Career changes: Greener pastures or just more fertilizer?

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Somewhat related - I saw a segment today on the news about the shift from the great resignation to the great regret that some are feeling after leaving their job recently for a different one.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by blankall

Seems like a lot of people I know are changing careers. Many people around my age are just all of a sudden getting fancy sounding management/board of director jobs.

I think it's just an age thing, as many of these people don't seem especially experienced in those roles. No one wants/respects a 35 or younger manager. When you get to a certain age, more opportunities just seem to become available.

There also seems to be some general restructuring going on across many different industries, which, in itself, seems to be creating opportunities.

So yes, I'd say it's a great time to look for new opportunities.

It's all in how they handle themselves, their situations, accountability, and of course likeability. If someone is loud, brash, entitled, and a bully well they won't get support or respect and life will be harder for them. As with ANY position at ANY age, respect needs to be earned and even moreso as one climbs the ladder... to a point. At some "level" it seems some get promoted beyond their level of incompetency (meaning: they can't be fired, but just get them outa the way of those that do real work and keep them looking at big picture stuff). I've certainly worked with a couple of brilliant younger managers - one could gold-plate and polish turds and suck @$$ amazingly but tended to throw some folks under the bus (and yes, he was brilliant); and the other was smooth (in a good way), well organized, had a way of making people feel like they wanted to work for him, made people feel valued, and you can guess which one is likely to go further??

[You Need a Thneed]

I was in a situation up unto last week, where I was in a role that just wasn’t right for me. It was seriously making me question whether I just wanted to get out of my industry completely.

Starting a new job next week, and am expecting that to renew me. Hopefully.

[Macman]

The main thing is to keep a continuation of your income uninterrupted even if it's less than what you're getting now. Can you not come back to your current industry with a different employer if that's what you decided later on? If you already have work lined up I would say do it.

[8sPOT]

I switched industries back in 2012, form Banking to O&G Finance. Banking was becoming very stressful, grown men crying in my office, having to tell people they might lose their home, or don't qualify for a much needed loan etc.

It was a breath of fresh air no longer having 'clients'. For me that was the main source of the stress, clients I wanted to help but had to abide by the banks rules. I was essentially the bearer of bad news all the time.

Now of course, in 2015 I saw a lot of co-workers get let go, which was also stressful but I survived that somehow.

Many have commented on what the real source of the stress or depression, and it may not actually be your job or industry. Either way, its a big decision and not to be taken lightly.

Also, I don't live to work, I work to live. That's an important distinction to me. So finding happiness in my job is not really a thing. If I was a pro golfer, snowboarder, or musician maybe, but I'm not good enough at any of those things so I work with numbers to pay the bills.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

It's all in how they handle themselves, their situations, accountability, and of course likeability. If someone is loud, brash, entitled, and a bully well they won't get support or respect and life will be harder for them. As with ANY position at ANY age, respect needs to be earned and even moreso as one climbs the ladder... to a point. At some "level" it seems some get promoted beyond their level of incompetency (meaning: they can't be fired, but just get them outa the way of those that do real work and keep them looking at big picture stuff). I've certainly worked with a couple of brilliant younger managers - one could gold-plate and polish turds and suck @$$ amazingly but tended to throw some folks under the bus (and yes, he was brilliant); and the other was smooth (in a good way), well organized, had a way of making people feel like they wanted to work for him, made people feel valued, and you can guess which one is likely to go further??

I'm not saying that it's impossible for younger people to have management positions, it's just harder.

My point is that you'd be surprised what kinds of positions an experienced person in their late 30s/early 40s can get, if they simply just go out and look for it. Once again, I certainly see a bunch of people I know randomly attaining management/board of director type positions with little previous success.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by 8sPOT

I switched industries back in 2012, form Banking to O&G Finance. Banking was becoming very stressful, grown men crying in my office, having to tell people they might lose their home, or don't qualify for a much needed loan etc.

It was a breath of fresh air no longer having 'clients'. For me that was the main source of the stress, clients I wanted to help but had to abide by the banks rules. I was essentially the bearer of bad news all the time.

Now of course, in 2015 I saw a lot of co-workers get let go, which was also stressful but I survived that somehow.

Many have commented on what the real source of the stress or depression, and it may not actually be your job or industry. Either way, its a big decision and not to be taken lightly.

Also, I don't live to work, I work to live. That's an important distinction to me. So finding happiness in my job is not really a thing. If I was a pro golfer, snowboarder, or musician maybe, but I'm not good enough at any of those things so I work with numbers to pay the bills.

Lol!

I know the feeling.

Everyone knows the saying: "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"

I do not subscribe to that, my feeling is:

"Do something you love and you will, inevitable, eventually learn to hate it."

So yeah, work to live.

[Ferarri]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I was in a situation up unto last week, where I was in a role that just wasn’t right for me. It was seriously making me question whether I just wanted to get out of my industry completely.

Starting a new job next week, and am expecting that to renew me. Hopefully.

