Another "job" thread...advice needed!

[karen_moomin]

Hi all

I'm sorry about posting another job thread, particulary when I know there are people in worse situations than me. However I would value some opinions to help me organise my thoughts and maybe throw in things I haven't thought of.

Here goes...

A bit of background...I did a degree in English and Environmental Studies, graduated in 2002 and got a job as a sales admin/enviromental advisor for an oil containment company. It was my first full time job and I thought the "done thing" after doing a degree was to work in an office.

After 4.5 years I got made redundant due to company relocation (those old school people may remember my redundancy thread three years ago!). I got an interview at my current company, a stainless steel supplier, got offered the job (sales admin again) and accepted it. I did not consider any alternatives as it was safe to stick to what I knew and I was grateful to walk straight into a job after being made redundant.

Anyway, the company has grown. I've grown. I've had promotions and have somehow found myself doing a whole range of jobs from stock management, team leading, accounts, HR, you name it - I either do it or I'm expected to do it. Part of that is because I can't say no so end up taking on more and more responsibility. The job has changed so much - it used to have values and a family feel to it and now we're all corporate and it's been getting progressively shitter. I am well paid for what I do, but on the other hand I have specialist knowledge on all the things I've taken on over the last couple of years.

Recent happenings have involved us getting a general manager who has shaken up the apple cart, and is taking us deeper into the corporate world.

In my personal life I am recently married, and keep myself sane with another job (part time/work from home), yoga, swimming, gym and more recently, taking a lifeguarding course.

To cut a longer story shorter, on my month-long honeymoon I had a lot of time to think about what I want from life, and what "my purpose" is. I've read a lot of books, done a million personality tests and even seen a clairvoyant!! Apparently I'm not suited to an office job and I need to work with people in some capacity. I knew this already but it has taken me "taking stock" of my life to admit it to myself. All my past work experience before getting a "real job" has been focused around people and helping them in some capacity.

I'm pretty miserable at work. It just doesn't satisfy me. I'm longing to do something more meaningful, I just don't know what.

Theres the background, here comes the issue.

So I've been looking for jobs, researching careers. I had an interview on Monday at an outdoor education centre for a placement. It would be 4 days a week, and they would train me in teaching teambuilding, archery, canoeing, environmental studies, rivers and geography, mountain biking etc. After 12 months they would hope to take me on as a paid employee but can't guarantee it. We can afford for me to not earn much, but we would have to forego luxuries. A complete change of career, and a complete risk. I've done similar jobs and enjoyed them, but I don't know 100% if this is what I want to do.

Today I had a chat with Paul, our new General Manager. He has me figured out and knows I'm considering a change of direction. I had quite a sensible chat with him and he said that rather than loose me altogether, he would look into me going part time. This would mean I could try my hand at some other jobs part time, to figure out what I want to do whilst earning decent and secure money.

I'm petrified of taking a risk, and although I have the luxury of not needing to earn X amount, it's still nice earning money and I can't deny that it would be tough dropping to £80 a week.

Now I might not even get offered this job at the outdoor activity centre, but they seemed very keen to take me on. I find out for sure on Friday.

I know this not the worst situation to be in, but it's tearing me apart inside! I need to get job satisfaction but I'm not sure what's right for me.

Now that I have posted my life story...any comments, help or advice? (if you are still awake after reading all that!!)

[Itchy]

I felt the same way mid 2008 ie no satisfaction , too much responsibility being piled onto me (without extra pay) which made my job performance suffer , first 12 months I was a perfect employee as I felt motivated....

I then felt terribly unsatisfied and that it took up all my time as I took work home came in on saturdays , took exams which sucked up all my free time such to the effect I had no free time at all which depressed the hell out of me.

I'm on a career break period currently taking the next 6-9 months after being made redundant , the bosses saw my output and performance drop off a cliff .I'm out fitting in a bike touring trip of a life time and then looking to do something else, what that something else is I'm not massively sure , but since tons of entry level jobs pay much more than I got paid and I'm supposed to be mid career. I don't see that much of a risk....

but then again I have low outgoings live in a dump of an area and have no mortgage to pay and thus I'm willing to take such risks.

I also have 4 countries in which to look for work in and can fall back on some reasonably paid things if I am ever out of work for an extended period of time which is not something that is availible for many other people.


I do have a nagging fear in the back of my mind I should keep my accountancy thing up to date just incase I need to go back and side thoughts on maybe shortening my trip so I don't have too big a hole in my CV...


But I think hey you only live once (well you guys do as I'm untouchable) and its far too short to be miserable for 60% of it (the time you spend at work.).


