Too late to retrain / career change?
Discussion
Some feedback or thoughts appreciated............
Recently I have been finding my commute increasingly tiresome, my job highly unsatisfying and pay very poor with no chance of improvement, also due to staffing shortages I have found myself very frequently covering basic roles (which although I have no issue with as it always highlights any working issues, it is massively increasing my workload and causing the business to suffer).
I have been working in the same industry (graphics related) since 2004 and studied graphic design to advanced diploma level. Whilst I was finishing studying back in 2003 at 19 I found myself promoted to the manager of a print shop franchise which I had worked at since 16, although clearly beyond my experience it served me very well and I think as a result it made it easier to get similar jobs. I currently work at upper management level albeit on a slightly smaller scale for a different company which I have been with in some shape or form for nearly 14 years.
I seem to have maxed out on my pay which I feel is not remarkable by any means and I am very bored of the industry I am in which is going through a strange time with evolutions in digital technology and flood of competitors in the marketplace I have kept my knowledge and training current - however I have, I think few cross compatible skills. I have also become very frustrated by people around me and the lack of effort by new graduates /starts etc to put even close to the amount of work I did (frequent weekends, very long hours, huge amount of travelling, personal sacrifice) yet mediocre effort and poor attention to details seems to be accepted - I suspect this is probably just generational and I never thought I would say that!
Although I am on the right side of 40 personal resources are limited financially and we have a second child on the way. I feel right now my options are very limited to basically keeping going as is however I can feel a clock ticking somewhere that it soon will be or maybe already too late to change anything?
Where am I going with this, I have applied for a couple of jobs to no avail. I feel that although I have a huge amount of business and management experience but my lack of a degree doesn't help and I also think no mater how I try to come across my CV looks a bit like a jack of all trades. I have interviewed, hired and motivated / mentored quite a lot of people over the years but suddenly I find myself in a place lacking direction!
Recently I have been finding my commute increasingly tiresome, my job highly unsatisfying and pay very poor with no chance of improvement, also due to staffing shortages I have found myself very frequently covering basic roles (which although I have no issue with as it always highlights any working issues, it is massively increasing my workload and causing the business to suffer).
I have been working in the same industry (graphics related) since 2004 and studied graphic design to advanced diploma level. Whilst I was finishing studying back in 2003 at 19 I found myself promoted to the manager of a print shop franchise which I had worked at since 16, although clearly beyond my experience it served me very well and I think as a result it made it easier to get similar jobs. I currently work at upper management level albeit on a slightly smaller scale for a different company which I have been with in some shape or form for nearly 14 years.
I seem to have maxed out on my pay which I feel is not remarkable by any means and I am very bored of the industry I am in which is going through a strange time with evolutions in digital technology and flood of competitors in the marketplace I have kept my knowledge and training current - however I have, I think few cross compatible skills. I have also become very frustrated by people around me and the lack of effort by new graduates /starts etc to put even close to the amount of work I did (frequent weekends, very long hours, huge amount of travelling, personal sacrifice) yet mediocre effort and poor attention to details seems to be accepted - I suspect this is probably just generational and I never thought I would say that!
Although I am on the right side of 40 personal resources are limited financially and we have a second child on the way. I feel right now my options are very limited to basically keeping going as is however I can feel a clock ticking somewhere that it soon will be or maybe already too late to change anything?
Where am I going with this, I have applied for a couple of jobs to no avail. I feel that although I have a huge amount of business and management experience but my lack of a degree doesn't help and I also think no mater how I try to come across my CV looks a bit like a jack of all trades. I have interviewed, hired and motivated / mentored quite a lot of people over the years but suddenly I find myself in a place lacking direction!
I started out in Graphic Design. It's a job that you should - and need - to enjoy doing.
The first question you need to ask yourself is 'are you any good'. Design is a fast-moving thing and unless you keep an eye on trends then you'll forever be lumbered with the print-shop, builders / hairdressers logo stuff which these day's you can get online for pennies.
