Mid-life crisis or new beginning?

[Nick762]

Been working in IT for 20 odd years and for the last couple have had the growing feeling that there has to be more to life. I only got into it to get out of a really boring job and after getting married and becoming a mortgage slave found I was unable to make any radical career changes.

I can see absolutley no future in my present job other than doing the same thing for the next 25 or so years but on the bright side my circumstances are due to change in the near future and I may have the option to make a complete change of course.

But what to do?

I've been finding computers less and less imspiring so we can rule out any IT related stuff.

Unfortunately all my choices of career have been restricted by virtue of being blind as a bat (ok, a tad short sighted) so I was never going to be able to fly a jet fighter, drive a tank, panda car (at least not get paid for it, 14 years unpaid blah blah blah...) or ambulance.

Teaching? Well, not until they bin the national curriculum, most teachers I know are even more manically depressed than I am.

Social Work? See above

Health? There's a few options I'm looking into here.

Funny how life has these little surprises in store for you, I thought my mid life crisis was when I got my SV, still I'll need my own transport once the company car goes back so I should put a few more miles on the bike.

[lynw]

End of the day whichever one it is depends on how you look at it.

Personally, I try and look at things as new beginnings or new opportunities.

But its good to see youre planning ahead rather than wait for it to all happen and react to it. Hope you sort out what you want to do and it all works out for you.

[mysteryjimbo]

I used to work in the IT department for a franchise company who had a lot of new recruits from the IT industry. People like yourself who wanted out. Not one of these dodgy companies you hear about either. True growth potential.

Work for yourself?

[Daimo]

Dude, im in the same situation, yet im at the start of your 20 year cycle.

I've been doing IT for 6-7 years and hate it. Its boring, its tecchy, its geeky, the people who i work with really don't lead interesting lives.

When i show pictures of my car, or my bike, or me on track/drag strips etc, people think im mad, that im dangerous. Every night the women go "take it easy" before i leave, they know me pretty well it seems.

But now im in that rut. Just got my mortgage, wish i was in another career. Something totally different. (Survayor, or geographical survayor, or one of those peopel who goes around and studies how the earth has changed over years etc)..

Theres so many more interesting jobs to life, i jsut kinda got stuck in this rut where i get paid quite well and have nice things becuase of it, but in reality, its no-where near anything i'd really like to do....

Ho hum, only another 25 years and maybe i can re-think my options :cry:

Can't afford to quit work and go to college, but also can't afford to go to an evening class for the next 3 years, then start a new job on a low salary.

Basically, i have to lump it :(

[tigersaw]

I sympathise. For the last few years I've been in what my appraisal calls my 'comfort zone'. I'm very good at what I do, but not inspired enough make any progression. Midlife crisis manifests itself in many ways - for me I tend to take on challenges I should have got out of my system many years ago, ( snowboarding, scuba diving, worlds highest bunjee, skydiving this year... ) and to be honest none of these things really hit the mark.
20 years ago I knew that life would pass by if I didn't do something, I tried to do something different ( part of a team building a dolphinarium in Tenerife, but thats a long story about spanish organised crime and corruption ), but having failed I settled into mortgage, security and slippers.
Nowadays I'm looking towards the day I can give up work, get on a bike and see the world, ( the short and easy way round! ) - but it will have come at a price.

Daimo - think on.. lifes too short.

[localhost]

I think you lot should start your own business (maby not togeather).

But that way you can specialize in whatever you want.
Say you start out doing something, and then lean towards something else and in the end you got what you want.

"Jimmys bike repair and network solutions, we allso provide software development, relationship advice and marrige cermonies"

[DanAbnormal]

I am of the opinion you can do anything you want if you try hard enough and want it enough. Go back to college/uni learn something you always wanted to learn and then get paid to do it. I am in a job that I don't really like but it allows me to live a life that I love so am willing to keep plodding along until something else comes along. I have started doing some exams etc for IT as I would like to get into that (or maybe not now!) but we'll see. At the end of the day I think very few people actually enjoy their jobs. For me a job is a job, it gives me pocket money and a roof over my head. Get to meet some nice people as well. I'm generally satisfied with life right now. :wink:

[lynw]

I think you lot should start your own business (maby not togeather).

But that way you can specialize in whatever you want.
Say you start out doing something, and then lean towards something else and in the end you got what you want.

"Jimmys bike repair and network solutions, we allso provide software development, relationship advice and marrige cermonies"

Having been a VAT inspector and dealt with a number of sole proprietorships and partnerships, theres no way on earth I would start up my own company with all the paperwork you have to do on top of getting the business in and doing it.

Even passing it over to an accountant has its risks - given the incompetency of some accountants Ive had the misfortune of dealing with over the years. Fine if youve got a good one. Not so if you dont.

Too much of a risk for me to take tbh.

