Career Change Advice

[Southside Sully]

I just made the move after 16 successful years in the Construction/Development industry to working for a Boutique Tech Consultant who specializes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Talk about an unbelievable change of space. Im 6 weeks in and really learning a ton. Hardest part for me has been finding my target market, since so many companies have CRM in place. We do a ton for the big Accouting/FinTech companies. Feels like I am a fresh out of college kid again trying to learn a new industry and make connections, outside of my personal network. Forgot how hard it is.

 

[GowerND11]

Not a career change, but a scenery change. In March I left my teaching job of 7 years at a juvenile justice facility for our county's Vo-Tech high school. The juvenile justice facility is going to be closing soon as it is an open setting without fences, barbed wire, etc. and the state has a shortage of secure facilities. Instead, they will move the program to another county to a former private run secure facility the state will run.

Anyway, as a newlywed with a mortgage and our desire to start a family soon, I had to start looking. I was lucky enough to find out that the Vo-Tech had a Social Studies opening. I applied, and was offered the job that afternoon. I only finished out the school year there, but I loved it. I was actually teaching full classes, having discussions, student's did projects, and more. I feel refreshed and have a renewed love for teaching thanks to this new job.

 

[Irish#1]

Come September, it will be 50 years in (Data Processing, MIS, IS, IT) or whatever they decide to call it next. It does me good to read how you guys are figuring it out. I don't ever remember a time where the jobs and money have been aligned where most can make a switch without taking a big hit. Best of luck to all of you.

 

[Wild Bill]

I just quit my job. I feel alive.

 

[Valpodoc85]

Yeah but you could become your bosses worst nightmare.....

 

[Wild Bill]

Yeah but you could become your bosses worst nightmare.....

He already has some bimbo attorney, the type of millennial whiskey described above, hounding me about nonsense so I'm burying her in excel sheets and emails so she can burn through their retainer. She should send me a thank you card.

 

[BobbyMac]

Last fall I took a contract gig to layout a training program for a national chemical packager. It went over well and I became fast friends with the VP of Op's and the President. Long story short, they talked me into coming aboard as a management trainee. Actually, CNBC talked me into joining the company, I'm convinced bad times are ahead and wanted something recession proof. They are the nation's leading provider of water treatment chemicals. They've never laid a person off going back to WWII. It's dangerous stuff, LOOOONG hours, ok/good pay... not great but there's something satisfying about doing hands on work. I mean I have a 5' torque wrench! How cool is that?!

Often 6 days a week @ 70+ hours have left little time for football but I'm hoping to retire at 60 and can't have the post-Covid recession destroying that plan.

So far, so good. The end of August can't get here soon enough so I can trade in my chlorine mask for an office with 3 screens...

 

[Irish#1]

Last fall I took a contract gig to layout a training program for a national chemical packager. It went over well and I became fast friends with the VP of Op's and the President. Long story short, they talked me into coming aboard as a management trainee. Actually, CNBC talked me into joining the company, I'm convinced bad times are ahead and wanted something recession proof. They are the nation's leading provider of water treatment chemicals. They've never laid a person off going back to WWII. It's dangerous stuff, LOOOONG hours, ok/good pay... not great but there's something satisfying about doing hands on work. I mean I have a 5' torque wrench! How cool is that?!

Often 6 days a week @ 70+ hours have left little time for football but I'm hoping to retire at 60 and can't have the post-Covid recession destroying that plan.

So far, so good. The end of August can't get here soon enough so I can trade in my chlorine mask for an office with 3 screens...

I don't know what it is, but everyone wants three monitors these days. I get two, but three? Are you too lazy to simply click with your mouse and pull the other app back in front? There are exceptions, but the justifications I hear are usually laughable.

 

[greyhammer90]

I don't know what it is, but everyone wants three monitors these days. I get two, but three? Are you too lazy to simply click with your mouse and pull the other app back in front? There are exceptions, but the justifications I hear are usually laughable.

The real answer is that they want a two screen setup for work and a one screen setup for spotify/twitter/ whatever.

 

[DONTH8]

The real answer is that they want a two screen setup for work and a one screen setup for spotify/twitter/ whatever.

In Mac's case: two for work, and one for 247/Hudl.

