How then, do we move backwards? How does a society, with most of the people having no clue of future events, move from being dependent on a vast and intertwined network of goods and services produced by the indigenous people of whereever, to a local resource and renewable energy based society, and do so in the timeframe available (20-30 years using the most liberal extimates, 10-20 with resonable estimates, 5-10 with worst case scenarios), all the while prices on everything increasing, world politics getting more militaristic, governments continuously reducing civil liberties, shortages of goods on the market and weather patterns resembling bad Hollywood movies?
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:03 pm Post subject: Post Peak Jobs?
I think this may have been already talked about, but I'd like to bring it up again.
What kind of jobs are people preparing to do in a post-peak world? Right now I work as a Network Administrator, a job I don't really see being around in more than 10 years once the electrical grid starts to go, so I've been considering going back to school or learning a trade.
It seems to me that the only sure bet job that will always be needed is that of doctor, but there is no way that I'm going to go back to school to become one.
Joined: Jun 18, 2004 Posts: 1037 Location: 28° N 81° W
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:12 pm Post subject:
I'm planning on learning carpentry. Nursing school would be a good option also. _________________ American by birth, Muslim by choice, Southern by the grace of God!
Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 1180 Location: England
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:56 pm Post subject:
Here is my list:
1) Landfill miner -- with no plastics suddenly that dumpster looks attractive !
2) Prostitutes -- the worlds oldest profession, bound to be popular with the super poor.
3) Immigrant shooters -- The US will need to avoid doubling its population by 2050 , will need to seal the mexican border with some sharp shooters(This would be good for you Yavi!)
4) Energy crop farmers -- Bound to be a lucrative market for this if you have the spare capacity over and above food production.
5) Security -- Small communities may need hired help to see off the angry hungry mobs(sounds like another ideal job for you Yavi!).
6) Solar/Wind farm manafacturing. Gonna be in demand and far more labour intensive.
One thing is for sure , there is going to be plenty of work , but the pay is going to be crap! In a lot of cases it could be board/food and lodgings in exchange for your labour
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 5:00 pm Post subject: More jobs
Leather tanner / shoemaker (everybody needs shoes and there'll be no more cheap imports from overseas)
Musician / entertainer (morale raiser willingly paid for after arena converts, CD's and MTV disappear)
Teacher / Minister (people will still value basic education and will be desparate for spiritual comfort and leadership)
Permaculturist (production-intensive / low energy input food production requires eclectic expertise and will be a high-value profession)
Handyperson (those with the tools, knowledge, and access to resources to fix basic machines will be in great demand)
Chemist (knowing the recipes for creating essential products like drugs, incendiaries, cleaning products, preservatives, paints, and a host of other useful things)
Gangster / Warlord (develop your charisma, ruthlnessness, and network of willing thugs and corrupt officials, they'll come in real handy if you lust for relative wealth and power)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm sure this has been helpful to more than just me.
I guess I should have clarified my position though. I am mostly worried about what to do during the transition period. Post Peak, I already figure that I can just be a brewer. See, I'm a homebrewer already. I make mead and hard cider, but current law prohibits me from selling my product; and obtaining the necessary licenses to sell it legally is a legal mess. I figure once government stops caring about things like that, I'll just brew.
Until that time however, is what I was considering. I guess becoming a teacher would be a good transition. Fitting, since I was an English major in college.
But seriously, keep the suggestions comming! I know this is helpful to us all to brainstorm on this. Especially about jobs that will be around during the "transition" period.
Yavicleus, since transportation, both personal and business, will likely become too expensive people will eventually have to look locally for what they need. Find out what those things are and learn the skills to make them. I've been stocking up on any hand tools I can get my hands on and am learning how to use them plus getting books on various farming/gardening, household, (useful) crafts so if I need info, I've got it.
