If you had to start your career over again, what would you do?

Forest service
Walmart
Army
Walmart
Amazon driver

In that order^
Trying to get into school to become an RN because I need to get my life together

 

I hear ya. It's tough and it's scary. Not getting on a high horse here, but my wife and I both are making over 6 figs annually... 4 kids and all the responsibilities that come with it.
However, we are so done with what we are doing that we'd take the pay cut just to do something else. I think we could manage ok should it come to that, but the financial security is just that.... secure.
Not everything, but secure.

I am a creative person at heart... graphic design past, web, computer... yada yada... Now stuck in a product management position essentially baby sitting projects. I am one more fu**ing meeting away that has no relevancy to my role that I am gonna walk out.

I would love to have a woodworking shop, a garage converted art studio-ish. Do some commissioned pieces...etc... that kinda stuff. Just hard to say "im going to quit and go spend 10k on paint and canvases"...

I'll be 42 this year and feel like I am at the crossing roads of just sitting down, shutting up and doing my job and drink the stress away, or jump ship now, risk it and hope it all goes well.

 

I thought these drivers worked 12 hour days 5-6 days a week? The pay is hourly and can definitely add up over the years as salary increases, OT etc, and its a lot of work delivering that many packages of all sizes; but for a more normalized route(maybe more suburban of a driver) I think would be more enjoyable than in a small city or urban environment. The prime drivers do not make good money i hear, that video surfaced of that driver losing his mind a few weeks ago.

You are still quite young to make a change, since you come with experience you could leave and always find a new position if it doesn't work out.

Have you considered speaking with the wife and determining which of you would be better off jumping ship first? Rather than go full titanic on careers.

 

Apply for my dream job - test pilot for a major condom manufacturer.

 

it autocorrected boy for girl

 

Doing it again? Like, DeLorean back in time, or starting new now?

Either way:
- journalist (long form, investigative stuff, not the flavor of the day reporter beat)
- practical/special effects engineer (like ILM stuff, though I realize it’s mostly CGI these days)
- fine-finish woodworking, or “cabinetmaking”

I have a good gig now, one that pays well and lets me pick my schedule and travel a lot, so I’m pretty fortunate.

 

No shit. I work in the auto industry and I have about had it as well. The industry is changing so much. I have been sitting here on the PC for weeks pondering a trade school for welding as well. Good luck to you!

 

Consulting. More pay, less hours no corporate politics.

 

I'm literally at my wife's family gathering (meeting new people) and I'm literally describing those changes; biggest one being staff...these new salespeople and employees in general.

They want the pay, but without the work and less hours

Thank you brother!

 

I'll share my story.

I never really had anything in mind during high school, nothing really held my interest. I ended up enlisting in the Army with by BFF. I was an electronics technician. My advanced training was 6 months long. It was the first "technology" I had ever been exposed to (this was 1985.......). When it became obvious that a career in the military was not a good option [at that time, it was pure peacetime, there was 0.00000001% chance of ever making it into the NCO ranks for anyone, so very minimal chance you'd ever make decent rank and retire with much], I decided to get out and use my GI Bill to get an Engineering degree. Got out, earned my B.S in Computer Engineering, went to work for a huge computer chip making company, did 18 years in the IT field for them, then got laid off.

After the first 10 years, I started feeling unfulfilled, and wanted more than just something that was good paying, but left me with no sense of having done anything that really mattered. Started soul searching. I needed a new path, one that would still be very technically challenging and fun for me on a personal level, but also that would be something that makes a difference in the world. I considered a few options:

* Physicist. I have always absolutely loved hard science, and physics is my favorite. To this day I still read books on particle physics and cosmology. But... I am not sure I have the brain power to pull that off. They don't hand out PhD's in Physics like participation trophies....
* Doctor. I find medicine fascinating, and obviously would be easy to help others in this field. However... again, not so sure I have the brain power. And, the thought of having patients die on me, or not being able to "fix them all" would be very difficult for me to deal with. emotionally. I would take that as a personal failure. Silly, I know, but that's how I'm wired. Now a Pathologist/Medical Examiner..... that would be extremely fun. I would get to solve mysteries, and not have to worry about anyone dying on me.
* Paleontologist. I am that 5 year old boy who never, ever outgrew his fascination with all things Dinosaurs. To this day, my heart rate increases 1000% when I watch the original Jurassic Park. Because T-Rex!!!!!! But wasn't really sure how that path would help me do anything really meaningful to my community in general, so I didn't really keep this one on the list for too long.
* Homicide Detective. First 48 (and now Kenda, and many of the other clones) have been my favorite TV show since it came on the air in the early 2000's. I've long been intrigued by law enforcement work, and being a Detective is almost like what I have done in my IT career. And while this path would not require me to go back to school for a few more years to earn the degrees needed, after doing some initial research, I found that agencies in my area had starting salaries for brand new Officers/Deputies at around 30 - 40% less annual salary than I was then making in the IT world, so I let that "excuse" be my reason for not making the jump.

