[Misc] The Great Resignation and career changes

[hans kraay fan club]

I had a total career change in my mid-30s, although this was pre-Covid.

Used to work in retail management, had been in retail since I was 16 as I'd never really settled on what I wanted to do with my life. I was totally stuck in a rut, and it was moving up North to move in with my now-husband that kicked me up the arse to change.

I wanted a 9-5, Monday to Friday as that fits with his work, and ended up getting a 12 month fixed term job in a sector I'd never in a million years have imagined myself working in. The fixed term got made permanent, I've since been promoted twice and I genuinely love what I do, with a career path that should see me happily through the rest of my working life and keep me challenged and motivated.

My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner - I'm happier, healthier and enjoy life more now than I ever did before.

I too am currently working my notice after nearly 11 years with my current employer... I've just turned 40 and felt it was stick or twist time... I'd grown apathetic, lethargy had set in and although elements of my job (outdoor based) are brilliant, things have changed with regard the direction of travel within my directorate. Ultimately I just can't agree with what I consider to be overtly commercial decisions taking precedent over sustainable growth, especially in the face of an environmental crisis.

That and corporate BS is out of control, as is this nonsense regarding so called work life balance and 'caring employer' shtick which grinds my goddamn gears.

Naturally I thoroughly relished handing my notice in, particularly as my line manager is an odious creep who I won't miss in the slightest. Obviously my resignation letter was a verbose and flowery trek through the foothills of my mind.

My new job is much more suited to my core beliefs and as a hippy, I'll be happy - which is all I want.

Yeah, I was at risk of becoming a total dick, just moaning all the time and not doing anything to change my circumstances. I used to take risks, I said I'd never get old and yet I'd already become a pale imitation of my younger self... I've rolled the dice and it feels ****ing great.

I worked hard in my IT career until I was 48, then decided to get out (before they carried me out) as my remote US management always demanded more, no matter how successful my team and projects were. I was single and a workaholic, terrified of leaving the main thing I felt good at. With fantastic support from friends I finally found the courage to leave!
I traveled for 18 months (France, Oz, NZ), some fantastic walks and bike rides, wrote and self published a ( fairly crap ) book. Came back, found a 9-5 part time job in a shop for ten years and loved it - a great antidote to corporate life. During this time I got married and had a kid...what?!?!...I can't believe it... strangers think I'm the grandad.
I tell myself I should have had the guts to leave my career earlier, but the truth is that I emotionally needed enough financial security first: not rich at all, just enough to feel I (now 'we') should be ok.
So, it's very personal, but be brave, be sensible, get a supportive network around you, and have a bit of trust that you can make a different future.

Great post……and good luck. I lost my (much) younger sister and then my dad within a couple of years, this coincided with my kids becoming at least partly self-sufficient, so all together massively impacted my ‘life choices’ and perspective. Working for someone who had no understanding how my function operated made my decision easier than it might have been.

I’m not working, we’ve modified our lifestyle a bit to make sure we can survive relatively comfortably and I now have an immensely rewarding trustee role with a local school for severely disabled children and young adults that keeps me occupied several hours a week. The corporate world can do one.

to all /\

 

[Bozza]

Great thread and some really inspiring stories.

Well done to those who have made positive life changes, and good luck to those contemplating the same.

I've had to scan back through emails to see when I made the big change, and I'm amazed to see it was in March 2016 when I left a decent-paying-with-good-benefits corporate role with absolutely nothing else to do, although I concede that I was very fortunate that I had some financial backing to enable me to do that.

I've largely drifted since, doing bits and pieces, but it was undoubtedly the right thing to do. I was always available to take my son to and from school, I take the dog out as and when I choose for as long as I like, and also head out running every day whenever I fancy it. I've not worn a suit in five-and-a-half years and largely live in shorts and a t-shirt. When Covid hit, it meant I was able to do the home-schooling thing without having competing pressures.

I always hated, after the family holiday in the summer, getting on a plane to come back to England and thinking "uuurrrgggghhhh, back to work on Monday". I decided I never wanted to have that feeling again, and I've been very lucky to have holidays (pre-covid) where I got on that return flight and didn't have that horrible sinking feeling.

