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03-30-2016, 09:16 PM   #1
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Reinvent thyself...sigh

I though I post this here because it's not work-related and it's unlikely I find people here that I work with. Not that it matters that much.

So, I'm thinking about change and the best way I can define it is as re-inventing myself. I develop web application for a living, not marketing and not blogs, nor forums (no offense to anyone). What I do are web apps behind logins and specific to company needs/business.

There are those unresolvable work issues that need defusing and are just distraction from the real work that needs to get done.

Anyways.... not looking to do photography for a living, I mean I take nice pictures occasionally but...
I think something completely unrelated to tech but who'd hire one based on being a swell guy with not related job experience?
Also, I can't just quit and roughing it, there's food and rent to pay for, being the bread-winner.

So, who has reinvented themselves?

03-30-2016, 09:28 PM   #2
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Hi kib. I think I can sense the beginnings of a mid life crises happening. Dissatisfaction with ones lot in life can strike anyone, anytime. The pressures of daily life are endless ( except at the end !! ) and build up in everybody IMO. Take a couple of deep breaths, a couple of good photographs and try to see through it all. If you have a new direction in mind, that is good. If not, please be careful you do not burn any bridges you may want to cross again. Good luck.
03-30-2016, 09:59 PM - 1 Like   #3
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You're right. My tongue is bruised from biting it...

I'm not looking for a new fast car, a plane on the other hand... Used to fly gliders.

I hope I'm just looking for different projects then a mid-life crisis

Thanks for your response.
03-31-2016, 07:20 AM   #4
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Is the problem the type of work, or your employer? The latter is easier to correct with a new job. The former requires training and sometime bluffing as you develop new skills.

My attitude is: we get paid for work because it is ... work. "Fun" generally doesn't pay well.

Granted, some jobs just plain suck, but even good jobs sometimes have low points. Professional musicians sometimes think "damn, I have to play *that* song again!" Pro photographers might not feel an emotional connection to what the client needs photographed.

I've done software and consulting since I was 16 years old. The tech part is fun. Coworkers are often good. The bad parts - unproductive meetings, bureaucracy, marketing, etc. - are why I get paid.

03-31-2016, 02:59 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by kiberkli Quote
So, who has reinvented themselves?
Sorry, still working on the first pass
03-31-2016, 05:27 PM   #6
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I feel like I reinvent myself with every job, I started as a coordinator for art classes and museum tours at an art education center, then decided to go I to prepress production in printing. I had no experience, which worked to my favor because they wanted cheap over knowledge. I did that for a while, then progressed into design and somehow got involved in email marketing and database work.
I want to go back to school to become an xray tech, like in doctors office. I may still do that.
If I really don't like a place or what I am doing, I spend time exploring something I may be interested in what it would take for me to do it. For design, I went back to school at night and got a certificate at a community college.
I always want a back up plan! :-)

I do work out a budget to see what I can afford time and money wise to pursue and if it is worth it.
Sometimes just making a plan makes me feel better, even if I don't follow through with it.

I guess I don't like stagnation, so I am always doing something.
03-31-2016, 06:02 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
Is the problem the type of work, or your employer? The latter is easier to correct with a new job. The former requires training and sometime bluffing as you develop new skills.

My attitude is: we get paid for work because it is ... work. "Fun" generally doesn't pay well.

Granted, some jobs just plain suck, but even good jobs sometimes have low points. Professional musicians sometimes think "damn, I have to play *that* song again!" Pro photographers might not feel an emotional connection to what the client needs photographed.

I've done software and consulting since I was 16 years old. The tech part is fun. Coworkers are often good. The bad parts - unproductive meetings, bureaucracy, marketing, etc. - are why I get paid.
It's not the work, more the climate. No matter how interesting the project is, if people don't work together it's just a PITA.

I've never been able to separate work and fun. I write code even as a hobby.

---------- Post added 03-31-16 at 06:04 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Murfy Quote
I guess I don't like stagnation, so I am always doing something.
Stagnation and getting too comfortable. Gotta stay agile.

03-31-2016, 06:33 PM   #8
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I reinvented myself after 25 years in marketing in the packaging machinery industry. I decided to become a math teacher. In my case, I went back to school for two years to become certified - I didn't really want to leave as I was hanging around with a lot of young college girls, but finally my wife said I had more than is required for certification.

I digress. Sorry. Anyway, the second 25 years were wonderful. I worked harder and earned a lot less and absolutely loved every minute of it. According to my wife, I talked more about teaching than I ever did about packaging. I retired from teaching 3 years ago, and I still keep my hand in by doing some tutoring (it pays for my hobbies, sorta).

Sometimes we just get worn out in a job or a company, or an industry. I think a second career can be rejuvenating. A major benefit is that you are older and wiser when you make your new choices. On the other hand, a possible pitfall is being "antsy" and making some kind of a move without giving it enough consideration. In other words don't make a move just for the sake of doing something. Give everything due consideration and do a bit of planning. Remember, there is no guarantee the new will be better than the old, but you can minimize the probability of the negative with some careful and objective thought.

