The Danger of Too Much Education Without Increasingly Responsible Experience

[IrishJohn]

I have a lot of empathy and sympathy for the guy. He was probably blindsided by the 2002 layoff after 14 years with his last construction job, just as I was in 2011 after 13 years (couple of different companies but same people, long story). It looks like he has struggled to maintain a career in the only field he seems to know just as I did for a couple of years (remember when I was posting about getting going back for a BSBA? Yeah, good times...). From his photo I'm guessing he's in his 40s as I am myself. If I were to talk with him (assuming he'd even care what a stranger like myself had to say), I'd tell him that it's past time to let go of the old career path and find a new one - fast. He's been out of construction for too long for any good company to take him now, as have I too, and they'll hire a younger and therefore lower paid person over him. Let it go. Figure out what you want to do outside of this former career field which you can make money at and go for it - even if you make less money than you did before. I myself chose teaching history which is something I had thought about doing years before , but I guess I was seduced by evil mammon (or something like that). True I'll make about half of what I peaked out at n construction management, but so what? I'll still make a decent wage (in fact a couple of thou more than I was making in 2003 when I bought my house) AND be doing something I enjoy. For me that's enough, although I'm still ambitious enough to explore opportunities in the educational field now. Come to think of it, whether this guy wants to teach or not he should consider it in the interim. If he has any talent for it he could probably make more teaching than a WalMart associate, and could leave the profession when he figures out what else he wants to do (or discover that he lives it and wants to stay). Whatever he does for work now he really needs to move on .