How many career changes have you had?
Discussion
As the title really
I always find myself wanting to try new careers, I was in the sport and leisure industry for 10 years working up into management, then changed doing an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, and now a multi skilled engineer on the tools.
I think I have a bit of a problem with the long term outlook on being in a single industry, it’s like I imagine myself at 65 looking on my time in work and thinking why have I spent the last 30 years do something with no real meaning other than making an employer more money, should I have experienced something new, or challenged myself, etc. Although I do understand all jobs are like this!
Also I’m working a lot to make tidy money, but I’m thinking more and more about working from home in something, just so I’m here more for my daughter, as she does ask why I work a lot, she 7 and it does tug on my heart strings.
Just interest to hear if anyone has had a few careers? Did you regret changing, do you think you should have knuckled down in one sector/ industry?
I always find myself wanting to try new careers, I was in the sport and leisure industry for 10 years working up into management, then changed doing an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, and now a multi skilled engineer on the tools.
I think I have a bit of a problem with the long term outlook on being in a single industry, it’s like I imagine myself at 65 looking on my time in work and thinking why have I spent the last 30 years do something with no real meaning other than making an employer more money, should I have experienced something new, or challenged myself, etc. Although I do understand all jobs are like this!
Also I’m working a lot to make tidy money, but I’m thinking more and more about working from home in something, just so I’m here more for my daughter, as she does ask why I work a lot, she 7 and it does tug on my heart strings.
Just interest to hear if anyone has had a few careers? Did you regret changing, do you think you should have knuckled down in one sector/ industry?
There’s not really a template as such for this kind of conundrum. Not many people I know are doing what they first started on. If I was generalising, a change every 10 years or so. Some in the same industries, but sufficient change to be not doing what they were doing before.
As to how one makes those choices? It’s as bespoke as each individual, so you have to try and work out what it is you want to achieve and what constraints there are to prevent that (family/ability/qualifications/length of commute/salary etc). Once you’ve been honest with yourself about your constraints, then realistically, what options remain. Once those have been identified, do some deeper research to see which one you would enjoy doing the most. If you enjoy it, it’s less like a job.
Good luck!
As to how one makes those choices? It’s as bespoke as each individual, so you have to try and work out what it is you want to achieve and what constraints there are to prevent that (family/ability/qualifications/length of commute/salary etc). Once you’ve been honest with yourself about your constraints, then realistically, what options remain. Once those have been identified, do some deeper research to see which one you would enjoy doing the most. If you enjoy it, it’s less like a job.
Good luck!
Great post Rog! I can credit my latest employment to your help with my CV, I couldn’t quite believe how a streamlined CV landed so many interviews!
Yes it’s a hard thing come to a sound conclusion, I find myself conflicted about it a lot, I don’t have any money worries or major stresses in life, so it’s a first world problem.
Maybe it’s the work life balance with my daughter that’s bringing it out, I worry that I’m going to get probably another 7 tidy years before I go from the apple of her eye to someone she hates lol!
Yes it’s a hard thing come to a sound conclusion, I find myself conflicted about it a lot, I don’t have any money worries or major stresses in life, so it’s a first world problem.
Maybe it’s the work life balance with my daughter that’s bringing it out, I worry that I’m going to get probably another 7 tidy years before I go from the apple of her eye to someone she hates lol!
I went....
Royal Navy Weapons Engineer
Facilities Manager
Application Support Manager (IT)
Business Analyst (also IT)
I also have a "side hussle" as a Landlord. If prices hadn't made it uneconomic it would have been career no5.
I've never regretted a career or employer change. IT paid the most so where I ended up was right for me
Royal Navy Weapons Engineer
Facilities Manager
Application Support Manager (IT)
Business Analyst (also IT)
I also have a "side hussle" as a Landlord. If prices hadn't made it uneconomic it would have been career no5.
