I am getting a bit frustrated with my business and a bit bored. I am finding it increasingly harder to find new customers and my business is looking like its not going going go grow much further.
I am now ready for a new challenge, but I have no idea what I can do or what skills I have. I am half way through a PTLLs course, which is a basic adult teaching course but if I wanted to take that further it will cost me £9k.
I have got my self stuck in a situation where I have a computing degree which is seven years out of date, and my only IT experience is really now domestic.
The only way I can see myself using my knowledge is teaching.
Just having a bit of a mid life crisis ten years too early.
Just no idea what else I can do, phone work is no use as I have slight hearing loss, I hate driving so a driving job is no good and although I can do DIY I am nothing like talented enough to do a trade.
I guess my idea job would be a ticket inspector on the trains as I love travelling but I don't like driving, but then far too many people also want that job. I have never been any good at interviews.
In the meantime my business is still bringing in the cash so things could be a lot worse, but I have now decided for certain I need a new focus in life and my business can go part time until gradually fading away.
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Navy, Army, RAF? You'll be older than most other recruits, but you already have a trade.
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My mate has joined the RAF, but got in by the skin of his neck I would be too old now and would not pass the fitness tests. I have very mild co-ordination problems (hence my hatred of driving) so what ever job I get it can't really be physical.
I am wondering if its worth doing the teaching course and becoming a lecturer. I have my main teaching exercise on Monday at college so I may know then if it is something I want to pursue.
Either way I know it is not an easy courier these days but it is honest pay for an honest job.
I do love many aspects of my job in the fact I am moving round a lot but I am faced with more and more competition and more and more users fixing things them selves so it is a battle not worth winning.
I have enjoyed myself in 20's but my 30's is when I need to make money :).
One job I have thought about is something in SENCO as I have a lot of experience of that as a child but again with adults rather than kids.
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Rats, by SENCO I presume you mean Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator? Usually an experienced teacher in a school who co-ordinates the curriculum for special needs pupils - whether more or less able? Or an LSA - Learning Support Assistant who is trained but not a qualified teacher?
To combine that with your computing skills, a friend's son is presently employed to teach less able or disabled adults to use computers on a one to one basis. He also finds specific kit, ie ball mouse to enable those with physical disabilities to use computers and also programmes, which he then installs on their computer.
I am not sure if this job still exists, but another friend was employed by the Post Office for several years to train counter staff in sub-Post Offices all over the country to use their systems.
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I don't think you have been on a train lately Rattle! Ticket inspectors have gone and are now Revenue Protection Officers. To be serious, you might find tests like these would examine your talents and point you in a career direction. tinyurl.com/7e662nx
Last edited by: Meldrew on Fri 13 Apr 12 at 20:32
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What about becoming a "carer" or something..
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R.E.M.E. might be a way into being a pongo.
My SiL is an avionics specialist, now a sergeant and not badly paid.
He joined fairly late in life at around 26 or 27 after a good few years in IT.
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Actually Sheikha these military suggestions have a lot of sense in terms of future, job satisfaction and so on, assuming you don't think our military are a murderous shower working for an evil dictatorship.
You can always go to the gym and fitten up if all the beer and dope have made you a bit wheezy. You're still young enough. But the promiscuous bullying intimacy of basic training would have to be endured. 'Nothing is won without sacrifice'.
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Arrange a meeting with the appropriate subject group leader at MMU. Ask to talk about the possibility of becoming an associate lecturer (AL).
ALs typically teach a limited number of hours per week to cover any shortfall and/or absence.
The beauty of an AL position is that you should be able to negotiate your training as part of the work package rather than being something you need to pay for. *
Being an AL is a good, paid, way into being a lecturer which offers a good fit with your current work. A couple of the ALs at the polyversity have their own consultancy businesses which they run alongside their part time teaching load.
That you have the experience of being customer facing and running your own business will mean that you're really well placed to get on well with the students - they can sniff out those who have real experience and those who have just read the text book an hour before the lecture!
* You may be really lucky, and the MMU teaching course may be practical rather than theory based.
