Thinking about making a career change

[ccomstock001]

Recently I have been considering making a change in careers but I am finding it difficult trying to decide what to do. I work in the restaurant industry and lately I have become tired of missing out on doing normal life stuff and only working for peanuts.

To those that have made a change what helped you decide to do it and what to charge to? I should mention that I don't necessarily hate what I do but this industry is known for working while others are off.

 

[IndyDave1776]

This is one of those times when a person has to answer a question with more questions:

1. What do you really want out of life. I mean the end, not the means--what do you want your life to be about, not so much the job that (hopefully) enables you to accomplish that. It is like a wise gunsmith advised me once when I considered a gun shop--don't get into the gun business because you like guns, do it because you can make money, otherwise don't. If you can't make money with them, do something else and buy the guns you like with the money you make.

In my case, I want to play farmer, spend time with my alpacas, and live a relatively stress-free life. Right now, I am dependent on the family business, which happens to be trucking, to supply me with the resources to work my way toward that end.

2. What types of work do you think you may like. It is important, as I have learned the hard way, not to say 'well, anything but what I am doing' much in the same fashion of voting 'anyone but [Democrat]'. If you can find a line of work that goes hand in hand with your larger life goals, by all means go for it, but what is tolerable that will enable those goals?

3. What things are you tired of missing out on? Are these every day of the week activities, or the Saturday night out things, but you have to work every damned Saturday from now until the second coming of Christ because of the job you have (i.e., I am assuming that you don't mean that you want to party down every day of the week or something of the kind).

4. What do you consider working for peanuts? (I have a good enough understanding of food service to understand that if they didn't allow you to take samples here and there you probably would be able to afford to eat). Still, you have to have an idea more specific than 'more than you make now'. Perhaps, I should ask, within reason, what would it take to support the goals you have that are not being met?

5. What lifestyle conditions are you willing to accept? For example, our best paid driver is a long way from peanuts, but he spends pretty much all week in the truck and is home on weekends. Some people are good with this, other not so much. There are a lot of variables that go into this equation, including pets and spouses. The spouse in particular can be a wild card. In some cases, they are happy to have time with their husband out from under their feet, and others don't take it at all well. Some ride along, others have children, pets, jobs, or other attention-requiring conditions that make it inconvenient or impossible to do so. This same concept also applies to traveling sales, construction, railroad, and river barge work--and certainly other things that I am not going to think of while half asleep. Are you looking for an 8 hour a day job you can set your watch by, or can you accept/do you prefer something less rigid? Are you willing to accept a more fluid schedule that doesn't necessarily lend itself to planning that vacation 6 months out? Some people need a rigid and unbending schedule while others prefer irregular hours.

While I am on irregularity, is starting your own business of some type in the cards? I will warn you that it can come with highly irregular hours, risks, but also rewards not available to most. If this appeals to you, you may want to read "Ragnar Benson's Guide to the Underground Economy". Even if you don't plan to cheat on your taxes, it has a number of viable ideas that don't require humongous loans, tons of equipment, or other prohibitively expensive startup capital. Just remember that making a living without having a job and making a living without working are two entirely different things, and being self-employed generally isn't easy.

6. What are you like? Don't go into excavating if you don't know which end of the shovel goes into the ground! Seriously, your critical thinking skills (particularly high speed under stress), mechanical aptitude, people-handling, and a lot of other elements of 'who you are' are very important. It is difficult to make any suggestions without knowing these types of things about you.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Oh, and I should also have raised the questions of how old you are, what kind of physical condition you are in, and what experience aside from food service you may have.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I worked in the restaurant business for 15 years before I got out. The last few years I spent going to school to get a degree in Computer Technology. Got an IT job and never looked back. That was 20 years ago... I had decided it was time to use my mind to make money instead of physical labor (and 10 hours a day or more standing on concrete/tile floors IS physical labor).

 

[ccomstock001]

I worked in the restaurant business for 15 years before I got out. The last few years I spent going to school to get a degree in Computer Technology. Got an IT job and never looked back. That was 20 years ago... I had decided it was time to use my mind to make money instead of physical labor (and 10 hours a day or more standing on concrete/tile floors IS physical labor).

