Skills that are useful both now and later

Holocene

Here's a question for the contributors to this forum (one of my favorites on the site).

If someone were going into education now, what skill set would offer the best balance of

a) employability in the current market, and

b) transferable skills that would be of use during SHTF time?

I wonder about this since while obviously knowledge of the traditional trades are handy commodities in the latter scenario, in the current state of affairs they seem to be in low demand. I also wonder (in the spirit of speculation) about surprise scenarios where inconspicuous or arcane skills suddenly accrue huge currency, or currently prized skills become obsolete (I'm thinking surely the drive towards cloud computing technologies amounts to a wholesale enfeeblement of the workforce when it comes to handling S H'ing the F?)

Do these questions influence your own choices in your professional life? And what kind of reasoning do you apply to hit the Goldilocks sweet spot where skills will be useful both now and in future eventualities?

Holocene

Some of my questions are already covered here,

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056544647

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056457265

Apologies for t(h)reading old ground

Agent_47

Unfortunately we are heading the same way the UK has gone with trades and scientists, towards services and finance which have little value in a SHTF world. None of these are transferable which is in reference to your point b.

What skills would provide a chance of employability currently, tough question to answer. IT professionals are always in demand as as the medical profession. Medical profession skills are obviously useful now and later.

Given the exodus of the builder trades, this area should see a useful employment base especially going forward. It is scary to see how many people do not have the basic skills in plumbing, carpentry, electrical and mechanical.

bonniebede

I think the solution is not to think of them as overlapping. Most useful skill now - whatever you can earn money at, and buy land, equipment, stores and training with it.

In the meantime learn, train (usually at hobbyist sort of level), practise skills that you mihgt only use part time now but will be useful after

emergency medicine, first aid, herbal medicine
gardening , urban homesteading, heading towards self sufficiency
hands on skills, plumbing, carpentry etc
low tech fertility awareness/care
survival skills for hiking , camping etc
rainfall capture and purification skills
cooking and butchery
self defence, archery


hmmm/ my main academic skills are not on either list:(.

ShadowFox

I think your better off with some different hobbies more than something you will get employment at like Gardening welding electronics hunting fishing where some of these can become employment id rather know a little about a lot than a lot about a little

wolfeye

I think i'll become a travelling hobo dentist post SHTF.
Must learn hypnosis and use as a pain killer.
A lidl pliers set and a soldering iron/solder for filling, then i'm good to go.

Post SHTF there will be no toothpaste or tooth brushes(unless use soot and birch twigs),so there sure will be alot rotten teeth.

A guy would barter his wife just to get rid of the pain.:D

yup a real money spinner

sweeney1971

Is there any Survivalist Groups about where one could practice Survival skills and learn more? (sorry to go off topic)

sweeney1971

Doctor, Dentist, Vet, Engineer any of these would be worth their weight in gold come a major crisis.

mawk

wolfeye wrote: »

I think i'll become a travelling hobo dentist post SHTF.
Must learn hypnosis and use as a pain killer.
A lidl pliers set and a soldering iron/solder for filling, then i'm good to go.

Post SHTF there will be no toothpaste or tooth brushes(unless use soot and birch twigs),so there sure will be alot rotten teeth.

A guy would barter his wife just to get rid of the pain.:D

yup a real money spinner

There will be a lot less sugar too though. Ancient types died with almost no cavities. Worn teeth of course but in general they had much healthier teeth

wolfeye

Ahhh Mawk geez dont say that to me.
Thats it back to the drawing board..my future career destroyed

True it's the sugar and sugary acidic drinks and sipping them for longer perioids that cause decay.
But i'd betting sugary drinks will always be around,cos people are addicted to sugar.
People in Ireland will prob go back growing sugar beet.
Maybe less decay in ancient times cos people died younger.

Still food trapped between teeth causes acid to be made and this causes decay.
Calcium in saliva causes build up of scale and bacteria that cause decay can build up under this.

By looking at Egyptian mummies some were shown to have died in pain from tooth decay and gum infection.

