Im 19 and im tired of my 9-5 job..

[Rujdaga]

Hey guys, i turned 19 in January (i live in Bosnia and Herzegovina) when i turned 18 i finished high school for a welder, i got a job right after i finished school at the place where i had practical classes for 2 years, its mostly about ventilation, heating, air conditioning and stuff like that, at that place im a welder (obv and i know how to weld stick, mig, tig and autogenous), painter, locksmith, warehouseman,im the one doing things with a forklift, everything...Basically ur able to get 7 days off in a year, only 7 days off and i make 2.2euros/hr (minimum wage in bosnia is 1.5euro/hr) and im sick of it, im tired, i hate it, but i cannot quit cuz its really hard to find a job here, i wanna move to another country, but its difficult, really difficult. Im fixing electronics, pcs, tvs etc at home as a hobby, and i LOOVE pcs a lot i know like every single thing bout em. Are there any tips how to slowly start my own business (cuz i noticed theres noone in my town whos selling pc parts and stuff like that), my wish is to move to USA, but its difficult to get a visa. All of my friends are leaving, everyone, except me, i hate my life, i live with an alcoholic father, strict mom, 2 older sisters, and just me and my dad work, im tired of everything, at work they stress me out soo much that its unbelievable... I have no friends to talk about these kind of stuff. This forum was really friendly to me thats why this is the only place where i feel "safe"

[whm1974]

4 minutes ago, Rujdaga said:

Hey guys, i turned 19 in January (i live in Bosnia and Herzegovina) when i turned 18 i finished high school for a welder, i got a job right after i finished school at the place where i had practical classes for 2 years, its mostly about ventilation, heating, air conditioning and stuff like that, at that place im a welder (obv and i know how to weld stick, mig, tig and autogenous), painter, locksmith, warehouseman,im the one doing things with a forklift, everything...Basically ur able to get 7 days off in a year, only 7 days off and i make 2.2euros/hr (minimum wage in bosnia is 1.5euro/hr) and im sick of it, im tired, i hate it, but i cannot quit cuz its really hard to find a job here, i wanna move to another country, but its difficult, really difficult. Im fixing electronics, pcs, tvs etc at home as a hobby, and i LOOVE pcs a lot i know like every single thing bout em. Are there any tips how to slowly start my own business (cuz i noticed theres noone in my town whos selling pc parts and stuff like that), my wish is to move to USA, but its difficult to get a visa.

First what is the cost of living in Bosnia and the City you live in? What about elsewhere in Bosnia where it is easier to make a living and get a Job you don't hate?

[Rujdaga]

3 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

First what is the cost of living in Bosnia and the City you live in? What about elsewhere in Bosnia where it is easier to make a living and get a Job you don't hate?

Basically nowhere, because, bosnia has 3 presidents who are really greedy, yes 3 presidents, because in the 90s when there was a war here, bosnia was "split" into 3 pieces/entities/regions, and lemme tell you the cost of the living, gas/diesel is 1.25euro per liter, flour is 20e for 25kg bag, 1 bread is 0.50euro, im paying 19euros for 10mbps internet which is insane, electricity is 50e, trash and water are combined 12e, so u can figure it out, like last month, my sister broke my glasses because i didnt want to go to pick her up at the bus station cuz it was snowy af and my tires are crappy, boom paid 100e for em, bought a gtx 1060 6gb for 250e, and there goes my monthly salary...

[whm1974]

11 minutes ago, Rujdaga said:

Basically nowhere, because, bosnia has 3 presidents who are really greedy, yes 3 presidents, because in the 90s when there was a war here, bosnia was "split" into 3 pieces/entities/regions, and lemme tell you the cost of the living, gas/diesel is 1.25euro per liter, flour is 20e for 25kg bag, 1 bread is 0.50euro, im paying 19euros for 10mbps internet which is insane, electricity is 50e, trash and water are combined 12e, so u can figure it out, like last month, my sister broke my glasses because i didnt want to go to pick her up at the bus station cuz it was snowy af and my tires are crappy, boom paid 100e for em, bought a gtx 1060 6gb for 250e, and there goes my monthly salary...

Given those conditions I can not blame you for wanting to leave. I hope you twisted your Sister's arm and made her pay for your new glasses or at least any loss of Income because you can't see while getting replacement glasses.

 

If your sister was that bitchy notwithstanding you had perfectly good reason not to pick her, why didn't she stay home?

