Who has made a career change?

I done the same thing 3.5yrs ago, I was working a dead end job, the up side was I worked 5days a week 9hrs a day off on weekends. I had all the family/fun time I could ask for...just not much money. If I needed a day off or needed to leave early then no problem. THe people I worked for were like family. The wife & me decided to start a famly & thats where the Twins came in:D So now I neede more income :o the big thing here is COAL, it pays really good & has awsome benefits:thumbup: so I done my training & got my card & underground I went. My father was a miner & my father-n-law was a miner & now they are both broke down & have very bad lungs & both are in their early 50's:(
But I needed that money & insurance so I did it anyway. it tripled my pay & the wife now stays home with the twins. I work 6days a week most of the time & I'm there 9~12 hrs a day. You can't leave early or take a day off with out some kind of punishment like working your next weekend off & stay late thru the week. We have NO dinner breaks or any kind of breaks. No restrooms or clean water to wash your hands or anything like that. it's a physical job & a dusty job. I HATE my Job :grumpy: But it's the only thing around to take care of my family so I'm doomed to a miners life:(
BREAKTIME.jpg
[/IMG]
DRIFTMOUTH.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I know what you are going through. I spent 25 years in corrections and retired and moved to Thailand. Now I work as a police volunteer and also on mountain rescue search and rescue team, and also work with hilltribe people and orphans. However, I can do this because I live on my pension and am thus not dependent on this charity work for support. I know you applied for paramedic training, but perhaps volunteer fire department would be a good opportunity and also has paramedic training. There are also mentor programs and refugee programs which help people and you could perhaps till keep your present position until something suitable came along. After 9/11 I went to work as volunteer for Investigative Project for Terrorism, and eventually worked as a paid consultant and investigator doing contract work for same organization. Many opportunities for helping people can be found on internet. My only advice to you is good luck, but consider carefully before embarking on a totally new areer, especially if the one you have now provides you and your family with good pay and benefits, as seems to be the case in your situation.
 
I started in the military and thought it would be all I would ever do. After ten years the political side of it as well as the general incompetence and bureaucracy left me thoroughly disgusted, so I left. Worked for a short time at a civilian job, discovered it was even worse than the government, was laid off, and started my own business.

It will be very hard to ever work for someone else again, but I'm not eliminating anything. The military gave me some great marketable skills I can fall back on, but until then, the gratification of knowing people are using my products to arm themselves and promote personal sovereignty keeps me very gratified.

Follow your passion and it will pay off. I don't make millions of dollars, but I'm able to work hard, spend time with my kids, and think up new ways to hide weapons.

Life is good. :thumbup:
 
Good-luck! It takes courage to make a huge switch like that. It's very noble professional.

In your first post, you basically described my life. I'm currently in the midst of reinventing myself. I too have a job that looks awesome on paper, but really isn't [architecture]. High stress, shitty money [it's funny how everyone thinks architects are rich], high liability and long long hours. All to make others rich at my own expense. I used to work for the Coast Guard doing front-line SAR work [generally in the spring and summer months] in large, super-expensive and ridiculously fast rescue boats ... combine that with saving people from their most desperate moments - there was nothing like it. How many times did I sit in MY cubicle moving freaking doors around in CAD thinking this really doesn't matter and I don't care what colour Ferrari the developer is going to buy when this project is done. What matters is hauling a person out of the North Atlantic in the middle of the night, moments before they perish. I've left my profession and am seeking a new start ... hey you only live once - be happy, make a contribution.
 
Research your new role (see if there is any way to score a ride along or similar), think it over some more. If your family is supportive and you are still keen, then go for it - don't die wondering. At least that is how I decided to change my career and I don't regret it.

NB - The world NEEDS paramedics! And there are a whole bunch of rescue knifes to consider... :D
 
coaldigger - You do what you need to do to support your family. My wife and I had a pretty lengthy discussion last night about money and how'd we be able make it on less pay. (I forgot about my bonus, so it's a 63% paycut)...

Our new govenor just gave all state employees a 8% paycut and is messing with their benefits so I'm thinking of holding tight for a wee bit longer until the economy gets a little more stable. I work in an industry that is going south all around us, but company is still growing and has not seen lay-offs yet.

I know life is what you make of it and a job, for some, is just a way to make money and are able to seperate work and home pretty easily, I can't. I consider my job a part of my life since I spend so much time there.
 
dingobubba said:
Hmmm... I need a change from EMS. I have a few reasons but I don't want to take away from your dream. Just some advice if you do it... it can be life consuming. Make sure you take equal time for yourself and your family. Best of luck to you.
Click to expand...

Dingo was too polite to give his reason for wanting to quit EMS so I'll give you mine. :D

1. Wages; our joke was that we could be earning more money working for In'n'Out Burger.

2. Stress; (See also #1:D) As a cop or firefighter (or many other response/ customer service related jobs) you get a variety of calls, some funny, some scary, some exciting, some sad, etc. EMS you basically deal with tragedy all day, every day. It is rare that you get called to something where something bad has not happened to someone. The national average career length is very short for EMT's and paramedics (at one time the quote was something like 1 year for EMT's, 4 years for medics :eek:).

3. Management; There are a few good places to work EMS, and many bad ones. Many in EMS management are so concerned with civil liability that they are vindictive and actually go out of their way to TRY to catch their employees doing wrong instead of devoting more energy to training and morale to improve their employees as should be done.

4. Injury (yours, not theirs hehe); I don't care if you're the Rock or Ahnold Schwartzenegger. EMS workers have to carry heavy equipment day in and day out from Monitors, med bags, gurney's, etc. And that's without even mentioning the patients, who are always 450 pounds and on the thirds floor of the apartment building (elevator is too small for the gurney...Murphy's Law)...skinny, healthy people don't have heart attacks...they have trauma. Sure, you can grab firefighter to help lift people...or maybe you're a fire medic and you're one of them...bottom line is that I don't know how anyone stays in EMS for an extended period of time without going out on a back injury. I decided I'd rather carry a 2 pound Glock than a 250 pound patient so I switched careers. :D

If I sound negative, don't mind me. Working EMS was some of the most fun years of my life and VERY rewarding. I often miss it. But for a career to spend 20+ years in...it wasn't for me. If you decide to go that route more power to you. Many people do and make it work. I just like to make informed descisions and I figure other people do as well, so just some fre food for thought.
 
I've shaken the Etch-a-Sketch a couple of times- even left the country for 5 years.
Live while you have the chance.
 
Rugger said:
I've shaken the Etch-a-Sketch a couple of times- even left the country for 5 years.
Live while you have the chance.
Click to expand...

Like that etch-a-sketch metaphor Rugger. I've done the same. I started out as a physical education teacher who payed a few bills playing football, then became a rehabilitation counselor, started my own consultancy in injury prevention and training and this segued into more of a corporate speaking gig. I'm now a 3/4 time writer (still do some day-job stuff).

Striving for the bohemian Australian dream. :)
 
At 31 i was a diesel mechanic...I went back to school and became a high school teacher....Now retired.....................Consider it............carl
 
Some fields die, become less important or face huge changes. My field changed significantly. Locally they hang onto the old ways and clients are suffering. With Bus Admin I have moved out to a management role. I go back when called by better earning but I view my original role to have changed significantly.

I am into sport for children and serve on an executive. Long extra hours is hard when battling to stretch income. It gives good satisfaction though I never volunteered but was hauled in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top