Thread: Changing careers advice

Your young and if you have the opportunity grab it with both hands and run
I had one job for 19 years took the cash and ran wise not really but time for a change as i felt stale there .
Since then life has been up and down tried my luck at Truck ownership , Then on the grind to find a job not easy at all with this internet applications you don`t get a look in

In my last roll i built a good relationship with our customer`s and when that time came to leave the roll i used my relationship with my customers to move on

So in 4 years on my 4th job and i might have a winner not sure yet but who can tell.

How old are you Mitch? I am 29

Two years ago I quit my first full-time job. By then I had been working as research fellow for a Uni @ Sydney for four years. The job was fantastic pay is great 100k plus 17%super (I left at b6)

But I quit because I want autonomy and more money and now on my way to be a dentist. So yeah I change my career completely. Hopefully by the end of this year, I will be a fully qualified dentist

The last two years has been very very painful for me (and still is. I had zero holiday and constantly in stress and doubt about myself....But I am almost there....

I've had a few different careers both within a single industry and outside:

Left school and did a years Farm Tech course as I was probably too immature and young (at 15) to score an apprenticeship
Got an apprenticeship with the NSW Govt as a radio mechanic, that job morphed over 12 years or so to become a somewhat soul destroying job as a photocopier tech after the department I started with was privatised.
Took my first big Jump and got a job as a computer tech with Osborne Gateway which lasted six months until they shut down Aus operations but I learnt a lot and could now say that I knew enough in the field to get a job easily.
Was made an offer by a local computer shop the afternoon after I got my redundancy payment form Gateway by a local agent for all the "big guys " in the computer field (Bull, DEC, Wang, IBM etc)
This went well for about 18 months until the boss sold the business and the leadership disappeared. Was offered a job at double my salary and went to work for DEC in Canberra, a job that I held for 10 years working my way up from a field service tech to a storage specialist
Decided that HP was not a viable long term career option after hitting the glass ceiling after doing a really interesting project for 2 years and then being told that the ongoing work would be back to being a field service tech.
Got a job with a federal Govt department as a storage specialist and have had a people management role as well as a solution architecture role within that job over the last 10 years.

A couple of takeaways:

The reason I moved from the bush to Canberra was a lack of opportunity and it paid off both financially and career wise
I found myself in my 30s and early 40s working with young blokes 10-15 years my junior but had no difficulty keeping up so age is not necessarily a barrier if you can adapt.
The reason I left HP was a lack of opportunity and I have had a great career subsequently.
If you have a good work ethic, can keep your skills current and are not afraid to accept change you will do very well.
If you get offered an opportunity grab it with both hands and make the jump, it has paid off for me every time.
Positions that you gain by matching your skills to a businesses needs and arranging yourself are usually much better than just applying for jobs so get proactive and grab those opportunities.

Regards,
Tote

The money you earn is important.
The place/location you work is important.

But, being happy & satisfied in your employment is more important.

It took me quite a while, but some folks find their nitch, & they basically do that job for a long time. (30 years of managing some sort of retail in some sort of remote place).

Some people like to switch, change, move on. They like the constant challenge & change.

Me, I like to have comparison, so I strive to constantly be better than last year both personally & business wise.

Depends what dives you, but it is all an adventure. Failure is just a driver to succeed

30 Years ago we left a secure job, a nice home, a comfortable life with all the city conveniences to live with the heat & the flies in the middle of nowhere, don't regret doing it despite some difficult times.

Jonesfam

I am about to leave a good job, because I want to live somewhere else, it is a tough decision as it is a good job and I am in my comfort zone....but at the end of the day, life is WAY to short, to not be living where you want to live etc, so the job I do is just going to have to fit in with my life.

Wow, such a great response guys, keep the advice coming!
It's great to hear how others have changed roles, and been happy with their decisions.

I am currently 32 with no dependents, so a career change (for the right position) is easy to manage. I'm hoping to move into a sales management role, ideally in a field which complements my undergraduate studies in medical science.
I've made some great contact in my current industry thru my current role, but the few offers I've had just weren't the right move- I've always held the opinion that I'm willing to see what's on offer. Working for a global company in a well recognized local brand holds some weight for some prospective employers, but it's a matter of finding a role to suit for my next step.
One thing tying me down is a recent house purchase here in Tamworth, so I need to be there for a while (and renovate it) before I can travel further abroad, save a bill for some of the first home buyer's grant - if occupancy is <6mths, I need to repay the stamp duty concession. May next year will see that obligation behind me.

Navy aged aged 15-23, Pearl farm diving Shark Bay WA for a little bit, Westrack Caterpillar workshop steam cleaner 6 months, Australian Government Publishing 2 years, tax office 7 years (reconstructive or forensic accounting with the big boys and girls) now medical centre IT, Payroll and dogs body AKA boss. Sad bit is only long service leave owing over the last 35 years work is now payable by me to me if I take it

Looked at Cyber security double degree at Latrobe Uni for a mid life crisis swap for fun but was not given a leave pass last year. I did take a few weeks dole once post Shark Bay and had a few more days of during relocation from Sydney. VIC, WA and back to VIC and also took some time to study a few bits for grey matter improvement and fun. How much fun in each role was almost alway dependant on what I created. I have had and continue to have a ball

Left school at 16, Greenkeeper by trade but have never really looked after a Golf Course but built a few, have taught diving and small boat handling, shotfirer, some station work and then moved into Mining some 25 years ago, on and off but have lived and worked all over Oz, PNG, Tanzania, Zambia, Laos and now Madagascar, picked up some qualifications along the way.
I get a kick out of developing people and seeing them achieve what they never thought they could, developing nations are a treasure trove of enthusiasm, commitment and patriotism, it is very rewarding working in these parts of the world.
My family and I have travelled the world, a lot of Africa in a Defender and will continue to so, we can’t see ourselves returning to Australia to work though we love coming back for family and travel.

The old saying of finding a job you love and never working a day is completely true.