And why I admire people like Ed who have done it. :D

Daimo - tigersaws right. Lifes short, why be unhappy with what youre doing?. Material things come and go. Time just goes. A Buddhist book I read once phrased it perfectly: The problem is people think they have time.

If youre not happy change now, or go to college to put you on the path to what you really want, even at the expense of your car hobby if needs be. Its a matter of whether you see anything you give up as a sacrifice or investment in yourself.

[kciN]

I sympathise. ...........

Daimo - think on.. lifes too short.

I have to ask, do you actually work in ATC? :? :wink:

[tigersaw]

I sympathise. ...........

Daimo - think on.. lifes too short.

I have to ask, do you actually work in ATC? :? :wink:


Err yes, why?

[Anonymous]

life is too short to just put with with stuff. you spend a lot of your life at work, at least try something else or you will regret it forever. I have never stayed in a job for more than 5 years and I still dont know what I want to do. :oops:

[kciN]

I sympathise. ...........

Daimo - think on.. lifes too short.

I have to ask, do you actually work in ATC? :? :wink:


Err yes, why?

Just wondering! Having an avatar of something doesn't always follow what you actually do. If you follow me!

AND you said, I'm very good at what I do!! Hope so, doing what you do!! :wink: :P (But never said what you do..........)

[Sir Trev]

Just wondering! Having an avatar of something doesn't always follow what you actually do. If you follow me!


Does that make me a cartoon character or not????

One piece of advice - don't become an accountant. Although I'm not the variety that lynw came across (I'm a management accountant) month end is BORING, and very repetitive. The project work I do now is far more interesting but I'm labelled as a bean counter and I'm never likely to be able to break that. Re-training is not an option for me - my mortgage will not go away while I try and build my salary back up to current levels.

[lynw]

One piece of advice - don't become an accountant. Although I'm not the variety that lynw came across (I'm a management accountant) month end is BORING, and very repetitive. The project work I do now is far more interesting but I'm labelled as a bean counter and I'm never likely to be able to break that. Re-training is not an option for me - my mortgage will not go away while I try and build my salary back up to current levels.

Accounting can be interesting - especially if its fraud or asset recovery from drug dealers. Money laundering is a joy to follow accounting wise too :wink: :P , very rewarding when you get to the end of the trail and can prove it. :D

Had I not been off to another department, I would be applying for the accounting bursary to get my proper qualifications and do the fraud work above. :D

[Razor]

My current job isn't so bad. I do worry how they're going to treat me when I drop the bombshell that I'm transitioning into a new gender(for me)
My boss doesn't even like hiring guys with earrings/long hair. It's sure to be interesting...

[Anonymous]

My current job isn't so bad. I do worry how they're going to treat me when I drop the bombshell that I'm transitioning into a new gender(for me)
My boss doesn't even like hiring guys with earrings/long hair. It's sure to be interesting...


:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

[Razor]

My current job isn't so bad. I do worry how they're going to treat me when I drop the bombshell that I'm transitioning into a new gender(for me)
My boss doesn't even like hiring guys with earrings/long hair. It's sure to be interesting...


:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Is that how you think he'll react?

[kwak zzr]

I work for the Royal Mail <now that is a dead end job! been there 17years and i hav'nt got the go in me to do anything else :( now thats sad :(

[Ed]

As lyn says, I started my own business last October. I love it. I'm a solicitor. It's damned hard work, I'm often there till 10 or 11 if not midnight, and I don't make megabucks - it's so competitive that I can't afford to charge a realistic rate, I'd get no work at all, so I charge an average of £400 for resi conveyancing. Sure you can get it cheaper on the net - if you really want to give your work to a call centre outfit to be done by a secretary that you can never talk to - but I offer a rather different approach.

Very few people have truly original ideas. If you're looking for a new career, I suggest you start by being as honest as you can, and do a SWOT analysis. And then pick up the Yellow Pages, and consider all the types of listing. Can you afford to buy a business? You'd be surprised how adaptable your skills are. For example, I knew a solicitor who got ****ed off and bought a quarry. He made a lot of money - getting planning for a quarry is nigh on impossible - but far more important, he was happy as Larry. How much £££ do you have, will it support a retraining? What sort of work do you really want to do? Think about franchising. Or you could set up from scratch, as I did. I know a former IT guy, he worked for Orange, he'd had enough and set up a sandwich shop from scratch here In Shrewsbury. Not a new idea, but imaginative branding, excellent product, premium price, terrifically successful....

I honestly think that as long as your proposal is reasonable, there is always a market. The knack is finding it.

Oh and lyn, the ****ing VAT return is due at the end of the month. Yes I have the ££ to pay it, it's the time to do the nuumber crunching that's the problem :lol:

[ArtyLady]

I think any job can become a chore after many years - people say to me "what a lovely job - being an artist" but to me it is a job and I get fed up like in any job - yes I enjoy it - but it is still work - I dont paint for a hobby anymore at all like I used to :roll:

[MilleonAir]

Accounting can be interesting

So, the designers of theme parks have got it wrong all these years. Why have a bunch of rollercoasters when a sheet of double-entry is so exciting? I think I'll open "Auditorworld" next summer, right next to the M25, and make a killing!

