Career change question for everyone

[ftsfour1]

So, I'm awfully close to the finish line now, and it's prompted me to ask some tough questions of myself. Maybe some of you have been where I am and I'm looking for your experiences.

I've been in the same industry / job for nearly 28 years now, over the course of 3 different employers. I'm getting kind of bored or burned out or something. I'm a few years from turning 50, and I'm really considering a career change. I work for a decent company with great benefits, and a decent salary, but there are no options for promotion. There are no other positions. We are not a top-heavy company at all. So, so armed with a new degree, do I explore what else is out there? Or just suck it up for the next 10 or 15 years and call it good?

Anybody else been here? I've read passIts posts and her story sounds similar to mine, but anyone else? Where did your new BSBA, gen man take you?

[alzee]

So, so armed with a new degree, do I explore what else is out there? Or just suck it up for the next 10 or 15 years and call it good?

This depends entirely on you and your situation and what is important to you. Do you have obligations (e.g. family, sick parents, a lot of debt, etc) that require you to keep a relatively similar salary? Can you sacrifice some of that income for greater general happiness? What is it you want that you're not getting, other than opportunities for employment advancement?

Anybody else been here? I've read passIts posts and her story sounds similar to mine, but anyone else? Where did your new BSBA, gen man take you?

Disclaimer: I have nothing "holding me down." No family, I don't own my home, etc. I can pick up and go wherever, whenever.

I'm turning 40 in a few months. I have a great life overall. My income is awesome, I work 100% from home, I can take off as much time as I want, whenever I want it, within reason. I can (and have done) my "job" (IT Contractor) from anywhere on the road. But, I've been doing this same sort of stuff for the past 20 years and I'm simply getting sick of it. I've never had a real vacation, never traveled anywhere special, etc.

So I'm tossing most of it and just hitting the "restart" button on my life. By this time next year I should be in Japan attending a 2yr language school. Two years after that, I'll probably still be there doing the English teaching thing -- this is the only reason I'm pursuing a degree, in fact.

Most of my friends think I'm nuts. I may hate it there, which is true, but I can always just leave if that's the case. The pay is going to be massively below what I currently make (though I will continue to do some remote contract work), with almost no opportunity for "advancement" in the traditional sense. There are 1000 reasons to not do it.

But there's one reason to do it that trumps them all: I want to. That's all there is to it.

[Prloko]

I can give the "it depends answer", but I know you already know that "it depends".

While I won't go and advise you to just tell your boss you're pounding sand and just leave, I would explore the market. Re-do your resume. Refresh/join linkedin. Apply to jobs just to see what is out there and what is your worth. Even if you don't leave, that type of market research is very valuable. Many workers your age at times get blind-sided with lay-offs and other sudden losses of income. I wouldn't wait for a catastrophic event like that to explore the market. Always seek opportunities from a position of strength, not weakness.

Recently, I played with the idea of moving out of my state and closer to where I grew up. I went ahead and applied to some positions related to my field but out of my current expertise. I was surprised by the positive response to my resume. One position went and offered me $80k plus an annual bonus. I turned it down because it was a little less than I get paid and I was actually souring from moving anyway. Weeks later, I was contacted again by the same company offering me 10% over what I'm currently paid. They claimed they "re-assessed" the pay of the position. It felt good knowing my market value and I also learned about calling bluffs; something I can only do from a position of strength.

I would advise even if you have no intentions of changing positions to at least test the market, especially armed with your shiny new degree. You can get valuable insight into your value or even learn you may need to reformat your resume.

[High_Order1]

At the end... are you happy?

That should drive everything.

Happy for some may just be a steady job in a steady field where nothing changes.

Happy for others is doing what they love, then building their world around that.

Happy for many is a terrible job that allows them time and flexibility to be with their loved ones the most.

You gotta think about the happy, man!

[ftsfour1]

This depends entirely on you and your situation and what is important to you. Do you have obligations (e.g. family, sick parents, a lot of debt, etc) that require you to keep a relatively similar salary? Can you sacrifice some of that income for greater general happiness? What is it you want that you're not getting, other than opportunities for employment advancement?



Disclaimer: I have nothing "holding me down." No family, I don't own my home, etc. I can pick up and go wherever, whenever.

I'm turning 40 in a few months. I have a great life overall. My income is awesome, I work 100% from home, I can take off as much time as I want, whenever I want it, within reason. I can (and have done) my "job" (IT Contractor) from anywhere on the road. But, I've been doing this same sort of stuff for the past 20 years and I'm simply getting sick of it. I've never had a real vacation, never traveled anywhere special, etc.

So I'm tossing most of it and just hitting the "restart" button on my life. By this time next year I should be in Japan attending a 2yr language school. Two years after that, I'll probably still be there doing the English teaching thing -- this is the only reason I'm pursuing a degree, in fact.

Most of my friends think I'm nuts. I may hate it there, which is true, but I can always just leave if that's the case. The pay is going to be massively below what I currently make (though I will continue to do some remote contract work), with almost no opportunity for "advancement" in the traditional sense. There are 1000 reasons to not do it.

