Having a quarter life crisis?
Discussion
Ok this could be long. Best make a cup of tea and get comfy...
Background info:
30 year old, still living at home with parents (saving for mortgage). Started an engineering apprenticeship in the water industry at the age of 23, mechanical and electrical. Been out of my time for a couple of years. Have 2 NVQ's and a couple of BTECs.
A year ago I got moved to a new site because I wasn't getting on with my manager. Problems followed me from the previous site. Eventually got fed up and went off work for stress for 3 months. Enjoyed myself while also thinking about what to do next. I really wanted to change career but there was either nothing that appealed to me or I wasn't qualified enough (i.e. degree). Ideally wanted to stay within an engineering role as that's what I know and what i'm good at.
Time came to decide and I was told about an employer offering good money for an electricians role. The work was 12 hours shifts with a somewhat unconventional shift pattern. It was also over an hour away (mostly m25). Ideally this is not what I wanted, but the money was too alluring. I thought i'd give it a go and make my mind up come the end of probation (3 months).
Fast forward 3 months and i'm hating the role. The only thing keeping me there is the money. There were literally no positives for me. I wasn't liking the shift work,the commute was terrible (once it took me 4 hours to get there), I had constant back pain from driving, I was doing 90% mechanical work and getting absolutely covered in grease (I was employed as an electrician), the other guys would just stand around while making me as the newbie do the s
t jobs, and there was no career progression. The company noticed my lack of enthusiasm for the role and extended my probation for another month,eventually I handed in my notice to leave. It was a massive relief.
So here I am trying to sort my life out but i'm in the same position as I was 9 months ago. All I know is that I definitely want to get off the tools, or find something where I'm 50/50 between the office and on the tools. I like the sound of project management but again, i'm not qualified for the role. I need a career that I can get stuck into and actually enjoy doing. I don't want to be flitting about trying to find something for the rest of my life or I just won't get anywhere.
Things that interest me: cars, engineering, technology, science.
I've also been looking into studying further. But can't help wondering how i'd manage it now. I'd prefer to stay off work and just study, but this isn't viable as I need money. Also taking 7 years to complete an OU degree part time doesn't sound great.
So I'm asking for some help from someone, anyone. Help me figure my life out!
Background info:
30 year old, still living at home with parents (saving for mortgage). Started an engineering apprenticeship in the water industry at the age of 23, mechanical and electrical. Been out of my time for a couple of years. Have 2 NVQ's and a couple of BTECs.
A year ago I got moved to a new site because I wasn't getting on with my manager. Problems followed me from the previous site. Eventually got fed up and went off work for stress for 3 months. Enjoyed myself while also thinking about what to do next. I really wanted to change career but there was either nothing that appealed to me or I wasn't qualified enough (i.e. degree). Ideally wanted to stay within an engineering role as that's what I know and what i'm good at.
Time came to decide and I was told about an employer offering good money for an electricians role. The work was 12 hours shifts with a somewhat unconventional shift pattern. It was also over an hour away (mostly m25). Ideally this is not what I wanted, but the money was too alluring. I thought i'd give it a go and make my mind up come the end of probation (3 months).
Fast forward 3 months and i'm hating the role. The only thing keeping me there is the money. There were literally no positives for me. I wasn't liking the shift work,the commute was terrible (once it took me 4 hours to get there), I had constant back pain from driving, I was doing 90% mechanical work and getting absolutely covered in grease (I was employed as an electrician), the other guys would just stand around while making me as the newbie do the s
t jobs, and there was no career progression. The company noticed my lack of enthusiasm for the role and extended my probation for another month,eventually I handed in my notice to leave. It was a massive relief.So here I am trying to sort my life out but i'm in the same position as I was 9 months ago. All I know is that I definitely want to get off the tools, or find something where I'm 50/50 between the office and on the tools. I like the sound of project management but again, i'm not qualified for the role. I need a career that I can get stuck into and actually enjoy doing. I don't want to be flitting about trying to find something for the rest of my life or I just won't get anywhere.
Things that interest me: cars, engineering, technology, science.
