Did you have a major career change?

#26
#26
TennVOLS93 said:
I'm not sure what has come over me the last couple of months, but I think I may take the plunge into going back to school. I graduated college with a bachelor of science in accounting 2 years ago. Since then, I realize I hate this field. I currently work for a financial institution as an analyst and I get no fulfillment out of it whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in a slump? I make decent money at a young age and it's not a "terrible" company to work for. Although I can't stand the thought of getting up every morning, driving 30 minutes only to set in a cube and play with excel all day. The drama in my department has only escalated me into giving this deeper thought. So I've thought about going back to school to pursue my first passion....physical therapy. Pretty drastic change I know. My biggest hurdle is the debt that I would incur. Estimating around 100k because it would take me 3 years. A DPT program is expensive and I wouldn't be able to work much if any. I'm currently debt free other than my house and taking on that much debt turns my stomach. At the same time, I have 40+ years of work left in my lifetime. I want to enjoy what I do. DPT's rarely make 6 figure salaries. At least in the short term. So it's really hard to justify the financial impact. My question to volnation....do you have a similar experience? Am I just young and in a career rut? Should I just seem a new employer in the same field? A quick note as well; I would need to go back and do a year of pre reqs at a community college. Which I could do while employed and pay as I go. The DPT program I'm looking at is 2 years after that.
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Yeah, I've done this. Out of high school, I worked 3rd shift in a factory for about 8-9 years. I finally had a moment one morning while doing laundry and realized I didn't want to spend forty years working in a factory like my dad had. I quit that job and worked at Applebee's while going through college. This was very difficult with a family and kids, but I made it through it with a degree in Sociology. I'm now in the mental heath field working with people with severe mental illnesses. Having said all that, the financial strain while going back to college was extreme. I relied on my wife as the bread winner. Most if not all entertainment for me and her stopped as we could not afford it. We made sure the kids didn't suffer to much, but the wife and I, were basically relegated to watching basic cable for four years and could afford nothing else. The career change was extremely rewarding for me how ever. When I was hired, after looking for a job for six months after graduation, I was making about 12k less than I was at the factory(with overtime). I've since moved up in the company I work for and am making about 2-3k more now than the factory(with overtime). Long story short, if you are REALLY unhappy at what you do now and are willing to put forth the sacrifice to get where you ultimately want to be in life, then GO FOR IT! But you must be all in! Good luck to you in what ever you decide to do.
 
#27
#27
My life is essentially the plot of Office Space. I had a well paying, stable office job, was climbing the ladder at a young age, and I absolutely hated my day to day life. I quit and switched to construction 3-4 years ago. Now I'm in the best shape of my life, have fun and get lots of satisfaction from what I do, and am now starting to make really good money too. If I'd never changed I would have some more money, but I would be miserable. Almost daily I think about how happy I am that I did it.
 
#29
#29
TennVOLS93 said:
I'm not sure what has come over me the last couple of months, but I think I may take the plunge into going back to school. I graduated college with a bachelor of science in accounting 2 years ago. Since then, I realize I hate this field. I currently work for a financial institution as an analyst and I get no fulfillment out of it whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in a slump? I make decent money at a young age and it's not a "terrible" company to work for. Although I can't stand the thought of getting up every morning, driving 30 minutes only to set in a cube and play with excel all day. The drama in my department has only escalated me into giving this deeper thought. So I've thought about going back to school to pursue my first passion....physical therapy. Pretty drastic change I know. My biggest hurdle is the debt that I would incur. Estimating around 100k because it would take me 3 years. A DPT program is expensive and I wouldn't be able to work much if any. I'm currently debt free other than my house and taking on that much debt turns my stomach. At the same time, I have 40+ years of work left in my lifetime. I want to enjoy what I do. DPT's rarely make 6 figure salaries. At least in the short term. So it's really hard to justify the financial impact. My question to volnation....do you have a similar experience? Am I just young and in a career rut? Should I just seem a new employer in the same field? A quick note as well; I would need to go back and do a year of pre reqs at a community college. Which I could do while employed and pay as I go. The DPT program I'm looking at is 2 years after that.
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Do what fulfills you. You can work AND take courses needed to apply to PT school. Grad school will be full time. Before you jump in, shadow a few PTs in different settings. Sometimes the occupation is great but the customers (patients), colleagues, settings, and supervisors are not. Full disclosure, my wife manages the inpatient and outpatient Therapy Dept at a hospital.
 