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Thanks I will look into that :). I am pretty sure I want to do something in education I am just not sure what yet. And open to further study etc, actually I want to do further study. I regret so badly not doing a funded masters when I had the chance.
I do want to carry on with business, I just know I can't do it for ever and want to sort something out now rather than later. Some of my mates have settled and some haven't. I don't want to be rich but I just need more of a future which I currently have.
I am only doing what I am doing now because it is the easy option.
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The way I look at life is that there were billions of years before I was born and there will be billions of years after my death - our 3 score years and 10 on this planet should ideally be spent doing what we enjoy doing.
I’ll never forget speaking to a farmer up on Bodmin Moor who said every day is a holiday to him because he loves his work, I used to enjoy tuning cars at one time, the joy stopped so I got out.
Only you know you so although I could suggest becoming a Policeman or a Butcher – you know what you do and don’t want, you are still relatively young and the world is still your oyster to a certain extent.
Decide where you want to be in say 5-10 years, and then go for it, give it all you’ve got, and you will win through.
Good luck!
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It's highly noticeable how many people are feeling similarly frustrated right now. Almost certainly a function of the current and foreseeable economic situation.
Coldly speaking, it's not suddenly going to get better anytime soon. The reality is that no one is going to pay any of us what we want to earn for knowledge or experience we don't have.
It's a battle for survival right now and there will be plenty more casualties before it's done.
My advice is to stick to what you know you are good at for now and try to be the best you can. As for having a ten year plan, well, the world may have stabilised again by then but I'd not bet on it. The scary part is that these may well turn out to be the good old days.
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Have you considered working abroad for a few years Rattle?
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>> Have you considered working abroad for a few years Rattle?
What, like, Yorkshire?
:-)
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>What, like, Yorkshire?
There's absolutely no way that he'd get a Yorkshire visa, he's from t'other side!
A few years teaching basic IT skills in Africa or Scotland would broaden his horizons :-D
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You say that but driving back from Didsbury to Chorlton (where I live) which are two affluent parts of Manchester the amount of new Audis I saw was staggering. People still must have a staggering amount of money.
What hit me though is the local builders, we used the local builders who are well established to some substantial repairs on my parents house and they were able to do the job within three weeks of initially contacting them. Five years ago we would have had to wait 6 months for the work to be done.
So people still must have a lot of money out there.
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They may have money Rats, but now is NOT the time to get all restless and think about another job
There is lots more pain to come so keep your head down for now. Its a pain I know but its the safest thing to do - you are not a natural risk taker.
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Not many jobs at he moment for young people.Don't think it wil get any better in the near future.You are not the army or navy type,you like being your own boss.Why do you think you are not good at interviews? You are good at expressing your views on here.
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You like the tram, Ratto. Go and apply to become a driver. Comfy work environment, no need to steer, regular well paid work. The big bang means drivers will be needed soon.
Do some PC work when you're off shift.
You're just the right age, not too young, with some road experience but enough years left in you to ne an asset to them.....I'd have jumped at the chance 20 years ago.
Ted
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Tram driver or train driver good honest jobs.I used to drive a train on the site to help out if people where of sick.After voluntary retirement got offered a job as a school caretaker.I declined and carried on working on the river.A workmate from BP took the caretaker job.Brandnew school he told me they are called site managers now.Maybe something for you Rattle school caretaker.You can use your hands well educated and good with people.
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I am useless with heights so any trade type job is not ideal :). I thought about being a tram driver but I have difficulties driving a car! (ha) so I very much doubt I will pass the co-ordination tests required. I did manage to drive a truck with an empty trailer into a bay once (with help) and did well. I then had to go it again a couple of ours later on a manual and I got so tired and perplexed I messed it all up.
I wouldn't have the patience to be a carer but something in that area might be ideal, its why I was thinking maybe special needs education.
Thought about the customer service jobs at the Metrolink too, but in reality the job is revenue protection and its really security staff they are after.
As for my business I intend to keep it going for a while yet but also plan my future and have an exit plan in place. I am now seeing it as just a job to pay the bills and not something I want to do for another 6.5 years.