I've also been looking into studying further. But can't help wondering how i'd manage it now. I'd prefer to stay off work and just study, but this isn't viable as I need money. Also taking 7 years to complete an OU degree part time doesn't sound great.
So I'm asking for some help from someone, anyone. Help me figure my life out!
Firstly, with the right experience from your current job, realistically sold to your next employer and the employer after that, you can follow a path towards where you want to go, employing hard work and diligence and an open mind and any talent you have for learning and getting the job done. Qualifications get you past HR or the recruiter, experience is what the interviewer will be asking about and will want your contribution to previous work explaining.
Keep personal notes and records about everything along the way so you can refer back to them. Mail stuff to yourself at home to file away; when you scan in your handwritten notes for work if they include stuff you want mail them to yourself. Use meaningful folder and file names so you can find the stuff months and years later.
Also keep a record of all your contacts. Timely outputting of outlook CSV files that get sent home monthly or at longest quarterly - you never know when you'll need to able to get in contact with people, maybe sometime, maybe never, but better to have the contact than not.
If you are working in an area or industry remember the fundamental interconnectedness of everything and everybody. Keep it factual and don't bullst - someone will always have worked with someone you worked with before or someplace you worked at before and those people talk.
Address yourself to the problems that followed you and ask yourself if you could have handled those problems or situations differently to change the outcome on your relationships with your management or colleagues.
Be brutally honest and try to think like your manager and assess why anything that went wrong did go wrong. Maybe take a deep breath and get in contact with your old manager and ask for a belated exit interview to discuss their assessment of you as an employee and your performance so you can assess if you need to do something about you to make you more employable / more of a team player.
Also consider when working "away" whether you are best served burning time and money commuting every day or whether alternate nights in cheap digs works out better from a human factors point of view. If you are burned out from the commute and work is a chore then you'll never be perceived well.
As to what you actually want to do for a job, can't help with that!!
Keep personal notes and records about everything along the way so you can refer back to them. Mail stuff to yourself at home to file away; when you scan in your handwritten notes for work if they include stuff you want mail them to yourself. Use meaningful folder and file names so you can find the stuff months and years later.
Also keep a record of all your contacts. Timely outputting of outlook CSV files that get sent home monthly or at longest quarterly - you never know when you'll need to able to get in contact with people, maybe sometime, maybe never, but better to have the contact than not.
If you are working in an area or industry remember the fundamental interconnectedness of everything and everybody. Keep it factual and don't bulls
t - someone will always have worked with someone you worked with before or someplace you worked at before and those people talk.Address yourself to the problems that followed you and ask yourself if you could have handled those problems or situations differently to change the outcome on your relationships with your management or colleagues.
Be brutally honest and try to think like your manager and assess why anything that went wrong did go wrong. Maybe take a deep breath and get in contact with your old manager and ask for a belated exit interview to discuss their assessment of you as an employee and your performance so you can assess if you need to do something about you to make you more employable / more of a team player.
Also consider when working "away" whether you are best served burning time and money commuting every day or whether alternate nights in cheap digs works out better from a human factors point of view. If you are burned out from the commute and work is a chore then you'll never be perceived well.
As to what you actually want to do for a job, can't help with that!!
Have a good think about what you want to do and where you want to go. If you want a split role on tools and in office it might not be achieve able right now. But what about some sort of on site maintenance or M&E facilities role? With your skills and experience there may be some opportunity to go into a site or field based service technician role such as working on lifts, fire alarms or extinguishers.
hooblah said:
Ok this could be long. Best make a cup of tea and get comfy...
A year ago I got moved to a new site because I wasn't getting on with my manager. Problems followed me from the previous site.
Self employed electrician perhaps? While you have the luxury of living with parents?A year ago I got moved to a new site because I wasn't getting on with my manager. Problems followed me from the previous site.
hooblah said:
Eventually got fed up and went off work for stress for 3 months. Enjoyed myself while also thinking about what to do next.
Ah... perhaps not. Self employment and being an employer can bring incredible stress!Get into IT. Qualifications not essential from the outset. Interpersonal skills and troubleshooting most important. Infinite and varied career development. Good money after a while.
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