Hail_Diogenes

[Hail_Diogenes]

Deleted to keep some info out - thanks for the advice everyone!

[Frita]

Go for it! When I was 26 years old, I considered getting a master’s degree in occupation therapy. (Instead my friend convinced me to get one in special education so we could help each other and then she dropped out. Anyway, it was helpful in my personal life and I learned firsthand how interesting OT work is.) That career would have afforded me paid travel work opportunities and venues other than school districts. You’re young; go for it! If it doesn’t work out, learn and choose again.

[rich1234]

Def do it, you can live on the cheap, help your mom, learn new skills, look into uber/lyft with a cheap fe vehicle like prius, corolla, civic, look into plumbing, electrical, the real estate market is a good way to go, if you got your license and inspector, along with the other skills you could buy foreclosures and fix them up. Go help your mom and reset. I left a job I hated and lived on very little without any issues, you can see my post for the details. If you don't care for real estate go into nursing, you'll always have a job and there is nothing wrong with being a male nurse.
Stop drinking and smoking if you do, I quit drinking years ago and wish I had sooner, quit cigars a few months ago, save money and save your health.

[Hail_Diogenes]

Go for it! When I was 26 years old, I considered getting a master’s degree in occupation therapy. (Instead my friend convinced me to get one in special education so we could help each other and then she dropped out. Anyway, it was helpful in my personal life and I learned firsthand how interesting OT work is.) That career would have afforded me paid travel work opportunities and venues other than school districts. You’re young; go for it! If it doesn’t work out, learn and choose again.

Thanks Frita! This is exactly what I was hoping someone would say. I'm not sure why, but 30 felt like such a constricting number. I started thinking that it would be crazy to start over after building several years of consistent experience in one field. Definitely appreciate you sharing your experience.

Def do it, you can live on the cheap, help your mom, learn new skills, look into uber/lyft with a cheap fe vehicle like prius, corolla, civic, look into plumbing, electrical, the real estate market is a good way to go, if you got your license and inspector, along with the other skills you could buy foreclosures and fix them up. Go help your mom and reset. I left a job I hated and lived on very little without any issues, you can see my post for the details. If you don't care for real estate go into nursing, you'll always have a job and there is nothing wrong with being a male nurse.
Stop drinking and smoking if you do, I quit drinking years ago and wish I had sooner, quit cigars a few months ago, save money and save your health.

Niiiice! I appreciate your feedback Rich. I'll definitely check out the post you mentioned. You knew exactly where my head was on this one. I'm looking heavily into nursing or a couple other two-year medical programs. The medical programs have a year to two year waiting period, so I'm thinking about knocking out a trade certification while I'm waiting. I'll check out the trades you mentioned. Also thanks for the tip about certification/real estate. That's an interesting angle.

[rich1234]

Look on groupon for real estate license training like 99 bucks, the test is around 350 bucks here, so your all in for under 500 bucks. The home inspector pricing escapes me but I looked into it, they had a mix of online and in person training, around here Mold testing and testing for Radon.

If I wasn't so lazy I would do all of that now(Im semi retired), maybe I will chip away, a licensed real estate agent that was home inspector and a plumber or electrician would be something else, you could use the license to save on buying distressed homes that you know how to evaluate and fix! A plumber that has some carpentry skills can do remodels of baths and kitchens to full rehabs.

I'm not anti-college but I would def look into skilled jobs, I went to college for IT(BSIT) and electronics in the Air Force, having the skills above give you more freedom from the corporate wheel, a good contractor is always as busy as they want to be, word of mouth.

[classical_Liberal]

At around 30 I quit my last job in financial sales. Bummed around doing odd jobs of various kinds in a lower cost of living area. Learned to build a very tight social network in the smaller community, lived off much less $ than I had been and realized it made a positive difference in quality of life. Then decided I needed to do something with my life and went back to school for nursing.

Funny, your story about the VP liking to see her people spend is almost exactly what the owner of one of the small financial sales companies I worked for back in the 00's told me. In the last two years I also tended to lag in sales. I just didn't care. Upper middle class consumerism ate my soul.

Find something else that intrigues you and that you think you can tolerate the day-to-day for at least five years. Skill up however you need to to get the position. Learn ERE and save like a mad man, because eventually you'll probably want to switch it up again. You'll have much more options the second time around.

[horsewoman]

30 is a good age for overhauling your life I guess! The next ten years might be the most productive ones of your life. At 30 most people are pretty mature plus you still have high energy of a young person. This is a powerful combination... Go for it! Even better since you have a Mum you want to spend time with, living with her for a few years will make saving up a breeze plus it's a win win situation. If you are so inclined, start a journal and we will cheer you on

[chenda]

Nursing has always struck me as an ideal job for ERE, relatively well paid, affordable training, very flexible employment, always in demand. And you'll meet lots of hot young nurses.

I would have done some medical career, except, to be brutally honest I couldnt hack dealing with the sick and dieing. Which is probably a prerequisite.

[jacob]

I would have done some medical career, except, to be brutally honest I couldnt hack dealing with the sick and dieing. Which is probably a prerequisite.