I have considered getting into it but the thought of going back to school always seems to turn me off of it. I already have a degree in what I am already doing and don't want to do it all again.

 

[TB1999]

I also have a hospitality degree (Purdue, HTM, 2002). One of the best things I did was leave the restaurant industry. It's a terrible way to make a living and it made me a cynical bastard within a few years. Luckily, the management and customer service skills I picked up can be applied to almost any industry.

Good luck!

 

[IndyDave1776]

I worked in the restaurant business for 15 years before I got out. The last few years I spent going to school to get a degree in Computer Technology. Got an IT job and never looked back. That was 20 years ago... I had decided it was time to use my mind to make money instead of physical labor (and 10 hours a day or more standing on concrete/tile floors IS physical labor).

I have friends who own a restaurant. A couple of years back, they had to fire someone without having a replacement available, which fortuitously coincided with my having a couple of weeks of not really having anything to do (unusual as that was). I have worked on the farm, in construction, and several other heavy lifting jobs. Driving a truck isn't exactly easy, especially when one hauls flatbed freight or the type of tanker work I was doing at the time which involved quite a bit beyond hooking up hoses and watching a pump run. Spending about a week helping these friends to make up their personnel shortage left me feeling like I had been run over by a truck!

 

[bwframe]

I worked 13 years in the restaurant biz. I'd go back for a really sweet gig. Staffing is the problem though. Today's work ethic is terrible. Even if one weren't in a supervisory position, the folks you'd have to work with rarely have any clue or the desire to even have one.

If you work in the restaurant business, your work hours ARE when others are off work. Your business is derived from those being off from their work so they can support your work.

As to the OP, don't burn bridges. Take your time to start researching what direction to go. Give an adequate notice as you never know what kind of small world things could turn into at your next job interview.

Are you watching these threads?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break-room/87287-help-wanted-need-work-done-post-here.html
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...u-hire-post-your-expertise-services-here.html

 

[chezuki]

I worked 13 years in the restaurant biz. I'd go back for a really sweet gig. Staffing is the problem though. Today's work ethic is terrible. Even if one weren't in a supervisory position, the folks you'd have to work with rarely have any clue or the desire to even have one.

QFT.

15 of my 35 years were spent working in the industry... Many of them in a supervisor/manager role. It would take quite an offer to lure me back.

Kinda hard to have much of a life... This was about normal.

 

[IndyDave1776]

QFT.

15 of my 35 years were spent working in the industry... Many of them in a supervisor/manager role. It would take quite an offer to lure me back.

Kinda hard to have much of a life... This was about normal.

You mean you don't like working long hours at inconvenient times doing work that is really hard even though most people think you are just occupying space and time all while being condescending and treating you like their indentured servant, and then think tipping you a $5 when they fill the biggest table in the house with a dozen or so people is big money (never mind that your base pay is $2 and some change per hour)? Or then, getting promoted to management and being expected to live there?

 

[chezuki]

Lol, nope! And being expected to perform a 50hr/week manager function flawlessly while simultaneously taking the place of 2 full time line cooks to make a DO who never set foot in the restaurant look like his region ran an amazing labor % so he could get a bonus I'd never see.

 

[chezuki]

And also being expected to lie/cheat to present a less than 1% food cost varience when the number one selling protein averaged only a 64% yield from raw to cooked. Stretch it out, water it down, sell it again tomorrow! Then try not to laugh when a guest implys the baked potato tastes like microwaved leftovers from yesterday.

 

[IndyDave1776]

And also being expected to lie/cheat to present a less than 1% food cost varience when the number one selling protein averaged only a 64% yield from raw to cooked. Stretch it out, water it down, sell it again tomorrow! Then try not to laugh when a guest implys the baked potato tastes like microwaved leftovers from yesterday.

Is that while you stand there thinking, "You missed the mark buddy. That was left over from two days ago!"?

 

[chezuki]

Is that while you stand there thinking, "You missed the mark buddy. That was left over from two days ago!"?

2 day hold + a 1 day grace!
Botulism all over the place!

 

[churchmouse]

Is that while you stand there thinking, "You missed the mark buddy. That was left over from two days ago!"?