Software development is an area I could go into but I would need to go back to university, and I am 30 soon and I am not sure I can be bothered with the unstable and quickly changing nature of the IT business anymore. Just far too much competition in the lower end.
My sister is very lucky in that she got her job by accident, as now on just over £30k but then she went to a grammar school and a better university than I did. I went to an innercity school where GCSEs were optional!.
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Why not write an app or a web app that does something you want? No risk, it's only time you'd be wasting.
A computer science degree means you can go into any area of computing. If you did some software development and followed the life cycle through then that is enough to start. If you get bored all the time then IT is the right area as that is constantly changing and you have to keep up with the latest developments. Finishing a degree does not stop the learning process! It's one of the few subjects where you have to keep on learning as you carry on with a related job.
There's far too much competition at the lower end for all job sectors! Those higher up are looking at lower level jobs as there just aren't enough jobs for everyone.
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i once seriously looked into train driving. very hard career to get into and more unnearving than you think (intercity train at 125mph in thick fog when you can only see one set of lights in front when you should see two).
i tried several times applying with no luck.
rattle, like some of the other posters have said, consolidate what you are good at and you will pull through this economic gloom and doom ok.
for me i left college with electronic skills but branched over into computers (where i got my mcp in windows server) then into software testing.
i never planned that but thats how it turned out.
now i test the software for biochemicistry research machines playing with lasers and high voltage.
i guess i am saying sometimes avenues open up that you never think are possible.
Last edited by: diddy1234 on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 10:03
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Maybe if you didn't take such a negative outlook to life you'd have more success in it.
Coordination problems? No, everyone's clumsy. You just think you're unique.
Scared of heights? Get down to the local climbing wall and play there until you're not scared. You probably didn't climb (and fall out of) trees as a kid which is why you're frightened now.
Poor interview technique? Well, yes, if all you do is spend the entire time listing your faults. My limited experience in life tells me that you make your own success.
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Of course you've got to be positive.I have no university education but I can't understand anybody who has, can't get a decent job.I have always been confident in interviews.Turn up clean and smart and be yourself.Enthusiasm is inportant,you want the job.I was married with a family foreign and got decent jobs.Belief in yourself Rattle.Fursty Ferret has got a point.Take live by the scruff of the neck.>:)
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I gave you that thumbs up FF, I so wanted to say exactly what you said and didn't have the nerve to.
Negativity is something that can be detected by any potential employer and Rattle oozes it in bucket loads, I'm afraid.
He successfully drove a lorry, under supervision, at our training day, doing far better than a lot of others but even puts himself down on that one too.
You have to learn to be positive, look at your glass and see it half full and if you can't ooze confidence then learn to bullsh*t.
Your course will teach you to lecture and teach, but without confidence, you will never have the respect of those you are teaching and they won't believe anything you tell them....or even bother to listen.
Value yourself highly, and others will value you highly too Rattle.
Now...let's have a list of what you CAN do and what you're GOOD at and we'll get you sorted:)
Pat
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>> Not many jobs at he moment for young people.
>>
Not many jobs for anyone, having spent almost 18 months of the last two years unemployed!
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Sorry to hear that Spam.Don't have a answer Spam what was your job before the 18 months out of work.
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Electronics design Dutchie, in the last 3 years I've been outsourced twice, made redundant, been contracting in Sweden, been offered contracts in writing then had them withdrawn, and now, finally contracting in Fleet, a mere 70 miles form home. It just gets on my wick a bit when people go on about youth unemployment, the vast majority of these youths haven't got huge mortgages over their heads and mouths to feed.
I'll get off my soapbox now ;-)
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>> It just gets on my wick a bit when people go on about youth unemployment, the vast majority of these youths haven't got huge mortgages over their heads and mouths to feed.
Totally agree with you, but - I think a large problem is festering...
The longer these youths go with never having had a job, the less chance they have of ever getting, or wanting one - let alone get a mortgage!