I've never regretted a career or employer change. IT paid the most so where I ended up was right for me
Edited by 98elise on Tuesday 13th June 16:01
Purchase Ledger Assistant
Assistant Management Accountant
Auditor
Senior Auditor
Senior Accountant
Head of Finance
Director of Finance
Director of Corporate Services
Financial Controller
Same career lasting over 30 years (the chopping and changing during the first 5 years was just to get my professional incompetencies ticked off)
Accountancy is an easy way of making reasonable money. I would heartily recommend it to the lazy idle procrastinator
Assistant Management Accountant
Auditor
Senior Auditor
Senior Accountant
Head of Finance
Director of Finance
Director of Corporate Services
Financial Controller
Same career lasting over 30 years (the chopping and changing during the first 5 years was just to get my professional incompetencies ticked off)
Accountancy is an easy way of making reasonable money. I would heartily recommend it to the lazy idle procrastinator
I’ve been in IT since I graduated (Computer Science and French) in 91.
In about 2003 I very briefly (for a matter of weeks) went into IT recruitment for some reasons that I’m not too sure about now. It was hard to get the role too - multiple interviews, doing presentations etc.
But it was awful; I’m used to being totally autonomous and self starting, wandering round the office chatting, long lunches, flexible hours, going to the pub etc but this was none of that! I was expected to make hundreds of calls a day to people who didn’t want to speak to me. It was like being at school.
I went back to IT contracting.
In about 2003 I very briefly (for a matter of weeks) went into IT recruitment for some reasons that I’m not too sure about now. It was hard to get the role too - multiple interviews, doing presentations etc.
But it was awful; I’m used to being totally autonomous and self starting, wandering round the office chatting, long lunches, flexible hours, going to the pub etc but this was none of that! I was expected to make hundreds of calls a day to people who didn’t want to speak to me. It was like being at school.
I went back to IT contracting.
Countdown said:
Accountancy is an easy way of making reasonable money. I would heartily recommend it to the lazy idle procrastinator
Agreed ha! Same here.I have often thought about doing something else but have been in this career for nearly 20 years, including a 5 year stint on finance systems/business intelligence sprinked in the mix but back as a regular Financial Controller myself these days too.
I am a king of procratination and accountancy does pay a decent wage with full time home working it has to be a great option for you to explore OP.
OP take a look at the Charity sector as a career changer - there are some good oppotunities out there and they look for lifeskills as well as competence to bring the best into the organisation. A couple of inspiring stories for you - 1) career changer at 38 from music to accountancy found himself on 6 figures as a FD of a mid-sized charity 8 years later & 2) recently recruited a business partner for nigh on £60k with no qualifications but good practical accountancy and people skills, post holder is doing very well in position.
Interesting replies guys! Ive never really thought of accountancy, I have always had this image of inputting numbers into an excell spreadsheet for 8 hours a day, what is your actual day to day worklife like?
Another thought is programming, although I don’t have an ounce of experience in that! There seems to be some tidy wages working in python?
Another thought is programming, although I don’t have an ounce of experience in that! There seems to be some tidy wages working in python?
only half way into my career really. all within engineering, just in different sectors and areas thereof.
started off in aerospace, then heavy industry, now power generation. at various time's i've been in product design, process design, operations management, construction management, project management and now project engineering. good mix of hands on, site based & office based. been all over the world on the back of it.
currently looking to move on, predominantly due to the cost cutting and appalling workplace culture that came in after we were bought out by PE. the balance as to 'what industry' will be in finding something new and interesting that also brings an uplift in salary.
i also have a side business [automotive] and would like another, something more craft led.
i should say that i wanted to be a pilot and when that fell through i looked at the armed forces and the police [CID fast track] whilst on my grad scheme, getting quite far along the process for joining each. at one point i was going to go back to uni to study furniture design, and now and again [usually when stuck in the middle of a war or famine] have thought about joining an NGO. i do have ADD though, so maybe these were all passing wants. i am happy with my lot so far, but think my 40s should involve playing the career/money game a little more shrewdly.
started off in aerospace, then heavy industry, now power generation. at various time's i've been in product design, process design, operations management, construction management, project management and now project engineering. good mix of hands on, site based & office based. been all over the world on the back of it.
