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AS/400 / iSeries?
Downsizing your career?
- Thread starter Admiral Huddy
- Start date
AS/400 / iSeries?
Yes, I've been thinking of an OU course but this would mean a complete career change.. which lead me to this questioning
Maybe look at doing a MBA and moving to more of a project management role with in your current industry, then use the skills gained there to move industry?
Normal route for senior guys wanting a change.
KaHn
Yes, I've been thinking of an OU course but this would mean a complete career change.. which lead me to this questioning
stay where you are until you figure out what you want to do.
soul destroying as it might be, its money coming in to pay the bills etc, and in my experience its far easier to find a job while in a job, plus as already mentioned use the time you have to figure out what you want to do.
if you get pushed fair enough, but i'd stick with it until you had a plan of what you wanted to do.
do you have family that are dependent on your income, and have you discussed it with them ?
If I had a post count of over 20,000 I'd definitely change job.
Seriously though, I went from £55k to £21k through my own choice and couldn't be happier (I have no family though). Redundancy is an option if it's a good payout, but DO NOT get on benefits, that will be 100x worse than your current situation, get another job as you said.
It costs around £10,000pa to just wake up in the morning as a single person, benefits will give you a third of that. So roughly figure £7000pa from your redundancy will disappear, obviously more with dependents.
Seriously though, I went from £55k to £21k through my own choice and couldn't be happier (I have no family though). Redundancy is an option if it's a good payout, but DO NOT get on benefits, that will be 100x worse than your current situation, get another job as you said.
It costs around £10,000pa to just wake up in the morning as a single person, benefits will give you a third of that. So roughly figure £7000pa from your redundancy will disappear, obviously more with dependents.
Oh bejeezuz, I'm currently running data extracts from the AS/400s here to generate a bunch of weekly reports, and my brain is melting. Are the systems that old?
Ya. Though I looked after the batch jobs at z/OS level and didn't do much with the hardware.
This was for EDS at Stockley Park. Not long after I stopped working next door to you in Broadgate
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Absolutely, they are 100% behind what ever I choose providing I'm happy, which I'm not presently.
my defence that was over ten years They are bud... Most of the code I look at is from the mid 80s through to present. In fact, it hits me harder when i see a piece of code i wrote from that period and the date slaps you in the face hard
That's just not true though is it? People create things for pleasure all the time, they don't do it because they make a profit out of it though! Are you saying artists would not paint if it didn't make them money? Musicians wouldn't be passionate about their music if they didn't earn from it?
You've got to be having a laugh!
SkodaMart
SkodaMart
I have no time at all for self pity.
If you are stuck in a boring job, and earning good money life is still full of opportunities.
You are saying that I have no experience of boredom? I worked in a laboratory, testing oil samples, doing the same job for 16 years with the same people.
After my experience of 'extreme stress' in the building trade I would glady go back to lab work.
I would say from my personal experience of 16 years in a boring job to 7 years in a stressful job I have more than a clue about what I am talking about.
Here is a list of my hobbies when I was in the 'boring' job. They all stopped when I started work as an electrician.
Road cycling club
Mountain biking club
RC model flying club
Helping out at a Riding for the Disabled centre - voluntary work
College
Running
Swimming
Computers & Gaming
Pet Dog
Video Photograhy, filming bands and music
Stress is a killer, trust me.
I jacked in a two very good careers, for a variety of reasons, and I found it to be a very good move for me. That is the caveat though, 'for me'. I am not a materialistic person and therefore the lack of money did not bother me. I also had a family that wanted to see me more. Maybe if I had of been around more from the off then they'd have wanted a husband/dad who earned more? For me, every wage packet no matter how large they were was a Pyrrhic victory. If you are at that point then I think it may be time to move. And far better to control your own fate than let someone else or events control it and then begrudge that intrusion in your life at a time that may not have been so convenient for you. As for the boredom part my job was not boring but it gave me little time to do anything else.
They are bud... Most of the code I look at is from the mid 80s through to present. In fact, it hits me harder when i see a piece of code i wrote from that period and the date slaps you in the face hard
Oh man, so my new job is another case of the back-end system being older than the amount of time I have been an adult.
I know legacy systems seem to be more robust than their modern counterparts (at least in the past 2 companies that has been the case), but it also means that pretty much nothing can be changed without a massive capital spend and serious ballache.
Although I understand what you're saying, it isn't particularly relevant to this argument.
What we're talking about is fulfilling work vs non-fulfilling work. You're the one who started talking about stress.
My brother was recently in a similar situation working towards becoming a network designer. He was bored and stressed at the same time, and the money wasn't great where he was anyway. He has 2 kids to support so it took a long time to make the leap, but now he works in a upstart independent coffee company (Rave coffee, if you haven't tried it) where he makes new blends of coffee, roasts it, does B2B sales etc and even has a hand in what direction the company goes.
He gave up stability and took a chance, but now he has something where he gets variety, creativity and influence over what he does. And free coffee. Time will tell as to whether it was too big a risk, but for now he's happier and the family haven't suffered as a result. Some jobs are poo, but they're warm poo. Get out of the poop.
He gave up stability and took a chance, but now he has something where he gets variety, creativity and influence over what he does. And free coffee. Time will tell as to whether it was too big a risk, but for now he's happier and the family haven't suffered as a result. Some jobs are poo, but they're warm poo. Get out of the poop.
This is amazing. I love you.
SkodaMart
SkodaMart
What I am trying to point out is boredom isn't that bad.
We would all like the 'perfect' life of a lovely wife, family, fulfilling job, nice house, witty friends, nice car, holidays etc.
The fact of the matter is none of us has a 'perfect' life. We all have to 'compromise' somewhere along the line.
Please try to apprieciate your boring job, and look for challenges in other areas of your life.
sorry for the insult.
Typical attitude of someone who gives up chasing their dreams. I'm not saying I'm any different, but the fact that you can't see how you're kidding yourself is amazing.
You CAN have that. You don't have to compromise. The moment you start compromising is the moment you fail.
SkodaMart
SkodaMart
I think someone needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
Have you seen the state of the employment market in the UK?
If you have a good job, you would be foolish to change it.
I got bored at work and retrained. It was the biggest mistake of my life, I was 'chasing my dreams' as you so romantically put it.
The fact is - SOMETIMES YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE GOT UNTIL IT HAS GONE.
The ambiguity of the starring of swearies forced me into it. Otherwise it might have seemed like I was talking about warm vag (albeit a more vulgar word), in which case that's quite a nice thing and I recommend getting into that.