Mid life career change

[wolfeyes1974]

i'm 36 and looking for a career change....but with so much commitments..it's scary to take the first step at times...nonetheless, i'm looking out and hope to find something rewarding (intrinsic and monetary wise) and challenging...

just curious how many members did this and what's your experience?

cheers

[KuchingKu]

Ha. 36 and you call mid life. Then people like me 3/4 Liao.

[wongcheok]

Factually speaking, life expectancy for the average Singaporean male is 78...

[SDM]

My own experience:
1st 7 years in port industry
At age 33 went overseas to work in port industry for 1 year
At age 34 came back to Spore and work for security industry for 3 months
At age 34 work for public transport industry for 1 year
At age 35 work for airport for 1 year
Now at age 36, working for healthcare industry

My only regret is spending too long a time in my first company. Changing industry is not insurmountable. The only obstacle is in your mind. Once you take the first step, you will not look back again.

[voltshin]

i agreed... staying the 1st job for the longest time is a waste. you tend to get into your comfort zone. i've been a designer for 5 yrs in my 1st company then now i'm working in industrial relations. althru i still like designing but i know it doesnt have much career path to stay longer.

changing industries can gain more exp. my friend from IT industry got retrenched in 2009 after working for many yrs but now he laughing all the way cos he found a new job shortly with a pay rise of 50%.

[toffeesthings]

i agreed... staying the 1st job for the longest time is a waste. you tend to get into your comfort zone. i've been a designer for 5 yrs in my 1st company then now i'm working in industrial relations. althru i still like designing but i know it doesnt have much career path to stay longer.

changing industries can gain more exp. my friend from IT industry got retrenched in 2009 after working for many yrs but now he laughing all the way cos he found a new job shortly with a pay rise of 50%.

Bro,
I concur with your statement. I spent 7 long years in my first serious job working for peanuts, no bonus and working like a dog but to me it was a comfort zone.
I finally snapped out of it 2 years ago by leaving.
Still basically doing the same thing but with more focused contract job searching and there is more fulfilment and pay practically doubled. So now I get twice the peanuts, haha!

[flagship]

Bro,
I concur with your statement. I spent 7 long years in my first serious job working for peanuts, no bonus and working like a dog but to me it was a comfort zone.
I finally snapped out of it 2 years ago by leaving.
Still basically doing the same thing but with more focused contract job searching and there is more fulfilment and pay practically doubled. So now I get twice the peanuts, haha!

Single peanut=S$600K
Double peanut=S$1.2Mil
So envy!

[Ivanloh]

single peanut=s$600k
double peanut=s$1.2mil
so envy!

awesome!!! :d :d :d

[theOrion]

Well I did the reversed, I jumped alot during my younger days and stayed longer as I grew older. My take on this is that the older you are and the higher you are, the harder it is to switch without taking a higher risk or a hit on your salary(especially if you've got kids and such to think of). That is unless you got headhunted by a different industry or move into something still related to your current industry but in a different scope.

[kermit e froggy]

Me too. I'm looking at a switch too but dunno how to do it when I'm now no longer myself but with 2 kids ? Bro wolfeyes, I thought u r cool with your current job. Envy your job type ,unlike me is like Pretty much the same for the next 20yrs ! My Gosh... I'm stuck for this job. How ? HOW ? How to switch ?

[toffeesthings]

Me too. I'm looking at a switch too but dunno how to do it when I'm now no longer myself but with 2 kids ? Bro wolfeyes, I thought u r cool with your current job. Envy your job type ,unlike me is like Pretty much the same for the next 20yrs ! My Gosh... I'm stuck for this job. How ? HOW ? How to switch ?

Hey Bro Kermit,
I'm in the same situation as you. Doing the same job for the past decade and will probably do the same for the next 20-30yrs unless something better like sudden windfall comes along. Already getting and looking old, so hard to switch industry that I can share my 'expertise' and experience with now : (

[wolfeyes1974]

maybe we should just pull our resources and start our own biz....create a directory of one's skillset/experiences then match them..crazy thought huh?

[buddy]

i'm 36 and looking for a career change....but with so much commitments..it's scary to take the first step at times...nonetheless, i'm looking out and hope to find something rewarding (intrinsic and monetary wise) and challenging...

just curious how many members did this and what's your experience?

cheers

Its important to know what you want, your goals etc.. before you "jump". Most of us sg-poreans are risk averse and money minded so its tough.

[theOrion]

Starting up is not really that scarry a thought, have done it before and have done it for others too. It's a great experience, everyone should try it at least once.