Thread: Career Change - tips anyone?

Originally Posted by Clinton1

has anyone got some tips from when they changed careers that they can pass my way??

Yeah, DONT DO IT, the grass isnt greener on the other side of the fence.

Al

Originally Posted by Clinton1

After 11 years in the same job, I think its time to move on, a shame as I really enjoy my work.
(not what you expected was it, Gumby!)

I've been thinking about this for a few years now, and at the end of next year I should be in a good financial position to move into a new job.
(I'm a cautious lad! )

I'm aware that I'll take a pay cut for the first few years in the new career, and that to make some serious $ I will have to start my own business and employ my own workers so I can suck off their efforts.

Part of the reason for making a new start is the fact that I have some plans for my own business ideas.... which I can consider doing after I work in the industry for a while. This is something that I would really like doing, and an inability to obtain finance at a rate that is acceptable to me has stopped me doing this for about 3 years now.
My alternative plan is to: re-educate myself, work for wages in a new industry for a while, then to start a business in the new industry.

Sooo, other than:
work hard, study hard, tighten your belt, get rid of any non-essential debt, have realistic expectations,

has anyone got some tips from when they changed careers that they can pass my way??

It didn't happen to me, but the one thing you have to honestly face is, can you afford the worst scenario. Be brutally honest with yourself.

The only one I know who's had more careers than me is Barry White, and I reckon you just do what ever takes your fancy at the time.

Follow whatever dream you have, the worst thing that can happen is you'll go broke.

You'll never lose by learning something new, look at Ozwinner, he used to be a rough tough bricklayer, now he's even designing websites on the side! He wouldn't have been doing that if he hadn't had a go at flogging crap instead of talking it!

Life's too short to wonder what it would have been like.

P

Originally Posted by ozwinner

Yeah, DONT DO IT, the grass isnt greener on the other side of the fence.

Al

You've never been a cabinetmaker have ya. According to TAFE it's the second lowest paid trade, lowest was hair dresser.

(no it wasn't what i was thinking....in joke between me and Clinton, sorry people )

I changed careers at 35. Big move with a wife, mortgage and 2 little kids. It was the best thing I ever did and ended up in my own very successful business.

You have set out the basics in your post (work hard, be careful etc) so if you know what you are doing mate, have a crack. We only live once and you may as well be happy. Nobody got anywhere without some form of risk.

What ya want to do is decide what you LEAST want to do with your life. Then go to Centrelink and tell them that you want to be that. They'll help you and give you all sorts of advice and support, then find you something as far removed as they can ... which should be what you REALLY wanted

Richard

Originally Posted by Toolin Around

You've never been a cabinetmaker have ya. According to TAFE it's the second lowest paid trade, lowest was hair dresser.

They are crying out for cabinet makers here In Melbourne.

Al :confused:

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

, look at Ozwinner, he used to be a rough tough bricklayer, now he's even designing websites on the side! He wouldn't have been doing that if he hadn't had a go at flogging crap instead of talking it!


P

True, Im even wondering if I can sell cheap an nasty websites to ppl who have no net skills.
Look Ma' we have a web page.....
Gees how hard can it be if i can do it?

Al

Originally Posted by ozwinner

They are crying out for cabinet makers here In Melbourne.

Al :confused:

With a few notable exceptions, I think that should read "They are crying about the cabinet makers here in Melbourne"