Fast forward a few years. IT life is getting less and less fun....Months after my 40th birthday, I suffered a spinal injury that left me temporarily paralyzed. Even after surgery, and I learned how to walk again, to this day, I still have a fair amount of permanent nerve damage that makes it physically impossible for me to have any sort of job where physical dexterity or strength are required. Thus ended any possibility of a law enforcement career. If I had been courageous enough to just do it a few years before my injury, and I was already a Detective by that point, very likely I would have been able to keep on in that field of work after I regained the ability to walk again. But, No...... I had to let my fear of Change keep me from doing it when I had the chance....

So, if I could do it all over again..... I'd still want my Engineering degree. The Nerd in me will live forever. But I believe I would at least have tried my damnedest to get into law enforcement / Homicide Detective field.

 

I'm in your shoes currently, OP. If I could do it all over, I'd master a particular trade, and start my own business. A business that does not require having a physical office, as rent usually reduces your overall profit. Personally, I'd do landscape design and maintenance. I've always been passionate about the design part of landscapes, and maintaining them is also something I enjoy. This is so far off from what I currently do, but recently, I've been seriously considering making the move.

 

Pro Golfer.

 

1. Paper Boy - Mpls Star/Tribune, Argus Leader, Shopping News.
2. Mowed lawns, raked leaves, shoveled snow.
3. Perkins - dishwasher, cook.
4. Target - H&B Dept.
5. Vinyl siding installer.
6. Carpenter - framing.
7. Pella Products - wood shop worker.
8. Glazier - residential, commercial.
9. Truck Driver - Owner Operator
10. College student
11. High School English teacher.
12. Director - community college truck driving school.
13. Safety Analyst
14. Superintendent - water department.

That’s my career from age 8 to 55. Never been without work a day in my life. 16 months to a pensioned retirement.

If I could do it over, perhaps I’d slip in the college sooner and become an industrial designer at about step 6 above.

 

I would do anything except drive truck

 

Please forgive me since this will be a long post and I know most won't read it. But I hope it sheds a little light on career paths and how they might affect your life.

I graduated from high school when I was 17. Started college at 17 (big mistake). Starting that young and being so immature I did nothing but party the entire first year of college. I'd have to say that is probably the best year of my life. But... I did graduate believe it or not with a degree in Business Administration.

My mother owned a Chrysler / Dodge dealership for many many years (I know Chrysler / Dodge ). My first job out of college was a service manage for Saturn. At 21 the pay was good and my job didn't really entail much work. Just make sure the customer was happy and the techs that worked in the back got equal work. I had a company car and at the time was making almost $40,000 which back in 93 was pretty damn good money for a 21 year old.

One of my best friends was a Firefighter and asked me "why don't you take the test?". I was like "why the hell would I do that?" "I've got a great job that pays well right now?" He told me "Well... you work one day and your off two". So that peaked my interest. I ended up taking the test and one day at work I got a call from one of the Chiefs on the FD asking if I'd like to become one of the next Professional Firefighters" I thought about it for a day or so and called him back and said yes. So I joined the FD and the rest is history.

I worked my entire career until I retired back in 2017. I've always been a motivated person and moved up the ranks fast. I was promoted to Driver at 5 years (you had to serve as a FF for 5 years before taking the test to become a Driver). I drove for 5 years and got promoted on my first Captains test at 10 years (again, you had to wait 5 years in your current rank to take the Captains test). I was a Captain longer than I was anything else on the job. I never took the Battalion Chief test because the FD is basically kindergarten for adults. And I just didn't want to deal with the added stress of dealing with 75-80 other FF's in one district in the city each day. I had a great crew and we took care of each other and were very effective at our job.

The FD afforded me the ability to get a Chemistry Degree from Emmitsburg Maryland which was paid for by the FD since I and 2 other members were on the States only fully staffed Haz Mat team. I was also lucky to be afforded the opportunity to get a Rad / Nuc degree paid for by the FBI. So now I'm sitting on three degrees completely unrelated to anything that I can really do outside the FD after I retired.

I have zero interest in Business Administration. I took that degree only because it would open the door to many different types of jobs. My Chemistry Degree will do nothing for me unless I wanted to be a teacher or work for some lab (which I don't). Rad / Nuc? Not much I can do with that Degree.

I will never complain about the Fire Service. It payed well and by the time I retired I was making over 6 figures and had invested a lot of money along the way in deferred comp and Roth IRA's. Not to mention the large amount of money that was contributed into my pension. When I retired from the FD I ended making more money by not going to work than I ever did while working. So I'll never complain about that.