I suspect that unless one scores high on type 2, nursing is not really fulfilling work.

[Lemur]

My sister is a nurse. She is a classic type 2 personality as mentioned by @Jacob. Me...I'm quite the opposite of that. I work hard just to regulate my own emotions, I couldn't imagine having to deal with other's lol.

@Hail.

Not sure if I have useful advice for you. I can do desk jobs all day everyday (not sales though) and I get personal fulfillment out of automating tasks and making my work efficient while navigating a corporate setting. I do think you're being rational though.

Perhaps if you find some time check out this book (though I haven't finished it myself):

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Zones-Happi ... 1426218486

And about doing a do-over career wise...I've done that and made a leap from leaving the military / construction to a civilian / desk job for a myriad of reasons. It was never about the work itself I didn't like; in hindsight, it was the environment that made me unhappy in the former. So maybe that is useful advice...think about the environment you're in now and imagine the environment you want to be in. Not necessarily the work itself because work is just work and we all have to do it (until one gets enough money of course) but just pick something that you will be competent at and won't make you bash your head into a wall.

[classical_Liberal]

I was/am not that personality type. Part of the reason I became a nurse was to stretch my comfort zone in that fashion. Nursing was like a boot camp for my empathy muscle, and I have learned that it is somewhat a limited resource (at least for me). It also helped expand my thinking from Kegan 3 to Kegan 4.

The biggest problem with nursing, from my personality standpoint (I'm an ENTJ), is not having enough control over the system that governs it. It frustrates me to no end and change is mostly outside my sphere of control.

[Hail_Diogenes]

At around 30 I quit my last job in financial sales. Bummed around doing odd jobs of various kinds in a lower cost of living area. Learned to build a very tight social network in the smaller community, lived off much less $ than I had been and realized it made a positive difference in quality of life. Then decided I needed to do something with my life and went back to school for nursing.

Funny, your story about the VP liking to see her people spend is almost exactly what the owner of one of the small financial sales companies I worked for back in the 00's told me. In the last two years I also tended to lag in sales. I just didn't care. Upper middle class consumerism ate my soul.

Find something else that intrigues you and that you think you can tolerate the day-to-day for at least five years. Skill up however you need to to get the position. Learn ERE and save like a mad man, because eventually you'll probably want to switch it up again. You'll have much more options the second time around.

I was/am not that personality type. Part of the reason I became a nurse was to stretch my comfort zone in that fashion. Nursing was like a boot camp for my empathy muscle, and I have learned that it is somewhat a limited resource (at least for me). It also helped expand my thinking from Kegan 3 to Kegan 4.

The biggest problem with nursing, from my personality standpoint (I'm an ENTJ), is not having enough control over the system that governs it. It frustrates me to no end and change is mostly outside my sphere of control.

THIS is great news. Also, thanks for your feedback man. It was your journal that led me to finally making an account and posting on here. I even tried to figure out roughly how old you were when you decided to go back to school for nursing. I had a lot of insecurity about trying to do it at 30. Thanks for giving me the answer haha.

It's interesting that you've had a similar experience with consumerism driven by a sales job. It's tough to find other folks who can relate to that roller coaster yet seek FI. I think the nature of the profession naturally attracts people with the consumption mindset. I've taken several sales based personality assessments that screen for a candidates sales aptitude based on their buying behavior.

But enough of that tangent. Thanks for the advice to find something intriguing and lean into it for five years. Also love the heads-up that I'll probably want to switch it up in 5 years. You already know me too well!

(PS, I had a feeling you were an ENTJ based on some of your posts. How do you think an ENTP would do in nursing?)

My sister is a nurse. She is a classic type 2 personality as mentioned by @Jacob. Me...I'm quite the opposite of that. I work hard just to regulate my own emotions, I couldn't imagine having to deal with other's lol.

@Hail.

Not sure if I have useful advice for you. I can do desk jobs all day everyday (not sales though) and I get personal fulfillment out of automating tasks and making my work efficient while navigating a corporate setting. I do think you're being rational though.

Perhaps if you find some time check out this book (though I haven't finished it myself):

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Zones-Happi ... 1426218486

And about doing a do-over career wise...I've done that and made a leap from leaving the military / construction to a civilian / desk job for a myriad of reasons. It was never about the work itself I didn't like; in hindsight, it was the environment that made me unhappy in the former. So maybe that is useful advice...think about the environment you're in now and imagine the environment you want to be in. Not necessarily the work itself because work is just work and we all have to do it (until one gets enough money of course) but just pick something that you will be competent at and won't make you bash your head into a wall.

Thanks for the book rec! I could always use more happiness resources. Will add this one to the list. I also wonder about my ability to handle nursing based on my personality type. Still thinking it through.

I love that you've made such a huge career change and it work out. Definitely gives me hope about doing the same. It makes sense that environment is a huge factor in evaluating a new role. I can handle a wide variety of work depending on my team/setting. I think that's part of my desire to leave the corporate setting. It just triggers a ton of existential dread now. I think I might be more suited for night work at this point. I need a year of minimal people haha.