I like to imagine myself in 20 years time and think it would be a tradgedy to think oh if only I.......
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[JodieWodie]

Stay where you are.
You are in 'honeymoon fabby where could I be in the heavenly life state'
I felt how you did years ago

Live, work, get paid, pay the bills. Living


____________________
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow"

[cagiva gezzer]

[karen_moomin]

[Tarmacsurfer]

First thing I'll point out is that the Outdoors centre is almost certainly going to offer you a position, I have a couple of mates in the industry and "trainee" staff are seen as YTS in effect. Cheap labour.

What level of recognised certification will you come out of it with? How likely is employment in the industry you're looking to move into if they don't take you on and instead bring in more trainees? Have you worked outside previously in adverse conditions?

There's all sorts of questions, and with the best will in the world you're really the only person who can answer most of them. If the job you're in is genuinely making you unhappy then I'd get out, that's probably why I'm self employed and not earning anything close to a decent wage though

It's called "work" and not "fun" for a reason but there has to be some incentive and happiness in spending 8+ hours a day with the same people. Good luck finding your answers
____________________
I'm immortal. Well, so far.

[aaron0288]

Christ. I feel sorry for you Jodie if that's your perception on life. But hey, as long as you're happy??

Karen, you obviously are not happy in your current situation. If you really want to do it, take the risk. After all, it's only money .

Or just do what Itchy is doing. Go travelling. That will definitly clear your mind, and you'll know exactly what direction you want your life to go in after a few months away.
____________________
Past bikes - 1991 NC30 - 1991 Bandit 400 - 1989 CBR400 NC23 - 1993 NC30 - 1991 ZXR400 L1 - 1993 NC30 - 2003 CBR600RR3 - 2003 Ducati 900SS - 2000 SP1 - 2013 899 Panigale
Current bikes - 2013 Street Triple R + 2006 R6 + 2003 SV1000S

[Shaun]

[jack_zxr400]

why dont you see if you can relocation job position with the employer your with atm?

or better still ask them if you can do more customer or employee based responsibilities to try lift spirits and make everyone feel more like a team/family!

i recon if you have a good chat with the person above you, you'll be able to take afew of the responsibilities off you (duno if your even being paid extra for them) and give you other responsibilities that you prefer that would allow you to give customers or other employees some sort of satisfaction that it looks like you want to give

i think with this current climate etc its abit risky now.. i dont think its right to call anything like this a midlife crisis because i keep thinking to myself 'what am i doing or guna do?' and im 18 lol but your worrying too much.. your in a much better position than most. How about you take a break from work aswell and have a holiday or something fror a few months as you seem very stressed? Last thing I think you should do is quit. First talk to them openly about your feelings and the responsibilities put on you
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Previous Bike: ZXR 400
Current Bike: R6
Test Date: 8/8/2008-PASSED

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not sure this will answer anything or just raise more questions.

Very few people are lucky enough to have a well paying job that they like. For many normal jobs the pay is inversely proportional to the enjoyment and people choose a level that they can cope with.

One issue is that both you and Colin like to travel, which isn't particularly cheap. Not sure how well you could continue to travel with a greatly reduced income, and how much that would affect you if you were doing a job you enjoyed.

Think Jodie does have a point that a long honeymoon holiday is probably not the most balanced time to think about your job.

If you have a boss who is prepared to help you out (rather than having a boss who just sees an unhappy employee as someone to bully into leaving) then that is a massive plus point.

If you can do a shorter week at your current job and still try your outdoor job then that seems like the best solution. Not only in terms of long term risk but also possibly a good way of balancing out your unhappyness at your paying job.

Having said that do not do nothing if you are really unhappy. Too likely to just build up and make you feel really awful.

All the best

Keith
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[Itchy]

[tutton]

I know this may not help but the adventure place are willing to take you on for 12 months with no pay?
Personally id tell them where to stick it, as 12 months no pay is a pisstake.
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Past: '05 Peugeot XPS '99 Aprillia RS125 '94 FZR600R
Current: '02 ZX636 A1P '51 CCM R30

[Tonka]

OK, my opinion FWIW!!

I took some time out to work for pennies in Outdoor Education a few years ago and whilst I did enjoy what I was doing the work / life balance became increasingly difficult as I had to work 6 days a week for £80 accommodation provided. Unfortunately the reality is however much you love it, for most of us a job is a job and after a while the niggly things you accepted at the start may start to grate - grass is greener syndrome.

