Hello fellow Grogs,
I am in the midst of working a job that I really do not care for anymore and am contemplating a career change.
Was wondering if anyone here has gone through it and if they have any specific advice or stories they wish to share.
Thanks for any and all input!
Check the market for what you'd like to go into and if it looks robust, I say go for it. I went back to school at 38 and totally changed my career path (did it once in my late 20s as well but I hadn't been in my field long enough at that point to make it feel like I was leaving a career). It was a bit odd being the weird old guy in class (as opposed to just the weird guy like when I first went to university) and having no income while incurring debt for a few years was a stress inducer but it seems to have worked out.
Yeah, the advice of go for it is the one to give.
I've mostly been a teacher in my professional life, but for a time I went into the exciting world of check fraud prevention. Spent almost a decade in it before I decided I couldn't take it anymore.
Also been a Game store manager and Graphics designer in my youth.
Currently I'm looking to be out of teaching within a year or two to go full time with my Wife's freelancing company. Also been considering doing some voice acting work.
Outside of teaching, I never had any formal education for any of those things. I just took a shot when I saw there was an opening and if it took, I went for it.
Harder to do in my 40's, but hey it's not what you do that you regret, it's what you don't. Reach for the stars! Believe in the ball and throw yourself!
Just don't do anything that'll put you in financial risk. Get your ducks in a row before you take the plunge.
I'm a little tired of my career myself. I've been doing DoD R&D and acquisition for 30 years now. In some ways it's a perfect combination for me -- I get to do science and engineering on military systems, two of my favorite loves. But working in DoD for this long has ground me down. It really is a mess.
I would love to do something completely different now, but I'm paid well, and once in a while I get to see some cool stuff. I recently turned down a promotion because I just want to stick it out for another 6 years or so and retire, and then I'll do something completely different for a couple of years until I collect full social security. I'm not sure what I'll do, but I just want something that doesn't involve PowerPoint and million or billion-dollar budgets. My ideal job would be to work at REI, a bike store, or a running store, or maybe be a range master. My wife has been a teacher all her life, so maybe I'll be an aide. I might volunteer at the local national park, or at one of the local historical places.
Wal-Mart greeter.
(paraphrasing slightly)
I lived half my life in eight by five cube
Just dealing with Powerpoint and pretentious rubes
It's not close quarters that would make me snap
It's just dealing with the daily unadulterated crap
^Please say you intended that to rhyme. A couplet, even!
When that song came out, I was about 16 years old and seriously contemplating a career as a boat bum. Instead, I failed at failing and spent 8 years at a university. But the words of wisdom from that song have popped up numerous times over the last 40 years when they have been most needed.
Quote from: trailrunner on July 17, 2018, 08:18:28 PM
But working in DoD for this long has ground me down. It really is a mess.
I'm on the contractor direct support side.....I'm ready to end this gig also. I've been working it since November 2002 when I retired from the Marine Corps.....too young to retire now so I'm looking a new job.
It has been great working with ONR....but now I'm doing DRMO with old range gear....
Trailrunner is a professional.
I can make your task of finding a new career a little simpler by advising you to not, under any circumstances, consider a career in the legal profession...at least not as a lawyer.
Good luck.
Nursing is a good choice IF you like sick people, terrible hours, drugs, disease, doctors who think they are God, and the smell of alcohol. <:-) Otherwise, forget about it.
Quote from: jamus34 on July 17, 2018, 04:53:02 PM
Was wondering if anyone here has gone through it and if they have any specific advice or stories they wish to share.
There might be a few people here who have bounced careers more than me, but it would be close.
2 things I would focus on:
1 - Skills, not jobs. What are the
skills you have and how have you demonstrated usage/mastery of them. Project management is project management, whether is construction or software development or a military exercise. Yes, there are domain-specific things to know, but setting timelines & calendars, backwards-planning, status updates, goals & metrics tracking, etc are all basic skills that move across industries.
I would definitely recommend hitting the library for a copy of "What Color Is Your Parachute" for the skills-focused parts of the book that help you identify what you
can do and what you
like to do and then help ID possible options from there.
2 - Attitude is everything. Go into every meeting with one goal: make someone a fan of Jamus34. Don't try to turn them into job leads. Don't turn them into potential employers. Turn them into fans. Make
them want to work with you because you're an enjoyable person to be around.
We'd all rather work with people we like, so make sure as many people as possible like you by putting your best foot forward every time.
No one wants to work with people that seem like they're just leeches looking to graft onto someone, so make sure you
don't come across as desperate, clingy, or needy.
Come to think of it, those last 2 lines probably apply to Mirth's dating life, too...
Or any dating life... :coolsmiley:
(Not that it's ever helped me any, but at least it hasn't hurt!)