With the world vaguely normal-ish, for now, with my son settling into secondary school and Mrs B back at work full-time, I now need to buckle down a bit and find my "what next?" One thing's for sure though - if I can't do it in the same manner as I'm typing this: sitting on the sofa, watching a replay of a baseball game, having complete freedom to work when I choose and do other stuff when I choose, then I'm not interested.

We're a long time dead and all that...

 

[dazzer6666]

Great thread and some really inspiring stories.

Well done to those who have made positive life changes, and good luck to those contemplating the same.

I've had to scan back through emails to see when I made the big change, and I'm amazed to see it was in March 2016 when I left a decent-paying-with-good-benefits corporate role with absolutely nothing else to do, although I concede that I was very fortunate that I had some financial backing to enable me to do that.

I've largely drifted since, doing bits and pieces, but it was undoubtedly the right thing to do. I was always available to take my son to and from school, I take the dog out as and when I choose for as long as I like, and also head out running every day whenever I fancy it. I've not worn a suit in five-and-a-half years and largely live in shorts and a t-shirt. When Covid hit, it meant I was able to do the home-schooling thing without having competing pressures.

I always hated, after the family holiday in the summer, getting on a plane to come back to England and thinking "uuurrrgggghhhh, back to work on Monday". I decided I never wanted to have that feeling again, and I've been very lucky to have holidays (pre-covid) where I got on that return flight and didn't have that horrible sinking feeling.

With the world vaguely normal-ish, for now, with my son settling into secondary school and Mrs B back at work full-time, I now need to buckle down a bit and find my "what next?" One thing's for sure though - if I can't do it in the same manner as I'm typing this: sitting on the sofa, watching a replay of a baseball game, having complete freedom to work when I choose and do other stuff when I choose, then I'm not interested.

We're a long time dead and all that...

Even worse than the end-of-holiday thing was Sunday evening……..worst period of the week !

 

[essbee1]

Sorry if this is off topic Bozza, but it kind of is relevant. I started BSL a few years back and having passed a load of exams over the summer (christ, I never
thought I'd be taking exams at my age) and feeling confident, does anyone have the contact details for the Albion deaf footie club?
I'd love to help out volunteering and also use some the stuff I've learnt in a productive way. So off topic a bit, but very important to me.

 

[Simster]

As an aside, I suspect this thread illustrates the aging nature of this forum.

When the internet was fairly new, this place was populated with people largely in their late teens and 20s. Most older people on here were IT people (people like "loveable" old hothead, bhaexpress). Anyway, it seems a large number of regular posters from the 90s (like me) are still here today, so it's not a surprise that our life ambitions have evolved as we've got older.

As much as the "you only live once" and "if it's not easy I'm not doing it" mantras are understandable, refreshing and probably right for us in our 40s 50s and 60s, I wonder what those in their 20s and 30s might think about this thread. Surely it's good to be hungry and motivated at a younger age, right? It would be alarming to me if someone aged 22 read this thread only to conclude "they're right - f**k it, I can't be arsed to work all hours anymore" because unlike us middle aged people, they haven't done the hard yards to get on the property ladder, pay for weddings/houses and bring up a family.

 

[Bozza]

Even worse than the end-of-holiday thing was Sunday evening……..worst period of the week !

Agreed - that tipping point in the weekend when you being to dread what is coming up, partially ruining the remainder of your time away from work.

 

[maltaseagull]

The Great Resignation is here and no one is prepared
Around the world, workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers – and bosses are still scrambling to figure out how to keep them

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/great-resignation-quit-job

It seems a global pandemic is a thing which causes people to become introspective and reconsider what work, and life, means to them.

I'm one of them. I've been thinking recently about changing jobs but remaining in the same field (I.T.) When I look at what's out there though nothing excites me. It's just more of what I'm already doing in a different office that I might have to visit once a month depending on their attitudes to home working.

So, does that mean a career change? How the hell does one do that?

I'm nearly 37, been working since I was 17, and I've only ever been any good at what I'm doing now. Being good at something doesn't mean I enjoy it though and I'm not able to just trudge through my days and enjoy life outside of work.

