Made a career chane

[WyoElk]

Just underwent the same decision. After 10 years at my old job my wife and I decided that our"comfort zone" was the worst place to be. We turned everything on its head, new job, moved to a new state (WY) and new opportunities. My wife stays at home with our little girl and I took a significant pay cut. We decided to do it for family. The change has provided a lot more opportunity but hasn't come easy. We are bouncing back but it's going to take a little while to become established again. Money can't buy happiness. The one thing that made it possible for us was to really get ahold of our finances. We use the Dave Ramsey plan. He calls it "financial peace" and it is a very good feeling when you know where your money is going. We are making less now than we ever have and saving more.

Good luck with the new job, nothing replaces family.

 

[LostInSpace278]

My family and I move to Colorado 5 years ago. Corporate thought it was best to shut down the plant I worked at in Kentucky. Being in management, I got to see firsthand what the school systems were calling graduates. It was an easy choice for me. My wife grew up in Loveland, Colorado offered a better school system for my children, and the Mid-West had yet to be hit as hard by the recession.
I spent 15 months looking for a job, but it wasn’t all bad. I got to spend a lot of time with my wife and for the first time, I got to watch my kids grow up. I used to put in 70-90 hours a week. The money was great, but it was taking its toll on my family. I am just now making the same income I was making 7 or 8 years ago, but the cost of living is higher here. I still wouldn't change what we did.
Add all of to this fact that I expanded my hunting opportunities 2 fold. Best decision of our lives!!

 

[nflesher]

Well I have to vent. I made a career change on Monday. I currently work for an oil and gas service company but the hours started taking a tole. I decided to find a more family friendly place. Switching from engineer to compliance. I am really excited to get started. Bad thing is I have to pay back some bonuses. This brings me to my question, how many of you guys have switched careers for reasons such as spending time with family or even to hunt more? Did you do it for less money?

Get away from it now if your mind is set on doing so. I work for a service company as well, and I am always gone. I had a great offer last fall to take a sales job and jumped on it. It was a pay cut, but the hours were much better. The biggest reason for the switch was my family. My daughter was turning one and I was lucky to see her 4-5 days a month. She wouldn't even let me hold her, bath her, feed her, nothing. It was taking a toll on my marriage and it will bring you to your knees when your own daughter doesn't know who you are. I made the switch to the sales job and the service company I was working for offered me a management position to come back, but I would have to move. I went back to the service company and moved my family. So far all is well, but I still work a lot of hours. My phone rings non-stop and the emails are endless. I have worked out of Grand Junction, Rock Springs, Vernal, Williston, Dickinson, and I am in PA now. You will eventually lose focus of what is good in life and be so focused on work. My wife and I are expecting our second child in late August, so it is nice that I am home more. I am the Operations Manager for the district and I am only 28, so hard work does pay off, but don't give up what is irreplaceable. You can't rewind time, so live your life to the fullest.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Man that quote says it right. I have never looked at things like that.

Coming from someone who has worked long strenuous hours I do realize you lose sight of what is important. Problem in my situation was that I was not being compensated for the time I was/am putting in. Next wednesday is my last day at the service company and I believe it will be my best move. It is going to be really rough but I think its good.

 

[nflesher]

I started as a equipment operator level 1, and have made it to this point. At 28 I own two houses (hopefully one will sell soon), and have earned my way with no help. My body has paid the price though. I found gray hair on my head at 27, and consider myself lucky if I can sleep more than 2 hours without something hurting and waking me up. My shoulders are shot and I bet I get knee replacement before 55. Last year is when I really stepped back and looked at life. I was 27 and lived to work. Still to this day I can get the best sleep in the drivers seat of a Ford pick-up. I have slept in my company truck in my driveway before because I was so tired when I would get home. I never had time to do anything (Including hunting and fishing). My wife wanted to plan a party for friends and family when my daughter turned one, and I couldn't believe a year had passed so quick. My father-in-law told me that he is proud that I provide a great life for his daughter and grand-daughter, but is it worth missing everything? Get away from it if you can and chase some critters. You live in the heart of it our there, so take advantage of it.

