Has anyone made a complete career change?

jf198400 · March 2014

I am a software engineer and just don't love it. I've been working for almost 7yrs at several different companies, and I've never really enjoyed any of my jobs. I'd love to SAH for a few years and then make a change, do something totally different. I just don't know what else I'd want to do. I'm fine with going back to school, but I'm afraid of investing all the time and money into it, unless I'm really sure this time.

So how did you decide what career you wanted to move into? What did you have to do to get there? Was it worth it in the end?

mlee116 · March 2014

Not yet, but I feel ya. I am an accountant and I don't love it either. I originally planned to get my CPA license but that never happened. And to be honest, I'm kind of glad I didn't sink more $ into the classes and testing. I feel like I'm pretty good at accounting, but it is just so boring. Maybe I just need to explore opportunities in my field.

Right now, I would also love to SAH for a few years and then go from there.

ETA: Sometimes I think I'd like to be a lactation consultant one day, but I'd have to think really hard about going back to school.

jlaOK · March 2014

I didn't, but my sister did. She had her masters in accounting and hated it. She was fortunate that she hasn't had kids yet and didn't have to work and she went back to school to get a degree in clothing design (I'm not sure the exact name of her degree). She works for a local university in their costume design department and teaches beginning stitching. She is also on the board of a local summer music theater company. Her business background has actually really benefited her new career. She is really happy with her career change, but again is fortunate that financially she doesn't have to work so she didn't necessarily have to consider future salary when making the switch.

itsmevkb · March 2014

I'm not sure that what I did was a career change, but I graduated from college with degrees in history and secondary education and after one semester teaching high-school history I decided that wasn't what I wanted to do. I was a little lost for a year or two and worked in retail management. I sort of wanted to go to law school but didn't want to be a lawyer, or spend the money, so I decided to pursue a paralegal degree. That has worked out very well for me. I originally worked at a law firm for three years before getting a job with the federal courts where I've found a really good mix of interesting legal work, management and because I also do a lot of training my education background and desire to teach comes in handy.

I think it is really hard sometimes to figure out which direction to go in because so often you have no idea what "real" work in certain fields will be like.

MommaP12 · March 2014

OP, I am right there with you. I'm 37 with an MBA and I don't love corporate America anymore. I'd rather be home with my kids than dealing with the passive aggressive stuff, politics, stress, etc.

I'm looking into teaching community college business courses since I have my MBA. I'm actually applying to a part time teaching position today and praying I'll get considered. Good luck to you!

FemShep · March 2014

I've made "small" career changes, going to different industries and doing different functions.

Here are a few things to think about:

-What don't you like about your job? Is it the hours, stress, etc? Make as detailed a list as possible, and look for trends. If you've worked at different employers, there are probably bigger concerns than just one workplace, but if you're frustrated because your work never seems to deliver any results and you've always worked on multi-year projects for defense contractors, you might find that you really love app development because the dev time is so short (for example).

-What, if anything, do you love about your job? Do you like solving problems? Making things? Math? Working with large teams? Working individually? Think hard about what you enjoy in your day to day work to help you understand what new opportunities might be interesting.

-What are your "career values"? (See https://www.arp.sprnet.org/curric/careers/My Career Values.htm) for an example. Understanding what's important to you, from a value perspective, can also help you figure out what you should be doing.

-What do you love doing when you're not working? Are there careers related to your passions that might be a good fit for you?

Depending on where you live, your state may offer career counseling centers. They'll often help you with value assessment, personality tests, and identifying local jobs and employers, even if you currently have a job, free of charge. Good luck!

itsmevkb · March 2014

MommaP12 said:

OP, I am right there with you. I'm 37 with an MBA and I don't love corporate America anymore. I'd rather be home with my kids than dealing with the passive aggressive stuff, politics, stress, etc.

I'm looking into teaching community college business courses since I have my MBA. I'm actually applying to a part time teaching position today and praying I'll get considered. Good luck to you!

Just be forewarned, there is plenty of politics and stress in teaching. I actually loved teaching, it was the administrative petty political stuff and the parental craziness that I didn't want to deal with. Seeing my husband, who is a college professor, deal with it daily just reinforces for me how messed up it is. However, a part-time teaching job may be just the right thing to not get you involved in all the administrative stuff leaving you with just the students and their parents (because yes, even parents of college students call professors to complain about their kid's grades.)

MommaP12 · March 2014

itsmevkb said:

MommaP12 said:

OP, I am right there with you. I'm 37 with an MBA and I don't love corporate America anymore. I'd rather be home with my kids than dealing with the passive aggressive stuff, politics, stress, etc.

I'm looking into teaching community college business courses since I have my MBA. I'm actually applying to a part time teaching position today and praying I'll get considered. Good luck to you!
Just be forewarned, there is plenty of politics and stress in teaching. I actually loved teaching, it was the administrative petty political stuff and the parental craziness that I didn't want to deal with. Seeing my husband, who is a college professor, deal with it daily just reinforces for me how messed up it is. However, a part-time teaching job may be just the right thing to not get you involved in all the administrative stuff leaving you with just the students and their parents (because yes, even parents of college students call professors to complain about their kid's grades.)

