I need some job/career/life advice

OK, I need some job/career/life advice.

Warning.. LONG POST…………

This forum is filled with so many knowledgeable and life experienced people that I’m hoping someone will help me have an “ahah” moment to get me out of the career corner I seem to have backed myself into.

I have a job that frankly bores me to tears. The organization I work for are fantastic as far as conditions and family friendliness is concerned, pay is very average. If I had a better job here I would never leave. The only reason I am still here is the good conditions and a fantastic boss.

I currently work in the aviation industry.

The job when advertised was supposed to be 50% stores (yuck) and the rest paperwork (engineering compliance required by the government body) and running a computer based maintenance management system, of which I had a little experience when I was in the airforce. When I took the job it seemed like it would eventually include some maintenance scheduling and control which I wouldn’t mind getting into.

Well 2 .5 years on, I am really only a glorified storeman/purchaser, and I am scared if I don’t do something soon I will end up doing this job till I retire. I try not to tell anyone what I really do as I find it embarrassing. I could have done this job as an 18 year old. I am now 44 and getting a bit old I think to be starting another career, I think I probably have a few years to get into something I’m happy with before I get to the age where employers start to see my age as a disability.

A bit of background on myself.

Ok, a brief rundown of my work/study life and quals from the last 20 years or so.
After school went to TAFE and did an Engineering Drafting Cert, then worked as a draughtsman for a steel frame housing company for about 2 years drawing plans, wall frame drawings for fabrication and submitting and liaising with council for the customers. Pay was not good but liked the job, was very young at the time and wanted a bit more excitement ………..so…………..

Joined the defence force because I came from a military family and loved aircraft. Ended up doing lots of different stuff that most people wouldn’t believe but core job was aircraft maintenance. Did this job for 13 years also a couple of years of EO disposal and technical assessing of spares. Don’t regret joining but probably should have pulled the pin a lot earlier than I did. Had an absolute ball!

I wanted to be an Architect from about 13 but didn’t have the courage or the parental support to do this, no one in my family had gone to uni, and frankly at 18 all I wanted to do was party and chase boys (no one told me that uni is actually the best place to do this as I found out many years later). So after 13 years in the defence force I resigned and went to uni and graduated in 2005 with a BSc (Architecture). This is the first of 2 degrees needed to become an Architect and frankly is pretty useless on its own.

During this time I had met and married Mr Bespoke and little bespoke (known as The Child) was on the way. The child was born in Aug 2006 so had till Feb 2007 off with the baby. Then went back to uni and found out just how hard it was to do such a demanding degree with a 5 month old, so I cut down to 1 subject and considered how I was going to do this. Did a sideways move of degrees to Construction Management mid year (has some of the same subjects and I got lots of credits). This degree can be done online whereas Architecture can’t. By the end of 2007 we had bought our first PPOR (together) and hubbie was not happy with me spending another 2 or 3 years at uni full time and so I started looking for work and applied for 3 jobs (all aviation related) and got 2 of them. Didn’t go back to uni.

So my dilemma is I am working as a glorified storeman earning 40% of what the guys who I work with are as I don’t have the civilian qualification (only military). I can get the civilian quals and after about 2 years I could possibly be on what they are, BUT the boss really only likes guys who have lots of experience on this aircraft type and I haven’t had hands on experience for 10 years. I have asked him about moving in this direction and he is non committal.

I must be the most over educated storeman in Australia and I am bored silly everyday. Sounds so superficial but I need a job with more responsibility, more status and more pay.

I need to get out of this particular job but which way to go?

Some thoughts:
Stay and try to worm my way into a maintenance position (this may never happen and I could be wasting my time)

Try to work out a way to earn enough income to keep hubbie happy and go back to uni to finish Architecture.

Start another line of study complimentary to Architecture like….. Town planning or I did consider a QS course at TAFE, correspondence but they have since discontinued the course, maybe Landscape Architecture. I love Architecture and construction, love aviation love gardening and landscaping.

Hubbie knows I’m not happy at all and he has lately been trying to convince me to set up a Architectural draughting business, but frankly I don’t have the industry experience to do this. I would need to do alot of brushing up to do this.

If I do more study I need to be able to do it part time and online or by correspondence.

So……………… any ideas, constructive comments, thoughts. Am I too old to try to get an entry level position in anything? Should I just try to stick it out here and hope I’m not wasting my time? Or should I do more study with the risk that I could not get a job after? Is there another avenue I haven’t thought of?

