How do I change career?

wannalot

Hello all

I'm stuck. Really, really stuck. I've gone back to work this week, and I've realised that I don't want to be there any more.

I am in my late thirties, and I have been doing the same job for 15 years. I've been here since I graduated in modern languages and I have zero work experience outside of my current job.

In my current role, I feel stressed and unappreciated. I don't earn much and I work to constant impossible deadlines and I can't do it any more.

My problem is that I don't even know about how to go about finding another job. Where do I look and how do I find out what I want to do? Has anyone been in the same situation? I feel completely trapped. I've always been cautious and played it safe, but now I feel that i'm on the verge of just walking out. i'm so unhappy.

MacMickster

A lot depends upon other factors in your life. It is much easier to make a sudden change to your life if you don't have family dependent on your income, nor a mortgage or rent to pay.

If you do have responsibilities then you should discuss your feelings with your family and seek their advice and help.

If not, then you need to consider what you actually want to do for a living, and maybe building up a savings buffer to cover any retraining costs and the cost of starting at the bottom again in your new line of work.

Are you fluent in other languages? That is a skill which is useful in the jobs market. Try googling job vacancies and the languages that you speak?

Good luck. There can be little worse than the prospect of going in to a job you don't want to do each day. Just remember that most jobs bring their own pressures these days, whatever the business. Just make sure that you don't leap from the fring pan into the fire.

RedfordML

Wow, I could have wrote 90% of that!!


My current role differs as its not a targets driven environment, its a field I have been in for 7 years and have become extremely demotivated and bored.


My issue is confidence to apply to other fields. I am frustrated that since graduated I haven't managed to secure a decent role - as like you I don't know which way to turn.


When you have managed to locate the missing piece to solve the puzzle, can you forward information!

breaking_free

I've changed careers several times.

In my early 20s I was fed up doing low paid work and decided I had to do something about it. I saw an ad in the paper "Learn how to be a driving instructor". For 9 months I continued with my regular job while studying and doing my practical instructor tests with BSM. Finally I qualified, hurrah! That lasted a year then I returned to my own country and found that my English instructor qualification wasn't accepted. Drat! :mad:

I then applied for a job at the local casino as a croupier and they trained me for free. I spent the new few years dealing the tables in my home town before applying and getting a job on the cruise ships doing the Caribbean run - good times.

The novelty wore off and I found myself back home considering my next move. I decided to chase the money (seemed a sensible idea) so became a full-time student again at the age of 29. I did a computing degree and realized that I couldn't see myself doing any normal computing type job (developer, tester, administrator, etc,) but then I discovered technical writing. This, it turned out, was my niche. I worked as a technical writer for 5 years before getting itchy feet again. Time for another career change.

Once again it was an ad in the local paper: "Teach English overseas". All I needed was a degree in any subject so within a few months I was on a place to South Korea to teach Englisheee. 5 years later I was burnt out so headed back to England where I'm now working as a technical writer once again. I'm now 44 and ready to put down some roots, but never say never I may well get the urge to retrain and swap careers yet again.

My advice would be to think about what's important to you: do you want money, stability, travel? I remember chatting with my hairdresser and she said that she loved her work but the money was awful. If money's important then Google what kind of careers pay a lot (I hear tube drivers do rather well ). If you'd like to travel then look at what kind of qualification/work you can take from country to country (my driving instructor's licence was not transferable so don't make the mistake I did).

There are books in the library and plenty of websites that give advice on changing carers. Go for it. :dance:

TBagpuss

It isn't too late to change.

Think about what skills you have, both those built up in you curent job, and those from your education, hobbies etc.
Think about what aspects of your job you enjoy.
Consider what you would like to do - not necessarily what carer you want, but what types of things you like (e.g. dealing with lots of people / problem solving / planning)

This may help narrow down the types of jobs which might suit you.

Think laterally. Consider jobs where your strengths might be useful, even if they are not the main focus of the job .

What is your current job - could you apply for simialr jobs with a different company? It might give you a pay rise and also help you to work out how much of your curent feeling is to do with the type of work and how much with the specific organisation you are in. If you are currently with a small or medium sized company it may be worth considering jobs in a larger organisation where there may be more scope for internal training and advancement.

To what extent are you tied down? Do you have a partner / children / mortgage? You could consider taking a year out to work in the volutary sector - VSO or similar. This might give you some breathing space and the opportunity to broaden your skills.

FredG

I'd did the same menial banking job for 6 years from the age of 18, realised I was going nowhere and moved to another bank. There within a year I was managing, then training and took up training professionally going forward. I switched to IT as a profession 4 years ago and now I'm a 3rd Line Tech.


It can be done. Sometimes a change of scenery means people in a new environment will see you differently and recognise you for your merits. Best of luck!

Owen_IA

You might find that doing a similar role in another company would be a much more enjoyable and pleasant experience than where you are now. Many companies now place a big emphasis on office culture and people management. Sounds like your manager doesn't do a great job and is pushing too hard.

I would say look for a similar role elsewhere and try that before you decide to change your career path completely. Research any alternative companies that offer a similar role and see what their employees say. Just search "'company name' job reviews" and you should see what others think. It is fairly easy to find roles nowadays due to the multiple job boards that are online.

Good luck with whatever path you choose

jp2016

I'm in a similar situation, although I'm unemployed I don't really know what I want to do for a new career.

One piece of advice I've been given is to try and learn as many side trades as you can whilst working. That was you have the reliability/security of a routine job to fall back on, but at home/in your own time you can learn another skill that could either a) bring in extra cash and add variety to your working life and/or b) end up becoming a whole new career that you take on full time.

I'm learning front end web design and also looking into wedding videography as a side venture, both of which I'm hoping I can earn some sort of living from eventually.

VfM4meplse

wannalot wrote: »

In my current role, I feel stressed and unappreciated. I don't earn much and I work to constant impossible deadlines and I can't do it any more.

I just wanted to say that you've made the first step in admitting this to yourself - no small thing. Well done.

Loopy28

I've changed career, I was a school teacher for several years and hated it but had no experience in other sectors and couldn't lose the salary. I started looking around at jobs available and applied for other jobs, I finally got one and took a bit of a pay cut but love it and have been promoted several times. My salary is now higher.

At the time of searching I was stressed and very low, rejections and snotty recruitment agencies didn't help. But in the end I got a position.

Look at your skill set and how you can apply it to other sectors, make sure you have a killer cv. Good luck