Stick with career or change? 8 May 2022 at 12:55PM in Employment, jobseeking & training 7 replies 245 views

redundantmortgage

At the start of 2016 aged 33 I started a new job and was getting paid the sort of salary I'd been targeting since the start of my career.

At the end of 2016 I bought my first property on a 13 year mortgage I could comfortably afford. At the same time I acknowledged I've never enjoyed my career one little bit and probably never will. Given I was getting a satisfactory salary and a property owner I decided I would stay in that job until the mortgage was paid off. I'd past the point of pretending I enjoyed my job and really couldn't be bothered to go through all that again to get a new job.

At the start of 2018 there was a change in management and it soon became apparent I'd become a dead man walking there. This gave me a greater urgency to pay off my mortgage as quickly as I could. Then in 2020 Covid gave them the perfect excuse to make me redundant.

Getting a new job was difficult but I got one eventually. I've just turned 40 and am about to pay the mortgage off.

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

The thought of sticking with my career for another 25 years fills me with dread. Not just the fact I hate it but the lack of job security too.

I see for example a school friend who wasn't academically gifted but was a skilled carpenter by the time he'd left school and has made a success of himself from that. Or even a friend who never made it as an actor but is a Drama teacher so it's vaguely related to his dream career. 

I was always good at the STEM subjects, but they never came naturally to me like an artist drawing for example and I've always hated them. That's the route I took though.

Marcon

redundantmortgage said:

At the start of 2016 aged 33 I started a new job and was getting paid the sort of salary I'd been targeting since the start of my career.

At the end of 2016 I bought my first property on a 13 year mortgage I could comfortably afford. At the same time I acknowledged I've never enjoyed my career one little bit and probably never will. Given I was getting a satisfactory salary and a property owner I decided I would stay in that job until the mortgage was paid off. I'd past the point of pretending I enjoyed my job and really couldn't be bothered to go through all that again to get a new job.

At the start of 2018 there was a change in management and it soon became apparent I'd become a dead man walking there. This gave me a greater urgency to pay off my mortgage as quickly as I could. Then in 2020 Covid gave them the perfect excuse to make me redundant.

Getting a new job was difficult but I got one eventually. I've just turned 40 and am about to pay the mortgage off.

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

The thought of sticking with my career for another 25 years fills me with dread. Not just the fact I hate it but the lack of job security too.

I see for example a school friend who wasn't academically gifted but was a skilled carpenter by the time he'd left school and has made a success of himself from that. Or even a friend who never made it as an actor but is a Drama teacher so it's vaguely related to his dream career. 

I was always good at the STEM subjects, but they never came naturally to me like an artist drawing for example and I've always hated them. That's the route I took though.

Then do something about it - why dread the next quarter of a century?

JJC1956

I went to college (full time) when I was 38, total career change, you need to talk things over with your nearest and dearest, you could consider night school, Open University etc.
If you can afford to have some time off after paying off your mortgage then maybe you could consider a full time training course or even University. Obviously it all depends on what you are thinking of doing to make you happy.

redundantmortgage

Not sure what I actually want to do. Probably something that's minimal effort. If I buy a house though I'll still need to do something that pays above a certain amount.

pinkshoes

redundantmortgage said:

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

redundantmortgage said:

Not sure what I actually want to do. Probably something that's minimal effort. If I buy a house though I'll still need to do something that pays above a certain amount.

Is it just you, or you and a partner? Kids?

Life is about opportunity. Work to live, not live to work. There is more to life that money. I changed career aged 33, and although I loved being a mechanical engineer, it wasn't compatible with having a child. I'm now a teacher. Pay is not as good, but working 3 days a week fits really well with my 3 kids. 

Could you move to a cheaper area? Is this a 1 bed flat in London which you could sell and by a 3 bed semi outright elsewhere? 

A job that is minimal effort? That's an odd thing to say. If you have a job you enjoy, the amount of effort required doesn't matter. 

redundantmortgage

pinkshoes said:

redundantmortgage said:

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

redundantmortgage said:

Not sure what I actually want to do. Probably something that's minimal effort. If I buy a house though I'll still need to do something that pays above a certain amount.

Is it just you, or you and a partner? Kids?

Life is about opportunity. Work to live, not live to work. There is more to life that money. I changed career aged 33, and although I loved being a mechanical engineer, it wasn't compatible with having a child. I'm now a teacher. Pay is not as good, but working 3 days a week fits really well with my 3 kids. 