I wasnt sure about posting this so I reserve the right to remove it as it contains alot of information about myself.
 
Hi Bespoke,

I find my job deadend at times, but the pay is pretty good & employer fairly flexible for what I do so I'm happy with the tradeoff. (Allows me to invest in property which is a passion.)

What do you want out of a job? Money or satisfaction? (Obviously both is the ideal, but not many achieve this).

Could you get into town planning at a Council or is that not something you'd want to do?

Do you want job satisfaction or money to pursue interests (investing) outside of work?

Regards,
M&M
 
Thanks for the thoughts.
Well I agree that in my opinion you ideally would have 3 things from a job.
1.Job satisfaction
2. Good wage
3. Good conditions (whatever these are for you)

If you can get 2 of these and can live with not having the third then its probably Ok, but I reckon I'm only getting all of No 3, a bit of no 2 and absolutley none od No 1 and unfortunately No 1 is a must for me as I have discovered.
 
Would you consider your investing as being able to satisfy No1?

You know when I started this job that is what I was thinking but unless I was doing it full time (like Nathan) I now know its not enough to outweigh my situation.

We have just put 2 of our units on the market as we are going to build our dream home soon and the direction we want to go in with investing has changed since we bought them. We probably wont buy anything else until the house is built and we have settled in.
 
I suppose if you get desperate enough, you will find solutions to your situation.

I was a labourer for almost 5 years until my late 20's.
Towards the end, I absolutely hated it and almost could not get myself to get up in the morning to go to work.
Hated working for a boss too.
Always knew I could do alot better.

5 years later, financially free and feel so much more significant now.

When you get really, really desperate, and take action to change your position in life, so much can be achieved.
Don't waste more time where you are, keep trying other things until you find what works well for you.


Good luck
 
Hi,

I would suggest that paper qualifications would be a big help to you.

Perhaps as the job is boring/easy you would have some energy/time left over to study and get better qualifications from College or Uni.

Could you talk to your boss and ask what sort of qualifications would improve your promotion prospects with your current employer.

Some firms can qualify for training subsidies or have inhouse training available. Tell him/her that you would like something more mentally challenging and do they have something you could aim at for future promotions.

HTH
 
Can i suggest you stick it out for a bit, build up a small drafting biz on the side doing smaller work to brush up on your skills. By small, I mean small reno's - patios, garages, games rooms etc. This will apply the pressure you need to finish and pay you for it too.

From here, you can get into single houses, then duplexes etc all while working maybe 4 days a week.

just a thought though - good luck either way!
 
I hear ya!

I agree with you Spider that when you dislike working so much, financial independence is much easier to achieve. The workers I've spoken with in regard to my investment business just aren't interested in what I have to say, which I just cannot understand. They tell me how much they hate working, but then just plain don't care about achieving financial freedom when I briefly explain there are ways out of the rat race.

Just started a new job in a totally new 'career'.
3 weeks in.

The company I work for now has a boss that is a party animal and knows how its done, work wise. He comes in whenever he likes and doesn't do any work. Well done, I say!

The employees, however, are the total opposite as you'd expect, and I've been studying them closely in the time that I've been there.

Here are my observations.

1/They envy the boss and think he's greedy because he doesn't do any work, yet makes all the money.
2/They hate working long hours, and many work 7 days much of the time.
3/None of them I've spoken to have a money mindset and are paying ALOT of tax, with little offsets. Boats and cars are the status symbol here.
4/Most workers there seem generally miserable, and down a lot of the time. Its quite sad really but at the end of the day, the ball's in their court.
5/These employees have a workers mindset and seem to judge others by 'rank' and paper qualifications. Whereas to me, financial independence is the sole reason I go to work.

I've been knocking back a lot of overtime because, well, I'd rather be at home to be honest and I don't require much of a wage per week, only enough to buy equipment for our big travels next year! which I calculated will not be a problem with my current wage. The rest of the cash we need to live and enjoy ourselves on is taken care of already I'm glad to say. Its been alot of hard work (job wise) to get to where we are now, but for what its done for us its all been worth it.

Property investing, to me is all about buying 'time'.
With that time comes freedom and enjoyment.






I suppose if you get desperate enough, you will find solutions to your situation.

I was a labourer for almost 5 years until my late 20's.
Towards the end, I absolutely hated it and almost could not get myself to get up in the morning to go to work.
Hated working for a boss too.
Always knew I could do alot better.

5 years later, financially free and feel so much more significant now.

