Despite having a well paid, well balanced job cycling distance from home with an onsite nursery I find myself not particularly happy. I don’t hate it, people are mostly nice and the company is hopefully going places. I think for the most part I am very very bored.

I have done reasonably well for myself by working hard and being pretty sharp but I find I am now firmly in the politi-sphere and facing having to focus on getting better at bolitics if I want to progress.

The last few years I’ve kept myself entertained by big challenges either in work or outside (get published in the times, win an industry award, restructure a dept, have a kiddy, buy a house etc..). This year is kiddy no2 which I’m looking forward to. But then what…not sure I can face another 15 years of the corporate treadmill.

I really like the idea of have a profession where you are an expert and people pay for your advice – something quite detailed, you need to keep on top of and interesting. But something I can do initially part time to mitigate the risk of dropping a well paid perm job. I’m bright and can learn things quick. Something like an IFA appeals, though I know little about it at the moment, potentially accountancy or even dusting off my old law books and looking into legal options.

Anyone been in the same situation? What did you do? Quiting and skipping off to be a mtb guide isn’t an option – I need to support my family. Possibly this is just a phase, but its been a pretty long one…..

Left the safe and the country with my skills and I’m now selling and consulting what I used to do full time.
More than what you know it’s who you know, it is very nice to leave the room and the politics behind at the end of the day but you also have to know how the game is played, who is playing what game and how to please the right people when it counts generally as a consultant type.

d people pay for your advice – something quite detailed, you need to keep on top of and interesting. But something I can do initially part time to mitigate the risk of dropping a well paid perm job.

First you need to find somebody willing to let you have a part time job while they pay you!!
I just did my first full month in 4 years which turns out to be most weekends this month, famine or flood

Something like an IFA appeals

Are you a salesman? It’s a sales job.

If it was an IFA I would like to work based on payment per hour by the client rather than be commission based, so less of a sales job and more tailored advice based on the clients needs.

Just a pipe dream to be honest, I like the idea of having to learn a completely different field, and for that time to be an ‘investment’ and potentially lead to a new career.

If you turn your hobby into your job . . . you have to find new hobbies.

Just thought I’d mention it.

Consider how likley the market you’re moving into is to go tits up. If the housing market goes tits up will people still want IFA’s to deal with their mortgages.

Wishing I’d gone the other way and just done something more general (or less well paid but consistent).

TINAS – Design Safety Engineer for Oil and Gas plants. A job that only exists when people are investing in energy projects!

A few similarities in that I had a big career change 9 months ago. I had been a copper for 13 years, generally something I had loved having worked my way along and to a Detective on Major Crime (part of a team investigating murders and high level serious crime), from there I got promoted and hated it! Managing a team of young, immature kids who didn’t realise how they good they had it, combined with the typical BS politics within the police. I had no idea where to start, so wrote my CV .. that was a challenge in itself! At the age of 37 I had never written a CV! I started nosing with a view to getting any job to get me out of the police. I figured out what salary I could live off as there was no way I was going to get my good police salary.

Ended up landing on my feet in my dream job. Im working within the Cycling industry for Velo Vixen (an online specialist female cycling retailer) as their Operations Manager .. but I do everything from orders, customer services, shows, warehouse picking and packing. In the end my paycut was as huge as I thought it would be.

I love my job and leaving the unhappiness of the police was the best move I ever made. It took about 4 months to get my head around it and figure out I was leaving a secure job where I couldn’t be made redundant to a whole new world, but I don’t regret one bit .. well not doing it earlier!

DO IT!

I have thought about training to be an ifa as am interested in it and have done well managing my own affairs. The more i think about it though its a hobby business for me so i enjoy it, but managing someone elses money would be v different.

As a step in the right direction i may study finance modules via the ou, then i can go at my own pace.

Boring is good. I’d be spending all of my time and energy on the kids and family time. You won’t ever be able to go back and do it again with them.

One time offer, now or never.

Plus you don’t get to be an expert in something over night. Regardless of what STW Big Hitters will argue.

Work to live not live to work. So what if your job is boring – that means it leaves you time and energy to do stuff outside of work

Hitting Big is done for the passion and service to the community alone, and it takes a long time to learn to do well.

its quite possible to do a job you enjoy, get paid well and enjoy life outside work.

How about trying to persuade folk to use less energy in their homes? A job even the biggest of hitters can aspire to.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgGfIQTFBRI[/video]

Indeed it is Jambo – I am almost there but the job takes a bit too much of my energy.

However its very hard to find and to retrain to find one very difficult I would have thought – and to find a job with all the perks the OP enjoys ad is rewarding and leaves time and energy to have a good life outside of work very rare indeed.

Is the OPs wish ” the grass is greener”

Well aware of the grass is greener saying.

It would be pretty easy to change companies, the main reason I haven’t is I think it won’t be any greener, hence thinking about doing something a little different.

This is a long term thing to work towards, over lets say 5 – 10 years.

Thanks for the story above, that sounds exactly the sort of thing I’m after. In fact Wiggle aren’t too far away…

or even dusting off my old law books and looking into legal options.

I’m an ex-laywer*. Don’t do it. Don’t even contemplate it. It will cost you a fortune to pass your exams, you’ll get paid peanuts while you train and the money once qualified isn’t what it used to be by a long chalk. You’ll work 80 hours a week and be bored out of your mind.

It’s a job I would return to only if I couldn’t get another job in my current field.

*Strictly speaking, unless struck off, it’s not really possible to be an ex-solicitor. And I still have a current practising certificate (just don’t use it).

Check the “BLOG” out on this website:

https://www.careershifters.org/