people I know went to college and got degree's that don't have natural placements into ways that make good money.

I realize that money isn't that important, and that many people spend time being miserable at high paying jobs.

Nevertheless, having a job that pays enough to be free of parental purse-strings, and/or free from struggling to make ends meet, and/or capable of owning one's own home, and/or having hopes of financial security in old age are all things that have some practical importance.

So I wanted to make a place to collect resources for doing just that:
1) What are some "middle class" paying jobs, that have reasonable demand?
2) What is the certification process to get qualified?

If we take $44K to be the median income:
What's the average middle class income in the U.S.? - Yahoo! Answers

What would it take to earn close to that much (or better)?

We can always start with the popular MCSE(I know a couple of people IRL who did this):
PayScale - Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Salary, Average Salaries

It supposedly takes 700 hours according to this site:
MCSE certification training courses, Microsoft 2003 online classes

Often, becoming a DBA only requires a two year degree:
Database Administrator

This seems like a hop directly into the middle class.

Police officers earn a middle class income:
Police Officer

So do firefighters:
Firefighter

It will take some time to get to the median income in these cases, but it is part of the career path.

If you can find enough work, Carpenters also fall in that category as well:
Carpenters

Dealing with people's money in generally earns good money:
Actuary
You have to pass some tests, but here the path seems clear, and you need not have a particular college degree.

You can also become a Paralegal in two years:
Paralegal

Librarians (other than school libraries) often have 4-year degrees in a varied number of fields. So if you just got an Undergrad in something that would take a Ph.D. to become a professional in (like many of the arts and sciences), perhaps this is an option?
Librarian

Photographers are paid OK (not middle class) if you have the talent:
Photographer
But, think of the opportunity to travel, and do it part-time while doing something else.

Beyond all this, starting a business doing what you love to do is an option (but admittedly one I have so far been to chicken to do myself).

 

[cafe]

Truck driving was our route to middle classness. Well, technically we probably aren't because we have a larger family than most, but close enough. It took a few months for my husband to get his Certified Drivers License and a few years to get a good driving job.

He advises doing research before going to training (because some schools are not reputable) and being a company driver instead of buying or leasing a truck (so you aren't buried in debt for the truck and starving because of high fuel prices). Not all truck driving is over the road. Sometimes you can get a dedicated or local route and get home more often than the standard every other weekend. My husband is home every night and off on Sunday and Monday.

 

[substitute]

If you have a car and live near a popular hiking/cycling trail, you can make a small fortune by transporting people's backpacks and stuff from one campsite/youth hostel etc, to another, thereby enabling them to walk freely and without encumbering luggage.

I worked with a guy who did this on the Hadrian's Wall UNESCO World Heritage walking trail, and during the peak season he could make over $200 a day.

Similarly, if you have a shed, barn or outhouse, opening it as a camping barn (just floorspace but under a roof and therefore sheltered from elements, but people have to bring their own sleeping gear) you can have a steady income that peaks hugely in the summer. If you have a field or any amount of open space, installing a toilet cubicle and water supply is a pretty low investment way of making it work for you as a campsite.

when I think of ways to make money I tend to always think of how to get the maximum mileage out of assets I already have, and whether some things I have actually are assets or could be, that I didn't previously think of as such.

 

[ygolo]

If you have a car and live near a popular hiking/cycling trail, you can make a small fortune by transporting people's backpacks and stuff from one campsite/youth hostel etc, to another, thereby enabling them to walk freely and without encumbering luggage.

I worked with a guy who did this on the Hadrian's Wall UNESCO World Heritage walking trail, and during the peak season he could make over $200 a day.

Similarly, if you have a shed, barn or outhouse, opening it as a camping barn (just floorspace but under a roof and therefore sheltered from elements, but people have to bring their own sleeping gear) you can have a steady income that peaks hugely in the summer. If you have a field or any amount of open space, installing a toilet cubicle and water supply is a pretty low investment way of making it work for you as a campsite.

when I think of ways to make money I tend to always think of how to get the maximum mileage out of assets I already have, and whether some things I have actually are assets or could be, that I didn't previously think of as such.

You seem like you've done a lot of little businesses. Do you just naturally see ways to do this?

 

[Jack Flak]

I think the happiest people have just enough money to be free from serious burden. If you have too much, you can easily become a miser, and you then belong to the money. /Victor

 

[miked277]

I think the happiest people have just enough money to be free from serious burden. If you have too much, you can easily become a miser, and you then belong to the money. /Victor

you can be a rich miser or a poor miser, how much money you have doesn't affect that. just as there are the extremely generous millionaires and the generous paupers.

also, the people who don't "belong" to money are either void of it and live on a commune or in tribal africa/austrailia *or* they have enough of it that the money does the work for them. everyone else inbetween those two extremes are the people who are in the rat race.

 

[substitute]

You seem like you've done a lot of little businesses. Do you just naturally see ways to do this?

Yeah, pretty much. I guess it's second nature for me to want to earn as much cash as I need with as little effort as possible... I'd rather die than work in retail/factories etc which is all there is around my local area, so I dunno, I guess I'm naturally quite entreprenneurial...

actually I don't mind hard work at all. I just hate hard work for other people, for which I get only a small amount of the fruits of my labour. Have avoided it so far and kept my head more than above water so... I guess you could say it comes naturally

 

[Sniffles]

You could try selling sperm for a living.

 

[Usehername]

You could try selling sperm for a living.

Don't be sexist with your answers! Geez. Equal rights and all....

 

[ygolo]

Don't be sexist with your answers! Geez. Equal rights and all....

OK. You can sell gametes for a living then?
Doesn't seem particularly lucaritive--Unless, you are a prime genetic specimen and have motivated buyers.

 

[Oso Mocoso]

Doesn't seem particularly lucaritive--Unless, you are a prime genetic specimen and have motivated buyers.

Oh man, I sold blood and eh ... genetic material when I was an undergrad in college ... I needed the money. They don't always pay for blood, but I'm a universal donor and when they're low on the good stuff, they do occasionally offer money. But trust me, no one is going to "make a living" at the rates they pay.

I think going the route of an entrepreneur is the best way to break into the middle or upper class if you're not part of it. It's of course risky, but owning your own business is clearly the best way to make big money. Working for someone else might pay well, but whoever ultimately owns the business will always see more of the profit from your labor than you will.