Radical Career Changes (Full Version)

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TheHeretic -> Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 8:10:01 AM)

     Has anyone here done a mid-life career change, to a totally different kind of work and environment?  How did it go?  What were the challenges?  How long to overcome the culture shock?


     I'm sick of my job and I'm going to quit.  I haven't reached the point of dropping trou' and shitting on the owner's desk before punching that smug ops manager (without a single day of field experience)  in the throat.  I'd prefer NOT to reach that point.  I just don't want to be doing this for the next 25 years.

     This was always the fallback position anyway, a useful skill that would allow me to go anywhere and get a living wage job.  When I was working 16-17 hours a week to bring home $550, I had no complaints at all.  Now I have to work overtime to make that.  I've gone from a 2 mile commute to a 44 mile one over mountains and from getting up early to starting work in the middle of the night.  Enough.

    So I've applied for a radically different kind of job.  From a 'corner office with a view.' to a cubicle, from a place where I can randomly say 'shit' or 'fuck,' to a room full of people who will definitely give me funny looks if I do that.

    I think I have a good shot at it.  I took my resume to a pro for a rewrite and, while I don't recognize the guy it talks about now, I'd hire him.  I have the abilities they want and I'm powerfully motivated to learn the things I don't know.

      Any experiences or suggestions?



Sinergy -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:23:05 AM)

 

As somebody who spent most of my life applying for new jobs, I have the following insights.

a)  Always have a plan B.  This way, if Plan A does not work out the way you planned, you have Plan B.

b)  Interviewing is a skill.  Go to lots of interviews.  Interview for jobs you have no idea what is involved in doing it.  I applied for a job as a techie one time and beat out a stack of resumes 4 inches thick because I told the guy in the interview that I only like to fix problems once, so I fix it right the first time.

c)  Use every job search engine you can find; monster.com, jobs.com, etc.  Go through paper.  The more you network, the better you will be.  Additionally, set yourself a goal of how many resumes or cold calls you make a day; mine was 10.

d)  Make a bunch of different resumes.  Highlight different skill sets on each one.  When I was looking for a computer job, I had resumes for VAXes, Unix, Windoze, various programming languages, hardware engineering, system engineering, networking, etc.  These are all things I have done in my career, although my job title tended to be "system administrator."

e)  Grit your teeth and stay at your current job until somebody else offers you more money to leave them.  Places are a lot more willing to hire currently employed people than unemployed people.

Good luck!

Sinergy



stockingluvr54 -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:28:16 AM)

Change is scary...BUT...change can be good!

Like you are feeling....I quit my job after boss wouldn't cough up 5gs per year more. I started a home based biz and allthough I almost lost the shack after year 2 it finally paid off and I'd never look back!!!!!

It was quite a "culture shock" working from home all alone...not going anywhere and working 7 days/week. I'm used to it now and actually don't like going into town much and have actually enjoyed being a homebody.

I say if you think it'll benefit you....and/or you need a change....go for it! There's always another job out there if it doesn't work out?

Good luck!!!!!!!



SunNMoon -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:30:59 AM)

(fast reply)
I just want to say think you for posting this. I'm about to start out on the job hunt, so I'm looking forward to reading all of the replys.



LuckyAlbatross -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:37:33 AM)

My partner did this.  It wasn't planned, it just sort of happened.  Before he moved doing a lot of tech and programming stufffor a web based project management software company.  After he moved to Texas, he was searching around and began going to more and more events, trying to network and meet people and then one day made an announcement to me- he wanted to get a career in the renewable energy field. 

I was pretty stunned and had no clue where this really came from or why, but it was his choice and I trusted him, so I've fully supported what he does.  So he started going to even MORE of those events and conferences and panels and workshops. 

He asked the head of a conference if he could get a reduced price for volutneering to help and the guy basically said he could come for free if he worked the registration desk every day.  That led to him directly yo working part time as a "everything behind the scenes" guy for a local renewable resources industries assocation, and recently another contract position with a solar panel installation company.

Pretty much everyone currerently in Austin in the renewable energy field has his spreadsheet with the session bills up for vote this year.

Still not his ultimate dream job in the field, but he's there, he's making tons of connections and he made it work for himself.  I couldn't be more proud.




stockingluvr54 -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:52:01 AM)

Yuppers...!!!!! Gotta agree with the above posts! One of the things that has always stuck in my mind for years came from an old hard working construction biz owner. He told me once "You have to MAKE it happen!"  The most true words I've ever heard! Nobody is gonna give it to you and if you go after it and it still doesn't happen....then you try harder and MAKE it happen......jmo



TheHeretic -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 9:58:13 AM)

      Thanks for the suggestions.  Quitting without another job lined up really isn't an option.  I have to be choosy about interviews too since it really means taking a day off to insure I'm sharp and on time.