[Rujdaga]

1 minute ago, whm1974 said:

Given those conditions I can not blame you for wanting to leave. I hope you twisted your Sister's arm and made her pay for your new glasses or at least any loss of Income because you can't see while getting replacement glasses.

 

If your sister was that bitchy notwithstanding you had perfectly good reason not to pick her, why didn't she stay home?

Well she went to college and she got back with a bus, and i did not want to pick her up, she has to pay for em, she doesnt work atm, but surely i can say i twisted her arm xd, but yeah, u see why i want to leave this fucking place, i spent 2 of my paychecks for this pc, and i still have to buy a power supply

 

[Rujdaga]

3 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Given those conditions I can not blame you for wanting to leave. I hope you twisted your Sister's arm and made her pay for your new glasses or at least any loss of Income because you can't see while getting replacement glasses.

 

If your sister was that bitchy notwithstanding you had perfectly good reason not to pick her, why didn't she stay home?

people here think its a luxury to drive a car worth over 5000euros, and to go on a vacation once a year, first time i went on vacation was 4 months ago

[whm1974]

10 minutes ago, Rujdaga said:

people here think its a luxury to drive a car worth over 5000euros, and to go on a vacation once a year, first time i went on vacation was 4 months ago

You guys still have a number of blue helmet UN Peacekeepers in the Area? Here in the US $5000 is the price of a half way decent used car.

[Rujdaga]

48 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

You guys still have a number of blue helmet UN Peacekeepers in the Area? Here in the US $5000 is the price of a half way decent used car.

yeah, this is a shitty country

 

[whm1974]

7 minutes ago, Rujdaga said:

yeah, this is a shitty country

Here in the US Since you are Skilled Labor with at least a few Skills in demand, you shouldn't have much trouble finding better paying work. What degree did your sister go to college for? If you mind me asking.

[cmndr]

You speak (or at least type) English well enough to do a number of things online (you might want to do some basic grammar checks if you're doing things in a professional context - small things like it's vs its - this can probably be done via software).

I suspect the lowest hanging fruit would be finding some sort of freelance work that you can do online. I suspect that there's A LOT of American businesses that would LOVE to pay someone the equivalent of $5/hr (so 2x what you're getting at work) and even more as you develop your skill set (if I were to freelance I'd be targeting $100-200/hr). If you can get consistent enough work lined up, you could conceivably quit your job. I would start with a side business FIRST though.

I don't have good answers on immigration.

To the extent possible work on diet, sleep and exercise and try to find ways to monetize things you enjoy doing a bit more.

 

[tkitch]

If you're only 19?  You're probably still an apprentice at your job.

 

Once you're fully trained, you can probably get a better job making a fair bit more money, and likely with better hours.  

[Rujdaga]

48 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Here in the US Since you are Skilled Labor with at least a few Skills in demand, you shouldn't have much trouble finding better paying work. What degree did your sister go to college for? If you mind me asking.

Shes finishing it for an agricultural engineer

[Rujdaga]

26 minutes ago, tkitch said:

If you're only 19?  You're probably still an apprentice at your job.

 

Once you're fully trained, you can probably get a better job making a fair bit more money, and likely with better hours.  

Man, im doing 60-70% of the work here, u dont know how it goes in Bosnia, if u wanna get paid more u gotta go and talk to ur boss thats it

[Rujdaga]

47 minutes ago, cmndr said:

You speak (or at least type) English well enough to do a number of things online (you might want to do some basic grammar checks if you're doing things in a professional context - small things like it's vs its - this can probably be done via software).

I suspect the lowest hanging fruit would be finding some sort of freelance work that you can do online. I suspect that there's A LOT of American businesses that would LOVE to pay someone the equivalent of $5/hr (so 2x what you're getting at work) and even more as you develop your skill set (if I were to freelance I'd be targeting $100-200/hr). If you can get consistent enough work lined up, you could conceivably quit your job. I would start with a side business FIRST though.

I don't have good answers on immigration.

To the extent possible work on diet, sleep and exercise and try to find ways to monetize things you enjoy doing a bit more.

 

I know english pretty well, im not used to type "it's" and yeah ur 100% right, but i dont know where to start that freelance. Any suggestions?

[whm1974]

2 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

I know english pretty well, im not used to type "it's" and yeah ur 100% right, but i dont know where to start that freelance. Any suggestions?

Maybe start out Locally?

[Theguywhobea]

40/hrs a week does suck, but it gets easier as you get older. Moving to the US sounds like it might be a good idea but just remember that it's pretty rare here for anyone to make a living and work less than 40/hrs a week. I have an engineering degree and still do 45-50 hours a week just to afford to live where I do (although I do live near a major city).

