Has anyone gone in head first to switch careers?
- Thread starter rixx
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I can't see how you can switch from earning £80k+ in a decent career to retraining for 3-4 years and starting at the bottom in another field.
I'd be interested in hearing how people who made such a move paid the mortgage and other family related expenses as I've always fancied trying my hand at medicine.
I'd be interested in hearing how people who made such a move paid the mortgage and other family related expenses as I've always fancied trying my hand at medicine.
I guess for careers with regulation/formal training then you're often forced to take a hit re: pay if you've been reasonably successful in the previous career
for others you can perhaps take a slight dip, maybe make a lateral move or maybe even get a step up leveraging your previous experience in a different but perhaps complimentary field
for others you can perhaps take a slight dip, maybe make a lateral move or maybe even get a step up leveraging your previous experience in a different but perhaps complimentary field
I switched from working on a production line in a factory (for 4 years), then 4 years at Uni (studying physics) then, after graduating, went into the oil field.
Was the best move I've ever made. But it was different for me going from a minimum wage job, to a proper job.
I now wish I had gone a different way offshore, but, alas, it's too late now. The pay cut I'd have to take to re-train would take many, many years to recover in the position I'd want. And in the meantime, the wife would have to go back offshore, which would mean we'd struggle for childcare.
I do still enjoy my current role plenty though, and I am one of the few that is relatively safe, for the next year at least. So it's not all bad news.
Was the best move I've ever made. But it was different for me going from a minimum wage job, to a proper job.
I now wish I had gone a different way offshore, but, alas, it's too late now. The pay cut I'd have to take to re-train would take many, many years to recover in the position I'd want. And in the meantime, the wife would have to go back offshore, which would mean we'd struggle for childcare.
I do still enjoy my current role plenty though, and I am one of the few that is relatively safe, for the next year at least. So it's not all bad news.
Yes, I did, from a well-paid stable professional role that I hated, to running my own business which I alternately hated and loved.
Did it pay off? For me, very much so. Over time, financially, I was far better off but more importantly, most of the time, far happier. Less stress. And after the first few years, more time with family.
How did I cope with demoralising moments? That's more of a book than a forum post. In short, in various ways. One was, in tough moments, reminding myself what 30 or 40 years of what I was doing would gave been like. Another was to remember it was all for the family. Another was to buckle down and just work harder. Another was to remind myself that every mistake and setback was a lesson learned and building for the future.
Perhaps the best method, for me, was to remind myself that if I tried and failed, then at least I tried. If I hadn't tried, I'd have lost all self-respect because my own cowardice would have doomed me to decades of a working life in a career I'd grown to detest.
Would I recommend it to anyone else? No, but I wouldn't recommend them not to, either. It's a very individual thing, and would depend what they were doing now, what they were going to be doing, and what kind of person they were.
For me, it was right. It worked, and it was the best move I ever made, despite some sleepless nights. Why did it work? I'd like to think skill, ability and hard work but in all honesty, while it took those, they weren't enough. It also took more than a bit of sheer good fortune. There were several moments when, rather like going all-in at poker, it could have blown up in my face. You do everything you can to increase the odds but sometimes, you just have to believe in yourself, grit your teeth and jump. And pray you decided right. There's no guarantee you did, up-front,
+1 I did **** all my last week, told a few gov's what I thought of them and never looked back
I'm glad your gamble paid off, guess it really depends on the industry that you're in for you to have a business with any sense of viability. What industry is your business in if you don't mind me asking?
I went from construction management to software development when the company I was working for went bust.
It was a difficult 10 months being out of work, but a job turned up after much trying and a slight career "diversion" taken through a contact from the construction days that sounded an interesting opportunity, but just turned out I was being taken advantage of.
The redundancy was the kick up the rear I needed to make the move. Looking back, I wish I'd done it myself much sooner so I could have done it on my terms.
It was a difficult 10 months being out of work, but a job turned up after much trying and a slight career "diversion" taken through a contact from the construction days that sounded an interesting opportunity, but just turned out I was being taken advantage of.
The redundancy was the kick up the rear I needed to make the move. Looking back, I wish I'd done it myself much sooner so I could have done it on my terms.
Where you at South Tyneside by any chance? I started as an ETO there in 2007 but didn't even go on my first sea phase before I dropped out. I kind of regret it now, and often consider going back, but potentially as deck officer. Have a few friends from my time up there who are still in the merchant navy and it's a hard but rewarding job. I have the exact opposite working at a public college in IT at the moment.
I switched to IT after 5 years in the Royal Engineers working with tanks, explosives, mine clearance, civil construction, water supply etc etc.
I've been in IT for 1 year and 4 months now, 1 year doing 1st line support, 4 months 2nd line. I took a 12 grand pay cut to get here but I'm almost back to where I was financially now, the next step up to third line will blow that out of the water and that isn't looking too far away, even now.
Plus sides are I have no stress, I work at my own pace, my work-life balance is fantastic. Promotion is fair rather than all down to who you know although of course, that's going to happen in any job. The sky is the limit when it comes to future prospects and potential pay.
On the down-side, I don't get to travel, there is no adrenaline, no comradeship and my god is life expensive as hell outside of the army!
No regrets.
I've been in IT for 1 year and 4 months now, 1 year doing 1st line support, 4 months 2nd line. I took a 12 grand pay cut to get here but I'm almost back to where I was financially now, the next step up to third line will blow that out of the water and that isn't looking too far away, even now.
Plus sides are I have no stress, I work at my own pace, my work-life balance is fantastic. Promotion is fair rather than all down to who you know although of course, that's going to happen in any job. The sky is the limit when it comes to future prospects and potential pay.
On the down-side, I don't get to travel, there is no adrenaline, no comradeship and my god is life expensive as hell outside of the army!
No regrets.
Very interesting, you make it sound like such an easy decision which surprises me. I was under the probable naive impression that army life is hard to walk away from when you are actually getting stuck in to it.
It definitely wasn't easy but it was a decision I had to make, for me, I've always felt the army is more a lifestyle choice rather than a career.
I don't regret joining the army and I think about it daily, it really sticks. I think I got to the point where I had to decide if this is for me for the majority of my working life or not. I have a mate who's still in, 8 years strong now, he wants to leave but is torn in two. I knew many guys like that and didn't want to be one of them.
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This is what I ended up doing just recently. I was a Telecommunications Planner in a role where I was getting no development. I couldn't stomach re-training in a completely different field, so I made myself a Subject Matter expert in several computer systems at my current employer (who is quite good in other departments), and waited for an internal opportunity to come up in L&D.
It took 18 months for it all to come to fruition, but I have been a Technical Trainer for L&D, specialising in systems training for 4 months now and absolutely loving it.
I switched from Construction, to Graphics to IT Development. That also included working in family business, self employed, contractor/freelance, and employee private sector and public sector. Gets harder to switch the more commitments you have. I'd like to switch to a start-up again where there's more of a buzz and more opportunities, but I couldn't risk it again for a few years.
I did it, quit a job paying 50+ which I hated to get into a new career. The kicker was when my first child was born they did not relocate me as promised so I just quit
I had savings so took a year off with my first child (priceless moments I am so happy I took) then got back into work in a new industry. Love my new job, on less money but this is in line with a hugely better work life balance. Built up a good rep in the company and in a few years when both children are in full time school will kick on the career path again in a huge growth industry.Being honest it was both scary and stressful at times especially when the end of my year off was coming up an I still had nothing guaranteed but it all worked out magnificently and it was without a doubt the best decision of my life.
Good luck OP!