Meanwhile, by raising the retirement age, the jobs that are out there, are being filled by people who in many cases would rather give up working, and have mostly paid off their mortgages, and if only they could sell their properties to younger people could downsize...
Those younger people are just the people who can't get a mortgage, or even a job....
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>> >> It just gets on my wick a bit when people go on about youth
>> unemployment, the vast majority of these youths haven't got huge mortgages over their heads and
>> mouths to feed.
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>> Totally agree with you, but - I think a large problem is festering...
>> The longer these youths go with never having had a job, the less chance they
>> have of ever getting, or wanting one - let alone get a mortgage!
>>
yeah, a fair point, there's big trouble brewing up and no mistake.
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>>there's big trouble brewing up and no mistake.
Yup, unless we start making something again or growing something again, and crucially, become a net exporter of said produce we are utterly and royally stuffed. And that's not going to happen.
Just selling each other goods and services originated elsewhere is an emporer's clothes economy.
It's finished.
Mark my words.
Sorry and all.
Last one out turn the lights off will you?
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>> there's big trouble brewing up and no mistake<<
And not just in this country either.
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Good to hear your opinion spam.That is why I always battled for any job.Wife children morgage it gave me a kick up the backside.Electronic design is no mugs game.
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Instead of people working longer hours or years jobs should be shared.What is the point working till you drop and not receiving a pension.What is money the stuff is only printed by a bank.The whole s system stinks and politicians know it.I get off my soapbox.>:)
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The holly grail of a mortgage is gone. Not just for school leavers, but for aspiring well educated graduates. Is that a bad thing? NOt really, its a millstone, a hinderance to mobility, divisive. Many other countries, Germany for instance have very low levels of home ownership, and survive well with a mature rental market.
As far as youth unemployment goes, it depends where you live primarily, and how you go about it. My 22 year old lad walks in and out of jobs with an ease that scares a corporate journeyman like me, but hey I can't criticise, he has never been out of work since school.
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I am not so sure regarding hindering mobility Zero.The reason we bought a house was to live somewhere what we liked.Near schools and country side.I know the majority of Germans across the Dutch border own their home.More rented property in the big city's.The Dutch used to rent property now this has gone the other way.They also receive tax relief on the interest of a mortgage what we used to have in the UK.
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How long have humans been around? 30 odd million years or something? It has only been the last few thousand and in particular the most recent few centuries ( an evolutionary blip anyway ) that we've experienced the concept of money, human rights and permanent possessions.
When all that disappears, and it will, only anarchy and eventually survivalism will remain. The whole concept of "civilisation" whether it's founded upon capitalism, aquisition, communism or otherwise depends entirely upon one group enjoying benefits at the expense of others. Once that rather flawed business model fails there remains only the most primitive of opportunity.
Some form of our current system may stumble on for a while but like any seriously flawed plan, it won't be for long. We've seen the best of it. I think we can be sure of that at least.
What lies beyond is anyone's guess.
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Home ownership is the business, something very reassuring that the humble castle you rest your head is yours and they can't take it away from you.
Not so sure the present generation will be home owners in a big way, they mght have mortgages but whether they will ever pay them off is debatable, variety of reasons including too late starting work and house buying, and spending rather too much on lifestyle instead of prioritising the roof over their heads, though as in all things, moderation.
Hump's view above* i agree with, also i don't see any slowing of the decline of the country or the borrowing or the frittering of our resources, and i am yet to see any worthwhile cuts.
*this one..
Just selling each other goods and services originated elsewhere is an emporer's clothes economy.
It's finished.
Mark my words.
Sorry and all.
Last one out turn the lights off will you?
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 22:03
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It would require drastic changes to the rental market though. You don't get change for a grand a month for even a half-decent one bed flat in the South East, but can easily cover a mortgage at the current interest rates for £600-700. On top of that you're making an investment, not paying off someone else's debt!
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>> It would require drastic changes to the rental market though. You don't get change for
>> a grand a month for even a half-decent one bed flat in the South East,
>> but can easily cover a mortgage at the current interest rates for £600-700. On top
>> of that you're making an investment, not paying off someone else's debt!
