Josh -
excellent topic!
I see a lot of common threads, here, and so in a rare moment of clarity, I'd like to share a bit of my own experience, as well as my observations of some of the common threads here, in the hopes that some of you eventually find yourselves in a position where you're doing something you truly love doing, and are getting paid for it, as well!
I've always been somewhat of an entrepreneur. When I needed money as a kid, I'd offer services for groundskeeping or cleaning pools. In high school I slung burgers, and in college I managed pools. Also in college I worked counter sales, sold professional audio equipment, worked as an engineer with Litton, and as an accountant for a company which made industrial power substations, primarily for mining and shore to ship operations.
When I graduated college, I let a friend talk me into working my first summer out of college as a camp counselor, and that proved to be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding and fun jobs I ever had.
I didn't pay much.
I'd always enjoyed the outdoors and working with others and kids, and we were rarely indoors, I was always working with others my age, and we had kids coming out of our ears! Awesome!
Thank you, Caren.
Then it was off to reality and I began work as a consultant. A few months of that and another job offer rolled in, with a substantial pay cut, but with a promise of adventure and a potentially lucrative retirement.
I took it.
For the next two decades, I flew airplanes about half the time, flying all over the world, and worked various management and in-house consulting positions the other half of my time. The last four years were NOT FUN, in part due to a heartbreaking divorce, but also due to a major shift in management perspectives. Several times I wanted to throw in the towel so bad I about lost my mind, but somehow I made it through, and while I won't be sailing around the world on my "retirement," if I live frugally, it's barely enough to live on.
Naturally, I'm in my mid-40s, so I'm not ready to retire!
Biting the bullet with respect to the work situation did allow me to find myself in my current situation, which is that I'm free to pursue my hobbies (writing and photography) with enough time to see if I am able to turn them into a second career. So far, I've got some nibbles, but it's only been a couple of months in a horrible economy, so it's still too early to tell. I also enjoy developing algorithms for various analytical processes, so at the urging of my friends, I'm pursuing that, as well.
I don't know what the future holds! I do know that this morning I Armor-Alled every bit of exterior rubber and plastic on my truck, and earlier this evening, I took my truck over to the wash stalls near where I live, and proceeded to give it a thorough cleaning and wax.
Living life comes largely with the little things.
Immediately prior to washing my truck, we had a thunderstorm come through, so I opened the back door and watched it for about half an hour as I ate dinner. Although things had cleared enough for me to finish my truck, the storm clouds were still around, sans rain and lightening, and it was just awesome being outdoors in that freshly-cleaned environment with the sun about an hour before sunset over the Rockies.
It's the little things.
A wise friend recently told me, "Don't be a freelance writer. Be a freelancer." When I asked him what he meant by that, he said, "A freelancer is someone who marries his top talents with his top interests and either finds, or creates, a market niche so he can get paid work hard while having fun!"
Thus, for better or worse, as of a couple of months ago I am now a freelancer, and am seeking the right mix of what I can do with what I want to do and what others want done.
Whether any of you have followed similar paths, jumped the train early, or have been grinding away for a decade vs my four, I think our heart's desires are the same: To do something we're good at doing, that we like to do, and get paid for it. The trick is always the same for everyone - finding out what those things are.
Most communities have employment services which include both interest surveys and aptitude tests. I found these exceptionally helpful, as each of these tests matched me with jobs in which I'd most likely find success. Then, where the results from each test matched the other, I found some interesting results.
First was the fact that I'd done for the last twenty years the best sorts of things I could have done. Second is that I'm doing those sorts of things that I should be doing.
Third is that there are two additional areas in which I might make a second career and be very happy. They involve two areas about which I rarely think, yet during those times when I have thought about them, I've been at peace with the idea of heading in that direction.
For myself, then, testing was both a confirmation as well as an eye-opener, and I'd recommend them to anyone, whether you're thinking about a career change or not.
The other issue involves one of realism. I absolutely love flying airplanes. Unfortunately, that's not exactly a very good field for pilots these days, and given my health, good, but not what it was 20 years ago, I may only be able to pursue it for another 5 to 10 years. As such, it wouldn't be worth much to me in the long run if I had to sit down and start doing what I'm doing now (freelancer) when I'm of an age where I should be well-established as a freelancer and captilizing on the hard work I'd invested between now and then.
So, here I am, starting over, excited about the possibilities, yet working through the issues with fear and trepidation of the unknown. It's a bit like the first time I flew solo. I knew I could do it, but what if I goofed up? What if I zigged when I should have zagged?
Then I think, "What if I'd allowed the fear to get to me way back then? What if I'd never stepped foot into the cockpit, or if I'd quit when the going got tough? Where would I have been, now?"
And I smile. Who knows? Perhaps if I'd followed the consulting gig I'd have been a gazillionaire. More likely, I'd have been similarly well-off. Then again, I may also have been scraping by since 9/11, as I know a few of my peers have been doing.
Regardless, I smile, not because I've "made it" (I'm not even halfway there!), but because of the journey behind, as well as the journey before me. There are no givens, but there are opportunities, and it's time I move forward and take advantage of a few.
More later about my observations.
- Mugs