Jobs that build muscle?

[Empty Miroir]

I'm currently a few days away from my 23rd birthday and I realized that if I want to seriously start transitioning, I'm gonna have to do two things.
1) Earn the money to pay for my top surgery.
2) Get the mesomorphic shape that I so desperately need and crave.

So it seems practical that I'd want to hit two birds with one stone and get a physically demanding job that pays enough to cover my surgery expenses. Suggestions?
Have any of you guys gone through the same route? I'm currently pre-transition and am NOT planning on taking T for personal reasons.

[Nygeel]

A lot of physically demanding jobs won't pay THAT well for somebody just starting. Construction, sheet metal worker, firefighter, depending on where you live a fisherman, freight handling, logger.

But, how much would you be able to lift now? Would you be able to lift and carry 75 lbs? Would you be okay with working 8 hours on your feet, lifting and moving heavy material?

Edit to add:
Canada has transgender coverage for surgery.

[Jessica Merriman]

Definitely Fire Service! You will get into great shape.

[Empty Miroir]

A lot of physically demanding jobs won't pay THAT well for somebody just starting. Construction, sheet metal worker, firefighter, depending on where you live a fisherman, freight handling, logger.

But, how much would you be able to lift now? Would you be able to lift and carry 75 lbs? Would you be okay with working 8 hours on your feet, lifting and moving heavy material?

Edit to add:
Canada has transgender coverage for surgery.

I actually live in Manitoba, one of the only provinces that doesn't cover it. And no, I don't think I can lift 75lbs, I'm a recluse that's slowly starting to get ahold of my depression.

[Erik Ezrin]

You could also work in a  supermarket distribution center. Not the most fun or well paid job, but you can start without prior education or experience, and I have a friend who got pretty strong because she was lifting pellets of stuff all the time. (I mind to say she is not yet a big muscular workout girl, but she is a lot stronger. And if you can lift more you can move on to more physically demanding jobs to grow some muscle)

[Ryan55]

I work at lowes part time while I go to school and the loaders/receivers def do a lot of physical labor and lifting

[randomroads]

Remember that physically demanding jobs put a lot of wear and tear on your body. You'd get better results going to the gym and as long as you use the machines properly, the risk is minimized very nicely.

[Jill F]

I've had a few jobs that got me pretty buffed out.  I have had gym memberships in the past, but I always found workout routines repetetive and dull.  Plus I always had an aversion to the smell of locker rooms.  In the past, I have done the following jobs that bulked me up pretty fast:

1) Demolition - Jackhammering and hauling debris
2) Construction - especially ditch digging, hauling construction materials and hammering
3) Shipping and receiving - loading and unloading heavy objects from trucks and warehousing

The bad news is that it really did take a toll on my back and knees, and for me, I still have about 10-15 extra pounds of muscle on me from remodeling my kitchen in 2012 that I still need to lose.

[aleon515]

Brawn jobs are more repetitive, but might help you sleep better. This is from someone who never had such a job.

--Jay

[BrotherBen]

Hmm... Do y'all think any of these could be night/weekend only gigs? I already have a 9 to 5, and if I were going to moonlight, the last thing I'd wanna do is sit at a desk even more. Don't see many construction crews out at night though.

[AdamMLP]

Railway's do a lot of work at night, but if it's anything like getting into it in the UK is pretty hard and with not much pay time opportunity, if any.

[Jack_M]

Hate to break out to you, but without T, making any decent muscle is next to impossible via manual labour. If you wanted that you'd have to hit a gym and seriously lift and lift until you literally cannot lift any heavier. And drink lots of protein shakes, and even then it's not going to make you super buff. Female body builders often use steroids, and for those who don't, they live in gyms not gaining the muscle with manual labour jobs.

It's not worth getting a hard manual labour job to build muscle. I worked as a postal worker for years and it did very little for me other than give me a sore back and a not so great knee. I hate to get sexist, and I honestly don't mean it to sound this way but hard labour is just easier and safer for those with T in their systems as they more efficiently build muscles to better protect joints and bones from taking on heavy loads on their own. I used to think this was overrated myself, but 10 months on T myself and it's absolutely anything but. It's a crazy advantage that makes things well over double to triple times easier. That is why if you want muscles you should hit the gym because heavy manual labour will not give you much at all and is more likely to just cause injury and long term damage as a result. Gyms are safer, more controlled and with support and spotters for weight lifting to keep strain away from where it's not healthy to be.