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

Hey guys, i turned 19 in January (i live in Bosnia and Herzegovina) when i turned 18 i finished high school for a welder, i got a job right after i finished school at the place where i had practical classes for 2 years, its mostly about ventilation, heating, air conditioning and stuff like that, at that place im a welder (obv and i know how to weld stick, mig, tig and autogenous), painter, locksmith, warehouseman,im the one doing things with a forklift, everything...Basically ur able to get 7 days off in a year, only 7 days off and i make 2.2euros/hr (minimum wage in bosnia is 1.5euro/hr) and im sick of it, im tired, i hate it, but i cannot quit cuz its really hard to find a job here, i wanna move to another country, but its difficult, really difficult. Im fixing electronics, pcs, tvs etc at home as a hobby, and i LOOVE pcs a lot i know like every single thing bout em. Are there any tips how to slowly start my own business (cuz i noticed theres noone in my town whos selling pc parts and stuff like that), my wish is to move to USA, but its difficult to get a visa. All of my friends are leaving, everyone, except me, i hate my life, i live with an alcoholic father, strict mom, 2 older sisters, and just me and my dad work, im tired of everything, at work they stress me out soo much that its unbelievable... I have no friends to talk about these kind of stuff. This forum was really friendly to me thats why this is the only place where i feel "safe"

Quote

Im 19 and im tired of my 9-5 job..

OK, first off, the title had me laugh my rear end straight off, I had to go looking for it. Laughing cause you have such a long way to go yet.... for any career. Hang in there!

 

Above, I quote you because welding is a great profession. Since you have experience and knowledge in the field, I'd like to expand your mind to further school in nuclear welding. This field will get you most likely out of the country and will be the highest of all welder paying jobs (that I'm aware of). If you got into it by 25 years old, you'd have a pretty nice house paid off in 10 years (If you was in the U.S.). Could be a goal for you, do some research on it.  

[wasab]

3 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

Man, im doing 60-70% of the work here, u dont know how it goes in Bosnia, if u wanna get paid more u gotta go and talk to ur boss thats it

sounds like you need to ask for a raise. However if you are being paid at the market rate for your current skill level and experiences, it would be rather difficult to justify why you deserve more. If you screw up too badly, they may think you are too entitled. 

 

Keep upskilling yourself and applying to other roles on the side, these give you a chance, while not doing anything will have 0% chance of getting out of your current situation. 

 

Quote

Basically nowhere, because, bosnia has 3 presidents who are really greedy, yes 3 presidents, because in the 90s when there was a war here, bosnia was "split" into 3 pieces/entities/regions, and lemme tell you the cost of the living, gas/diesel is 1.25euro per liter, flour is 20e for 25kg bag, 1 bread is 0.50euro, im paying 19euros for 10mbps internet which is insane, electricity is 50e, trash and water are combined 12e, so u can figure it out, like last month, my sister broke my glasses because i didnt want to go to pick her up at the bus station cuz it was snowy af and my tires are crappy, boom paid 100e for em, bought a gtx 1060 6gb for 250e, and there goes my monthly salary...

your country sounds like a mess but i doubt they are responsible for your job dissatisfaction. Try living simply, avoid spending money you dont have.

 

Downgrade your living standards if you must if it helps you save up a bit of money. These are just some common financial literacy. Having some savings allow you to pursue opportunity that comes your way while also mitigate emergency. Being broke all the time is a vicious cycle that will only self perpetuate your current problems. 

 

Welder is by no means a dead end job or a bad profession. There is growth in this career and your wage will grow eventually. If you simply dislike it, keep upskilling yoruself and find new opportunities none stop

 

I see you want to move to the USA. The most feasible means to do this is to study here as an international students and then apply for some H1B visas and later green card. You must have the financial means to support this however, and even more important, study and work hard enough to have companies sponsor your work visa for you to stay here permanently.  

 

Also, disown your sister. 

[cmndr]

2 hours ago, Theguywhobea said:

40/hrs a week does suck, but it gets easier as you get older. Moving to the US sounds like it might be a good idea but just remember that it's pretty rare here for anyone to make a living and work less than 40/hrs a week. I have an engineering degree and still do 45-50 hours a week just to afford to live where I do (although I do live near a major city).

You can make it work... After I finished college I lived off of like half of what I made (after tax) and had a 40 hour week.
Last year I lived off something like 10% - though I'm a relatively high income earner with a frugal lifestyle.

