Mid life crisis career help

Jasonr

Hi all,


First post so be gentle but I hope someone can help.

I am having a bit of a career crisis and looking to transition into a new role. I currently work in the city in a financial services role and have been in similar roles for 25 years. To anyone on the outside looking in I have a cushy good job. But without going into the why I have to get out of it ASAP for the sake of my mental & physical health. I have felt like this for a number of years and each year it gets worse so now is the time to do something about it. I do feel I have hit my glass ceiling and my role is going nowhere despite all the wonderful PDR's I have had.


Now I could eek it out to retirement but I am worth more than that. I am still hungry and what to do something that challenges me and gives me room to develop and grow.


I am 47 and currently strong, fit and well. I would like to transition into a more manual role (not heavy construction) but somewhere where I am not tied to a desk all day, is non-corporate, non office and definitely no sales. I have a lot of transferrable soft skills. I have a good grasp of IT (but who can't work word, excel and outlook these days). Also I not a complete numpty when it comes to picking up a set of tools as I spent about 2 years plastering (no far too old for that before you suggest it).

I have applied to the police and prison service (currently no vacancies) but outside of these I am really struggling as to what else I could go into.

I am prepared to take a drop in salary, I am prepared to re-train and invest personally in that training but my immediate goal is to get out from where I am at the earliest possible opportunity. I also have the full support of my family.


I suppose my question is at my age what roles could I realistically apply for without looking stupid and what roles could I realistically think about landing.

If anyone has been in this position or is able to offer any help your advice would be very gratefully received.


Thanks

Grumpygit

My OH had a similar thing to you although he was construction based rather than desk based.


He was a site manager and was thoroughly miserable and stressed to hell with the work, his company, the people he had working on site. Not only that, but he really couldn't see himself working on a building site to retirement in 20 years!


The company he worked for was going through a bit of a rocky patch and couldn't guarantee him any office based roles so he got out.


He took HGV lessons and passed his test (in his own time and expense), we then paid for him to do a course (Fuel/Dangerous Goods ticket) in the hope that maybe he could get a job delivering oil/petrol etc.



He got a job using his HGV license then the company paid for him to do his artic license and that's what he now does and loves it.


He has lost weight and the most important thing is, he's happy.


He does work long hours but he doesn't mind because he loves what he is doing.


We aren't in the UK so there's no long distance work so I can't comment on that aspect.


The one thing, you're about the same age as he was when he really started to get down about it all, so if you want to do something else, then do it now.


The other thing about your post, yes you're fit and healthy and strong now - but what about in 10 years - can you really see yourself plastering so choose what you want to do carefully.


Good luck in your search and whatever you decide to do - but only you can decide on a new career

nicechap

Jasonr wrote: »

Hi all,


First post so be gentle but I hope someone can help.

I am having a bit of a career crisis and looking to transition into a new role. I currently work in the city in a financial services role and have been in similar roles for 25 years. To anyone on the outside looking in I have a cushy good job. But without going into the why I have to get out of it ASAP for the sake of my mental & physical health. I have felt like this for a number of years and each year it gets worse so now is the time to do something about it. I do feel I have hit my glass ceiling and my role is going nowhere despite all the wonderful PDR's I have had.


Now I could eek it out to retirement but I am worth more than that. I am still hungry and what to do something that challenges me and gives me room to develop and grow.


I am 47 and currently strong, fit and well. I would like to transition into a more manual role (not heavy construction) but somewhere where I am not tied to a desk all day, is non-corporate, non office and definitely no sales. I have a lot of transferrable soft skills. I have a good grasp of IT (but who can't work word, excel and outlook these days). Also I not a complete numpty when it comes to picking up a set of tools as I spent about 2 years plastering (no far too old for that before you suggest it).

I have applied to the police and prison service (currently no vacancies) but outside of these I am really struggling as to what else I could go into.

I am prepared to take a drop in salary, I am prepared to re-train and invest personally in that training but my immediate goal is to get out from where I am at the earliest possible opportunity. I also have the full support of my family.


I suppose my question is at my age what roles could I realistically apply for without looking stupid and what roles could I realistically think about landing.

If anyone has been in this position or is able to offer any help your advice would be very gratefully received.


Thanks

I would suggest googling National Craeers Service and find someone local to help you identify what your real strengths & weakmesses are and what options are available to you.

I'm surprised you say the Met are not recruiting, there's loads of adverts on public transport and bus shelters suggesting different.

https://policecareers.tal.net/vx/appcentre-External/brand-3/candidate/so/pm/6/pl/1/opp/3222-Police-Constable/en-GB?&ds_lpt_start&ds_lpt_end&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInfjEu_WB4AIVGeh3Ch3ULgXkEAAYASAAEgIhC_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you are already suffering physically & mentally then policing may not be the right job for you. They have different sources of stress but are both physically and mentally demanding roles. The amount of interaction with people with social and mental health problems is large.

Have you thought about retraining in healthcare - radiology, paramedic etc etc?

Rainbowgirl84

Police Scotland are recruiting.

jonnygee2

I do feel I have hit my glass ceiling and my role is going nowhere despite all the wonderful PDR's I have had.

I'm not entirely convinced that restarting your career is going to solve your problems. You've hit a 'glass ceiling' - forgive me for asking but isn't resetting your career going to be even worse? You'll go back to c. 20k a year and, more importantly, will be in a lot less senior position.

