Going from an office job to something more manual?
Discussion
Hello all,
Has anyone here given up what many would consider to be a cushy office job (engineering sales in my case) to do something a bit more manual? I'm miserable where I am, but seem to have painted myself into a career corner.
I've seen a maintenance engineer job come up in my area for good money on industrial machinery. I enjoy on the tools work (what bit I've been able to do offshore here and my hobby restoring classic bikes). Has anyone ever made the jump? Did you regret it? My dad and brother do similar work, but never the office side and I'm the opposite, so in both our cases it's a bit "grass is greener".
Happy to hear stories of going the other way too. Good and bad experiences welcome!
Presumably I could also end up back in an office as maintenance manager after a few years if I fancied it.
Has anyone here given up what many would consider to be a cushy office job (engineering sales in my case) to do something a bit more manual? I'm miserable where I am, but seem to have painted myself into a career corner.
I've seen a maintenance engineer job come up in my area for good money on industrial machinery. I enjoy on the tools work (what bit I've been able to do offshore here and my hobby restoring classic bikes). Has anyone ever made the jump? Did you regret it? My dad and brother do similar work, but never the office side and I'm the opposite, so in both our cases it's a bit "grass is greener".
Happy to hear stories of going the other way too. Good and bad experiences welcome!
Presumably I could also end up back in an office as maintenance manager after a few years if I fancied it.
I went from office job for 8 years, to a driving job, then on to current meter engineer job.
I sometimes used to get sent on road trips with the office job, hiring a van to deliver goods, and I loved being out on the road.
What I found looking back, is the office job led me easily to boredom. I was easily distracted sometimes. Maybe that was just the job.
But the last two jobs have involved driving a lot and it’s got to be one of my favourite parts. Of course now I am hands on with tools, and I actually surprised myself with what I have picked up through training and how much I enjoy it. I always relish the jobs that are a tad more trickier than others.
I sometimes used to get sent on road trips with the office job, hiring a van to deliver goods, and I loved being out on the road.
What I found looking back, is the office job led me easily to boredom. I was easily distracted sometimes. Maybe that was just the job.
But the last two jobs have involved driving a lot and it’s got to be one of my favourite parts. Of course now I am hands on with tools, and I actually surprised myself with what I have picked up through training and how much I enjoy it. I always relish the jobs that are a tad more trickier than others.
Not quite the same, but I was a mobile tech, and now I’m a static on site tech, I don’t like it, I miss being out on the road and the freedom that it bought, I’m looking to go back
It was great, meeting new people everyday. Enjoying the sunshine etc.
There’s things you’ll miss that you take for granted for instance, a kettle when you want a hot drink, or a microwave to cook your lunch, unless you bring a packed lunch you’ll end up putting on weight because there’s so few healthy options out there in Tesco unless you just go for fruit and chicken breast.
It’s also a bit pants in winter when you have lunch in the car and the car is freezing inside.
You should go for it, not being in the same place for too long is great, nice and easy to slope off early
Find a company that offer a nice car, no tracker and a good holiday package and you’ll be laughing
It was great, meeting new people everyday. Enjoying the sunshine etc.
There’s things you’ll miss that you take for granted for instance, a kettle when you want a hot drink, or a microwave to cook your lunch, unless you bring a packed lunch you’ll end up putting on weight because there’s so few healthy options out there in Tesco unless you just go for fruit and chicken breast.
It’s also a bit pants in winter when you have lunch in the car and the car is freezing inside.
You should go for it, not being in the same place for too long is great, nice and easy to slope off early
Find a company that offer a nice car, no tracker and a good holiday package and you’ll be laughing
I don't know how people stick it in an office. It's incredibly boring.
I worked in retail and upto management which was fun, but really high work loads and low pay. I got fed up of running my store on a shoe string for peanuts so I took a career change into a kinda hobby and ended up into aircraft weight and balance. At first I liked the office as it was a welcome rest from running around all day, but the boredom soon set in. The novelty of watching films all day/night soon wore off. The workload is relatively low, and when it picks up it is more of a frustrating increase rather than a welcome one.
Just over a year later I have moved to be an aircraft dispatcher, I start on monday and i'm looking forward to it.
If you're bored of the office environment, take the leap and change into a more hands on role. In 30 years you probably won't wish you stayed in that boring office more!
But, people are different, some people like it in an office working 8-4 every day. I can't. It's upto you OP, but by making this post about leaving the office, you already know the answer. You wouldn't be asking the question if you were happy.
I worked in retail and upto management which was fun, but really high work loads and low pay. I got fed up of running my store on a shoe string for peanuts so I took a career change into a kinda hobby and ended up into aircraft weight and balance. At first I liked the office as it was a welcome rest from running around all day, but the boredom soon set in. The novelty of watching films all day/night soon wore off. The workload is relatively low, and when it picks up it is more of a frustrating increase rather than a welcome one.
Just over a year later I have moved to be an aircraft dispatcher, I start on monday and i'm looking forward to it.
If you're bored of the office environment, take the leap and change into a more hands on role. In 30 years you probably won't wish you stayed in that boring office more!
But, people are different, some people like it in an office working 8-4 every day. I can't. It's upto you OP, but by making this post about leaving the office, you already know the answer. You wouldn't be asking the question if you were happy.
I went from a job at a local council, working in IT support, to doing the same job at a big 4 company.
At the former, I was often out on the road. The council had dozens of sites all over the city, so I was out in the van a lot, meeting new people and the day flew by and it was really good. Unfortunately, I was made redundant.
Now I'm stuck in the same office, with the same people, day after day. I don't mind the job but its definitely a lot more boring than the first one. I'm looking to go back if possible. Office work is certainly very dull.
At the former, I was often out on the road. The council had dozens of sites all over the city, so I was out in the van a lot, meeting new people and the day flew by and it was really good. Unfortunately, I was made redundant.
Now I'm stuck in the same office, with the same people, day after day. I don't mind the job but its definitely a lot more boring than the first one. I'm looking to go back if possible. Office work is certainly very dull.
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