Career Switching, Starting Over, and Late Starts

[Viker]

I started out ambitious about becoming a corporate vampire. A slogan of mine was "Rourke and roll!"

Many bonus points if you know what I meant by the Rourke in it.

Then I moved on to being an entrepreneur and occasional freelance vampire.

Now I am changing entirely and becoming a disappointed Yoda.

 

[Revoltingest]

I started out ambitious about becoming a corporate vampire. A slogan of mine was "Rourke and roll!"

Many bonus points if you know what I meant by the Rourke in it.

Then I moved on to being an entrepreneur and occasional freelance vampire.

Now I am changing entirely and becoming a disappointed Yoda.

Howard Rourke?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Long ago I just wanted to work a regular job. But beyond that I had no plans and having bad knees didn't allow for that to be a viable long term goal. I did worked a couple fast food jobs, a gas station, warehouses, inventory, construction and driving.
Thought I wanted to go into psych when I realized my knees aren't going to last long. I liked the class in high school so decided to go with that. Had a job, my title was case manager but it was social work, for a company that is filled with what today remains some of the worst people I have ever known (and I know a lot of people who have been to jail and prison).
Now I'm a phlebotomist and realizing I hate having a job. They aren't for me, I struggle getting hired, so I'm starting up my own businesses so I can have work but no job.

 

[libre]

I'm interested to read the stories of any members here who have switched careers, had to start over in their professional life for any reason, or started their career late in the first place.

What has your career path been like, and how have you worked your way up the professional ladder after starting a career in a given field where your peers in terms of age had a head start on you?

My protestant-side grandfather spent the first years of his career chopping and transporting ice for food preservation in his village in Northern Canada that didn't have electricity or plumbing. He retired from programming Fortran on IBM computers. A lot can change in a few decades.

I work in computers, often think about trying to find employment in something more outside or social.

 

[an anarchist]

I'm interested to read the stories of any members here who have switched careers, had to start over in their professional life for any reason, or started their career late in the first place.

What has your career path been like, and how have you worked your way up the professional ladder after starting a career in a given field where your peers in terms of age had a head start on you?

Idk if my story counts, but I'll share.

I grew up with a dad who was a military veteran. My whole family raised me to be patriotic and was priming me to join the military, something I spent my adolescence wanting to do. I took the military entrance exam when the recruiters came by the high school, and I got really good score. So the Air Force was trying to convince me to join officers college. But, prior to that, in my third year of high school, I asked myself one day "What if I am wrong about what I believe in?". It was the 2016 presidential election in the states, and me and my friends were always debating politics. I was stereotypical right wing conservative Christian. But, when I allowed myself to entertain the idea that my beliefs could be wrong, I slowly went through a radical change. By the time the Air Force called me, I considered myself a Libertarian and it was a dilemma on what to do. Join the military, or not?

I stuck to my morals and joined the restaurant industry instead. I don't know how I would have turned out if I was an Air Force officer. My family would be proud at least. But, I've decided to be a writer... So that means I'll be in the restaurant industry until I get some college in my system...

I guess I felt I could respond to this thread is because I changed careers last second right after high school and lost all momentum. I'm working an entry level job, side by side with high school kids doing the same work I'm doing.

I'm still figuring out how I can make a living off writing. First step is to read all the books I own, and I'll honestly probably be a dishwasher until then. Life isn't always glamorous.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I started out ambitious about becoming a corporate vampire. A slogan of mine was "Rourke and roll!"

All I've ever really wanted to have to do with corporations is yell "Hey! **** you!"
I may be a rat in a cage, but I can still use all my rage to do a lot of fussing, making a huge ruckus and a big stink about things and making existence mutually unpleasant.

 

[Kathryn]

I started as a reporter at a newspaper just out of college (six year plan). After 5 years, I moved to become a public information officer at a state agency where I was for just over 14 years, when a corrupt new governor decided that he needed my position to reward political contributors and other cronies...you may have heard of him...Rod Blagojevich? Eventually appeared with Trump on The Apprentice, was later convicted of various federal crimes and spent some time in prison, before having his sentence commuted by Trump.