      I've had my eyes open for a while.  If all I wanted was a different job, I'd have had that a year ago.  This time, it's about a better job.



popeye1250 -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 12:22:14 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

    Has anyone here done a mid-life career change, to a totally different kind of work and environment?  How did it go?  What were the challenges?  How long to overcome the culture shock?


    I'm sick of my job and I'm going to quit.  I haven't reached the point of dropping trou' and shitting on the owner's desk before punching that smug ops manager (without a single day of field experience)  in the throat.  I'd prefer NOT to reach that point.  I just don't want to be doing this for the next 25 years.

    This was always the fallback position anyway, a useful skill that would allow me to go anywhere and get a living wage job.  When I was working 16-17 hours a week to bring home $550, I had no complaints at all.  Now I have to work overtime to make that.  I've gone from a 2 mile commute to a 44 mile one over mountains and from getting up early to starting work in the middle of the night.  Enough.

   So I've applied for a radically different kind of job.  From a 'corner office with a view.' to a cubicle, from a place where I can randomly say 'shit' or 'fuck,' to a room full of people who will definitely give me funny looks if I do that.

   I think I have a good shot at it.  I took my resume to a pro for a rewrite and, while I don't recognize the guy it talks about now, I'd hire him.  I have the abilities they want and I'm powerfully motivated to learn the things I don't know.

     Any experiences or suggestions?


A few years back I was talking to a woman who was complaining because she sometimes had to work 70 hours some weeks.
I just looked at her and said; "Ah, I thought people went to college so that they (wouldn't) have to work 70 hours per week."
She said, "you know, you're right!"
Shortly after that she had a new position which paid more and had more normal hours.
Job disatisfaction can really affect your life negatively. Or positively.
Why do something you don't like?
Sinergy is right about keeping the job you have while you find another though.
And $550 per week take home really isn't a lot of money these days. I make substantially more than that being retired.
Also, have you thought about an "exotic" job that pays a lot?
Those Contractors in Iraq make big money.
I knew two guys, A.B.'s (Able Bodied Seamen) years ago who worked on Oil Tankers and made about $8-$10,000 per month.
They were always gone but they did get about 10-12 weeks vacation per year.
So, "think outside the box" too!



TheHeretic -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 12:51:03 PM)

    No, $550 a week isn't great, but it's better than a lot of people do around here.  The wife works also, so we aren't hurting.  If it was just about the money, I could double my income with a phone call to a trucking co.  Been there, done that, I don't like living in a space smaller than the courts will allow a rapist to be housed in.  I do like coming home every night.  Same for an out of town, exotic.

     Finding work has never been a problem since I moved to CA.  There are so many crappy, survival-wage things out there, it isn't funny.  Hell, you can make $10 an hour telling dirty jokes on a freeway offramp. 

    My concern is just to the transition to something very different.  My God, if I get this one, I'll be wearing a tie and taking a shower BEFORE work, instead of desperately needing one when I get home.



windchymes -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 2:43:26 PM)

I've done it a couple times in my lifetime and am working on doing it again, hopefully sometime this year.  I always did office work, and picked up knowledge and skills in bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, etc.  Then, I decided to go back to school and got my degree & became a medical lab tech.  Did that for seven years, but when I remarried and relocated to another state, I decided not to go back into a hospital to avoid working nights, weekends and holidays.  Since I was the second breadloser, I could afford to take a job that paid less and went back into office-type work, doing billing for a physical therapy clinic.  Did that till I got divorced and had to make enough money to live on myself, so I went back into hospital lab work again.  I did get day shift, but am back to weekends and holidays, but the money is good and the benefits are great.

Recently, my sister told me about openings in her company in northern Virginia, doing "financial analysis", which is billing, receipts & documentation, and investigation into unpaid accounts.  It pays $10K a year more than I make now, so I'm going for it.  It will mean relocating again, but been there, done that, so, my hospital career may be a thing of the past again, and I'll be back in office/finance.

It's good to know that no matter what jobs you may have in your lifetime, you can always take the skills and experiences you learned on the old job with you and apply them to future jobs.  Good luck on your new venture!



Einzelganger -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 3:01:19 PM)

Go for it.  If you want it...REALLY want it, so bad you can taste it...you'll pull it off.  I used to be a full-time professional violinist.  Then, one day, I decided I wanted to become a BMW mechanic.  Yeah, a grease monkey.  My violin instructor nearly had a heart attack, and I was waiting for her to threaten to break both of my legs.  Of course, she took it a little easier, since she owns a BMW...