Because of Mawk...My post SHFT career will now be a Black smith
Have to learn how to make shovles,pick axes,forks, horse shoes,chain mail , swords and shields now:P

sweeney1971

You can clean your teeth by rubbing both teeth and gums with sage leaves.

bonniebede

mawk wrote: »

There will be a lot less sugar too though. Ancient types died with almost no cavities. Worn teeth of course but in general they had much healthier teeth

Just what i was thinking. I remember hearing an archaeolgist saying he did n't know what would surprise ancient peoples more, the state of our dentistry or the state of our teeth!

bonniebede

wolfeye wrote: »

Ahhh Mawk geez dont say that to me.
Thats it back to the drawing board..my future career destroyed

True it's the sugar and sugary acidic drinks and sipping them for longer perioids that cause decay.
But i'd betting sugary drinks will always be around,cos people are addicted to sugar.
People in Ireland will prob go back growing sugar beet.
Maybe less decay in ancient times cos people died younger.

Still food trapped between teeth causes acid to be made and this causes decay.
Calcium in saliva causes build up of scale and bacteria that cause decay can build up under this.

By looking at Egyptian mummies some were shown to have died in pain from tooth decay and gum infection.

Because of Mawk...My post SHFT career will now be a Black smith
Have to learn how to make shovles,pick axes,forks, horse shoes,chain mail , swords and shields now:P

Egyptian mummies were the aristicracy, top of the food chain, so they got access to diets rich in sugary things, honey and so on. I think most of us reckon to be ordinary plebs come the day, simple farmer types.

bonniebede

sweeney1971 wrote: »

Is there any Survivalist Groups about where one could practice Survival skills and learn more? (sorry to go off topic)

Not sure what you mean by survivalist groups. There are various bushcraft courses around, people have reccommended. Most survivalist type skills are currently practised as hobbies somewhere - from archery to basket weaving etc etc. The survivalist mindset is simply putting those things together in one package to make yourself more self sufficient, at leat that my understanding of it.

wolfeye

bonniebede wrote: »

Egyptian mummies were the aristicracy, top of the food chain, so they got access to diets rich in sugary things, honey and so on. I think most of us reckon to be ordinary plebs come the day, simple farmer types.

Now thats an idea a dentist to the aristocrats at least i'd get paid.:D
Will the ordinary joe's not need a dentist then?

bonniebede

wolfeye wrote: »

Now thats an idea a dentist to the aristocrats at least i'd get paid.:D
Will the ordinary joe's not need a dentist then?

Depends on how far back you think civillisation is falling. Our generation will always need dentists, our teeth are already overexposed to sugars and we mostly have fillings crowns etc which will need care in later life.

Mostly you would be looking at extraction if a tooth gets painful. Next generation will grow up with healthier teeth because less sugary foods, but may have more vitamin deficiency problems. Again extraction is the main remedy for problems. Anti biotics are a winner if you can make them, without them, if you get an abcess or infected tooth socket after extraction, you are probably a gonner.

We have forgotten mostly that people died a lot from what we would consider small things - boils, tooth infections, colds and flu, simple cuts etc.

We have a longer life expectancy, but in some ways they were healthier, because you were either robust and healthy or dead, not a lot of room for lingering infections or long drawn out old age.

On the other hand they had trouble we would not have - lice, fleas etc. Knowing how to keep them at bay in ways that don't need a whole civilisation is worth its weight in gold.

However one traditional remedy i read for fleas and bed bugs included quicksilver. Think I'll take my chances without the mercury poisoning.

Tabnabs

If movies have taught us anything, you need:

A leader
A mechanic/fixer
A hired muscle
A medic
An elder/moral compass
A runt, who has powerful information or the key to successful outcome.

Pick your background and wait for Armageddon!

Holocene

Tabnabs wrote: »

If movies have taught us anything, you need:

A leader
A mechanic/fixer
A hired muscle
A medic
An elder/moral compass
A runt, who has powerful information or the key to successful outcome.

Pick your background and wait for Armageddon!

Looks like I'll have to pass for an elder if I'm to have any chance. I should be able to recall a few choice movie quotes (Yoda, Gandalf, the Oracle, maybe throw in a bit of Dr. Phil for good measure) ... Hopefully it will be enough to earn my keep

wolfeye

A scavanger. A guy that through his own determination or networks can source stuff Post SHFTF llike,
Food,water,machine parts,weapons,antibiotics,drugs,medicine seeds,fuel,batteries,building matereial,books,footwear ,agricultural equipment and other such things that are scarce .

