To some I think my current life would be pretty idyllic.

Working 26hr/5day week, in the afternoons, in a bikeshop, more than enough to get me by, living on the edge of a village for pretty much nothing, near some excellent riding and also pretty close to a number of cities but I feel like I’m coasting, the bikeshop isn’t run very well, with lots of bitchiness with the people who run it with me having too many roles to be efficient in my short days and also, due to being injured so can’t ride my bike, I’m now pretty bored.

At the age of 27 I feel as though I should be chasing and setting up the life I would like one day. Getting into the rat race, trying to build a bit of financial stability. I have a degree and experience in planning/logistics so have the makings of a decent career but will I get back on the career ladder only to resent the fact that I should have embraced my coasting life and have done it a few more years.

Anyone ‘coasted’ for a while? Anyone resent being on the career ladder?

Opinions =] Ta

as cilla would say, the choice is all yours.

the recogniction of boredom and wanting something else will take you down the path of changing direction inevitably.

I reinvented my life goals many times as I’ve progressed and havent regreted it. the next decision you make isnt the last decision, if you hate the result or get bored again, choose something else. your a long time dead.

Decide what you want to do.
Do it.

Simple.

Title doesn’t match the thread… Title says “the one I want” but reading your post it doesn’t really seem like you want the alternative life, you just feel like you should be doing it?

If I’m right, then **** that, do what you want not what you think you should want.

A word of warning from personal experience – if you step off the career ladder for too long it can be mighty hard to get back on, especially in the current climate. Though TBF your age, qualifications & experience are totally different from mine so you might have better luck.

Are you happy with your life? If not change it. Maybe the next job will be shit too. If so change that too.
Do this until you are content with the life you lead.
For you it really is that simple.

You are seriously hampering your long term career plans imho. As an employer I wouldn’t take someone seriously in your fields that had coasted for too long a time. It doesn’t scream hard working ‘go getter’ to me.

The longer you leave it the harder it will become and the less employable you’ll be.

Or

Happiness = Reality – Expectation

Decide what you want to do.
Do it.

Simple.

hahahahahahaha heeeee

36 years and counting to decide what I want to do. Ive not a scoobies.

I jumped off the career ladder, was nice for a few years but I think I should jump back on. It’s not looking like an easy thing to do.

Exactly as Northwind says, it sounds like you are saying that doing the whole rat race, financial stability thing isn’t what you really want, rather what is expected or deemed normal. You seem to be more or less doing what you want to do already. It just needs a bit of reinvigorating.

Sounds like you have things pretty good in all honesty, embrace it and tweek it to make it exactly how you want.

Had a successful career in my 20s, got made redundant after a takeover, decided to upsticks and move Sussex to Derbyshire to start again somewhere with lower overheads.

Ended up married and sprogged and doing “lesser” jobs than I’d had in the past, and feel I’m coasting really, but I earn just enough to keep a roof over heads, though still below average wage, the mortgage will be paid off when I’m 45 next year, I work with a great team and have the flexibility to work round kids/school/wifes ever changing part time hours.

Life is good. Just need to remind myself of it some days

So long as you can pay your way in the world.

Do what you like, a career isn’t the be all and end all of life. If it matters, pursue it, if not don’t.

Just so long as you can stand on your own feet.

I’ve coasted all my life. My school reports always said ‘could be better’ – tbh I’ve done pretty well from coasting. Nice enough 3 bed semi, car, kid and happy home life. You earn more you spend more, it’s all relative. Spirtual happiness is the where the big bucks are.

Picture yourself in five years time, or ten years. Do you think you’ll feel the same about your current life? Not saying one way is better than another but if you want to change things, no time like the present to start.

You are seriously hampering your long term career plans imho. As an employer I wouldn’t take someone seriously in your fields that had coasted for too long a time. It doesn’t scream hard working ‘go getter’ to me.

This +1. You’d need to make sure that you can make your coasting sound pretty impressive on any CV to even get as far as a job interview when you’ll need to work hard at convincing someone you really are a “go getter”.

I’d suggest the third option. Get out of the boring coasting, defer the rat race, and go do something you really want to do for a couple of years. If you have no ties, no mortgage, etc. then you really could do anything.

Like some who’ve already posted… I’m a coaster/drifter. I started out after leaving school with high hopes. Went to College then Uni but had no real direction even then. I’ve done a bit of this, a bit of that and now at 31 I occasionally look back and think I’ve done it wrong. But the truth is that so far I’ve enjoyed my life. I’ve been largely happy and have done the things I wanted to do and ultimately drifting around was still my choice. If I looked back and thought I’d been utterly miserable and done nothing I wanted to do then yeah, I’d be pretty upset about it.