Nursing has always struck me as an ideal job for ERE, relatively well paid, affordable training, very flexible employment, always in demand. And you'll meet lots of hot young nurses.

I would have done some medical career, except, to be brutally honest I couldnt hack dealing with the sick and dieing. Which is probably a prerequisite.

Haha that's definitely a perk I hadn't yet considered!

[mooretrees]

There are a lot of medicine jobs to consider. Most have options for an associates or a bachelors degree. Usually, a bachelors degree will give you more options, but I'd say there are a lot of shortages so an associates would still get you pretty far. I went back to school at 37 or so, and it was a lot harder than I remembered from my 18 year old days. So I'd say get to any degree sooner than later as I do think my experience is fairly typical. The following careers are good options: physical therapy assistant, occupational therapy assistant, medical lab technician/scientist (my field), surgery tech (not sure exactly what they do but I've heard of them), ultrasound techs, histology techs, and respiratory therapists. You should look into each one and what your local community college offers.

One of the realities of medicine, especially jobs within hospitals, are the crappy hours. Ten to twelve hour shifts, all hours of the day for some of the above careers. Occupational and physical therapy assistants have the best hours IMO, usually normal business hours. I keep hearing that there is a shortage of respiratory therapist. I think a lot of people discount the bad hours for nursing, but it takes a lot out of you to work nights and it definitely is hard on families (should you have one later). Night shift workers love their differential and for introverts it seems especially nice to have so few coworkers and no managers around.

I got a bachelors in medical lab science and make almost $40/hour, while my sister got an associates in physical therapy assistant(ship?) and almost makes the same as me. She, however, has to have a physical therapist over her while I am autonomous. Some of those careers require patient contact hours as a prerequisite for admittance into any program. Lots of people become phlebotomists or certified nurse assistants-which are easy jobs to get and give you a lot of exposure to the realities of a medical job. I have a husband and a kid and I'm really glad I 'only' work four 10's, I don't know how nurses do 7 on and 7 off without their work suffering. I think it must suffer but they seem wedded to those hours.

I think there are a lot of options out there that don't require a lot of schooling. Another thing to consider, is that a lot of times folks with associates can work for a few years in their field and then 'test' into the higher level (if they have a bachelors degree, I think), so that is sorta a backdoor to try and figure out for each career.

[Hail_Diogenes]

There are a lot of medicine jobs to consider. Most have options for an associates or a bachelors degree. Usually, a bachelors degree will give you more options, but I'd say there are a lot of shortages so an associates would still get you pretty far. I went back to school at 37 or so, and it was a lot harder than I remembered from my 18 year old days. So I'd say get to any degree sooner than later as I do think my experience is fairly typical. The following careers are good options: physical therapy assistant, occupational therapy assistant, medical lab technician/scientist (my field), surgery tech (not sure exactly what they do but I've heard of them), ultrasound techs, histology techs, and respiratory therapists. You should look into each one and what your local community college offers.

One of the realities of medicine, especially jobs within hospitals, are the crappy hours. Ten to twelve hour shifts, all hours of the day for some of the above careers. Occupational and physical therapy assistants have the best hours IMO, usually normal business hours. I keep hearing that there is a shortage of respiratory therapist. I think a lot of people discount the bad hours for nursing, but it takes a lot out of you to work nights and it definitely is hard on families (should you have one later). Night shift workers love their differential and for introverts it seems especially nice to have so few coworkers and no managers around.

I got a bachelors in medical lab science and make almost $40/hour, while my sister got an associates in physical therapy assistant(ship?) and almost makes the same as me. She, however, has to have a physical therapist over her while I am autonomous. Some of those careers require patient contact hours as a prerequisite for admittance into any program. Lots of people become phlebotomists or certified nurse assistants-which are easy jobs to get and give you a lot of exposure to the realities of a medical job. I have a husband and a kid and I'm really glad I 'only' work four 10's, I don't know how nurses do 7 on and 7 off without their work suffering. I think it must suffer but they seem wedded to those hours.

I think there are a lot of options out there that don't require a lot of schooling. Another thing to consider, is that a lot of times folks with associates can work for a few years in their field and then 'test' into the higher level (if they have a bachelors degree, I think), so that is sorta a backdoor to try and figure out for each career.

Hi Mooretrees, thanks for this!

I keep that in mind as I evaluate different career options. I've sort of had tunnel vision up to this point, most focusing on Nursing.

I'm okay with the crappy hours I've worked 14 12s in the past and hoenstly I prefer it. Whatever it takes to get away from the cubicle haha.

I'll definitely look into the associates + experience + testing route. One thing that I'm trying to be mindful of is training duration. I'd hate to lose more than 2 years of income and thus delay my ERE goals. That's mostly what's scared me away from BSN programs.

[mooretrees]

Yes, I get that about the training duration. My program was an accelerated 16 month program (once you had some prerequisites out of the way) which really was attractive to me. The local associates degree program for my career was two years and probably half the cost....But, one thing to realize, is that with the four year degrees you are more attractive to employers and you will be making a ton of money. I had never made this much money and it's still stunning to look at my paychecks.