u/New_Calligrapher3808

Hey there, as the title says I'm looking to get some advice. I graduated college a year ago with my BA in History. In the process of figuring out what I wanted to do with my life after moving back home I found work on a local regenerative ag farm, about 5 acres. I'm severely underpaid, but, who isn't these days? What makes up for that is the amount of skills I've learned which have proven to be invaluable.

I got some news from my Dad the other day that he wants to buy some land for the family, develop a vineyard on it and so on. He wants me to help get it running in the next year... As excited as I am for the opportunity to really break into agriculture on my own terms, I feel underprepared.

I was wondering what you lot might think of this?

I could get a seasonal job up North (California) to learn how the process on a vineyard looks or maybe a larger scale farm?

Also, would an online credential be a bad idea? I see Purdue has some courses as well as U of Western Australia which was reccomended in another subreddit. Alternatively I could go get my associates for cheap at a local college.

At a fork and want input from people who've actually done this.

23, Berkeley grad (history), spent the last year+ as a construction/facilities tech at an ag and restaurant campus — small builds, plumbing, electrical, irrigation, site work. I like the work and I'm decent at it.

End goal is owning a design-build company someday. Not rushing it, but that's the direction.

Debating: get on with a crew as a carpenter and work up through foreman/super, or keep pushing for a PM/Field Engineer role at a smaller design-build GC. Been cold-emailing for PM roles for a while with mixed results, and starting to wonder if I'd be better off just getting on with a crew and working up from inside the trade instead of trying to walk in through the office.

For guys who started as carpenters and ended up running or owning something — did that path get you to the business side, or did you hit a ceiling without office-side experience? For anyone who got into PM without a CM degree — how much did that actually slow you down?

Not trying to overthink this, just want input from people further down the road before I pick a lane.

Hey there, as the title said I graduated last year in May with a BA in History. I moved back home shortly after and have been working on a local farm doing all their facilities work and some general construction. I've really been enjoying taking on these projects from start to finish by myself and I'm wondering if I could maybe do this on a bigger scale. Which is why I'm here.

I've been living at home with my parents for the last year trying to figure out what I want to do for my career and I realized a couple things. I like working hands on and seeing the fruit of my labor but I also want to be valued for my analytical skills. A few coworkers suggested I go into carpentry and later on become a GC. Long term, I'd love to own my own company someday, being my own boss and building something that's mine is a big part of the appeal for me, so I'm trying to figure out the path that actually gets me there, not just the next job title.

I have a few questions I'm hoping to get answered and I apologize if I sound stupid asking them.

1. Does my degree keep me from being competitive in finding a job as say a Field Engineer or Project Engineer, or do most companies not care much about the major as long as it's a bachelor's?
2. Is it better to try to break in directly as a Field Engineer/PE, or would I be better served spending a year or two in the trades (carpentry, etc.) first to build credibility before moving into a PE role?
3. How much does my hands-on experience (running a build from start to finish, just without the formal title) actually count for in an interview, versus just being seen as "farm maintenance work"?
4. For those of you running your own GC or design-build company — did you come up through the field side (super, PM) or the estimating/office side first? Which path actually sets someone up to eventually own their own shop?
5. Any advice on how to network into this without an internship or industry connections? Cold outreach, associations (AGC, etc.), certifications worth getting (OSHA 30, etc.) before applying?

Appreciate any insight, even if it's just "here's what I wish I knew at 22."

Looking for honest feedback on my profile and any current info on the 09S process in 2026.

I'm 23M, one year post-grad with a BA in History from UC Berkeley. I finished there with a 3.1, but came from another college before where I had a 3.8, avg GPA is 3.45, but not sure the board cares to do that math. Taking the ASVAB next week, last time I took it I got 115 GT a few years back.

I've been working part-time as Substitute teacher professionally, and spend the rest of my time working on a farm. I've got no military service experience personally, but my family has a background in it. Currently training for the AFT, sitting around 430-440 on the AFT, with running being my strength.

Some questions I was hoping to get answered:

1. How does this profile look on paper for OCS? Honest assessments welcome.

2. What's the 09S process looking like right now in 2026 — timelines, board competitiveness, anything that's changed recently?

3. What are some branches I should look into/consider? I'm not sure what I'd want to do.

I'd appreciate any insight from people who've been through it or are currently in the pipeline.