Career Change In Your 30's

[Archdesigner03]

Hi all, just wondering if anybody here is thinking about a career change in your 30's or actually went through the process of successfully migrating to a new field.

I currently work in well a respected profession but long hours including some weekends, life long continuing education to keep up with competition, professional exams, constant fear of getting laid off due to economic down turn is finally taken its toll on me.

At this moment, I don't know what other profession I'm interested or good at...looks like I got some soul searching to do.

Any help, advice, or sharing your personal experiences are greatly appreciated!

 

[Cylotron]

I'm an art major and had all kinds of odd jobs throughout my 20's(had my own business at one point). In my 30's, I've mostly been doing "tech stuff"(cell phone/tablet repair, pc tech, tech support, etc..) There's always going to be people who will need help with something/or need something fixed, so all this tech stuff is at least safe. However, I have always hated the whole '9 to 5' b.s. and wish I could go back to not having a set schedule.

I used to dj & make electronic music back in my late teens/early 20's. I had moved on from that long ago... However, I have gotten back into doing some dj'ing here & there over the past couple of years. I also started making my own electronic music again & hope that it eventually leads to me producing & dj'ing full time(and saying bye bye to ol' 9 - 5 permanently).

 

[Phyeir]

One thing to consider might not even be a career change, but a company change. And I don't just mean moving from one place to another but more focusing on the type of company you are working.

My advice to anyone that is confident in their abilities and to take on new roles when necessary is to RUN from any company that is A) private equity owned or B) corporate owned. Nowadays, most (not all, but the strong majority) are owned by people that really have no interest or drive to care about the economics 101 principles behind taking care of customers & employees to maintain the going concern, because they can easily take their money and move it elsewhere. That lack of real actual skin in the game tends to lead to poor job satisfaction.

Find a place that is a well established firm with some decent size that the place won't just fold under without a major catastophe and get yourself away from the constant job title driving forward style and learn to live within good means. Really, most of that dangled carrot of new positions is just to keep you running on high speed for only the chance of a reward.

At least that was my experience, idk where you work or what you're going through but that's the choice I made especially now that I have started a family. I actually get to see my wife & son a lot and I'm there for the good stuff. This is what matters, not bolstering someone else's dividends so they can have one extra mistress this quarter.

 

[NeoGeoNinja]

I would have needed a career in the first place, to 'change' to in my 30's though, right?

To be fair, I'm not in a dissimilar situation myself. I've been involved in Graphic Design since 99/00, but ever since leaving my first job (poorly paid, but 7 years of service), every design job I have taken since has usually ended in designer workload failure i.e. redundancy or, just the whole f*cking company folding up and putting me out on my arse.

This last happened to me last September and I have no reached a point of now looking for 'whatever' role I find appealing as opposed to being design centric with my job choices. I've just had enough. My CV is full of holes and looks like a mess too, but that's my own fault, because I'm not willing to do the odd job in between times that pays minimum wage with some cunt screaming at you that you're fucking worthless and to wipe his as for him, with hours to suit. There's no point applying for those, as I wouldn't last.

Chances are, if you have your sights set on a different 'career' path, that you will probably have to requalify. But no doubt, the question is (as is mine too), WTF do I actually want to do? And, how do people become qualified, settled and satisfied with these really weird, specific job roles. Like someone who tests the drinking quality of water for a living btw? Shit like that.

 

[StevenK]

I was (and technically still am) a chartered accountant for over a decade. It was never something I wanted to do, but out of university I couldn't really think of anything else, the money was good and I always found it quite easy. I sat all the exams, played the big company corporate game for a long time and at first, thought I might even be able to enjoy it. It was easy when I was sitting exams, I just had to pass them and I would be rewarded straight away with a pay rise, job title change, more responsibilities etc, it was all very clear what I needed to do.

After I finished my exams I found the game changed quite a bit. Suddenly there wasn't a clear way to identify yourself as better than other employees - it was easy before, complete your work quicker, more accurately and get better exam results, bingo. Now I had to start playing office politics.

This, I found, I did not like so much.

Suddenly everyone was staying longer and longer hours - not to actually do anything, but just to be seen to be there, at all times. People were inventing wholly unnecessary projects for themselves so they had something to present at team meetings, time and resources were being wasted on ideas that were little more than ego boosters for those involved. I found the whole deal laughable, but then couldn't believe it when these people started to get promotions based on what they were doing. I lost a lot of respect for people who I had previously got on with very well, but worse still for people above me who were sucked in by this bullshit. I knew I only had two choices - I could either play the game and sit at my desk for ten hours a day on facebook to get the promotions or I could get the fuck out while I still had time. Sure there were probably some sour grapes at being overlooked, but the writing was on the wall even before then.

