Career Change - any advice?

Started by jamus34, July 17, 2018, 04:53:02 PM

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jamus34

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!
Insert witty comment here.

Silent Disapproval Robot

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.   


SirAndrewD

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.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

trailrunner

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.

OJsDad

'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.

trailrunner

(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

Gusington

^Please say you intended that to rhyme. A couplet, even!


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

trailrunner

#7


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.

Smuckatelli

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....

Gusington



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Jarhead0331

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.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Sir Slash

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.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

bayonetbrant

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...
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

JasonPratt

Or any dating life...  :coolsmiley:

(Not that it's ever helped me any, but at least it hasn't hurt!)
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BanzaiCat

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.