Life changing career swap

mar_k

Has anyone on here completely changed career paths with success?

Id be intrested to hear your story and how you made that change.


Im currently a HGV driver for an Event and Exhibition company.
I have known for some time that this is not the job I want to do. In november I applied to a Train Operating company to become a trainee Train driver.

To my suprise I was invited to an assessment centre to undergo some quite challenging tests,
I have passed the assessment stage's and today I have my final Managers interview.
I am completely bricking it.

For me this is a life changing situation as I wont have to work a stupid amount of hours to earn a sensible wage.
It will mean more time at home with the family.
The whole thing is scary for me as I have worked for my current employer for more than 10yrs and its all I know.


Anyone else been in a similar position?
How did you deal with any fears you had about the career change?

oodboo

I've been through a few jobs in my time. I went from being an e-learning developer in a bank to full time karate instructor. Later from IT support to landscape gardener. Now I'm back in IT where I belong. Jobs aren't for life any more. As long as know your going to be able to pay the bills each month then go for it. This sounds like it could be a good change for you.

mar_k

I know what you mean, I have just got too comfortable in my current job.
Even though I dislike it and feel over worked I find change really hard.
I know for sure the change is for the better and if the interview goes well today there is no doubt that ill leave my current job. But even though I know what my decision would be I am still terrified.

oodboo

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Bit of a cliché I know but if you get offered this job and take it you'll have more time with your family. Don't let anything get in the way of that.

mar_k

Thanks for posting,
I have recently turn't 30 aswell so it would be nice to finally have some direction.

JBA

Family first every time, fella. At least that's my view.
I have changed jobs a few times and now have one that I don't particularly enjoy and that frequently winds me up. However, it is 4 miles from home, I work flexi time and can finish at 4 o'clock every day, which means I can collect my children off the school bus. For me that makes the bullsh1t tolerable.

Go for it!

Good luck with the interview.

bails87

Nothing meaningful to add, but good luck!

popularname

Yup, can be done, mar_k. I'm on my third career - started off as a scientist in pharmaceuticals, then became a policy wonk in a government org, now run my own consultancy company. All total changes of direction, the last one driven by a combination of job satisfaction, ambition and wanting to be i charge of my own time to be with my family.

It can be done. You just lose sleep over it for a while...

But it's the best thing to do when you know you have to.

Good luck!

Northwind

Good luck!

I did 10 years of pretty crappy work in banking, starting in branches. After I took redundancy I only had one plan, don't work for a bank ever again... So I took a pretty low-end job in the local university in student recruitment, then after a while got a permanent role in the student management side. Very different, better pay, better people... Wish I'd done it sooner!

My current boss is on his 3rd career, he just woke up one morning after 15 years as an engineer and machinist and said "Fed up of this, I want to teach kids". So he got a second degree and went and did that for a decade. Then he went and became a university lecturer, but didn't like that so much so moved again. He's a cool boy, just decides what he wants and makes it happen.

mar_k

Some encouraging tales above, thanks for sharing.

I have a 2-3 week wait to hear from the train company now but fingers crossed I get the position.

nicklouse

Have a search for some recent posts by Gtdestroyer on here. He made some very very big changes.

mar_k

Thanks Nick, I'll take a look now

Anonymous

Still waiting for that life changing opportunity to get out of dull (but lucrative) IT, out of the tedious office life and ideally getting paid well to ride bikes and/or take photos

In the meantime the best I've managed is to stick two fingers up to "the man" and go contracting. More flexibility, though more instability.

mar_k

Well sadly the job hasn't worked out.
Although I, along with many other succesful candidates made the grade and passed all stages the
Train operating company has broke the news that too many applicants passed and thereisn't enough jobs for us all.

My application is on hold until more positions come up.

Back to the drawing board for me.


@Deadkenny, My brother inlaw is a programmer. He used to work for gamer t.v. building gambling games, he went free lance about 3 or 4 years ago and is now making an obscene amount of money.
He is currently working on a project with Allen Sugar building something called YouView.
His daily wage is more than my weekly wage. Best thing he ever done.

Anonymous

The money is great, though I'm not a finance freelancer where it would really be obscene.