Such a person would be invaluable .

Also if one was charismatic you could form your own religion and become a preacher.A few bob in that also.

GCU Flexible Demeanour

sweeney1971 wrote: »

Doctor, Dentist, Vet, Engineer any of these would be worth their weight in gold come a major crisis.

Would doctors, trained to modern standards, have the capacity to adapt to employing skills without the benefits of a modern economy? I'd have thought that the skills from the being trained in First Aid by St John's Ambulance or whomever would be about the limit of what's feasible.

Deerhound

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

Would doctors, trained to modern standards, have the capacity to adapt to employing skills without the benefits of a modern economy? I'd have thought that the skills from the being trained in First Aid by St John's Ambulance or whomever would be about the limit of what's feasible.

It would depend on what their practice/training is. Somebody with triage experience or even better a doctor that has done relief work abroad is worth his weight in precious metals.


I know a few medicos that worked with Doctors Without Borders in South America, Darfur, Haiti and Sudan. They worked in beyond primitive conditions with no regular supplies and little or no equipment and corruption and in a lot of cases hostile governments hounding them.

There are a couple of them living about six miles away from me and if the SHTF they will be one of the first that I will be checking up on to see if they are in the country and that they are alright. It also helps that they are preppers like us but then again with what they have seen how could they not be.

wolfeye

We'd probably end up going to back to Traditional Medicine.
Some one with a knowledge Of herbal medicine that could make medicine from plants would be invaluable.

bonniebede

Tabnabs wrote: »

If movies have taught us anything, you need:

A leader
A mechanic/fixer
A hired muscle
A medic
An elder/moral compass
A runt, who has powerful information or the key to successful outcome.

Pick your background and wait for Armageddon!

Whatyou need is a good supply of red, yellowy mustard, and blue teeshirts.
wear the yellow one yourself, this will make everyone else follow your lead.
Give blue ones to your friends and anyone with a useful skill.
give the red ones to anyone you don't like or who is dispensable.
After that you need only obey one simple rule. Never leave home without a least one, an preferably several people in red tee shirts. If anything risky comes up, you take the risk, and leave them in as safe a location as possible to wait for you. This will guarantee your safe return and sadly for them, their quick demise.

sungear

I would like to know more about traditional archery and stuff like traditional methods of doing things, like basket weaving and cooking using traditional methods.

Is there anywhere that does Archery and practices stuff like making bows using traditional methods? among other things?

jugger

Archery forum some one over there might be able to help
they also have a for sale thread as well if your intrested in buying some gear

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=385

Deerhound

sungear wrote: »

I would like to know more about traditional archery and stuff like traditional methods of doing things, like basket weaving and cooking using traditional methods.

Is there anywhere that does Archery and practices stuff like making bows using traditional methods? among other things?

I met these guys during the summer.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolf-Tracks/360703783969066
They are a great bunch of lads and they do a lot of the things that you are interested in. They are based in Aillwee Cave in Clare but they do week-end courses around the country. Get in contact with them if you are interested they might have something in your area or point you in the right direction.

sungear

Thanks, i will look into that, its a bit far but if they do what Im interested in maybe I will see if they do stuff nearer or maybe they know similar grouos that do it, Im in Dublin so, I was hoping for something in Leinster somewhere.
Thanks all the same.

Deerhound

@ Sungear
Here is a link to their website:
http://www.wolftracks.ie/index.html

It shows some of the things that they do. I'm not sure if they update the site anymore. I got the impression that they are going to be using the facebook page now. But it shows that they did the bow making course in Kilakee, Co. Dublin.

sungear

Deerhound wrote: »

@ Sungear
Here is a link to their website:
http://www.wolftracks.ie/index.html

It shows some of the things that they do. I'm not sure if they update the site anymore. I got the impression that they are going to be using the facebook page now. But it shows that they did the bow making course in Kilakee, Co. Dublin.

Thanks, i sent them a message, will see what they say