Career hindsight - What would you have done?

Career hindsight - What would you have done?

Author
Discussion

Sycamore

Original Poster:

1,726 posts

117 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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Morning all.

Just a bit of curiosity on this one. Looking at where your career is at now, if you could go back to a younger age, what would you have done instead, if anything?

I'm 23, work as a design engineer. I enjoy the job (most of the time), the employer, and the wages are good.

Still, I often dream about being a pilot. Why exactly I didn't pursue it while I was leaving school I'm not sure, but looking into it now it seems its very expensive to get trained up and takes a very long time. I'm not sure it's within reach of me within my own circumstances.

Curious as to whether with the benefit of hindsight, what people would like to have done instead.

768

13,601 posts

95 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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At 23, you've got plenty of time, but if you want to go this route I'd look at it now.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/recruitment/roles/roles-fin...

I'd have done the above, like my dad, if I weren't 6'5.

AB

16,969 posts

194 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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Started my own business earlier than I did.

Left it until I was 30, spent 5 years prior lining someone else's pockets.

Other than that I'm quite happy how it panned out and I guess if I had have done my own thing earlier there'd have been a lot more pressure in my 20's and I'd have done less of the other things I enjoyed.

On balance, it's gone OK.

I grew up wanting to be an RAF pilot but I was too fat! By the time I'd lost weight I couldn't have done it anyway.

67Dino

3,581 posts

104 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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There’s another PHer who always wanted to be a pilot but ended up in a marketing job. Quit in his late 30s to do that, now early fifties, and having worked his way up through smaller planes and other airlines, just landed his dream job flying 777s for BA. I’m guessing he would only say he wish he’d bitten the bullet sooner.

For my part, best thing I ever did was chuck in a well paid job in my late 20s and start a company around the kitchen table. Huge risk, huge challenge, and a lot of fun, and whilst it didn’t make me a fortune, it got it out of my system, and gave me experiences and confidence that have stood me in great stead since. So glad I gave it a go, or I’d have regrets now I am sure.

My advice would be to go after what you really want to do as early as you can. It gets harder over time to take the plunge, since you tend to accumulate responsibilities and outgoings. But nothing is impossible (sure plenty is improbable, but that isn’t the same), and someone has to do those ‘dream’ jobs.

BMR

944 posts

177 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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In hindsight I’d have taken a job I was offered in 2009!

Before that I’d been working 6 years in the ventilation industry. It was a family firm but they were just lacking in ambition in my eyes. Happy to go along and just make a living. I had my beliefs the family had other income streams and the business was just to keep them busy. Basically I didn’t see myself ever getting any promotion, or a larger wage there.

The other company I went for an interview with was a refrigeration firm, seemed far more ambitious. But when I went for the interview my gut told me something wasn’t right. After some communication about salary etc they offered me the job. I turned it down. Looking back maybe it was just fear of change!

But looking at that company since they’ve went from strength to strength. I myself had to find another job after my original employer went bust, but I’ve since moved on to something else that’s pretty decent. However it doesn’t stop me thinking if I’d taken that job I’d may even be on more money than I am now!

OMITN

2,095 posts

91 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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Lots:

1) Never chased money working for other people.
2) Never become a lawyer not working in the City - the money in the provinces isn't that good for the same level of effort
3) Become an accountant instead of a lawyer - way more opportunities for those with a detailed background in the numbers.
4) Worked abroad - had a chance just before the financial crisis, but that put paid to that and I sat it out in the UK. Then had a family so haven't had an obvious chance.
5) Had the imagination and risk appetite to start my own business - some friends who've done it (at various ages) are all doing well, either in satisfaction or financial terms (or both).

Gary C

12,313 posts

178 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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dificult one to answer really

If I could go back, i would become an investor and invest in microsoft and apple when they were pennies a share, and buy every bit coin at launch and never work again (unless they were stolen !)

but looking at choices that i wish could have gone different with work, none, none at all.

designforlife

3,734 posts

162 months

Wednesday 14th November 2018
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Ah, OP, you're me but 10 years ago...what sector do you work in?

Retail display design here...12 years and counting.

I think about this every now and again and struggle, I honestly love design as a career, but retail display/POS wouldn't have been my first choice.

It would have been nice to get into agency based product design, or maybe automotive design...but I took the offers i had out of uni and kind of found myself on the retail display train...once you have a few years experience it's hard to swap industries without taking a pay hit.




JuniorD

8,616 posts

222 months

Thursday 15th November 2018
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Sycamore said:
Morning all.

Just a bit of curiosity on this one. Looking at where your career is at now, if you could go back to a younger age, what would you have done instead, if anything?

I'm 23, work as a design engineer. I enjoy the job (most of the time), the employer, and the wages are good.

Still, I often dream about being a pilot. Why exactly I didn't pursue it while I was leaving school I'm not sure, but looking into it now it seems its very expensive to get trained up and takes a very long time. I'm not sure it's within reach of me within my own circumstances.

Curious as to whether with the benefit of hindsight, what people would like to have done instead.
If you want to be a pilot then do it. 23 is a great age to start seriously consider to go down that path. There are sponsorships with the likes of BA and Aer Lingus if you can't fund your own way. You could be flying as a first officer in an airliner before you reach 25 or 26.

alorotom

11,908 posts

186 months

Thursday 15th November 2018
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I would like to do the pilot route. Attained my JARPPL a couple of years back and I love it but I haven’t got the £100k to fund a commercial license on top of the lack of income if I left my current role. I could never have done it earlier in life as my parents couldn’t have bankrolled me and I was all over the place.