You only have yourself to answer to ultimately so it’s important not to let the expectations of others get in the way of your own desires.

>You are seriously hampering your long term career plans imho.
>>This +1.

Unless the attitude expressed above strikes the OP as a challenge he wants to best, this sentiment is exactly the reason for avoiding the rat race.

Just jumped off a well paid rung on the career ladder. Have decided to take 3 months off for the family as my first kid is on its way.

Feels very refreshing after being massively career and money driven for the last 10 years.

Best thing so far? The freedom to ride my bike.

Can already sense boredom stepping in so plan to get on a lower rung after 3 months and take things steady.

Similar here…31, enjoy my job, secure, pension, average pay, good hours, but it is physical and a lot of the older guys have bad backs, knees, and don’t enjoy the job anymore. Will I end up like them? I’m being told I should be heading for management with a 30% rise, but I seem to be lacking the drive I think I need to enjoy it. Leave it much longer and I’ll have missed the boat…

I can empathise with this, and have faced similar choices in the past. Think of it less like a choice between ‘this’ and the ‘rat race’, but more of a shifting compromise between what you like about now and what you aspire to. The fact you question your current existence suggests you may hanker for more, but it doesn’t have to mean you change everything and become a corporate desk-sucker (like me!). The more you commit to a ‘rat-race’ lifestyle, the more you will have to compromise on the things you like about your current life (less time; less riding), but it may then open other opportunities. Whatever you do make sure you follow your feeling to some extent, don’t do things because you think they need to be done, or to fit in. Also ignore talk about CV’s and long term career plans, it’s not as bad as all that and is a bit off-putting.

For what it’s worth I ended up deciding to live in the ‘rat race’, but to make it suit me. I treat it like a bit of a game, where I do my job for the minimum time possible (but well enough), and make the most of the rest of the time I have to live how I want and do what I want. It’s a compromise, but one I can happily live with.

Best of luck to you!

Been coasting the last 5 years. Had enough now. Bored and frustrated with they way my employer does(n’t do) things.

Interview on Wednesday. Bring it on.

I don’t think it has to be one or the other. I coasted for a lot of my 20’s, travelled, worked internationally. Spent the past 10 years getting fairly settled in the UK, and am now pretty career-focused, young family, etc.

I don’t think I’ll be so work focused for ever though, but now seems to be a good time to get on with a career before I lose the option. I am already thinking how my current career could be downsized/steered into something a bit more personally rewarding when the kids are bigger!

I would go for the career option if you can, but always make sure you are keeping options open, and don’t compromise too much in terms of how and where you live. Whatever you do, I think you need to always have a strong critical distance from your job to evaluate whenever what you’re doing is working for you.

And if you can work internationally while you are young enough, and have no commitments, do it. Best thing I ever did.

@naffrider, here’s my 2p. Working 26hrs a week in a bike shop isn’t a long term plan. You might have enough to get by now but its hardly going to set you up longer term or provide for your retirement. If you like the shop work and think you could do better then perhaps you should look for a move into retail. FWIW people who own/run bike shops work all hours 6 days a week. You also need to ditch the view that everything else is the “rat race”. If you don’t want to work for a big company / in an office sort of thing you might consider a trade plumber, electrician etc (I’m assuming you’re reasonably practical if yourec working in the shop and not just selling boxes). This was you can be flexible in your working hours and location but still make some decent money.

All depends on happiness, you might meet people to learn off in a new job and be interested to go for promotions leading to the financial security you are after or think you should aspire to gain – obviously that’s great but many people that chase the rat race and earn more aren’t actually more financially secure because they just spend more and get tied to expensive monthly payments. The more you earn, the easier it is to waste money.

Doing something potentially less stressful and earning less to have more free time doesn’t have to be a cop out, far too many people chase money, get stressed and end up wasting their lives in offices when they could be living a happier life. Loads of people are bored in whatever job they are in. So long as you get to do enough of what makes you happy you’re winning the race.

I think we need some stories about the bitchyness in the bike shop. We like gossip.

To the OP, I’d suggest getting into the kind of well paying job you’re qualified for while you can and knuckling down for a few years to set yourself up to return to the bike trade (or anything else that takes your fancy in the meantime) under your own terms.

I’ve coasted for my whole life. Got myself a good education but after coasting some more it now looks like I’ve left it too late and missed my chance. I’m 40 now and can’t get back into a decent job for love not money. I’m guessing its because someone my age is expected to have vast amounts of formal work experience which I just don’t have. I always thought my masters degree would see me right but it just didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. I’m not bitter just resigned that I’ll never have a ‘career’ unless I relocate south again which I’m not prepared to do anymore. The upside is I have all the extra time for my kids as my wife took on the breadwinner role which suits us.