job change ideas

[Ekona]

I highly suspect that insurance as an anti-piracy bloke working in Somalia is probably not available.

[rabbitstew]

I highly suspect that insurance as an anti-piracy bloke working in Somalia is probably not available.

 

I read a book last year about a guy who is a mercenary and does anti piracy stuff on boats and he said due to laws etc they arnt allowed to even take guns on board. So they made fake guns out of bits of old snooker cues and just had to walk around on deck looking menancing with them to try and detere pirates.

 

Bearing in mind these pirates are multi billionaires with all state of the art boats & weapons now I dont think id fancy doing that job.

[Ekona]

Me neither. I'd rather earn £20K a year waiting tables than £200K doing that.

[rabbitstew]

Me neither. I'd rather earn £20K a year waiting tables than £200K doing that.

 

Only cos you like wearing the waitress uniform......

[kbeast35]

if i was you the last thing i would do is load up a credit card to do a course and hope that i get a job at the end of it, that's just stupidity! that money needs to be payed back if you don't get a job at the end of the course how can you pay back what you owe? interest builds up every month and your back to square one needing a well paid job to pay off your debt!!

what i would do is either look into getting the kind of job your talking about with the anti piracy thing but only do it for a year or two you'll only be 26 with plenty of money and be able to afford to take the time out to do a course of some kind and still have money to support yourself long enough to get the job you want or take a job that interests you but doesn't pay so well and work your way up/into the role that you want

alternatively keep an eye out for adult trainee positions they do come up now and then in various trades, its like an apprenticeship but with adult wages, usually involves going to college too so not only do you get a job where the money rises as you progress but you also get a qualification in that trade

[Neilp]

if i was you the last thing i would do is load up a credit card to do a course and hope that i get a job at the end of it, that's just stupidity! that money needs to be payed back if you don't get a job at the end of the course how can you pay back what you owe? interest builds up every month and your back to square one needing a well paid job to pay off your debt!!

what i would do is either look into getting the kind of job your talking about with the anti piracy thing but only do it for a year or two you'll only be 26 with plenty of money and be able to afford to take the time out to do a course of some kind and still have money to support yourself long enough to get the job you want or take a job that interests you but doesn't pay so well and work your way up/into the role that you want

alternatively keep an eye out for adult trainee positions they do come up now and then in various trades, its like an apprenticeship but with adult wages, usually involves going to college too so not only do you get a job where the money rises as you progress but you also get a qualification in that trade

apprentice wages aren't bad these days. As a 3rd year apprentice service engineer I was on 25k

[stuarty]

I'm a qualified EHO. If i could be arsed doing freelance work i could earn £250-£300 a day, but i enjoy my free time!

 

http://www.ehn-jobs.com/job/305494/environmental-health-officer-technical-officer-public-health/

Lots of jobs out there for qualified EHO's.

[ddcboyle]

if i was you the last thing i would do is load up a credit card to do a course and hope that i get a job at the end of it, that's just stupidity! that money needs to be payed back if you don't get a job at the end of the course how can you pay back what you owe? interest builds up every month and your back to square one needing a well paid job to pay off your debt!!

what i would do is either look into getting the kind of job your talking about with the anti piracy thing but only do it for a year or two you'll only be 26 with plenty of money and be able to afford to take the time out to do a course of some kind and still have money to support yourself long enough to get the job you want or take a job that interests you but doesn't pay so well and work your way up/into the role that you want

alternatively keep an eye out for adult trainee positions they do come up now and then in various trades, its like an apprenticeship but with adult wages, usually involves going to college too so not only do you get a job where the money rises as you progress but you also get a qualification in that trade

apprentice wages aren't bad these days. As a 3rd year apprentice service engineer I was on 25k

 

I was previously looking at becoming an electrician or plumber. Only issue I came accross was getting an adult course where I was paid whilst training. Plenty of things for a 16 or 17year old out of school. But everything I came accross was pay to learn.

 

Anyone self employed sparkie or plumber here? Id love to own my own business, but at the same time its working for a company like BT etc to get contacts and experience before I moved onto this. Or would a 3 year apprenticeship be enough to start your own?

[sipar69]

Focus less on the initial salary and more on what a job can offer you in terms of progression. Provided it gives you enough to live on don't be reluctant to take a job on less money than you're hoping for if it offers good long term prospects. I left uni with a good degree in 1994 and took a job that paid fairly poor money and didn't require a degree. I'm still working for the same employer on v good money now. Point is the initial salary is less important than getting your foot in the door. Best of luck

Edited July 25, 2013 by sipar69

[Fodder]

Focus less on the initial salary and more on what a job can offer you in terms of progression. Provided it gives you enough to live on don't be reluctant to take a job on less money than you're hoping for if it offers good long term prospects. I left uni with a good degree in 1994 and took a job that paid fairly poor money and didn't require a degree. I'm still working for the same employer on v good money now. Point is the initial salary is less important than getting your foot in the door. Best of luck

This is good advice. You are never going to walk into a good salary which you're targeting without experience or it being the type of dangerous work you're considering.

