This year I'll be 40 I'm not going through a midlife crisis but I want to drive a bus

Dark Rabbit

I work as a database admin/business analyst and am familiar with several computing languages. The work has been enjoyable over the years and getting the opportunity to travel with work once or twice a year however I'd love to work as a bus driver! My wife is not hot on the idea but I love the idea of no emails, meeting, IM messages and not being at a desk. I'm not nieve and understand being a bus driver can be difficult sometimes dealing with the public and not having the leisure of toilet breaks but the prospect of no emails appeals too much.
So should I change career or be grateful for what I have?

silverharp

You wouldn't be the first to change career, there is an expression about everyone having 2 careers in them. I'd imagine youd be taking a pay cut so you would have to think about that. Cant say there isn't something appealing about having a job where you walk in every day with a clean sheet.
The other thing maybe is consider contracting in your current line of work, that way you have complete break every so often?

Tenigate

If you're financially secure, go for it. I'm sure a few bus driving lessons won't cost too much. After a year of busting yourself on €30-odd-k, you might have a change of heart and return to what you're good at. Or you might end up as a tour bus driver and never look back. There's only one way to find out.

I met a retired man recently who worked as an accountant all his life. He said he tried many times to get away from the career and eventually moved into more book-keeping-style jobs. But despite all his trying for a career change .. including training in security, he still fell back into his comfort zone. I could hear the regret in his voice.

Wompa1

As a fellow tech worker, I say go for the change! I'm biding time myself. I'm putting in the graft for a few years to hopefully have enough financial security to do something I'm a bit more enthusiastic about

shesty

Many people around me have had to have career changes due to the recession.Due to the degree we have and the industry we were in, it had to happen, everyone lost jobs.

Personally I have had three very different jobs in the last five years.I quite like my current position and hope to stay here maybe for ten years, at which point I'd like to cut loose and do something totally new (i.e....when my kids are bigger!!!)I specifically chose my career based on the fact that I didn't want to be stuck in an office in front of a PC all day.I hate it.I can get out and about a bit if I want to, and I love that option.

You regret the things you don't do OP.If it's financially and practically viable, then go for it.You have another good 20 years of work ahead of you, so why not.

Permabear

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whiskeyman

Perhaps you could volunteer to drive a bus for local charities / sports clubs first, just to see if you're happy with driving a lot?

ChikiChiki

Go for the change OP. Being a BA if it doesn't work out you can always slot back into a role as its so adaptable and will be in demand for a long time. I'm from the same background and gonna have a shot at being a pilot as I've always been passionate about flying. Lifes to short not to give it a go.

Big Bag of Chips

Why not start looking in to getting a few driving lessons anyway? You can do the various courses, you'll need to do the specific theory test first and the CPC. Driving lessons are obviously more expensive than car lessons and are usually done over 2 hours. Even if you decide not to change career you'll have the licence (once you pass your test!) if you ever decide to use it.

Getting the licence doesn't have to be a big deal, or a huge decision. Do the lessons, pass the test and then have a think about it.

PeterTheNinth

whiskeyman wrote: »

Perhaps you could volunteer to drive a bus for local charities / sports clubs first, just to see if you're happy with driving a lot?

That would be my advice for sure. The grass is always greener on the other side, and there's a lot of dealing with the public which might not be a lot of fun.

Neon_Lights

Why not be a luas driver that involves little to no thought at all

zoobizoo

I know someone who left a marketing job to become a taxi driver... hated it and returned to marketing.


OP, is it about escaping the job you are in or wanting to get a job that you love?


My friend who works in marketing always drempt about being a lorry driver.. no emails, no pressure.

I've often thought about being a taxi driver - a job with very little stress from someone above. (stress dealing with people though) and just a doing job rather than a thinking strategically job.

DavyD_83

Permabear wrote: »

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DO you actually like your job, and just not like the emails and general office shyte, or do you dislike your job as a whole.

As somebody said, do the training and pass the bus driving test and see how you feel about it then; at that point you'll have a better idea of the reality, and you'll have the qualification to go for it if you feel it is the thing to do.

The comments regarding throwing away your job to do something without any real qualifications are nonsense. The only reasoning here, is that you will most likely take a pay cut as a result, it certainly doesn't make the job itself any more worthwhile or satisfying just because it requires a degree.

I really want to not work in an office (I currently do), but at the moment, couldn't take the financial hit of starting out in something I would find more enjoyable. Maybe when the kids grow, I'll be able to escape, but for the moment, I work for them.

The Princess Bride

You haven't said why your wife isn't hot on the idea.
Would there be financial implications to this potential change?

At the end of the day, you have to do what you want to do as it's a long few decades until retirement if you're not happy at work.
I gave up the permanent pensionable job for something very different and financially less secure, have had no regrets, my world didn't explode.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

MissShihTzu

My Dad was a bus driver, and so was my ex, albeit in London. So I think I'm reasonably well qualified to add my tuppence worth...:)

When my Dad drove with London Transport, it was a very-well paid job with shift premiums, one-man driver premiums, night bus driver allowances and all the exes. It is no longer so. Due to competitive pressures, bus driving is now a very poorly paid job. All the above premiums have now gone. If you want to drive for Dublin Bus/BE, that safety net will go too as the Government are now opening the routes to competitors (Go Ahead have already won some routes in Dublin). Don't mind what the unions say - I saw the same thing in London too with garage closures and gradual erosion of wages and benefits. Competition in transport will mean costs slashed to the bone. Starting with wages, and ending with the services the bus companies are supposed to provide. Mark my words, the same thing will happen here...

