Career change advise.

[Rob Taggs]

After 6 years as an equipment operator I'm totally burned out on this field and the people in it. I have 3 years towards a major in Criminal Justice but, gave up college years back due to raising a family. I will be taking the college courses online so that can limit me to what fields I can get into. Being 40 years old also scares me off from the Law Enforcement field, took the test for State Trooper and passed the written test but, bombed somewhere on the oral interview?

What are good fields with better than average pay to consider? I have an open mind but, I'm lost at this point as to what to do. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[JustinH]

My fathers good buddy is about the same age as you.

He had a career doing food service management, making decent money, but no real retirement pension or anything.

He decided he wanted to be a prison guard due to the pension after 10 years of service, the good pay, etc.

He was away from his family for 2 years, only seeing them on the weekends, he had a 7 hour drive each way to work twice a week.

Now he was recently transferred to a jail about 30 minutes from his home. He has about 2.5 years in, and is going to serve ten years so he can get a full pension and partially retire at 50.

 

[Warlord]

Alot of police services love to hire middle aged people. Where I live it is not uncommon to hear of 55 year olds getting hired. If you can get 10 good years out of an officer why not? Is there any way to ask the service what you did wrong during your interview? I would keep at it. Try applying to some municipal services.

 

[drm7]

Middle aged?! OMG! Am I middle aged now?

Rob: I turn 40 in May. I've been in the computer field since I graduated college at 23. I am BORED to tears with it now. I'm nearly topped out from a career standpoint and I don't want to do the same thing for the next 20 years. I am looking to change careers myself. Not only that, my family and I plan to move from VA to CA. My wife grew up in CA. I just started studying to be a mortgage broker in CA. I love the real estate industry. I need too many years to get a Class A license in VA, I don't really want to be a Realtor although there are aspects of the job I think I would like. I have an interest in the finance side so I am going to pursue being a mortgage broker. I know there are 1000s but I believe in myself, my customer service, and my work ethic. I plan to succeed even more than I have in I.T.

Find something you love or are very interested in and find a way to make a living doing it.

 

[JustinH]

Quote:

---

Middle aged?! OMG! Am I middle aged now?

Rob: I turn 40 in May. I've been in the computer field since I graduated college at 23. I am BORED to tears with it now. I'm nearly topped out from a career standpoint and I don't want to do the same thing for the next 20 years. I am looking to change careers myself. Not only that, my family and I plan to move from VA to CA. My wife grew up in CA. I just started studying to be a mortgage broker in CA. I love the real estate industry. I need too many years to get a Class A license in VA, I don't really want to be a Realtor although there are aspects of the job I think I would like. I have an interest in the finance side so I am going to pursue being a mortgage broker. I know there are 1000s but I believe in myself, my customer service, and my work ethic. I plan to succeed even more than I have in I.T.

Find something you love or are very interested in and find a way to make a living doing it.

---

I feel the exact same as you.

I'm 24, about 2 years out of college.

I'm on my second IT job out of college, and I'm so bored with it, I can't even fathom doing it much longer.

I was just recently laid off again by a startup type place who needed an IT guy, and its getting to me very slowly.

I've taken the time off to expand my business (Internet Marketing), as well as start to get into another business.

I've determined that ANY 9-5 job is not going to be something for me. I hate being tied down to a schedule. There are some days that I'd rather get up at 3 in the morning, and work until noon and call it a day. Others where I don't want to get up until 10 in the morning.

 

[drm7]

Took you a lot less time Justin.

The 8-5 corporate grind is almost as bad as performing IT tasks anymore. I have contacts in CA that intend to get me into the door of a mortgage house. Most mortgage guys with a little experience in CA work from home. I've spoken with a couple of them now. I really want the flexible schedule and ability to work from home. The flexible schedule is the one thing that intrigues me about being a Realtor until I see my in-laws on the phone until 10:00pm. At least mortgage guys keep closer to bankers hours.

What type of internet marketing are you doing? Are you building websites? What other type of business are you looking at? Is it IT related?

 

[JustinH]

Right now I do marketing for two of the largest auto salvage yards in the country.

We get their parts from a junkyard to several databases on the internet, where people across the country can call in and pay with a credit card and order parts.

The pay is based on sales that I generate, so its not enough money to live on (yet), but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to make it work.

The other business that I'm getting into is buying and selling salvage and store returned electronics from major retailers.

The 8-5 grind kills me very slowly, and I'm young still.

I have friends in the IT field, who drive 2.5 hours daily round trip commute to make a 13 per hour IT job answering helpdesk calls.

I want to puke just thinking about that.

 

[drm7]

Good luck! I've had the entrepreneurial spirit since I was 19. I haven't been able to harness it yet but I'm hoping to do so in CA. I'm planning to take the Brokers exam which will allow me to open my own shop if I desire. The field will definitely allow me to be more flexible. Sounds like you might make a great go of it. Best of luck!

 

[msparks]

about 40 is where most look toward self employment.

I advise taking a look at a book called "40 days to the work you love" by Dan Miller.

Ever thought of a Mobile Quick lube?

 

[drm7]

Actually, since I was 19 I've considered quick lube, fast food/sub joint, and many others. I even quit my IT job in 96 to start an internet marketing company. My problem was that I went "back home" to a small town and in 96 there weren't very many tech savvy business owners. I had to spend a lot of time educating them then the shocker came when they didn't want to spend any real money on web advertising. For many, the web hosting cost more than their annual budget for all forms of advertising and I haven't event billed them for my time yet. That took about 10 months for me to go back to the "real world". My true interest for the past 5 years has been real estate so this is where I'm headed.

Rob: Sorry for the hijack.

Any more thoughts on what you want to do? I would love to hear more stories of what people are considering for new careers.

 

[frank2009]

Sounds like you might be interested in law enforcement. If so, i'd say try it. You can't beat the benefits ( health coverage) but the pay may not be great and varies greatly depending on which dept. hires you. Also, like any other job, it gets boring after a while. Only thing is the boredom can get you hurt or killed so you always have to be "on" while at work. If you have any questions, i can try to answer them before you make any type of commitment.