#30
#30
jjay2518 said:
My life is essentially the plot of Office Space. I had a well paying, stable office job, was climbing the ladder at a young age, and I absolutely hated my day to day life. I quit and switched to construction 3-4 years ago. Now I'm in the best shape of my life, have fun and get lots of satisfaction from what I do, and am now starting to make really good money too. If I'd never changed I would have some more money, but I would be miserable. Almost daily I think about how happy I am that I did it.
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My sister works for GE. She's got 10+ years and is a strong candidate to become an executive. She just recently decided she doesn't want to climb any higher and is going to try to make a lateral transfer within the company to work for her old boss who she liked, for only 4 days a week. It's a huge weight off her shoulders to give up on climbing the corporate ladder.
 
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#31
#31
Funny how this happens to so many people in life but no one really talks about it. I had a great job working for the local city government after high school, great hours , good benefits, worked outdoors, not amazing pay but was fine for the bills and my life style.
Got married and was offered a job by my father in law to work for his 40 year old graphics company my wife's grandfather started, indoors, better pay, opportunity to move up eventually. Well im 2 years in and i absolutely regret the decision i made.

Cubical life is not for me, i have nothing in common with the people i work with. Sit inside from 9-530, my peers i work with think i'm here to be there boss some day, and the people above me try to make an example of me and go out of there way to show there is no "favoritism" happening. The extra money i make is negligible because the hours are longer therefor our week nights consist of coming home and going to bed. It has caused a strain in my relationship with my wife. She wants to support me but her fathers company supported her and her family for so many years so to hear me complain puts her in a bind.

Long story short, do what makes you happy as long as you can afford the lifestyle you live. The grass certainly wasn't greener on the other side as I've found out now.
 
#33
#33
I did the active Army thing right out of high school and it was very beneficial for me. You, though, OP, seem to be in a different place in life than to go to that extreme. I will say, though, in KY (where I live) the KYNG will pay for your education as long as you are enlisted with them. Not sure of your home state, but it may be worth investigating to help curb the debt of PT school.
 
#34
#34
jjay2518 said:
My life is essentially the plot of Office Space. I had a well paying, stable office job, was climbing the ladder at a young age, and I absolutely hated my day to day life. I quit and switched to construction 3-4 years ago. Now I'm in the best shape of my life, have fun and get lots of satisfaction from what I do, and am now starting to make really good money too. If I'd never changed I would have some more money, but I would be miserable. Almost daily I think about how happy I am that I did it.
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It's funny you mention this because I feel like my life is currently office space as well. In addition, I really like real estate, so I have considered pursuing a graduate degree in construction management as well. But it may be a waste of time and money because what could I really do with no direct experience. I've already bought and sold a house at a young age and enjoyed the process (although I didn't do it to make money). The market is flooded with agents and I am terrible marketing person because I absolutely hate sales. I think I would enjoy commercial development, but good lord the money investment needed.
 
#35
#35
sofflavol said:
Funny how this happens to so many people in life but no one really talks about it. I had a great job working for the local city government after high school, great hours , good benefits, worked outdoors, not amazing pay but was fine for the bills and my life style.
Got married and was offered a job by my father in law to work for his 40 year old graphics company my wife's grandfather started, indoors, better pay, opportunity to move up eventually. Well im 2 years in and i absolutely regret the decision i made.

Cubical life is not for me, i have nothing in common with the people i work with. Sit inside from 9-530, my peers i work with think i'm here to be there boss some day, and the people above me try to make an example of me and go out of there way to show there is no "favoritism" happening. The extra money i make is negligible because the hours are longer therefor our week nights consist of coming home and going to bed. It has caused a strain in my relationship with my wife. She wants to support me but her fathers company supported her and her family for so many years so to hear me complain puts her in a bind.

Long story short, do what makes you happy as long as you can afford the lifestyle you live. The grass certainly wasn't greener on the other side as I've found out now.
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That's tough man. You are definitely in a bind and I know it sucks not being able to talk to your wife about it. My SO is an RN and is paid incredibly well. She loves her job. With that said, I can't talk to her about anything career related. She thinks everyone should like their job and doesn't understand why I don't. She also doesn't understand how someone could go from accounting to medical. Anyways, that's a rant for another day.
It's funny you guys mention people not wanting to climb the corporate ladder anymore. When I first started business school, that was my dream. Wear that expensive suit when I finally become a CFO or CEO. Work to become a VP or SVP in the short run! All of that sounds terrible now. Everyone should love that Monday - Friday 9-5 right? Being in A/C inside all day at a desk? Well I thought I would. I also pictured important meetings and doing analysis reports as being important and that suit as a "respected figure." WTH was I thinking? Only to go back to college orientation :ermm:
 
#36
#36
Most of the jobs I've had are inside...I wouldn't mind being a landscaper..you get to work outside and you can actually "create" something...that's as close to being an artist as I will ever get.
 