I’m in a very similar situation except I don’t have a way out. Been at the same company for over 10 years and was very proud of what I accomplished. New(ish) boss comes in and has ruined my confidence. Told me that leadership isn’t a teachable skill and I don’t have it. Completely inappropriate since I’ve never had my leadership questioned before. Also, kind of funny since we work for an educational institution that offers and teaches courses in leadership.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

I’m in a very similar situation except I don’t have a way out. Been at the same company for over 10 years and was very proud of what I accomplished. New(ish) boss comes in and has ruined my confidence. Told me that leadership isn’t a teachable skill and I don’t have it. Completely inappropriate since I’ve never had my leadership questioned before. Also, kind of funny since we work for an educational institution that offers and teaches courses in leadership.

Just from reading what you wrote I have determined your new boss is an idiot. Lead on.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lol!

I know the feeling.

Everyone knows the saying: "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"

I do not subscribe to that, my feeling is:

"Do something you love and you will, inevitable, eventually learn to hate it."

So yeah, work to live.

Agreed that that saying is BS. For most people, if you monetized their hobby and put timeline pressures and other burdens, they'd easily learn to hate something they love.

I love cooking for friends, but I'd hate being a chef.
I like traveling, but I'd hate being a tour guide.
etc.

Originally Posted by Ferarri

I’m in a very similar situation except I don’t have a way out. Been at the same company for over 10 years and was very proud of what I accomplished. New(ish) boss comes in and has ruined my confidence. Told me that leadership isn’t a teachable skill and I don’t have it. Completely inappropriate since I’ve never had my leadership questioned before. Also, kind of funny since we work for an educational institution that offers and teaches courses in leadership.

Sounds like the type of person whose self worth is based on how many people he/she stands on top of. Without being able to step on people or throw them under the bus, they don't feel enough of a sense of self worth.

People who have imposters syndrome with people stepping attributes are the absolute worst. On the other side of the coin, I've been a manager for many years and I've often tried to be intentional to boost the confidence of those who are competent but seem to have varied forms of imposter syndrome.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by blankall

I'm not saying that it's impossible for younger people to have management positions, it's just harder.

My point is that you'd be surprised what kinds of positions an experienced person in their late 30s/early 40s can get, if they simply just go out and look for it. Once again, I certainly see a bunch of people I know randomly attaining management/board of director type positions with little previous success.

Oh for sure it’s true that some people should never have gotten beyond “junior” status yet somehow are put into leadership roles yet are technically poor and perhaps even worse dealing with people yet are chummy enough with leadership that they get an undeserved leg up. Regardless of age.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lol!

I know the feeling.

Everyone knows the saying: "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"

I do not subscribe to that, my feeling is:

"Do something you love and you will, inevitable, eventually learn to hate it."

So yeah, work to live.

Yup, I've always thought this saying was complete BS. Would you be doing the work you're currently doing on your free time and with no pay? If not, then you don't love that job.

My work philosophy has always been, as long as I don't wake up in the morning dreading going to work, then that's already a win. Work will always be work IMO. That said, a good company and great co-workers do make it a lot more enjoyable. Thankfully, I work with some great people, and the company I work for is also not too bad, so I'm pretty thankful for that.

Career wise, I'm ok doing what I do, as it's pretty decent pay. I'm at that point in my career where I have no desire to switch and start all over again. It would feel like I've wasted my last 20 years building to where I'm currently at.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lol!

I know the feeling.

Everyone knows the saying: "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"

I do not subscribe to that, my feeling is:

"Do something you love and you will, inevitable, eventually learn to hate it."

So yeah, work to live.

It should really be "Do something that fits your natural skillset, that has marketable value to others, that doesn't want to make you blow your brains out....all so you can better put yourself in a position to do all the things that you love during your downtime without the pressure".

Doesn't make a very good motivational poster though.

[Coach]

I had made a post regarding my personal story in another thread not long ago, but can't find it. Thought I'd throw in my two cents with an abridged version.

I was underpaid, undermotivated, and depressed working a decent paying job at a bank with a high degree of future earning potential if I wanted to put forth the effort. But I didn't want to. Not because I don't like effort, but I felt if I was going to put effort into something, it should be something I really enjoy. So when asking for a raise to what I thought was a reasonable rate to keep me around was rejected, I quit, moved to Vancouver. Spent savings on film school and rent.

Now, my life is certainly different. I've been grinding my way through various film jobs and a have a number of artisitic ventures happening, but my bread and butter is doing design and decorating for movies and music videos. It's challenging with long hours and stressful deadlines, but I love it. I'm much happier with my direction, even if it means I had to take a step back, live with roommates again, and deal with being self-employed vs having benefits and stable income. But I have to fight for what I have now rather than feeling like I could just coast at 60% capacity. I'm working purely for myself versus helping a boss with their goals. And I get paid to make artwork, which is a good thing to remind myself of when I'm working at 3AM on something weird and silly. If you had told 25 year old would be doing this at 32, I wouldn't have believed you.

There's hard times. Lean times. Sacrifice of time and certain types of relationships. And you're putting yourself on the line with every project which is stressful. But I'm much more at peace internally feeling like I'm going a direction that I enjoy and can make work for me. That said, I had no responsibility other than my dog, who has recently passed on. No kids or spouse to be concerned with. Obviously making the change is a lot easier in those conditions.

As an understanding of how I landed on my deccision, as soon as it became clear I didn't want to be at my job anymore, it became a thought process of "well, you have to do SOMETHING. So Think about what that is and just try to do that." My thought was people do all sorts of things in this world for money, if you really want to, you can carve out something for yourself. But again, I really was and am by myself, so it makes that risk much easier.