For the More Mature Among Us (Old folks)

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In my career I have crested out and am now again at the bottom.
Had a very successful career as an engineer, until I went into Management, where I crashed and burned.
Had a very, very successful career as an independant contract worker (consultant), until I got into Management, where I crashed and burned.
Now I am at the bottom again. In a totally new field. Like the work I am doing (a branch of Law Enforcement), but am making about 20% of the money I did as a consultant.
Anybody else been riding the career rollercoaster?

galump

Yes, so far, but I am not done yet.

Tim

I'm about to find out.

I've had 26 years in the same profession, (optometry) and this last year I've decided I'd had enough. I've resigned and mothballed my professional qualifications.

I can go back to it if I can't find something more fun and less stressful even if that would be (massively) less well paid, but I'm going to take a year of so to find out. New career, new house, new location.

At least this way I'll know. Ten to fifteen more years *wondering* if I could have cut loose would have been seriously damaging to my well-being.

I'm still relatively young (late 20s), and my career has been so far fulfilling but very tumultuous. I've only been able to do well in it, I think, because I spend most of my energy in socialization in the workplace, and even that is controlled. If I had to be totally sociable outside of the workplace too (to maintain a semblance of friends) then I think I would have crashed and burned long ago. Too much effort required to do that.

My career’s not over yet, but I do understand what you are saying about the career roller-coaster. I started work more than 20 years ago as a programmer, worked on a contract basis (good times), however work dried up in the recession of the early 1990’s (bad times). I managed to get enough money together to do an MBA in the hope that this would get me out of the development rut, but no luck there so it was back to a programmer role.
A couple of years ago, I managed to land a position as a business analyst. This is difficult with my AS, but I’m hoping that I can survive until retirement before my job is eliminated or outsourced.
I think that we’re going to have to get used to ups and downs in our careers over our working lives (sorry to end on such a downbeat note.)

I work in construction and have since college it has nothing to do with what my degree is in(biology) but has provided relatively stable source of income. Now I own my own company but I am the only employee as I don't do well with others. Before I left the company I used to work for I was asked about moving up into an office job but I felt it would be my down fall and declined I did have a supervisory position for awhile but found it overwhelming.

I went from managing a multi million dollor account ( I left that job because of the constant bullying and harrassment from my boss..who finally got fired but after I left!!) always managing or director of departments to.....bartending!! ! I just could not deal with the corporate world anymore.It is mean,vicious,brutal,abusive, and does not pay enough to continue taking it.So,I have a list of things to do before I leave and bartending was on it.It has been a huge stetch,like being a monkey in a cage and the type of social stuff I have to endure each day but it's making me stronger in my interaction with others.I also write sports and human interest stories for a local newspaper.So, I guess I am on a career vacation in a sense and have no desire to get back out into the corporate world at this point in my life.

I'm 36 and currently on career number 2.

Much to my amazement, I have held a position as a part time college prof for almost 15 years. This is the longest I've ever worked in anything. I never thought about being an adjunct, it just seemed like a good idea when I was in grad school and had a toddler to take care of.

Luckily for me, the term absent-minded prefessor is very helpful when it comes to work-related issues about which I am clueless. Doubly lucky for me, the new chair of the department, whom I've know for ten years, is a great person who didn't bat an eye when I told her not only that my two year leave from teaching was caused by a MAJOR, Paxil-induced panic attack, I am diagnosed PPD-NOS.

Being able to come out at work raised my confidence level so much that I am not afraid to apply for tenure when a position opens up.

I was so thankful for the change in regime where I work I could hardly stand it and I followed the chair around like a puppy. Then I realized I was doing this, so I started making fun of my always hanging around like a mosquito, whcih helped me not to be so obsessive. She and another prof who has an autistic son are helping me with my interview skills, too, which is awesome!

In the classroom isn't easy...sometimes I completely lose track of my point, and I just go off on some abstract tangent, and the students' eyes glaze over. This has become a private joke for me as I laugh at myself when I do it, but it helps me to see their eyes glaze over so I can get off the loop I'm in.

Noise is particluarly problematic for me as I can't think clearly when there is other low level noise, so I have strict policies about electronic equipment and talking while I'm talking. I just tell em I have old lady hearing problems (I'm 50 and they think I am REALLY old! ). This seems to be enough, besides telling em I am very particular. For the most part, my students are very cool and sweet with me.

I feel really lucky to be able to hold down a job for so long and feel almost comfortable doing it.

I'm 46 and haven't really had a career. I worked for the last ten years in healthcare, by accident. I wound up in charge of a small staff, making good money, but had a recurrence of panic disorder, then major depression. Now I'm trying to get on disability. I used to write poetry all the time, but that doesn't count as a career. I had a novel almost ready for publication when depression hit; now I just can't write.

In hindsight, I wish I had gone into library science, as I wanted to. My parents refused to allow me to major in it, because my high school guidance counselor told them there were no jobs. Of course, they told everybody that and as a result there was a shortage of librarians which I could've taken advantage of had I stayed strong.

I would tell young people to ignore bad advice and follow their dreams. Do what you know you are good at and enjoy. Avoid a lifetime of misery such as I have had.

I have had several careers, and during the Dot.Com boom, was even making 50,000.00 a year at one point. I have worked skinning lables off of dog food cans, collecting agent for a cr*ppy credit clothing store, laundress at this fine house in NYC, NY, USA, Deli manager ( oh, yes, Galumph, when we get to the point of managing, the house falls down upon us, doesn't it!) cook, chef, ice rink attendant, rock festival promoter, Software engineer (Linux) computer monkey at Gateway in South Dakota, MCP and MCSE and A+ trainer. I now work in health care insurance on the phone because I don't have to look at people they just talk to me and that is in my comfort space.

I didn't want to do any of these things. I always thought I was much better than I actually was. So much of this was how I presented myself at the interview, but could not sustatin my behaviour in any of these jobs. My career was in interviewing, it seems, that is all I was really GOOD at.

Merle