When you get really, really desperate, and take action to change your position in life, so much can be achieved.
Don't waste more time where you are, keep trying other things until you find what works well for you.


Good luck
 
Wow......I thought you were a bloke bespoke.
Gee.....tough call with a young larvae in tow.
What's your other half think you should do?
Does he know you are as bored as you sound?

If you have wanted to be an architect since 13, then you are probably one of those creative left hemisphere types, indecisive, torn....

I'm 51 and imho, 44 isn't the time to be starting from scratch.
If you've not had the self motivation to leap forwards before now, then it is most likely if you launch out now in some new direction, you will eventually find excuses not to persist.....like I am too tired, my son needs me.

Apart from that, you are very articulate. You write and express yourself really well. much better than a storewoman....sorry storeperson.

Why not look for more stimulating outlets away from work.

BTW, architecture is a seriously tough gig. My cousin is one, and he is a seriously highly trained professional, but his income is cr@p and the stress and job security is same. Creatives tend to suffer for their passion.
 
Creatives tend to suffer for their passion.

Goes against the commonly held view that if you do what you are passionate about, the money will come anyway.

Im only a pup in this sort of philo thing, but I have found that if you dont get the money squared away first, for most, its hard to live the passion and make a living for any length of time.

ta
rolf
 
Goes against the commonly held view that if you do what you are passionate about, the money will come anyway.

ta
rolf

s'pose depends what your passion is.

passion about making money (legally) would probably get you there.

passion about robbing banks or little boys won't.....
I only raise that last one cos I just heard that one of my favorite tv personalities has been caught looking at child porn.

who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men.
 
i'm not much younger than you at 42 - and totally unqualified as a high school dropout (worked mainly in admin or call centre jobs).

i gave up "the job" around 10 years ago and went into raising the kids - hubby's from first marriage, and then our own - as well as renovating several houses along the way and doing a couple of profitable developments. fortunately hubby was on a good income so we didn't "need" me to work and i was makiing more on the developments (subdivides etc) than i could ever have made in a "job".

however, in the last couple of years i've been getting really restless. apparently it's something to do with being around halfway thru your foreseeable life (although if i live as long as my living grandmother, i'm not even close yet).

anyhow, look into franchising or a service business or going to uni etc, but any business plans were thrown a curve by having to shift to south australia for 10 months (hubby's work) where i was rather bored - and then back to buy another major reno house while waiting for our ppor to come off lease with tenants. in hindsight being bored for 10 months and then being left brain creative bored (painting is so boring) wasn't a bad thing, because it gave time for ideas to stew and gel, be discarded and form into realistic options.

anyhow - it's only in the last few months that i haven't been sanding and plastering and scraping and painting every day, and have been able to really get started on a business idea that's been rolling around in the very back of brain for around 3 years.

i am having a ball developing the concept, birthing the idea from seed to a viable proposition, and have surrounded myself by some really enthusiastic mentors (business enterprise centre is fab place to get started).

hubby was very sceptical at the start - and i still don't share overly much with him like industrial designers fees etc - and his attitude was "if you want to work why don't get a part time job a couple of days a week."

BUT he just didn't get it. the thought of working part time for a measely $3-400/wk for the next 10 years made my skin crawl. i'm aiming for turnover of $500k/yr within 5 years - income of around $100,000+ - and going forward from there.

i guess the moral of the story is - never to old to start - why not start your own business - and - your future is in your hands only.
 
Goes against the commonly held view that if you do what you are passionate about, the money will come anyway.

Im only a pup in this sort of philo thing, but I have found that if you dont get the money squared away first, for most, its hard to live the passion and make a living for any length of time.

ta
rolf

I totally believe that if you do what you are passionate about the money will follow and that it IS possible to have your cake and eat it too. I have an IQ of 140. The average is 100 and only 2% of the population are over 134 I think. Anyway, as a result I was pressured at school to go to uni and get some high paying career. Lucky for me, my Mum said 'do what makes you happy and the rest will follow' - she was right. I quit school at 14 and by 18 I'd started tampering in the music industry. I was self-employed by 23 and remain so to this day, (now 38).

For most of us it means a lot of work and hours in the early years, but if it's your passion it really doesn't feel like work! I still work on weekends and nights because I WANT to. And not because it means more money but because I'm passionate about it. The money just tends to follow as a result.
 
Just follow your passion whatever that might be! I couldn't imagine doing something for many hours a day if you didn't enjoy it. I am also a beleiver in doing something for the community or others. Obviously investing frees you up to have more choices to persue interests and causes without having to worry about a pay check.:)
 
OK, I need some job/career/life advice.