currently looking to move on, predominantly due to the cost cutting and appalling workplace culture that came in after we were bought out by PE. the balance as to 'what industry' will be in finding something new and interesting that also brings an uplift in salary.
i also have a side business [automotive] and would like another, something more craft led.
i should say that i wanted to be a pilot and when that fell through i looked at the armed forces and the police [CID fast track] whilst on my grad scheme, getting quite far along the process for joining each. at one point i was going to go back to uni to study furniture design, and now and again [usually when stuck in the middle of a war or famine] have thought about joining an NGO. i do have ADD though, so maybe these were all passing wants. i am happy with my lot so far, but think my 40s should involve playing the career/money game a little more shrewdly.
I always knew I'd be an engineer so did my degrees then went into automotive design engineering. I thought that's where my career would end, with either management or technical specialism. However due to the chaos of the industry right now I've moved. And things were getting stale
Not all that far a move, but my job title is now 'scientist' in the energy industry where I am a technical 'expert' for EV charging. Working on writing future standards and technical consultancy for my company (internal). 2 months in and it's going well. Still got 25 years to retirement though...
Not all that far a move, but my job title is now 'scientist' in the energy industry where I am a technical 'expert' for EV charging. Working on writing future standards and technical consultancy for my company (internal). 2 months in and it's going well. Still got 25 years to retirement though...
Zero career changes. Been in the same industry for 25 years. It's quite specialised but I wouldn't want to throw that all away just to do something different or for more money. It would have to be a lot more money to pack up the 25 years of experience, knowledge, contacts etc to start again somewhere else.
If I want a new challenge, I'll just take something new on in the current job.
If I want a new challenge, I'll just take something new on in the current job.
How many 3 . Apprenticed in engineering which I continued with working up to production manager at 26 then director at 28 . Early 30s the company was bought out , fancied a change so started at a local craft brewery which grew massively and was again subsequently sold when the owner retired , as we had long been told it would be , no regrets . Bit the bullet and moved the family to Canada where I now run trucks (and drive) hauling cryogenics/industrial gases . Aside from woeful lack of decent motorsport here I have absolutely no complaints .
WEAR SUNSCREEN: Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Possible TL;DR here I'm a funny sort where I haven't had anything I really viewed as a career yet and I turn 40 next year.
Went to Uni in 2002 with the dream of studying alongside trying to train as an athlete. Various injuries, poor discipline and a George Best approach to beer and ladies (I chose a Uni that was 87% at the time!) put paid to a lot of that and when my funding for sports tailed off I started working as a bouncer from 2004-2020 to get some cash. Trouble was I found it very easy money and just messed around with various sporting comebacks and repeating years at Uni until I eventually graduated in 2009. I was an idiot. I remember tearing my ACL at training one evening and heading to work instead of A&E. When I had surgery for that I was back on the doors within a few weeks with my crutches by my side and a stool to relax on.
Unfulfilled academically and sportingly I just got stuck doing the doors and between 2009-2015 I ran the door at a strip club and fell into gambling quite a lot until it very nearly went tits up. Nearly killed someone (genuinely accidental) and nearly lost everything on horses. Enough was enough and I moved towards better security type work working in student accommodations and focused on door shifts at proper nightclubs. During that last 8 year spell I went back to studying via Open University so I could convert my rubbish degree into one with honours, got my Masters in Sports Science and held down the security job to this day. It's a week on/week off working nights but the time off gives me a lot of freedomm to pursue my latest gig... Sports Performance Analysis.
Thankfully, Covid-19 saw an end to my bouncing days in 2020 but since 2019 I have been slowly developing/transitioning into a career I can be happy with and proud of as a performance analyst. When you're watching rugby and you see guys with laptops beside the coaches, that's me. Or I can be filming from the stands or, and this is fun, right in the thick of it jogging backwards with a GoPro as players cycle through attack phases inside the opposition 22 - most days are different but a lot of days can be same-same, it really depends on what sport or team you are with. Just last month I was in the dugout with rugby coaches, last year I was in Kazakhstan with a judo team and there's word of some work coming my way with a national rugby team. Currently, I'm working for another University of a massive research project that involves watching/analysis LOTS of rugby league/union matches.
