Perhaps when I start taking college classes again.

I feel like graphic design is a really crowded field right now. I have no way of knowing how typical it is, but I hear of a lot of people doing it for close to minimum wage. Why not try out one of the skilled trades? Those are pretty hot right now.

If you still have free classes, you could take some business classes, and then transition to a small business owner once you get your master certification.

Electrician! Interesting work, good pay, get to stay upright a lot of the time, make an impact on people's lives, no crazy hours (unless you want them), etc. I had 3 quotes to get my newly-built garage wired and the lowest was $2500 for a _single_ circuit that would run an opener, an outlet, and a few lights, to $8000 for ~4 circuits that had more outlets. I ended up doing the work myself for about $500 in materials and a few weekends of pulling wires and wiring boxes. I enjoyed it. I would probably actually pursue that now as a side project if it didn't require all the government certifications which require N years of apprenticeship which I can't do with another full time job.

That's an excellent idea. I can't say I hadn't thought of it before but I hadn't revisited the idea for some time. I could hire on as an apprentice after completing the Industrial Maintenance course, earn whatever certifications I need, then just set up my own service truck and venture out on my own. Have to look into this idea some more.

YMMV.

A lot of that estimate goes toward the permit, the master who inspects the work, overhead, and employer profits if you aren't in business for yourself. Apprentices get paid relatively poorly and don't pull wages when they're in school. I can't speak for commercial or union shops, but in Canada a lot of developers and big residential electrical firms have been dumping apprentices in their third year, to keep costs and competition down (you can't go into business for yourself without your journeyman ticket.)

Electrical is also physically demanding work. Wiring in an unfinished room or in new construction is super easy, but fishing a line through finished walls, attics, and crawlspaces is a totally different discussion. Anecdotally, I also know two commercial electricians who tremendously hate their working conditions, and who are worried about the physical demands as they get older, but they can't afford to quit. (One of them started getting panic attacks and had to switch to a different company.)

Just saying, the grass always looks greener on the other side. Every job has disadvantages and it's often difficult to tell what they are as an outsider.

Those are all good points and things I've generally considered across the board. It's why I'm having a hard time with this whole process. Generally speaking, I can make decent money right now in mechanic jobs or driving a truck. There are quite a few factories in this town so industrial maintenance training combined with what I already have should open many doors. Those sorts of jobs should be a little easier physically as a lot of equipment is designed with service in mind. Digital graphics came to mind primarily for two reasons. Combined I saw the potential to earn decent money in a less physically demanding way. Alternatively, I see it as a way to learn how to use the tools which would just be nice to know. I was thinking I could always use the skills I developed to produce "something" on the side as well as personal projects.

My GI Bill is lasting a ridiculous amount of time in this school. The school I was going to in Nashville was a lot more expensive and took about 22 months from my 36 months of benefit. I used another month's worth on CDL training. About two months of my benefit has paid for eleven months in the school I'm at now.