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Does anyone have experience switching careers, and/or moving somewhere new? I'm a story artist in Los Angeles, but when I look down the road ten years, I don't think I'll be happy pursuing this kind of work in this kind of place. But! Now I feel hyper-specialized, like a blind newt in a cave; I don't know where else to apply this kind of skill set (which is why I moved to LA in the first place!). Has anyone else been in a similar place? Can you move somewhere and just "get a job"? Or is this the kind of thing where I'd need to go back to school, find something else to specialize in?
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Sep 3, 2017 04:00
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 07:33 |
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I don't know what you're interested in going into but if you're looking to disrupt your life in a positive way, I suggest joining Peace Corps. I assume you have a degree in English and, if you have any experiencing tutoring English, you would be a good prospect for TEFL thru Peace Corps. There's a thread in ask/tell about it where you could ask more questions if you're curious. Also, you could just begin looking at job sites (indeed, idealist, governmentjobs.com) and see if there's positions out there in the world that interest you and what skills/qualities they would need. Also, there's AmeriCorps which you would probably qualify for anywhere in the country (tho budget cuts loom so get in while you can, I guess). It's dirt poor money but you could get direct experience in a field you're interested in (city government, food systems, social work) with public and nonprofits. Also yes, you can move anywhere and eventually get a job but I would suggest you look for the job first before moving. idk, I've only ever moved someplace when I knew I had a sure thing happening. Also, I wish. ya. the. best. in your pursuit.
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Sep 4, 2017 00:12
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N. Senada posted:I don't know what you're interested in going into but if you're looking to disrupt your life in a positive way, I suggest joining Peace Corps. I assume you have a degree in English and, if you have any experiencing tutoring English, you would be a good prospect for TEFL thru Peace Corps. There's a thread in ask/tell about it where you could ask more questions if you're curious. That's a route I had never even considered. I will look into those as possibilities, especially AmeriCorps. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Sep 5, 2017 04:53
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Another option along those same lines is Teach for America. A good buddy of mine's cousin did it between undergrad and med school for a year and found it pretty fulfilling, but like Americorps I don't think the pay is great.
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Sep 6, 2017 06:21
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A few years ago I realized that retail management was garbage and decided to change careers. I spent six months working all the hours I could as well as being extremely frugal so I could save money. At the end of that six months, I quit my job and enrolled in a technical certificate program at a local community college for manufacturing and production operations (this was not a good field to become interested in, in hindsight, though I am much better off today than I was back then). After I finished my first semester I started throwing out resumes and filling out applications on indeed.com left and right. Got several interviews right then and there, and started working in manufacturing. I got experience running machines and making things, which I had never done before, and have since moved on to a much more relaxed, better paying position yet again. With a little bit of money, some diligence with regards to what sort of jobs and pay are available in your target field/location, and the drive to improve, switching careers isn't so tough. I could see it being more difficult for someone who is more entrenched in one field starting over in another, but it's for sure doable. For years I had griped to people that the best thing that could ever happen to me is to get pissed off enough to walk the gently caress out of my retail position, and it has proven completely true. Go for it.
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Sep 14, 2017 04:18
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Shooting Blanks posted:Another option along those same lines is Teach for America. A good buddy of mine's cousin did it between undergrad and med school for a year and found it pretty fulfilling, but like Americorps I don't think the pay is great. A friend of mine did that, I'll go pepper him with questions  Reynold posted:A few years ago I realized that retail management was garbage and decided to change careers. I spent six months working all the hours I could as well as being extremely frugal so I could save money. At the end of that six months, I quit my job and enrolled in a technical certificate program at a local community college for manufacturing and production operations (this was not a good field to become interested in, in hindsight, though I am much better off today than I was back then). After I finished my first semester I started throwing out resumes and filling out applications on indeed.com left and right. Got several interviews right then and there, and started working in manufacturing. I got experience running machines and making things, which I had never done before, and have since moved on to a much more relaxed, better paying position yet again. That is inspirational. Congratulations on making that change in your life!
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Sep 24, 2017 15:55
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Here is my story. I was working for T-Mobile for almost 11 years. Living in Los Angeles, making about 70K a year. Not bad for not having a degree. I was getting tired of doing customer service and just the general BS of working retail. Started looking around at jobs that paid decent and something that was interesting. So I start looking at the airline industry for some reason and look into becoming a Air Traffic Controller. Well that didn't really pan out, but as I was looking I stumble upon Aircraft Dispatcher. It is a job that no one knows about. Basically you are responsible for the flight along with the captain. You file the flight release, and make sure that the flight is legal while it is in flight. So I quit T-Mobile travel for 2 months and then go to school in Dallas for 5 weeks and get my FAA Dispatcher license. I'm now working at a regional airline in Massachusetts. I really enjoy coming into work everyday. The pay is not great at the moment, but the experience is worth it. After a couple of years here, I should be able to move to a major airline and really start making decent money. I will say, I have no kids, no debt, and no significant other either, so I was leaving behind in LA was and family. I knew that I was going to have to move wherever I could get a job to start out. It has definitely been worth it and I am glad I made the change.
