Aprehensive about changing career.

Post Reply New Topic

Hi, everyone, just after some thoughts and hopefully some positive strategies:

After about a year of contemplating it, I have finally thrown in my job as a delivery driver to go and go get a trade as an electrician, which is something I have wanted to do for a long time now (get a trade, electricians make good money and it is fairly technical).

The thing is, that I can't help but be a little anxious, my job wasn't great money, but the work wasn't especially hard or demanding, and I did enjoy the security. Now though, I have committed to three months of technical college and hopefully a four year apprenticeship at the end of that.

I do worry about having to go to college and socialise and interact, and the same with being on the job, I worry about having to deal with noisy environments and all that sort of thing. I do worry about having a bit of a meltdown and walking away. Not that I am trying to jinx myself before I even start, but I have struggled with the pressure of study before and not been able to continue.

Anyone sort of been through similar experiences? How did you cope? Positive stories of getting into the trades?

Thanks

john

My brother was a tradesman. Although not aspie, he did not wish to socialize with the crude people who were in his field of work. And he didn't. You do the minimum. It's professional, distant. You protect yourself. Ditto at school.

I think you picked a good trade, where you will rely on your own knowledge to do individual work.

What kind of job are you ultimately thinking of? If you are a subcontractor, it is endless hassles of dealing with contractors. If you can get on at a large industrial plant, you can become the go-to man for electricial issues, and you'll get to know the entire plant and it can become a comfortable "home" for you.

Yeah, my dad worked on building sites for quiet a few years, but a lot of his stories seem to give me the impression that they managed to drink a lot.

Generally at work I like to just put my head down and get my work done, it kind of annoys me when other people are chatting away and I am still working in fact.

As far as where I want to be, I actually really want to get into renewable energy. As a country, Australia is very reliant on coal-fired power stations, and the coal mining industry is heavily subsidized because of the amount we export, and it bothers me that we get so much sun in this country and hardly any investment is made into solar and wind. I kind of realize though that it is going to be an area of growth in the next few decades, and I want to be a part of it, not so much for the earning potential, but rather because I want to be involved in something more ethical than just helping dig a big hole in the ground and burn whats at the bottom of it. I want this world to be a livable home for my family and everyone else for a long time to come.

john

> As far as where I want to be, I actually really want to get into renewable energy

I hear you. I find that an interesting field too. Kind of gets me excited. I have refused many jobs and directions because of ethical concerns and motivations. I keep seeing stories how solar is about to take off. I'm very fond of passive solar myself, but the active side will be important for generating. As you know, storage is the big issue.

I don't know how you combine renewable with a safe job, but there might well be a way if you keep your ear to the ground and do the research. Currently solar seems to require a strong entrepreneurial element. I know I have a streak of that myself, and also some major defects.

I hope you succeed in this.