Then, after 7-8 years as a European car tech, and finally receiving my BMW Master Technician certification...basically, once I got to the top...I decided I was sick of working at a car dealer where the sales people were considered an upper chaste, and the techs were just oil filter spinners in the back.  So, I decided I wanted to become a pilot.

I'm halfway there.  I've got a job in aviation, and I get to fly very frequently with freight dog pilots who've got more talent in their little finger than most airline 'captains' have in their whole bodies.  I'm doing this the same way I started my career as a BMW technician; I'm simply immersing myself in it, absorbing as much as I can, and applying myself.  I want this job so bad, I can taste it.

So, don't let anyone tell you that you're not cut out for it, or that you're not capable of doing it.  They'll only tell you that when it's something they'd be afraid to try themselves.  So, why not prove them wrong? *grins*

-Einzelgänger



sambamanslilgirl -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 3:04:33 PM)

i had a radical career change when i had to give up my cushy job at Lucent Tech (working with IBM) after my oldest UM suffered a traumatic accident (hit by a train). i went from tech documentation specialist to tutor for a boys' home to independent contractor for a health clinic to my current adventure, concert reviewer for Fearless Radio. going weekly paycheck to monthly one did scare me at first however this helped me budget grocery shopping and etc very well. 



SDFemDom4cuck -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 3:05:47 PM)

I'm in the middle of it myself.

Last year I took the plunge. Quit a well paying job to go to school (and wait tables to pay the bills) to study radiology. Many people thought I was nuts. 50K isn't a job to sneeze at in Cali. My family thought I had lost my mind. However I looked at what my job satisfaction was, what time I had to enjoy the money I was making and the balance of the scale hit the bottom. I was on call 24/7. I spent my days being screamed at and in turn I spent my days yelling at others to fix those problems. Suffice to say I was not the most pleasant of people in my off time. The final straw was when I was taking a much needed vacation, my first in 3 years. I got off the plane, turned my cell back on and found 34 missed calls. In 3 hours. I called my assistant, gave him my code and told him to handle them and then shut my phone back off for the remainder of the 3 days. My boss actually attempted to hunt me down where I was staying because of a question that any service tech could have answered for him in 2 seconds.

I came home and had my review...I was not happy with their sudden decision to cap my salary after having been promised bonuses for goals they had put in place. Goals that I surpassed by double in some areas and triple in others. Bonuses that I earned.
I pretty much put in for the remainder of my accumulated vacation time (6 weeks) and started thinking what I wanted to do to be happy again. Something that would provide an interior fulfillment as well as pay well and have some semblance of job security. (The previous company I left has since done a massive lay off and is on the verge of closing) The answer to that was to quit the job that provided a nice living but didn't provide a nice life on a personal basis.

So I decided to go to school and do something that makes me happy, helps others and makes life worthwhile. Granted the interim of school/work/internship isn't going to be pleasant. I've had to put aside much of my personal life in order to do so. I'm exhausted much of the time but I'm loving every second of it.

Go for it...it's scary...but it's wonderful as well.

Edited to add I'm transitioning from corporate corner office construction management to the medical field



Griswold -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 3:27:59 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

    Has anyone here done a mid-life career change, to a totally different kind of work and environment?  How did it go?  What were the challenges?  How long to overcome the culture shock?


    I'm sick of my job and I'm going to quit.  I haven't reached the point of dropping trou' and shitting on the owner's desk before punching that smug ops manager (without a single day of field experience)  in the throat.  I'd prefer NOT to reach that point.  I just don't want to be doing this for the next 25 years.

    This was always the fallback position anyway, a useful skill that would allow me to go anywhere and get a living wage job.  When I was working 16-17 hours a week to bring home $550, I had no complaints at all.  Now I have to work overtime to make that.  I've gone from a 2 mile commute to a 44 mile one over mountains and from getting up early to starting work in the middle of the night.  Enough.

   So I've applied for a radically different kind of job.  From a 'corner office with a view.' to a cubicle, from a place where I can randomly say 'shit' or 'fuck,' to a room full of people who will definitely give me funny looks if I do that.

   I think I have a good shot at it.  I took my resume to a pro for a rewrite and, while I don't recognize the guy it talks about now, I'd hire him.  I have the abilities they want and I'm powerfully motivated to learn the things I don't know.

     Any experiences or suggestions?


What are you asking....Mr. Male Switch?

Are you asking for a consensus as to your radical jump to the front of the line?

Or are you simply asking for some acquiesence from your "crew" as to your new aspirations for a change in perspective?



TheHeretic -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 3:55:51 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Griswold

What are you asking....Mr. Male Switch?