I have been to Casper Wyoming a few times. I believe it was a Holiday Inn that I stayed at when I would go from Grand Junction, CO up to Gillette, WY.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Dang. Well with that title I now know which company you work for. I believe we work for the same one. That sounds like some of the field guys I work with. Thanks for the advice man. I do know how it feels to only be able to sleep in the front of a Ford. I can tell you my back hurts just thinking about it. Last week I was in the field for 28 hours. I don't think the truck got anymore comfortable. My dog turns one next month and I can't believe I missed out on basically the last year of his life, which was probably the funnest. To this day he doesn't get as excited to see me as my fiance.

 

[Shrek]

It's a good move. I had a pretty good paying job but it was slowly killing me. I was fired over an accident and when it happened I thought it was the end of the world. Eight years later you couldn't give me my old job back. Before I was working 60 hrs a week and the schedule flipped all the time . One week 3am to 3pm then the next it might be 7pm to 7am . My health started to go down hill. High blood pressure and wejght gain. I work for myself now and rarely more than eight hours a day. If I want time off I take any I can pay for. I went to Montana for a month last year and I'm shooting for five weeks this year. Never let a job get the golden handcuffs on you and always remember that you were looking a job when you found the one you have. No matter what a company says you are only a commodity they are renting and the day they don't need you is the day they drop you. There is no such thing as loyalty in corporate America and you shouldn't have any for the corporation. Put you and your family first. You need a very mercenary attitude to do well these days. Provide the labor you're paid for and keep you resume up to date and posted. IF you look a current trends it is expected that most professionals will change jobs every three years on average and that pace is expected to accelerate. Lifetime employment and defined benefit retirements are all but gone.

 

[Rick]

Not sure why you have to pay back bonuses?

Quite a few years ago I left a job before the agreed upon time to cover their investment of moving expenses. My new employer recommended that I not pay back the prorated part of the moving expenses. My new job said they ask people to pay back moving expenses but have no legal recourse to force you to repay money. Turns out once the money is reported as income and you pay taxes on it is your money. There wasn't anything the old company could do to force me to pay back money. So I didn't pay. For a year I got a once a month letter from a collection agency saying they had dinged my credit and I needed to pay them to remove the ding which turned out to be false. No credit ding and no problems.

Maybe your situation is different but it is something to consider and could save you some $.

 

[husky390]

My wife and I moved to CO 3 1/2 years ago. I left a company that I could have stayed with for life but was tired of the hours and hoops I had to jump through. The company I went to promised to transfer me to their CO branch after a year. After the year was up, they didn't want to transfer me due to the sales numbers I was putting up. I found a company in CO that offered to move me up here and jumped on it. Not gonna lie, it was a b*tch and we lost money due to both of these moves occuring during the recession, plus my wife is a hair stylist and she left a very lucrative clientele in AZ and we both had to start from scratch. If I had to do it all over again, would I? You bet. I'm not working near the hours I worked, my stress level is much lower, and my God is there some beautiful country up here.

Now I'm hoping to walk away from this career field for a whole new career and if it works out, I'll have a helluva lot more free time.

Bottom line, you need to figure out what's most important to you. I used to think work was the most important thing to me. Not anymore, I could care less. I will do what my job pays me to do but I'm more interested in spending time doing things I truly enjoy.

 

[Slim Jim]

I made the switch last year on my career. I've always worked as a finish carpenter and electrician. 7 years ago I started working for the county as an electrician hoping that eventually I would get into the carpenters department but when the economy went south it just never happened. Then last year they put me on swing shift with Monday and Tuesdays off. I have young children and that just wasn't going to work so I started looking for work as a carpenter within the government so that I could keep my retirement going. It just so happens that my wife is a high school dean and asked me if I would be interested in teaching and I said "what are you crazy!" Then I thought about the schedule with about 15 weeks a year off and weekends too! A couple months later and I had the same schedule as my family which gives me more time with them. Crazy how life can take a turn.
Oh did I forget to mention ALL the time I'm going to get for scouting and hunting early season and winter break.