I generally think that design is a younger person's job unless you're a stellar creative. Most (including me) end up migrating to Account Management; dealing with clients and directing creatives rather than actually doing the creative work themselves. This can be as rewarding (cognitively and financially) - if not more so. Good creative Account Managers with a design grounding are well sort after as they can articulate intent to clients and needs to creatives with far greater precision.
Another angle - and again the route I took - is to gain some qualification in Marketing and jump to the client side. Moving into a Marcomms role within a 'client-side' company has advantages as you have a far more rounded insight as to what's what. More so that someone's whose only worked in marketing.
As for whether its too late, absolutely not. But unless you've developed an absolute hatred for the profession and sector, it would be worth looking at expanding from where you are rather than jumping into a completely different field....make the change one of seamless progression rather than an abrupt change.
Good luck.
The first question you need to ask yourself is 'are you any good'. Design is a fast-moving thing and unless you keep an eye on trends then you'll forever be lumbered with the print-shop, builders / hairdressers logo stuff which these day's you can get online for pennies.
I generally think that design is a younger person's job unless you're a stellar creative. Most (including me) end up migrating to Account Management; dealing with clients and directing creatives rather than actually doing the creative work themselves. This can be as rewarding (cognitively and financially) - if not more so. Good creative Account Managers with a design grounding are well sort after as they can articulate intent to clients and needs to creatives with far greater precision.
Another angle - and again the route I took - is to gain some qualification in Marketing and jump to the client side. Moving into a Marcomms role within a 'client-side' company has advantages as you have a far more rounded insight as to what's what. More so that someone's whose only worked in marketing.
As for whether its too late, absolutely not. But unless you've developed an absolute hatred for the profession and sector, it would be worth looking at expanding from where you are rather than jumping into a completely different field....make the change one of seamless progression rather than an abrupt change.
Good luck.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I think I would enjoy it however I would say that a lot of my job is account a management already and a lot of the projects are very mundane.
I do agree about your comments on it being a younger persons job and its quite interesting. The thing I find though and what has been particularly frustrating of late has been a few new starts / graduates being very poor at differentiating between what styles / branding will work for a client and what is quite simply their own tastes - I gave a basic logo job to a graduate last year and thankfully she has left but she used comic-sans and a purple to orange grad as elements in the design.
Anyway I hadn't really though about the account management side and I think that is a good place to start as it is a transferable skill.
I was trying to figure out what I enjoy and one area we have unintentionally expanded into is working with eCommerce for our own store. We use the shopify platform which works well and this is an area I would like to pursue more, however to say my coding is a bit weak would be an understatement!
I think I would enjoy it however I would say that a lot of my job is account a management already and a lot of the projects are very mundane.
I do agree about your comments on it being a younger persons job and its quite interesting. The thing I find though and what has been particularly frustrating of late has been a few new starts / graduates being very poor at differentiating between what styles / branding will work for a client and what is quite simply their own tastes - I gave a basic logo job to a graduate last year and thankfully she has left but she used comic-sans and a purple to orange grad as elements in the design.
Anyway I hadn't really though about the account management side and I think that is a good place to start as it is a transferable skill.
I was trying to figure out what I enjoy and one area we have unintentionally expanded into is working with eCommerce for our own store. We use the shopify platform which works well and this is an area I would like to pursue more, however to say my coding is a bit weak would be an understatement!
Same boat here. Graphic designer. 43 years old. s
t pay. Typically I seem to be able to earn about half of what my OH (marketing) and best mate (financial services) can. Graphic design seems to be a profession that's not remotely valued and had been completely overlooked by the wage inflation that other professions have enjoyed.
I've spent most of my working life as an "in-house" designer within a Marcomms team but most of the job opportunities are in agencies and they won't touch you unless you're already working in an agency. Furthermore, they all seem to want to employ identikit bearded, tattooed, pierced, gamer millennial types!
