Readers Respond: I Knew It Was Time to Change Careers When …

time for change
I have been in the banking industry for 20+ years now and had always been a top producer. 2 days ago the manager yelled at me for something that i had no control of. This caused me a lot of stress. That’s it. I am going to medical assisting school. —Guest guesting

Boiling Blood
I’ve been sitting in a cubicle for over 10 years progressing into midlife. Little did I know my blood was boiling from the stress. Know the symptoms, get checked out, and exercise. ps. A job role change dropped me 40 points.—Guest ChillOut

Hospitality woes
When I hate going to work! There’s an employee who thinks she’s supervisor, one that gossips constantly, and my actual supervisor has stated on numerous occasions that she wants a new team! Hospitality for a luxury brand is absolutely terrible!! I’m on the verge of finding a new beginning (at 22) no more long hours, no more weekend, no more pessimistic boss! —Guest Kay

Jumper
I’ve been a star salesman for most of my 25 year career but the world moves fast: industries end, technology shifts, companies close, money runs out and after redundancies and near bankruptcy here I am as a rep at 50. I entered a new sector for me but the micromanagement and oppressive culture nearly killed me so I jumped sector again. Now I’m competing against 20 year olds running at 100 mph but I’m mostly winning. I should be proud but the management doesn’t like it because I don’t do things their way, i.e., 100mph, lots of mistakes, unhappy clients, etc. Is lots of stress and hours massive (70 hour weeks) and only just scratching a living. I try to keep positive but life shouldn’t be like this, should it? I’d love to start over but daren’t risk yet another redundancy or business failure. I’m hoping sticking in here will result in increased results and a better lifestyle but we’re at the mercy of the wider market/ economy. —Guest Saleschamp

Trapped in retail hell
Been in retail 11 years and I’m only 26. I am currently a dept manager at a very well know retailer across the USA. I asked to be demoted while I secretly try to find something else. I have had different retail jobs at this level and just realized that this isn’t for me… I can’t do it. I find myself shaking uncontrollably when I have to work. I thought I could bear through it while I tried to get my real estate business off the ground but now I know I can’t. Asking for a demotion so I don’t have to be there that often and look for something else. I hate it. And I refuse to get trapped. —Guest Michael from Brooklyn

Time to re-frame
I have worked in marketing and proposal development for 20+ years. At one time, this was a rich and rewarding career choice, although accompanied by long hours and high stress. When I was 25 and 30, it was never a problem. Now I am in my mid-50s, and have lost 4 jobs in a row. Working in the same environment, but finding that the pace has become so much faster, the demands for output much higher, and corporate America much more cutthroat. I believe in myself and my skills are very good, but I can no longer handle 15 hour work days and working in proposal mills. After what I’ve just gone through, I KNOW I need to get away from the high pressured and deadlined jobs and find something more manageable for me. I hope I am able to find a job that is more fulfilling and gives me satisfaction and some quality of life. We are only on this earth but for a short time. I would like to be able to feel I’ve made a difference in what I now do before it’s time to go. —Guest Guest

I am better that this job
I got laid off in 2009 from a sales job and I was so thankful when that happened. After a while, I decided to take another job as a personal banker at a well known bank in the beginning I like what I was doing but after being there for more that 2 years I am ready to make my next move. I feel this job is now affecting my progress and job opportunity. I know I can do better and bigger things. —Guest Juan

About That Time
I thank everyone for helping me realize life goes on and the stress isn’t worth it… My employer had a point system where you get fired after 20 points… I’m pregnant and drive an hour away 2 out of 5 days a wk.. I get to work at home and get cussed out and belittled at home half the week weew heeww… I’ve had to take days off due to pregnancy… Only to get warned that I could get fired… I work with 99.9 percent women who have egos out the wazoo which I can’t figure out y cause everyone gets cussed at and yelled at by customers lol….. No degree necessary… Bosses are pointless at times, cause call traffic is so heavy they don’t answer your questions.. Super unorganized… System crashes all the time… I don’t think I’m going back after I have this baby…..—Guest CoDoJo

Vix
I decided at 16 yrs old that speech therapy was interesting, the same level of interest as a wildlife doccie. Family took that to mean I wanted to study it. Before I realised it I’m sitting with a 4yr degree, 3 yrs work expereince and misereable beyond belief. working back to back 30 minute appointments with children under 10, fetching and dropping them at school all day because my office is off campus. Earning 50% commission- so school holidays and public holidays (we have 14 in SA) I’m losing out. Work alone so no colleagues to talk to, no scheduled tea break, office without a window and work 10hr days (7h30-6h00). Getting out ASAP!!—Vix68

I Realized It’s Just a Job
There is no real growth potential, and I am micromanaged due to the fear, confusion, and lack of real job security in the organization. Because of the micromanagement and nature of the job itself, I feel intense anxiety each and every day. I work in a high stress, high profile position with low pay and no benefits. That is hardly living!! Get me outta here, please and fast!—Guest Susan

Get out before you are trapped
If you are young enough, and don’t have a family to support, get out now before you get trapped in a career you end up despising. Once you make more and more money, have a family to support, and have worked in one career for too long, its almost impossible to get out of it. You can’t afford any pay cut, you can’t disrupt the life of your family drastically, and your skills pigeonhole you into the very career field you now can’t stand. There’s almost no worse feeling (in terms of career) than that.—Guest Trapped

LIFE IS TOO SHORT!
I have been working in the banking industry for 6 years now. My grandmother & step mom were both in the field and it became a dream career for me since I was a little girl. I am tired of working in an office trapped with gossiping drama queens and people running around getting special treatment because they are constantly kissing the bosses’ rear ends! There has always been a lot of jealousy there because of fear of someone moving up and taking someone else’s job. It is ridiculous! Fifty year old women acting like they are in high school! Anyway, it breaks my heart that my dream has turned out to be a total nightmare but LIFE IS TOO SHORT to be miserable everyday. I come home stressed out every evening after work. I am going to look into a career that will be less stressful and that I will not feel anxiety and nauseousness before entering the building every morning!!! —Guest Moving on

long time
Been in the office equipment business 20+ yrs. Worked my way up to branch manager after just 3 years. A few poor career moves and industry changes, now I’m back to sales rep. Time to move on. —Guest burnout

Immediate Letdown!
…when they put me in the warehouse right after being hired. I was a 27-year old musician looking to make a more steady income in the recording/live sound industry. I’d had another job prior to this one as an AV tech for a university, but they saw some big cuts and had to let me go. I went to a corporate AV company thinking it would be the same caliber of work (light, mostly tech support) with the same kind of intellectual people (university grads), but boy was I wrong. When I got to work the first day, I was chuckled at for parking at the front of the office — ‘the techs park in the back’. I was relegated to a dirty warehouse full of run-down gear and immature coworkers, and my job went from a technical position to one where I pushed boxes 80% of the time. (Not to mention the hours they make us work sometimes are literally illegal.) I feel like the year of schooling I did for this line of work was a waste!

6 Reasons to Make a Career Change

By Dawn Rosenberg McKay, About.com Guide