Anyway, done enough to let me kick back a bit since the last contract ended. Downturn has made the market tough though but with cash in the bank I'm looking at fun projects to do, more start up kind of things if possible. Riskier, but far more my own boss if I can work it right than just doing the regular kind of contracts which is still just turn up in an office and do the job required (still, no politics, take the money, go home, ride bikes ).

jndb72

I'm a software developer, develop add-ons for accounts packages such as Pegasus and Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Always fancied the contracting path but with a family to support it would be a hell of a risk to take. May consider it again when the kids are older.

Cheers

Fatamorgana

How's the train driving training going?
Room for a.n.other?
What are the age limits on such things and you mention "to undergo some quite challenging tests," - can you elaborate?

It is my experience that most people like the idea of change, that the grass is indeed perhaps greener on the other side but the reality of the situation is that the longer you leave it (family etc) the more likely you are of becoming a Walter Mitty (Walts for short) and become a "also-ran", someone who always talked the good talk but whose trews never quite were long enough to step out the door and make a fundamental change.

Good luck, I've done it a few times so have become blazé about just how much effort it does take.

chazkayak

Im now coming to a stage in my life where there are some massive changes going to happen.

I will have been in the same job since I was 17, now 40yrs old. Regular money, cheap housing and get to go and visit some hot and sandy countries.

All change, I want to move to the Alps buy a large property and open up a B+B offering Mountain bike, kayaking and Paragliding guiding.

It would be dead easy to do if I didnt have the wife and two kids to worry about.

BRICKING IT!!!!!

Gazlar

Mar_k hard luck, it's tough, I've been a train driver for the last 8 years, but when I applied, over 5000 people applied for the 6 posts, trainee drivers are very very rarely advertised. Have you considered geing into a train operating company as a conductor or senior conductor, more often than not now, most trainee posts are filled internally by conductors moving up a grade, and they are pretty well paid on 25k plus with the opportunity to earn more with overtime. Keep trying, I got onto the railway the route I mentioned after running pubs and being a chef, you may find tocs that accept your allay passed tests. By the way what area of the country are you in and what toc was it you took the tests with?

This is quite a useful site Fatomorgana, it explains the process of selection, the tests are essentially a group bourdon dot concentration test where you ring dot clusters in a gri quickly and accurately, a mechanical comprehension test which is basically physics, a computer reaction test, like advanced simple simon then a psychometric interview. That is followed by a company interview and a medical . Dunno how often it's updated, pay scales are a bit out, certainly what we are on on arriva trains wales, anyway, heres that site http://www.traindriver.org/index.html

stubs

Had several careers and enjoyed them all. Did my apprenticeship as a m/bike mechanic but the backside dropped out of the m/bike industry so went and worked down a coal mine as a fitter for a 5 years then retrained as a ships engineer and ended up working in some very cold/very hot/very wet places for the oil and gas industry. Came home and went to University (for my own pleasure not for a job) intending to bum about for the rest of my life doing temp jobs. Somehow ended up running a small company didnt mean to just filled in for a mate for a few weeks and still there nearly 2 years later.

mar_k

Gazlar... I applied with FCC, They have recently got intouch with me with positive feedback and told me I had a good interview but missed out on 2 points, I needed 30 and got 28.
they have said I should try again in 5 months.

The test results are not held by the TOC, they are held by OPC and can be used with any TOC. My results are valid for 2-3 years dependant on what TOC I apply for next.

I did the Group Bourdon, SCAAT, Reaction test and a few others and passed all of them so when I apply again I wont have to resit them which is great.

paul.skibum

I was a qualified accountant and hating it - I went on a bike holiday, came home feeling very ambivalent about work, had a bad review in which my boss wanted to give me a written warning for my work, I quit.

I went to Canada to do a ski instructor course, and after 3 years finally got to a point where I had a ski instructor job, sponsored visa but was still returning to UK to work in my old field for the summers - I have finally got to a position where I am employed mainly full time in an environment I like and in a reasonably well paid but fun job (I run the kids ski school at my ski hill and have summer employment in the bike park in BC).

Was it an easy change - no - was it the right move for me - probably - am I glad I did it - hell yes.

PS I am about to turn 41, single, no commitments bar a house in UK which I rent out.

mar_k

Paul thats great, I am pleased its working out for you.
It seems the craziest ideas are often the most rewarding in life