Change of career

Warble1 · 11 September 2017 at 2:48AM

Hi all, I'm hoping to get some advice because at the moment I feel I am just going round in circles. I have never had a career path in mind since leaving school (and still don't) so have just plodded along with low paid, dead end picking/warehouse jobs and 12 years later I'm fed up of it.

I'm on 18k a year for reference. I have no qualifications other than GCSE's, no plans for retirement, no savings, debt which I am (very) slowly chipping away at since posting on this forum. I need a big change around in my life before it really will be too late.

I have applied to a few jobs that looked interesting to me but heard nothing back from any of them. I'm so worried I'll be doing the same thing in 10 more years and wondering why I didn't change anything again.

My only problem is I just really don't know where to start if that makes sense? Obviously looking through my CV I have no real job experience other than unskilled jobs, should I just target a specific career like IT and apply like mad to every job in that field? It feels as though being specific and picky at this point is not something I should be doing as it will be a very limiting factor but I may be wrong.

Any pointers would be very much appreciated.

[Deleted User] · 11 September 2017 at 9:48AM

Whilst I'm sure someone shall be along soon to discredit this
For 'level entry' IT are you an 'advanced' user of Excel - and can you handle a high call level. Above all else it was the first thing out of the team leader on first day was can you use excel?

Is your debt under control?

Sorry to be hard but if I had listened to the people being hard in the first place back in 2012 when my first posting to this board concerned a career change, the last 5 years haven't been of envy.

Warble1 · 11 September 2017 at 10:03AM

No need to apologise, it's what I need right now, I've always procrastinated and this is my result. Debt is more under control now but there is still a big chunk of it which will take a long time to go away, hence a bit of worry about leaving a steady income job to enter an unknown field of work. Thank you for your reply.

walshie123 · 11 September 2017 at 7:10PM

whats the minimum amount of income you can live off per month? have you thought of a career in construction? even entry level labouring usually pays 70/80 per day... you could train up as a trade whilst in this position if you got on for the right company

trailingspouse · 11 September 2017 at 8:01PM

The quickest way to move up the career ladder is to stick with what you know - so is there any chance of promotion where you are currently working? Maybe to supervisor level or some such?

Don't think of yourself as being in a dead-end job for 12 years, think of it as 12 years experience for the next stage in your career.

ThemeOne · 11 September 2017 at 8:45PM

Personal contacts could help in your situation. For example, I recently came across a chap who was a driver and has just started an office based role in something quite different. He was a personal contact of the business owners.

So if you haven't already, tell everyone you know you're looking for something more challenging. And if you don't know many people, or not many of the right sort of people, there are usually groups on places like meetup you can join to broaden your circle.

I think just applying for jobs cold, with no background in the area of work, is unlikely to be successful.

xapprenticex · 11 September 2017 at 9:06PM

Are you sure you want to work in IT? its not as fun as you may think for the most part

theoretica · 11 September 2017 at 9:40PM

Have a think, and maybe quiz your friends, about the things you are good at or have more patience with than many people. It isn't all about qualifications. Are you painstaking, great at putting people at ease, practical...

Kelaroost · 11 September 2017 at 11:41PM

I'm terrible and always change career. I changed 2 weeks ago again. But in the process I've picked up loads of new things along the way. If you've got a "go get it" attitude there's nothing you can't achieve.
I left school at 13 years old with no qualifications.
Now I'm 30 I'm qualified in asbestos removal, I've an nvq in business improvement techniques, a nvq lvl 2 diploma in science engineering and manufacturing. I just left a job where I was employed as a plumber/carpenter/plasterer where I picked all my experience up on the job and now I've just started my new job on the railway lines and being put fornit digger tickets...
If you can show them you want to work nothing is out of reach

Fireflyaway · 12 September 2017 at 9:01PM

Try to think what you want to do. Without some focus its hard to have the commitment and motivation you need. Do you enjoy your current work but want more responsibility and money? Or something totally different? Also believe in yourself! You have work experience and knowledge of warehouse operations, that's not nothing.
I'd say find out where you want to be in 5 years then work back to see how to get there. You can do some qualifications in your spare time to beef up your CV. Check out the Reed website where there are a lot of cheap courses you can do from home. Putting in the extra effort will make you stand out a bit more. Plenty of people change career. My husband was in a warehouse picking and then went into IT and has done well but it took a lot of effort and sacrifice. You have to enjoy what you choose so think of what aspects you enjoy now and see what path it might lead to.

Change of career

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