[quote="Yavicleus"]
I guess I should have clarified my position though. I am mostly worried about what to do during the transition period. Post Peak, I already figure that I can just be a brewer. See, I'm a homebrewer already. I make mead and hard cider, but current law prohibits me from selling my product; and obtaining the necessary licenses to sell it legally is a legal mess. I figure once government stops caring about things like that, I'll just brew.[quote]
Good choice, my friend! Bartenders never lost their jobs during the depression. Myself, I am lucky to some degree. I am a former NPS ranger, law enforcement officer, EMT, naturalist and carpenter.
McGyver types will do real well in the transition. But I think the best job will be the teachers. We are all going to school right now. What we learn and share here will make the difference in our personal lives and those of our friends and loved ones. Someone must have the light and show the way. _________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
Joined: Jul 07, 2004 Posts: 434 Location: Berkeley CA
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 10:34 pm Post subject:
I seem to have skills in chemistry at the current momment, but I don't think there will be jobs in the chemistry field in the future. Learning some basic physics seem to prove usefulness, you grasp a better understanding of the world. Science is also an interest to me, I pretty much have a basic grasp on it, but I will keep learning. Remember "knowledge itself is power."
I will learn things about bring a dentist, this is useful, but I highly doubt we're going to have nitrous oxide comes post peak.
I hope to have some skills to be an engineer. _________________ my page:
www.myspace.com/peakoil
I'm hoping to make it as a farm laborer in the post-peak Amerika. I also have a guitar and bass (both acoustic) and can play them so musician is an alternative.
One very ancient trade that is certainly going to be valued post peak is that of Coppicer. This is the highly skilled person who harvests (deciduous) coppice woodland on cycles of from 7 to around 28 years, allowing the trees to re-grow from the stump. This is exceptionally sustainable: near Ashford, Kent, UK there are a few coppice trees that were planted in Roman times. Had they not been cut regularly they'd not have lasted longer than a tree's normal lifespan.
Beside providing the highest biodiversity of any (European) ecosystem, and thus game and other non-timber products, the annual fuelwood harvest can be processed into a wide range of products. These include (in order of capital investment) firewood, charcoal, woodgas, electricity and methanol.
BTW, at best this trade establishes coppices on hill land and so avoids competition with farming (with a first harvest after half the cycle length), while also helping to slow rainfall runoff thus reducing lowland flooding.
It's maybe worth noting that the industrial revolution was largely founded on the smelting of iron using charcoal from extensive coppice woodlands.
Joined: May 24, 2004 Posts: 3428 Location: California, USA
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 2:47 am Post subject:
Good list, Cyotha! Food for thought.
Terran, you understate your talents, my friend. You'll have plenty of opportunities to use them in the community and surrounding areas. Not to forget that the term "chemist" is proper English for apothecary. I don't think we have to worry about anaesthetics becoming unobtainable. More expensive perhaps, but N2O was produced in the mid 1800s, and local anaesthetics ending in -caine will still be produced (can coca be grown in California?).
As for me, I expect that telecoms engineer will still be a viable primary occupation, as the economy shifts away from transportation, communication will fill much of the void. The community-defense application of which is signals intelligence, and the hard-landing application of which is the redevelopment of basic telephone services in hard-hit areas, all of which are in my repertoire. (I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm developing a business plan based on peak oil implications for the communications industry...).
Though, I also have numerous other skills in a range of fields including construction, that are "basic infrastructure" and therefore not likely to go away unless we go back to the caves.
Backstop, good point about coppicers; sustainable forestry is a vital occupation.
I would add "archivist" and "librarian" and "postal worker" to the list. The former two are vital to the preservation of information; and the latter is vital to communication.
Anyone who's looking for construction or farm labor is welcome to join our community. Governance structure will include democratic mechanisms, and economic structure will include sufficient distributional equity, so you'll be better off than under a neo-feudal lord. You'll have a civilized standard of housing; good food; good sanitation; good communications; a well-organized defense; education for your kids; and freedom of conscience, speech, religion, etc. All of us will be expected to work hard for long hours, cross-train in new skills, participate in building the common infrastructure, participate in the common defense, abide by the law, uphold civilized values and practices, and conduct ourselves in an honorable manner both within the community and with those outside.
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In a lot of cases it could be board/food and lodgings in exchange for your labour 