Work is 40 hours a week - why would I want to be unhappy, or at least underwhelmed, for that amount of time, every week, for the next 30 years?

Got me wondering if any others on here are thinking the same. Or if anybody has done the career change thing. How did you do it? How did it work out?

After 25 years as a supermarket manager, I came home from work one Thursday in 1999 thoroughly fed up with the way the job had changed and managing was being done from head office.
I looked at the argus jobs supplement and, as I didn't have a degree or the practical skills /experience , found about 3 jobs that I could apply for:
Traffic Warden
Milkman
Driving Instructor.
I chose the last one and trained around my work.
Once qualified I resigned and had a full diary of pupils within weeks and loved the job.
I have retired now but would still be doing it if I hadn't moved here.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Sorry if this is off topic Bozza, but it kind of is relevant. I started BSL a few years back and having passed a load of exams over the summer (christ, I never
thought I'd be taking exams at my age) and feeling confident, does anyone have the contact details for the Albion deaf footie club?
I'd love to help out volunteering and also use some the stuff I've learnt in a productive way. So off topic a bit, but very important to me.

Maybe start a new thread on this, as I'm sure someone will know and your post is likely to get lost in here. You could also ask about volunteering with your BSL skills more generally

 

[hans kraay fan club]

My job is decent enough. I could definitely earn more elsewhere, but I've been with the same company for a long, long time, and they are fair - and my work/life balance is pretty good. My office is less than five minutes from home - if I want to I can have lunch in my garden, and be home in the evening at 5.15pm. I can work from home if I want to, but would rather be in the (empty) office, where everything is easier, and I have plenty of space.

I rather yearn for the days though, of less responsibility. Having the ability / freedom to mange yourself is great, but it is a double-edged sword. The engineers I manage would probably not see it this way at all, but there is also freedom in their roles - freedom to not only work a set 35 hour week - but to be properly 'free' of work outside of those hours. That is not a luxury afforded to many of us.

I know for sure that these guys would consider that they work a lot harder than me - after all they are out 4 days a week, driving up and down the motorways, working on noisy sites, etc - while I'm sat at my desk most of the time, drinking tea, typing emails - with time to piss about on the internet if I'm bored. But, there's more to it than that.

Their role is generally "Go to this site on this day. Install / test this product. Go home". As soon as they step foot off that site, they are done. Go and play golf. Go to the pub. Whatever. And don't give work a second's thought, until someone else (me) gives them their next job.

I price the work. Fight for the contracts. Fight to keep those contracts as people incessantly look to cut costs. Plan schedules. Re-plan schedules when sites tell you last minute they are not ready. Re-plan them yet again when a sub-contractor lets us down. Re-plan again when somebody calls in sick or gets pinged. Chase suppliers for late orders. Struggle to juggle the manpower resources - if the engineers' diaries are too full, how do you slot in an emergency visit somewhere when equipment fails? If they are not full enough, my boss wants to know why they are sat idle. I deal with the complaints when they get something wrong. Always aware that my department needs to hit a budget, and that failing to do so means that one of those engineers jobs would go.

The upshot of it is that you NEVER really switch off from it. Not properly. At the weekend, I'll be thinking how to fit everything together the following week. What if that repair isn't successful? Could that engineer go there instead? Will that part arrive on time, to schedule that in instead? etc, etc. Then there's the phone - if something is up in the air, I can't help but sporadically check my emails - sometimes a definitive answer to something helps put something to bed - sometimes I just see three other mails from different customers about new problems to fix - and whilst I don't have to DO anything about it until I'm back at work on Monday, the effect is a constant impinging of proper downtime.

Before I fell into this career, many years ago, my first full time job after Uni was working for the council, cutting grass. Arrive at a park / school / sports field, unload a big ride on mower, and spend 3 hours driving up and down turning long grass into tidy short grass. No pressures. No problem solving. No need to speak to anyone unless you wanted to. I don't suppose it would be hugely fulfilling (or financially great) long-term, but I've never since been as happy in my work!