Are you asking for a consensus as to your radical jump to the front of the line?

Or are you simply asking for some acquiesence from your "crew" as to your new aspirations for a change in perspective?



        I've seen your questions, Gris, I'll take your confusion about mine as sign that it's clear.  Nobody can hand me a map of the path I've chosen to walk, but they might be able to tell me where the swamps are.

    Don't care about consensus, and the only lines I stand in patiently are at Disneyland.  If I was willing to go into specifics (I'm not) about what I do and the job I'm trying to get, 'radical change' might seem like putting it mildly.

     Crew???  I'm on one of those at work, but I'm planning to become 'staff' instead. 

     Or are you trying to illustrate a rarely mentioned aspected of Socialist policy that leaves workers stuck and fucked in a managed economy?  I believe in free enterprise, baby.



dcnovice -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 7:51:44 PM)

Rich ---

I haven't done a mid-career shift, though I'm wondering whether I want to spend another 25 years doing what I do. And if not, what do I want to do instead. So I don't have any advice to offer, alas.

But I did want to post and wish you well!

Cheers,

DC



Griswold -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 8:16:38 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

quote:

ORIGINAL: Griswold

What are you asking....Mr. Male Switch?

Are you asking for a consensus as to your radical jump to the front of the line?

Or are you simply asking for some acquiesence from your "crew" as to your new aspirations for a change in perspective?



       I've seen your questions, Gris, I'll take your confusion about mine as sign that it's clear.  Nobody can hand me a map of the path I've chosen to walk, but they might be able to tell me where the swamps are.

   Don't care about consensus, and the only lines I stand in patiently are at Disneyland.  If I was willing to go into specifics (I'm not) about what I do and the job I'm trying to get, 'radical change' might seem like putting it mildly.

    Crew???  I'm on one of those at work, but I'm planning to become 'staff' instead. 

    Or are you trying to illustrate a rarely mentioned aspected of Socialist policy that leaves workers stuck and fucked in a managed economy?  I believe in free enterprise, baby.


Fuuuuuck....that was good!

(I don't even understand what the fuckever he said....but it sounded really professional).



SusanofO -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 8:21:55 PM)

Many moons ago, I was in line for an internship that was meant for a graduate student, even though I was an undergrad. The job appeared to be such a great fit w/where I wanted to be after I graduated, as far as developing the pertinent skills, that I applied  for it, and was lucky enough to get an interview. 

The man who originally was in line for the job and was hired, decided not to take it (due to having to re-locate, just for a Summer), and the President wanted to hire me, but wasn't sure I could handle "grad-student level projects".

So, I did a spec on one of the 10 projects he had listed for the Summer on the intern schedule, and it took me almost 2 weeks to do it, and I did it for free. The President let me know when he hired me, that he was probably going to hire me anyway, but that after he saw my work, and my willingness to do it, he felt he had no choice but to hire me on the spot, after he reviewed it.

I also think the "free" part impressed him, as far as clarifying my interest level, and separating me, as far as being more noticeable from the pack of other worthy contenders (none of them had offerred that).

I could just as easily have not gotten that job, as there were several other worthy contenders. The work I did during that job led to my first "real" job right after college - and that job was a really interesting job for me.

This same technique got me hired years later, when I was re-entering the job  market, after a 3 year absence. I said I'd work for free for a week, and the employer didn't actuallly take me up on it, but saying I'd do it impressed him enough to hire me (and I of course would have followed through if he'd wanted me to do it).

Good luck. I have no doubt at all this can be done.

Any related volunteer work, or even a skill or trait you've developed, that you believe may indeed be valuable in your new field, would probably be good to mention on your resume and in an interview.

I do volunteer work with abused and neglected UMs, and I can see how some of the relational and listening skills I use there, would transfer to a customer service supervisory position, should I ever need to list them on a resume as pertinent in that regard, for instance.

You can do this. Good luck.

- Susan      



TheHeretic -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 8:29:12 PM)

    Thanks, DC.  I appreciate the good wishes and return them that you'll see the next path clearly when it comes along.

    "Stability" isn't a word that applies to much of my life (why do I have a feeling that line may haunt me at some point?), change is inevitable.  I'm just looking up at the picture on the Demotivator Calendar above my desk (www.despair.com) of a salmon leaping right into the mouth of a grizzly bear with the caption, Sometimes the journey of a thousand miles ends very, very badly.

     It's a good opportunity, but a completely different world.



Sinergy -> RE: Radical Career Changes (4/14/2007 8:32:38 PM)

 
On a related note, I found out that my probationary period in the union will probably end before summer does.

So it is time to apply to go to graduate school...

To me, life is too short to only do one career.

Sinergy



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