 

[Rack Em]

The real answer is that they want a two screen setup for work and a one screen setup for spotify/twitter/ whatever.

Irishog always said he wants the IMAX experience when he's watching porn at work. Guy is a weird dude.

 

[tussin]

A lot has changed in the work world since this thread has started. If one good thing sprung from COVID, it's that it accelerated WFH / location flexibility by at least 10 years.

For example, in 2019 my wife and I graduated with our PhD and MBAs and never expected to have the opportunity to live near our hometown (Scranton, PA). We accepted that our professional lives would require proximity to major metros on the east coast (likely Boston, NYC, or Philly given our backgrounds). Now, it's 2022, we both work from home (her full time and I go to Pittsburgh for one week a month) and bought a house near Scranton that is 5-10 minutes away from each of our parents. Our careers have taken off, we are close to friends and family, live in a real community, and COL is much lower than a major metro. All of this is to confirm Whiskey's earlier point, now is the time to have your cake and eat it too. Not only do college-educated workers have leverage in salary, but also flexibility in location.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

A lot has changed in the work world since this thread has started. If one good thing sprung from COVID, it's that it accelerated WFH / location flexibility by at least 10 years.

For example, in 2019 my wife and I graduated with our PhD and MBAs and never expected to have the opportunity to live near our hometown (Scranton, PA). We accepted that our professional lives would require proximity to major metros on the east coast (likely Boston, NYC, or Philly given our backgrounds). Now, it's 2022, we both work from home (her full time and I go to Pittsburgh for one week a month) and bought a house near Scranton that is 5-10 minutes away from each of our parents. Our careers have taken off, we are close to friends and family, live in a real community, and COL is much lower than a major metro. All of this is to confirm Whiskey's earlier point, now is the time to have your cake and eat it too. Not only do college-educated workers have leverage in salary, but also flexibility in location.

This is great. I'm glad it worked out for you. It's exactly what I envisioned when my daughter was born seven years ago. My boss said no to working remote. Then when Covid hit, I figured I'd try again, to which he said no. To this day, I'm not sure why he was so against it because now the norm for my profession is to work remotely (thanks to Covid). It's my goal to find a cancer center that will allow me to work from home, part-time. I have a friend and former classmate who has this arrangement and she couldn't be happier. She works two days per week, remotely. The other three, she spends with her kids. I would take a massive paycut to have this setup, but so far I've struck out with interviews (my cancer clinic has crippled me in the sense that for the last 15 years, they made little to no investment in technology so my resume is lacking, but I've been working on that.) Fingers crossed!

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

A lot has changed in the work world since this thread has started. If one good thing sprung from COVID, it's that it accelerated WFH / location flexibility by at least 10 years.

Damn straight. I WFH full time and absolutely love it. No more 1.5-2 hour commutes everyday. I don't think I'll ever take remote working for granted.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

This is great. I'm glad it worked out for you. It's exactly what I envisioned when my daughter was born seven years ago. My boss said no to working remote. Then when Covid hit, I figured I'd try again, to which he said no. To this day, I'm not sure why he was so against it because now the norm for my profession is to work remotely (thanks to Covid). It's my goal to find a cancer center that will allow me to work from home, part-time. I have a friend and former classmate who has this arrangement and she couldn't be happier. She works two days per week, remotely. The other three, she spends with her kids. I would take a massive paycut to have this setup, but so far I've struck out with interviews (my cancer clinic has crippled me in the sense that for the last 15 years, they made little to no investment in technology so my resume is lacking, but I've been working on that.) Fingers crossed!

I'm not certain in your exact field, but I know that the job market is still pretty intense across the board, generally speaking, as Whiskey alluded to. There are a ton of places hiring that are looking for talent in most any field. I know you said you're quite tenured at your current position salary wise, but have you tried fielding any interviews or offers? I think you'd be really surprised how competitive an offer a new outfit would pay for a guy with your experience. There are so many open positions with not enough bodies to fill them. Workers have most of the leverage, for now, until a recession hits, which seems inevitable in the next year or 18 months.

The fact that your current employer isn't giving you any sort of flexibility to WFH seems outrageous to me if it's a job that's doable remotely. Even a hybrid format where you can work 2-3 days from home and still show face a couple of times a week seems reasonable.