What I've also found is that, at my age, my core skill set is gradually becoming less and less relevant in favour of digital natives who know code inside out. I've done a load of coding courses - I'm resonably competent with HTML and CSS. Javascript is a whole lot harder and something which I feel can only be learned effectively if someone gives you a chance and lets you learn on the job from people who know better than you. In reality they're not going to do that because there are enough youngsters who can hit the ground running.
I enjoy UX design. At my last place of work a consultant came in and did a two day course which I enjoyed so much that I followed it up with his online course and then sat an exam for a foundation certificate in user experience, which I passed, but getting a UX job is the usual business of employers wanting someone with experience and a st hot portfolio.
To my mind there really needs to be some kind of initiative to incentivise employers to take on people who are in this "no mans land" that I find myself in - too young to retire but too old to have the native skills that are increasingly in demand - and upskill us "on the job", utlising our experience, relative wisdom and superior commercial awareness, while filling our skill gaps, otherwise there's going to be a whole bunch of unemployable people before much longer.
Account management is something that could interest me, but not being in an agency and finding it impossible to get into one that might be a long shot.
I've reached a point where I'm starting to think I'd prefer to do something else entirely, but what?
t pay. Typically I seem to be able to earn about half of what my OH (marketing) and best mate (financial services) can. Graphic design seems to be a profession that's not remotely valued and had been completely overlooked by the wage inflation that other professions have enjoyed.I've spent most of my working life as an "in-house" designer within a Marcomms team but most of the job opportunities are in agencies and they won't touch you unless you're already working in an agency. Furthermore, they all seem to want to employ identikit bearded, tattooed, pierced, gamer millennial types!
What I've also found is that, at my age, my core skill set is gradually becoming less and less relevant in favour of digital natives who know code inside out. I've done a load of coding courses - I'm resonably competent with HTML and CSS. Javascript is a whole lot harder and something which I feel can only be learned effectively if someone gives you a chance and lets you learn on the job from people who know better than you. In reality they're not going to do that because there are enough youngsters who can hit the ground running.
I enjoy UX design. At my last place of work a consultant came in and did a two day course which I enjoyed so much that I followed it up with his online course and then sat an exam for a foundation certificate in user experience, which I passed, but getting a UX job is the usual business of employers wanting someone with experience and a s
t hot portfolio.To my mind there really needs to be some kind of initiative to incentivise employers to take on people who are in this "no mans land" that I find myself in - too young to retire but too old to have the native skills that are increasingly in demand - and upskill us "on the job", utlising our experience, relative wisdom and superior commercial awareness, while filling our skill gaps, otherwise there's going to be a whole bunch of unemployable people before much longer.
Account management is something that could interest me, but not being in an agency and finding it impossible to get into one that might be a long shot.
I've reached a point where I'm starting to think I'd prefer to do something else entirely, but what?
strath44 said:
Some feedback or thoughts appreciated............
Recently I have been finding my commute increasingly tiresome, my job highly unsatisfying and pay very poor with no chance of improvement
Where am I going with this, I have applied for a couple of jobs to no avail. I feel that although I have a huge amount of business and management experience but my lack of a degree doesn't help and I also think no mater how I try to come across my CV looks a bit like a jack of all trades.
You have tons of transferable skills; you just need some coaching to identify and highlight.Recently I have been finding my commute increasingly tiresome, my job highly unsatisfying and pay very poor with no chance of improvement
Where am I going with this, I have applied for a couple of jobs to no avail. I feel that although I have a huge amount of business and management experience but my lack of a degree doesn't help and I also think no mater how I try to come across my CV looks a bit like a jack of all trades.
What would you really like to do?
Do you have the competencies to do it?
If not, could you realistically get them?
If you do have them, sort out CV and start applying!
Happy to look over CV if that would help.
MitchT said:
rog007 said:
You have tons of transferable skills; you just need some coaching to identify and highlight.
How does one avail oneself of such coaching?
It’s an interesting area this, identifying transferable skills. Of course, context is key; there’s little point carrying out this exercise if you’re an IT professional and you aspire to be a neurosurgeon.