Think carefully about what this really means. It means your role and responsibilities will be much simpler and probably more mundane than you are used to. And even if your advanced soft skills etc are of use, you may still find yourself in more junior roles for the rest of your career. You'll be managed by people who have, in some ways, less experience than you, and believe it or not they may not always value your input or greater experience.

What I'm saying is - you may not actually have 'room to grow', you may just spend the next 10 years demonstrating skills you already have to people to crawl back up the greasy poll to the level you're at now.

I am 47 and currently strong, fit and well. I would like to transition into a more manual role (not heavy construction) but somewhere where I am not tied to a desk all day, is non-corporate, non office and definitely no sales. I have a lot of transferrable soft skills. I have a good grasp of IT (but who can't work word, excel and outlook these days). Also I not a complete numpty when it comes to picking up a set of tools as I spent about 2 years plastering (no far too old for that before you suggest it).

Okay, well, if you are absolutely comitted the police have a scheme where you can become a detective directly, which might fit. Also, maybe something like project managing construction, quantity surveying, building surveying or something like that? As you have IT skills and presumably some logical / mathematical skills from working in finance.

ACG

Security work?
Landscape Gardener?
Different part of financial services? I have worked in a call centre for credit cards, an account manager for an insurance company all with the aim of working towards becoming a mortgage broker (which I am now). All were very different jobs and very different incomes. Oddly the most sales orientated job I had was in the call centre. Being an account manager, whilst it did have targets I was dealing with the same people day in day out some of which became friends outside of work.

tacpot12

There is a lot of demand for Handyman services. With an aging population and people of working age being stressed out, people will pay good money for a Handyman to just come and sort out stuff for them. Letting Agents and landlords are also a good source of steady work. To suceed, you really only have to be seen as reliable, be a good communicator and manage money carefully. There is a lot of information on YouTube about how to do jobs you might not know how to do instinctively.

I was in a similar situation to yourself, but stuck it out until I could retire, which I managed at 53. I'm considering starting a handyman business as I've done all I can around our own house, but I've not bit the bullet yet as I'm busy with my parents.

pickledonionspaceraider

Interesting thread OP

I have been having the same thoughts myself for approx five years. I have started keeping my eyes open for something more manual and less stressful

I work office based, in a high stress industry

It is too much - to be stressed for ten hours a day.

In reality, I could happily stack shelves. I know what it is like, I had a second job in a supermarket about 3 years ago, over the christmas period that turned into a 6 month temp job - and it was a lot of laughs and no stress at all....at the time I considered making the transition permanent and going FT at the supermarket and then unexpectedly coincided with me being made an offer I couldn't refuse in my office job

Just to be one of the number and not have people looking to you for answers and relying on me and taking work home at the end of the day.

There comes a point where a high reaching salary is not an attraction any more - and all the stress and corporate BS that goes with it

Bring on the 16k a year at least I will still have my mental health and sanity

Jasonr

Thanks for al the feedback some really useful stuff to consider. And just to clarify certain points as I think I rushed my original post.

My application for the police is already in. It is the prison service that has no vacancies locally for the role I am after.

The stress I can handle, deadlines I can handle, the hours I can handle. It is the monotony of the job, the back stabbing colleagues and the corporate BS that drives me insane. I just cannot play the game anymore. I am not sycophantic. I just physically can't blow smoke up peoples .... just for the sake of it. In addition my role whilst paying well is dead end. I am doing the same thing now as I was 10-15 years ago and will do in the next 10-15 years. The only advancement that my role here or at another firm can offer me is higher wages and bonuses. But money is not my motivator.

I am quite happy to restart from the bottom. In fact I would welcome that especially if I have to learn new skills provided that it is not dead end role. I may have experience but I am under no illusions. I will be the new boy, people younger than me may well have a supervisory role over me. But I am humble enough to say fine you're the expert in your field I'm not.

bugslet

Grumpygit wrote: »

My OH had a similar thing to you although he was construction based rather than desk based.


He was a site manager and was thoroughly miserable and stressed to hell with the work, his company, the people he had working on site. Not only that, but he really couldn't see himself working on a building site to retirement in 20 years!


The company he worked for was going through a bit of a rocky patch and couldn't guarantee him any office based roles so he got out.


He took HGV lessons and passed his test (in his own time and expense), we then paid for him to do a course (Fuel/Dangerous Goods ticket) in the hope that maybe he could get a job delivering oil/petrol etc.



He got a job using his HGV license then the company paid for him to do his artic license and that's what he now does and loves it.


He has lost weight and the most important thing is, he's happy.


He does work long hours but he doesn't mind because he loves what he is doing.


We aren't in the UK so there's no long distance work so I can't comment on that aspect.


The one thing, you're about the same age as he was when he really started to get down about it all, so if you want to do something else, then do it now.


The other thing about your post, yes you're fit and healthy and strong now - but what about in 10 years - can you really see yourself plastering so choose what you want to do carefully.


Good luck in your search and whatever you decide to do - but only you can decide on a new career

I run a haulage company and was about to suggest the same thing as an option.

It's certainly not for everyone, but if you can get on for the right firm, it can still be a great job.

OP, if that is something you want to consider, then I'm ore than happy to answer any questions and as for your age, there are a surprising number of people who do take up truck driving in their middle years.

bugslet

Jasonr wrote: »

The stress I can handle, deadlines I can handle, the hours I can handle. It is the monotony of the job, the back stabbing colleagues and the corporate BS that drives me insane. I just cannot play the game anymore. .

Exactly why I'm retiring early later this year.