Career change is it worth taking the chance

6

60watt

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I'm 50, I've worked as a software engineer for 30 yrs, but this work does not come naturally to me.
I work for a multinational with higher than average salary, paid holidays, pension contribution, hybrid working.
I don't get any satisfaction/ contentment from the work because I never know from day to day what I will be working on, so I'm always worried/stressed if I will understand the problem and be able to provide a solution. And software development and documentation is so opinionated and vague, this is the part I hate most. I hate going to work now because I'm thinking am I going to spend the rest of my working days hating what I do.

My real passion and talent has always been for hands on work, I just drifted along going to college and ended up by luck in a secure office job.
I don't have an apprentice qualification but Im very skilled and experienced at paving, block laying, tiling, carpentry etc.
Through the years I've renovated and extended two old houses, bring both up to an A rating and complying with all building regulations.
Ive renovated my own house doing 90% of the work myself and because of this I only have a small loan outstanding.

Id love to have my own business where I am using my skills to earn a living, but at 50 years of age am I mad to leave the cozy office job with a guaranteed payment every month ? I prefer manual work but obviously there the risks of things like back injury as I get older and also some of these jobs like paving are very seasonal and not fun when its lashing rain.

Also what would be the best trade to work at considering I can work at any of the above and much more?
What about a combination of all my skills?

Thanks
 
Speaking as someone who didn’t make a leap away from a job I was indifferent to for a long time I’d say do it.

But I’m not a risk taker (accountant.. we aren’t wired that way) and I talked myself out of it. To be honest it wasn’t just about me. Decent income and a couple of kids kept the brakes on and I did chop and change job a bit until I found a niche I could tolerate. But that was a while ago and then partners unemployment kept me there and now it’s the lure of an approaching retirement and good pension.. well good-ish…

So what’s the family set up? Do you have kids? Mortgage? Old parents that need a dig out. These are all part of the picture.

I always figured not paying the bills would be more of a stress that any workplace stresses.
 
Annieindublin said:
So what’s the family set up? Do you have kids? Mortgage? Old parents that need a dig out. These are all part of the picture.

I always figured not paying the bills would be more of a stress that any workplace stresses.
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My questions and thought also.

Maybe you can come up with a 5 year roadmap to early retirement and pile into AVCs. If you can see the finish line and you have a plan it might make it easier to go to work each day.

Is a career break an option so you can try something else? If you don't actually need the high wages then I'd be thinking that a school caretaker job could be a nice option. Own business sounds like stress to me.
 
I had the mortgage part, but nothing else when I moved from a job I did for 25 years last year, to something completely different! Actually went from being self employed back to working from the man. And while I'm happy with it. Don't be afraid of working for yourself, no more stressful than being employed, actually quite a lot of perks to it. Having employees is a different story.
Trades right now, and probably in the future is a solid business to be in. I wish I had gone that route. If you're good, you'll get a good reputation fast. You can pick & choose what jobs you want, and ultimately how busy you want to be.
Is there a way where you could do the new trade (whatever you choose) part time for 6 months to a year, get a good base but have the security of the other job just in case you decide it's not for you.
 
Why not try placing an advert in the local shops and community social media platforms, offering handyman services ?

You could pick and choose your hours, initially doing evenings and weekends.

That would give you some first hand experience and a few quid for the work you do, while you decide if it's really for you, or not.

Suffice to say the idea is that you retain your existing job during the trial period.
 
I think you'd be mad to spend the next 15 years where you really don't enjoy your work, when you have a reaonable chance of an alternative. Otherwise it will continue to eat you up and depress you. Obviously this is within financial constraints of your family and lifestyle. I think many people are crying out for good tradesmen. On the other hand, it can be a slow to build up a name and get work, so the advice of @MrEarl and others is sound.
 
60watt said:
but at 50 years of age am I mad to leave the cozy office job with a guaranteed payment every month ?
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Your body is only going to get weaker and more prone to injury.

Many people in physical careers in their 50s want to get out of it for this reason.

There might be something that’s a mix of the construction work that you love but with little to no manual labour.


But in general it’s never a bad time to change job. Most people are too risk averse. I changed job (although not really career) two years ago and am much the better for it.
 
60watt said:
My real passion and talent has always been for hands on work, I just drifted along going to college and ended up by luck in a secure office job.
I don't have an apprentice qualification but Im very skilled and experienced at paving, block laying, tiling, carpentry etc.
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There’s a solid self-employed opportunity in this but you’d need to have a business brain to go with it. There are tons of business supports that can help you in this regard.

I’d also advocate taking care of your financial responsibilities first but if you can do so and still start your own business, I’d say go for it.
 
MrEarl said:
Why not try placing an advert in the local shops and community social media platforms, offering handyman services ?
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I had a look at places where you could advertise and found most of them are gone. Very few shops allow boards now and the Buy and Sell is well gone. People don't gawk at notice boards any more afaic.
 
60watt said:
Id love to have my own business where I am using my skills to earn a living, but at 50 years of age am I mad to leave the cozy office job with a guaranteed payment every month ? I prefer manual work but obviously there the risks of things like back injury as I get older and also some of these jobs like paving are very seasonal and not fun when its lashing rain.
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If you are reasonably financially independent, you could look at buying a house in need of refurbishment, refurbishing it and selling it on.

It's risky in that house prices might fall during your period of ownership.

But it's also potentially profitable if you are doing most of the work yourself. The problem is the transaction costs such as stamp duty and legal and estate agent fees of buying and selling. So you do have to buy well.

If you go down this line, then buy the house now and get planning permission for what you want to do before quitting your job.

I would not worry too much about doing your back in or getting too old for the work. If that happens, you can probably return to software engineering.
 
60watt said:
I don't get any satisfaction/ contentment from the work because I never know from day to day what I will be working on, so I'm always worried/stressed if I will understand the problem and be able to provide a solution. And software development and documentation is so opinionated and vague, this is the part I hate most.
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Are all employers the same in the industry?

Could you try working for a different employer even if the package is less?
 
I have a lot empathy 60watt very similar position to my own. But I'd not go back to full time physical work at that age. Id not take on a massive financial commitment either.

I would like others suggest a part time job or weekend job. Maybe get a 4 day week at work. It's very hard to find reliable handy man who does good work. Often you can get recommended though resident association or community groups.

If that takes off then revisit your options.

I say making a hobby a job can make it a job you also come to dislike. Doing up houses on your own terms is very different to working for clients.

Others might say don't half commit. I'm risk adverse though.
 
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I left a well-paid, niche career after 15 years because I wanted more challenge and variety. It was risky — I had kids, a mortgage, and my wife didn’t work — bottom line, if it did not work out, I backed myself to always find a job that could cover basics, even if I didn’t love it. That put the risk in context.

There are things I miss, but overall it was a good decision, and I encourage others to consider change. Life is not about grinding in a job you are done with.

That said, at your age, relying solely on manual work is risky due to physical demands. Fight to keep part-time work where you are now, and consider Brendan’s advice about buying a fixer-upper as a practical step to execute on your desire to explore something else.
 
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