I don't really know whether I made the right decision and I can't really say I actually have any advice for you either - all I can say is that I don't regret getting out one bit, and that doing something you're not sure about for 8-10 hours a day for the next 30 years seems like insanity to me. It wasn't for me.

I'm a car salesman now - I've always loved cars, and I've always been good with numbers and people, and now it's something I can combine the three in so I love every day that I'm doing it. The bigger beauty is I can pick my own hours - I go to auctions when I want, pick up the cars I fancy selling and think will make me a profit, stand around eating bacon sandwiches with dodgy geezers who are a lot more fun than anyone I've ever met in accountancy and generally have a fucking ball. Everything I earn now I earn off my own back - if it goes well I did that and I reward myself, if it goes badly I have no one else to blame and I try and learn from it. I just couldn't be happier on a day to day basis.

As for the money, I've taken a massive pay cut, there's no getting round that, and I took some flak from family and friends at first for ditching a lucrative career. I chased the cash for a long time though, and decided in the end that as cliched as it sounds, there really is more to life than money.

And, fuck it, if everything goes horribly wrong I can always go back to accountancy, you have to remind yourself that even if you were out for a couple of years there's not much happens in most vocations that you wouldn't be able to get yourself back up to speed with in a couple of months at most.


Edit - Tl;dr

 

[andsuchisdeath]

stevenk, remember if going back to accountancy goes wrong too, there's always erotic fiction.

 

[evil wasabi]

I know an Asian dude who worked in the post office for a while but now he runs his own pawn shop.

 

[smokehouse]

Hi all, just wondering if anybody here is thinking about a career change in your 30's or actually went through the process of successfully migrating to a new field.

I currently work in well a respected profession but long hours including some weekends, life long continuing education to keep up with competition, professional exams, constant fear of getting laid off due to economic down turn is finally taken its toll on me.

At this moment, I don't know what other profession I'm interested or good at...looks like I got some soul searching to do.

Any help, advice, or sharing your personal experiences are greatly appreciated!

It's hard to say...you may find you're miserable on the other side...

I because a Union electrician June of 2000. By 2012 I was an upper level foreman running $1+ million jobs. High stress, long hours, high rewards, high respect. It was a give/take. The construction world is flaky, fickle and will go with the best resource. I had to stay on my game to keep on top.

I "drug up" in Oct of 2012 and went to work for a contractor with 3 employees (compared to working for the largest contractor in my trade)...I became a field grunt, lowest of the low. I thought this cleansing would be welcome...

It wasn't...I hated it.

Small company = small resources and crappy jobs. I was given little respect and zero perks. I could once go and come as I pleased...I had to beg to leave work 1 hr early with the new job.


July of 2013 I took an even higher level job at the company I originally worked for...I'm now ops manager and run the entire Union side of the company. Right back to the high stress, long hours, high rewards, high respect. Now I have to not only oversee ALL the jobs...I have to oversee the day to day ops AND design the jobs...but this time around I've tried to level the stress...and enjoy the perks. It's stressful but I definitly would not want to go back to "joe nobody"...I'm glad that mistake didn't burn me in the long run.

 

[Endlessnameless]

Hi all, just wondering if anybody here is thinking about a career change in your 30's or actually went through the process of successfully migrating to a new field.

I currently work in well a respected profession but long hours including some weekends, life long continuing education to keep up with competition, professional exams, constant fear of getting laid off due to economic down turn is finally taken its toll on me.

At this moment, I don't know what other profession I'm interested or good at...looks like I got some soul searching to do.

Any help, advice, or sharing your personal experiences are greatly appreciated!

I'm guessing you work in IT or Healthcare

 

[StevenK]

stevenk, remember if going back to accountancy goes wrong too, there's always erotic fiction.

Haha, good memory dude

 

[Pope Sazae]

I'm guessing you work in IT or Healthcare

It's really fun when you do both of those and shit like Obamacare comes down the pipeline and royally screws up everything that has been established for years.

 

[Archdesigner03]

I'm guessing you work in IT or Healthcare

I actually wished I had chosen those fields, seems much more stable. I currently work in the field of architecture and just learned the hard way that it's one of the most unstable career one can get into. When the economy tanks, construction business is the first to collapse.

The thing is, I just invested 7 years of my time on an architectural degree, still needs 3 years of intern experience to be approved by the government to be eligible to take the EIGHT professional exams in order to become an architect. The pay equates to less than minimum wage once I factor in all the hours I put in...

Maybe I just need to switch firms for a change of scenery as someone had suggested.

