Let's say you were starting over......

[ukbob]

Your career is pretty much at a standstill or your job is not challenging to you. You've looked for other jobs but found no takers.Perhaps you don't have the education required or you are not as young as they want...whatever.

So you want to start anew. Learn something new, possibly. Goa different route where money is not the main objective.

What would you do? Have you done it?





And yes, I am looking for advice as well. ;)

[justacatsfan]

In the same boat, cept I'm only 30.

Havent found it yet. Too much management experience for anyone to let me start entry level again and not enough for upper level. Stuck in that 6-8yr level.

[capcat]

What has been your line of work up to this point, Bob?

[capcat]

btw, I've started over..."older than average" student was the group I fell into. I just found something I had a passion for and went for it. Findingsomething where life experience counted helped. At first it felt like a disadvantage to be older, but it was surprising how that worked to my advantage.When I became unhappy in the setting I worked in, I started a related business and it's worked out well. Now, I'm struggling with a decision (me, and a few other people)to give that up and start another related business that would mean areduction in salary, but seems important.

[ukbob]

capcat wrote: What has been your line of work up to this point, Bob?
I have been in management forever, it seems.(Facilities, Purchasing, Customer/Client Services/Telecomm, Outsourcing)I usually took on the jobs that others turned down for various reasons, but mostly for the challenge and not filling someone else's footsteps. And I have always been very successful at it. But alas, I ran my course when my company closed down. Technology sort of passes you by when you don't access it for long stretches. Stuff happens and you learn to adapt.

Been thinking of getting some training (on what I have no idea), but some of it is very expensive and it has been a long time since I was in school.:D

I was just interested in hearing what others in the same boat had done to turn it around.

[Mr. Peanut]

Not sure I can give you any advice, especially since I don't know what area you might be interested in. But, I can tell you that at 30 I dropped the business I had been working at for 7 years (along with the income and ease) and went back to school for a long time (still there). IMO, the work ethic of an adult used to workingtrumps anything you've lost scholastically over the years... meaning, I bet success in school will be easy for you.

The hard part IMO is the money. Its not easy going from a paycheck to none.

As for how to pay for it - Student loans and supplemental loans are available, and a person can borrow in the ballpark of tuition + $25K annually from what I've seen.

[capcat]

ukbob wrote:
Been thinking of getting some training (on what I have no idea), but some of it is very expensive and it has been a long time since I was in school.:D


You can do the school/training thing, Bob...no doubt about it.

[sardiscat]

I had only been out of school a couple years when I realized I was at a dead end. The solution was to go to law school. I didn't even want to practice law, but a law degree is considered a very valuable qualification to have in just about any profession you want to go into. A law degree will open more doors for you outside of the legal profession than within it. The guys in my graduating class who got the highest starting salaries were those who flunked the bar exam and had to look for jobs other than attorney positions. If I had it to do all over again, I might go to nursing school. Nurses are in such demand that if they get pissed at their supervisors, they can quit their jobs and have new ones the next day. And, I agree with Peanut that a few years in the working world brings focus to your studies that more than compensates for being away from the scholastic environment. The folks in my law school graduating class that made the best grades were the older students who had worked for as much as ten years before they returned to school. They weren't the smartest, necessarily, but they approached school like it was a job and got the job done.

[blueheretic]

Become a hitman.

About ten grand can get you started. I hear it pays well.

Just don't get caught...or if you do get caught be so good at it that the CIA or FBI or a local SWAT team will want to hire you rather than prosecute you.

[gerntz]

An accountant or financial analyst/advisor - cause that's where the money is.

[NC Cat]

ukbob wrote: So you want to start anew. Learn something new, possibly. Goa different route where money is not the main objective.

What would you do? Have you done it?



I leftalucrative career at Merrill Lynch to go to grad school, wife and two small childrenin tow.After six years of poverty and sacrifice as a student,I embarkedon a newcareeras afinance prof. The money's not as good, and the students loans are still being paid off, but we couldn't be happier.Working at Merrill was killing me and kept us from having a normal family life. The girls are grown now, and Igot to be there to see them grow up.Can't put a price on that.

So old dogs (or a Cat in my case) can learn new tricks. We even enjoyed our grad school years...as poor as church micebuthappy. It was a big risk to take, I guess, but the decisioncame down happiness versus money and itwasn't even close.

Good luck my friend. Follow your heart, wherever it takes you.

[Littlemeyer]

NC Cat wrote: ukbob wrote: So you want to start anew. Learn something new, possibly. Goa different route where money is not the main objective.

What would you do? Have you done it?



I leftalucrative career at Merrill Lynch to go to grad school, wife and two small childrenin tow.After six years of poverty and sacrifice as a student,I embarkedon a newcareeras afinance prof. The money's not as good, and the students loans are still being paid off, but we couldn't be happier.Working at Merrill was killing me and kept us from having a normal family life. The girls are grown now, and Igot to be there to see them grow up.Can't put a price on that.

So old dogs (or a Cat in my case) can learn new tricks. We even enjoyed our grad school years...as poor as church micebuthappy. It was a big risk to take, I guess, but the decisioncame down happiness versus money and itwasn't even close.

Good luck my friend. Follow your heart, wherever it takes you.


Great story!

I haven't reached that point yet, as my wife and I are still just 'my wife and I', i.e. no kids...but I could see a career change were that to come about. I like, but don't love, what I do daily. I put in a lot of hours, which, like I say, doesn't matter as much now, but I'm sure it'll get old eventually.

The worst parts about my current situation are occasional night shifts and Saturday work. When we have kids, that will HAVE to change. Just haven't decided how yet...:lol:

If I were to start anew, I'd probably go back to school either for an M.B.A., or just start over entirely, with something like accounting. We like where we live right now, but job opportunities are sparse. It'd be nice to be able to create an opportunity instead of move to the opportunities.