But there's one reason to do it that trumps them all: I want to. That's all there is to it.

You go, you!!! That's a great story! I certainly wish you well on your journey.

No kids or really anything holding me down. I do own a home, but that's it for debt.

[ftsfour1]

I can give the "it depends answer", but I know you already know that "it depends".

While I won't go and advise you to just tell your boss you're pounding sand and just leave, I would explore the market. Re-do your resume. Refresh/join linkedin. Apply to jobs just to see what is out there and what is your worth. Even if you don't leave, that type of market research is very valuable. Many workers your age at times get blind-sided with lay-offs and other sudden losses of income. I wouldn't wait for a catastrophic event like that to explore the market. Always seek opportunities from a position of strength, not weakness.

Recently, I played with the idea of moving out of my state and closer to where I grew up. I went ahead and applied to some positions related to my field but out of my current expertise. I was surprised by the positive response to my resume. One position went and offered me $80k plus an annual bonus. I turned it down because it was a little less than I get paid and I was actually souring from moving anyway. Weeks later, I was contacted again by the same company offering me 10% over what I'm currently paid. They claimed they "re-assessed" the pay of the position. It felt good knowing my market value and I also learned about calling bluffs; something I can only do from a position of strength.

I would advise even if you have no intentions of changing positions to at least test the market, especially armed with your shiny new degree. You can get valuable insight into your value or even learn you may need to reformat your resume.

This is a great suggestion! I am going to do just that! Update my resume and put it out there to see what bounces back! It's been so long that I've done that, that I wonder if not knowing my value is part of my problem with my boredom, etc.

Thank you so much for your response.

[ftsfour1]

At the end... are you happy?

That should drive everything.

Happy for some may just be a steady job in a steady field where nothing changes.

Happy for others is doing what they love, then building their world around that.

Happy for many is a terrible job that allows them time and flexibility to be with their loved ones the most.

You gotta think about the happy, man!

You know, I have a not-bad job. I have good hours, and it's recession-proof, but man, I can do it in my sleep. That's the hard part. There are no challenges, and the challenges that do pop up are the worst kind. I'm going to put my resume out into the world to see what happens. I have nothing to measure against and I wonder if that's creating some noise in my head.

[ftsfour1]

I can give the "it depends answer", but I know you already know that "it depends".

While I won't go and advise you to just tell your boss you're pounding sand and just leave, I would explore the market. Re-do your resume. Refresh/join linkedin. Apply to jobs just to see what is out there and what is your worth. Even if you don't leave, that type of market research is very valuable. Many workers your age at times get blind-sided with lay-offs and other sudden losses of income. I wouldn't wait for a catastrophic event like that to explore the market. Always seek opportunities from a position of strength, not weakness.

Recently, I played with the idea of moving out of my state and closer to where I grew up. I went ahead and applied to some positions related to my field but out of my current expertise. I was surprised by the positive response to my resume. One position went and offered me $80k plus an annual bonus. I turned it down because it was a little less than I get paid and I was actually souring from moving anyway. Weeks later, I was contacted again by the same company offering me 10% over what I'm currently paid. They claimed they "re-assessed" the pay of the position. It felt good knowing my market value and I also learned about calling bluffs; something I can only do from a position of strength.

I would advise even if you have no intentions of changing positions to at least test the market, especially armed with your shiny new degree. You can get valuable insight into your value or even learn you may need to reformat your resume.

Wait. So did you or didn't you??

[alzee]

You go, you!!! That's a great story! I certainly wish you well on your journey.

Thanks! I've been taking other concrete steps beyond simply chasing a degree. I sold my motorcycle (and snowblower, lawnmower, tools, welding stuff, etc etc) moved out of the 3br house I was renting and into a 300sq ft apartment. The cash helped with some IRS nonsense that's finally behind me, but also I'm saving a lot more every month now without the additional rent, vehicle, & ins. payments. My first ever passport just arrived in the mail today.

No kids or really anything holding me down. I do own a home, but that's it for debt.

If you're not too badly underwater then I say -- figure out what you're really "after". I don't personally think that changing jobs just to have more opportunity to climb the ladder is a good idea if you don't hate the job you're at now and your position isn't in danger. So figure out why you're really considering making this change.. if it's just to chase money and an eventual promotion to a (someday) comfy retirement, that's fine, but be honest with yourself.

If it's really just burnout as you said, as it is with me more or less, then jumping ship into a much "worse" position may be the best thing for you.

[Prloko]

This is a great suggestion! I am going to do just that! Update my resume and put it out there to see what bounces back! It's been so long that I've done that, that I wonder if not knowing my value is part of my problem with my boredom, etc.

Thank you so much for your response.

No problem. I would also advise that if its been a long time since you've done your resume to be careful on what you submit. The format has changed dramatically over the years. I found what is best is to keep all the "box checker" info on the top third of the resume (summary, education, skills, accomplishments). This is not my own creation, but from a lot of research and advise from recruiters on making my resume readable in 6-8 seconds.