True, true, no place/industry is perfect! I've also been talking to a wedding planning company about working for them (I used to own my own wedding planning business). So....yeah...I don't know what I want to be when I grow up!!

KayteeGee · March 2014

You've received some great advice. I sort of switched careers, from reporter to PR when I was 27, but it wasn't really a drastic switch. Lots of reporters do it eventually.

HOWEVER, my husband switched entirely. He worked for years in the live performing arts (got his bachelors and masters in music and sound) and just knew he didn't want to keep doing it. At 38 he was accepted into the #1 Exec MBA program (very grateful for the amazing arts company he worked for who allowed and supported this, it was 2 years of him traveling every other Fri/Sat and tons of late nights studying) that enabled him to switch gears completely and now he is an executive at the largest company in our area's major industry. It was taxing but it was a wonderful experience. He has had TONS of amazing opportunities come his way and he's SUPER happy.

So it can totally be done, but you should see if there's something that really appeals to you and then, I say go all out - get the best training you can find/afford (we were lucky to not have any education loans) and be prepared to work REALLY hard to prove you will be the best!

Good luck!!!!

emberlee3 · March 2014

Well, in my 20s I switched from theater/arts type stuff to going to medical school. Funny that I am now an attending at a teaching hospital and one of my residents was a software engineer.

Nothing wrong with a career change!

Klavanga74 · March 2014

Great advice from PP! Ive actually made a couple of big changes. i have a masters in social policy and I took leave from my research job when I had my first and decided I just didnt love it enough to go back. When my second was 3, I decided that I really loved fitness and helping people with that, so I got a certificate in personal training plus a ton of continuing Ed. I worked for gyms and hated it so went out on my own, starting my own business. That was great, but as my kids have gotten older, the nights and weekends that people want are harder because of their activities. A year go I started a new business doing sales consulting and recruiting. This one is also all mine and has quickly surpassed my training income. I'm now pregnant with number 3 and am split in too many directions doing lots that I love, so have some decisions to make. This most recent career switch (or addition) has shown me how possible it is to make a great income working around your family...not only doing what I do (I'm happy to talk with you privately about it, though), but I've met so many women doing really interesting things and working it around their families and NOT losing their minds! Have you checked meetup.com? I've found some networking and professional women's groups there- great way to meet women doing lots of different things outside of the corporate world. Good luck and follow your

!

Klavanga74 · March 2014

P.S. both my businesses are run out of my house, which may or may not be ideal for everyone.

saroos3137 · April 2014

I know this is a late response, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents.

You may want to try checking with the college/university you graduated from to see if their career center/career services office offers alumni services. (Some centers charge fees for alumni services.) I work in a large university career center, and our office has 2 career counselors who work only with alumni who are in the same boat that you are. They even offer phone/Skype appointments for out of state alums, and personality assessments and programs to help alums figure out what it is that they'd like to transition into.

If your alma mater isn't an option, you could also check with local places offering career guidance - career counselors with private practices, some YWCA locations, your local workforce center, etc.

It's actually much more common than people think to change careers, even after working for 20-30 years. You're not alone!

sweetsunnyc · April 2014

I am in the process of switching gears completely- I have my Masters degree in adult education and have worked in higher ed for several years. While I like working with adults, I no longer love it. And I no longer love dealing with university politics. I am currently in school to get my teaching license in elementary education. I have done all of the Myers Briggs/Strong personality testing through our career services center and everything points to me working in early childhood education. Plus I have a kinder age daughter and I LOVE volunteering in her class. I know that it's a lot of work, patience and I'm definitely not doing it for the money.But, my kids are still pretty young and it will be a great schedule for us. Good luck!

rubber_chicken · April 2014

Is it possible for you to make a lateral move? I can think of lots of departments in my co that would love someone with an engineering background - product management, project management, operations, etc.

happyfrappy · April 2014

have you thought about a different career in a related field?

this is what I did two years ago and I haven't looked back since. I was a practicing attorney and I hated firm life after I had DS. I ended up getting hired by a client, a school district, and now I'm an administrator. it is much less stressful than my old life, the hours are great, and the money wasn't all that different.

it was a big leap for sure but there was no way I was paying for more education and I have to say I'm so glad I did it.

good luck in your search. my two cents- if you're really unhappy in your career, take a leap. life is too short if you are truly miserable.

aibrean · April 2014

I switched from graphic design to web development full-time. I still do graphic design on the side, but it's very minimal. Web development simply pays more...and there's always something new to learn. I like the challenge

It is a very male-dominated career field though. It's a good thing the two other people in the company I work at are also my friends. We've worked together for at least 7 years now as I used to unload development to them.

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