I’ve been lucky though, currently a director / consultant in healthcare and have a decently healthy salary / day rate for my age (36).

I would however like to do something much more back to nature and simple, working at an outdoor adventure centre for underprivileged kids etc... which was the plan originally for uni when I was 17/18 (outdoor adventure management) until I shattered my knee 6weeks before uni start!

markanswrth

5 posts

64 months

Thursday 15th November 2018
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I am a design engineer and I am lucky to be working in one of the most interesting areas of engineering. However, I still hate sitting at a desk all day for long hours and dream of being outside more.

I was lucky enough to have been made redundant back in 2014 aged 27. I say lucky because it gave me the kick to start up my own company rather than just jumping back into the same job at another company. I now work half the time doing the same job as before but as a contractor and the rest of the time doing fun stuff and working on other projects from home. I'm not saying it's my dream job, but it's interesting and it gives me the opportunity and financial freedom to do what I really want to do (mainly cycling and dicking around with cars) at least some of the time.

The key is not tot be afraid of taking risks, although calculated ones, especially while you're younger and have less responsibility. It's easy to keep doing the same thing, it's hard to take a risk, but in the long term it's often worth it.

James_B

12,642 posts

256 months

Friday 16th November 2018
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Like others above I wanted to be an RAF pilot. My eyesight fell a bit short, so I can’t classify it as hindsight, but it was a big disappointment.

The big hindsight thing would be not backing myself earlier to move ahead, and agitating / asking / working for more serious advancement.

The last couple of years I’ve been moving from the “doing”on the trading floor to being senior management, and am really enjoying the challenge.

chunder27

2,309 posts

207 months

Saturday 17th November 2018
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Not walked away from a couple of jobs when people treated me like crap, was young and stupid and should have stood up for myself more, would have been in a far better place I hope now.

But hey ho, such is life.

Maybe also joined the forces for a few years.

kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Saturday 17th November 2018
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James_B said:
The big hindsight thing would be not backing myself earlier to move ahead, and agitating / asking / working for more serious advancement.
This - was in my prior role for 4 years (24-28) without any material advancement in a London sell side IB, partially owing to a revolving door of managers above and a cliquey environment.

2 years in I was offered a shot to move to the buy side but turned it down..,moved recently with a big step up and am loving it (same role, better bank), more seniority, doing what I want and couldn’t be happier

StevieBee

12,795 posts

254 months

Saturday 17th November 2018
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Pretty happy with the way things have panned out but the one thing I'd have done more of earlier is learning.

First job straight out of school then took a post-grad Marketing degree course at 25 - 3 years evening classes. Benefited greatly from this and should have developed this further.


Du1point8

21,604 posts

191 months

Monday 19th November 2018
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There are loads of things I regret not doing earlier, but then if I had done anything differently I couldnt say I would be in the situation Im in today.

Would I like to stop being permie and set up by myself (business not contracting)... maybe, but in a happy place job wise, I wish it were 10 years ago, but the tech didnt exist and I was happy just moving to London in 2008.

If I knew what I know now, then I could have invested a crapload of money into certain companies that I decided not to do, probably wouldnt be working now if I did.

Countdown

39,690 posts

195 months

Monday 19th November 2018
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Me - Specialised in Tax rather than Management Accounting when i was qualifying. I still find it more interesting but salaries for junior tax assistants compared with Finance Analysts was rubbish (still is).

bmwmike

6,918 posts

107 months

Monday 19th November 2018
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Rather comfortable but bored in cyber security, took many opportunities over the years including working overseas so I'm happy and fortunate things panned out as they have, though I'm a bit bored with technology in general and security is just endless cat and mouse.

Things I'd do differently and still may (am 43 and a half).

Music. I hear music in my head all the time and can put it out on a guitar. After 25 years of playing I'm only just out of the closet on that and wish I'd done it sooner and in a far bigger way.

Own business - still may, but am bored with technology and its a real grind, and not sure what else I could do unless I can find a way to monetise ideas without having to actually do anything.

Edited by bmwmike on Monday 19th November 13:51

toddler

1,245 posts

235 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
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After 9 years at a boys only military boarding school I was destined for a career in the army, like the rest of my family. I was accepted to Welbeck College, then onto Sandhurst for officer training all being well. I wanted to fly helicopters in the AAC. I finished school in the summer of '85 and got my first proper taste of "civilian" life: girls, youth clubs, discos, booze etc. My parents were in the middle of a nasty divorce, my mother was out of her face on Prozac, and my father was shacked up somewhere in Germany with his fancy piece. I rebelled, grew my hair long and bought a pair of 501s (I blame Nick Kamen), and buggered off around Europe with an American girl I'd met until her money ran out.

As much fun as that was, I still regret not joining the Army. Mostly because I'd be retiring about now with a gratuity and decent pension. Instead I've got another 18 years flying a desk to look forward to.

toon10

6,140 posts

156 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
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Got into contracting back when I had some good projects under my belt.

I was a software developer and ended up moving into management. I never loved my old role but I could do it in my sleep and some of the projects were interesting enough. I got full creative input being the only developer on site. When they stopped in house work here, instead of leaving and taking up contracting, I stayed on and became the department head. I could have a much less stressful life, no people to manage and earn a lot more money had I kept up to date with my software as a contractor.