I need a new career

I tried making a change a few years ago and found out that the change wasn't that great and the pay cut really sucked. I went back to my old industry with the same old stressors. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't know.

I've found that on two different occasions moving to the factory rep side of my business. I wanted to open a vein.
 
The problem here isn't inexperience. The problem is inexperience in another industry. As a salesman, you're likely to end up at the bottom because you don't have the expertise even though you have the talent. I know it's frustrating. But you're on the front lines of a massive change and you're getting hit with it. Especially since your industry is set for such incredible growth over the next 10 years. If you can stomach it, then ride it out. Sounds shitty, and it very well might be, but you're not a billionaire CEO and won't get treated like one making this kind of change now. It is what it is.
I have had similar thoughts about my law career. But there are opportunities. And hopefully with some creativity and work I can figure out ways to re-structure my practice so I enjoy it more again. The last few years were more about surviving as a solo practitioner, and so therefore, I have experienced some understandable burnout. I would love sometimes to start over with something completely different, but think Howie is right that it would be better to make adjustments and slow changes, and perhaps develop an exit strategy toward something else including education. I probably cannot completely stop being a lawyer, but maybe I can also teach some classes for community colleges or whatnot. Maybe there is a way you can use your skills in new ways to do something similar rather than completely starting over.
 
The truck deal is rather appealing. It's all local and the majority of your time is spent sitting on site.
You haul a load of salt water to a well site and sit while they drain your tank.
Then you sit while they refill your tank with what they just pumped out.
Then back to the shop while you wait for them to empty that into the disposal well. (Those wells are like six miles deep!)
Rinse, repeat.
Mostly driving up and down dirt roads. Never through the city and never over the road. They don't even have sleeper cabs. Just a good old Mack with a nine speed transmission.
well that sounds like a good option too.
 
I am burned right the fuck out on what I do. Don't get me wrong, I actually love what I do but Medicare has made it miserable. Every day it's another cut in fees, expecting me to rent $20,000 chairs, denying claims because the doctor didn't say "the patient can't use a walker," pre-payment audits, etc. etc. etc. Now Medicare has announced the addition of five new audit teams to destroy providers like myself. I give up.

Now I'm wracking my brain trying to decide on a new path that won't set me back to "entry level."

Anybody change careers mid stream? Advice? Ideas on what I can look at?

I have a B.A. In English, have worked for the state, the University of Oklahoma, experience in custom stuff, sales and marketing.

Looking into teaching, that appears to pay about 45% of what I make now. Oklahoma has shitty teacher pay.

Maybe something in a nonprofit? I'm grasping here.
Sounds very familiar. I'm there right now. Sometimes a drastic change is needed.
 
Mojo EG - also being in the medical field it is tough times. I too have been at that evaluation stage but sadly unable to make that change at this time. Too many variables have happened in the past two years.
 
I'm actually considering driving a salt water truck for an oil company. I have a buddy TAKING HOME two grand a week and he's home every night. Never goes more than 75 miles from the shop.

Heck, I'd do that in a heartbeat. That's almost 4 times what I take home on a straight 40-hour paycheck. I don't have a CDL though :( I'd have to learn how to drive a stick, wouldn't I? :embarrassed:
 
Heck, I'd do that in a heartbeat. That's almost 4 times what I take home on a straight 40-hour paycheck. I don't have a CDL though :( I'd have to learn how to drive a stick, wouldn't I? :embarrassed:


No. This company will take you on if you've passed the written cdl test. They'll pay you a training wage for a week or two til you're ready to take the driving test.
And most of the new trucks are automatic transmission.
 
I made a career change a year and a half ago and went back to my old career about 4 months ago. I would have stayed, but at my new job, I work from home, there is no office, we are spread out around the country, so you can't beat that.

Good luck EG, it is never an easy decision, but being less stressed is better than making more money. Unless we are talking a huge pay difference. I'll take some stress for a huge amount of cash.
 
Mojo, EG. On reading your OP, I was wondering if the oil company thing was still an option. Even though I harbor a few...feelings about oil companies in general, I would easily suppress those for that kind of work and pay. Probably repetitive and boring, but pays lots of bills. Could be a decent transitional thing, too.
 