[immortal gypsy]

Labouring is always a good choice it is more interesting then the gym and while you wont bulk up without T you will build muscle and strength (that would come with the gym as well).
Cons:Restricted to the weather, highly physical (some nights it was shower and bed) and low pay
Pros:It is good for fitness, you work outdoors, your not at the same place (site) all the time so you can move around
Two things to note pending if you take this work option it can be a feast and a famine so when you are working save. Also pending on where you are fittness while get a gym membership. This will help bring you up to speed and keep you in form when you have rainy weather and can't work
Yes it is highly physical and can be painfull on both guys and girls joints but I know in Australia saftey OHS laws are trying to improve the situation. Thou the law saying you can't carry two 20kg bags of cement is total argh. You can not balance yourself with one your the second bag

[Alexthecat]

Get a desk job so you can go back to work sooner after surgery.

[Exus]

Don't get heavy jobs where you have to lift a lot. It will only hurt your body...
Hit the gym, you won't really gain much in the gym though. Try starting T and while you transition, workout m8.

[Tossu-sama]

Construction work is a decent way to do that but since there's no gradual change to heavier work, there's the potential to really hurt yourself.

I worked as a painter in construction so it was a bit different but I still had to deal with heavy paint buckets and very repetitive movements. The fun fact is that painters usually have to retire earlier than normal because their backs give up and I can see why. I had problems with my sciatica and I was still in school learning the trade.

But like Jack_M said, without T there's not much physical work can do. I had pretty good muscle growth when I was working but I had just started T so that helped a lot.

[mythy]

Catering is a good weekend job to start with. Generally, you will load in and load out as well as be on your feet for 8 hours carrying heavy trays. It's a good workout.

Not a bad idea to still hit up a gym though.

[ChrisRokk]

The only shipping/receiving job that I thought was more intense than lifting at a gym was UPS, and that is only if you are unloading, not loading.  Unless you get a million items in one truck that are all just under the weight required to be considered "irregular" (weird shaped awkward heavy items that go in the truck last).  However, if you are not in decent shape to begin with, working at UPS, FedEx, or whatever the Canadian equivalent is of those shipping companies would probably be unpleasant.  Also if you live in a very hot or very cold climate, it's extra unpleasant.  I am assuming the winter temperatures in those trailers would be kinda brutal where you are.

I have worked in receiving at a couple of retail businesses as well, and from my experience the boxes were too light for building muscle.

(Also, all of this was pre-transition.  I had an OK squat/bench/deadlift total before transitioning and was capable of doing dips with a lot of weight strapped to me, so don't let anyone tell you just because you are pre-T that you can't lift or work a manual labor job.  It is possible.  I have no injuries.  If anything, lack of exercise messes your joints up worse than weights or a little manual labor will.)

Anyway, good luck with your job hunt.  With a decent paying job, a gym membership should be affordable.  In the United States, there are gyms as cheap as $10 per month.  Maybe there is something like that in Canada?

[GnomeKid]

yea.. at this point if I were you I'd just get a job where I knew I wasn't going to be sitting all day.  Something on your feet and moving, but not necessarily heavy lifting.  Then get yourself to a gym 4-5 days a week and start going running and doing some yoga or pilates or something.  You'll be able to safely build your strength that way.  Sometimes it may feel like you're lifting wimpy amounts, but next week or the week after that you'll be able to lift a little more.  Those other heavy lifting jobs are just going to cause you injury ect. at this point.  Honestly they cause the big buff bulky dudes who do those jobs injury on a regular basis, so if you're not even close to that point I'd try for something that just keeps you moving.  What you don't want is to be sitting on your ass all day.

This is the same thing I'd do myself really.  Hurting yourself is just going to put you back, and you don't want your money dependent on your physical ability to lift 75 + lbs. ect.

[DriftingCrow]

Hmm... Do y'all think any of these could be night/weekend only gigs? I already have a 9 to 5, and if I were going to moonlight, the last thing I'd wanna do is sit at a desk even more. Don't see many construction crews out at night though.

I see plenty of construction crews out at night, because that's the best time to work on highways in the city.

However, I agree with this one :

Catering is a good weekend job to start with. Generally, you will load in and load out as well as be on your feet for 8 hours carrying heavy trays. It's a good workout.

Not a bad idea to still hit up a gym though.

I used to work banquets. The pay can be decent. The hours can be really flexible (most gigs are Thursday/Friday nights and weekends).

It's tough work (I often went home with bloody feet since I tended to work 10-15 hour shifts typically with only one ten minute break), and it can help you build up a lot of muscle. You can start out carrying the lighter trays, and you work your way up to carrying more and more on your trays. By the time I left, I was carrying as much as the guys (and I wasn't on T).

(Warning though, I left because the tendons and ligaments in my wrist got ripped. Many people who do banquets for too long end up with wrist and back problems. We had a fairly high turnover rate due to injuries and people getting pissed off over the poor way employees are treated).

Yeah, like others said, you won't get the same results as someone on T or if you just hit up the gym, but I don't see anything wrong with getting a physically demanding job. Not everyone can afford a gym membership, or have time to exercise if you're working multiple jobs.