When I started in IT, people looked up to you because you knew about computers. Now people look down on you because they have to use computers, they hate them and they blame IT people for everything that goes wrong.

I'm looking at the job world in general an thinking "Plumbing - there's nobody doing that these days." Try and get a plumber, builder, electrician, etc in the South East. There are about three and they're making zillions of pounds out of IT people.

Ian

[rock]

I'm feeling similar about my job - except I've been in IT for 6 months.

I'm already fed up of it - fed up of sitting at the same old desk in the same old office all day every day with the same old coworkers with their weird habits and idiosyncracies.. and the office politics... :roll:

I really want to get into property development - but that seems to be the sort of thing where you need to have money to make money.... so I'm stuck in IT for a few more years while I save :cry:

One thing to maybe think about (not me though, I don't have a driving licence) is van driving - pottering about all day, seeing the country, meeting people (but not being stuck with them), being your own person, listening to what you want on the radio! And the money's not bad if you don't mind getting up early. And none of the hassle of running your own business.

[localhost]

I think you lot should start your own business (maby not togeather).

But that way you can specialize in whatever you want.
Say you start out doing something, and then lean towards something else and in the end you got what you want.

"Jimmys bike repair and network solutions, we allso provide software development, relationship advice and marrige cermonies"

Having been a VAT inspector and dealt with a number of sole proprietorships and partnerships, theres no way on earth I would start up my own company with all the paperwork you have to do on top of getting the business in and doing it.

Even passing it over to an accountant has its risks - given the incompetency of some accountants Ive had the misfortune of dealing with over the years. Fine if youve got a good one. Not so if you dont.

Too much of a risk for me to take tbh.

Now thats no way of thinking! If everyone thought that, we would only have the companies we have now and never get anything new!

[the_runt69]

After nearly 30 years on the railways, have always just gone for promotion when I got bored, now only 1 grade behind being one of 5 unit managers on the operations side have managed pretty well and still enjoy my job most of the time. Its just like having a big trains set.

H

[MrMessy]

I have been doing the same job for the last 16 years and am fed up with it. Just had my bonus recommendation rejected because a clerical person had a better case for pushing more paper. No point in having an engineering qualification in the civil service when our clerical support is the same grade. Unfortunatly not the positions available anymore and to come off shift would mean a drastic cut in pay! All the jobs I fancy are fairly low paid or would still entail working weekends. I suppose sometimes you have to make life changing decisions because in reality you are not on this earth for long!

[Steve W]

I hvae been very fortunate in spending most of my working life enjoying what I do. I used to work for a housing association and now work for a housing and regeneration agency and have an interesting range of activities to get involved in.
Like any job there's some stuff which is bit tedious but most of the time it's fun because I have a lot of freedom in what I do and it's good to feel that what I'm trying to do is (supposed to be) useful: helping peole from disadvantaged communities make something of their lives.

The main reason I left the houising association was of the increasing regulation and I think many jobs are now very difficult because they are over-regulated and stop people being creative.

I would encourage anyone who dislikes their job to try something else but I appreciate this can be much more difficult if you have dependants and your level of income becomes that much more important. Increasingly most people have transferable skills and what matters is whether you have the bottle to try something else (get out of the comfort zone) and whether you're prepared to work hard and like taking responsibility.

From what I can see the standard of careers advice at school is crap and this government is obsessed with paper qualifications rather than providing mechanisms helping people to see what they're best suited for and providing more work based learning.

Increasingly employers value (a) attitude - are you prepared to apply youreself and work hard? - and (b) person skills - can you relate well to a range of people? - rathar than specific skills (assuming you have a basic level level of literacy and numeracy). So... go for it! As my brother in law says 'Life isn't a dress rehearsal - this is it!'

[lynw]

I have been doing the same job for the last 16 years and am fed up with it. Just had my bonus recommendation rejected because a clerical person had a better case for pushing more paper. No point in having an engineering qualification in the civil service when our clerical support is the same grade. Unfortunatly not the positions available anymore and to come off shift would mean a drastic cut in pay! All the jobs I fancy are fairly low paid or would still entail working weekends. I suppose sometimes you have to make life changing decisions because in reality you are not on this earth for long!

Can you not take voluntary redundancy to become one of Mr Browns 100,000 cuts?

Would probably give you some time to find something you want to do.

Alternatively, have you looked for a level transfer or promotion in another department?

Thats one thing the civil service is good at, if you have the aptitude and competencies it doesnt matter if you've not done the job before. It helps but they cant technically discriminate against you if you havent.

Are you aware of the civil service vacancy website? Holds jobs per band for the whole civil service. If you arent, and are interested, pm me your email addy. Ill send you the link from work Monday.

Who knows, you may find something there you want to do.