I'm in the same position right now so here's a few of my thoughts. When I first got here I looked at the prospect of becoming a sparky. I have been a joiner cabinetmaker for over 20 years and I do like the trades. But the more I thought about it, the more I ruled it out. I will need to work well past the usual retirement age and in the trades you don't see too many over 55, in fact you don't see all that many past 45! So, before it's too late I'll make the jump to white collar work. My goal is to create more opportunity for myself, which usually means don't take the easy road. For me it's gaining a couple degrees. My goal is to have two business degrees in accounting and management. I feel they would make for a very attractive combination to any perspective employer. It also puts me in a better position to gain the upper hand when competing for management jobs which pay a whole heap better. And I actually think I might be good at accounting, I like numbers for some sick reason. The uni gave me 1 years credit for a science degree but at this stage in my life I can't see the advantage in it so will most likely let it pass (but I do keep an open mind). From what I've seen in the last year, it appears that a degree is still worth something in this country. Where as in North America everyone has a degree which makes them pretty useless. If I were younger I would follow my passions and dreams and become a vet but for me practicality is more important at this time. You'd think that someone who just up and pulls the plug on everything in Canada moves to Australia would be a fairly adventurous sort. But I'm actually fairly reserved and tend to take the safe road. Maybe your the opposite and in that case I say grab hold of your dreams and live them.

Originally Posted by ozwinner

They are crying out for cabinet makers here In Melbourne.

Al :confused:

They're crying for cabinetmakers everywhere but they won't pay a livable wage so people tend to move on fairly quickly

Originally Posted by Clinton1

(I'm a cautious lad! )

If you're cautious investigate the appropriate business structure for your needs before you set out in your venture.

Plan on protecting your assets in the unlikely event that your business venture fails, obtain good financial and legal advice.

I know accountants and lawyers are not the flavour of the month but money spent on the correct set up will repay you thousand fold if the business goes belly up and you can walk away without loosing your house, car and tools.



Peter.

A long answer for you Toolin, since we've both been thinking about the same thing. It started out as a quick answer, but I got carried away.

Stop working for wages.
(bold is yelling I know - call it strong emphasis if you think its rude )

If you want to make anything more than the basic cost of living + a carton of beer a week (it used to be a bottle of gin, but times change), then you need to start paying wages - hence my comment on 'Sucking on the efforts of others'.

No employer in their right mind will pay you more than they can get away with (right or wrong - lets not get into a debate on that!).
The employer takes the risk, usually putting up their own house as the collateral (which is an investment of at least a decade of hard work at the minimum).
They want the reward, they don't want to give it to you.

If you think your cabinetmaking skills are worth a pinch of the proverbial, then start saving your $ and start nutting out the business plan to start your own business.

Even with a degree you will be working for the minimum the market can bear, and degrees are becoming very, very commonplace. This is why we are seeing the "skills shortage", a result of the trades labour pool (school leavers) choosing to go get a degree instead of an apprentiship.

If you don't want to start up your own business, consider changing over to carpentry and heading for the mines (the places that are not attractive and where you can have your labour bought at a higher rate due to people not wanting to work there).

The only other way to make more $ is to offer your employer the ability to make more $ from your labour... i.e. innovation, a scarce skill set, new techniques... and even then all you are doing is getting someone to pay your less than you could pay yourself, for the privilege of not having to take on the risk of a business yourself.

Just my slant on things, and the way I see things working.
All those blokes you work for are making money (by employing others), why not you?

There's a pithy quote from some economics dude saying all this in a lot less words, but I can't remember it :confused:
Anyway, thats the way I see things working.
Hijacked my own (serious) thread!

I know the grass is always greener on the other side, till you hop the fence and discover its full of bindies!

The worst case scenario:
I'll be taking a pay cut of around 20K... but I figure that I'll change career and then start at the bottom and work my way into my own business. My eyes are wide open on that. I'll have about 2 years before the chance of coming back to my current career slips away... that'll be about time that I'll make the decision on starting my own business up in the new industry.
I've really put some thought into minimising the chance that I'll have to say to the wife "honey, we can't pay the mortgage this month".

The risk is going to be there, but a lot less risk than if I just took a sideways move and bought a franchise or opened up a sandwich shop.

Can I face the worse case scenario? Is that running your own business and then working nights to get a living wage - yep.
Losing my house.... hmmmm, I'm hoping to create the situation where that will be very hard to happen - does that mean No?

Peter - other than seeing an accountant and lawyer, where can I find the resources to educate myself so that I can understand the pro's and con's of the proposals that the accountants and lawyers will put up as options?
This is one thing that I know that I don't know enough about. ( a strange sentence but an important concept)