Need some Input here....It's not mandatory.

[Speedblastr]

With all honesty that I can muster up,quite frankly, I'm sick of my job for more than just the paycheck and health insurance that my family and I desperately need.Get paid halfway decent wages none to brag about here in the rustbelt. I guess it's never enough, huh. I presume the real reason I don't seek out other employment is because I've become complacent where I'm at for the last 20 years , afraid to change,lost seniority, etc....Trouble is I don't know what I want to be when I grow up ! I'm 48 now,I surely don't think I can keep this pace up forever( as it is very fast paced)...I can Weld , Dad taught me some Upholstery while he was still alive-mostly seat covers and boat covers ...still have the heavy duty machine....Taking up some motorcycle school...can commercially paint...pretty good fixit man, however, getting back to the current job....It's a dead end street with hardly any advancement for some of us seniors. I feel stuck.I don't know maybe I'm going through mid-life crisis.{ Christ that's great a 48 year old misfit.} I'm sure there are opportunities elsewhere but not a lot as the economy designates the rule.......Is it plausible to make a mid-life career change ?. Could use some input from some of you guys that have busted your ass to make a buck.....if you made career changes , etc Thanks again , we'll appreciate it. Looking forward to BTB haven't had vacation in years.

[JEnfield]

Speed I would say its presure building over the economy and belt tightenings. I walked away from a very good paying desk job with plenty of room to advance to be my own boss. I have good days then you get days like I had today calling several clients on the phone wanting to know why in the fuck they wrote me bad checks. Yeah it is a pain in the ass but days I wish I got up and put time in for someone else. I think in this unsure world if I had a job that was paying the bills I would hold on to it for a wee bit longer to see where this economy is going to end up . Plants closeing around here everyday and the jobless rate is going up as we type. Look at my wife 23 years for the same company and they are about to hit the skids . Yeah she will be one of the last to go but in this fucked up world it could be tomorrow. But what does a Graphics designer do when all the companys like the one she works for are having the same problem. Here is my advice and remember the only thing in this world that is free is bad advice and hard times. Hold tight and see how things look after you have had a few days of laughter and good times and see how the world looks when you blow off some steam. Then with a clear head start working a little on the side to see if you can build a client list and some bank to play with.Then figure out what the hand writing is saying on the old wall says.

Jimmy

[davidc]

Seems like you have some soul-searching to do, Mr. Blastr - and some accounting work as well, such as how much do you have versus how much do you need to take care of the family.

I took a major career change, although I was 34 years old. But I did have a house, child, another child on the way, usual shit. One thing, however, our debt was low other than the house and my wife had medical for all of us. I worked in manufacturing, a dying field around here, lastly in quality control, but all it was was a paycheck. Man, I needed something else that had a point and purpose to me - you know, job satisfaction, and money was not it at all. You say you are "complacent" and "stuck". That sucks.

The money angle - and an idea for the "golden years" - is, as you know, way important and ought to be considered with care. But the quality of our existence? Man, that's important too. I do not envy your position, Mr. Blastr. Lay everything out, study it, anticipate all.

I bailed out of the paycheck life and began teaching, and lo! The money did rise after 22 years. But I rank it in the the five smartest and best things I've ever done: dropping out of high school, joining the navy, going to college, marrying my wife, and becoming a teacher.

Good luck, my man, and don't fear what may be.

David

[davidc]

Oh, this quotation just popped into my head. I paraphrase: Success is really a matter of holding on longer than everyone else. Or words to that effect. Some truth there, eh?

David

[Speedblastr]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Jimmy. It didn't go unappreciated. We are really looking forward to this BTB...God knows - we need it ! Donna and I wish you and Tina the best of luck & hang in there too ! Economics is rough on couples. We will make it $$$.00 somehow... We always have. I'm ready to put out some vermont burgers on the grill ! HeHe what about that ! Thanks also davidc ! You both have good points.

[b_mason]

Hey speed, I feel your pain man. I have days when talking to over 100 people about the exact same thing drives me crazy. I don't get paid to talk to people on the phone. It does eventually bring me in some money, but not enough. Every time I put gas into anything I get pissed. Just remember that you never to old to do anything, Heck even Colonel Harland Sanders Started a new risky business with chicken and a secret recipe. Nothing else. He had to borrow money from family to even buy the frier.

I don't have anything wise or wity to say other than We all are going to feel the crunch in the near future.

Very soon we will be tossing back a few cold ones. Have faith brother.

[TonUp]

Speed!


Before you quit your current job, try doing a few other jobs on the side, after hours, on weekends, like WELDING, PAINTING, MECHANIC things that you are good at. It will give you a little extra revenue but mostly give you an insight on what else is out there. If there something else you are good at? Is there something else you want to do?

I have done part time jobs that have turn into full time gigs.

I have 1 full time job and two part time jobs right now. One of the part time jobs was my last job.

So hold your head up high and think about it.

Take Care!

Tito

Ton Up!

[bruce19]

What we have here is a conundrum. Philosophically I have always been a believer in doing whatever made your life better in the moment. OTOH, I have not always had the courage to act that out. As a result, I did 15 yrs. with the State of CT in a job I didn't particularly like (Personnel and Labor Relations) then left to get certified to teach. After all that I never did teach but went back to the State of CT (somehow not losing seniority) and began a new career as an Investigator working for a Capt. in the State Police. The result is that I'm now retired with full health care benefits and will soon collect Social Security. I look back and realize how lucky I have been to have worked in a time when government and employers actually gave employees retirement and health care benefits. I wish I could say I made some smart decisions but it was mostly luck. I don't know what the hell I'd do if I was doing it these days. The US is not a better place and it's not because of the average worker. Sucks really.