Given that your current employer is aware of your dilemma and is willing to let you go part-time I think it's worth a go if only to get it out of your system (not as patronising as it sounds, promise). Make sure you protect yourself in your current job so that you're not vulnerable in the future, give it your best and enjoy it - who knows often these things open other doors or if nothing else you may view your current situation differently. Often it's a means to an end and there's always a compromise - fantastic holidays = slightly mundane job that pays well? Who knows, but all the very best!
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[Mrs Kickstart]

Hi,

If you could negotiate a 3 day week at the outdoor center and 2 day week at paid work. It might be a big help into having proper money and working in something you think you will enjoy.

If you went part time and did not take the outdoor center job it would give more scope for looking at several other types of jobs?

In terms of the outdoor center does the training you get give you any paper that can be used elsewhere ?

I think jobs have there ups and downs and get boring after a while and a month off is going to emphasise the down, but you have been considering as change for a while so its not just back to work blues.

In terms of is now a good time, there will probably never be a really good time for it. There is no point being miserible and waiting to do it 5 years, you might not have a choice then.

Just make sure you have done your sums and do not bank on being able to get a job in a few days if you change your mind.

Only you can decide the balance between pain of work and the money it provides. Also being poor the 12 months is not that long in the greater scheme of things.

They only people you should really listen to are you and Colin.


Good luck
Charlotte
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[karen_moomin]

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.

I think I am going to see if they can still offer the placement on a 3 day per week basis, and see if work will let me work 20 hours over 2 days. Really not sure how this would work. The job I do now needs full time attention so I may be doing something completely different.

The outdoor education centre would train me in anything I wanted including the big ones like mountain leadership etc that they would fund. The main pull of it for me would be the soft skills such as teambuilding and teaching river studies to kids on field trips.

I've felt this way about being in the wrong line of work for a long time. In fact it's always felt wrong. I used to enjoy my job up to a point but with all the changes that are causing me to come home in tears most days it's meant that not only am I in the wrong career but I'm in the wrong job too.

We could afford for me to not earn much, we have done the sums and we would still be able to afford a decent quality of life. Most of our excess money goes into savings these days so really that is what would suffer the most. However I can't deny that I like having my own money.

I will see what happens next! Thanks again for all comments.

[Mrs Kickstart]

Hi
Been thinking about this while getting wet on the ride home and ....

I think the question really should be why not do it ? Worse case in a few months years you decide it's not what you thought or you want more money. At that point you still have a degree and office based experience plus all the news stuff and can look for a new job then based on your needs then.
Anyway back in my box
Regards
Charlotte
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Help fight the safety camera partnerships -- www.pepipoo.com

[karen_moomin]

Update - I asked the outdoor centre that if I was to get the placement could I do it on a 3 day per week basis (thus allowing me more free hours to earn money and possibly combine the security of my current job with being able to dabble with other things). They said no, it's 4 days or nothing and they were impressed by me.

Then I ask my current boss Paul what he could offer me and he tells me it's all happening "too fast" and he won't have time to discuss anything with me until next week.

Meanwhile I've had 4 missed calls and a voicemail from the outdoor place which I reckon means they are going to offer it to me.

I think I've made my mind up that as risky as I'd love to be I'm a big fat wuss, if anything happens to Colin's job we'd be royaly screwed. So I need to suss out the part time thing but because my boss is dangling a carrot I'm going to have to say no to the outdoors place.

Arrhh!! Why is life so scary??

[Itchy]

Nah but seriously they want 4 days of your time for free? , that is a bit hmm. In that if they were serious they would pay you for it or at the very least expenses , working for free racks up a surprisingly large amount of costs so you'll be losing money both ways.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[karen_moomin]

Itchy - sorry, it's £80 a week, so not completely free. But still scary enough to drop from £25k

[Robby]

Personally I would (and am currently trying to) take my assorted specialist skills and go somewhere I can be paid £45k as a technical expert and contract manager, instead of £25k for the same workload, divided between more tasks, with less chance to specialise.

With stock management, accounts, HR and team leading I'm assuming its a small company (25 or less) and you've acquired those jobs through being there a long time and saying yes. Quite possibly landing you in the mind numbingly dull "office manager" position.

My advise would be to specialise in an area you enjoy, and try to dump all of the crap on someone else - I assume you have staff you can delegate to.

Getting paid £80 a week to be standing outside with screaming kids sounds like my own personal hell, but you may enjoy it. The question is, would you still enjoy it after giving the same safety talk to the same 11-16 year olds, in the cold, for two years? And having to reduce your non-work quality of life as well.