Joined the defence force because I came from a military family and loved aircraft. Ended up doing lots of different stuff that most people wouldn’t believe but core job was aircraft maintenance. Did this job for 13 years also a couple of years of EO disposal and technical assessing of spares. Don’t regret joining but probably should have pulled the pin a lot earlier than I did. Had an absolute ball!

This won't solve your core question, but:

Defence has done a lot of work lately about getting civil accreditation for defence qualifications. Many skill sets and promotion course now are given a civilian equivlancy. Many of these qualifications are retrospective. You may be able to get some civilian quals that will give you better earning capacity. It won't solve your problem, but it might give you a bit more income to help you get where you want to go.

Also are you aware of the new Defence Home Owners Scheme (DHOAS). It gives you an 'interest' subsidy which depends on how long you served (and how much you borrow).

Even though you have seperated, I *think* you are still elibible. Again, it won't change your situation, but getting a $350 per month subsidy on your PPOR might free up some money to help you along.

Cheers
Murphy
 
As others mentioned, starting out in architecture would be a really hard slog.. I was talked out of it during work experience in grade 10 :eek: but having said that, I think it's very important to follow your passions.
To supplement the poor salary starting out in arch, how about getting into the drafting that Aaron mentioned while outsourcing most of the work (India).
 
The "follow your passion" thing is a quaint feel good.

In my experience, those who talk from personal experience about following their passion haven't had a deep enough interest in others to observe objectively how it works out on the average.

After working with the downside of life more than most, I've seen the majority of wannabe professional athletes follow their passion, and fail. Name your sport - golf, football, soccer, ballet, skiiing, surfing.....most don't succeed at making a living.

And I've seen the same with actors and actresses. One of my best Aussie mates from my youth, who is now in his mid 50s, has been an actor in Hollywood for 15 years. He tells me he is living his dream.....but deep down he is bitter, especially about money matters. Why? because his work is erratic and poorly paid, and he can't live the material life he thought would accompany his dream. Rather than living the dream, his spare time is taken up as an activist for an actors' union, agitating for better conditions.

The guy I bought my last road bike from was once a professional cyclist. He's mid 40s, and owns a bike shop...and works retail hours....and has told me he'd sell it tomorrow if he could get the right goodwill. He is over the hours and jaded. What about the guys so passionate about their sport, they take illicit drugs, and end up banned or dying prematurely like Florence Joyner.

How many guys do I know who followed their passion to be self employed, only to pay many hundred k to get into flavor of the month franchise. And be burnt out financially and physically within 3 years. I was talking to a bloke like this just a few months ago who bought into Sumo Salads in Brisbane.

What about the farmer who knows nothing else but farming and wants to do nothing else, but several years of poor crops and high interest rates see any remaining equity eroded away quickly. I once looked after a farmer in ICU, who had drunk a half litre of paraquat, after his farm failed. Once he confided in me that that was what he'd done (he told the admitting registrars something else), I quickly got in touch with the intensivist, who immediately organized a helicopter to get him to Royal Brisbane Hospital. The guy died 12 hours after I first spoke to him.

So what am I reinforcing here? I am saying "following your passion" is a very incomplete and naive life philosophy.

I am not trying to pour cold water on everyone's passion, but I am saying we live in a complex post industrial economy, and a grounded understanding of that, in addition to keeping your feet on the ground, and developing an understanding of what others' need or want, is required to channel the mind and energy into pursuits that a passion for will be fruitful.

One can develop passion for many things. You aren't born with one hardwired passion. In fact, the happiest people I've met are those who built solid character and values first, got the best education they could, and evolved a passion based on the guiding light of that background.

Ask a 10 year old what his passion is and he'd probably say soccer or cricket or xbox. Does he hold to that passion for the rest of his life? No.

Be careful what you value, because when you change your values, your passions will invariably change.
 
When you look around you and see bus drivers and 747 drivers, property flippers and burger flippers, lawn mowers and arborists, do you honestly reckon they are all fulfilled?

Prolly not, but they are there whenever you need them. Why not simply take the good with the bad?

Edit: How could I forget garbologists and microbiologists :)
 
Passions come and go depending on where you're at in life. You may have a passion for something and don't even know it yet. I consider myself very lucky to have found a passion within my day job and wish you the best of luck in whatever it is you go for...all I can suggest is try something new because you never know where it can take you :)
 
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