Anyway, lateral move was not possible, as all available positions were being held for his friends and contributors, and despite good qualifications I got no offers of consequential employment. After six months, one of my professors from the master's program suggested that I apply for a research assistant post in the doctoral program at the local university. For some reason, they doubled over to get me into the program, so I was employed to go work on my doctorate. I also held odd jobs and completed my doctorate in just over five years.

I was then hired to teach at a university, which I did until 2016, when the advent of early-onset dementia put an end to my career. I went on disability, and have been officially retired for three years now.

I doubt that any of this is helpful...

Rod the Democrat. Yes, I remember him.

Nothing any lawmaker of any persuasion does endears them to me. Not that they care.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Rod the Democrat. Yes, I remember him.

Nothing any lawmaker of any persuasion does endears them to me. Not that they care.

CNN has a series on Sunday evenings (and probably other times as well) on various public scandals...they just did an episode on Rod...Jake Tapper interviewed him...he was not at all repentant, and still insisted that everything he did was for the common working person, not for himself...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Doctor of Public Public Administration...I could diagnose and treat poorly function public and nonprofit organizations...

Mostly it seems to have stabilized, although some days are better than others, and I forget and misremember frequently. But fortunately, I'm a mostly cheerful person so I'm not a big pain to be around...I hang around here because it's something I don't have to be 100 percent on all the time, and if I re-read a thread, no biggie...

Hey, if you read a thread two or three times before responding, it makes up for some of the nimrods who offer their opinion without reading the thread at all...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Now I buy, move, donate, set up, & exhibit

Read that as 'buy and move donuts'

Maybe I should get a snack...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

My sister switched careers

She started off teaching in a university

She then went abroad to teach English to foreigners

And now she's a software engineer for a big tech company (I don't understand what her job entails)

She got her first software job after teaching herself code in her spare time, in her mid-30s

She's very clever, good at languages too

Your sisters path is somewhat similar to mine!
Except for the 'very clever' part, of course.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I started out ambitious about becoming a corporate vampire. A slogan of mine was "Rourke and roll!"

Many bonus points if you know what I meant by the Rourke in it.

Then I moved on to being an entrepreneur and occasional freelance vampire.

Now I am changing entirely and becoming a disappointed Yoda.

Watch out. At this rate you'll be a fully-formed human soon...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

All I've ever really wanted to have to do with corporations is yell "Hey! **** you!"
I may be a rat in a cage, but I can still use all my rage to do a lot of fussing, making a huge ruckus and a big stink about things and making existence mutually unpleasant.

Are you trying to evolve into a bullet with butterfly wings?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Are you trying to evolve into a bullet with butterfly wings?

I think in my case a butterfly with bullet wings.

 

[sun rise]

All through childhood and into graduate school I thought I'd be a chemist of some sort or other. In grad school my thesis project turned out to be financially undoable (lasers were needed and too costly) so I switched to another project. But at the time my chemistry plans were going up in smoke (it was the 60's) and I wound up being interested in psychology.

I moved to CA and wound up with a MA Humanistic Psychology and plans to be a therapist. That was not working out either and someone I consulted basically said "what can you do that you are decent at which people will pay you for". Computers were in the background in college and later so I took a couple of computer courses and was hired by someone who had a tough career path and would give people like me rope to prove myself.

And the rest is history. I had found my niche.

 

[Revoltingest]

Read that as 'buy and move donuts'

Maybe I should get a snack...

 

[EinGeheimkonto]

Well I started as an undergrad out studying Chemical Engineering at a T20 uni. Only, I graduated towards at a time when we were still recovering from the recession in the States, and when there weren't as many jobs available. I slogged it out delivering pizza and doing construction for a year, and then decided to apply to grad school. When I got out, I did work as an engineer for 2 years, but got laid off.

I didn't want to go back to construction, so I decided to go abroad. I taught English in Taiwan and China, learned Mandarin, got an MBA and a certificate in Data Science while I was there. I worked remotely after getting my MBA and decided I wanted to come back to the States.

When I came back to the States, I taught in a private school for a while when I was getting re-established. Then I became a business analyst at a small company. Got laid off after I failed to recognize the Boss' nephew (they had different names) and didn't offer him a job. I suddenly wasn't a good fit anymore, and was let go.

Currently I work sales for SaaS company and am also an adjunct professor at a local community college.