

Those on their 2nd or 3rd career, what horrific mistakes did you make? - kleer001

I&#x27;m about 15 years into a career around what I went to college for. A rare thing, I am lead to understand. But I&#x27;ve had occasional bouts of ambition to jump tracks to a related field.<p>Should I keep with the tried and true? Should I strike out and make waves?
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theaccordance
IMO, there's three driving factors behind switching careers:

1\. Personal Happiness. If you hate what you do, chances are that negativity
is affecting other aspects of your life.

2\. Financial. We work to live, not live to work.

3\. Future Job outlook. If you suddenly found yourself unemployed and looking
for work, do you feel comfortable/confident enough your odds of finding
another job?

If any of these apply, then strike out and make waves. If they don't, it
doesn't mean that you shouldn't change careers, but I'd consider something
else first - like a new hobby or improving another aspect of your life.

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japhyr
I'm 42 years old. I've been a high school teacher all my life, and I'm
currently building a second career in software development.

I like that having a second career keeps me fresh - I'm constantly challenging
myself and looking at things in new ways. Also, it's great to have domain
knowledge in one area and look at things from a different perspective in
another area.

So yes, strike out before you grow old and stale in one field. But look to
bring your expertise into the new field, so you offer something that people
fresh out of college can't offer.

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rubiquity
My first career was in sales. I sold cellular phones for about 6 years. My
biggest mistake was thinking your job is a meritocracy. Ok, Ok. I know nothing
is _truly_ a meritocracy[[0]. I was a top performer and got passed up for a
promotion several times. Naturally, this means my other mistake was not making
friends with the people that can promote you.

0 - [http://readwrite.com/2014/01/24/github-meritocracy-
rug](http://readwrite.com/2014/01/24/github-meritocracy-rug)

~~~
heimatau
I'd say another mistake is possibly saying at the same job for six years. It's
best to move on after three years, if there aren't any advancements.
Especially when you are a solid top performer.

~~~
rubiquity
It was a _career_ not a job. I was at two companies for those six years.

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rayalez
I used to be a digital artist, and I loved it, but I've decided to switch to
computer science and startups. This was an extremely difficult decision,
because it is very hard to quit something you are very good at after ~8 years
and start from scratch in a completely new field.

It vas very tough for me, and still is. But it was also the best decision I've
ever made. The amount of things I've learned and understood about myself and
the world in the process is incredible, there's nothing I would trade that
for.

Change is hard but is definitely worth it. Also don't forget that as you get
older you lose your ability to change your mind and learn new things. If you
think about trying something new - don't waste time hesitating, the sooner you
do that the better.

~~~
kleer001
I am in a similar bucket, years and years in CG for movies and tv.

I'd love to hear more of your journey. How did you get educated? University?
Community College? Online? Tutors? On the job? How long did it take to get
your first paying job in your new industry?

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jrnichols
My biggest mistake was not starting earlier. I'm a 39 year old
Firefighter/Paramedic, and it's a job that I won't be physically able to do
forever. I moved away from my stressful career in IT, and found that while
even this job is stressful, I have more free time to travel, explore hobbies,
get in better shape, etc. It was a pay cut for sure, but I'm a whole lot
happier.

The long term plan is nursing.

~~~
jf22
I don't know of a single Firefighter/Paramedic who doesn't complain about
their shift schedule interferring with their life and how much of a pain it is
to have to go to mandatory training all the time whereas tons of people I know
just do their 40 hours a week in IT and go home.