Mojo, EG. On reading your OP, I was wondering if the oil company thing was still an option. Even though I harbor a few...feelings about oil companies in general, I would easily suppress those for that kind of work and pay. Probably repetitive and boring, but pays lots of bills. Could be a decent transitional thing, too.


I know a lot of people feel that way.
And, having grown up here and watching what the old guard did back in the 70s and 80s, I share some of those same feelings but a lot has changed.
For starters, oil producers voluntarily formed the Oklahoma Energy Reaources Board, which is basically an industry funded superfund kinda thing that cleans up abandoned well sites.
Additionally, drilling is nothing at all like it used to be. Gushers don't happen any more. Everything is capped and contained. Salt water from fracking is cleaned and put back down injection disposal wells and not left out in open pits (uncleaned) for birds to die in. Etc.
They rightfully took a lot of heat back in the day but they have made huge strides in keeping things clean nowadays.
I'd honestly rather use American oil that was produced under tight environmental regulations than Middle East oil that is produced in some of the dirtiest conditions imaginable.
Not to get all political, but oil foes exaggerate a great deal of stuff.
My uncle has two wells on his property and has never had a single issue.
Nearly all of it here goes directly into pipelines. We haven't had an oil spill of any kind in Oklahoma in over 30 years.
 
Good luck. I made a mini career move with a pay cut that has lots of promise for the future. I'm flat broke, but am so far loving going to work in the morning.
 
Don't go into banking if you're burned out on compliance regulations. I swear, every time you get comfortable with one set of regulations, they get thrown to the curb in favor of a new set of more stringent regulations.
 
We can blame the many fraudulent Medicare claims some providers have been getting rich off of for the increased audits. I remember back in my private EMS job I had on the side, the company had canned statements you had to use in patient documentation to fit within the Medicare guidelines, and they were ligit!

We found out 2 days ago that the mother in law's doctor has been trumping up treatments, etc. that she never received. She was wondering why she had follow up visits where they did nothing. That shit happens all the time in some clinics.



Shit, take that. Grab an iPad w/attachment and you're good to drive all fucking day

FIFY
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:embarrassed:
 
If you plan to do something, do it soon. Age at some point will become a deterrent to you and a prospective employer. I was very fortunate to have gotten into the same industry after my relocation and to have received an increase in pay. Very rare down here in FL.
 
I feel like I've been making the same money for 10 years. Previous employer trimmed bonuses over a three year period, eventually eliminating them... Then I took a 10% pay cut to work for a less toxic employer. My pay was climbed just enough to keep up with my daughters college expenses. :embarrassed:
 
I feel like I've been making the same money for 10 years. Previous employer trimmed bonuses over a three year period, eventually eliminating them... Then I took a 10% pay cut to work for a less toxic employer. My pay was climbed just enough to keep up with my daughters college expenses. :embarrassed:
I'm not an expert, but all signs point to wages not going up anywhere in the States, ever. There's a huge untapped pool of willing workers, the "job creators" (who have a vested interest in keeping human costs low) have a lock on power, and the need for humans relative to production and service has been in decline for centuries now, first with mechanization and now with automation and such. If you want to increase your income, it's all about advancement, or, alternately, investments outside of your 9-5.
 
I'm 59 and hope I can continue working forever. I don't think I'd do well sitting around, knocking down job jar items around the house and idle the "free" hours away playing guitar.......

Don't knock it till you tried it, lol. I love staying up till 1-2 and sleeping till noon. It's like being a worthless teenager again with no pressure on you to make something of yourself. Today I got up early at 10 for a big day.
I'm mowing the yard, getting in a little yoga, and band practice.
 
I'm not an expert, but all signs point to wages not going up anywhere in the States, ever. There's a huge untapped pool of willing workers, the "job creators" (who have a vested interest in keeping human costs low) have a lock on power, and the need for humans relative to production and service has been in decline for centuries now, first with mechanization and now with automation and such. If you want to increase your income, it's all about advancement, or, alternately, investments outside of your 9-5.

Which is why my PA keeps growing and my band keeps landing better and better gigs. :helper:
 
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