It's not groundbreaking money but it's fun and genuinely interesting. I am really trying to expand my actual data analysis skills though and suspect that in a few years time that may help me migrate to a different career elsewhere. I am very lucky that I have a supportive and quite successful wife. In amongst all of this we had a chat one night and talking kids, careers, etc, she just said that we were at a stage where we could comfortably afford me to go and just do something that I am happy doing.
So, to summarise: Athlete/Bouncer for years, Security Officer (ongoing) and now, Sports Performance Analyst (developing). Oh, and briefly for a spell last year I was back to being an athlete again and very nearly qualified for the Commonwealth Games. A little run of discipline saw me get back on the British Team after 20 years so I thought I'd give it a go, came down to a last man standing scenario but... no regrets!
Possible TL;DR here I'm a funny sort where I haven't had anything I really viewed as a career yet and I turn 40 next year.
Went to Uni in 2002 with the dream of studying alongside trying to train as an athlete. Various injuries, poor discipline and a George Best approach to beer and ladies (I chose a Uni that was 87% at the time!) put paid to a lot of that and when my funding for sports tailed off I started working as a bouncer from 2004-2020 to get some cash. Trouble was I found it very easy money and just messed around with various sporting comebacks and repeating years at Uni until I eventually graduated in 2009. I was an idiot. I remember tearing my ACL at training one evening and heading to work instead of A&E. When I had surgery for that I was back on the doors within a few weeks with my crutches by my side and a stool to relax on.
Unfulfilled academically and sportingly I just got stuck doing the doors and between 2009-2015 I ran the door at a strip club and fell into gambling quite a lot until it very nearly went tits up. Nearly killed someone (genuinely accidental) and nearly lost everything on horses. Enough was enough and I moved towards better security type work working in student accommodations and focused on door shifts at proper nightclubs. During that last 8 year spell I went back to studying via Open University so I could convert my rubbish degree into one with honours, got my Masters in Sports Science and held down the security job to this day. It's a week on/week off working nights but the time off gives me a lot of freedomm to pursue my latest gig... Sports Performance Analysis.
Thankfully, Covid-19 saw an end to my bouncing days in 2020 but since 2019 I have been slowly developing/transitioning into a career I can be happy with and proud of as a performance analyst. When you're watching rugby and you see guys with laptops beside the coaches, that's me. Or I can be filming from the stands or, and this is fun, right in the thick of it jogging backwards with a GoPro as players cycle through attack phases inside the opposition 22 - most days are different but a lot of days can be same-same, it really depends on what sport or team you are with. Just last month I was in the dugout with rugby coaches, last year I was in Kazakhstan with a judo team and there's word of some work coming my way with a national rugby team. Currently, I'm working for another University of a massive research project that involves watching/analysis LOTS of rugby league/union matches.
It's not groundbreaking money but it's fun and genuinely interesting. I am really trying to expand my actual data analysis skills though and suspect that in a few years time that may help me migrate to a different career elsewhere. I am very lucky that I have a supportive and quite successful wife. In amongst all of this we had a chat one night and talking kids, careers, etc, she just said that we were at a stage where we could comfortably afford me to go and just do something that I am happy doing.
So, to summarise: Athlete/Bouncer for years, Security Officer (ongoing) and now, Sports Performance Analyst (developing). Oh, and briefly for a spell last year I was back to being an athlete again and very nearly qualified for the Commonwealth Games. A little run of discipline saw me get back on the British Team after 20 years so I thought I'd give it a go, came down to a last man standing scenario but... no regrets!
Edited by beambeam1 on Wednesday 14th June 03:35
Gooose said:
Interesting replies guys! Ive never really thought of accountancy, I have always had this image of inputting numbers into an excell spreadsheet for 8 hours a day, what is your actual day to day worklife like?