 

[Archdesigner03]

I was (and technically still am) a chartered accountant for over a decade. It was never something I wanted to do, but out of university I couldn't really think of anything else, the money was good and I always found it quite easy. I sat all the exams, played the big company corporate game for a long time and at first, thought I might even be able to enjoy it. It was easy when I was sitting exams, I just had to pass them and I would be rewarded straight away with a pay rise, job title change, more responsibilities etc, it was all very clear what I needed to do.

After I finished my exams I found the game changed quite a bit. Suddenly there wasn't a clear way to identify yourself as better than other employees - it was easy before, complete your work quicker, more accurately and get better exam results, bingo. Now I had to start playing office politics.

This, I found, I did not like so much.

Suddenly everyone was staying longer and longer hours - not to actually do anything, but just to be seen to be there, at all times. People were inventing wholly unnecessary projects for themselves so they had something to present at team meetings, time and resources were being wasted on ideas that were little more than ego boosters for those involved. I found the whole deal laughable, but then couldn't believe it when these people started to get promotions based on what they were doing. I lost a lot of respect for people who I had previously got on with very well, but worse still for people above me who were sucked in by this bullshit. I knew I only had two choices - I could either play the game and sit at my desk for ten hours a day on facebook to get the promotions or I could get the fuck out while I still had time. Sure there were probably some sour grapes at being overlooked, but the writing was on the wall even before then.

I don't really know whether I made the right decision and I can't really say I actually have any advice for you either - all I can say is that I don't regret getting out one bit, and that doing something you're not sure about for 8-10 hours a day for the next 30 years seems like insanity to me. It wasn't for me.

I'm a car salesman now - I've always loved cars, and I've always been good with numbers and people, and now it's something I can combine the three in so I love every day that I'm doing it. The bigger beauty is I can pick my own hours - I go to auctions when I want, pick up the cars I fancy selling and think will make me a profit, stand around eating bacon sandwiches with dodgy geezers who are a lot more fun than anyone I've ever met in accountancy and generally have a fucking ball. Everything I earn now I earn off my own back - if it goes well I did that and I reward myself, if it goes badly I have no one else to blame and I try and learn from it. I just couldn't be happier on a day to day basis.

As for the money, I've taken a massive pay cut, there's no getting round that, and I took some flak from family and friends at first for ditching a lucrative career. I chased the cash for a long time though, and decided in the end that as cliched as it sounds, there really is more to life than money.

And, fuck it, if everything goes horribly wrong I can always go back to accountancy, you have to remind yourself that even if you were out for a couple of years there's not much happens in most vocations that you wouldn't be able to get yourself back up to speed with in a couple of months at most.


Edit - Tl;dr

I applaud you for making such a huge change in career. Glad to hear you are happier than before.

 

[NeoGeoNinja]

I actually wished I had chosen those fields, seems much more stable. I currently work in the field of architecture and just learned the hard way that it's one of the most unstable career one can get into. When the economy tanks, construction business is the first to collapse.

The thing is, I just invested 7 years of my time on an architectural degree, still needs 3 years of intern experience to be approved by the government to be eligible to take the EIGHT professional exams in order to become an architect. The pay equates to less than minimum wage once I factor in all the hours I put in...

Maybe I just need to switch firms for a change of scenery as someone had suggested.

Yeah, in hindsight, I think the best jobs to go for are the ones necessary to everyone's everyday functionality:

Dentistry, GP, Surgeon, Vet, Electrician, Plumber, Gas Technician blah blah blah.

Creative stuff like design, architecture etc is always subject to demand. Toothache, Heart Surgery and Gas Leaks are more commonplace...

 

[Endlessnameless]

It's really fun when you do both of those and shit like Obamacare comes down the pipeline and royally screws up everything that has been established for years.

I'm with ya there. Everybody thought the affordable care act would be this great thing....except for those on the front lines in healthcare. The mantra is do more with less and eventually its the patients that will wind up getting the shaft. Maybe not within the next year but it's coming. Wait times will increase and there will be a doctor shortage coming. I know of several physicians whom have taken early retirement because of the affordable care act. A few smaller hospitals have actually closed down around us. Just closed. Hundreds of jobs lost in an instant.

At one point healthcare was the "safe zone" people are always sick and will need caregivers but right now the industry is the most unstable it's ever been.

 

[Endlessnameless]

This is kind of an aside to the op's topic (if this is considered bad form, please delete this post) but how many people grew up wanting to do something and are doing it today?

I never had that. I never really grew up wanting to "be" something when I grew up. That's kinda why I always identified with the main character from office space: I really didn't want to do anything =P But I came to a point in my college life where I had to pick something. I was working in retail and going to school and decided that I had to quit dicking around and actually choose a career.

