Complete Change Of Career.

feel

Complete change of career? am in the process of doing so now. Have given up on tedious stressful £40K salary and come september will be going to college to train as an electrician. The next few years will be interesting. I am 52. Brave or mad?

bonk man

I can recommend gardening.... not bad money once you get ok at it, fresh air and happy customers.. joy..
The downside is rain and the fact that you are often too knackered to ride your bike in the evenings..........

Ngalbrai

Harry B wrote:

Ngalbrai wrote:

Example 1: 32 year old
Nondescript IT job, well paid but really dull, mate had enough and so retrained as a plumber, picks and chooses his own work, earns more, zero stress, active job so now fit, much happier, can make his own time and spend when he wants with his young daughter.

Example 2: 32 year old
Quit city job (Sydney) and sold flat, moved himself and fiance to quiet area south of sydney, bought small house outright, put some cash in bank. Does enough divemastering and boat skippering to keep food on the table and basically doenst worry about a bludy thing now - as does wife

Example 3: Me, 32 year old
String of fairly well paid jobs in london, alleviated it alot by doing various courses and taking up new hobbies, concentrated on out of work stuff and kept mind on work only being to pay the mortgage. Still bored so moved to Sydney, still doing same job, but, money is good and job required for visa purposes. Once resident can reasses, can maintain a good standard of living out here if you keep it simple and dont live in the city, not sure of my choices yet. Emigrating was easier than i thought, suspect career change will be harder/require more thought - so not that helpful then....
Ride bike lots...

How is it in Oz. we've been contemplating emigration to somewhere warmer so a while now. How do UK lawyers get on down under?

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf
Lawyers are on the list for 60 (the maximum) points. Age and other factors notwithstanding you should be able to apply for residency from the uk, takes 12-14 months but well worth it. Fees are about 5k (auz dollars). Might be quicker applying if not in auz at the time. Not just the weather, numerous benefits, much better out here IMHO.

If you are under 31 you could also come out on a working holiday visa which is quicker, but if you get the right number of points residency is the way to go.

Not sure about transferability of skills etc but the law society will have more info on that I would guess.

Send me an email if you want to know more...

loddrik

Went back to uni at 29 to do a geography degree, just finished a Masters in Planning and start work tomorrow as a Planning officer, basically just wanted a job where I was out of the office for at least half the week.

My idea of hell is being stuch in the same place 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Had tried teaching and knocked it on the head before I finished training for that very reason.

ChrisLS

...I have a really crap job...but I have the best commute by bike I could ever want. I ride every day..the fitness I have gained is priceless...doesn't stop me moaning about the crap job though...

Slim Middleton

I worked for a large law firm for some years (my apologies but I even helped out some badly injured cyclists during my time) and though the job did have its rewarding moments I became pretty disillusioned with the profession and the incessant chasing of targets/carrots, ludicrous hours and wnaky management not to mention sitting at a desk for a fair chunk of the day. My partner and I sold up, went travelling (again) for a few months and ended up in NZ where we have been living for the past four years (it all sounds a bit extreme now). I worked as a cycling postie for a year or so which was thoroughly enjoyable but the wages were pretty meagre and not enough to comfortably support my family - daughter born in NZ.

I work in the Research Office of a Uni now which, while being a desk based job, is still pretty enjoyable. I made the move and overall I'm certain I'm a happier person for it - so is the missus. All of that said, we are on the move again soon - back to the UK but that's another issue. I think there is a lot of truth in the saying that the "Grass is always greener" though.

Simon

beverick

I've been trying to spin the dice on my career since christmas. The main problem seems to be that if you take a 'traditional' approach in trying to get an alternative job (recruitment agency, job adverts etc) no-one will take you seriously.

I'm currently trying the secondment route within my current employer but with a major restructuring and redundancies going on the opportunities aren't around.

That said, the majority of people I know who have changed their career have been the ones who have been targeted for redundancy. I spoke to a guy yesterday who's been through the company redundancy scheme three times in the last five years. He said that he always applies for 'VR' as he's gained a promotion out of it each time and a change of career (he's only once had an APR rating higher than the bottom grade in the same time!). Since 2003, he's gone from being a customer service assistant via business analysis to being a UNIX/IP technician and the company has paid for the retraining each time.

I've 'missed out' on the redundancy scheme on all three occasions.

Bob

peanut

I was a disillusioned Architect following the last recession. nearly half of us were made redundant. I started my own business and within a year we were employing 26 people with a big office studio workshop down in Cornwall. Things were great we were doing what we wanted to do but we often worked 80 hours a week .
9/11 and foot and mouth finally finished our company off. What I would say is if you are self starting and can work without someone constantly kicking your butt go for it but be warned there are down times as well as up when you have no orders or cash flow .banks squeeze you , you can't find good staff etc etc .
Its really difficult to keep on track when you work from home. There is always some distraction or other like a new bike to build :roll:
Work out the minimum you need to start your business and live on for the first year before taking the plunge. Remember bills won't wait until you get the next job/order they are relentless. You'll need to factor in insurances, sick pay, holiday pay, accountant's and book keepers pay etc plus you often have to wait 2 months to get paid for work

CHRISNOIR

feel wrote:

Complete change of career? am in the process of doing so now. Have given up on tedious stressful £40K salary and come september will be going to college to train as an electrician. The next few years will be interesting. I am 52. Brave or mad?

Very brave! It's interesting to see from some of the posts that even people in 'successful' careers (and as far as society goes £40K is seen as'successful') can find that the money just doesn't compensate for the daily grind.

Good luck!