Starting a career from scratch wanting ideas

Starting a career from scratch wanting ideas

Author
Discussion

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Sunday 3rd July 2016
quotequote all
As per the topic title really. Has anyone has started a career from scratch or re-trained with minimal experience a bit later life; 30s or 40s maybe. If so what route did or would you go down and why?

I have little interest in a high flying career but something a bit more than minimum wage and a dead end job with little security would be nice. Though I have no problem with starting low and working up.

It seems like there are plenty of courses and training providers out there but having investigated a few many seem like cons mainly designed to make the providers money. I've considered things from University courses to LGV driving to learning a Trade but I'm not so sure. I'm thinking preferably something with the ability to go self-employed as I prefer to work alone, under my own direction.

I'm wondering about AAT accountancy or I.T.... something like CompTIA. Has anyone done similar to get a foot in the door?



944fan

4,962 posts

184 months

Sunday 3rd July 2016
quotequote all
There are loads of jobs in IT and probably always will be, salaries are good as well. It can be hard to break into though. Qualifications are good but people want experience.

If you are going to go through this find something you love. I think enjoying your job is massively over looked and perlite chase higher salary. A mistake I have made

andy-xr

13,204 posts

203 months

Monday 4th July 2016
quotequote all
I'm sure it's possible, I think that Ray Luxury Yacht guy on here did it. The thing is though, I'd imagine you need to have the drive and motivation to want to do something. As in, I want to make this change because .....

I didnt really get that from your opening post, it read a bit like 'I'm bored, what do you do, can I do that' and that's no way to spend your time, money and effort for something that you might not believe in (and will probably get bored of mid-way and then not compete it)


Find something that actually excites you and figure out how to make it pay at least the bills and then a bit more

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Monday 4th July 2016
quotequote all
andy-xr said:
I didnt really get that from your opening post, it read a bit like 'I'm bored, what do you do, can I do that' and that's no way to spend your time, money and effort for something that you might not believe in (and will probably get bored of mid-way and then not compete it)


Find something that actually excites you and figure out how to make it pay at least the bills and then a bit more
Meh, that is a fair assessment to be honest. Very little in life excites me, that is the issue.

andy-xr

13,204 posts

203 months

Monday 4th July 2016
quotequote all
The funny thing though, is you get a career in something just by doing it for a while. I have a sales career I'm mid way through. I never planned that, it's just that I didnt have any qualifications other than A levels and managed to talk someone into giving me a job when I was 19. The more I did Sales, the better I was at it, I found new opportunities and did bigger things.

I still dont consider myself as a career person, many people walk through life not really knowing what they want to do long term. For many, it's more being resigned to the fact that they've done something for so long that they're probably unemployable somewhere else. I dont believe this to be true, while you cant just suddenly announce next Tuesday that you're now an astronaut, if you want to make a change to do something else, it's very possible, though it comes with a lot of compromises on lifestyle

If you just CBA generally and feel like you're daydreaming through your life, your job might not be the change, it could equally be a new hobby or a new circle of friends doing something you find interesting.

condor

8,837 posts

247 months

Monday 4th July 2016
quotequote all
I went from 14 years in engineering to 14 years in retail management. That was starting a new career from scratch. Similarly, another career change, I've been a self employed dog walker and house sitter for the last 7 years.

Round here currently, the most in demand self-employed folk are gardeners. It's a summer job, obviously, but if you're handy with a mower and chainsaw then there's plenty of work available.

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
condor said:
I went from 14 years in engineering to 14 years in retail management. That was starting a new career from scratch. Similarly, another career change, I've been a self employed dog walker and house sitter for the last 7 years.

Round here currently, the most in demand self-employed folk are gardeners. It's a summer job, obviously, but if you're handy with a mower and chainsaw then there's plenty of work available.
Nope, very few gardening skills unfortunately.

Retail work is pretty much open to all and yeah it can be possible to start low and work up... but around here it is mainly 0 hours. Plus a customer facing service role would not suit my personality at all.


LaurasOtherHalf

21,429 posts

195 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Ray Luxuary Yaught did it more recently and I did it in my mid/late 20s. You need to find out what it is you want to do first before you go and do it.

List what you're good at and what you enjoy, then pool that info into a sector where it can be a strength.

Don't get hung up on being your own boss or being self employed, if a sales role is beyond you how would you ever sell yourself?

NordicCrankShaft

1,720 posts

114 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
32 here, 16 years as a chef, working stupid hours and ste pay in comparison to hours worked, no social life and a very poor lifestyle.

Now I've been working mainly as a carpenter in Norway for the last 2 years and I've done a lot of other bits aswell like some plumbing and electricity work. In 2 more years I can take the exam that gives me the same qualification as someone who completes an apprenticeship. I earn more money, I work less hours and I'm a lot fitter/healthier and have a really good social life back.

It was really difficult at first to adjust going from 80 hour weeks to working 37 hours and I felt more tired working less hours because I had a lot more time on my hands but as I slowly started to fill that time with other things it became less of a problem. Also at times It was difficult starting at the bottom of the ladder again, going from a job where you're so experienced you can work and do things so naturally without think about it to having to really thinking about what your doing as a mistake will cost a lot of money, I love it though and it's given me a skill that I never had previously.

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
swerni said:
Sales only turned into a career for me about 8 years ago, before that it was just something I did until I found a real job.

IT is changing massively, it's not an industry I'd be looking to get into.
When you say changing can you expand? What about web development / design?

