Career Advice

666russi666

Hi everyone. I've just joined this forum just to ask the following questions, so apologies if I make any mistakes.

I'm 33 and been working for the same employer since I was 18. I work as a Health & Safety Manager, and to be honest it's not for me. I'm sure there are a lot of people feeling the same, but I have absolutely no passion for my job and feel like I should. Does anyone know of anywhere that I can enter my skills and interests to find my perfect job? 
I would say my passion is travel and cooking. But from what I can gather, being a professional chef looks horrendously stressful with awful working hours, and you're pretty much tied to what you can cook.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Russ

Comms69

You need to identify what your key skills are.

So for example i assume you have a good understanding of the law, good attention to detail, able to problem solve etc. Once you have that you try to match up with things you are more passionate about

General_Grant

https://beta.nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ - includes skills assessment to suggest careers

jonnygee2

I'm 33 and been working for the same employer since I was 18. I work as a Health & Safety Manager, and to be honest it's not for me. 

Your two options would normally be 

a) do something that uses similar skills to your current job. Identify what those are and which bits you are good at, look for similar things. Maybe something in the civil service? The risk with this approach is that you end in up in something very similar.

b) start something completely new. Then the world is your oyster. But of course, with no or few relevant skills you are likely to start at entry level, with entry level pay. There's also the risk you won't enjoy your new career! If doing this, think carefully about what makes you happy and then look for something that incorporates those elements.

Cooking and travel are things most people enjoy, but are very hard to make careers out of. Are there any other hobbies you have that you have that could be turned into something more professional?

You still probably have 30 working years left, so a reset at 34 isn't quite as mad as it first might sound. A lot depends on whether you can actually afford a pay cut, or if dependencies mean you need to ear a certain amount.

666russi666

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check that link out, thanks. 
I have absolutely no interest in doing anything similar to this going forward. Its exceptionally boring, tedious and at times frustrating.
I maybe didn't word the hobbies correctly, it's not just cooking I enjoy, it's the whole thing - finding and tweaking recipes, sourcing ingredients, cooking and consuming. 
It's a very good point that there is probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who enjoy the same things. I'm happy to go for a full reset. I'm not on an amazing salary, so a pay drop wouldn't be the end of the world.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm going to give that link a go now.

middleclassbutpoor

666russi666 said:

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check that link out, thanks. 
I have absolutely no interest in doing anything similar to this going forward. Its exceptionally boring, tedious and at times frustrating.
I maybe didn't word the hobbies correctly, it's not just cooking I enjoy, it's the whole thing - finding and tweaking recipes, sourcing ingredients, cooking and consuming. 
It's a very good point that there is probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who enjoy the same things. I'm happy to go for a full reset. I'm not on an amazing salary, so a pay drop wouldn't be the end of the world.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm going to give that link a go now.

Why not start something for yourself which helps you do what you find interesting and have a passion for? As an example you could create a food blog or write about/demo/show off your creations. Use of social media etc.

Could you create a food brand/of product?    

Learn how to grow an audience, learn how to monetise it, (through adverts/sponsorship/lessons/teaching what you know).  

You could probably do this in your spare time and start as a bit of a side hustle and see if you can make it work? 

Brynsam

666russi666 said:

But from what I can gather, being a professional chef looks horrendously stressful with awful working hours, and you're pretty much tied to what you can cook.
I maybe didn't word the hobbies correctly, it's not just cooking I enjoy, it's the whole thing - finding and tweaking recipes, sourcing ingredients, cooking and consuming. 

Where exactly did you gather this? Have you ever heard a talented and committed professional chef saying anything other than they love the job/wouldn't do anything else? Any worthwhile job is darned hard work.

How good are you at 'the whole thing' - have you ever entered a cookery competition? If not, why not try that and see how you fare? Masterchef isn't the only gig in town; local produce shows, nearby colleges, markets...you won't know if you don't try, and now is as good time as any to do the research, ready for when the lockdown restrictions are finally lifted. 

666russi666

Brynsam said:

666russi666 said:

But from what I can gather, being a professional chef looks horrendously stressful with awful working hours, and you're pretty much tied to what you can cook.
I maybe didn't word the hobbies correctly, it's not just cooking I enjoy, it's the whole thing - finding and tweaking recipes, sourcing ingredients, cooking and consuming. 

Where exactly did you gather this? Have you ever heard a talented and committed professional chef saying anything other than they love the job/wouldn't do anything else? Any worthwhile job is darned hard work.

How good are you at 'the whole thing' - have you ever entered a cookery competition? If not, why not try that and see how you fare? Masterchef isn't the only gig in town; local produce shows, nearby colleges, markets...you won't know if you don't try, and now is as good time as any to do the research, ready for when the lockdown restrictions are finally lifted. 

Honestly, I can't recall why I've gathered that it's awful hours and stressful. I think I've seen an interview or something years ago saying that the hours are long, often working late and stressful. 
In terms of how good I am at the 'whole thing', I would say better than average but nothing outstanding. I think I'm pretty good at finding reasonably priced decent ingredients, improvising and tweaking and creating nice meals. I've never tried anything gourmet or fine dining as it doesn't really excite me. 
Entering a local competition might not be a bad shout, that's definitely worth looking into.

I like the social media/blog idea from the post above, it really appeals to me. The only issue is the amount of competition there will be. It's something I'm going to start looking into. At least it's easy and inexpensive to try out.


Thanks again for all the feedback guys. I really appreciate it.

Savvy_Sue

I'm just wondering what led you into H&S, and whether a change of company would help? Or maybe a smaller company where H&S management falls alongside something else you might enjoy more? 

666russi666

The previous guy in the role left several years ago and I was asked if I would be interested in filling the role if the Company would arrange my qualifications. Although I don't mind the job, or the Company, it's just not what I want to do with my life. The dream is obviously to wake up somewhere sunny every morning. There are so many people that see H&S as a hindrance rather than help, so I'm always the bad guy.

Thanks for your message.

jonnygee2

Honestly, I can't recall why I've gathered that it's awful hours and stressful. I think I've seen an interview or something years ago saying that the hours are long, often working late and stressful. 

You heard correctly about the awful hours and stressful bit.

Clearly, the majority of chefs will work evenings and weekends for most shifts. There are daytime jobs, like catering chefs, but they are sought after. Chef jobs are also not generally well paid, after working through initial training etc and presuming you do well, a sous chef n a gastropub might earn 25k or so - okay but not brilliant. *Stressful* is a matter of opinion - it's obviously high pressure but many find immediate pressure to deliver rewarding, compared to office based job stress