Have you been thinking about starting a side hustle or new career in 2023?
Do you have a New Year’s resolution of leveling up your skill set? If this is the case, there are a variety of options to try across San Diego County.
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We put together a guide of career fields — automotive technology, construction, culinary arts, digital arts and business — with associate’s degrees or career advancement certifications available at local colleges, universities, libraries and trade organizations.
Having the skills to repair your vehicle or fix someone else’s can be an asset. It can also make you extra cash and become a new career path. There are a handful of local community colleges that offer hands-on classes, certificates and degrees to become an automotive technician in various specialty areas.
There always seems to be a crane putting up steel in downtown San Diego or a house being renovated somewhere in the county. So it’s no surprise there are several local training options if you want to have a career construction, from project manager and estimating to plumbing and electrical contractor.
If you are interested in one of the building trades, such as carpentry, electrical and plumbing, each building trade union offers free training from apprenticeship programs through local schools if you first become a member and pay monthly dues.
How does artisan focaccia bread, Tortilla Española or risotto Milanese with pan-seared salmon sound to you? Or how about a cannoli with ricotta cheese filling or French macarons? If any of these dishes sound like something you want to learn to make, maybe a career in culinary arts is in your future.
There are also a few local community colleges that offer certificates and associate’s degrees in culinary arts. The classes are $46 per unit with programs ranging from 13 to 73 units.
For those who are into drawing and digital designing or shooting photos and videos and want to take your hobby and turn it into a career, you might want check these institutions offering in-person classes and hands-on training to earn an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or course certificates.
Thinking of starting a small business or maybe expanding that side hustle into a full-time career? Here are a couple of local institutions that can help.
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