 

[essbee1]

Maybe start a new thread on this, as I'm sure someone will know and your post is likely to get lost in here. You could also ask about volunteering with your BSL skills more generally

Thanks Watford. I will do. Ta.

 

[Doonhamer7]

I’m reading this between updating a hybrid working strategy for a major construction programme. My company has fully backed hybrid working - basically work where you want when you want (as long as client approves and no additional tax liability to company) as well as new dress code (wear what you want as long as appropriate). Got to get it finished as client (govt body) wants presenteeism

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

As an aside, I suspect this thread illustrates the aging nature of this forum.

When the internet was fairly new, this place was populated with people largely in their late teens and 20s. Most older people on here were IT people (people like "loveable" old hothead, bhaexpress). Anyway, it seems a large number of regular posters from the 90s (like me) are still here today, so it's not a surprise that our life ambitions have evolved as we've got older.

As much as the "you only live once" and "if it's not easy I'm not doing it" mantras are understandable, refreshing and probably right for us in our 40s 50s and 60s, I wonder what those in their 20s and 30s might think about this thread. Surely it's good to be hungry and motivated at a younger age, right? It would be alarming to me if someone aged 22 read this thread only to conclude "they're right - f**k it, I can't be arsed to work all hours anymore" because unlike us middle aged people, they haven't done the hard yards to get on the property ladder, pay for weddings/houses and bring up a family.

Very good points. And you can add to the IT crowd 'university lectureres with super fast institutional internet'.

 

[dwayne]

My work can be quite repetitive but I'm learning new things all the time which is good and the company I work for is changing all the time with some interesting acquisitions. I'm a contractor which gives its own freedoms and I don't need to worry about sucking up to the boss or petty politics.

All in all very happy. Didn't proceed with the front office banking route which was well open to me earlier on in my career and so glad I didn't as all the money in the world wouldn't make up for 80 hour weeks getting burnt out at 40.

And with the advent of hybrid working and no kiddies I can work easily anywhere from the Bahamas to Greece or France. Did 4 months working from Mexico and Miami earlier this year and it was incredible. Up at 5 finished by midday drinking at the beach for the rest of the afternoon partying in the eve, not great for the bank balance but covid has taught us that life is too short.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

This is a great thread. The elephant on the room for me was the effect of the shock of Covid. I know some secret places to go for walks where you see nobody so I was breaking the initial curfew (which was, in Borissian style, jolly well advisory only) and was shocked at the sky empty of trains, and the tranquility. And I asked myself whether I could ever return to the old routine.

I have been commuting for over 30 years, getting up a 6.15, cycling in all weathers in the dark to Faversham station, and then across London, and back. For many years with increasingly nicer mountain bikes in the guard's van. That then changed and the bike had to go in the door well of the 'new' trains. Increasing stress as at Bromley the doors open 'on the other side' (move the bike or get it trampled by Bromley nobbers). Then I had to switch to a fold up which, as many will know, makes you feel vulnerable on London's busy streets. The health held up reasonably well but I had two knee ops, and could barely cycle, and getting beeped struggling round parliament square isn't the best. Then I hit a jaywalker and broke my arm. Meanwhile the job became more difficult - pressure to publish, pressure to 'win' grants. Teaching became more formalized with endless assessments and feedback evaluation. 'Your course is too hard' I was told. **** off, 'your course is too easy', I said. And so on. On the domestic front massive upheavals including divorce and negative equity. Over the years thing got so much better in many respects. Mortgage paid, extension built, money on the bank.....but the commute....

I have been to London only 3 times in the last 18 months. The prospect of going in 4 or 5 times a week....it isn't happening. I don't want to retire, and for the present I am being allowed to do most of my teaching online (well, till January, all of it). Clearly this can't last forever so I guess I will retire next year some time, when I am pressured beyond what I consider tolerable. I haven't cycled down Victoria Street since March 2000. Will I ever do it again? Will I have to sit next to a smelly fat nutter on the train again? Will I have to stand, owing to the icreasingly frequent shortage of cariages again? Hmmmm......

