Posts
2809
Joined
3/4/2014
Location
Cottontown, TN, USA
Edited Date/Time
4/14/2016 6:07am
Looking for answers on how people found their calling. Life is short and hating your job is a waste because it takes time from people and things you love. Has anyone made a major career change that was a risk? Personally, I want to get into landscaping and even open a store, but my wife has judgement against it. Maybe it's not my calling because I also enjoy helping the homeless, but I am over the deadlines, emails, and working for free to better the company. Maybe it's a season and I'm just venting, but open to any advice.
Best of luck to you.
I love cleaning windows, but have come to find it is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. You have to wear 50 different hats and I am trying to learn to find enjoyment out of all of them.
Not much of a risk besides putting school on the backburner... and riding.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
The best time of my life was doing stonemasoning, building stone walls etc. I often think about going back to doing it.
You asked about a move with some risk, think that qualifies.
A lot happened after the move, I dealt for three years then 9/11 and things changed for me. My wife stayed with dealing, I didn't. Long journy, lots of ups and downs, too many for here but ended well. We both retired in February and after 17 1/2 years just moved back to Iowa with lots of stories. In the process of getting our new house how we like it, spending time with family and friends. Life is pretty darn good.
Go ahead and take risks, but use your head, do your due diligence, have a plan.
Good luck.
i started installing windows (mainly residential) for my dad when i was 14. after i graduated high-school, i did the college thing but still stuck with the glass industry, now doing commercial instead of residential. then i went into a technical college, doing IT and networking. loved it while i was in school for the 3 years, but getting closer to graduation i started to absolutely hate it and hate the idea of working in an office 9-5. i went to interview after interview, getting offered an insulting wage (i know you gotta start from the bottom), and decided to stay at my dad's business. (we do large construction office building storefront and glass)
that was the best decision i've ever made in my life. i am now one of the biggest parts of why our company succeeds and makes money, we've expanded our operations and clients to pretty much doing negotiated work rather than competitive bid. i make great money and get to pick my own hours.
i guess i found my calling when i got out of what i thought was a horrible career path, tried my hand and got a degree in something completely unrelated, and came back. i can see myself doing this the rest of my life.
In 1989 started my own business and ran it until 2011 and then closed it for a multitude of reasons.
Working now for another contractor as a Senior PM and Estimator.
Give the Commercial Glass industry some consideration. Learn the trade from the bottom up and head for management. It is a great career and the $$$$ are good for a creative hard working problem solver.
i'm the senior estimator and have been getting my feet wet with the PM responsibility. i also do all of our shops and submitttals.
a big part of our business is blast glazing and senior living centers.
Got a degree in Business/Personal Finance and right near the end of school realized (like many others here) that a 9-5 wasn't for me... So I went a different route.
I worked as a professional bicycle mechanic for a few years, managed the shop I was at for a few as well, and by the end of it, I absolutely hated bicycles... Money was good, but I felt like I could do better in a different industry (not much potential money to be made at a bike shop...)
Moved into the Powersports industry and am currently working as a salesman/F&I manager at a large shop and am beginning to feel some of those same feelings again. The money is great, pay is dependent on how hard I work, but it comes at a price. After spending all day talking to people about dirt bikes, fixing bikes, doing training on new bikes, buying used bikes, etc I have no desire/time to go home and work on my own bike or scroll through the internet looking at bikes or go riding on the weekends.
My point is, be careful working in an industry that you're passionate about. It'll suck the wind out of your sails and leave a stale taste in your mouth about said passion. You don't want to extinguish the passion you have by doing it all day every day. I guess maybe that isn't the best way to word it... But what I'm trying to convey is that the type of work you do is less important than the quality of life it affords you. Sure, it's cool to talk about bikes all day long, but I don't get any Saturdays off, I work long weekday hours, and I get to help everyone else get new toys without being able to enjoy mine myself as much as I'd like. A steady 9-5 with a salary doesn't sound so bad right about now...
You may enjoy landscaping and would most likely do well at it, but keep in mind, you may not like it a few years down the road and the last thing you'll want to do after cutting grass all day is go home and mow your own lawn...
24 now years training retrievers, pointing and flushing dogs for hunting and field competition.
Before that I was a snow ski coach/instructor from the age of 18, my families business.
Pit Row
I've always heard, "Find something you love to do, then figure out how to make it into a career." Yet, reading at least one post above it would seem caution is in order. I don't disagree.
I've always thought my ultimate career would be guiding people to trout fish. It is something I've always loved to do (trout fish), and I know much of the Eastern Sierra like the back of my hand. I can take anybody with half a brain and put them on fish, and I've done it with friends and family. Yet...here I am; 2500 miles from the Eastern Sierra, in a career that I sometimes enjoy, but can't wait to retire from in just over one year when I turn 56.
Over the years I was quite pleased that I was doing something I considered important for the good of the country, but as I've watched our federal government turn into this ham-fisted, world-police force, captured by very wealthy people with the sole intent of further enriching themselves, I'm not so jazzed about it anymore.
My only real concern anymore is doing my best to ensure we return a quality, safe jet back to the Navy. Whether or not you or I believe our government is captured is irrelevant to my way of thinking - when it comes to doing my job. The men and women that fly these jets into harm's way deserve nothing less than the finest product we can give them. Like I once was, most are young idealists that are doing their best to serve the country.
Basically, don't listen to me. What you're asking is sort of like seeking after Xanadu, and I never found the map.
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