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  • Change of career. Real life advice please..
  • monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    The large company I work for will be closing the area I currently work at. The job I do is well paid and I could relocate, but, the company is offering retraining packages to try to encourage the workforce to stay in the area.
    I may have the opportunity to do a Cytech qualification (looking at the level 2 10 day package)
    Anyone recently moved into cycle repairs, looking online the wages are either not published or vary wildy.
    Is the qualification worth doing?
    I was also thinking of doing some voluntary workshop experience at one of my LBS once I had the qualification to get some workshop experience.

    What are peoples thoughts??

    Steve

    bencooper
    Free Member

    Wages aren’t generally brilliant – plan to be earning minimum wage for a while at least.

    If I was hiring, experience would mean a lot more to me than a qualification.

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    I guessed so. The closure won’t happen until 2015, so if I get funding approval for the course it may not happen until next year, hence the thought of getting in some voluntary workshop experience.

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    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    I worked as a mechanic for a year.

    Learning good skillz was, and has proved, incredibly useful. Wheel building especially so.

    The 10% of the time you’re building beautiful hi-spec bikes or refurbing gorgeous classics is an utter joy.

    The other 90% of the time you’re repairing dog-sh!t smeared punctured tyres, ancient cheap bikes that are being ‘resurrected’ on the cheap or Halfords specials that should be consigned to the grave, and then being accused of being expensive, made my decision to leave that particular role in the bike world pretty easy.

    pingu66
    Free Member

    Can’t help with cycling career but I changed career at 35 which was a massive risk but I was so unhappy. Moved into something that I thought I knew about but didn’t but its worked out for me and I enjoy what I do.

    My only advice to anyone changing career would be to try and choose something you enjoy, obviously making a hobby a career is perfect but usually unattainable. Equally accepting new challenges and looking at the why you want to. In your case its relocate orretrain but for others it may be boredom stress etc so making sure you don’t have the same issues as the reason for change is good as well.

    woodlikesbeer
    Free Member

    I did 8 years at Halfords, mostly on bikes. before that I did about a year in the LBS. Halfords were paying more than the LBS’s. But wages were still rubbish. As above expect minimum wage. Also expect to be working weekends. You will almost certainly be expected to sell bikes as well. If you want to work in low paid sales then go for it. If you want to fix bikes all day then you might be disappointed.

    I’ve never had any formal training. Just a very good teacher at the LBS and the Roger Mussen wheel builders book. Things may have moved on in the last eight years since I left Halfords. However, I’m highly dubious that these Cytech training courses are worth the money. better to volunteer and get some good on the job training.

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