Years of HVAC-R service in and around the restaurant industry.
#1....they are terrible at paying the bills.....terrible.
#2....They expect miracles on machinery that has seen less than zero maintenance. You can only beat a horse so many times before it pitches over.
#3....You get to see some really ugly conditions in some of the food prep areas.
#4....being on a 1st name basis with roaches and rodents (not everywhere of course) is not a plus or a perk.
#5....Most times Management see's you as the enemy to the above mentioned bonus's

 

[tyrajam]

After 12 years of teaching I made a career change last summer into real estate. All I wish is that I would have done it years ago! It's not a good job for everyone, but I started thinking about what I enjoyed (helping people, researching, travel), what I wanted out of a job (freedom, unlimited opportunity), and then I started talking to people who did different jobs I was considering. My wife's cousin is a realtor so I went out to lunch with him and picked his brain. Once I told my wife I was going to do it she blabbed to everyone and so I couldn't wimp out and change my mind! There is nothing like starting your own business! Look for a need though, not just what you enjoy. If you like driving, look into buying a truck to pump septic tanks. If you like being outside, look at getting a stump grinder. What I mean is find the niches that need to be filled and that others aren't doing. Also, look at part time startups. My wife started a MLM company last Summer for $250 selling skin care (don't worry, I'm not going to name it or pitch it here!) and she is absolutely killing it! She is already making more money than I am and she just signed up a new distributor in Japan yesterday-all while keeping her regular job.

So...#1. Make a list of what's important. For example if you need immediate and steady income, becoming a realtor is NOT for you. If you want freedom with your time, then even though Cabelas looked like a fun job, you know the retail schedule will kill you.
#2. Talk to people in that field about what it takes to get it going.
#3. Make a decision and tell everyone, or else you'll keep getting up and doing the same job you hate for one more day...and time will simply pass you by.

 

[looney2ns]

QFT.

15 of my 35 years were spent working in the industry... Many of them in a supervisor/manager role. It would take quite an offer to lure me back.

Kinda hard to have much of a life... This was about normal.

Hours like this can easily apply if you are self employed too.

 

[LoriW]

Hours like this can easily apply if you are self employed too.

Truth. I've worked retail for the last 17 years (other then about 3 years in food service/stay at home mom). I like retail. I don't like making other people money while I do all the grunt work. So we've started our own company. We both still work at least 40 hours a week at our retail jobs...plus the time spent on our business. We see customers by appointment only (partly because we work other jobs and partly because the Fishers zoning commission made that a condition of approval for a business at our location) so we miss sales because people can't wonder in and check out what we're selling. We don't pay ourselves yet but the business is making money. We don't expect to get rich, just to have a source of income that's not dependent on punching the clock for someone else.

 

[unshelledpilot]

Recently I have been considering making a change in careers but I am finding it difficult trying to decide what to do. I work in the restaurant industry and lately I have become tired of missing out on doing normal life stuff and only working for peanuts.

To those that have made a change what helped you decide to do it and what to charge to? I should mention that I don't necessarily hate what I do but this industry is known for working while others are off.

Skills are your best friend. If you have some management experience, that can open up quite a few doors. I went from 2 years sales to 8+ years in restaurant mgmt to working in a hospital. It's the best job I've had so far. It's a 9-5 and I get more time with family. I still work in the restaurant business, but not in management and totally by choice. It's just extra money to pay off some debt faster.

I never saw myself working in a hospital, but after talking to some friends and family who are in it, it sounded like a good choice.

 

[ccomstock001]

I don't plan on burning any bridges but my higher ups seem to be the ones who are starting the fire. I think the main reason I stick around any more is because having benefits like 401k and PTO are a rare thing in this industry. But even having PTO sometimes feels useless because we still have to not be busy and the amount of OT I have to put in before hand because being the only person in the whole place who can make bread kinda sucks and I have to stock up to be off.

I have also worked in a factory for the summer right out of high school and didn't like working with a bunch of grumpy old guys how hated everything.

I have considered staring some kind of business where I could work from home just so I can not work with idiots and I can do things the way I like it but I don't know where to start with that.