#37
#37
I know the feeling. I'm at a bit of crossroads. I have one path that would have me as a lawyer and another that has me in sales.

I really enjoy sales and I feel that I'm better at it than I am as an attorney. The money between the two is difficult to say. The prestige of the legal world is attractive, but that doesn't mean much at the end of the day.

I suppose that when it comes down to it, you have to go with what makes you happy. As long as you can provide for your family, then do what makes you feel the best.
 
#38
#38
I'm in the same boat. Call it a minor post graduation crisis. I recently worked for a professional sports team, and I've come to realize that I really don't like working in sports. I've thought about going to regular business all together, perhaps maybe start my own one day.
 
#39
#39
KSPVol36 said:
I did the active Army thing right out of high school and it was very beneficial for me. You, though, OP, seem to be in a different place in life than to go to that extreme. I will say, though, in KY (where I live) the KYNG will pay for your education as long as you are enlisted with them. Not sure of your home state, but it may be worth investigating to help curb the debt of PT school.
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I don't know if they still do, but if you work for the government after you get your medical degrees (rn, md, etc - I'm going to assume pt as well) they'll pay off a good amount of student loans for you. My wife worked for IHS and that was a point they tried to sell to us to move and work for them, but it didn't apply because she had no loans to pay off.
 
#40
#40
Nerd-Vol said:
I know the feeling. I'm at a bit of crossroads. I have one path that would have me as a lawyer and another that has me in sales.

I really enjoy sales and I feel that I'm better at it than I am as an attorney. The money between the two is difficult to say. The prestige of the legal world is attractive, but that doesn't mean much at the end of the day.

I suppose that when it comes down to it, you have to go with what makes you happy. As long as you can provide for your family, then do what makes you feel the best.
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I just left the legal world last month. Amazing how I feel much better!
 
#41
#41
Depends on how you are with your personal financial goals if you are exceeding your goal tthen make a change if you're not meeting your financial goals make a change
 
#45
#45
TennVOLS93 said:
It's funny you mention this because I feel like my life is currently office space as well. In addition, I really like real estate, so I have considered pursuing a graduate degree in construction management as well. But it may be a waste of time and money because what could I really do with no direct experience. I've already bought and sold a house at a young age and enjoyed the process (although I didn't do it to make money). The market is flooded with agents and I am terrible marketing person because I absolutely hate sales. I think I would enjoy commercial development, but good lord the money investment needed.
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There is a lot of opportunity in construction. I had zero experience when I started a few years ago. One of my good friends had his own tile company, and I started ust helping him out. Now I'm my own company and do the majority of my work subbing under a guy that does really high end work all over Nashville and Franklin. My plan is to get my GC lisence before too long and start running remodels and/or building.

If construction management was something you really wanted to do, you could find somebody who would take you on as a part time helper while you were doing classes, either a contractor or a trade like carpentry or tile. Then once you finished your degree you'd have a nice mix of school and hands on experience and be in a good place to start a career.
 
#46
#46
I'm in the same boat. Debating between going back to school for a couple years, and taking loans, or staying at my job that I hate, and trying to work my way up.
 
#47
#47
I did it within my former company. Switched from sales (7 years) into the IT side and was able to gain some great training, knowledge and experience. Spent 8 more years there then hit the job market and got hired by a new company 3 years ago and couldn't be happier
 
#48
#48
jjay2518 said:
There is a lot of opportunity in construction. I had zero experience when I started a few years ago. One of my good friends had his own tile company, and I started ust helping him out. Now I'm my own company and do the majority of my work subbing under a guy that does really high end work all over Nashville and Franklin. My plan is to get my GC lisence before too long and start running remodels and/or building.

If construction management was something you really wanted to do, you could find somebody who would take you on as a part time helper while you were doing classes, either a contractor or a trade like carpentry or tile. Then once you finished your degree you'd have a nice mix of school and hands on experience and be in a good place to start a career.
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That's good insight. Being a GC would be a sweet deal. Good luck on the business!
 
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