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Has anyone had a complete change of career plan? Need some advice

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Absolutely sick to death of working in offices. It really does depress the shit out of me, I leave every day with no satisfaction whatsoever and a gut feeling that I'm wasting my life and I can't handle another 50+ years feeling like that.

I'm going to take a total change of career, completely away from an office and the tedious bullshit it brings. I'm researching my options at the moment but I'm wondering how I would fare considering my whole work experience (9-10 years) has been in an office environment.

Would this cause any issues with potential employers?

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Never mind, my mate just pointed this link out to me. Feel free to delete.

    Or

    http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/JobsAndCareers/DG_073364

    For anyone else that may be interested.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i'm thinking of a career change after 7 years of admin. Scary!
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    LauraOLauraO Posts: 535 Incredible Poster
    Hi Aspire,

    We won't delete this thread as it's really useful especially the link your mate gave you, looks like a great article, did it help?

    You don't say what you're thinking about doing next? Perhaps you are not sure yet? Remember though there are plenty of transferable skills you have gained from working in an office that would be useful in any career you go on to do.

    There are also some articles on TheSite that might be of interest: Getting a new job and What's your perfect job. I also really like these career path myths :)
    Good luck with your decision and your search and let us know how you get on :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Laura

    Sorry bit of a late reply. I've been researching still, I think I'd like to do something with a bit of manual work, preferably with some time outdoors. I had a discussion with a careers adviser and we came up with a few ideas for the type of work I think I'd feel suited to, but it was areas that were either difficult to get into or there wasn't hardly any work for.

    Gardening work was one of the key ones though, I feel like I want to be outside actually doing something. Whether it's planting trees or sorting out local green areas etc. A mission trying to find work there at the moment though.. My local council was an idea but they're only taking on people internally due to the current climate.

    The careers adviser did mention the prospect of biting the bullet and going back to an office for the time being. I have put up with it for so long, another couple of months probably won't hurt but I'd prefer to avoid it.

    I've been looking at my local jobcentre website for "all jobs" to get some ideas, but I'm only getting 5 pages of results! The only other websites I know for jobs are the usuals like monster.com, reed.co.uk, totaljobs.com etc.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh and thank you for the links!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    try searching for grounds maintenance jobs.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Have you heard of "transferable skills"? You may have some from working in an office.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think that people working in an office and then wanting to do something entirely different is really common.

    You could try advertising yourself as a gardener at the back of your local newspaper - if you don't live in a particually affluent area where people are likely to have gardeners then you might want to consider advertising in a newspaper in a posh area.

    You can also do short (or even degree) courses in garden design which might also be useful for getting some experience.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There are a lot of roadbuilding projects at the moment, I've been told if you're after labouring jobs your best bet is to turn up at the site office and ask.
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    LauraOLauraO Posts: 535 Incredible Poster
    No worries Aspire, glad you found the links useful :)

    It sounds like you are doing all the right things to try and leave a job that you are not enjoying and take a career change in order to do something a bit more fulfilling. Seeing a careers advisor was a great step, and it sounds as though it was helpful.
    As Wyetry said, it might be worth seeing if there are any courses you could do to increase your chances of getting a job in this area. I'm not sure what qualifications you already have but there are courses, apprenticeships and degrees you could look into, some of which you could study around your current role. Or perhaps you could get some experience by volunteering - there are often gardening opportunities in the local area which would give you some basic skills to add to your CV. Have a look at www.do-it.org.uk for opportunities in your local area.

    Even if you do go back to your office role for a while, as the careers advisor suggested, this is not a bad thing. You have already recognised that you want to leave and are making positive steps towards doing that, so good on you :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am in the EXACT same position, my office job is rediculously depressing.

    Just out of interest, how did you go about quitting and what else did you find? or are you still in the job?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aspire

    I totally need a career change from working in a stupid chocolate factory.

    I wouldn't mind doing something like the jobs you mentioned. I go on holiday to Scotland twice a year and always fancy a job like someone does up there. Starting at 9am til 5-5:30pm on an estate. Jobs include mowing the lawns, cutting tress down for hill walkers (like myself), fencing, general maintenance around the big house etc.

    I've even thought about moving up there since there are always jobs in the local paper that I could do. But its a shame really because I can't move because of my health.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aspire

    I totally need a career change from working in a stupid chocolate factory.

    I wouldn't mind doing something like the jobs you mentioned. I go on holiday to Scotland twice a year and always fancy a job like someone does up there. Starting at 9am til 5-5:30pm on an estate. Jobs include mowing the lawns, cutting tress down for hill walkers (like myself), fencing, general maintenance around the big house etc.

    I've even thought about moving up there since there are always jobs in the local paper that I could do. But its a shame really because I can't move because of my health.


    I'm in Scotland and you would most definitely not enjoy the shite I'm doing just now!

    Where did you visit? Areas away from urban sprawls will offer different opportunities not just in Scotland.
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