I wish you all the best with whatever your choices.
03-31-2016, 09:12 PM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by kiberkli Quote
I've never been able to separate work and fun. I write code even as a hobby.
most of us don't really like the work that we do, not like that.

you'd have to look at what you like to do as much as write code, and then find a job doing it... not an easy task, many people never reach that point.
03-31-2016, 10:16 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by kiberkli Quote
So, who has reinvented themselves?
Me.

Back in 2002, my area in the company was split off to a joint venture with a Hong Kong company. After 37 years as a technical officer then manager with a telecoms company, I took redundancy. Before going, I found a new job. So I finished Friday and started with the new company on Monday.

The new job was controlling trains. I did a 6 week training course then moved out into the field doing shiftwork. No more office work, no more taking work home with me, no more working overtime without payment, no more 1-1/2 hour drives each way to/from the office. No more overseas trips for my job.

The new work was close to home and, if I got a call, it was to do overtime somewhere. The biggest downside was the substantial drop in salary but overtime and shift penalty rates made up for a lot of it.

I did that for 8 years before deciding to retire. I'd have stayed at it if I could have worked part time. I really began to hate the midnight shifts.
04-01-2016, 11:26 AM - 1 Like   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by p38arover Quote
I really began to hate the midnight shifts.
I hear ya! The advantages are few and the disadvantages many.
It definitely takes its toll on the body and family/social relations.
It's not very good for you photography, either!

I was a computer field engineer for many years with a company I honestly believed I'd retire from.
But after the dot com bubble burst and 9/11 I got laid off, along with countless other IT workers.

I applied for over 200 jobs but was called for only two interviews.
I was pretty desperate. Then my unemployment insurance ran out.

I went to the state department of labor to see what sort of job training was available.
They recommended I take another year plus of computer training, unpaid.
They didn't tell me how I was supposed to support my family during that time.

I asked what's the shortest course with jobs available afterward?
I took a commercial driver's license training course, got my CDL and was working within two months.
The pay sucked but at least it kept a roof over our heads and food on the table.
In a few months I changed jobs. I got a union gig and did a little better.

Then USPS called. I had forgotten that I had even taken their exam for Electronic Technician.
I hired on with them ten years ago next month and am financially better off now than I was in my old "career".

If mine was a reinvention I was dragged kicking and screaming the whole way.
Working nights is no fun, but hey, you do what you gotta do...

Chris
04-01-2016, 01:50 PM   #12
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Well, I am retiring after 41 years. When I started with the company I did final inspection of commercial color printers. Form there I did a stint doing the same thing in microfilm. Both image capture onto film and retrieval equipment. Then I went into a test lab testing all sorts of stuff from film processor to industry changing blood analyzer systems. After that a stint in supervision. Then three years as a Quality Assurance engineer working on all sorts of stuff. Then a 10 year stint as a Service Engineer in the graphics arts/printing field. Then I was laid off after 24 years with the same company. So I switched to another company for five years and did field service on laser imaging equipment used in the printing industry. After 5 years of that this company was purchased by the company I had worked for the previous 24 years. 12 more years of field service followed and I am retiring at the end of this month. Field service was by far the most fun. Work from home. Minimal office politics. Set my own hours. As long as you keep the customers happy no one interferes with you.

So I did reinvent myself several times over the years. All within the same company. BTW, I work for Kodak. A few of you may have heard of it. The place is pretty much a shell of itself, But I have had the pleasure of working with some outstanding people over the years, got to set foot on three different continents and have friends scattered across the US and Canada. It has been a pretty amazing ride for a guy who only got an A.A.S degree in college.
04-01-2016, 07:24 PM   #13
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I've reinvented myself several times out of necessity. From retail sales to retail management, small companies to large....large city police dept. once as a civilian employee.....
My Grandad was a builder, my uncle was a plumber...I grew up in both trades as a young man. Finally settled on plumbing and loved it with a passion for the last 20 years of my working life. It took a while to build my business and some red tape...but it was worth it.

You have to love what you do..and do what you love. It's an old story but absolutely true. Find it and your journey will begin...

Regards
04-01-2016, 08:53 PM   #14
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Great stories and advice everyone. Thanks. Hats off to all of you re-inventers.

Still not sure what direction to take. For now I need to make sure the well doesn't run dry, i.e. keep food on the table...
04-02-2016, 07:07 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by kiberkli Quote
Great stories and advice everyone. Thanks. Hats off to all of you re-inventers.

Still not sure what direction to take. For now I need to make sure the well doesn't run dry, i.e. keep food on the table...
Don't sweat it. At 65 I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I did what I did to support my family. Don't be afraid to stretch your self a bit. Just imaging your self in six months being an old hand at your job. Everybody is a bit anxious at first. Just be quiet, observe what others are doing and take it from there I am retiring soon and I think that this may be what i really wanted to be when I grew up.

This whole work thing just takes up way to much time. Been "working" since I started helping on paper routes at age 8. I can honestly say that as I reflect back on my life, of my many regrets, one is not that I did not spend more time working.
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