All of that said. The FD is a very high stress job (obviously). The longer you are there the mental and physical tole it takes on you is hard to put into words. But I took the job knowing full well of what I was getting myself into. Knowing that I have a 400% chance of dying from various forms of cancer that the general public doesn't have to worry about. Not to mention that I lost 8 brothers and sisters on the job to suicide because of the stress while on the job. I already know that if I don't die in some sort of accident, I will die from some form of cancer. Every structure we entered was filled with high levels of HCN and even though we were protected from inhaling the smoke and all of the chemical compounds that are created in a structure fire... HCN doesn't care. It will enter your body through your skin. I've been exposed to that my entire career. So there is no telling what that will mean for me in the future.

I was very lucky and I retired when I was 48 years old. My pension is great and each year on July 1st I get a 3% COLA that compounds each year for the rest of my life. The longer I live? the more money I make.

The Fire Service was the perfect fit for me since I never wanted to sit behind a desk all day. You never knew what you were running to when the bell hit. You just got on the Truck and did your job. I was very lucky and was assigned to the busiest Truck Co. in the South. We averaged over 3500 runs a year. So there was always something going. When the bell hit, you never knew what you might be running into.





You ask if I could go back in time, what would I change. And although this will sound completely off The Wall (there is a pun there that you will get in a sec) and almost crazy... I wish I could have pursued music. I started playing guitar when I was 14 after I heard Pink Floyd and more importantly David Gilmour. David Gilmour is the reason I picked up the guitar at 14. I took music theory in high school and I wish I could have gone the route of being in a rock band (sounds crazy right?). I played all through high school and college in loose bands. If I could go back in time I would have pursued that passion. Would it have worked out? I seriously doubt it. But I wish I could go back in time and give it my best shot. I love the FD and I cherish the memories of all those brothers and sisters that I had the pleasure of working along side with. It was truly a brotherhood. But I would be lying to myself if I said that I wish I would have pursued a career in music. Who knows what would have happened? I would sure like to have the opportunity to find out. Sadly the FD takes a tole on your physical body and I now have nerve damage that extends to my hands to where I can't feel my left ring finger nor my pinky finger. That makes it to where I can't play my guitar anymore since I've no idea where my fingers are landing on the fretboard. But that is my wish and maybe one of my greatest regrets that I didn't follow through with that passion.

Sorry for the long post. But I didn't know any other way to describe in detail of what could have been.

 

@anthonynoriega

So uhm, here's a follow up to my post -

As of Aug 30th, I quit my job as Finance Director and Sales Manager.

10 years of loyal service, and boy...everyone including the owner himself was a little heart broken.

Tomorrow marks the last day here in Salinas, as tomorrow I move to Sanger for a few months while our new house is built.

Let's not forget, by chance I was able to enroll into welding school sooner so I start Sept 13th!

New city, new home, back to school to enter the trade world; a hell of a lot of changes OP.

Tell you what though, it feels very fucking refreshing.

 

mailman or pornstar

 

Lol, cut the green wire.....no, damn it, the GREEN wire...
Just kidding, I think the trades would be a really good choice now.

 

I'm a Mechanical Engineer. My practical engineering background is in injection molding and tooling but I have been in general management roles in surgical instruments for the past 9 years. General management can be a pain but for the most part I enjoy it. I have a lot of hobbies and engineering fits my personality and my interests. I'm a nerd at heart. I had the good fortune of being able to travel earlier in my career and have been to Japan and China a handful of times.
I do all my own plumbing, wiring, home improvements, auto mechanics and gun smithing. I rebuilt my first carburetor when I was 14. Mechanical things have always interested me and at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, I'm a pretty good problem solver. Before anyone here worries that I'll someday accidentally burn my house down, I also study and research the hell out of pretty much everything I do.
If I had to do over, I'd still be an engineer but I would have liked to have gone into some form of motor sports. I always fantasized about being a crew chief/chief engineer on a professional Baja race team or something like that. The travel that would require now, makes it a no-go, but I really like that kind of stuff.
If I could retire tomorrow, I'd like to get into custom fabrication/frame work for off-road vehicles. I'd also like to learn about engine tuning and would love to be the local forced induction specialist with a nice repair shop and my own dyno. I know, that's a tall one.
Anyway, I wouldn't change much. I have a wonderful wife and three wonderful, grown children. I really feel I live a charmed life.

Best of luck OP and check back from time to time to let us know how you're doing.

 

I dropped out of college and joined the Army. That’s was 11 years ago.

I wish I would have just joined the Army when I was turned 18 instead of jerking off and BSing around with college.