Another thought is programming, although I don’t have an ounce of experience in that! There seems to be some tidy wages working in python?
Well there is a lot of excel, which is a place of comfort for many accountants, however depending on your role there is a lot more to it than that... your job is to steer, analyse, control the course of business and support everyone in the organisation. There is variety in the sense that one day you might be working on implementing a contactless payment platform, the next building a model to analyse profitability and the next perhaps you're working a tax/vat/hmrc issue aka your presence is across an entire organisation and the organisation would not function, at the very least on a statutory level, without you.Another thought is programming, although I don’t have an ounce of experience in that! There seems to be some tidy wages working in python?
I had three careers to date! Think I am sticking with this one… although you never know…
Started as a trainee accountant, qualified and did that for 5 years. Moved into IT Support, did that for 15 ish years with a goal of becoming a senior tech leader. Got there after 10 years and led a team of 50 ish across EMEA. Got bored and had the opportunity to move into IT Sales, now back to leading a team in Sales
I do find that the skills and experiences I have gained across 3x careers really do benefit me on a day to day basis.
12 ish career years to go hopefully!
Started as a trainee accountant, qualified and did that for 5 years. Moved into IT Support, did that for 15 ish years with a goal of becoming a senior tech leader. Got there after 10 years and led a team of 50 ish across EMEA. Got bored and had the opportunity to move into IT Sales, now back to leading a team in Sales
I do find that the skills and experiences I have gained across 3x careers really do benefit me on a day to day basis.
12 ish career years to go hopefully!
Motorcycle courier. 6 months
London Transport bus conductor. 3 years
IT hardware engineer - in house, then a field role. 29 years
Decided to grow my self-employment, clockmaker.
Supermarket petrol station - part time, while growing the clock business
I also went a bit off-piste, studied to be a counsellor for 3 years, but didn't pursue it
London Transport bus conductor. 3 years
IT hardware engineer - in house, then a field role. 29 years
Decided to grow my self-employment, clockmaker.
Supermarket petrol station - part time, while growing the clock business
I also went a bit off-piste, studied to be a counsellor for 3 years, but didn't pursue it
clockworks said:
Motorcycle courier. 6 months
London Transport bus conductor. 3 years
IT hardware engineer - in house, then a field role. 29 years
Decided to grow my self-employment, clockmaker.
Supermarket petrol station - part time, while growing the clock business
I also went a bit off-piste, studied to be a counsellor for 3 years, but didn't pursue it
Some interesting changes to say the least! London Transport bus conductor. 3 years
IT hardware engineer - in house, then a field role. 29 years
Decided to grow my self-employment, clockmaker.
Supermarket petrol station - part time, while growing the clock business
I also went a bit off-piste, studied to be a counsellor for 3 years, but didn't pursue it
Clockmaker sounds interesting good on you for taking the plunge, I do think sometimes about doing something self employed, my attitude lends itself to it but I enjoy the security of employment to much!
Semi-retired again after 40 odd years of working I think I must've had ADHD before it became a thing.
Born into farming but went to Uni to do architecture, didn't like it so ran off to sea, did that for a few years then came home for a 'proper' job and worked in chemicals industry until I realised I was built to work on the land. Got into landscaping, groundworks, pond engineering then drifted from that into housebuilding. As the physical side got too much for me, got into large scale house rentals. Built a career there till I took early retirement at 55 and became a rural postie. Gave that up this year and am now a part time mobile librarian.
Longest spent in one career was 15 years.
Born into farming but went to Uni to do architecture, didn't like it so ran off to sea, did that for a few years then came home for a 'proper' job and worked in chemicals industry until I realised I was built to work on the land. Got into landscaping, groundworks, pond engineering then drifted from that into housebuilding. As the physical side got too much for me, got into large scale house rentals. Built a career there till I took early retirement at 55 and became a rural postie. Gave that up this year and am now a part time mobile librarian.
Longest spent in one career was 15 years.
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