My advice is similar to what other people have said: Polish that resume, update your LinkedIn, if you have one, to "searching" so that recruiters will flag your profile, and see what's out there. You'll be so surprised how many competitive offers you might get who will offer you that remote flexibility and hell, maybe even a salary bump.

 

[ACamp1900]

The real answer is that they want a two screen setup for work and a one screen setup for spotify/twitter/ whatever.

Ain't nobody using any work monitor for work,........... right??

 

[Irish#1]

I had my staff working from home during COVID. I came into the office because I only live 10 minutes away and I prefer it. COVID is over and I ask the President about setting up a WFH schedule for my staff where it's only one member per week or a different person each day. He shoots it down right away saying nobody is as productive from home as there are too many interruptions. He cites a Zoom call he was on with our company banker where a dog was barking in the background and a kid needed attention. I pointed out to him that I am already allowing staff to flex, but he wouldn't bite. I told the staff if they need to work from home for a day or two or a week just tell their respective manager or me. Don't tell anyone outside of our department and to deny, deny, deny if asked.

Here's the kicker. Our company is going to celebrate it's 50th anniversary this August. One of my staff is into woodworking and has a laser, CNC machine and other high-end woodworking tools. The president (son) asked him if he could make this ornate clock to present to the CEO (father & founder). He doesn't want to devote all of his nights and weekends to this and asks if he can work from home on Friday's so he can work on the clock. Set up the CNC or laser and let it run while he does his regular job. The president says sure.

BTW Grey, my third screen is a 50" TV hanging on my office wall. lol

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I'm not certain in your exact field, but I know that the job market is still pretty intense across the board, generally speaking, as Whiskey alluded to. There are a ton of places hiring that are looking for talent in most any field. I know you said you're quite tenured at your current position salary wise, but have you tried fielding any interviews or offers? I think you'd be really surprised how competitive an offer a new outfit would pay for a guy with your experience. There are so many open positions with not enough bodies to fill them. Workers have most of the leverage, for now, until a recession hits, which seems inevitable in the next year or 18 months.

The fact that your current employer isn't giving you any sort of flexibility to WFH seems outrageous to me if it's a job that's doable remotely. Even a hybrid format where you can work 2-3 days from home and still show face a couple of times a week seems reasonable.

My advice is similar to what other people have said: Polish that resume, update your LinkedIn, if you have one, to "searching" so that recruiters will flag your profile, and see what's out there. You'll be so surprised how many competitive offers you might get who will offer you that remote flexibility and hell, maybe even a salary bump.

Thanks. I have no clue how to use LinkedIn. haha. Guess I need to get that figured out this weekend. I will definitely set it to "searching."

The main problem with my profession is that there aren't many openings available and it's only gotten worse as hospitals have learned that one of me will suffice to cover three clinics versus the old model of one per clinic at minimum. It's burned out a lot of dosimetrists (treatment planners) but not to the point where there's a shortage (at least locally). I've interviewed for remote positions too but so far that hasn't worked out. I have a few feelers out so I'm hoping that one of them can work out. We'll see.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Thanks. I have no clue how to use LinkedIn. haha. Guess I need to get that figured out this weekend. I will definitely set it to "searching."

The main problem with my profession is that there aren't many openings available and it's only gotten worse as hospitals have learned that one of me will suffice to cover three clinics versus the old model of one per clinic at minimum. It's burned out a lot of dosimetrists (treatment planners) but not to the point where there's a shortage (at least locally). I've interviewed for remote positions too but so far that hasn't worked out. I have a few feelers out so I'm hoping that one of them can work out. We'll see.

Good luck man, I really hope you find something soon. I've had jobs I've absolutely hated, I've been there, not a good feeling.

Keep us posted!

 

[laughingirish90]

i've been working in the optical industy going on 27 yrs and like it but really ready to retire if i could but i'm only 51 and will probably have to work into my 70s like most before i can fully retire which sucks but that is life right

 

[Wild Bill]

i've been working in the optical industy going on 27 yrs and like it but really ready to retire if i could but i'm only 51 and will probably have to work into my 70s like most before i can fully retire which sucks but that is life right

Can you marry rich?