[mark]

For nearly 11 years now I've been working for my current company, and I've always felt lucky to be here -- it's a great bunch of people, relatively interesting work, good health care, 401(k), and most importantly it's a job that I don't dread coming to in the morning. What's more, the management is fairly good at negotiating difficult financial waters such as the ones we're currently entering -- they've actually managed to grow the business when a lot of other graphic design studios are suffering.

But that said, the money is okay but not great, and I've advanced about as far as I can. I'm 37 years old, and I'm beginning to think that a career change might be a necessity in the not-too-distant future, especially with the cost of living shooting through the roof. I don't want to leave this company, and I REALLY don't want to move out of Vermont, but within the next four or five years I may need to make a change whether I want to or not in order to ensure future career growth.

But like you, Speed, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. The job I have now fits me pretty well, but I'd get really bored if I had to do it for the rest of my life. I don't really have any clear idea of what other fields I could go into, and I don't want to go back to school and start over completely.

It's a conundrum.

--mark

[bonniegirl]

7 years is about what i'm good for before feeling the need for big change.
so speed, do you really like coffee? i can help with the career change

[Speedblastr]

This is no mystery...been thinking about it for a long time.The Economy has whittled our workforce down to a skeleton crew. I talked with a few of the guys by phone a couple of weeks back , JEnfield, Hedge. I had an altercation with a fellow employee which is lead man in our dept. 10 years my junior. He was already in the dept when I bid into it 10 years ago ,prior to that I was a Machinist. Turns out this guy (leadman) is moody and takes it out on others 2 besides myself. I informed the Foreman , without sounding like a Narc. He's tough to get along with as you never know what type of mood he is in, Quite frankly if you call him on it which I have and get the Company involved , He lies so much he believes it himself.
Which brings me to this thought which is not foreign to many of us who are still there at that Dept. Somehow the Company is a magnet for hiring Assholes and sees the world in them without prejudice because the job is getting done no matter what the cost. We've all seen this over and over again. It's called snowballing the Big boss. As iI have said the Economy has whittled down the workforce so it is hard to bid out. As for me? Guys...I pretty much can get along with anybody, always have ; because I try to keep an open mind with people , I'm positive that there is a little good in the worst of people and a little bad in the best of people, however some just take the cake and run with it.LMAO I suppose I'm not the easiest to get along with either at times.
This particular issue is the tip of the iceberg - Though.
It's rough getting up in the morning to go to work....about the only thing that keeps my head above water is that Triumph Motorcycle. Wife scheduled a Dr. appt. for me today she thinks I'm depressed.....Ya think? More like Oppressed ! I'll keep my chin up while the economy is at it's worst , stick to my guns at the job from hell and keep my eyes open for a break. Meanwhile I may explore the possibilities of my other hidden talents as many of you have mentioned. I appreciate you guys eyes and ears , sorry , to dump all this shit on ya's I can't hold it inside or I may do something I'll regret later. Again Thanks. Speed.
P.S. Bonniegirl you are too funny ! LOL !

[BlueJ]

Speed-

With respect to the a-hole at work, my Dad always said, "illegitimi non carborundum", which he always said means "Don't let the bastards get you down." Be the bigger MAN than he is - let that crap roll right off. Every bit you let stick to you makes your days worse.

And I agree completely with some of the other posters - youve got a good set of skills that are still needed but are less and less available these days as more kids don't want to learn to WORK for a living (hell, I get paid to TYPE for a living - how much skill is there in that??? -- although knowing WHAT to type, there's the rub...).

Anyway, get some side gigs. Fix cars, etc. Hell, make Art in your spare time. Find an outlet for your creativity to get your head in the Happy Place again - sounds like worst case scenario you've got job security if only you can stomach the idea about waking up to go to the job without going postal.

Good luck!

-- Jeff

[JEnfield]

Going postal hell anymore its called going school yard LOL. Hey there is nothing wrong with outside intervention to make you feel better I have been there and I am not affraid to say it. Man it brought me right back to life once I figured out how to control the anger and depression and aggression. I want you to get your mind right dude we all have just come together for the common good of all its 36 days till you figure out your not alone out here. I used to think I was different and strange its not me thats fucked up its the rest of the world I am normal just watch Jerry Springer them peps have fuckin problems. Hell compared to some of the tv programing these days we are normal trust me.

Jimmy

[Speedblastr]

Jimmy you truly are a good friend. I appreciate it. P.S. Thanks BlueJ ...............You begin to know it's bad when you don't even feel like riding your bike. Speed.

[sweatmachine]

work sucks. I don't really have any good advice here. I left a job about a year ago to make a career change (from homebuilder to lumber sales).

I was making good money for the builder (I was the ops manager), I made the same money at the Lumber Co, then got laid off 6 months after they hired me. about 90 days ago I started a new job for another lumber company making about 1/2-2/3 what I was making a year ago. For the last 6 months I've worked 2 jobs, averaging about 50-60 hours a week total. I went from working 35-40 hours and making good money, to working twice as many hours for 1/2 the money. How did I fuck that up?!?!?

It kinda sucks. In a lot of ways I wish I never left the building job, but now the company is slow so I might have gotten laid off anyway.

That's not the magical advice you were after, but just a little window into my world.