The elephant in the room is 'how the **** did I get through that, all those years?' A minimum of 3 hours travel a day. Getting soaked or frozen cycling in the dark. When I was younger I saw myself as a warrior, with my research and my noble quest to support my family. Now.....well I have a drug I'm developing which is exciting, but....

No. I can't see myself 'going back' and a career change (end) may be the solution. We shall see.

 

[dazzer6666]

As an aside, I suspect this thread illustrates the aging nature of this forum.

When the internet was fairly new, this place was populated with people largely in their late teens and 20s. Most older people on here were IT people (people like "loveable" old hothead, bhaexpress). Anyway, it seems a large number of regular posters from the 90s (like me) are still here today, so it's not a surprise that our life ambitions have evolved as we've got older.

As much as the "you only live once" and "if it's not easy I'm not doing it" mantras are understandable, refreshing and probably right for us in our 40s 50s and 60s, I wonder what those in their 20s and 30s might think about this thread. Surely it's good to be hungry and motivated at a younger age, right? It would be alarming to me if someone aged 22 read this thread only to conclude "they're right - f**k it, I can't be arsed to work all hours anymore" because unlike us middle aged people, they haven't done the hard yards to get on the property ladder, pay for weddings/houses and bring up a family.

It’s already happening now far more than it would have done pre-Covid. Even many of the ‘hungry youngsters’ (I mentor some) seem to have a more balanced perspective - at least in my (former) industry. Months and months of working from home, no business travel, much more flexibility, no commuting etc have made a lot realise there’s more to life than just work and selling your soul to the company.

Very much a double-edged sword I think though. Getting used to an easier, better-balanced lifestyle whilst still earning the same dough and so far still having the same career opportunities ((at least for now), yet severely lacking the face to face engagement that has been so necessary to progress. The Salomons of this world have quickly worked out that people need to be back in the office doing 80 hour weeks - they’ll be the most successful financially but a lot will shy away from working there.

 

[dwayne]

It’s already happening now far more than it would have done pre-Covid. Even many of the ‘hungry youngsters’ (I mentor some) seem to have a more balanced perspective - at least in my (former) industry. Months and months of working from home, no business travel, much more flexibility, no commuting etc have made a lot realise there’s more to life than just work and selling your soul to the company.

Very much a double-edged sword I think though. Getting used to an easier, better-balanced lifestyle whilst still earning the same dough and so far still having the same career opportunities ((at least for now), yet severely lacking the face to face engagement that has been so necessary to progress. The Salomons of this world have quickly worked out that people need to be back in the office doing 80 hour weeks - they’ll be the most successful financially but a lot will shy away from working there.

Tbh even 10 years ago kids were switching from banking to PE or tech. The smartest moving to European banks where you get paid less but do a hell of a lot less hours.

In the age of get rich quick tiktokers,YouTube stars, reality stars or even crypto millionaires I think bright young things are realising there's not always a correlation between working more hours and making more money and are pulling back accordingly.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

 

[dazzer6666]

Tbh even 10 years ago kids were switching from banking to PE or tech. The smartest moving to European banks where you get paid less but do a hell of a lot less hours.

In the age of get rich quick tiktokers,YouTube stars, reality stars or even crypto millionaires I think bright young things are realising there's not always a correlation between working more hours and making more money and are pulling back accordingly.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Definitely……height of ambition for a kid now seems to be ‘YouTuber’

 

[Bozza]

As an aside, I suspect this thread illustrates the aging nature of this forum.

When the internet was fairly new, this place was populated with people largely in their late teens and 20s. Most older people on here were IT people (people like "loveable" old hothead, bhaexpress). Anyway, it seems a large number of regular posters from the 90s (like me) are still here today, so it's not a surprise that our life ambitions have evolved as we've got older.

As much as the "you only live once" and "if it's not easy I'm not doing it" mantras are understandable, refreshing and probably right for us in our 40s 50s and 60s, I wonder what those in their 20s and 30s might think about this thread. Surely it's good to be hungry and motivated at a younger age, right? It would be alarming to me if someone aged 22 read this thread only to conclude "they're right - f**k it, I can't be arsed to work all hours anymore" because unlike us middle aged people, they haven't done the hard yards to get on the property ladder, pay for weddings/houses and bring up a family.