 

[Hardstalk]

Been at the new job since december. I was a union sprinklerfitter for years and work and money were great! Time off not so much.. But I took it when I could get it. In order to keep gettin 40 throughout the big "R"I opted to travel with the same contractorI was employed with. I went to cali, northern NV, and Arizona on some different commercial jobs... Then the daughter (currently 2 years old) started to talk. And use the phrase "I want daddy!" I couldn't handle skyping and facetiming with the fam and seeing her grow up w/out me around. I realize she wouldn't remember any of this at her age but shithole hotels didnt make things any easier. I fought and applied for every stabile job in this city. County, government, utility you name it. But I needed a special niche where I could utilize previous skillsets. I got a call back from the natural gas company and jumped on board regardless of pay. It ended up being about a 50% paycut but after a few small changes financially things are rolling smooth again. And I pick the kid up from day care on the daily. We kick it at the park, ride her pony and break stuff. I dont regret a second of it!

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Not sure why you have to pay back bonuses?

Quite a few years ago I left a job before the agreed upon time to cover their investment of moving expenses. My new employer recommended that I not pay back the prorated part of the moving expenses. My new job said they ask people to pay back moving expenses but have no legal recourse to force you to repay money. Turns out once the money is reported as income and you pay taxes on it is your money. There wasn't anything the old company could do to force me to pay back money. So I didn't pay. For a year I got a once a month letter from a collection agency saying they had dinged my credit and I needed to pay them to remove the ding which turned out to be false. No credit ding and no problems.

Maybe your situation is different but it is something to consider and could save you some $.

Wow! I didn't know any of that. Mine is going to be moving expenses and sign on, and other bonuses. I signed a paper saying I would repay if I quit within two years.

 

[Bonedalien]

i cant ,and wont complain. i live in west colorado,am doing my family trade of land surveying for 21 years,the last 12 for the same exelent company.my only worry is i have 20 more years to go before retiring and working in the rockies year around wears on a man. im a single dad and my daughter is only in 2nd grade. im going to keep working hard until she is through school,but am starting to lay the foundation of an archery shop for my golden years. a man needs a dream

 

[30338]

I've worked some pretty long hours and jobs that required travel years ago. Was away quite a bit at different times. My wife and I both didn't like it however we made a decision to deal with it and to end up with something as a result. We took the good money I was making, bonuses, tax returns, and dumped it on our house and retirement savings. Now we are living debt free and I went to work for myself 3 years ago. For you guys making great money but not liking it, I'd suggest doing the same thing. Make it worth it by paying everything off.

 

[jjenness]

Pray about it and you will find the answers you are looking for. I decided to get out of the military after 7 years so that I could move the family back home to MT and not have to worry about deploying every other year. I took a pay cut, but the quality of life has improved more than what can be measured in dollar signs. In my experience decisions like this should not be done on a whim, but only after having weighed the pros and cons thoroughly, and like I already said after spending some time praying for the best situation to unfold according to what the big man upstairs has in store. Good luck!

 

[dangerousD]

I would echo what others have said and I love the juggling quote! For my wife and I, one of the biggest improvements we made years ago in our lives and marriage was getting our finances in order and working towards freedom from debt. I'm a Dave Ramsey fan and it works for us! Regardless of where you move or what your career is, I'm a huge proponent of keeping things simple and living life well and within your means. Huge stress reliever being debt free (house almost). That alone gives you so many opportunities to move around or take a different job that may be for less money, but doing what you love with lots of free time for family and hunting.

As for work, I've struggled with the thought of making a move, but have never done it. I've been with the same company for 20 years next week. I've moved around within the company as opportunities arose. For a rural area, I think I make great money, but when you don't have your finances under control, great money is still never enough... I still spend some time traveling around the country or overseas so it can be hard at times, but that is less and less and the company has been great in allowing me to get off the road. Like someone else said, one of my favorite sayings is "work to live, not live to work". My wife has been at home now with our kids for the past 8-10 years now and we couldn't be happier. We just this month bought a small local business (with cash) for her to run. My work can certainly be hell sometimes, but I'm also taking off the entire month of September to chase elk in two states and then time off in November to hunt whitetail during the rut and other family vacations so I figure it's a pretty good balance at my current job. It's the only company I've worked for since college and I keep thinking I should do something else, but have a great life where I'm at, work with great people, and live near both mine and my wife's parents. At some point I would like to be closer to the high country, but for now I'm OK.

I guess having a plan is key. It's OK to work like a mad man for a temporary time to get your finances in order, with the end goal (an actual date) of when that will end and more time with the family and doing what you love will begin. Life is too short to not spend time with your loved ones AND doing what you love.

 

[30338]

DangerousD, Good advice there. Dave offers great advice.