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Sep 25, 2017 00:47
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Burden posted:Here is my story. I was working for T-Mobile for almost 11 years. Living in Los Angeles, making about 70K a year. Not bad for not having a degree. I was getting tired of doing customer service and just the general BS of working retail. Started looking around at jobs that paid decent and something that was interesting. So I start looking at the airline industry for some reason and look into becoming a Air Traffic Controller. Well that didn't really pan out, but as I was looking I stumble upon Aircraft Dispatcher. It is a job that no one knows about. Basically you are responsible for the flight along with the captain. You file the flight release, and make sure that the flight is legal while it is in flight. So I quit T-Mobile travel for 2 months and then go to school in Dallas for 5 weeks and get my FAA Dispatcher license. I'm now working at a regional airline in Massachusetts. I really enjoy coming into work everyday. The pay is not great at the moment, but the experience is worth it. After a couple of years here, I should be able to move to a major airline and really start making decent money. I will say, I have no kids, no debt, and no significant other either, so I was leaving behind in LA was and family. I knew that I was going to have to move wherever I could get a job to start out. It has definitely been worth it and I am glad I made the change. CAPE AIR BABY????
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Sep 25, 2017 19:32
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This thread seems like a good place to ask a similar question to the OP. I've been working for a pharmaceutical company for the last six years. I test drugs verifying the structure of them before we send them off to factories for use. I have a masters degree in chemistry but it's kind of a useless degree in a laboratory. Since I don't have a phd I can't be a boss and I'm overqualified for my job as a set of hands. Usually someone in my position would move from lab work into Quality assurance but I don't think I'm detail oriented enough to do that job. I am also apathetic about the city I live in, it's not bad but pretty boring. I hate the winter so not having one would be pretty sweet. I've been debating moving to the southwest however their isn't a huge amount of work there for analytical chemists. So I want to change careers as well but where the heck do you even start? Can anyone here talk about how they changed their careers, especially after you already have a degree?
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Oct 5, 2017 17:38
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How old are you? You sound less than 30. Less than 30, no kids, no spouse, no mortgage is the perfect time to say "gently caress it" and find a new thing. Can I offer some advice? You put a lot of time and effort into a very specific thing that not a lot of people know how to do. Before you throw in the towel and become a sporting goods salesman, maybe you could quit your job and go find a new one in a different city in a different specialization that would put you on a different track? There is lots of biotech on the west coast. It's hard for me to believe that an analytical chemist couldn't find work.
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Oct 6, 2017 07:26
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photomikey posted:How old are you? You sound less than 30. Less than 30, no kids, no spouse, no mortgage is the perfect time to say "gently caress it" and find a new thing. 32 but no kids, no spouse and no mortgage and no plans or desire for the first two. I have thought about that, most of what I hate about my job are things I would encounter in other labs or working in different specializations inside pharma. Because of that I've been receptive to the idea of saying gently caress science and doing something else. I have tried to move to some other flavor of lab work but I don't do the same testing they want so I continue to get declined.
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Oct 6, 2017 12:25
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Unfortunately, I'm in a similar boat as well, so I might as well post my own current employment mistake. I graduated with a fiction writing degree which was probably a mistake despite my passion being writing. I took an internship at a real estate trade magazine for a year hoping I could flip that into a real job but they basically used me as free labor for a year before dumping me to the curb. Presently I'm working as an "Office manager" for my dad's steel cutting company making half of the average salary for my title and no time off and an hour commute. The only perk, and it's a good one, is that I can stay on my parents health insurance since it's technically through work, and it's good. I want to get the hell out of here and find something that pays me a decent wage and has decent benefits where I can also use my writing talents so I don't hate my job. Technical writing seems like a good way to go, but I haven't had much luck so far. Copywriting also seems like an easy jump but the pay seems bad at most places. Freelancing is always an option but it's not consistent money and I've been screwed out of pay before. If anyone has experience making due with a crummy degree and little experience outside of generic office experience, I'd love to hear it.
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Oct 12, 2017 17:14
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CascadeBeta posted:Unfortunately, I'm in a similar boat as well, so I might as well post my own current employment mistake. I graduated with a fiction writing degree which was probably a mistake despite my passion being writing. I took an internship at a real estate trade magazine for a year hoping I could flip that into a real job but they basically used me as free labor for a year before dumping me to the curb. I have no idea how easy it is to break into it, or how lucrative it is these days but I remember some goons making decent money off self-publishing fiction books on Amazon. I believe the advice there was to find a specific niche and target that, but I have no idea how to market self-published books. At the very least you might be able to develop some income on the side for now, while you look for something better.
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Oct 12, 2017 20:26
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Ironically, every professor I had said to absolutely not self publish, mainly because of how flooded the market is. It's extremely hard to stand out, and if you're going to put forth the effort to write a good novel, you might as well pitch it to publishers. That's not to say you can't do it though. I'll look for the self publishing thread.
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Oct 12, 2017 21:08
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Shooting Blanks posted:I have no idea how easy it is to break into it, or how lucrative it is these days but I remember some goons making decent money off self-publishing fiction books on Amazon. I believe the advice there was to find a specific niche and target that, but I have no idea how to market self-published books. At the very least you might be able to develop some income on the side for now, while you look for something better. I am pretty sure that market got totally jacked up a year or so back.
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Oct 12, 2017 21:52
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I am pretty sure that market got totally jacked up a year or so back. It wouldn't surprise me - when a self published book becomes a major movie, it's easy to see how it would get flooded.
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Oct 13, 2017 21:38
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 07:33 |
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Shooting Blanks posted:It wouldn't surprise me - when a self published book becomes a major movie, it's easy to see how it would get flooded. It's more that the lion's share of the money in self-publishing came from porn, and Amazon kept tweaking their algorithms to gradually shut it out of the market.
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Oct 14, 2017 03:20
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