This here internet has democratised earning potential in ways we could barely imagine just a few years ago.

My daughter has just started university life, but I seriously wonder whether it's a path my 11-y-o son will go down and/or if it's a route I'll be encouraging by then. I'll certainly be trying to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in him, trying to allow him to be the master of his own destiny. I just need to get him to understand that there are avenues that don't involve playing Fortnite and showing it on YouTube!

If you're semi-proficient at almost anything at all, there is the opportunity to market what you do to those who know less, but want to get to where you are. The opportunities are pretty much endless.

 

[Guinness Boy]

My job is decent enough. I could definitely earn more elsewhere, but I've been with the same company for a long, long time, and they are fair - and my work/life balance is pretty good. My office is less than five minutes from home - if I want to I can have lunch in my garden, and be home in the evening at 5.15pm. I can work from home if I want to, but would rather be in the (empty) office, where everything is easier, and I have plenty of space.

I rather yearn for the days though, of less responsibility. Having the ability / freedom to mange yourself is great, but it is a double-edged sword. The engineers I manage would probably not see it this way at all, but there is also freedom in their roles - freedom to not only work a set 35 hour week - but to be properly 'free' of work outside of those hours. That is not a luxury afforded to many of us.

I know for sure that these guys would consider that they work a lot harder than me - after all they are out 4 days a week, driving up and down the motorways, working on noisy sites, etc - while I'm sat at my desk most of the time, drinking tea, typing emails - with time to piss about on the internet if I'm bored. But, there's more to it than that.

Their role is generally "Go to this site on this day. Install / test this product. Go home". As soon as they step foot off that site, they are done. Go and play golf. Go to the pub. Whatever. And don't give work a second's thought, until someone else (me) gives them their next job.

I price the work. Fight for the contracts. Fight to keep those contracts as people incessantly look to cut costs. Plan schedules. Re-plan schedules when sites tell you last minute they are not ready. Re-plan them yet again when a sub-contractor lets us down. Re-plan again when somebody calls in sick or gets pinged. Chase suppliers for late orders. Struggle to juggle the manpower resources - if the engineers' diaries are too full, how do you slot in an emergency visit somewhere when equipment fails? If they are not full enough, my boss wants to know why they are sat idle. I deal with the complaints when they get something wrong. Always aware that my department needs to hit a budget, and that failing to do so means that one of those engineers jobs would go.

The upshot of it is that you NEVER really switch off from it. Not properly. At the weekend, I'll be thinking how to fit everything together the following week. What if that repair isn't successful? Could that engineer go there instead? Will that part arrive on time, to schedule that in instead? etc, etc. Then there's the phone - if something is up in the air, I can't help but sporadically check my emails - sometimes a definitive answer to something helps put something to bed - sometimes I just see three other mails from different customers about new problems to fix - and whilst I don't have to DO anything about it until I'm back at work on Monday, the effect is a constant impinging of proper downtime.

Before I fell into this career, many years ago, my first full time job after Uni was working for the council, cutting grass. Arrive at a park / school / sports field, unload a big ride on mower, and spend 3 hours driving up and down turning long grass into tidy short grass. No pressures. No problem solving. No need to speak to anyone unless you wanted to. I don't suppose it would be hugely fulfilling (or financially great) long-term, but I've never since been as happy in my work!

Yes, but do you have the power to make CRISPS and NOISE MACHINE work from home permanently?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Yes, but do you have the power to make CRISPS and NOISE MACHINE work from home permanently?

Crisps has been 'working' from home for 18 months, doing next to **** all. Nobody has noticed. It irritates me that she's getting a free ride, but I'm not going to agitate to force her back in, because then I'd have to put up with her here. To cap all her other annoyances, she is apparently a rabid anti-vax, anti-mask thicko.

Noise has actually been coming in a few days a week and is really very good at managing her work. Such is my appreciation of her efforts and her commitment, that I don't really find her annoying all that often now. It helps that she only works each day to 2.30pm - its the best of both worlds - a bit of company and help each day, then blissful selfish lone working for the last few hours!