21TonyK

11,494 posts

208 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Went from 15 years in IT consultancy to 8 years running kids activity centres and youth hostels to 5 years in restaurants and now (for the past 2 years) run the catering for a group of schools and teach a couple of days a week and manage and design NVQ programmes.

At each change I was moving at owner or manager level but had to learn new disciplines each time, some of which required 3-4 years of formal study. I'm now considering qualifying as a teacher and doing my PGCE at 46!

burritoNinja

690 posts

99 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
I feel IT is hard to get into. I have nearly completed my computer science degree and I hold some professional certifications such as CCNA, Network Security and also ten years experience within web development, strong admin skills and I have also built, repaired and managed workstations and servers. I can't seem to break into IT jobs here in the UK. In the US I had next to no problem getting a job. Really struggling in the UK.
I went for an interview on Monday there and the role was support desk along with server installations and repair so forth. I have strong experience within that. The two guys who interviewed me did not have a degree and the one guy went on about how hard it is to obtain a CCNA as if it were a PhD. I avoided pointing out it was only an entry level CISCO cert. I thought the interview went well and they acted as if the job was mine. Got a call from the recruiter the next day saying the other person got the job. I asked why and I was told they said the other guy had more support desk experience than me. Despite him being 21 years old. The recruiter said I was over qualified and that it may have intimidated them and they probably wanted somebody lower down the ladder than themselves. I mentioned some basic IT stuff during the interview that they clearly had zero idea about. Yet it was year one computer science that I would assume an IT "professional" would know. I certainly knew it before starting uni. My Wife was glad I never got the job as it was £7.20ph that would rise to £7.80 after a few months. So technically I would be financially better of working in Tesco.
The other IT jobs I have been interviewed for were £30,000 upwards per year. My problem with those was my lack of experience for those particular positions. Infosec roles based on offensive security measures for some major US companies. I think I will be sticking with web development for now which is shifting towards software engineering anyway from all the great languages and frameworks mostly being used now. I just don't want to be programming for the next 37 years of my life. Trying to crack into Infosec and project management.
Of course you can get into IT in your early 30's. One of the guys in my Uni class is in his mid 40's and just got his first IT job. He got a network admin role. There are a good few over 40 in my course. Most have never worked in IT in their life. Near all interviews I have been to are more concerned about experience and skills than formal education. I keep building my portfolio of all UX Design work, Apps I work on and open source code I help provide to. Always keep studying for professional certifications for personal development growth. My next is the CISCO Security and Linux Admin. Good luck and wish you all the best for what you decide.

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
burritoNinja said:
I feel IT is hard to get into. I have nearly completed my computer science degree and I hold some professional certifications such as CCNA, Network Security and also ten years experience within web development

...
Sounds tough, but then every industry sounds tough these days. What you are saying seems to reflect a bit on the research I've done in that many of these roles want tons of experience and professional certs even for entry level. I'm wondering if CISCO CCNA 1 is worth doing as it is something offered by local colleges or even via the Open University, not that I've any real interest in going down the University route again.

IDK, I think I am more of a fixer than an inventor or creator.





burritoNinja

690 posts

99 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
VolvoT5 said:
Sounds tough, but then every industry sounds tough these days. What you are saying seems to reflect a bit on the research I've done in that many of these roles want tons of experience and professional certs even for entry level. I'm wondering if CISCO CCNA 1 is worth doing as it is something offered by local colleges or even via the Open University, not that I've any real interest in going down the University route again.

IDK, I think I am more of a fixer than an inventor or creator.
CNET is the very first CISCO cert then CCNA. They thing that makes the CCNA hard to get is the sheer amount of information to learn. You literally have protocols coming out your ears. It is truly imense how many protocols there are. You need to know Subnetting inside out and Access Control Lists etc. Subnetting is easy once you remember how to calculate them. But it all depends on what you are looking for. Every interviewer has told me that it is best to focus on one particular aspect of IT and basically become and expert at it. That is where a Masters degree comes in very useful for gaining employment. Plus all the contacts you can make. I would advise that you go join local user groups for whatever technology you have a passion for. Also join the IEEE and the likes. It looks great on a CV and you really get to meet up and know some of the best engineers/developers in the business.

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
burritoNinja said:
...
That is where a Masters degree comes in very useful for gaining employment. Plus all the contacts you can make. I would advise that you go join local user groups for whatever technology you have a passion for. Also join the IEEE and the likes. It looks great on a CV and you really get to meet up and know some of the best engineers/developers in the business.
Yep, that is the issue. I don't have a 'passion' for anything in particular. I enjoy using computers, enjoy occasionally playing around with a bit of web design and I've done some study in the past but no real passion.... well not to the depth required probably.

I should probably think again.

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistra...


Id be interested in working in the court system, once ive had a few more years life experience

Shnozz

27,419 posts

270 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Foliage said:
https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistra...


Id be interested in working in the court system, once ive had a few more years life experience
Not really a career though, is it?!

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Foliage said:
https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistra...


Id be interested in working in the court system, once ive had a few more years life experience
Doesn't pay anything? Also I'm too soft, I would be falling for every sob story and be letting everyone off everything!

Sigh. I have no realistic ideas whatsoever. I'm not after becoming the next Branson, just something reasonable that is a bit more than a minimum wage skivvy.

VolvoT5

Original Poster:

4,155 posts

173 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
swerni said:
At the right moment, I want to (if I can ) become a postman.
It's the best exit strategy I have at the moment.
Hmm... not a bad idea. I enjoy walking and fresh air in all weathers. Not great money or very mentally stimulating though.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Sparky or plumber would probably be a decent option.

If you're a desk bound type, project management.