Anyway OP - are you prepared for:

--Much lower wages. Any allowances/premiums paid here will soon be gone!
--Shift work
--Dealing with members of the public. Some of whom may be violent. Let me tell you, my Dad has had knives pulled on him more than once. Fortunately, my old man was more than able for that crap and used to keep a baseball bat in the cab...
--Dealing with angry passengers when the bus breaks down and you can't move.
--Dealing with traffic issues all day, every day, especially if you plan to drive in Dublin.
--How will you deal with runners/people flat out refusing to pay?
--How will you deal with passengers harassing and abusing other passengers?

If you've considered all of that and want to go ahead? Why not? You only get one life, so go for it! But be warned - bus driving ain't the cakewalk you seem to think it is!

Good luck!

Big Bag of Chips

A bus license will allow you to drive more than just public transport commuters. You could get a job with a coach company, you could drive a school bus, you could do national routes, you could do Ireland - UK routes on the ferry.

Being a bus driver doesn't have to be rush hour traffic on the quays in Dublin!

Why not, OP?! Why not do the lessons, pass the test and see where it takes you. My dad drives tour buses and loves it.

MissShihTzu

Yes, I'm well aware that bus driving doesn't mean driving buses in the city centre/cross country routes. Holding a PSV (Or whatever you call it here) also entitles you to drive coaches/ tour buses which my father also did in his spare time.

But the point remains. By all means get the lessons and do the test. The licence might be handy one day. I am simply pointing out some of the cons of bus driving (as per OP which did not mention coach/tour bus driving), and giving the OP something to consider.

dd972

If it's something like long distance coach driving like Bus Eireann or the one that's goes up to Belfast 24/7 then by all means go for it if your based in the Dublin area.

I used to commute with Dublin Bus and got a load of grief off two scummy litte c**ts on the 83 who got some other older bloke to join in with them on it, had a rock put through the window I was sat at on the 140 that just missed me and grief on separate occasions by Drivers I encountered who were complete a**eholes, Dublin Bus on various routes is basically a sewer on wheels, it's not for nothing that the middle classes dormatise themselves away in leafy car orientated suburbs.

sheepondrugs

Would say go for it too. However bus drivers can work some very unusual shift patterns in addition to weekends, late nights etc that would take a bit of getting use to if you are coming from a 9 to 5 job. So check it all out and good luck.

LegacyUser

OP, I can very much identify with you. I am female in my 30s and work in engineering design in a large manufacturing plant. I'm at the top of the company's ranks and worked hard to get here. I am also the only female in the department and that in itself could be seen as an achievement. I earn very good money but work long hours (normally 50 per week). I sit at a desk all day, bombarded by emails and calls and paperwork and pressure and stress, which is all on top of my daily role of designing and drawing new products. I find the emails and calls a constant distraction and I don't see that it will ever change. If anything it will get worse as the company has been growing and expanding rapidly. I find the office dynamics and people politics and air con battles more draining with every year that passes. I compare the silent, bland office to a prison cell.

For years, I have found myself gazing out my office window looking at the artic trucks pull in and out of our plant, collecting and delivering products. And for years, (since I was a child probably) I have dreamed of driving a big rig. I have longed for the freedom of being on the road, a constant change of scenery even on a repetitive route, carrying loads up and down the country, in and out of ports, listening to the radio, complaining about rubbish drivers getting in my way. 😆

I've only ever told a handful of people and they've probably questioned my mental state. I have a friend who works as a long haul truck driver and he's allowed me to practise with his artic on a number of occasions, and has no doubt I would easily pass my license. I've always been naturally able to manage large vehicles and trailers etc.

I have not made the jump to actually doing the license though. I'm aware of the paycut I would take and that doesn't bother me at all. Life is too short to only work for money.

I suppose the only thing holding me back is I am not yet in a position where I dread going to my current job every day. In another year or two, I think I will feel that way, and I assume I will consider my options at that point.

I think you should absolutely pursue the lessons and license. Stay in your current job while doing that and re-evaluate along the way. Worrying about driverless vehicles or outsourced bus routes in the future is pointless, imo. There will always be buses to be driven. Why not aim to take a year out from your current career path, give the bus driving a try, and if it isn't for you, at least you'll know. And it'll be a great story or lesson to tell the grandkids.

4976340

If you are financially secure driving a school bus might be a good option. Just twice a day during term times. would that give you time to reflect on what you really want. It is easy to reduce your emails or even set them up to go directly to inboxes that can wait.
If you like your work change your work processes, smart person like you can figure that out.
Otherwise consider driving a local school bus, it might be fun or might make you long for emails.

4976340

sheepondrugs wrote: »

Would say go for it too. However bus drivers can work some very unusual shift patterns in addition to weekends, late nights etc that would take a bit of getting use to if you are coming from a 9 to 5 job. So check it all out and good luck.

Shiftworking can be a nightmare for sleep patterns and good mental health.

FizzleSticks

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IvoryTower

I would speak to a few bus drivers see what they make of it

Ursus Horribilis

It looks like you're burned out from the "admin" side of your job. Would you consider changing jobs and staying within the field you work in? Perhaps a change of scenery and a role that involves less meetings, emails etc. would help?