 

[CoachB]

They just offered it to me... took their sweet time didn'

Congrats!

 

[CoachB]

I went a kind of unconventional and somewhat risky path. After teaching for 18 years, I came across a friend that quit teaching to do day trading. I joined a group that taught all the ins and outs of trading. It took me about two years to be consistently profitable. Its hard because in the summer I can make so much more money trading than I can teaching. The best time to trade is 9:30 AM, and I am in the middle of class. Many days I can make thousands in 20 minutes or less trading, while teaching, I only make a couple hundred/day. Trading is so much more profitable from the comfort of your phone or laptop, but I can collect my full retirement in 7 years, so I am going to keep teaching until that happens. Its just hard leaving $1000+ on the table each morning...I know the smart thing to do is to get fully vested. I will be 49 then and can just retire and trade from anywhere after that.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

I don't know what it is, but everyone wants three monitors these days. I get two, but three? Are you too lazy to simply click with your mouse and pull the other app back in front? There are exceptions, but the justifications I hear are usually laughable.

I need three and could actually use four. I’m a structural engineer and need one for my Revit/CAD I’m drafting, one for my calculations/ design software, and one for the architecture/ pdfs/ or whatever other docs I’m reading and coordinating with. Im absolutely not lazy lol.

 

[Irish#1]

Thanks. I have no clue how to use LinkedIn. haha. Guess I need to get that figured out this weekend. I will definitely set it to "searching."

The main problem with my profession is that there aren't many openings available and it's only gotten worse as hospitals have learned that one of me will suffice to cover three clinics versus the old model of one per clinic at minimum. It's burned out a lot of dosimetrists (treatment planners) but not to the point where there's a shortage (at least locally). I've interviewed for remote positions too but so far that hasn't worked out. I have a few feelers out so I'm hoping that one of them can work out. We'll see.

It's really a numbers game. You need to submit as many resumes as possible. Two things I've found missing in today's job market are the follow up to an interview. No one seems to reach back out to say thanks for the interview or inquire as to where they are at in the interview process. The other is making a personal contact with the hiring authority and not just relying on your resume to get noticed. I've done that a number of times and it's paid off.

 

[ACamp1900]

Congrats!

Thanks,… Interesting that I got reps and replies to this,… it was over three years ago.

Can you marry rich?

I have a buddy that went this route,… bastard did it twice to get out of having to work for a living.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I need three and could actually use four. I’m a structural engineer and need one for my Revit/CAD I’m drafting, one for my calculations/ design software, and one for the architecture/ pdfs/ or whatever other docs I’m reading and coordinating with. Im absolutely not lazy lol.

I use three from my home office (two monitors plus my work laptop) and absolutely love it. I'm in commercial loans, so it's super helpful to keep my financials on one screen as I'm analyzing/working through the loan deck on the other.

If you count my personal laptop where I'm chatting on IE or streaming a game, that's four lol. It's awesome.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

I use three from my home office (two monitors plus my work laptop) and absolutely love it. I'm in commercial loans, so it's super helpful to keep my financials on one screen as I'm analyzing/working through the loan deck on the other.

If you count my personal laptop where I'm chatting on IE or streaming a game, that's four lol. It's awesome.

at home I bluetooth into my 72" tv screen, two montiors, laptop, for work and have iphone for music email and Teams. Add to that I need at least 4-7 code books/design manuals/ printed pdfs on my desk at any time and its crazy. Two screens only.....I'd fucking quit lol

 

[FDNYIrish1]

After 22 years at my current job I am also mulling a career change to man-whoring. Anyone want to pimp out a 49 year old slob with salt and pepper hair?

 

[Blazers46]

I am liquadating and then closing a sportings goods retail store. Retail is an awful investment, wish I would have known this 6 years ago. Our ecommerce was on point and we did well but during COVID our governor did not allow us to even sell online. After COVID things have been completely different. From staffing to skimp foot traffic.

We also have a family farm. Just not feeling that either anymore. Will probably move on from that in about a year. I have begun searching for a place to move. I am only 38 but looking for a better place to raise 13/8/5 year old kids. Good schools, good community is what we are looking for.