For normal scenarios, it’s usually very successful. But my experience is that many find it a challenge by them self due to an inability to accurately reflect on their own competencies (folk naturally downplay their own skills/worth) and a lack of industry awareness as to where they could legitimately ply their newly identified transferable skills.
Effective coaching can unlock and facilitate this. process.
MitchT said:
Same boat here. Graphic designer. 43 years old. st pay. Typically I seem to be able to earn about half of what my OH (marketing) and best mate (financial services) can. Graphic design seems to be a profession that's not remotely valued and had been completely overlooked by the wage inflation that other professions have enjoyed.
I've spent most of my working life as an "in-house" designer within a Marcomms team but most of the job opportunities are in agencies and they won't touch you unless you're already working in an agency. Furthermore, they all seem to want to employ identikit bearded, tattooed, pierced, gamer millennial types!
What I've also found is that, at my age, my core skill set is gradually becoming less and less relevant in favour of digital natives who know code inside out. I've done a load of coding courses - I'm resonably competent with HTML and CSS. Javascript is a whole lot harder and something which I feel can only be learned effectively if someone gives you a chance and lets you learn on the job from people who know better than you. In reality they're not going to do that because there are enough youngsters who can hit the ground running.
I enjoy UX design. At my last place of work a consultant came in and did a two day course which I enjoyed so much that I followed it up with his online course and then sat an exam for a foundation certificate in user experience, which I passed, but getting a UX job is the usual business of employers wanting someone with experience and a st hot portfolio.
To my mind there really needs to be some kind of initiative to incentivise employers to take on people who are in this "no mans land" that I find myself in - too young to retire but too old to have the native skills that are increasingly in demand - and upskill us "on the job", utlising our experience, relative wisdom and superior commercial awareness, while filling our skill gaps, otherwise there's going to be a whole bunch of unemployable people before much longer.
Account management is something that could interest me, but not being in an agency and finding it impossible to get into one that might be a long shot.
I've reached a point where I'm starting to think I'd prefer to do something else entirely, but what?
As evidenced by the number of "Any Photoshop experts" threads that pop up. I used to enjoy trying to help people out but at some point you realise all your doing is extra work, for free. That's before we even get to the frustration of dealing with actual customers who dismiss the design you've painstakingly slaved over to their exact design spec in favour of the st pay. Typically I seem to be able to earn about half of what my OH (marketing) and best mate (financial services) can. Graphic design seems to be a profession that's not remotely valued and had been completely overlooked by the wage inflation that other professions have enjoyed.I've spent most of my working life as an "in-house" designer within a Marcomms team but most of the job opportunities are in agencies and they won't touch you unless you're already working in an agency. Furthermore, they all seem to want to employ identikit bearded, tattooed, pierced, gamer millennial types!
What I've also found is that, at my age, my core skill set is gradually becoming less and less relevant in favour of digital natives who know code inside out. I've done a load of coding courses - I'm resonably competent with HTML and CSS. Javascript is a whole lot harder and something which I feel can only be learned effectively if someone gives you a chance and lets you learn on the job from people who know better than you. In reality they're not going to do that because there are enough youngsters who can hit the ground running.
I enjoy UX design. At my last place of work a consultant came in and did a two day course which I enjoyed so much that I followed it up with his online course and then sat an exam for a foundation certificate in user experience, which I passed, but getting a UX job is the usual business of employers wanting someone with experience and a s
t hot portfolio.To my mind there really needs to be some kind of initiative to incentivise employers to take on people who are in this "no mans land" that I find myself in - too young to retire but too old to have the native skills that are increasingly in demand - and upskill us "on the job", utlising our experience, relative wisdom and superior commercial awareness, while filling our skill gaps, otherwise there's going to be a whole bunch of unemployable people before much longer.
Account management is something that could interest me, but not being in an agency and finding it impossible to get into one that might be a long shot.
I've reached a point where I'm starting to think I'd prefer to do something else entirely, but what?
tshow they've conjured up in their own head (see The Oatmeal web design comic for reference). 
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