Could you move to a cheaper area? Is this a 1 bed flat in London which you could sell and by a 3 bed semi outright elsewhere? 

A job that is minimal effort? That's an odd thing to say. If you have a job you enjoy, the amount of effort required doesn't matter. 

Me and my wife but the mortgage is mostly paid by me because she doesn't make much. We could move to a cheaper area but where I live now is the only place I've ever lived that I've wanted to stay in long term. 

I've basically lost all motivation with work. I used to work hard in the hope it would make me more money but that didn't happen so I ended up thinking what's the point, it's not like I enjoy it at all.

Marcon

redundantmortgage said:

pinkshoes said:

redundantmortgage said:

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

redundantmortgage said:

Not sure what I actually want to do. Probably something that's minimal effort. If I buy a house though I'll still need to do something that pays above a certain amount.

Is it just you, or you and a partner? Kids?

Life is about opportunity. Work to live, not live to work. There is more to life that money. I changed career aged 33, and although I loved being a mechanical engineer, it wasn't compatible with having a child. I'm now a teacher. Pay is not as good, but working 3 days a week fits really well with my 3 kids. 

Could you move to a cheaper area? Is this a 1 bed flat in London which you could sell and by a 3 bed semi outright elsewhere? 

A job that is minimal effort? That's an odd thing to say. If you have a job you enjoy, the amount of effort required doesn't matter. 

Me and my wife but the mortgage is mostly paid by me because she doesn't make much. We could move to a cheaper area but where I live now is the only place I've ever lived that I've wanted to stay in long term. 

I've basically lost all motivation with work. I used to work hard in the hope it would make me more money but that didn't happen so I ended up thinking what's the point, it's not like I enjoy it at all.

If ever there was a reason to change career (or at least jobs), your last sentence is it. You're demotivated, unhappy, disillusioned and from the sound of it pretty miserable. Assuming there are no medical issues (and it might be worth a word with your GP if you are really down/anxious), perhaps think through your priorities - and not just your own, but as a couple. Could you wife get a better paid job, for example? You are too cramped in your one bed flat; are there any realistic ways to fix that in the short term by renting out your flat and then renting somewhere yourselves for a year or two, in a cheaper area? A bit of breathing space might help to make the world look a more welcoming place. Could either of you get a second job to build up a cash cushion while you ponder your next move?

redundantmortgage

Marcon said:

redundantmortgage said:

pinkshoes said:

redundantmortgage said:

The problem is that we live in a one bed flat that's too small. Buying a new property will mean borrowing more than we borrowed in the first place. 

redundantmortgage said:

Not sure what I actually want to do. Probably something that's minimal effort. If I buy a house though I'll still need to do something that pays above a certain amount.

Is it just you, or you and a partner? Kids?

Life is about opportunity. Work to live, not live to work. There is more to life that money. I changed career aged 33, and although I loved being a mechanical engineer, it wasn't compatible with having a child. I'm now a teacher. Pay is not as good, but working 3 days a week fits really well with my 3 kids. 

Could you move to a cheaper area? Is this a 1 bed flat in London which you could sell and by a 3 bed semi outright elsewhere? 

A job that is minimal effort? That's an odd thing to say. If you have a job you enjoy, the amount of effort required doesn't matter. 

Me and my wife but the mortgage is mostly paid by me because she doesn't make much. We could move to a cheaper area but where I live now is the only place I've ever lived that I've wanted to stay in long term. 

I've basically lost all motivation with work. I used to work hard in the hope it would make me more money but that didn't happen so I ended up thinking what's the point, it's not like I enjoy it at all.

If ever there was a reason to change career (or at least jobs), your last sentence is it. You're demotivated, unhappy, disillusioned and from the sound of it pretty miserable. Assuming there are no medical issues (and it might be worth a word with your GP if you are really down/anxious), perhaps think through your priorities - and not just your own, but as a couple. Could you wife get a better paid job, for example? You are too cramped in your one bed flat; are there any realistic ways to fix that in the short term by renting out your flat and then renting somewhere yourselves for a year or two, in a cheaper area? A bit of breathing space might help to make the world look a more welcoming place. Could either of you get a second job to build up a cash cushion while you ponder your next move?

I'm sure my wife could get a better paid job. When we relocated here she took a job as a stop gap until she found something better but is still in the same job now. 

As mentioned in my first post the mortgage is about to be paid off, just waiting for the deal to end in June so we don't get an early repayment charge. I also have around £40k in my savings.

My wife can do overtime in her job, I have to be available to do my job 24/7 so a 2nd job isn't an option for me.