A one bed flat round my way is 185k. so you will need 18k deposit, leaves 167k to finance. Lucky to get more than three times earning these days so that leaves you need to earn 56k a year,
Like I said, house ownership will become, by necessity, a distant memory.
And it really does stifle job mobility. Those int he north can't afford to come down south, and those in the south won't jump off the housing merry go round until retirement,
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 22:39
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>> The holly grail of a mortgage is gone. Not just for school leavers, but for aspiring well educated graduates
And middle-aged truckers. I accept that I'll never own my own home - I've failed to reach that life goal. No sense in worrying myself about it now, so I don't.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 22:26
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>>I've failed to reach that life goal<<
Why look at it that way Dave, neither my or my wife's parents "reached that life goal", I don't see that they were failures - in any way.
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Let's get back to Rattle's career. Rattle, there's a lot of good advice above, particularly from those who say 'think positively' and 'do what you're good at'.
I get the impression that you don't think you're good at very much. Almost certainly you under-estimate your own abilities. You could try doing a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities amd threats) on yourself - maybe get family / close friends to help. This works just as well for individuals as for businesses, and I'm confident that you can come up with more strengths than weaknesses. The strong individual or business then thinks how to convert weaknesses into strengths, threats into opportunities.
It'll be good to see how you get on with teaching / presentation skills: generally if you enjoy it you're probably good at it. This could be a way forward for you - part-time lecturing in IT would allow you to keep the business ticking over.
The alternative is to see how you could expand your business - this has the advantage that you know you are good at it (servicing and repairing PCs isn't it?). I don't know if you do this mainly for individuals or for businesses, but surely quite a lot of small businesses would prefer to have you look after their IT than some corporate geek in a basic Astra estate who sucks through his teeth and says 'it's the software mate'.
I've given career advice for many years so if I can help do E-mail me - my profile should be on here.
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Maybe Rattle could try to push his current business more towards small business IT support. It's often easier than home customers, as long as it's a proper domain network you can fix most of their problems remotely and when you do have to go to them you can often pick up extra work from employee's (it always amazes me how people will pay me to fix things that take 20 minutes including the time it takes me to google how to do it!).
At most small companies I find the boss is very co-operative but there will be at least one employee who thinks the computer works by magic and freaks out at any change. The worst one being a lady in her sixties who wants to keep her old computer and is scared of losing her data but won't let us back it up. Fortunately her boss knows how silly she is being and where she saves her work so now it is all backed up to a file server automatically.
So really the hardest parts are getting contracts to start with and dealing with people who didn't ask for your help but their boss is paying you to help them.
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I would have thought there ought to be a market for small business computer/IT advice, fixing, etc.
Unlike individuals, they have a budget for these things and accept the need to spend money to get things fixed, quickly. An individual quibbles and dithers over whether to spend £100 or £200, a small business just wants it fixed by tomorrow.
We are lucky because we have an in-house IT person, who because of the nature of the business pays for himself by selling and repairing customers' computers. So in effect we get 24 hour IT support free.
But if we didn't have him on the payroll we would jump at the chance of finding a nearby Rattle.
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My life goal has always been to have an easy life. Now I'm retired, it is easier to attain!
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Just thought I would update this a bit, the phone hasn't stopped ringing for the past 6 days and currently very busy. I did my Microteach on Monday which went quite well.
I am thinking about becoming a trainer or adult lecturer in the long term but what ever I decide I will keep my business while also focussing on something else in the more long term.
Been quite ill with my IBS and anxiety over the past week but will go to the docs next week to get some more meds to try and help that. Feeling quite a lot better today.
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>> Been quite ill with my IBS and anxiety over the past week but will go
>> to the docs next week to get some more meds to try and help that.
>> Feeling quite a lot better today.
>>
Rats - I'm no expert on IBS but a good friend suffers from it. He is able to control it very well with diet, and over a 12 month period has worked out most of the triggers. Draught beer is one of his biggest triggers - yeast.
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Pondering life's complexities - Clk Sec