4 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

I know english pretty well, im not used to type "it's" and yeah ur 100% right, but i dont know where to start that freelance. Any suggestions?

Do you have any skills that you're reasonably good at that can be done on a computer? Web/graphic design, tech support, photography. I suspect that you could find a list and find some sort of platform. You wouldn't necessarily need to go for "great" things, just something to get started.

Some skills might need to be built up to and your first few jobs you might want to underbill (so if you say you worked 10 hours you actually worked 20) since you're effectively training.

For context, LTT itself runs off of this model. They hire relatively cheap Canadians and "sell" videos and ads to relatively affluent Americans.

[trag1c]

Thats a shitty situation, start saving so that you can come to North America. In Canada (at least in the province of Alberta) you can easily make $60-300 an hour welding, especially if you run your own welding truck. You still work (at least) 40 hours a week but you're well compensated when you're working in a high skill field. Most trades here also get payed at least 1.5 times their wage for going over 40 hours a week. So you can make a lot of money in a short time if it's busy. You usually get decent health benefits as well like vision care and dental in addition to the government provided health care. Some companies also offer various retirement/savings plans.

 

I don't think your prior experience would get recognized here since welding is a compulsory trade that requires post secondary education which means you have to attend technical school and have a certain number of on the job training hours. (I could be wrong about recognition though so look into it if it interests you.) But if you have prior experience many businesses would be willing to apprentice you and possibly even pay for the schooling. You typically work like 1500 hours and then go to school for a couple months and repeat that again like another 3 times before you're a certified journeyman. They are legally obligated to pay you a certain percentage of the journeyman pay which increases every period completed until you're a journeyman.

 

Those credentials are also recognized almost anywhere in the world. Also since it's post secondary you can even get recognized prior learning for a few different undergrad degrees once you get your blue seal journeyman if you ever wanted to go that route.

[BetteBalterZen]

17 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

... I have no friends to talk about these kind of stuff. This forum was really friendly to me thats why this is the only place where i feel "safe"

I don't have anything useful to say other than I wish you the best. I understand why you must feel tired. I really wish you all the best. 

[Sauron]

18 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

Are there any tips how to slowly start my own business (cuz i noticed theres noone in my town whos selling pc parts and stuff like that)

I would strongly discourage this, there was never much money to be made in this line of business and it's a lot harder to take off now than it was even just a decade ago.

18 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

my wish is to move to USA, but its difficult to get a visa.

Why the US? There are plenty of countries in the EU you can move to with better living standards that you can reach more easily than the US. As far as I know Bosnia is also in the process of joining the EU, which would make moving and working in the EU much easier for you.

 

Germany would be a good option that's not too far from Bosnia, Italy is not as good but it's closer and it's better than what you described.

[whm1974]

2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I would strongly discourage this, there was never much money to be made in this line of business and it's a lot harder to take off now than it was even just a decade ago.

Why the US? There are plenty of countries in the EU you can move to with better living standards that you can reach more easily than the US. As far as I know Bosnia is also in the process of joining the EU, which would make moving and working in the EU much easier for you.

 

Germany would be a good option that's not too far from Bosnia, Italy is not as good but it's closer and it's better than what you described.

I have to agree with the first. Given the Issues you describe in Bosnia, owning a nice Computer would be hardly on any to do list to begin with. Now you could well or maybe not selling Notebooks and perhaps Internet Service depending... Or the Laptops on the side.

 

But with @Sauron said about the EU nations is to be taken in consideration. However there Corvid 19 to consider. Due to the disease traveling is now much harder and getting a Visa or Green Card is almost like finding Hen's teeth. 

[tkitch]

15 hours ago, Rujdaga said:

Man, im doing 60-70% of the work here, u dont know how it goes in Bosnia, if u wanna get paid more u gotta go and talk to ur boss thats it

That may be the case, but it doesn't mean you're not the apprentice still.

 

That being said:  If you can "Master" your trade in a few years?  That may actually help you get a Visa if you can't get one another way first.  Skilled Tradesmen are always something that countries are looking for, so someone who is properly skilled in welding?  Points in their favor.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

Look around and apply for other jobs in your field. If you get an offer that would pay better than what you get now, bring the offer to your current boss and see if you can get a raise. Don't be a dick about it, though. Be direct and professional. If your boss isn't willing to give you a raise, then take on the other job.

 

Stop spending your money on basically anything you don't need. Be as frugal as possible, and save as much as you can. Avoid debt like the plague, and pay off any debts you may have. With savings, comes opportunity. Making this sacrifice now will pay dividends in your future.