 

[Archdesigner03]

This is kind of an aside to the op's topic (if this is considered bad form, please delete this post) but how many people grew up wanting to do something and are doing it today?

I never had that. I never really grew up wanting to "be" something when I grew up. That's kinda why I always identified with the main character from office space: I really didn't want to do anything =P But I came to a point in my college life where I had to pick something. I was working in retail and going to school and decided that I had to quit dicking around and actually choose a career.

Like you, I was clueless after highschool. While all my buddies went straight to an university with a clear goal of what they want to do, I elected to go to a junior college for 5 long years to figure out what I'm good at. I took every single major to try it out, and finally settled for what I'm doing now...and still doubting if I made the right career choice.

 

[Archdesigner03]

I'm with ya there. Everybody thought the affordable care act would be this great thing....except for those on the front lines in healthcare. The mantra is do more with less and eventually its the patients that will wind up getting the shaft. Maybe not within the next year but it's coming. Wait times will increase and there will be a doctor shortage coming. I know of several physicians whom have taken early retirement because of the affordable care act. A few smaller hospitals have actually closed down around us. Just closed. Hundreds of jobs lost in an instant.

At one point healthcare was the "safe zone" people are always sick and will need caregivers but right now the industry is the most unstable it's ever been.

I'm surprised healthcare is taking a nosedive. With tons of baby boomers retiring, I would think the contrary

 

[Phyeir]

I'm surprised healthcare is taking a nosedive. With tons of baby boomers retiring, I would think the contrary

Profit extraction, not running business as a going conern, which is the current method of business we have is the issue.

And given we have a well compensated electorate and a complicit Supreme Court, this ride isn't over.

 

[Rot]

I know an Asian dude who worked in the post office for a while but now he runs his own pawn shop.

..I was interviewed by the Police last week... apparently... in the British legal system... I'm classed as South-East Asian Person...

..Just saying man

xROTx

 

[T.A.P.]

This is kind of an aside to the op's topic (if this is considered bad form, please delete this post) but how many people grew up wanting to do something and are doing it today?

I never had that. I never really grew up wanting to "be" something when I grew up. That's kinda why I always identified with the main character from office space: I really didn't want to do anything =P But I came to a point in my college life where I had to pick something. I was working in retail and going to school and decided that I had to quit dicking around and actually choose a career.

I'm the exact same way.

 

[StevenK]

This is kind of an aside to the op's topic (if this is considered bad form, please delete this post) but how many people grew up wanting to do something and are doing it today?

I never had that. I never really grew up wanting to "be" something when I grew up. That's kinda why I always identified with the main character from office space: I really didn't want to do anything =P But I came to a point in my college life where I had to pick something. I was working in retail and going to school and decided that I had to quit dicking around and actually choose a career.

100%. I've never felt any kind of calling to any particular career or cause or anything really. I just meander through life hoping I don't make too big a fuck up on the way, trying not to tread on anyone else's toes in the process.

 

[Endlessnameless]

I'm surprised healthcare is taking a nosedive. With tons of baby boomers retiring, I would think the contrary

Well its not so much the customer base as it is dwindling reimbursements, the affordable care act, doctor shortages (primarily family practice) and with the aca and now a tidal wave of illegal immigration the system is going to be stressed to the max. I haven't received a raise in 4 years...this is not due to poor performance or attendance as my past reviews have been immaculate it's due to dwindling profit margins. Believe me, they keep stressing do more with less. It may not happen all at once but everything is coming to a head and its going to get bad.

 

[BeaglePuss]

The best advice I can give you is stop looking for fulfillment through work.

I've found that all work sucks. All of it. Unless you're Lebron James, your job sucks. The end. So, I went out and found the job I felt sucked the least. I've been there for ten years now, and this past year decided to go into business for myself on the side. The business is a boxing club. Why? Because I fucking love boxing! The gym is always busy, but my partners and I aren't making a killing. It's just a means to find fun and fulfillment outside of my regular job.

While I'm not suggesting you open a boxing club, I am suggesting you look outside of the nine to five when it comes to personal enrichment. If you keep looking for that perfect job, you might spend the rest of your life not finding it.

 

[Archdesigner03]

Yeah, in hindsight, I think the best jobs to go for are the ones necessary to everyone's everyday functionality:

Dentistry, GP, Surgeon, Vet, Electrician, Plumber, Gas Technician blah blah blah.

Creative stuff like design, architecture etc is always subject to demand. Toothache, Heart Surgery and Gas Leaks are more commonplace...

I think designers are still important. I can't even start to imagine the world without aesthetics beauty.