As for contract work (someone else mentioned this) day rates won't include any sort of compensation such as pension, holidays, insurance or medical cover. At 24 sadly you really need to start thinking about your pension.

 

At 24 I had a forced career change, I got lucky and was offered a position which was relatively poorly paid but as I had very limited experience of the role (hobby) however I saw the long game. Worked my socks off, put my hand up for any weekend work which would enable me to work alongside more experienced folks and it paid off.

I now work in a global team (only member outside of the Americas) on a salary AND compensation package I'm happy with and could never of earned in my first career choice.

I had a little bit of luck and worked very hard once my foot was firmly in the door.

 

Good luck.

[gangzoom]

Focus less on the initial salary and more on what a job can offer you in terms of progression. Provided it gives you enough to live on don't be reluctant to take a job on less money than you're hoping for if it offers good long term prospects. I left uni with a good degree in 1994 and took a job that paid fairly poor money and didn't require a degree. I'm still working for the same employer on v good money now. Point is the initial salary is less important than getting your foot in the door. Best of luck

 

If you can get into a job with good progression defiantly don't focus on the starting/initial salary. My income has more than doubled in the last 7 years due to progressing up the ladder, and I expect it to more than double again in the next few years. I've had to work hard (lots and lots of weekends, hardly any holidays for 2-3 years) but now in a position where I can almost pick and choose which position I go to next.

 

The difficulty I guess is your coming from a position where you've worked hard for a while built up good experience but that experience is hard to translate into 'normal' jobs. I wouldn't be too afraid to spend money on more education, I've spent £10K+ on adult/postgraduate degrees/courses since leaving University but they have already paid for themselves. I had a interview a couple of years ago where I had a postgraduate qualification the other candidate didn't, I'm pretty sure the job was given to me on pretty much that point alone!! But you do have to be-careful which courses you go on, alot of them are there just to make money and do little in the form of education.

 

Good luck

[rabbitstew]

If you can get into a job with good progression defiantly don't focus on the starting/initial salary. My income has more than doubled in the last 7 years due to progressing up the ladder, and I expect it to more than double again in the next few years

 

And in my experience depending up on your industry it can be mega hard to find a job with progression.

 

I can safely say in my career the only way ive been able to "move up the ladder" is by changing companies. The way a lot of companies see it, is if your doing really well in your current role, why should they promote you? If they did, they would have to go out, find someone to replace you in your old role, train them up, probably pay them more cash, and then find out they are not as good as you were. So, companies in general seem very reluctant to promote people and move the up the ladder. Unless you are rubbish at your job, in which case some companies I know seem to promote you quickly. Its the old saying "you fail upwards".

 

At least thats how its worked in the various companies ive worked in over the last 20 years. Its a shame as it doesnt really promote company loyalty.

[Ricey]

Do you want the money, or do you want to do something you enjoy? They're not mutually exclusive, but sadly one tends to be found without the other.

 

There's loads of jobs out there that could potentially see you making £37500 before tax which gets you to your £2500 take home, but you may find they either bore the hell out of you or simply grind you down. What are your skills? What do you enjoy doing? What won't you do under any circumstances?

 

This this this

 

I am literally in this situation - similar amount to the above, 37.5 hours a week, air conditioned office, 5 minutes from home, 30 days holiday and I ****ING DESPISE IT, MY CAREER AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bloody blue collar family drilled it into me that I must 'work in an office' and low and behold 13 years later here I am...........miserable as fook and trapped to buggery on the 'consumer treadmill'.

 

I had a chat with Stew a while back about going offshore but it isn't an easy industry to get into at the best of times, never mind when your a 13 year veteran desk jockey with more DIY fails behind you than Frank Spencer.

[ddcboyle]

Is anyone here an electrician or plumber? May be worth mr having a trade and as you say, move up the ladder for experience then possibly have my own business

[350 Russ]

Is anyone here an electrician or plumber? May be worth mr having a trade and as you say, move up the ladder for experience then possibly have my own business

 

I'm a self-employed plumber/pipe fitter,

 

I started the week after I left school at 16, qualified at 19 and finished my apprenticeship at 21, if you do look into getting a trade then try and get and evening course or part-time until you get your ticket, don't do one of those 6 weeks course and here's your qualification because they don't work, you will be on a job without a clue what your doing.

 

If I could give some advice it would be learn to be a sparky before a plumber. It's cleaner and IMO better for roughly the same money.

 

It all depends on what you want to do, if you want to do maintenance work in occupied property you will have to do call outs but the work is easier, if you want to get into installations and building sites etc there is no security in your job.

[stuarty]

Plumbers in Scotland charge a fortune, just ask Stuarty.

Joiners, lol! BTW that guy has went bust!

[ddcboyle]

Ideally if I were to go to sparkie, id want an apprentaship where I was paid during learning so I could sustain myself. And then move onto house call outs with the possibility of opening my own business/one man job.

 

Whats the work like for sparkie? Ive never needed a sparkie I just do everything myself. Is there constant work?

 

Yeah I wouldnt do a 6 week course, in my head I am looking at 2 to 3 years. Get some experience eith it all