re: A 33 year old has 2 years to train/school for a new career, what do you suggest?

I didn't know anything about the railroad when I got hired. Went through about 6 months of training between in class room and on the job and was released on my own..been making over 70k every year. I was 29 when hired but there were much older individuals than myself that were hired at the same time.

Great. More student debt to forgive.

Instrumentation

Take an Instrumentation course. It's a 2-year course that will get you an 80k plus a year job as a technician in a refinery or chemical plant. They usually work 8-5 M-F or 6-5 M-Th.

An Instrument tech basically calibrates, trouble shoots, maintains and replaces gauges and small electrical control instruments that are used by the operators to control the process

A lot of people mentioned sales and that can certainly be lucrative but it is absolutely NOT for everyone.

I see you're married so this may not even be an option. But if you can travel a lot, don't mind driving long distances, and can be away for up to a month or more at a time, you could become an insurance catastrophe adjuster in WAY less than two years. And make some good $$ right off the bat. Fantastic way to see the country too and go places you haven't been before, while getting paid to do it.

You would most likely work anywhere from 6-10 months a year, 12-15 hour days, six days a week while deployed. You would also find that you may be home for two or three months at a time. You could even supplement your income when home if you like, say by substitute teaching (which would be a breeze for you I assume) or something else. Or you could just choose to spend that time however you like.

Very cool career if the family life allows it.

Kick a dog,slap a cat, pipelining is where it's at.

They will work a welders arse off on the firing line and if you can't keep up you be gone after 2-3 days. Tie-ins and fabrication not so bad.
If you don't like getting burned or working in the heat, it's probably not for you.
Might want check in to being a inspector. There’s different classes for it, most recognized worldwide is cswip.

There’s nothing finer,
than a pipeliner!

any trade

OP. Civil Engineer here and in grad school for MBA. If I had to do it over again, I would go the trade school route, or CM. Installing waste water systems more likely. The corporate environment is soul draining, and more work.

Med sales

Come work deckhand for about two years. After that you can get your Captain's license. You can make anywhere from 75-125 a year easily. Not a bad gig if you don't mind working 14/7 or 28/14. Down side is if you have a SO you can say good bye to her. Jody gonna Jody