Are you happy about how your career is progressing?

CBear1993

CBear1993 wrote: »

Then you have the scientists. My other half is out of uni since 2017 and she’s still on €28K in a small lab in immunology. I tell her more times to get off her ass. That’s embarrassing for the company paying her IMO. Considering she has a masters in IVF and a BSc in biomed.

If the wages were her motivation she could get a gig in a pharma, med device or biopharma plant..... To be fair if she likes the work & the role there's a lot to be said for it but 28k is poor remuneration, no doubt.

smelly sock

Civil servant here. On the job 16 years or so. Money is decent but ill never be a millionaire. Zero pressure in reality and 6 weeks paid holidays and flexi timeso thats good. When i started on had mates on the buildings bragging of how they wouldnt get out of for less than 300 hundred a day. Most of them ended up redundant and heading to Australia, delaying starting a family and really only getting back on track in Ireland in the last 2-3 years. That makes me realise how lucky I am. Always food on the table and a holiday every year. 30 minutes commute ever day. Happy out.

joe40

Interesting thread. On a side note I always found it apt that another definition of "career" is to "move swiftly in an uncontrolled manner"

For me started off in science, industry job, then moved to teaching late 20s, at that game for over 20 years now so at 50 now so no career change likely. Overall happy enough, holidays are obviously good but it can be stressful, but overall happy enough.

Interesting that a lot of engineering/IT people seem to progress into management roles. Is that a positive thing or do you miss doing what you originally trained/educated for.

By the way work life balance is really important, that extra 20 k may not be worth it in the long run.

nthclare

joe40 wrote: »

Interesting thread. On a side note I always found it apt that another definition of "career" is to "move swiftly in an uncontrolled manner"

For me started off in science, industry job, then moved to teaching late 20s, at that game for over 20 years now so at 50 now so no career change likely. Overall happy enough, holidays are obviously good but it can be stressful, but overall happy enough.

Interesting that a lot of engineering/IT people seem to progress into management roles. Is that a positive thing or do you miss doing what you originally trained/educated for.

By the way work life balance is really important, that extra 20 k may not be worth it in the long run.

Exactly... here's a story with a happy ending and I identify with it to be honest...



A boat was docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.

A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and... asked how long it took to catch them.

"Not very long" they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.
We have a full life."

The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!!! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.

And the moral of this story is:

Know where you're going in life, you may already be there! Many times in life, money is not everything.

“Live your life before life becomes lifeless”

theteal

I've already done the career change (and a country change) so restarted at the bottom and now at a level I'm happy with for the time being. It was a slog for a couple of years with crap money but in the last 14 months I've changed jobs twice and increased salary by just shy of 100%. The work is interesting if a little stressful (networks and security) but I can't help but advance skills just by performing daily duties. I'm also back dabbling in a bit of progamming for automation tasks as there's no getting away from it at this stage. It's a small IT team in a relatively small but very successful company, good bunch all around, even the billionaire owner so that helps.

LeYouth

Thia thread is an example of how career guidance in school is absolute shyte.

Imagine if you could get this sort of candid advice when you were 17, people could probably end up in a more satisfying line of work.

Lundstram

Work full-time in a pretty crappy job. 10 years there now and on about 28k plus a few perks. I decided to enroll in college in 2017 doing a part-time degree in Accounting. Final year next year when I'll be 33. My job is sh1t and couldn't care less about it, in at 8 and out the door not a minute passed 5, the owner is a tosser of the highest order. My collegaues are good people and great to work with but I've spent way too long in this job, got too comfortable.

College has been a great experience, it involves Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-10pm and every second Saturday 10-5 of lectures. We do the same exams as the full-timers so it invovles a lot of self learning too. It's easy when you get into a routine and I'd reccomend it to anyone. I'm single with no kids so it's easier for me but others in my class have jobs and kids and they seem to get on fine.

I'm not sure what to do once I actually get the degree but it opens up huge opportunites for me that otherwise was a life of dead end jobs. In total it will cost about €10,000 for the 4 years but it'll pay for itself in the future I hope.

Bit of a cliché but it's never too late to upskill, there's a man in my class who's 58 and has a law degree but wants to move into finance. He is the brightest man I've ever known and is by far the top student in our class.

It's daunting at first when you're walking the halls with 17-20 year olds but they don't care. I guess the point of my post is to anyone thinking of returning to college at a more mature age is to go for it. It's tough at times but will be worth it in the end.

smelly sock

LeYouth wrote: »

Thia thread is an example of how career guidance in school is absolute shyte.

Imagine if you could get this sort of candid advice when you were 17, people could probably end up in a more satisfying line of work.

I think its a waste of time youngsters considering careers at that age. Mid to late 20s is time enough.

CBear1993

Lundstram wrote: »

Work full-time in a pretty crappy job. 10 years there now and on about 28k plus a few perks. I decided to enroll in college in 2017 doing a part-time degree in Accounting. Final year next year when I'll be 33. My job is sh1t and couldn't care less about it, in at 8 and out the door not a minute passed 5, the owner is a tosser of the highest order. My collegaues are good people and great to work with but I've spent way too long in this job, got too comfortable.

College has been a great experience, it involves Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-10pm and every second Saturday 10-5 of lectures. We do the same exams as the full-timers so it invovles a lot of self learning too. It's easy when you get into a routine and I'd reccomend it to anyone. I'm single with no kids so it's easier for me but others in my class have jobs and kids and they seem to get on fine.

I'm not sure what to do once I actually get the degree but it opens up huge opportunites for me that otherwise was a life of dead end jobs. In total it will cost about €10,000 for the 4 years but it'll pay for itself in the future I hope.

Bit of a cliché but it's never too late to upskill, there's a man in my class who's 58 and has a law degree but wants to move into finance. He is the brightest man I've ever known and is by far the top student in our class.

It's daunting at first when you're walking the halls with 17-20 year olds but they don't care. I guess the point of my post is to anyone thinking of returning to college at a more mature age is to go for it. It's tough at times but will be worth it in the end.

What’s the course Please?

CBear1993

theteal wrote: »

I've already done the career change (and a country change) so restarted at the bottom and now at a level I'm happy with for the time being. It was a slog for a couple of years with crap money but in the last 14 months I've changed jobs twice and increased salary by just shy of 100%. The work is interesting if a little stressful (networks and security) but I can't help but advance skills just by performing daily duties. I'm also back dabbling in a bit of progamming for automation tasks as there's no getting away from it at this stage. It's a small IT team in a relatively small but very successful company, good bunch all around, even the billionaire owner so that helps.

At what age did you change careers? And what course did you do? Love hearing them stories. I’m approaching 27 in 2 months and I hate the thought of starting the salary ladder again and maybe only getting back to where I am in my 30s.

Lundstram

CBear1993 wrote: »

What’s the course Please?

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Accounting. Level 8.

WesternZulu

I wouldn't say I'm overly happy with my career progression but in hindsight a lot depends on what comes next.

I did a master's in economics during the recession and came out with a 1:1 and was lucky enough to get a job but only stared on 21k. The job was in financial services and to be honest it was awful, I absolutely hated it and despised going in everyday.

Fast forward a year into the job and I managed to get a PhD abroad. It was a no brainer at the time to take it...the scholarship was generous and with not paying tax I actually wasn't losing out financially and it was a guaranteed salary for 4 years. Plus it was an opportunity to leave finance for good and pursue something I was interested in.

However since finishing my PhD I have moved back to Ireland and moved from PostDoc to PostDoc. I've come to accept that the money is terrible in science and research but not having a permanent position is even worse!

If I could get a permanent position in the research institute I'm in then I'd be delighted though. Even though the money isn't great there is a great work life balance and the older I get the more important that feels.

When reading boards at times and hearing what others are on can be frustrating. However, the last recession really was a pivotal point in how my career progressed.

Andrew00

nthclare wrote: »

Studied horticulture and arboriculture in the 90's still working away in that line of work.
I sometimes work as a Gardener and other times a tree surgeon within the same department in the public sector, so I have a great mix of sites and I have a good range of scope to look after.

Basically I'm working independently because I am at the top of my game, so I am working at something I love.

I love the outdoors, and nothing better than doing a real job which is manual, professional, manly and not one of those fluf jobs people are going to loose due to covid 19.
My neighbor the poor bastard worked in marketing and the arse fell out of it over the last few weeks, he was always bigging up his cushy number.
We'd meet at the coffee machine on a dark winter's morning in the local shop and when it's wet or windy he'd grinn and say, (I wouldn't like your job in this weather then)..
I wouldn't tell him that I catch up on administration work and have a workshop and office where I maintain chainsaws and other machinery when it's too dangerous to go outside.

The same prick will tell me, ohhh you made the right choice in doing something you love always trying to give himself the high ground whether he's being sarcastic or wise...

I let these fckers off, and nonchalantly chuckle when they're trying to be Johnny Cool.

I love this ahahahahaha

nthclare

LeYouth wrote: »

Thia thread is an example of how career guidance in school is absolute shyte.

Imagine if you could get this sort of candid advice when you were 17, people could probably end up in a more satisfying line of work.

I'll be honest I was a right messer in school, always on the doss and getting kicked out of class, smoking in the handball alley etc
Lighting campfires in the woods with the rest of the misfits and bush drinking..

Came from old money and didn't give a flying fck about school, probably over stimulated intellectually and knew I had the brain's to get a third level degree at 23 as a mature student.

I got a better than average result in my leaving cert, that was without studying or knuckling down. Considering I am slightly dyslexic.

But my career guidance teacher did suggest Horticulture or Marine Biology. Something outdoorsy where I could burn off energy.
I was a giddy fckr, couldn't sit still

I'd disrupt the class just out of being myself, I couldn't help it.
I'm still a messer, but clever enough not to break speed limits, go too far or get personal in a slagging match or act the bollox during the lockdown.
I suppose I'm young at heart, off the hooch since I was 27..
Got huge inheritance and bought a house and land out of it in the early 00's
My Kid's are grown up now and I was never married living a new lease of life. I'll be 46 next year and going to fcking enjoy the rest of my 40's,50's and 60's wind down after 70 lol

Let's just say I've had a good run at life, I could be dead tomorrow.
I am lucky very lucky, I didn't work hard to get the massive inheritance but I was entitled to it.

CBear1993

CBear1993 wrote: »

At what age did you change careers? And what course did you do? Love hearing them stories. I’m approaching 27 in 2 months and I hate the thought of starting the salary ladder again and maybe only getting back to where I am in my 30s.

You will likely be working another 35 to 40 years. Dont worry about a few years. You dont want to be late 40's in a job you hate wondering what if.

mr.anonymous

Interesting thread and stories here.

I'd say I'm happy with my career to date although unsure what my current role would develop into in 3-5 years. The problem is my career is in aviation and it looks like thousands of us will soon find ourselves unemployed at the start of a recession.

Redundancy, no job prospects and recession are suddenly likely to happen. No idea where to begin when it comes to doing courses, applying for jobs in other sectors, or staying in Ireland.

Andrew00

The thing about this recession is that you won't be able to go abroad

Because there'll be no jobs abroad as everyone is in the same boat

CIP4

So this summer marks 4 years since I graduated college with an Engineering Degree. I started on a graduate programme straight out of college earning on the lower end of the scale but it was a business close to my home so I went for it. I did a few different Jobs on the same site in my first year. Then after about 1 year got a permanent job and contract. Then shortly after getting that due to people moving around I ended up doing a more senior management role on a temporary basis that was going to last around one year. I then went for a Job that came up at a similar level in a different area but on the same site I was there 2 years at this stage. Was very young and lacked experience for the role wasn't expecting to get it really.

But I got that job and have now been two years at it and like it. The first few months were difficult but I got up to speed quickly. It's a people management role but there is a good bit of a technical aspect to it also. I certainly worked hard to get up the ladder quickly but off course there is a certain amount of luck and positions coming available so you can apply for them. Salary wise last year I earned over double what I got on my initial graduate salary and the graduate salary wasn't poorly paid really either.

I have thought about moving to a different company even industry I think the grass is always greener. Work life balance can be a struggle at times but my Job is very secure and the company I work for does actually care about staff your not just a number which is important I think. Plan at the moment is to stay at the job I am at for the next two years or so and then weigh up is it worth trying to move to a more senior position to take on the extra stress and responsibility that comes with it. In my current role the last two years I have got a pay rise of around 9% both years so my salary will stay rising a bit even if I don't move roles well for the moment.

Overall I am happy with my Career so far and if I was back at the start I wouldn't change anything so far.

run_Forrest_run

Andrew00 wrote: »

Because there'll be no jobs abroad as everyone is in the same boat

that depends on the type of job. In IT and software development in particular, the covid thing has made companies realise that working from home is quite possible and people might apply for (and succeed getting) jobs in different countries without needing to relocate etc.

theteal

CBear1993 wrote: »

At what age did you change careers? And what course did you do? Love hearing them stories. I’m approaching 27 in 2 months and I hate the thought of starting the salary ladder again and maybe only getting back to where I am in my 30s.

I emigrated at 28, took a year off work (studied a bit) before getting my first IT job just a few weeks shy of my 30th birthday. I would add that I do have an IT degree from 2005 and the old career was never meant to be a career but I got sucked in by the celtic bubble money straight after graduation. . .and subsequently grew to hate it.

Kamu

I've been in the CS for about two years now.

Everyone knows about the work/life balance that it offers: I get 5 weeks of AL a year, I can work up a day-and-a-half flexiday each 4 week period, I get in the office at 8 and leave at 4, I do not take work home with me, and there is absolutely no stress; none.

And that is a problem, I feel so unfulfilled; I'm just in administration/data-entry for an archaic system. I do the exact same work as the COs and HEOs (I'm an EO) and I'm surrounded by people who tapped out years ago.

I've been in three different departments in three different sections so far, and it's the same story. If I was in a specialized role It may be different and I may feel differently.

I have been actively looking to upskill and I've been self-studying programming. I'll see what options I have after the pandemic.

Jim Root

Best thing I ever did was do an accountancy qualification in the evenings over 4 years to compliment my existing sales role. I had noticed most of the SMT in my company had an accountancy qualification. Within 18 months of qualifying I was promoted onto the SMT at age 29 on low six figures. Have expanded out the role since but feel I’ve hit a ceiling with this company now. I could barely pull a set of accounts together but that qualification has opened so many doors for me it’s mental.

ChikiChiki

Accounting and Finance qualifications are very very transferable between industries. It gives you a fundamental understanding of the numbers, company law and other management practices. Similar to above, I was pretty much dead end in a low level bank job from 19 to 25 and once I started a Part Time course in Accounting and Finance doors just opened up and opportunities came quickly.

That married with work experience a good match.

Potential-Monke

I wouldn't say I have a career, as I'm still trying to figure out what I can work as that I love. I've gone through many jobs to try and find out, with the qualifications I have. If I could go back to college, I'd be doing game design, as I do genuinely love that, but I don't think it would satisfy my job needs, as working in the gaming industry (unless you're a very small/lone dev) is supposed to be crap.

Anyway, so far I've been;

- Waiter
- Barman
- Shop assistant
- Customer care executive
- Door to door sales
- Tech support
- Tech support Tier 2
- Tech support Supervisor
- Garda

They're just the main ones iirc. Out of all of them, the best job I had was as a waiter. And not waiting everywhere, there were maybe 1 or 2 places that I would go back to, 1 in particular. Loved every second of it, kept me fit (there were stairs!), had lovely meals for my lunch, and just loved doing the job overall (I was quite handy at selling 'aperitifs' to large bookings). I'd go back to it tomorrow, but I can't justify working for €21k with no room for any decent improvement. But at the same time, I couldn't work for the likes of Adare Castle, as it would be too highty tighty. And couldn't work in Burgerking (again), due to some of the clientele.

Anyway, I'm currently a techie again, but the job I applied for is not the job I'm doing. I applied for a troubleshooting role, but it's about 80% admin now, which I detest. Have been thinking about quitting, but they paid me more than I should be getting and I won't find anything similar right now, or possibly ever, as I don't have the qualifications to get the same job in a different place. Yet. I can do a couple of courses, but I'm not sure if this is where I want my future to go. As mentioned above, most jobs in this sector are full of red tape and pointless meetings. I learned in my last job I'm not the person to be in charge, but rather the person to fix problems. I dunno what to do tbh. I'm not happy right now, and I left the best paid job (Garda) because it was killing me to continue. That's where I learned money isn't everything, but by Jesus do you need it for everything! Don't have/want kids, but couldn't imagine having them even on the current wage (i'm 37 on 37k!).

mayo londoner

Kamu wrote: »

I've been in the CS for about two years now.

Everyone knows about the work/life balance that it offers: I get 5 weeks of AL a year, I can work up a day-and-a-half flexiday each 4 week period, I get in the office at 8 and leave at 4, I do not take work home with me, and there is absolutely no stress; none.

And that is a problem, I feel so unfulfilled; I'm just in administration/data-entry for an archaic system. I do the exact same work as the COs and HEOs (I'm an EO) and I'm surrounded by people who tapped out years ago.

I've been in three different departments in three different sections so far, and it's the same story. If I was in a specialized role It may be different and I may feel differently.

I have been actively looking to upskill and I've been self-studying programming. I'll see what options I have after the pandemic.

Did you go straight in as an EO or do time as a CO first? Is it common for a CO to jump to EO level within 2 years?

Donoghh

Final year of an English and Irish degree and don’t have a clue what to do. Quite digitally savvy, having worked in short-term (<1 year) marketing and multimedia positions which involved a ton of photography, videography, marketing and editing. As well as that, I’ve written freelance for a couple of relatively big tech/gaming outlets in the UK, as there’s no industry here. Not sure what to do after my degree tbh - considering teaching but wondering if I’m only floating that way as it’s the path of least resistance, and even then not sure I could justify it as I got the points for any journalism/teaching course I wanted and decided against. The stability isn’t there for me to pursue freelance full time, so I’ve really got a lot to think about in the coming months

Donoghh

Also like above, did a temporary summer placement in the CS and learned one thing from it - that the Civil Service is definitely not for me

Kamu

mayo londoner wrote: »

Did you go straight in as an EO or do time as a CO first? Is it common for a CO to jump to EO level within 2 years?

I was a TCO for a year then through open competition became a permanent CO and through open competition again I became an EO.

So it took 18 months for me to go from TCO to EO, all through open competition.

I can't apply for any internal/interdepartmental competitions until I have two years service in my current role, which won't be until Late 2021.

I would still be a CO if I waited out those two years.

Personally, I think the fastest way to progress through the early grades of the CS is through the open competitions; though that does mean you most likely will move departments - as I moved departments with each promotion*.

* I consider going from TCO to permanent CO a promotion in relation to the fact that my TCO contract was renewed twice and was looking likely that it would not have been possible to be renewed again.

ILoveYourVibes

Well yes and no.

I am happier than I was last year. But worried about how covid 19 and the lockdown and of course the on coming economic crisis could stall it.

rahmalec

Haha this is funny. My answer is God no! I certainly was up until a few months ago though.
This coronavirus thing is literally the worst possible thing that could have happened to my industry. Not even a war would have as much effect and I wouldn't have predicted something like this to happen in a million years! (not that I'd prefer a war but in relation to my industry, the point still stands).

I worked in the arts and entertainment. As well as a performer I had a few side hustles like a small backline hire business, etc. I know this is usually seen as a precarious field but I had a very stable income, spread around a few different sources. Given that I'd be first call in the country for certain things, I would easily have handled something like the last recession (I wasn't working then). Half as many events in existence would just mean saying yes to some of the work I'd have normally said no to.

So now I'm sitting twiddling my thumbs, have no experience of the regular working world (I was always self employed), have never had to write a CV, etc. Don't even know where to start ...