I bounced around like a pinball in my earlier years. In order:
- Inventory Control Clerk
- Corporate Travel Agent
- Paramedic
- Ramp Worker/Flight Manager (United Airlines)
- Office Temp/Accounts Payable
- Technical Writer
- Instructional Designer
- Media Developer
- Content Developer
- Instructional Designer
Those last five have been my career since about 2002. If you know 'what you want to be when you grow up,' it helps tremendously to have a passion for it. Don't do it because you think it'll be a get-rick-quick avenue; do it because it will motivate you to get out of bed every morning and it excites you to report in.
Otherwise, don't even bother contemplating a move. When you have the epiphany, though, you'll know for sure.
In my adult life I:
* Went to nursing school (dropped out after 3 1/2 years so no degree)
* Same time as above I also became an ER tech to pay for school
* While also becoming an EMT both full-time paid and also town vollie (burned out on all of it after ten years)
* Worked as a canvasser for Ralph Nader (Really!- though I probably would have gotten more signatures if I had not insisted on wearing my biker jacket all the time)
* Managed several different books stores
* Became an optical fabrication tech, later licensed optician
* Managed several different fabrication labs
* Transferred into ophthalmic sales and dispensing for a major international optical retailer (when my old boss sold his business to them)
* Went to work for an ophthalmologists' office fitting and dispensing optical wares...
and and a bunch of non-job description stuff like informal IT support and equipment maintenance- always add value, to future proof yourself a little!
Note than none of the above were strategic choices geared toward the whole 'love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life' kind of outcome. They were more or less what I needed to do to get by or to stop and quickly do something else to get by. No happy endings here- I'll be working and working until one day they find my body slumped over my office vertometer.
So to give some background I've worked in supply chain in what can be considered a fairly specialized field. I'm not really happy with the way things have been going at the place that signs my checks and having been looking elsewhere for quite a while.
I like supply chain work but A) Do not necessarily want to stay in the industry I currently am; B) have had a lot of difficulty getting positive responses on applications; and C) have also been thinking about a career change.
I wouldn't say I'm perfect at what I do or even an expert but I am very good. I've also never been one to be "this is what you owe me" however I have been frustrated by the lack of advancement and opportunities. Even though I wouldn't consider myself a "people person" I'm really good at building professional, respectful relationships with the various entities I work with. I never gone out to someone and been like "what can you do for me" but I've also never had anyone try to pry me away.
I also suck at selling myself, which if some of you have seen some of my other posts in this forum can kind of understand why.
In all honesty I'm creeping up on mid-life and still don't know what I want to do "when I grow up". I have hobbies that I enjoy but I wouldn't necessarily want to do them as a 40/5/365 type deal as then it's no longer a hobby.
One field I'm considering is financial advisement; as I do truly like helping people and I feel that I can use my relationship skills to be able to build that. But it would be a risk and I do have a family to help care for.
Anyway, thanks for the replies. I have about a month but I'm going to start shaking some trees soon and see what falls.
Find a local headhunter/recruiter to talk to. They might have some advice for you
Quote from: jamus34 on July 17, 2018, 04:53:02 PM
Hello fellow Grogs,
I am in the midst of working a job that I really do not care for anymore and am contemplating a career change.
Was wondering if anyone here has gone through it and if they have any specific advice or stories they wish to share.
Thanks for any and all input!
In general, when I was looking for a job that would last me a lifetime, I listed what I wanted out of a job and then tried to find the job that met those criteria. Other than that, the only suggestion I will make is not to quit your old job until you have found a new one.
I can honesty say that while I haven't changed careers so much, changing jobs have almost always been an improvement. I start out thinking I am crazy to leave my old job and then about six months in, I wonder why I waited so long. The unknown is a scary bitch sometimes but don't let that stop you from making that change if you need it.
Jamus, whatever work you're looking into, check and see if there's any support organizations for them.
For me, the ASTD, eLearning Guild, and a few others usually offer local clubs/chapters that can be interacted with. Your line of work or the line of work you're looking into might offer such things, and if they do, I'm willing to bet spending one evening or luncheon would give you a great deal of insight into what you're contemplating.
Good luck Jamus
I'm in the same boat. I've been in retail accounting for 13 years and while I'm not "drive into the gully" desperate, I'm truly bored to tears with what I do for a living. I've searched long and hard to find what kind of work I can be passionate about, but I've found nothing that would inspire me. I took up baking a few years ago but just mainly "baking for two" for my wife and I. She's commented several times on how much I look like I enjoy it and take pleasure when someone (mainly her) comments on my scones or pastries. So...there it is. I want to bake. It will be a huge financial hit for us, but we are developing a plan that will take that into account. I think it's all about planning the best you can.
^Good luck, man.
Don't refuse to make ghey cakes!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 23, 2018, 01:14:38 PM
Don't refuse to make ghey cakes!
I don't do cakes. Cakes are too easy. No challenge.
No offense meant to the cake makers here.
Do you do Buns? I didn't mean that the way it sounded.
Quote from: trailrunner on July 17, 2018, 09:22:19 PM
I hate my job.
I see reasonably priced liveaboards on craigslist and think about that sometimes. Do something that my brother always wanted to, but never got to. :dreamer: