Are you happy about how your career is progressing?

pgj2015 · 26-05-2020 10:03pm

funkypumpkins wrote: »

In short, no. Getting nearer to 30. Finished a languages degree (French and Spanish, can speak them fluently). Have gone from retail, customer service, bouts of unemployment then back to retail, English teaching abroad, got a scholarship and moved abroad to train to become a secondary school teacher in languages. But it was tough and everyday was a battle for 2.5 years and I never fit in. So I moved back to Dublin after a mental breakdown. Making the best of covid to calm and rehabilitate but I get anxious about my employment prospects. Trying to see if my qualifications apply here in Ireland but teaching council won't register me (yet). I do miss teaching just not in UK state schools. With people around me in careers, coupled and doing well, I wish I had a bit of that. But hey, I am lucky for what I had left behind in Ireland. Hopeful I'll work it out by trying.

The bit in bold stood out. be careful about planning for certain events by certain ages. it isn't a good way to live in my opinion.
A lot of people hadn't a penny at 30 but by 35 they were millionaires.

onrail · 26-05-2020 10:08pm

joe40 wrote: »

Interesting point. Accountancy would be a career I would mention to my kids sometimes it seems to me to be well paid job, but at the same time my knowledge of what is exactly involved is lacking.

Any accountants out there, would you recommend the job?

I've a few friends who are accountants, and while it's really tough for the first few years after college, once you get beyond professional exams, it seems great

There's a really lazy narrative out there that accounting means that you're chained to your desk staring at numbers all day. In truth, most jobs you end up doing the same eventually, only with far less pay!

rob316 · 26-05-2020 11:26pm

30s, Director of small family run business. My earning ceiling is endless but for what I make its hard ****ing work but I enjoy the daily challenge. Lose a big client and your year is ****ed. I don't have a 3rd level education so I don't see much else out there for me. I've had some good years but others I'd be better off working in McDonald's (no offence to anyone that does)

I worked as a business development manager 5 years ago (Fancy name for sales rep) in IT and the pressure was relentless I couldn't hack it and the owner was a tosser. I dumped it for a **** warehouse picking job which was a real break but paid crap. Now back in the family business and will stick at it I think.

Uncle Mclovin · 27-05-2020 12:07am

Currently working as an accountant in a multi national. Money is pretty decent in fairness and it's not the horrible job that people think. There are loads of different roles you can do as an accountant in industry. Some are monotonous and boring such as general ledger accountant or management accountant but there are lots of interesting roles as well in the likes of M&A (acquisitions for anyone not in the know), tax, treasury, internal audit, business transformation etc. Then once you build up a bit of experience you can make what you want of your career.

If your interested in becoming an accountant I would personally recommend doing a training contract with Big 4 as it is valued experience and can help with salary. You could easily come out of there after 3 years and move to multi national looking for 50-60k at 23/24 if you started direct from college which lots of people do. Lots of opportunities from there then depending what you want then.

Just my opinion though. Obviously not for everyone.

fits · 27-05-2020 12:11am

mistersifter wrote: »

I left academia because of this.

I know many post-docs who have spent years struggling from short-term lecturing contract, to funded research, to hourly-paid work without any written contract whatsoever.

The gig economy is alive and well in the third-level sector. It's scandalous some of the tactics universities employ to keep employees in insecure conditions.

I would advise anyone thinking about a postgrad course, postdoc or career in academia to make sure you know where it's leading before going down that road.

Yep

I’m doing ok. But I really really want some job security now. Thought I was finally getting close to it pre pandemic but employer is going to take a massive hit in next academic year.

kowloon · 27-05-2020 2:07am

Augeo wrote: »

Mechanical, electrical, process engineering would all be better options.

24 years ago my applied maths teacher said civil engineers were 'two a penny' when a chap in the class mentioned he wanted to go that route.

When I was in college the civil engineering guys had better money prospects than mechanical. The recession sent a lot of them out of the country while the jobs in many of the multi-nationals were (relatively) secure.

27-05-2020 9:19am

kowloon wrote: »

When I was in college the civil engineering guys had better money prospects than mechanical. The recession sent a lot of them out of the country while the jobs in many of the multi-nationals were (relatively) secure.

No doubt, over a 30/40 year career civil isn't the best option IMO unless you really love it and would hate to do any other sort of engineering.

When civil engineering guys had better money prospects than mechanical lads at college you can be sure blocklayers and carpenters had too.

Civil is very boom to bust sort of a gig and in the booms you are worked hard ...... of course in that game if you had some luck and did a spot of development etc you could set yourself up nicely .............

If someone at school was very keen on civil eng and didn't fancy any other discipline then they should be encouraged of course.

smurfjed · 27-05-2020 9:25am

I’m presently entering my 10th week locked down in a 5 star hotel in a lovely suite, all expenses paid. Getting tested for COVID weekly, 9 times so far and all clear. Have actually worked 6 days in the last month. This is where my career has brought me and i have to admit that I wouldn’t change it for anything, the sense of exhilaration every time i get to work is worth every minute of the time locked up in this hotel.

Always dreamt of becoming a pilot, well that dream came through.

nutjobb · 27-05-2020 7:56pm

Now that's a cool job. Care to tell us what routes you fly, age, how long your away from home etc. Sorry to be nosey but never spoke to a pilot before.

CBear1993 · 28-05-2020 12:15am

Came across “remote jobs ireland” tonight and took a look, 160 current positions. I’ve seen this movement gain a lot of traction on twitter in the last year or so, fair play to them.

One thing that stuck out for me though was - this is the recurring trend of jobs I saw :

Software engineer / developer
Data analyst / business analyst
SaaS / Python
Front end developer

For someone with no idea about the above but young and considering going back to college or even try learn these things online first to see if I like them - what is the general entry requirement ? It didn’t say on job spec.

Is a software engineering course suffice? They do them on springboard.

FinTech is something I see pop up a lot

28-05-2020 12:55am

CBear1993 wrote: »

Came across “remote jobs ireland” tonight and took a look, 160 current positions. I’ve seen this movement gain a lot of traction on twitter in the last year or so, fair play to them.

One thing that stuck out for me though was - this is the recurring trend of jobs I saw :

For someone with no idea about the above but young and considering going back to college or even try learn these things online first to see if I like them - what is the general entry requirement ? It didn’t say on job spec.

Is a software engineering course suffice? They do them on springboard.

FinTech is something I see pop up a lot

A lot of companies require you to have either a Hon level degree or HDip before looking at your cv, at least here in Ireland. You may have to do industry specific certification(s) also.

A software engineering course, at least when I did my degree, would cover
Software engineer / developer
Front end developer.

And the latest degrees would most likely have modules as electives in specific areas that would cover the minimum knowledge.

Some third level institutes in Ireland have created specific degrees for web development and for the other three areas on your list.
Data analyst / business analyst
SaaS / Python (Python being the programming language of choice for a lot of areas currently)
FinTech

In relation to FinTech, no interest in it and not looked at any of the courses, but from talking to friends who did they said that they appeared to be a mishmash of modules from other courses designed to capitalize on the latest buzzword. Again just what I have heard, others who have done a course/work in the area may disagree and give you a different opinion.

Plasandrunt · 28-05-2020 1:14am

32 year old, work in a night shift job where there is no scope for progression. Will be on 40k when company wide pay rise comes into play in July.

I'm currently saving for a house, already own a apartment bought with cash from death of a relative so mortgage won't be too big. Hoping in the next year or two to hopefully get a civil service job after new house is bought. Am on the panel for this years CO competition but not too high up in the OOM.

Ubbquittious · 28-05-2020 1:18am

These software jobs are hard to get into. I'd know my way around python fairly well and a few other languages along with a nice bit of industry experience but when I was applying for those jobs about 2 years ago they didn't want to know. The odd small company showed a bit of interest but most of the ones I tried for were a dead end.

A lot were advertised through agencies and without 3+ years of industry experience ticking all the boxes in the job description they'll move on to a safer candidate. Even if you apply direct its not enough knowing how to code they want someone who is familiar with all the frameworks and middleware they happen to use along with being a dyed in the wool Agile scrum ninja guru.

smurfjed · 28-05-2020 4:35am

nutjobb wrote: »

Now that's a cool job. Care to tell us what routes you fly, age, how long your away from home etc. Sorry to be nosey but never spoke to a pilot before.

I fly a midsized corporate jet, so we can take 11 people on 8 hour flights, so no particular route structure but we have ended up in USA, Russia, Asia, Central America, Africa and Europe.

Home where the missus and dog are located is about 80 minutes flight time from here, i will actually be there today but just to smile at them and we land to pick up people

It’s certainly different from a normal airline job

M.T. Cranium · 28-05-2020 4:56am

"Are you happy ..."

Thanks for the laugh, I needed that.

Aisling(",) · 28-05-2020 11:07am

I'm a 28 year old mid level civil servant on just under 50k.I don't mind my job but it wouldn't have been my first choice in life.
Since I joined the service I've been pursuing qualifications in my field and I'm hoping to have my professional exams done by May 2021 (finding them tough though).

At my current grade I max out around 60k,well until we get smacked with austerity measures again.My partner is in a low paying retail job but he's happy and enjoys it.Hoping to buy next year so I'm grateful to be in a secure role and able to save and study during all this covid madness.I wouldn't want to go for promotion right now because I know I don't have enough experience and I'm still settling into my own role.

I have a level 8 in a media field and I had a fantastic four years but I wouldn't have been cut out for the unstable super competitive jobs market had I chosen to pursue it.Even though it is no way connected I wouldn't be able to do my professional exams without the degree as so it's still standing to me now.

Hodors Appletart · 28-05-2020 11:16am

yeah, when the recession hit I was made redundant and went sand found a job in a call centre, then I taught myself some excel and got a side role doing some reports, which changed into a different role. Moved from that job after 2.5 years to a pretty big company and spend 6 years there learning my niche, and becoming the "senior" person but not getting the pay for that, I took a role as a manager in my field last September, and my direct reports have doubled since.

I've gone up in money earned pretty well too, and my work life balance is good and will be better again after lockdown.

I'm in the travel industry currently, but my company got some new investment last week so those investors must see some value for the future.

If it all goes tits up I think I'd be able to get a job elsewere in the same field.

28-05-2020 11:19am

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

yeah, when the recession hit I was made redundant..........

I'm in the travel industry currently, but my company got some new investment last week so those investors must see some value for the future.

If it all goes tits up I think I'd be able to get a job elsewere in the same field.

Well done, good to hear a positive story like that from someone taking control in a challenging situation, quite inspiring to be honest :cool:

antimatterx · 28-05-2020 12:11pm

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

yeah, when the recession hit I was made redundant and went sand found a job in a call centre, then I taught myself some excel and got a side role doing some reports, which changed into a different role. Moved from that job after 2.5 years to a pretty big company and spend 6 years there learning my niche, and becoming the "senior" person but not getting the pay for that, I took a role as a manager in my field last September, and my direct reports have doubled since.

I've gone up in money earned pretty well too, and my work life balance is good and will be better again after lockdown.

I'm in the travel industry currently, but my company got some new investment last week so those investors must see some value for the future.

If it all goes tits up I think I'd be able to get a job elsewere in the same field.

Cartrawler?

moycullen14 · 28-05-2020 1:29pm

onrail wrote: »

The STEM brigade have a lot to answer for imo. Speaking as someone who loved engineering and science in school, certain careers in their industry leave a lot to be desired.

Always been a problem, especially in this country, where we are fixated on the idea that there are 'loads of jobs' in a particular area. The fact that the jobs are poor and the career is non-existent is conveniently ignored.

moycullen14 · 28-05-2020 1:40pm

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

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.

Thing is, that cuts both ways. Fancy being replaced by someone in Latvia who is happy to work for half the money you're on?

28-05-2020 1:44pm

moycullen14 wrote: »

Always been a problem, especially in this country, where we are fixated on the idea that there are 'loads of jobs' in a particular area. The fact that the jobs are poor and the career is non-existent is conveniently ignored.

....... plenty of well paid jobs in science, technology, engineering and math. Like anything there's less good ones also.

For every accountant on €100k+ there's a fair few on far less, similar in STEM gigs.

The degree is the entry point......... you can pr1ck about on €30k for your entire career or you can make money, endless options

Snails pace · 28-05-2020 1:53pm

I'm in my mid twenties. I'm now farming full time at home with my parents and changing what we are doing. It's hard work but I really love what I do. I have my good and bad days but I enjoy every minute of the challenge. At the moment the money isn't great but if I put in the work now I'll have a good business in a few years time. I went to college and got a level 8 degree in ag science and I then went travelling, I recently applied to do a masters part time. I want to keep up skilling and I'd like the challenge.

Padraig Mor · 28-05-2020 1:59pm

mistersifter wrote: »

I left academia because of this.

I know many post-docs who have spent years struggling from short-term lecturing contract, to funded research, to hourly-paid work without any written contract whatsoever.

The gig economy is alive and well in the third-level sector. It's scandalous some of the tactics universities employ to keep employees in insecure conditions.

I would advise anyone thinking about a postgrad course, postdoc or career in academia to make sure you know where it's leading before going down that road.

Would echo that. I have quite a number of years involvement in this sector and would generally advise against doing a science qualification, particularly if looking to stay in academia - crap pay, crap conditions, etc. If you must do one, get the degree and get out to industry. If you really want to push it, do a PhD (quickly) and get the hell out (and wish you'd done something else). There's a LOT of mid 30s (and older) people hanging around on short term contracts (and crap money) in the universities - and mostly in the 'hot' areas too.

Most people with a head for figures would be far better off doing Accounting - it's (much?) easier, has solid career opportunities and excellent earning ability, particularly if you're pushy and driven. I know science postdocs in their late 40s doing Accounting courses at night as the penny has finally dropped re academia....

3DataModem · 28-05-2020 2:08pm

Quit a 17 year financial services career to get into the poker / gambling business 12 years ago. Never looked back, despite two redundancies (one while wife was pregnant with twins AND she was also made redundant) and a year working to help get a startup off the ground. Hours are longer, but it has paid off for me in terms of job satisfaction.

moycullen14 · 28-05-2020 3:48pm

onrail wrote: »

Ultimately, career choice is much more significant to earning potential/ceiling than your employer. Sorry to harp on about civil engineering (it's all I know!), but Directors in my place, a multi-national corporation, with over 25 years experience, bring in less than a qualified accountant with 8-9 years experience.

Not at all sure about that. Take IT. In the late 80s when I was graduating the choice was between IBM, DEC and a smallish startup based in Sandyford - Microsoft. The smart ones went with DEC (who?) and IBM (what?). The future millionaires went with microsoft.

28-05-2020 4:17pm

moycullen14 wrote: »

.............The future millionaires went with microsoft.

Surely plenty did well out of IBM also?

28-05-2020 5:02pm

Augeo wrote: »

Surely plenty did well out of IBM also?

Some did, but it's a company that in my opinion made a lot of silly decisions and has been trying reinvent and play catch up for years.

Really bad management from the top down to the line managers, with some small exceptions at least in my experience from working there. It did look good on the C.V and allowed me to move with better money etc however when I decided it was time to go, while others hung on in waiting for the redundancy package.

onrail · 28-05-2020 5:06pm

moycullen14 wrote: »

Not at all sure about that. Take IT. In the late 80s when I was graduating the choice was between IBM, DEC and a smallish startup based in Sandyford - Microsoft. The smart ones went with DEC (who?) and IBM (what?). The future millionaires went with microsoft.

That anecdote doesn’t really prove anything - You’ll have outliers in any industry. Bit like the story of the chef who joined Google in the nineties and was paid stock options....Equivalent of winning the lottery really

Bigmac1euro · 28-05-2020 6:02pm

Just turned 29
Got a promotion yesterday.
I loved my job as it was so I hope too much doesn’t change for me. A little bit nervous of new position but I reckon it will take some time of getting used to.
Earning an extra 1k a month to what I was earning.
New job will require mainly all working from home.
Happy to still just have a job. The promotion is a big plus.
Currently pressing on 60k.

Are you happy about how your career is progressing?

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